Category: Reviews-HowTos

Adding a new option of portability to a Bluetooth speaker is no easy task. While many speakers are made for people on the go, they are meant to be packed away while people move about. Instead of being able to listen to them while traveling, they are le…

Got an Apple, Mac, or iOS tech question? We have the answer. In this week’s installment of Ask, we explain how to address the “cannot find server” error message while browsing the web on a Mac.

Question: Since upgrading to Mavericks, I’ve had a number of seemingly random “cannot find server” error messages using both Safari and Firefox, even when my computer is fully online and other people can visit the same websites. I assume it’s my computer or OS X. What is going on and how can I remedy this? 

Answer: Usually, this happens when there’s either an issue with the website you’re connecting to, or there’s something going wrong between your computer and the server you’re trying to connect to.

Fortunately, OS X includes a handy way to check what’s going on, and can then offer up tips to remedy the network-related issue(s). The next time you encounter the problem, navigate to System Preferences > Network > Assist Me… > Diagnostics….

Diagnostics can provide an easy solution for figuring out what’s going on with your Internet connection or LAN.

When the Network Diagnostics application appears, select your mode of connecting to the Internet (it should already be selected for you). As you continue to walk through this diagnostics tool, you’ll be prompted to select the network you’re attempting to connect to. The tool will then go through and attempt to figure out if you’re having ISP issues, local network issues, or whether something else is going on. Once completed, you’ll get a diagnostics report explaining the situation and how you might be able to remedy the problem.

Using the Network Diagnostics tool, your network will be put to the test, and you’ll receive an error report at the end detailing the issue.

Ask is written by Cory Bohon, a freelance technology writer, indie Mac and iOS developer, and amateur photographer.

Got a tech question? Email ask@maclife.com.

British manufacturer Kazam was formed in 2013 by two former HTC executives, and launched its first range of smartphones just six months later. The first collection included one mid-range release and a total of five devices in the budget-oriented Troope…

A well-known presence in home audio for decades, Onkyo is aiming to make a name for itself in the world of iDevices with its specialized ES-CTI300 headphones — a set of cans that are a beautiful aesthetic complement to the likes of the iPhone 5s, but are more than just a pretty accessory. Showcasing Onkyo’s experience in audio fidelity as well as component design, they deliver a sound that will thrill all but the most diehard bass junkies, while iPhone and iPod owners will love the inline microphone and music controls.

Available in silver and black, the ES-CTI300s are built from a combination of machined aluminum — particularly attractive on the silver model—and plastic, with padded faux-leather earpieces and headband. This combination of materials makes the headphones extremely lightweight and comfortable, but despite all the plastic, they don’t feel cheap at all (a point in their favor considering the nearly $200 price tag). The fact that the earpieces contain memory foam also goes a long way toward making these headphones ideal for lengthy listening sessions.

Said sessions benefit from the full-range 40mm drivers, which despite not featuring discreet components, do an admirable job of reproducing highs, mid-range, and lows in every type of music we threw at them. Vocals in particular were extremely impressive, making it clear (no pun intended) that Onkyo definitely tuned these headphones toward the mid-range. That’s not a bad thing in the least, since the overall sound remains well balanced. Highs are distinct and lows manage to remain nice and tight, even with particularly bass-heavy tracks. We only wish that the earpieces were slightly more sealing, so that the bass was a bit more pronounced. This can be remedied by tightening up the headband or cupping the earpieces with your hands, but it would be nice to not have to take such measures.

The detachable aspect of the headphones’ design is reminiscent of that employed by industry expert Sennheiser, and is one we’ve always been particularly fond of. The cable can be removed for storage or travel, or in the unfortunate event that it’s damaged, meaning an over-eager small pet or accidental snag won’t be the end of the phones. The cord itself is extremely sturdy, however, making such things unlikely in the first place. The attached mic/remote is an obvious draw for iOS device owners and works as advertised, replicating the functionality of Apple’s pack-in earpods to the letter. The only thing we’d change about the cord is the mini-jack itself, which is overly large and high-profile for headphones designed to be used with portable devices. These minor gripes aside, the ES-CTI300s are worth every penny — and look like it, to boot.

