Get Rid of Gmail ALL folder

Without a doubt organizing and keeping emails can be a can of worms. Gmail accounts store all our incoming mail by archiving it in an ALL folder on our Apple devices and in a similar folder in our Mail app on our Mac computers. In essence, the mail we want to keep and the mail we don't want to keep gets stored in this folder whether we want it or not.

Since I'm trying to organize and minimize my mail on all my devices, I have decided to find a way to get rid of some unnecessary folders stored in the mail apps and programs I use on my devices and my laptop.


There is a way to control what folders are visible in Gmail account(s) that are setup as IMAP accounts for use with Apple Mail.


To turn off the visibility of the Gmail All Mail folder in Apple Mail on your computer, perform the following steps:

Step 1: Log into your Gmail account using your Browser (Safari, Firefox, Chrome, ... whatever you use).

Step 2: Click on the "gear icon" located on the far right-handside of the browser window and click on the Settings option from the pop-down choices.

Step 3: Select the Labels tab.

UNCHECK the box to the right - "Show in IMAP" for the ALL MAIL folder.


Not only will this remove the superfluous folder from your Mail app, it will also keep Mail from downloading every single message twice.

I choose to have my Spam folder unchecked as well.

You can also keep Gmail from archiving all your messages on your mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, etc.) and allow you to delete messages from your the devices.


After setting up your Gmail account on your iPhone, select the Settings icon. Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Then select (youraccount@gmail.com) and change the Archive Messages setting to OFF.

Now when you delete Gmail messages on your iOS devices (iPads, iPhones, etc) they will be permanently deleted and not archived.

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Yes, Custom Text Tones for Individuals Using iOS 5

 iOS 5 has allowed us to select a different text tone for each of our contacts from a list of default tones for use when they message us.  But as it always happens, users always want MORE than what is offered.

Since I had already had custom ringtones set up on my iPhone, it was no problem selecting one of these custom tones for the text tone.  If you haven't tried setting tones on your iPhone for your family and friends, that is accomplished by going into your Contacts app (Addressbook) and selecting Edit.  If you scroll down the items in the edit field, you should come across the field where you select a Text Tone.  If you have installed some custom ringtones, they should appear in the list along with the default text tones that Apple offers.   Select which one you wish to use as that special text tone and be sure to click the Save and Done buttons to preserve your choices.

I did not see these same custom ringtones on my iPad.  I remembered that there was no real reason to add custom ringtones on my iPad 2 originally as I did not have "phone" capability and there was not an option to set different tones or such.

So I just selected some of my custom ringtones in iTunes and synced to my iPad 2.  These now show up as options for Text Tones under the Contacts on my iPad.  So now I have some pretty funky text tones for incoming messages on my iPad.  I also read online that some suggest that these tones need to be 15 seconds or less.  Guess it might be annoying to have a long ringtone.  Or it might be that anything longer than 15 seconds might not work.  I haven't tested that theory yet.

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Some Great New Features in iOS 5 - be sure to check them out

Here are some features worth checking out on your mobile devices using iOS 5:

•  Creating albums and moving photos into albums

•  Video formats that are now supported on the device

•  Setting individual text tones for your family and friends

•  Setting up iMessage to use for FREE texting to fellow iphone/ipad users

•  Setting up special vibration tones for you iPhone

•  Enhancing photos right in the Photos app: also rotate, crop and red-eye elimination

•  New app for reminders tat can be synced across devices.  Reminders can send alert when you are near a location. 

•  Accessing magazines on a newstand shelf.

•  Tabs in Safari on your iPad devices

•  Set up custom gestures and keyboard shortcuts

•  New search features in Mail app

•  New Reader in Safari to bookmark and read articles later.

•   Use your volume button as a shutter button for your camera.  Access camera from the lock home page.

•  Swipe to view all your notifications and alerts and text messages and email subject titles from one central location.  On iPhone also see stock and weather in this notification window.

• More gestures, wifi sync, pc free, icloud capable photo streaming, find your friends, airplay ....

•  and text style like bold, underline, italic and suggestion for spelling in Mail app Tweet

iOS 5 Tip: Don't Overlook the New Alert Sounds

The new iOS 5 for our mobile devices now includes the ability to set special sounds or tones for your alerts.   Check out the Settings > General> Sounds> now available to customize.

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iOS 5 Tip: Create Your Own Gestures on Mobile Devices

For those who want to get creative with gestures they use on their iPad or iPhone, try selecting the Settings> General>Accessibility> Assistive Touch> Custom Gestures > Create New Gesture.

