IT DEVICES

Generate a Verification Code for Apple Two Factor Authentication

Normally, when you sign into iCloud on a new device like your iPhone 
or iPad, a message will pop up on your trusted devices asking if you 
want to allow the login. If you grant access, you’ll then get a 
verification code which has to be entered on the new device.
This all works great when you get the verification code 
automatically, but sometimes you have to generate the code yourself. I 
found this out myself when I was trying to log into my iTunes Store 
account from my third generation Apple TV.<br />

Instead of giving me a dialog where I could enter the verification 
code separately, it asked me to type in my password, followed by the 
verification code. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any message popup on any 
of my trusted devices.<br />

I then found out that I had to generate the code manually from one of
 my trusted devices. In this post, I’ll show you how to generate a 
verification code using iOS. The device obviously has to be signed into 
the same iCloud account that you are trying to log into elsewhere.<br />

<h2>
Generate Verification Code in iOS</h2>
As with just about everything setting that can be changed in iOS, you need to open the <strong>Settings</strong> app first. Scroll down a little bit until you see <strong>iCloud</strong> and tap on that.<br />

At the top, you’ll see your name along with other iCloud details like
 family members, storage usage, etc. You want to tap on your name.<br />

At this point, you may have to enter your iCloud password in order to
 continue. On the next screen, you only have a couple of options like 
viewing contact information, your devices and payment methods. We want 
to tap on <strong>Password & Security</strong>.<br />

Finally, we get to the screen where we can actually generate the 
code! Personally, I think the feature should be in a more obvious 
location so that it’s easier to find for users.<br />

Tapping on <strong>Get Verification Code</strong> will instantly bring up a six-digit code that you can type onto the Apple device you are trying to log into.<br />

Now according to Apple’s website, you won’t have to reenter this 
verification code on that particular device unless you sign out, erase 
the device or change your password. So far, I haven’t had to enter the 
code again after a month with two-factor turned on.<br />

If you login from the website via iCloud.com, you’ll have to check the <strong>Trust this browser</strong> box so that you don’t have to keep entering the code before logging in there.<br />

Again, you probably won’t have to use this feature unless you have 
Apple devices running older software. It’s best to keep all your Apple 
devices up-to-date so that they are all benefiting from the latest 
security features. If you have a question, post a comment

Troubleshooting Generate a Verification Code for Apple Two Factor Authentication

Normally, when you sign into iCloud on a new device like your iPhone or iPad, a message will pop up on your trusted devices asking if you ...

Sony PS4 Remote Play to Windows or Mac Setup & Review

12:54 PM Unknown 0

Since I bought a PlayStation 4 
last year as a gift to myself, I was quite excited to hear about the 
remote play feature coming in software update 3.50. I installed it 
immediately and tried it out on my Mac and PC to see how well it worked.
Overall, I would give the remote play feature a 4 out of 5 stars, 
docking one star for the lower-than-desired 720p resolution that the 
feature maxes out at. The setup is very easy and everything just worked 
well, which is surprising whenever you have to stream something across a
 network.<br />

Just streaming a movie from my Synology NAS to my HDTV downstairs 
usually results in some sort of troubleshooting on my part, so I 
expected to run into at least a couple of issues. However, everything 
worked without a hitch.<br />

I’ll first quickly go over how to setup remote play on a Windows PC 
and then talk about the performance, troubleshooting, etc. The setup 
procedure was pretty much identical on the Mac. You should also know 
that remote play doesn’t work with Windows 7, only Windows 8.1 and 
Windows 10. For Macs, it’s either OS X Yosemite or El Capitan.<br />

<h2>
Install PS4 Remote Play</h2>
Obviously, the first step is to turn on your PS4 and make sure you 
have installed the latest system software, which should be 3.50 as of 
the time of this writing. To update the system software on your PS4, 
press up on the D-Pad and then over to the right until <strong>Settings</strong> is highlighted.<br />

Now scroll down until you see <strong>System Software Update</strong> and press <strong>X</strong> on the controller.<br />

If an update is available, it will automatically be downloaded and 
installed. Once your system is up-to-date, you can now install the <a href="https://remoteplay.dl.playstation.net/remoteplay/lang/en/index.html" target="_blank">Remote Play software</a> on your Windows or Mac machine.<br />

The installation is straight-forward and doesn’t require you to 
choose any settings, etc. Once completed, run the PS4 Remote Play 
program from your desktop.<br />

The first screen that will popup tells you to connect a DualShock 4 
controller to your computer via USB. Once you have connected your 
controller, you can either click on <strong>Start</strong> or <strong>Settings</strong>. I suggest clicking on settings first to configure the resolution and frame rate.<br />

<span style="line-height: 1.5;">By default, the resolution is set to </span><strong style="line-height: 1.5;">540p</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> and the frame rate is set to </span><strong style="line-height: 1.5;">Standard</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5;">.
 If you are streaming PS4 games over your home network and everything is
 gigabit, then you should be fine changing the resolution to </span><strong style="line-height: 1.5;">720p</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> and the frame rate to </span><strong style="line-height: 1.5;">High</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5;">. Obviously, if you run into sound issues or choppy graphics, you can change these setting each time you run remote play.</span><br />

Currently, remote play does not support 1080p or higher resolutions 
and may or may not in the future. If the PS4 doesn’t have the hardware 
to handle 1080p, then we’ll probably be stuck with 720p until the PS4.5 
comes out.<br />

It’s also worth noting that remote play will work across the Internet
 too, but the results will depend heavily on the Internet connection 
speeds at both locations. I didn’t get to try this out, so I can’t 
really comment on how it performs.<br />

Finally, once you configure your settings, click on Start and you’ll 
first be asked to sign into the PlayStation network. You’ll obviously 
need a PSN account and it should be the same account that your PS4 is 
logged into.<br />

Once you have signed in, it will start searching for your PS4 
automatically. It might take a minute or two while it searches for the 
console. If it doesn’t find your PS4, you can also click on the <strong>Register Manually</strong> button and try that method.<br />

