Ultrabook Laptops Expected to Get “Retina-Quality” Displays Next Year

If you’re considering picking up an Ultrabook, here’s a reason you might possibly want to wait until the next wave of these ultra-thin and lightweight laptops land next year: Super-sharp “retina-quality” displays.

VR Zone reports that early next year, when Ultrabooks sporting Intel’s next-generation Ivy Bridge processor arrive, we can expect to see their 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch displays with resolutions as high as 2560 pixels by 1440 pixels. In comparison, the Apple iPad 2's resolution is 1024 pixels by 768 pixels.

Intel's calculations for smartphone-like display resolutions for Ultrabooks.This graphic shown at the Intel Developer Forum this year suggests Intel is trying to mimic the iPhone’s popular Retina display in offering a screen with such pixel density that the human eye can’t distinguish individual pixels. In other words, Ultrabooks could get smartphone-quality screens.

Asus said this week that its 13.3-inch Asus Zenbook UX31 boasts a beautiful high-resolution display (1600 pixels by 900 pixels), which is higher than both the MacBook Air and competing Ultrabook Acer Aspire S3-951.

But if a super, super-high-resolution screen is what you want--and you’re willing to pay whatever the price premium that will add on, which is unknown at this time--then you’ve got about a six-month wait for your Ultrabook to arrive.

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10 Great Ways to Get More From Your iPad

The iPad is loaded with all kinds of features you’ve probably heard about, but look a little deeper, and its extra abilities might surprise you. Some of these secrets are enabled through apps, while some are built into the device already.

Turn Your iPad into a Secondary Desktop Display

With its big, high-resolution display, it’s a shame to just park an iPad when switching to a computer. Instead, Air Display ($10) makes your iPad a second screen for your Mac, extending the desktop. The tool has just been submitted to the App Store and should be released soon; I checked out a beta.

You install a utility on the computer and connect with the Air Display System Preference. (It’s Mac-only at launch, but a Windows version is coming.) The iPad then behaves just like an extra screen. You reposition it in the Displays System Preference like a real monitor, in a portrait or landscape view. Although it lags a little when showing video, it refreshes quickly enough for most work. You can even tap on the iPad to click.

Stream Movies From Your PC

Air Video can stream 720p video from your PC, and convert transcode video formats in real time.

Even if you bought the largest-capacity iPad, if it can’t fit all of your videos, it’s too small. Instead of trying to cram everything into the device, you can stream videos from a local or online PC. The process has one main caveat; if you bought movies or TV shows from the iTunes store, DRM restrictions block those files. (Podcasts and music videos should work.). But you can watch your own videos or DRM-free downloads without taking up iPad storage.

Of the many options available, I like Air Video ($3) the best. (A free version includes the same functions but limits the number of files you can browse in each folder). Similar to competitors, you run a server utility on your PC or Mac in order to route data to the iPad. In my tests, Air Video played most resolutions smoothly, including 720p video files over an 802.11n Wi-Fi network.

That resolution stutters on an 802.11g network, but if you reach a file that’s too big—or just not in an iPad-friendly QuickTime format, including AVI, WMV, ASF, MKV, DIVX, and FLV—you can have the PC remotely convert the clip. Just hit a button from the iPad interface and stream it when ready, or have a speedy PC process it and stream it live. It even supports subtitles and TV output. The iPad can send video to a TV at 1024 by 768 resolution via its $29 Dock Connector to VGA adapter; 576p and 480p with the $49 Apple Component A/V Cable, and 576i or 480i with an Apple Composite Cable (also $49).

Connect More Than a Camera

Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit ($29) does so much more than its stated purpose. Instead of just transferring photos and videos from your camera or SD card, the adapter’s USB port attaches a range of devices.

Many USB keyboards work. The iPad presents a warning that the device isn’t supported (shown left), but if it doesn’t draw much power, you can ignore the message. Volume and media keys usually work, and you can even use desktop commands such as Command-Z. (Don’t forget that the iPad also officially supports Bluetooth keyboards and Apple’s iPad Keyboard Dock).