Your new gestures are recorded and accessed through a Favorites Menu. Tweet

iOS 5 Tip: Creating Your Own Keyboard Shortcut on iPhone, iPad

You can create your own keyboard shortcuts by going to the Settings on your iPhone or iPad that has been updated to iOS 5.

Select the Add Shortcut, enter some keys and the corresponding message or phrase that will replace that text shortcut when you type a message or note.

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Making An Album and Adding to Existing Album with iOS 5 Devices

With the new iOS 5 for iPhone and iPad devices, comes some pretty cool features for photos.  We've all wanted to be able to make albums on our iPhones and iPads and now we can do so.

Select the photo app icon on your device which brings up your camera roll of photos.  Select the curved/share icon on the right side upper bar and then select the photos you wish to put in a new album or to put in an existing album.

If you select the option to create a new album, you will enter the name for that album and those photos will be organized in that new album.   You, will also be given an option to put photos in an existing album and you merely select the name of the album where you place these photos.

Also with the iCloud option implemented your photos will be 'streamed' to the cloud and all your devices for seamless backup and access.  I haven't impemented the iCloud as yet.    If you connect your camera to your device via a camera connection kit, the photos will be automatically handled by the cloud if that option has been selected.

All of this seems to be pretty confusing at first, but Apple has some support documents or how-to's posted for situations that might arise.  Check here for How to Reset Your Photostream and How to Remove photos from devices, Macs and PCs. Tweet

Will You Be Walking on Cloud 9?

I remember back to third grade when I was first introduced to cloud terminology.  Even though this has been many many years ago, I still remember the words Cumulus, Altostratus and Cumulonimbus and Cirrus.  Each of the terms brings to mind a picture of a type of cloud like a puffy cloud, a thin or wispy cloud or a rain cloud.   The terminology can also relate to the cloud's position in the sky.    Alto referring to those clouds in the middle of the sky at an altitude of 6000+ to 20000 feet, a Cirrus cloud that lies above 18,000+ feet, or a Stratus or Stratocumulus cloud that is located below 6,000 feet.

Today, I ponder all the new cloud terminology in hopes that it can be visually represented and as easy to learn.   Since the hottest topic today seems to be cloud computing, it might be good to review the terminology around this newest phenomena.  So here goes, my interpretation:

A cloud or residing in the cloud is a term used for a place to store your stuff like documents, photos, music, and so on.  This is a concept that most MobileMe users understand, at least those that have used the iDisk from Apple in the past few years.

Cloud Computing is the ability to use combined applications and services provided by data centers in the cloud.  For example: those who use a service like Google mail or Yahoo mail online are already using cloud computing.  You are using a mail application from the service provider either Google or Yahoo.  Ideally, A large corporation or individual that uses these services, does so without having to employee a special IT group to maintain the application or worry about storage.  Another advantage is that the mail is accessible from anywhere and anytime, as long as you can access the cloud or the internet.

I definitely remember the time my son informed me that this phenomenon was coming, that was at least 20 years ago.  It is here and has been for awhile.  Most of us have already experienced the cloud and cloud computing in some form already.

Many questions will be hashed about and analyzed.   Will it simplify the way we access, store and handle our data?  Will we have a means to backup data, access data and save data securely? Will we be able to manipulate this data using shared applications based in the clouds?  Will these applications be maintained and upgraded seamlessly without any of us worrying about taking care of these things ourselves?   What will be the costs for services, costs for maintaining, reliability and security issues, and how will we access and share data with others?  If we all move to the cloud, will the immense amount of data (e.g. Big Data Theory) be unlimited and infinite?

The final question to ponder -   Have you made your moving plans yet?  Many of us will be looking for the right cloud to meet our needs.  Those of us who have iWeb sites and MobileMe Galleries will need to move our stuff in a year's time to a secure cloud.  Where and what Cloud have you decided to use?  Will you be walking on Cloud 9?