The bottom line. Despite the stiff price tag and slightly disappointing low-end, these exquisitely designed headphones from a beloved name in audio deliver fantastic sound with some handy iOS-geared functionality.

Every Monday we show you how to do something quick and cool using built-in OS X utilities such as Terminal, Apple’s command line application. These easy hacks can make life better and simpler, and don’t require any knowledge of coding — all you need is a keyboard to type ’em out!

It can occasionally become important to know and understand your public IP address for your Internet connection. Whether you’re running your own server or potentially using SSH to connect remotely, knowing your public IP can be beneficial. Unfortunately, most of the ways to find out your public IP address require visiting arcane websites or calling up your ISP (Internet service provider). Fortunately, there’s an easier way thanks to the Terminal. Continue reading and we’ll show you how to retrieve your public IP address.

There is a service called IPEcho that will figure out your IP address and allow you to display it using a simple Terminal command; and while you could look up your IP address via a website or through Google by typing “What is my IP address?” using this command can provide extra functionality by including it in scripts.

To get the public IP address of your Internet connection, open the Terminal application (located in /Applications/Utilities), and type in the following command:

curl ipecho.net/plain; echo

After doing this, you will notice that the IP address will be printed to the screen. While this is a simplistic use of the command, you could theoretically use it in conjunction with a shell script to add even more functionality, such as automatically reporting an IP address change.

Cory Bohon is a freelance technology writer, indie Mac and iOS developer, and amateur photographer. Follow this article’s author on Twitter.

If there’s one complaint we have with our iPhones, it’s battery life. Ten hours might seem like more than enough to get through the day, but when you factor in a constant stream of phone calls, downloads, and playlists, more often than not we find ourselves staring at a red battery indicator before the sun goes down.

Until Apple figures out a way to charge our iPhones by motion or sunlight, the options are limited. For our money, the best choice has always been to carry around an external USB charger for a quick power boost whenever we need it. We’ve used dozens of them. Most are inexpensive, no-frills affairs that take forever to charge and barely last a few months. But even the high-priced premium models still rely on a system of vague LED indicators that have us continuously plugging them in to be certain we’ll have enough juice.

Legion is a battery pack that’s finally worthy of the device it’s charging. Designed around a sleek, compact package somewhat reminiscent of the iPhone 4, PLX Devices has built a charger that’s as light and attractive as the iPhone itself, with sleek lines and a rugged exterior that stands up to abuse. But what really makes Legion stand out from the crowd is its tiny microprocessor.

You might even call it a smart charger. Available in standard 5,500mAh and 11,000mAh capacities, Legion is anything but ordinary, displaying a wealth of information about itself on its tiny OLED screen, including its remaining capacity, battery charge percentage, time until discharge, and temperature. You can use Legion’s sole navigation button to quickly cycle through each screen and get live updates as your iPhone regains its strength.

Even without the brilliant display, Legion is a top-notch external battery. We tested the lower-capacity model and it provided enough juice for two full charges of an iPhone 5 (with a few sips left over for an iPad mini). To get from zero to 99 percent took about three hours (since the screen draws a small amount of power, Legion never quite reached maximum capacity), but we were safely in the green after just 45 minutes. It charged equally fast via the always-annoying micro USB standard, though we didn’t need to plug it in very often; in real-world use we were able to go most of the week without needing a refill. The only troubling hiccups we experienced were with our iPad Air running the iOS 7.1 beta, which consistently returned a “Not charging” message, even after swapping out cables.

The bottom line. Legion’s smart, innovative design makes it the iPhone of battery packs.

Home stereo units come in all sorts of sizes: from large combo units that tie into home theater systems to small head units that focus on doing the minimum, there are a lot of options to choose from. Accessory developer Pure has taken the simple, only-…