If all goes well, you should get a window with your PS4 steaming to your Windows or Mac machine!<br />

As I mentioned above, the performance and quality of the game 
streaming was superb over the local network. If you are using a 1080p 
display, you won’t be as disappointed as I was with the 720p resolution.
 I have a 2560×1440 monitor and so the window is fairly small on the 
screen. If you have a 4K monitor, it’s going to be really small unless 
you have everything scaled up.<br />

<h2>
Troubleshooting Tips</h2>
If you are having issues getting everything working, log onto your PS4 and check a couple of settings. Firstly, go to <strong>Settings</strong>, then <strong>PlayStation Network/Account Management</strong> and select <strong>Activate as Your Primary PS4</strong>.<br />

You really only need to do this if you have multiple setup under the 
same account. You can only stream games over remote play from the 
primary PS4. Once it is primary, go to <strong>Settings</strong> and then <strong>Remote Play Connection Settings</strong>.<br />

Make sure that<strong> Enable Remote Play</strong> is checked. 
Finally, so that you don’t have to keep going to your PS4 and manually 
turning it on before playing remotely, go to <strong>Settings</strong>, then<strong> Power Save Settings</strong> and select <strong>Set Features Available in Rest Mode</strong>.<br />

Make sure that<strong> Stay Connected to the Internet</strong> and <strong>Enable Turning On PS4 from Network</strong> are checked. Even if your PS4 is turned off or in rest mode, it will turn on when you start a remote play session.<br />

That’s about it! Overall, it works well and it’s a nice feature to 
have if you own a PS4 system. Unlike the Xbox One, PS4 supports 
streaming to Macs and over the Internet, which are two excellent pluses.
 If you have any questions, feel free to comment

Mobile Gadgets Troubleshooting Sony PS4 Remote Play to Windows or Mac Setup & Review

Since I bought a PlayStation 4 last year as a gift to myself, I was quite excited to hear about the remote play feature coming in software...

Upgrade to FIOS Quantum Gateway Router for Faster LAN Speeds

12:53 PM Unknown 0

If you are a Verizon FIOS 
customer, like myself, your setup and router may be slowing down your 
LAN speeds significantly. So what do I mean by LAN speed? Well, there is
 Internet speed and then there is LAN or Local Area Network speed.
Your Internet speed can easily be checked by visiting a site like 
SpeedTest.net and making sure the results match the speed you’re signed 
up for with FIOS. It’s worth noting that you should only perform a speed
 test using a computer connected via Ethernet cable since that will be 
the fastest.<br />

In my home, I have 100/100 with FIOS and I easily get that Internet 
speed on my computers. The problem was not my Internet speed, buy my 
local transfer speeds on my home network. When trying to transfer some 
data between different computers on my network, the speed maxed out at 
around 11.5 MB/s. That’s megabytes per second.<br />

For a 100 Mbps (that’s megabits per second) network, 11.5 MB/s is a 
very good speed. However, all of my equipment was gigabit enabled, 
meaning I should get closer to 1000 Mbps in transfer speeds. That means 
around 125 MB/s. So as you can see, my current speed of 11.5 is less 
than one tenth the maximum speed for gigabit Ethernet.<br />

<h2>
Cause of Slower Speed</h2>
So what exactly is causing me to get only a 100 Mbps transfer rate? 
Two reasons: coax cabling in my home and MoCA version. My house was 
pre-wired with coax cabling instead of Ethernet cabling and that makes a
 significant difference. You will never get the max LAN speed possible 
or anywhere close to it when using coax cabling.<br />

However, even if you are stuck with coax, you can dramatically 
increase your speed by making sure all your devices are using MoCA 2.0 
rather than MoCA 1.0 or 1.1. MoCA 1.0 maxes out at 12.5 MB/s and 1.1 
maxes out at 21.875 MB/s. If this is confusing, make sure to read my 
previous post on <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/ott-explains-understanding-network-transfer-speeds/" target="_blank">understanding network transfer speeds</a>.<br />

So even though my router and computer had gigabit ports, the wiring 
in my house and the MoCA version on my router was causing the speed to 
max out at 12.5 MB/s. By default, Verizon installs the Actiontec MI424WR
 router for new customers, even though it’s not the best router they 
have.<br />

This router is either red or black and grey like the image shown 
above. Overall, it’s a great router and will give you excellent Internet
 speeds all the way up to 100 Mbps up and 100 Mbps down. The downside is
 that it only supports MoCA 1.1 and therefore maxes out at 21.875 MB/s 
on your LAN network.<br />

So why does this make a difference? Well, if you have your own media 
server at home, streaming movies from your computer or NAS to an HDTV or
 game console will be much slower and result in your videos pausing 
every couple of seconds. I also backup my computers to my NAS and the 
slower transfer speed increases the backup time by hours, which is 
unacceptable for me.<br />

<h2>
Fix Slow LAN Speed</h2>
So how can you go about fixing this problem? Well, the easiest way if
 you are forced to use coax cabling is to upgrade your router to the new
 Quantum Gateway router offered by Verizon. You can either rent it for 
$10 a month or buy it outright for $199.<br />

The best way to get the Quantum Gateway router for free is to simply 
upgrade your Internet speed by one plan and they will usually give you 
the router for free. I was at 75/75 and upgraded to 100/100 and asked if
 they could throw in the router too for free, which they did.<br />

If they tell you that increasing to that speed won’t qualify you, 
then just ask to be upgraded to something higher and then reduce your 
speed after they upgrade your router. For example, if you are at 25/25 
and they say they can’t give you the new router if you upgrade to 50/50,
 just say you want to upgrade to 75/75. They will give you the new 
router for free and then you simply go online and reduce your speed to 
50/50 two days later. A Verizon representative told me this trick!<br />

If you can’t get the router that way, go to <a href="http://amzn.com/B0145REEA0" target="_blank">Amazon</a>
 and you can get it for $142.50, saving you some money. You can also try
 on eBay and possibly score a better deal there. The one I got and the 
one pictured above is the G1100 gateway router.<br />