Credits:  Photo taken by my husband, from an airplane over South Africa. Tweet

Over 200 New iOS 5 Features - From A to W

Highlights for iOS 5 Features 

(Note:  iOS 5 is compatible with:  iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation), iPad and iPad 2)

•  Accessibility
    Works with specialized hardware for hearing, vision, cognitive disabilities
    Vibrate and LED flash mode for notification of calls
    Improved VoiceOver customization

•  Airplay Mirroring for iPad 2
    Support video mirroring, wirelessly, securely to HDTV via Apple TV
    See what is on iPad 2 on Big Screen TV
    Supports portrait, landscape and zoom in and out of photos

•  Calendar
    Year View, Week View
    Tap to add event, Drag to adjust time and duration of event
    View attachments in Calendar app
    Share calendars with others
    Sync via iCloud across all devices

•  Camera Editing & Storage Features
    Open camera from lock screen
    Grid lines, pinch-to-zoom, single tap focus, exposure lock
    Use volume button to snap a photo
    With auto-stream enabled, downloads to other devices via iCloud

•  Game Center   
    Allows profile picture
    Overall achievement scores displayed
    Friend recommendations
    Explore new games

•  iMessage Service
    Text message via wifi or 3G from your devices: ipad, ipod touch or iphone
    Group messaging
    Send text, photo, video, locations and contact   
    Secure encription
    Unlimited messages
    Switch between devices during conversation

•  Mail - Inbox
    Formatting: Bold, iTalic, Underline, indenting
    Flag important messages
    Rearrange names in address fields
    Add and delete MailBox folders
    Search body of email text
    Free email account on iCloud, synced auto to all devices.

•  Multitasking Gestures for iPad
    4 or 5 finger gestures
    Swipe up to reveal multitasking bar
    Pinch to return to Home screen
    Swipe Left or Right to switch between apps

•  Newstand Shelf
    A place to put all magazine and newspaper subscriptions
    Auto updates and delivers and notifies you when new issue available

•  Notification Center
    Supports new email, texts, friend requests in one place (selectively)
    Swipe down to get to the notification center
    Includes stock ticker and weather

•  PC Free
    No longer have to own a computer to use iPad, iPhone or iPod touch
    Activate and set up wirelessly
    Backup to iCloud, download free updates to your device directly

•  Photos & Editing and Storage Features
    Built-in common photo editing:  remove red-eye, crop, rotate, enhance
    Push photos to iCloud and all devices

•  Reminders or To Do’s
    To do list with due dates and locations
    Sends alert or reminder at certain time or when near a particular place
    Automatically updated - works with iCal, Outlook, iCloud for all your devices   

•  Safari Improvements
    Tabbed browsing - multiple pages & switching easier
    Keep list of articles in Reader built-in to allow add-free reading experience
    Reader List available on all other devices

•  Twitter Integration
    Tweet from devices, Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube & Maps apps
    Interfaces with contacts, auto gets friends @reply name
    Adds location

•  Wifi Sync
    Auto syncing when device is charging across all your devices Tweet

musicalTouch - Airplay Connection from my iPad to Speakers in Disklavier

I've been exploring the Airplay feature in the iOS 4.2 update for Apple mobile devices. Yesterday I streamed music I played on the virtual keyboard in an app called musicalTouch.

musicalTouch provides 5 instrumental voices for the user to play on the virtual keyboard: piano, guitar, organ, syntheszer and electronic Bass. I must say the quality of the audio samples used for these 5 voices are amazing. There are also 10 unique drum loops of varying types: Pop, R&B, R&B2, Rap, Rap2, Dance, House, Techno, Rock, and Jazz, that allowed me to have a drum accompaniment as I played.

Some of the other features that are implemented in this app include the ability to overlay the key notes on the keys to facilitate learning and teaching tunes. But the best feature, was the newly implemented ability to be able to multitask and utilize Airplay. I was amazed at the ability to record and play my newly created tune remotely through the speakers on my Disklavier piano in the living room upstairs. The quality of the piano audio sample voice was so good, that it sounded like the piano was actually being played rather than just coming through the speakers.

Check this app out at: http://www.chriskhoury.com/home/applications/applications.html

Chris Khoury has an interesting app that might be of interest to some of you budding musicians out there. Now if only this app could somehow implement the midi functions and send those to my Disklavier and really play those keys. Tweet

Where's My Shared Printer? - Printopia

I was very excited about the new feature called 'Airprint' for Apple mobile devices that was included in the 4.2 iOS update that came out yesterday. I immediately went to the photo app on my iPhone to see if I could print a photo.


I was able to access the print option, by selecting a photo from my photo library on my iphone and then clicking on the share icon in the lower left hand corner. This brought up the options for sharing, one of which is 'print'.


