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How to select Siri voices for VoiceOver, Speak Screen and Speak Selection features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 17, 2021

I'm not hearing impaired but that doesn't prevent me from taking advantage of certain VoiceOver features on my iPhone. For instance, I sometimes use Speak Selection to get iOS to read a book to me as I'm surfing the web, or doing something else.

Being a non-native English speaker, I also rely on that feature to have my iPhone read aloud words and phrases whenever I'm unsure about their correct pronunciation, which is a lot of help—especially with the adjustable pitch and speaking rate.

Starting with iOS 8, a number of options for the Siri voices you can use for the VoiceOver, Speak Screen and Speak Selection features became available. This tutorial explains how to choose a voice for Speak Screen and Speak Selection and adjust voices for VoiceOver.

How to use Gmail without an @gmail address

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 25, 2022

Gmail is the most popular email service, offering excellent features like spam protection, automatic email sorting (Social, Updates, Promotions), advanced search, and more. Contrary to popular belief, you can use these features on your existing non-Gmail email service, thanks to a feature called Gmailify.

This tutorial shows you how to link your non-Gmail account with Gmail via Gmailify on iPhone and iPad.

App preview videos coming to Apple TV

Sébastien Page ∙ February 17, 2016

Apple just announced that developers of tvOS apps are now able to upload a short video demo to be previewed along their apps' description and screenshots in the Apple TV App Store. Similar to what we've seen for some time in the iOS App Store, these short previews are usually more helpful than a screenshot as they can show the game or application in action.

We’re giving away an Apple TV

Sébastien Page ∙ February 17, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnFGx6_hUeU

To celebrate new beginnings on our YouTube channel, Andrew and I have decided to give away a brand new 32GB Apple TV. The idea is pretty straightforward:

1) Follow @iDownloadBlog on Twitter.

2) Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

3) Comment on this video and leave your Twitter handle so we can get in touch with you. Note you must comment on the video on YouTube. You do not need to comment here.

This giveaway will run until Wednesday 24, 2016 at noon EST, at which point we will update the video description and announce the winner who will be contacted with further instructions. The giveaway is opened to anyone from anywhere, so whatever your age or location may be, you are eligible to enter.

Good luck!

Here are two Caffeine alternatives for keeping your Mac awake

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Yesterday, my colleague Anthony ran an informative tutorial that does a good job covering two ways to keep your Mac from sleeping, dimming or showing a screensaver: one is based on a little bit of Terminal magic and the other involves using a free of charge utility, called Caffeine.

As easy to use as Caffeine is, it suffers from not having been updated in years so it has some issues with OS X Yosemite and El Capitan.

Its icon, for example, is not Retina-compatible and looks odd in Yosemite's dark mode. That said, I want to share with you a pair of apps that one-up Caffeine at its own game.

Pre-register for Miitomo, Nintendo’s first smartphone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

Back in October 2015, Nintendo announced its inaugural smartphone app for iOS and Android, Miitomo. Today, the Japanese gaming giant has opened up pre-registrations on its website for the forthcoming app. Signing up requires you to create a Nintendo Account so you can be notified when Miitomo launches in the App Store.

Creating a Nintendo Account ahead of Miitomo's launch will also net you Platinum Points for the My Nintendo rewards program, which is scheduled to go live alongside the Miitomo app.

How about the tiniest game of pong for your Apple Watch?

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

Meet the tiniest game of pong for your Apple Watch, created by developer Matt Wiechec and aptly named A Tiny Game of Pong. Available free in the App Store for a limited time, this minimalist game lets you push your paddle back-and-forth across the display by turning the responsive Digital Crown.

You can play in the Classic or endless Arcade mode, track your high score and rank on Game Center, personalize the game to your liking with ten theme colors and, of course, you can also play A Tiny Game of Pong on your iPhone.

Apple removes iPhone 4s and iPhone 5c from sale in India as iPhone 5se launch looms

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

In India, Apple has stopped selling the iPhone 4s, which debuted in the fall of 2011, as well as the unapologetically plastic iPhone 5c, The Economic Times reported Tuesday. In withdrawing its most affordable handsets from the 1.25 billion people country—the world’s third market for smartphones and the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world—Apple is looking to boost its average selling price and profitability “which have been under strain in the country lately,” stated the report.

Apple vehemently opposes FBI request to create iPhone backdoor in San Bernardino court case

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

Apple is vehemently opposing the FBI's request to create a backdoor in iOS that would permit authorities to access encrypted data on the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. In an open letter to all customers posted on the company's website, CEO Tim Cook acknowledges that Apple believes that the FBI's intentions are good and makes note of the fact that his company has done “everything that is both within our power and within the law” to help the authorities.

“But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create,” he wrote. “They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.”

2 ways to quickly keep your Mac from sleeping, dimming, or showing a screensaver

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated April 15, 2022

In this tutorial, we show you two easy ways to temporarily keep your Mac from falling asleep, dimming the display, or showing a screensaver for as long as you need to.

How to save videos from your Facebook News Feed

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

It's super easy to save photos that have been shared on Facebook to your computer, but for whatever reason, Facebook seems to be lacking the ability to save videos that are shared by your friends and appear in your News Feed.

Despite the common misconception that you need a fancy web browser plugin or third-party software to download videos from your Facebook News Feed, this simply isn't the case. In this step-by-step tutorial, we'll show you how you can save videos from Facebook that appear in your News Feed to your computer.

Judge orders Apple to help FBI recover data from San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Apple to help investigators access encrypted data on the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, reports NBC News. The ruling says that the Cupertino firm must provide "reasonable technical assistance" to the FBI in recovering data from the handset.

More specifically, the device is an iPhone 5c that belongs to Syed Farook, who with his wife Tashfeen Malik murdered 14 people in San Bernardino, California last year. The phone is locked with a passcode, and prosecutors say data found in Farook's iCloud account suggests it could contain evidence.