The router has several advantages over the Actiontec router in terms 
of wireless features, but for me, the biggest draw was the MoCA 2.0 
support. Once you have this router installed, how do you get MoCA 2.0 
speeds on your other devices?<br />

Well, since my house is connected via coax everywhere, I had to buy some MoCA 2.0 adapters. The one I purchased was from <a href="http://amzn.com/B013J7NUXO" target="_blank">Actiontec</a>. It’s a MoCA 2.0 Coax to Ethernet adapter and it’s pretty expensive.<br />

I connected this adapter to the coax in my wall and connected the 
Ethernet out to a switch, which was connected to all my other devices 
like computers, etc. So what kind of speed improvement did I see? Well, 
baseline MoCA 2.0 can give you speeds up to 400 Mbps, which translates 
into about 50 MB/s. In my own tests, the speed increased to about 54 
MB/s. This was almost five times faster than my previous speed!<br />

There is also an enhanced MoCA 2.0 speed, which gives you a 
throughput up to 800 Mbps, but it has to be a bonded coax connection. 
There is a bonded MoCA adapter like the one shown above from Actiontec, 
but the G1100 router only supports MoCA 2.0 not bonded MoCA 2.0, so you 
can’t get those higher speeds.<br />

<h2>
Even Faster Speeds?</h2>
So can you get even faster speeds than the 50 MB/s I mentioned above?
 Yes, but it requires a lot more work. Basically, you have to switch 
your Verizon ONT from coax to Ethernet and then get some Ethernet ports 
installed in your house.<br />

I’m going to write a future post on how do to this as that is 
currently what I’m doing in my own house and it’s not as complicated as 
it may seem. Once you switch the ONT to Ethernet and get an Ethernet 
port near your devices, you can get transfer speeds up to 90+ MB/s, 
which is about as close to the theoretical 125 MB/s as you can get. If 
you have any questions, feel free to comment.

Troubleshooting Upgrade to FIOS Quantum Gateway Router for Faster LAN Speeds

If you are a Verizon FIOS customer, like myself, your setup and router may be slowing down your LAN speeds significantly. So what do I mea...

How to Setup an iTunes Library On an External Hard Drive or NAS

12:52 PM Unknown 0

Did you know it was possible to 
move your iTunes library over to an external hard drive? If you’re 
low on space and you have a lot of media that simply cannot be stored 
using iCloud, then one great option is to move everything to an external
 USB drive.
I personally never use iTunes anymore, but I know a lot of people who
 keep all their music and movies stored on their computer. I personally 
find it much easier to stream content from iCloud and to use iTunes 
Match or Apple Music for listening to my music.<br />

However, if you use iTunes for managing music not in iTunes or home 
video files, etc., then you really have no choice but to store the 
content locally. In this article, I’m going to show you how you can 
easily move your entire iTunes library to an external drive.<br />

<h2>
Prerequisites</h2>
Before we do any moving of data, we first have to check to make sure 
everything is properly stored locally. Open iTunes and click on <strong>iTunes – Preferences</strong> in the navigation bar in OS X or on the small icon at the top left in Windows.<br />

<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/itunes-preferences.png" rel="attachment wp-att-59647"><img alt="itunes preferences" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-59647" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/itunes-preferences.png" height="162" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/itunes-preferences.png" style="display: block;" width="258" /></a> <a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/windows-itunes-preferences.png" rel="attachment wp-att-59648"><img alt="windows itunes preferences" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-59648" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/windows-itunes-preferences.png" height="313" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/windows-itunes-preferences.png" style="display: block;" width="287" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Now click on the <strong>Advanced</strong> tab and check to make sure that the <strong>iTunes Media folder location</strong> is set to the default path, which should be <strong>Users/Username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media</strong>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/itunes-preferences-advanced.png" rel="attachment wp-att-59649"><img alt="itunes preferences advanced" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59649 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/itunes-preferences-advanced.png" height="284" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/itunes-preferences-advanced.png" style="display: block;" width="570" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If the location is different, make a note 
of it because that is where you will need to go when we have to move the
 data. Next, on a Mac, click on <strong>File </strong>from the navigation bar, then <strong>Library</strong> and choose<strong> Organize Library</strong>. In Windows, you have to press CTRL + B or press the ALT key to see the navigation menu appear first.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/organize-library.png" rel="attachment wp-att-59650"><img alt="organize library" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59650 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/organize-library.png" height="236" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/organize-library.png" style="display: block;" width="450" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
When you do this, it will bring up another 
dialog where you’ll see a checkbox for consolidating all your media 
files. You should do this just to make sure everything is stored there 
before we make the move.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/consolidate-files.png" rel="attachment wp-att-59651"><img alt="consolidate files" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59651 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/consolidate-files.png" height="247" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/consolidate-files.png" style="display: block;" width="460" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Check the <strong>Consolidate files</strong> box and click <strong>OK</strong>. Now that we have completed these two tasks, we can move on to the actual process of moving the library.</div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Move iTunes Library</h2>
Go ahead and quit iTunes at this point and connect your external hard
 drive. Now navigate to the iTunes Music folder on your computer. For 
Mac users, open <strong>Finder</strong> and click on <strong>Music</strong> in the left-hand list of shortcuts.<br />

In Windows, go to the location listed in the Advanced tab, which should be <strong>C:\Users\UserName\Music\</strong>. Inside, you should see a folder called <strong>iTunes</strong>. Go ahead and copy this folder to the root of your external hard drive by dragging and dropping it.<br />

Depending on how large your iTunes library is and your network 
connection speed, this process will probably take up the most time. Note
 that you should copy the library over, not move it. At a later point, 
we will delete the local copy. Once the copy has been completed, we need
 to open iTunes in a special way.<br />

On a Mac, hold down the <strong>Option</strong> key and then click on iTunes from the dock. On Windows, hold down the <strong>SHIFT</strong> key and then double-click to open iTunes. When you do this, you’ll get a dialog before iTunes loads.<br />