Clicking on the 'print' option brought up the Printer Options window and I selected the arrow next to the Printer and waited patiently for my iPhone to find my Brother printer which I had shared in my system preferences options on my Mac Pro. The wheel started spinning and nothing seemed to happen in recognizing my printer. Alas. I then searched the Apple support pages to find out that there were only 11 printers that were directly supported by the new Airprint feature. Of course, they were HP printers and I no longer use a HP printer on my Mac.


Feeling a little disappointed I decided to research my options for some sort of printing this morning. I found a solution.

Ecamm has always been a software company that has had numerous solutions that I have used over the years. They have the solution for adding additional shared printers to all Airprint-enabled devices on your network. They have a 7 day demo that is worth checking out at the following link:
http://www.ecamm.com/mac/printopia/

After downloading the Mac version of Printopia and installing it, I tried printing again from my iPhone. I have successfully printed my task list from Google web page and also a photo from my iPhone library.

PS - Also worked with my iPad. Tweet

Where is it?

I am patiently awaiting the iOS 4.2 for my iPad. The suspense and time waiting is killing me. Very anxious to see all the features. Interested of course in the ability to have folders for apps, but the 'midi capabilities' is also intriguing.

Are there any 'midi' enthusiasts out there that will be making some apps for midis or will be evaluating and reviewing that feature? I certainly hope so.

Well, another day passes and still no appearance of the update for iPad iOS 4.2 system in the App Store. Tweet

iOS 4.0 Part 2

Some people are concerned that when they double-click their  iPhone home button under iOS 4.0, they loose the ability to access their favorites.  I would note that by clicking the phone icon and then the favorites sub menu you get the same result.  This is not a big deal for me as I would definitely rather have multitasking assigned to the double click of home button.

There are also free apps available such as QuickContact app where you can put your most frequently dialed contacts in the app with with a photo to quickly call.  Suggest checking some of these type of apps for quick connection for calling. 

There are some accessibility features found by clicking the Settings icon, General, Accessibility to set up a larger font size for email, contacts,  notes and text messages by selecting 'Large Text' and then selecting the desired text size.  For us older adults, this is great for reading emails in larger font.

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I've Been Organizing and Multitasking ... iOS 4.0

As most dedicated and addicted iPhone users, I anxiously waited yesterday for the 'midnight hour' (which ended up to be about 1PM Cupertino time) yesterday.   This was the time that the new iOS 4.0 for the iphone/ipod touch devices was made available for updating.  I was able to install and update without any problems and within less than 8 minutes was up and running iOS 4.0.  I had preplanned for days, backing up and syncing my iPhone on days prior to the release, so that everything was fast and without problems.

I immediately started arranging my apps in folders.  What a nice feature and long overdue.  Not sure if I can wait until September to have that feature as well on my iPad.  I arranged most of the apps and then tested the resync to iTunes and that worked as well.  I then, did the fine tuning in iTunes of the folders and apps, and was amazed at how smoothly the opening, editing and moving of folders, apps and folder names and all worked smoothly.  I choose to arrange my apps by category on the left-hand side of the Apps Tab (with iphone connected) in iTunes.  It was easy to select a folder on a page, open the folder and then click on a similar type app in the left-hand side and see it drop seamlessly into the folder.  I feel that I am becoming OCD playing with this new feature.  I decided to tackle the multitasking feature this morning and it was not so apparent or visible as to how this would work on my 3GS iPhone.  Once I had gotten it working, I realized that I had 20 apps actually available in the multitasking mode that I had been running.

To access multitasking:  Run a few apps, then from any of the pages including the search page, you can push the home button quickly two times (the home button is the round physical button on your iPhone) and you should see below a dock (not to be confused with the duck I was viewing from the photo album on my iphone).

In this dock you will see the apps, that you have available and are currently running.  You can swipe left to see more apps also running if you have more than the default 4 icons on the dock visible.

If you wish to close any app, you merely touch the icon of the app in the dock, until it wiggles and a minus sign will appear.  This is the means to close the apps you wish to close up.

Along with these two features, the new all email inbox is nice.  I like being able to access all my incoming emails from all my accounts on my iPhone at once.  It is also nice how you can move them to the folders for each particular account. 

I haven't tried but understand that I should be able to hook my bluetooth keyboard for my iPad to my iPhone.  Now that is novel.  A keyboard that is bigger than the device.

There are supposedly 100 new features in iOS 4.0 (not all available for all devices).  It will be fun finding them.  Let me know if you find any interesting features. Tweet

Anticipating OS4 for iPhone ... Just an Update on My iToy Apps and Life

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