USB audio devices can work, too--including speakers, headsets, and microphones. If a device draws too much power and balks (as when I connected a Zoom H2 mic and Logitech V20 PC speakers), no problem: just attach the device to a powered USB hub, and connect the hub to the Camera Connection Kit adapter. You can even attach different devices—such as a keyboard and speaker set—at the same time.

Jailbreak for More Features

(Editor's note: The iPad 2 jailbreak is currently on its way, but no word yet on how well it works or how to do it. The following section covers jailbreaking for the original iPad.)

Apple maintains obsessive control over the iPad, making it less like a computer and more like a media player. But you have an alternative: Jailbreak the iPad, and you can run third-party apps that weren’t approved by Apple.

If you’re willing to jailbreak your iPad (which means voiding your iPad warranty and taking full responsibility for anything that may go wrong), then you can also use the Camera Connection Kit toread USB sticks and SD card directories. (Without jailbreaking, you can already import SD-card videos and photos or attach a Compact Flash reader). With a bit more fiddling, you can read files from an external USB hard drive. Those are a lot of unnecessary hoops to jump through for such basic connectivity, but it is at least possible. Again, jailbreaking is best left for the tech-oriented or the adventurous.

You would connect the iPad to a computer, run Sprit and then be able to install apps through the Cydia interface. Cydia and iTunes apps coexist, so you can install apps like Backgrounder and Multiflow to enable multitasking (letting you listen to Pandora while working in other iTunes-purchased apps, say). Of course, multitasking is coming officially in OS 4.0. Notes: ProSwitcher (arguably the best jailbreak multitasking app for the iPhone) didn't appear to be optimized for the iPad (yet) at the time of writing. For jailbreak apps, sticking to those that have been reworked for the iPad will help avoid--though not guarantee against--unnecessary hassle.

Other jailbreak apps include iPad-ready versions of Wi-Fi Sync (wireless iTunes syncing), Winterboard (customized themes), and Dashboard (OS X-style widgets). You can also use your iPad with a mouse, run game console emulators and hand controllers, and otherwise do things Apple doesn’t allow. Benefits will grow as the iPad jailbreaking community expands.

Access Your PC Remotely

VNC Viewer can control a remote PC as if you’re sitting in front of it.

You just left for the weekend but forgot to copy an important business file (or hilarious LOLcat) to your laptop. Use an iPad to retrieve the content. Several remote desktop-style tools present a live view of the distant computer, letting you control the PC as if you were sitting right there.

Whether you’re reaching across the Internet, or just into the next room, the process isn’t fast enough to play smooth video. So keep searching for that Hulu fix. But most other applications and slow-moving Flash games —such as Farmville—work if you can handle about 10 to 20 frames per second.

Among many choices, I like LogMeIn Ignition ($30 if you want to configure as little as possible) andiTeleport ($25), plus VNC Viewer ($10) if you want to manually set it up. You’ll first configure the PC with a server utility (or an option built into the OS) first, then you can connect anywhere.

All three tools offer similar functionality. You’ll zoom in and out with pinch gesture, and mouse around by touching the iPad. Two-fingered taps activate right-click, and other gestures help with the input. iTeleport includes more keyboard options, such as presets to control media applications, but I thought the implementation got in the way.

If you just want to sit back and control a computer hooked up to a TV, Mobile Mouse ($3) can turn your iPad into a wireless keyboard, multitouch mouse trackpad, and media remote.

Supercharge the Browser

Safari set a great standard for mobile browsing, but many alternatives reveal its missing features.

Starting with real tabs, Atomic Web ($1) adds many desktop-class benefits. Multitouch swipe gestures even toggle between open sites. But that’s just the beginning. Atomic Web Browser can optionally omit images to save bandwidth, identify itself as various desktop browsers, let you customize the search engine, search for text within a page, modify its buttons, and more.