From the two options, you want to click on <strong>Choose Library</strong>. Now navigate to the external hard drive and open the iTunes folder. There you will find an <strong>iTunes.itl</strong> file, which you want to select and then click <strong>Open</strong>.<br />

If all went well, iTunes should load with your entire library enact! 
You should be able to see all your media files and play them. At this 
point, we can remove the local copy of the iTunes library. To do that, 
you should first close iTunes and then eject the external hard drive. 
Now delete the entire iTunes folder stored on your computer.<br />

If you open iTunes without reconnecting the external hard, you’ll get an error message stating the library could not be found.<br />

Click <strong>OK</strong> and then <strong>Quit</strong>. Connect the
 drive and then open iTunes and you should be good to go. Overall, the 
process is pretty straight-forward and you shouldn’t run into any major 
problems. The only issue I ran into was that I used a Synology NAS to 
store the iTunes library and if my NAS went to sleep, opening iTunes 
would fail. Eventually, I had to change the settings so that my NAS was 
on all the time.<br />

Other than that, everything worked fine. When importing new media 
into my library, the files were copied to the external location and not 
to my local computer. If you do run into an issue where some files get 
copied to your local computer, just consolidate files like I mentioned 
above. If you have any questions, feel free to comment

TIPS How to Setup an iTunes Library On an External Hard Drive or NAS

Did you know it was possible to move your iTunes library over to an external hard drive? If you’re low on space and you have a lot of medi...

USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 vs. eSATA vs. Thunderbolt vs. Firewire vs. Ethernet Speed

12:51 PM Unknown 0

Your desktop or laptop computer 
has a wide variety of ports and connection types, but what are they all 
for and how do they differ? USB 2.0, USB 3.0, eSATA, Thunderbolt, 
Firewire, and Ethernet are some of the technologies that are built into 
many of the computers sold today. So, what’s the fastest connection 
type? What type of connection is best to consider for an external hard 
drive? What about for 4K multi-monitor support? In this article, we’ll 
talk about the different types of high-speed data ports and how they are
 used.
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Thunderbolt-Cable.png" rel="attachment wp-att-43821"><img alt="Thunderbolt-Cable.png" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-43821" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Thunderbolt-Cable.png" height="316" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Thunderbolt-Cable.png" style="display: block;" width="282" /></a></div>
No matter what type of computer you have, you probably have one or 
more of the high speed connection types covered in this article. Let’s 
first take a look at the different speeds for each type of connection. 
Note that the rated speeds are not what you’ll get in real-world 
conditions. Most likely, you’ll be able to get anywhere from 70% to 80% 
of the max speeds listed.<br />

<h2>
<strong>Speed</strong></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USB-2.0-Cable.png"><img alt="USB 2.0 Cable" border="0" class="lazy aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USB-2.0-Cable_thumb.png" height="410" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USB-2.0-Cable_thumb.png" style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="520" /></a></div>
<strong>The USB 2.0</strong> connection type has pretty much become 
the standard. You have likely used a USB 2.0 cable to connect some 
device or drive to your PC or Mac at some point and you probably have 
several spare USB cables laying around the house. Even though USB 3.0 is
 here, many PC peripherals and other devices are still being 
manufactured with USB 2.0 connectivity.<br />

Many devices do not yet use USB 3.0, nor do they use Thunderbolt. 
Why? Because USB 2.0 is simply fast enough to handle minor tasks and 
many devices simply do not require lightning fast speed, such as mice 
and keyboards. OK great, so how fast is USB 2.0 exactly?<br />

<blockquote>
<strong>USB 2.0 is rated at 480Mbps</strong>. <strong>That’s about 60 megabytes per second</strong>. For quick reference, 1000 Mbps equals 1 Gbps, which is considered gigabit.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USB-3.png"><img alt="USB 3" border="0" class="lazy aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USB-3_thumb.png" height="250" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USB-3_thumb.png" style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="454" /></a></strong></div>
The<strong> USB 3.0</strong> connection type is the next step for USB
 (from 2.0). USB 3.0 transfer speeds are about 10x faster than previous 
USB 2.0 speeds. So, what does that amount to?<br />

<blockquote>
<strong>USB 3.0 is rated at 5 Gbps. That’s about 640 megabytes per second. </strong></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In 2013, USB 3.1 was also released and is rated up to <strong>10 Gbps</strong>.
 That’s around 1280 megabytes per second or 1.2 GB per second. This 
means that USB 3.1 is about as fast as a single first generation 
Thunderbolt channel.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It’s also worth noting that the new USB Type C connection will support USB 3.1 for a max data transfer rate of 10 Gbps.</div>
<strong>eSATA</strong> stands for external SATA. SATA, of course, is a
 connection type that is used to connect an internal hard drive to a 
computer. So, inside your desktop or laptop is the hard drive, which in 
most cases, connects to the motherboard using a SATA interface.<br />

With eSATA, an external hard drive can use that same connection type 
and technology to be connect to the computer. The hard drive inside a 
computer is quicker than a standard external hard drive (USB 2.0), so 
what kind of speeds does eSATA produce?<br />

<blockquote>
<strong>eSATA is rated at 3 Gbps and 6 Gbps.</strong></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="ESATA-Cable.png" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-43827" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ESATA-Cable.png" height="292" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ESATA-Cable.png" style="display: block;" width="458" /></div>
<strong>Thunderbolt </strong>cables are the newest connection type 
featured on this list. Originally codenamed “Light Peak,” Thunderbolt 
was first a technology that was developed by Intel. For Thunderbolt’s 
consumer debut, Apple Inc. added the high speed interface to nearly all 
of their devices in the Mac lineup, making them one of the first 
companies to use the technology. Thunderbolt is capable of more than 
other connection types, but we will get to that later. What kinds of 
speeds does Thunderbolt produce?<br />

