December 2014 Edition – Monthly Mini-Bytes

Use Reminders for Those Holiday Lists She's Checking it Twice, So Don't Forget the Milk! Ah, the Holidays... A time for family, friends, and running around like crazy people trying to get it all done before the new year clobbers us like an underdone turkey. Well, good thing that Apple has our back with Reminders -- a powerful app where we can share lists to make all of that shopping and doing a seamlessly synced symphony of efficiency. With all the iCloudedness, Reminders is deployed across the Apple universe on both the Macs and mobile devices. Since you will most likely be interacting with the iOS version, here is how to set up a list for sharing. But first, go into Settings -> iCloud and make sure Reminders is turned on. To create a shared list (sharing is good): Open Reminders Close out of any open Reminders Scroll to the top of the list Click the plus (+) next to "New List" Select your iCloud account Name the List and click Done Select the List and click "Edit" Choose "Sharing" and "Add Person" Add the iCloud/Apple ID of those who you want to share the list with The invitees must, of course, accept the share. Then, when you or the sharee adds items or checks them off, the list syncs! Happy Listing!

Turning Off the Digital Noise with iOS 8 Tweet me no more! The great thing about the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch is you can now be connected 24/7 via email, text, Twitter, Facebook, etc., etc., etc. The bad thing is, of course, you can be bothered 24/7 via email, texts, Tweets, and pokes. But you can give yourself some relief from the Digital Noise through these three nifty tweaks in iOS 8. 1. Do Not Disturb You can use Do Not Disturb settings to control phone calls and notifications at specific times or when the phone is locked. To see the How To visit http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT5463 2. Notification Center You have the power to determine if you want to be bothered by specific apps. Go into Settings -> Notification Center to change your preferences to how you want to be notified by each app.  3. Hide Mail Boxes Don't want to see your work email on the weekend? You can hide it! Go into the Mail app (make sure that you are in the "Mailboxes" view). Click "Edit" and then you can un-select mailboxes you don't want to see. To add them back to the list, just reverse the process.

Get Into the Holiday Spirit with iTunes Radio A Free Holiday Treat iTunes Radio is Apple's answer to streaming services like Pandora and Spotify. The great thing is that it's free! And now for the Holiday's they have a plethora of stations to choose from to get you in the spirit. Also remember, you iTunes Match subscribers get to listen ad free!  To access iTunes Radio from your Apple mobile device: Launch the Music App (Red with Two Eighth Notes) Select "Radio" on the bottom right Click the plus to add new stations Listen Away!