Atomic Web Browser can launch new tabs in the background.

Safari will unfortunately remain as the iPad’s default. However, you can create a bookmark that reloads a Safari page within Atomic Web Browser. In the Atomic Web Browser Settings menu, tap Install Bookmarklet. That’ll open Safari and explain the process.

Transfer Your Books to iBooks Reader

Apple’s eBook reader--iBooks--keeps all of your Apple-purchased books together, includes an iPad-specific interface, and interfaces with iTunes. iBooks uses the ePub file format, so while the iPad can read PDFs, you can’t store those files here with the rest of your books. You can, however, convert them to ePub first, and keep everything in one place.

Within Calibre, pick the iPad output setting.

To do this, tryCalibre--an open source e-book library management application for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The software imports a range of formats, including PDF. After installation, click Add books, and select the PDF. Click Convert E-books. In Page Setup, pick iPad as the Output profile. For simple documents, you can even try online conversion throughwww.epubtogo.com. When finished, just drag the ePub files into iTunes, and you’ll sync them the next time you connect the iPad.

My results varied depending on the complexity of the PDF. When I tried converting a document with photos and margin sidebars, unrelated sections of text merged. However, the process worked for simpler, text-driven documents.

Print from an iPad

PrintCentral lets you pick any printer your PC can reach.iPad printing might arrive in the future, but you can still print hard copies today. Several apps download network or online files to the iPad and cansend them to a printer. Some apps even edit documents first, but many are difficult to use.

I had the best luck with PrintCentral, one of many printing tools from the same developer. (The vendor created a chart to explain all the different offerings, but it would have been most helpful to make a single, great app.) You’ll install a print server utility on a Mac or PC, and PrintCentral uses it to reach your local or network printer.

PrintCentral’s cluttered interface obscures many settings. But after troubleshooting, it worked. Give it a shot if you have to print today.

Browse Web Content Offline

Instapaper Pro manages your online reading list, taking content offline.

Whether you have a 3G version or not, your iPad faces certain situations where it can’t be online: planes, train tunnels, and other network-not-found destinations. You can still keep up on all of your favorite Websites with Instapaper Pro ($5). This tool manages content you want to read later and caches articles for times that you’re offline.

Instead of directly browsing content you want to save, Instapaper interfaces with several PC and iPad apps. Within those tools—Safari, Google Reader, NetNewsWire, Twitterrific, Tweetie, and more—you’ll hit a Read Later button that sends details to Instapaper.

Load Instapaper once, when you have a network connection, and it downloads all of those stories. Then, you can dig deep into those articles from any location, with or without a network.

Remotely Control PC Applications

Great faders, pots, and buttons make ProRemote stand out.A keyboard-and-mouse combination remains the best way to control a PC, but those days might be numbered. What if you could use the iPad as an interface, changing PowerPoint slides while reading your notes, or even touching faders and dials to interface with pro audio-production tools? You can!

I have several favorites among the many different input-device apps. I-Clickr PowerPoint Remote for iPad helps deliver great presentations.TouchOSC ($5), DiddyMidiDJ ($5), and AC-7 Pro Control Surface ($10) control audio-editing tools. And Folabs makes several high-end virtual controllers, like ProRemote (shown above; $100), that let the iPad control audio production software like ProTools, Apple Logic, and Ableton Live.

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28 iPad 2 Tips and Tricks

Your new iPad 2 might not be as full-featured (or as complicated) as a laptop or desktop PC, but a few neat tricks are still hidden between the surface. Read on to learn how to secure your iPad, sync your bookmarks, and more.

Download the free iPad User's Guide: You may have noticed that your iPad didn't come with a big printed manual--that's not Apple's style. However, you can download the PDF version of the iPad User's Guide from Apple's Web site, or you can read it in iBooks if you have that installed (iBooks is available as a free download in the App Store). Make sure to download the manual for iOS 4.3.