<blockquote>
<strong>Thunderbolt is rated at 10 Gbps per channel (x2).
 Thunderbolt 2 raises that value to 20 Gbps over a single channel. 
Thunderbolt 3 doubles the bandwidth again to 40 Gbps. </strong></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Thunderbolt" border="0" class="lazy aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Thunderbolt_thumb.png" height="237" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Thunderbolt_thumb.png" style="display: block;" width="404" /></div>
<strong>Firewire</strong>, or IEEE 1394, is another connection type 
that was popular for a while, but has kind of gone away over the last 
few years. The popularity of USB 2 and USB 3 devices slowed adoption of 
Firewire, resulting in the slow decline of the connection. This occurred
 even though Firewire 400 and 800 are faster than previous USB 
technologies (not including 3.0).<br />

<blockquote>
<strong>Firewire is rated at 3 Gbps (400) and 6 Gbps (800).</strong></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Firewire Cable" border="0" class="lazy aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Firewire-Cable_thumb.png" height="194" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Firewire-Cable_thumb.png" style="display: block;" width="240" /></div>
<strong>Ethernet </strong>is a connection type that is used mainly 
for networking, so it is not designed to be super-fast. However, 
Ethernet cables can be used to transfer computer data too.<br />

<blockquote>
<strong>Ethernet is rated at 100 Mbps.</strong><br />

<img alt="Ethernet" border="0" class="lazy aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Ethernet_thumb.png" height="198" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Ethernet_thumb.png" style="display: block;" width="240" /></blockquote>
<h2>
<strong>Summary</strong></h2>
To summarize the above data, the connection types would result in the following, from fastest to slowest.<br />

<strong>1. Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps)</strong><br />

<strong>3. eSATA (6 Gbps)</strong><br />

<strong>4. Firewire (6 Gbps)</strong><br />

<strong>5. Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps)</strong><br />

<strong>7. Ethernet (100 Mbps)</strong><br />

However, this analysis is not quite accurate. As mentioned earlier, 
in actual situations, many of these max speeds are rarely achieved. Here
 is a chart from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bit_rates" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> that summarizes the specs for many connection types beyond just the ones I mentioned.<br />

<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/peripheral-speeds.png" rel="attachment wp-att-59627"><img alt="peripheral speeds" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-59627" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/peripheral-speeds.png" height="545" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/peripheral-speeds.png" style="display: block;" width="612" /></a></div>
When purchasing an external device or a new computer, the main thing 
to consider is the version of the connection type. For example, if you 
are purchasing a new Retina MacBook Pro laptop, you’ll notice that it 
has a USB 3.0 port and a Thunderbolt 2 port.<br />

If you hold off for a bit, Apple will probably include the newer 
Thunderbolt 3 connections into their latest MacBook’s, meaning you can 
do a lot more with those ports than before. For example, with 
Thunderbolt 2, you can connect up to one 4K display at 60Hz or two 4K 
displays at 30Hz to your computer. With Thunderbolt 3, you’ll be able to
 connect up to three 4K displays at 60Hz or one 5K monitor at 60Hz.<br />

Ethernet is extremely slow and it can be used for file transfers and 
moving folders, but its main purpose is for local networking.<br />

In my view, Thunderbolt and USB 3.1 (Type C) will eventually become 
the standard on most computers. They provide the most speed with extra 
features like two-way power and multi-monitor support. In addition, both
 technologies have already been adopted by many major PC manufactures. 
If you have any questions, feel free to comment

Networking USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 vs. eSATA vs. Thunderbolt vs. Firewire vs. Ethernet Speed

Your desktop or laptop computer has a wide variety of ports and connection types, but what are they all for and how do they differ? USB 2....

Mac vs. PC Pros and Cons List

12:51 PM Unknown 0

Can’t decide if you should buy a 
Mac or PC? It’s a tough decision because both platforms have different 
advantages and disadvantages. It really also depends a lot on external 
factors like what other devices you own and what kind of software you 
use.
For example, if you own an Xbox One, a Windows Phone, a Surface 
tablet and all the other computers in your home are Windows PCs, then it
 might be more convenient to stick with a PC. On the other hand, if you 
own an iPhone, an iPad, an Apple TV, and an AirPrint enabled printer, 
then a Mac would fit in really well with those other devices.<br />

Additionally, even if you end up with a mixed environment with Windows and Mac devices, it’s pretty easy to <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/free-software-downloads/share-files-and-folders-across-computers/" target="_blank">share data across devices</a>. It’s also fairly easy to access <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-access-mac-files-on-a-windows-pc/" target="_blank">Mac files from a Windows PC</a> and vice versa. You can even connect a <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/view-mac-files-on-windows-pc/" target="_blank">Mac-formatted drive to a Windows PC and view the files directly</a>. If you’re new to Mac, you’ll be happy to know that <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/mac-os-x/mac-equivalents-of-windows-software-and-features/" target="_blank">OS X has an equivalent for pretty much every feature in Windows</a>.<br />

So, without further ado, let’s go into the pros and cons for each 
platform, which includes the hardware and software. Obviously, this is a
 very biased and opinionated article, so feel free to share your 
thoughts if they are different.<br />

