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AWT TV Episode 36: February 20, 2018

Welcome to AWT TV, a weekly show featuring Steve Sande, Dennis Sellers and Marty Edwards of Apple World Today. Each week we’ll discuss what’s happened in the world of Apple, talk about new apps and accessories, maybe even have a demonstration or two of the latest software.  

This week, Marty and Steve were back with another all-tips show! Steve started off with a quick tip on how to find AirDrop in iOS 11. Seriously, have you tried finding the AirDrop controls? It’s like Apple doesn’t want people to use AirDrop! Fortunately, they’re hidden in plain sight in the Control Center.

Marty is the expert in all things Control Center, and he showed us all how to make your iOS 11 life easier by adding just about every possible control to Control Center. Many of the controls respond one way with a tap, another with a tap and hold (or 3D Touch), so it’s worth experimenting. 

The controls Marty demonstrates include Apple TV (a great replacement for the standard Apple TV remote!), Alarm, Do Not Disturb While Driving, Guided Access, Low Power Mode, Magnifier, Notes, Stopwatch, Text Size, Voice Memos, Wallet, Screen Recording, Calculator, Flashlight, Timer, and even the Camera!

The fact that iOS 11 includes a handy Magnifier for looking at small print or menus really surprised me. It’s perfect for occasional use, and can even use the built-in flash as an illumination source in dark conditions. 

After Marty’s “Tour de Control Center”, it was Steve’s turn to demo some iOS and Mac tips. For iOS, Steve showed how Animoji works on the iPhone X. It may not be the most useful feature of the iPhone X, but it’s certainly a lot of fun. Next, did you know it’s possible to change the paper style in Notes either one time or permanently? This is useful for those who use a stylus (or Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro) to take handwritten notes and who would like to have lines or grids available.

Steve then demoed how editing Live Photos in the Mac Photos app can be used to make long-exposure photos of water or fireworks that are incredible. 

Having problems seeing your MacBook screen in bright sunlight? Try inverting the colors. Steve shows how that’s done. 

Finally, if you’ve ever wanted to record a screencast with a “Talking Head” in one corner describing the action going on somewhere on the screen, you’ve probably found professional screen casting applications to be too expensive. Steve shows how you can do it with a piece of software — QuickTime Player — that comes with every Mac. 

Our next show will be on March 20, 2018. We will probably be live broadcasting to Facebook rather than YouTube, since we have a larger potential audience on Facebook. Expect that show to have a lot to do with baseball!

If you enjoyed today’s show, be sure to give us a thumbs-up and — if you haven’t done it before — subscribe to the Apple World Today YouTube channel.

Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Steve is the founder and former publisher of Apple World Today and has authored a number of books about Apple products. He's an avid photographer, an FAA-licensed drone pilot, and a really bad guitarist. Steve and his wife Barb love to travel everywhere!