Take a free guided tour: Apple provides video tours for each of the preinstalled apps, so you can get a good look at how to use them.

Use the Side Switch: You can use that neat switch on the side either to enable and disable audio alerts (this doesn't affect video/audio playback) or to lock the screen's orientation in portrait or landscape mode. You can toggle which function is assigned to the side switch by opening Settings from the Home screen, selecting General, and choosing the function you want under the 'Use Side Switch to' heading.

Multitask in iOS: You probably already know that you can press theHome button twice to bring up a list of currently running or suspended apps. However, you can also swipe the multitasking bar left to right to quickly access audio/video playback controls, a shortcut to the iTunes app itself, and volume controls. Also, when you choose whether the Side Switch should mute alert sounds or lock the screen orientation (see the item above), the function you didn't choose will appear in this shortcut bar.

Speed up your sentences: Double-tapping the spacebar while typing a message will type a period and then a space.

Don't let AutoCorrect mess you up: If you don't like the option AutoCorrect gives you, reject it by finishing the word as you prefer, and then tapping the suggestion. If you want to use AutoCorrect's choice, just type a space or punctuation mark, or tap Return, the moment it pops up.

Secure your backups: You can encrypt your iPad's backup data in iTunes. Just open the iPad in iTunes, click the Summary tab, and check Encrypt iPad backup under the Options heading.

Prevent automatic sync once: Sometimes you don't want to sync your iPad when you connect it to your computer. In this case, hold down Shift-Control (or Command-Option, on a Mac) in iTunes while plugging your iPad in, and iTunes will skip the automatic sync just once. Alternatively, you can safely interrupt a sync by dragging the unlock slider while the iPad is midsync.

Toggle data roaming: If you're using a 3G iPad, you can turn data roaming on in the Settings, Cellular Data menu in case you want to try receiving cellular Internet through a different provider (fees may apply). You can also check your data usage by going to Settings, General, Usage.

Make your passcode more complicated: iOS defaults to a four-number passcode, but you can turn it off by going to Settings, General, Passcode Lock, Simple Passcode. Now you can use any full keyboard password to lock the iPad. The password also helps to encrypt your mail and attachments on the iPad, so you probably want to make it safer than a four-digit number.

Set the iPad to self-destruct in 10 seconds: Okay, not really--but you can set the iPad to erase all data after ten failed passcode entry attempts by checking the Erase Data option under Settings, General, Passcode Lock.

Tweak AutoFill: You can choose to enable Safari's AutoFill feature inSettings, Safari, AutoFill. From there, you can tell Safari to fill forms automatically either by using your specified contact information or by remembering the names and passwords you've entered while logging in to Websites in the past.

Sync your bookmarks: You can use iTunes to sync your iPad's Safari bookmarks with your PC's Web browser. Open the iPad tab in iTunes, click the Info tab, scroll down to the Other heading, check Sync bookmarks with, and choose your preferred browser.

E-mail photos: The easiest way to e-mail photos from an iPad is to open the Photos app, select a photo, press the button in the upper-right corner (the rectangle with the arrow, not the trash button), and choose Email photo... to send.

Know your Web links: You can check a linked word's actual destination URL by touching and holding down on the link--it's a perfect way to sniff out phishy links.

Choose an app for e-mail attachments: You can open a file attached to an e-mail message by tapping the attachment in Mail, but if the default app isn't the one you want to use, you can press and hold and wait for a menu that lets you select an app.

Use the iPad as a picture frame: Not for physical photographs, silly. You can press the Picture icon in the lower-right corner of the Lock screen to have the iPad display its available photos.

Show traffic conditions: Open Maps, press the dog-eared page icon in the lower right, and then turn the Traffic overlay on. If your iPad has an Internet connection, Maps will show real-time traffic conditions in the displayed area. Green means traffic is going at the posted speed limit, yellow means traffic is slower than the posted speed limit, and red means traffic is stop-and-go.