<h2>
<strong><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Mac Pros and Windows Cons</span></strong></h2>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/macs.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59637"><img alt="macs" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59637 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/macs.jpg" height="236" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/macs.jpg" style="display: block;" width="680" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Macs have a built-in program called BootCamp, which allows you to <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/mac-os-x/run-windows-on-mac/" target="_blank">install Windows, Linux or other operating systems in addition to OS X</a>.
 Setting up a dual boot system in OS X is infinitely easier than it is 
in Windows. It’s also super easy to switch between the two operating 
systems. </span></li>
</ul>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bootcamp.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59638"><img alt="bootcamp" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59638 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bootcamp.jpg" height="322" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bootcamp.jpg" style="display: block;" width="661" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Macs work better with other Apple 
products in terms of software. This includes features like Handoff, 
iMessage, iCloud, iCloud Drive, iCloud Photo Library, iCloud Keychain, 
Find My iPhone, etc. Microsoft has tried to copy this, but only 
partially. </span></li>
</ul>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/icloud.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59639"><img alt="icloud" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59639 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/icloud.jpg" height="396" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/icloud.jpg" style="display: block;" width="680" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Macs are less complicated and more 
intuitive to use. This is a very debatable point and the reason why I 
also list it as a con in the section below. If you’ve always been a 
Windows user, it can initially be counter-intuitive to use, however, 
I’ve found that it’s more logical once you get used to it. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Even though Macs can get viruses or 
malware, the number of threats is still significantly less than for 
Windows just because the Windows base is so much larger. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Almost all new <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-automatically-remove-unwanted-pre-installed-software-from-your-computer/" target="_blank">PCs come installed with loads of bloatware</a>
 from PC manufacturers, which requires manual removal. Mac computers 
have pre-installed software, but only from Apple and they don’t slow 
down your system. If you’re technically savvy, this is a non-issue, 
otherwise it can be a major nuisance. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Apple has excellent customer support, 
AppleCare warranty programs, and exclusive Apple Stores where you can 
take your Mac or other Apple products for repairs, training or other 
issues.</span></li>
</ul>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/apple-care.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59640"><img alt="apple care" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59640 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/apple-care.jpg" height="363" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/apple-care.jpg" style="display: block;" width="650" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Macs are sleek and visually appealing.
 To get something close from PC manufacturers usually ends up negating 
the higher cost factor for Apple products. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Speaking of cost, Macs are more expensive than PCs, but they also hold their resale value far better than PCs.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Apple computers have some of the 
highest customer satisfaction rates in the industry. When you purchase a
 Mac, you are getting a high-quality machine. This can be true for PCs 
also, but with so many manufacturers and configurations, getting the 
best quality can be more difficult. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Macs tend to be a bit more innovative 
in design and features. For example, Macs include Thunderbolt, USB Type C
 ports, multi-touch trackpads, force touch, keyboard backlighting and 
more. </span></li>
</ul>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/force-touch-mac.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59641"><img alt="force touch mac" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59641 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/force-touch-mac.jpg" height="326" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/force-touch-mac.jpg" style="display: block;" width="547" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li>Macs can read NTFS or FAT formatted hard drives. Windows cannot read
 Mac formatted drives unless you install a third-party program.</li>
<li>The iMac, the only Mac desktop other than the Mac Pro, is an 
all-in-one computer that you can get with a 4K or 5K display, something 
that really doesn’t exist in the Windows market at all unless you get an
 ultra-expensive custom rig. There is the HP Envy, but it isn’t as good 
as the iMac.</li>
</ul>
<h2>
<strong>PC Pros and Mac Cons</strong></h2>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/windows-10-laptop.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59642"><img alt="windows 10 laptop" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59642 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/windows-10-laptop.jpg" height="475" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/windows-10-laptop.jpg" style="display: block;" width="680" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">PCs are manufactured by many different
 companies, resulting in a huge selection of devices with a wide 
variation in prices. With Apple, you have only a few choices with set 
prices. In terms of desktops, Apple has only one geared towards 
consumers, so if the cost is prohibitive, a Windows desktop will be a 
much better choice. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">PCs are more up-gradable and 
configurable. On Macs, you can usually only upgrade the RAM or hard 
drive and that’s it. Pretty much every component on a desktop PC can be 
switched out. When purchasing PCs, you also have a lot more options that
 you can configure including processors, cases, memory, hard drives, 
ports, displays, etc. </span></li>
</ul>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/pc-components.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59644"><img alt="pc components" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59644 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/pc-components.jpg" height="359" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/pc-components.jpg" style="display: block;" width="668" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li>Overall, there is a lot more software available for Windows than for
 PC. The opposite is true when you look at smartphones, but we’re 
talking about computers here. There is usually an equivalent Mac program
 for every Windows app, but they are not always as good.</li>
<li>Windows based PCs may have greater backwards compatibility. A five 
year old PC can easily run Windows 10 without any issue. A five year old
 Mac can run the latest version of OS X, but half the features will be 
missing and things don’t run as smoothly. For some reason, you always 
need the latest Mac in order to utilize all the new features in OS X.</li>
<li>PCs are the absolute best option when it comes to gaming. Macs 
simply do not come with as powerful graphics cards, even high-end 
machines like the Mac Pro.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/pc-gaming.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59643"><img alt="pc gaming" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59643 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/pc-gaming.jpg" height="316" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/pc-gaming.jpg" style="display: block;" width="572" /></a><br />

<ul>
<li>Worldwide, most computers are PCs and Windows is the most popular 
operating system by far. This means the community is much larger and you
 can get more support for software and hardware.</li>
<li>In terms of accessories, PCs have a lot more options and those options are usually cheaper.</li>
<li>Though OS X is simpler, that’s not always the best for some people. Windows is more complex and powerful than OS X.</li>
<li>PCs can be configured with hardware that Apple considers obsolete. 
Some newer Apple machines don’t even come with CD/DVD drives. 
It also seems Apple keeps reducing the number of ports on each newer 
machine. The new Macbook has one USB port and one headphone jack and 
that’s it.</li>
<li>PCs work great with a whole slew of other products too. For example, you can stream your Xbox or PlayStation games to Windows.</li>
</ul>
<span style="color: black;">These are some of the major pros and 
cons when it comes to Mac and PCs. There are a ton of other smaller 
pluses and minuses, but I don’t think those warrant that much attention 
when discussing this topic in general terms. Obviously, if you’re a 
professional graphics designer, then looking at specific compatible 
hardware and software would make more sense. </span><br />

The point of this article is not to say one platform is better than 
the other, because that is simply not true. If you are a college student
 and the only thing that matters to you is your budget, then a Mac will 
probably not be best choice, regardless of the other benefits. In my 
opinion, if you have never tried a Mac, you should ask a friend or 
family member to loan you a device to see how you feel about it. Just 
about everyone has used Windows, so you pretty much know what you are 
getting in terms of software.<br />

Let us know your opinions about why Mac or PC is better for you in the comments

Computer Peripherals Mobile Gadgets Mac vs. PC Pros and Cons List

Can’t decide if you should buy a Mac or PC? It’s a tough decision because both platforms have different advantages and disadvantages. It r...