Share podcasts with friends: Listening to a podcast that you think a friend would like? You can share the link while you're listening to it by pressing the Email button while it's open.

Don't forget your downloads: You can immediately see if your iTunes account is due for any incoming downloads by opening iTunes on your PC, clicking the Store menu, and selecting Check for available downloads. This trick can come in handy if your download process is interrupted, or if you missed some bonus iTunes content that came with an album you purchased.

Turn on Universal Access: You can enable options such as closed-captioned movies, VoiceOver screen reading, zoom magnification, and inverted white-on-black text by selecting the iPad in iTunes, opening the Summary tab, and clicking Configure Universal Access under the Options heading.

Forget Wi-Fi networks: So you accidentally connected to a network once, and your iPad remembers it for life--whether you like it or not. On your iPad, go to Settings, Wi-Fi, and find the network under the 'Choose a Network' heading. Tap the blue arrow next to the network you want to remove, and tap the button on the top that says Forget this Network.

Specify your Spotlight searches: The iPad uses Spotlight for its built-in search functions, and you can tweak it to your needs in Settings, General, Spotlight Search. If you have a lot of data on your iPad, for example, you can selectively disable search in different categories (Contacts, Applications, Audiobooks, Notes, Events, Mail, and so on) that you don't use so that your desired results show up faster. You can also simply change the order in which the search-result categories display by dragging them up and down, so that your more frequently used search categories show up at the top of the page.

Turn off in-app purchases: Go to Settings, General, Restrictions and tap Enable Restrictions to selectively enable restrictions that apply to your apps, content, Game Center, and more. If you're worried about other people breaking your bank account on in-app purchases, just disable In-App Purchases under the 'Allowed Content' setting.

Switch up the fetching frequency: Your iPad automatically grabs new data, such as incoming e-mail. However, the iPad periodically activates apps that don't support iOS's Push feature so that they can go "Fetch" new data--which uses the tablet's battery life. You can tweak your Push and Fetch settings in Settings, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Fetch New Data.

Change your e-mail signature: Don't be one of those people who leave the default 'Sent from my iPad' signature on all their messages. Change it in Settings, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Signature to...well, anything but that.

Swap the search engine: Too good for Google? You can change Safari's default search engine by going to Settings, Safari, Search Engine. Alas, you can only choose from Google, Bing, or Yahoo--no bringing back AltaVista for you.

Take a screenshot of whatever is on the screen: Press Home and the sleep/wake button simultaneously. The screenshot will automatically appear among your photos.

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How to Get Free Music From the iTunes Music Store

I get it: You want some free tunes, but you don't want to be sued by the RIAA or by copyright trolls. Fair enough. Unfortunately, totally free music is rare these days--er, totally free and legal music, that is. But you can find some free music, and you can grab it straight from the music player you're probably already using: iTunes.

Yes, iTunes may be clunky, slow, and annoying, but it isn't entirely bad--especially once you know how to dig up free, legal music straight from the iTunes Music Store.

Free On iTunes

Guess what? iTunes has a whole page dedicated to free downloads. To access Free On iTunes, first open iTunes and click the iTunes Store item on the left-hand sidebar. Once you're in the iTunes Store homepage, look for a Quick Links heading on the right side. Underneath that heading will be a Free On iTunes link. Click the link, and voilà! This page features all sorts of free content, including music, movie clips, TV shows, apps, and even "new and notable" podcasts.

To download a free item, just click the little gray Free button. You will need an iTunes account to download anything from the iTunes Store.

No-cost items in the Free On iTunes section are usually available for around a week, so keep checking the page for updates. You can also follow the Free iTunes Downloads blog, which updates every time a new item appears.

Music Podcasts

If you don't mind listening to some chatter between songs, check out music-oriented podcasts available for free on iTunes. Podcasts are like prerecorded radio shows in that they usually include tunes and commentary. (Some don't have any commentary--AOLMedia's MP3 of the Day Podcast, for instance, offers one full, free song in each episode.)

To browse podcasts, go to the iTunes Store and click the Podcasts link (on the top bar). Here you'll see everything from news and sports podcasts to science and tech podcasts, and all of them are free. To find music-oriented podcasts, go to the column on the right that says 'Podcast Quick Links' and click the drop-down menu. Choose Music, and you'll see hundreds of music podcasts.

To subscribe to a podcast, just click the Subscribe button next to the title. Once you do so, the current episode of the podcast will download, and future episodes will download automatically as they become available. You can also download past episodes by clicking the Free button next to an individual episode on the podcast's home page.

Here are some podcasts to check out, depending on your musical tastes.

Rock/Pop: Celebrity Playlist, IndieFeed: Indie Pop Music, Old Time Rock n Roll, Rock of Ages,Absolute Radio: Classic Rock

Indie/Alternative: They Might Be Giants, IndieFeed: Alternative/Modern Rock Music, Indie Spotlight,NPR: All Songs Considered

Rap/Hip-Hop: Alternative Hip-Hop Lounge, Mixtape Show Hip-Hop, Hierocast, Dope Joints! Hip Hop Mixshow

Electronica: Tiësto's Club Life by Tiësto, The John Digweed Podcast by John Digweed, Release Yourself by Roger Sanchez, Corsten's Countdown by Ferry Corsten, A State of Trance Official Podcastby Armin van Buuren

Starbucks 'Pick of the Week'

Taking advantage of this freebie is almost as easy as opening the Free On iTunes page. Every Tuesday, Starbucks offers a free iTunes download, also known as the Starbucks "Pick of the Week." To pick up the "pick," all you need to do is head down to your local Starbucks and grab one of the small, round-cornered cards (located near the sugar, creamer, and straws). Starbucks usually has both this week's and last week's picks on display.

Of course, you'll have to remember the Starbucks audience: You won't find any hip-hop or Top 40 tunes here. Instead, most of the picks feature independent artists, acoustic guitars, and smooth jazz--standard coffee-shop fare. A recent pick was Daniel Isaiah's "High Twilight."

The front of each card has the name of the song and artist, as well as a photo of the artist. On the back is a download code. To download your song, open iTunes and redeem the code by going to iTunes Store, Quick Links, Redeem.

You can also download the "Pick of the Week" by accessing the Starbucks Digital Network from inside a Starbucks shop. To do this, you'll have to take your computer in and connect to the Starbucks shop's Wi-Fi. Once you're connected, go to the Entertainment section of the page and download the "Pick of the Week" from the Starbucks site.

Starbucks recently expanded its "Pick of the Week" selection to include free downloads of paid iOS apps.

iTunes Radio

Although Apple no longer promotes the Internet radio feature in iTunes, it's still around--and worth checking out, especially if you don't need to take your music with you. iTunes radio is similar to other free radio stations: You can listen to music, for free, for as long as you like, but an advertisement will interrupt every so often.

To access iTunes radio, open iTunes and look at the column on the left. Beneath all of the usual options under the Library subheading, click on the Radio link; you'll see a huge list of genres (everything from 'Adult Contemporary' to 'Eclectic' to '70's Retro'). Click on the arrow next to a category to open a list of hundreds of streaming Internet radio stations. Finally, just double-click on a station to connect to the stream.

You can also add your own Internet radio streams to iTunes. To do so, go to Advanced, Open Stream… and enter the URL of your desired stream in the Open Audio Stream box.

Free Music Can Be Legal, Too

These options are pretty much the legal limit when it comes to obtaining free music on iTunes. As you can see, iTunes doesn't have a huge selection of items to pick up for free, but at least it still has a selection. Podcasts will usually give you the most variety, and if you're listening to a capable host (say, one of the DJs, such as David Guetta or John Digweed), it's almost as good as having the song files--and it doesn't expose you to legal risk.

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