Use a Smartphone as a Remote for Your TV, Set-Top Box or Console

12:50 PM Unknown 0

If there’s one thing I hate using
 nowadays, it’s the ancient remote control. You’d think it would be 
obsolete by now, but it still lives on and won’t go away anytime soon. 
Thankfully, if you have a device that is fairly new (a couple of years 
old), then you can use your smartphone to control it.
I’m talking about controlling HDTVs, streaming set-top boxes, cable 
boxes, game consoles and the likes. I’m simply too lazy and cheap to 
configure and purchase a universal remote. It works for some people, but
 I’ve never been able to get any universal remote to control everything,
 meaning I still need several remotes.<br />

I also tried purchasing an adapter that plugs into my phone, which 
can control multiple IR devices, but all of them were flaky and couldn’t
 control all my devices. Finally, I just decided that I’m going to 
download an app for every device I have and control things that way. 
Surprisingly, this has worked out well.<br />

In this article, I’m going to talk about the different apps you can 
use to control all of your different devices. Some apps are definitely 
better than others, but all pretty much have the same basic remote 
functionality.<br />

<h2>
Control HDTVs via Smartphone</h2>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hdtv.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59658"><img alt="hdtv" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59658 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hdtv.jpg" height="467" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hdtv.jpg" style="display: block;" width="680" /></a><br />

If you have a cable TV box, you probably don’t use your HDTV remote 
other than to switch the input. If you have a smart technician come out 
to your house when getting cable installed, they might even be able to 
configure that on the cable TV remote.<br />

Luckily, most major TV manufacturers have remote control apps for 
their HDTVs, which makes it easy to control the volume, change the 
channel and switch inputs. One major exception is Vizio. They have a 
SmartCast app, but it only works with a SmartCast HDTV, which they are 
starting to sell in 2016. It’s ridiculous they don’t have an app for 
controlling all of their other TVs.<br />

Still, there are many third-party developers who have written apps to
 control TVs that don’t have official apps from the OEMs. I’m going to 
list out the different apps for some of the major brands. If you have a 
different TV, just search the app store for the manufacturer of your TV.

Computer Peripherals Mobile Gadgets Use a Smartphone as a Remote for Your TV, Set-Top Box or Console

If there’s one thing I hate using nowadays, it’s the ancient remote control. You’d think it would be obsolete by now, but it still lives o...

2 Ways to Add More Storage to Your iPhone or iPad

12:48 PM Unknown 0

It’s truly pathetic that Apple 
still sells iPhones and iPads starting with only 16GB of storage. This 
is a device that can take 4K video, but will literally run out of space 
in a few minutes if you try! Obviously, the best thing to do is get a 
higher capacity device, but some people simply aren’t willing to spend 
the extra $100 or $200 for the increased space and I can understand why.
Since there is no real way to add storage to an iPhone or iPad 
physically, you have to rely on all kinds of hacks. There are basically 
two reasons I could think of to add more storage to a device: to clear 
space off your device so you can install more apps, etc. or to load a 
bunch of music, movies, and documents that you can access quickly 
without needing an Internet connection.<br />

In this article, I’ll talk about the different solutions that are 
currently available for this really unnecessary problem caused by Apple.
 Unfortunately, none of the solutions are ideal and you have to be 
really careful when picking a product.<br />

If you thought the limited space was the only jab from Apple, they 
also screw you over if you purchase movies from iTunes. If you try to 
play a movie you bought from iTunes from an external drive, it will give
 you an error because of DRM protection. So all iTunes movies and TV 
shows have to be stored locally on your iPhone or iPad in order to play 
or have to be streamed using the Videos app. If you were reading this 
article in the hopes that iTunes content could be offloaded, then 
nothing here will help you.<br />

However, if you have a lot of music (even from iTunes) or your own downloaded/<a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/rip-a-dvd/" target="_blank">ripped movies</a> and TV shows, then the devices below will help. Just note that you might have to <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/gadgets/convert-video-to-ipad-format/" target="_blank">convert the video into iPhone or iPad format</a>
 first. Also, if you are an avid photographer and want quick access to 
your DSLR photos for viewing on your iPhone or iPad without taking up 
any space on your device, these products will work for you.<br />

I also don’t mention cloud services here because I think most people 
already know about that, but maybe don’t want to pay the monthly fee for
 the storage. If you are interested in cloud storage, check out my 
article <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/google-drive-vs-dropbox-vs-skydrive-vs-amazon-cloud-drive-vs-icloud/" target="_blank">comparing the different cloud storage providers</a> and also how you can use the cloud to <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/free-software-downloads/share-files-and-folders-across-computers/" target="_blank">share data between all your different devices</a>.<br />

<h2>
Wireless Hard Drives</h2>
A wireless hard drive is basically a portable hard drive with a 
wireless card and battery built-in. They all have their own WiFi 
networks and you can connect pretty much any device you want to them. 
Once connected, you can transfer data both ways and can stream content 
from the hard drive to your Apple device.<br />

Some of the wireless hard drives have SD card slots, so you can 
simply plug in the card from a DLSR camera and it’ll copy all the data 
to the drive. You can then view that content on your smartphone, tablet,
 computer or TV easily over the network.<br />

When purchasing a wireless hard drive, you just have to be careful to
 buy one that allows you to access the Internet while connected to the 
drive at the same time. It’s a royal pain having to disconnect from your
 wireless network, connect to the drive and not have any Internet access
 in the meantime. Make sure the device has WiFi pass-through. I’ll make a
 note of it in my recommendations below.<br />

<h3>
Seagate Wireless Plus and Wireless Mobile</h3>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/seagate-wireless-drives.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59671"><img alt="seagate wireless drives" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59671 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/seagate-wireless-drives.jpg" height="353" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/seagate-wireless-drives.jpg" style="display: block;" width="680" /></a><br />

These devices are supposed to last anywhere from 4 to 6 hours and 
they support WiFi pass-through, though people have complained the 
connection is slower than being directly connected to WiFi. Prices range
 from $79 to $149, depending on what model and how much storage space 
you want.<br />

Overall, they seem to do a very good job of streaming content to your
 devices. These drives lack an SD card slot, so if you want to transfer 
pictures from a DSLR, you’d have to download all the pics to a computer 
first and then connect the drive to your computer via USB.<br />

<h3>
RAVPower File Hub Plus</h3>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ravpower-filehub.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59672"><img alt="ravpower filehub" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59672 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ravpower-filehub.jpg" height="389" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ravpower-filehub.jpg" style="display: block;" width="500" /></a><br />

For only $40, you get a whopping amount of features from this little 
device. The reason it is so cheap is because it doesn’t have any 
internal storage. It has a SD (SD, SDHC, SDXC) card slot and a USB 3.0 
port. You can connect drives up to 4 TB in size or use an SD card up to 
256 GB in size.<br />

In addition, up to 5 devices can connect at the same time and you can
 transfer data between connected devices. On top of that, you can 
connect it to a wired network and turn it into a WiFi hotspot or connect
 it to a wireless network and turn it into a wireless extender. The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-Versatile-Wireless-Portable-Companion/dp/B00T5XQE3U/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1462468946&sr=8-10&keywords=ravpower" target="_blank">RAVPower File Hub</a> is a very good choice if you have your own SD card or USB hard drives.<br />

There are other major players that have wireless hard drives, but I 
won’t go into too much detail here. You can check them out below.<br />

<a href="http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1330" target="_blank">WD My Passport Wireless</a> – Includes SD card slot<br />

<a href="http://www.lacie.com/products/wireless-storage/fuel/" target="_blank">LaCie Fuel Wireless Drive</a><br />

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Wireless-Smartphones-Tablets-SDWS1-032G-A57/dp/B00DR8LBAK" target="_blank">SanDisk Connect Wireless Drive</a><br />

<h2>
 Flash Drives with Lightning Connector</h2>
If you aren’t happy with the fact that you need a battery-powered 
hard drive to expand your storage, then you might want to consider a 
flash drive with a lightning connector. You’ll lose a lot of the 
streaming, media hub, router/extender functions that you get with 
wireless hard drives, but it’s a lot smaller and easier to carry around.<br />

Unfortunately, there isn’t any perfect product yet in this category. 
Some are cheaper, but require recharging. Some work great, but have odd 
designs that make using your phone difficult. Other downsides include 
only having USB 2.0 ports, rather than 3.0 and having no way to charge 
your iPhone or iPad while the drive is connected. Some of the devices 
also tend to drain your battery a lot faster. Hopefully, we’ll have more
 options in the future, but as of right now, here are the best products.<br />

<h3>
Leef iBridge Mobile Memory</h3>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/leef-ibridge.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59673"><img alt="leef ibridge" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59673 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/leef-ibridge.jpg" height="360" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/leef-ibridge.jpg" style="display: block;" width="656" /></a><br />

Depending on the size you purchase, the Leef iBridge can cost 
anywhere from $59 to $399! Overall, though, it is currently the best 
lightning flash drive on the market. You can store all your music, 
movies, and files on the device and use the accompanying app to access 
everything. You can also transfer photos and videos from your camera 
roll onto the device. The device also only consumes power when it is 
being used. Overall, it’s gotten pretty good reviews on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LEEF-iBridge-Mobile-Storage-LIB000KK016E6/dp/B00OGT0AWE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1462472556&sr=8-3&keywords=leef+ibridge" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.<br />

<h3>
SanDisk iXpand</h3>
<a href="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sandisk-iexpand.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-59674"><img alt="sandisk iexpand" class="lazy size-full wp-image-59674 aligncenter" data-original="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sandisk-iexpand.jpg" height="342" itemprop="image" src="http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sandisk-iexpand.jpg" style="display: block;" width="600" /></a><br />

The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Lightning-connector-Computers--SDIX-032G-G57/dp/B00RBGYPO8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1462472711&sr=8-2&keywords=sandisk+iexpand" target="_blank">SanDisk iXpand</a>
 is another decent device, but it has to be charged in order to use. 
Since it has its own battery, though, it doesn’t use any power from the 
iPhone or iPad.<br />

It also fits a bit oddly into the iPhone/iPad, which is a little 
annoying. The app is also not as good as the Leef app, but hopefully 
that will improve over time. Otherwise, it functions properly for its 
intended purpose. This one is the best choice if you want to 
password-protect the data using SanDisk SecureAccess.<br />

The last option is the <a href="http://www.hypershop.com/products/ishowfast-worlds-fastest-usb-3-0-flash-drive-with-apple-lightning-connector-for-iphone-ipad-ipod-mac-pc" target="_blank">Hyper iStick</a>, but it’s more expensive and doesn’t work as well as either the SanDisk or Leef iBridge, so I don’t really recommend it.<br />

<h2>
Conclusion</h2>
As you can see, there are a couple of ways to go about virtually 
increasing the storage for your iPhone or iPad, but they all come with 
various caveats. The main one being you can’t store any iTunes-purchased
 content on the drives and play it from there.<br />

Also, in terms of transferring content off an iPhone or iPad, you can
 really only access the Camera Roll. This is due to the way Apple 
restricts access to the file system and it’s not anyone else’s fault. 
Hopefully, this article gives you a clear understand of what can and 
cannot be done to expand device storage. If you have any questions, feel
 free to comment.

Mobile Gadgets Troubleshooting 2 Ways to Add More Storage to Your iPhone or iPad

It’s truly pathetic that Apple still sells iPhones and iPads starting with only 16GB of storage. This is a device that can take 4K video, ...