How-to: Fix iOS6 App Store not loading

Like many others I was not so much excited but very curious to get my hands on Apple's new iOS 6 update.  One feature that I was particularly interested in trying was the Passbook app to keep track of things like boarding passes, loyalty cards, etc.  When I started up the app I was greeted with a button inviting me to go to the App Store (you need to download apps that integrate with Passbook).  Once in App Store I was greeted by an error message telling me that my phone cannot connect to the App Store.  Huh?  How'd Apple let this get out the door?

After playing with the phone a little more I noticed that every time I opened App Store app I got the same message about not being able to connect to the App Store.  Once the app was started I could navigate the Featured, Charts, etc. links but the initial error message always (and annoyingly) popped up.

Turns out this is a common error that people are experiencing and the discussion boards at discussions.apple.com are all atwitter.  While the solution below may seem bizarre it does seem to do the trick.  The nature of the solution suggests to me there is some kind of certificate issue at play but the details of that don't really matter.

1. Go to Settings -> General -> Date and Time and turn OFF "Set Automatically"
2. Set the date 2 or more years into the future
3. Go back into the App Store app where you will get the same error message.  No matter.
4. Go back into Settings -> General -> Date and Time and turn "Set Automatically" back ON

Now you should be able to successfully launch the App Store app without the error message.  You will likely get a message about a certificate not being recognized or being out of date.  Just touch the Continue button when that comes up. 

How-to: Use an external display with an iPad (UPDATE)

In a previous article I described ​how to get your iPad to display on a screen or projector.  The most promising method was to use an Apple TV device to receive your iPad screen output.  However, because the Apple TV does not support WPA2 enterprise, the type of wireless security most often used at corporations and university campuses, this option was off the table for those who might want to most use it.  It occurred to me after writing the original article that one way to get around this limitation is to create your own wireless network using a portable router like Apple's Airport Express or the Asus WL-330N3G. 

At a high level, here's what you need to do.

1. Configure the Airport Express to create your own wireless network ("Air Lecture", for example).  I recommend configuring wireless security as well so select WPA2 (Personal) and enter a password that you will remember.  Now whenever you plug the AirPort express into a wall socket it will create the "Air Lecture" wireless network.
2. The Apple TV and iPad should now see the "Air Lecture" wireless network.  Configure both devices to join "Air Lecture" entering your wireless security password in each device.
3. Now that both the Apple TV and the iPad are on the same wireless network you can use AirPlay (as described previously) to display your video-enabled app or your entire iPad interface (depending on the type of iPad you have).

Once the components are configured you can just plug everything in before you start a meeting or a class and you can wander around presenting your content from your iPad.  Here's what it'll cost you (Canadian $):

1. Apple iPad 16M Wifi base model - $519
2. Airport Express - $99
3. Apple TV - $109

Mac OS/X Lion, "Reverse" Scrolling, and Chrome

Up until yesterday's release of Mac OS/X Lion, the user interface metaphor for scrolling was that you manipulated the scrollbar on the side or bottom of your content (say a webpage).  So in order to scroll content upwards you swiped, wheeled, or otherwise moved down.  To scroll your content downwards you moved up.  This is a very computer-sciency method of scrolling in that the container had a dohicky (the scrollbar) that you touched to scroll.

Tablets and smartphones have flipped the metaphor on its head.  With a modern touch interface you manipulate the content directly.  If you want the content to scroll up off the top of your tablet you swipe it up.  To scroll the content down off the bottom of your tablet you swipe down.  All very natural.

One of the major themes of Apple's Lion release is the harmonizing of the touch and desktop interfaces including a change to how desktop scrolling works.  This change is immediately apparent when you load content in Safari.  First, there are no scrollbars.  Second, you swipe, wheel or otherwise move up in order to move your content up.  Apple calls this "natural scrolling".  This is initially disconcerting for most users since they've spent most of their computer lives doing the opposite.  You can configure Lion to do it "the old way" but I really encourage you to give it a chance.  In about 10 minutes (or nearly instantly if you're using a trackpad) your brain accepts the change and things settle down to normal.  Natural scrolling really feels natural.

In order for applications to behave correctly in Lion they do need to be updated.  This will take some time depending on the application's complexity and the ability of its owner to turn around change.  Google, for example, is actively modifying Chrome in order to provide the best Lion experience.  However, until they do, Chrome will act a little odd in Lion.  For example, it enters full screen mode quite nicely but it isn't immediately apparent how to exit it (see "How to exit full screen mode in Mac OS/X Lion (when you're stuck)" for more on this topic).

Another inconsistency is that the scrollbars are persistent rather than Lion transient.  Rather than waiting for Google to release a new version of Chrome for Lion you can get rid of those pesky, pixel hogging scrollbars now by using one of the scrollbar-remover extensions available on the Chrome web store.  I'm currently testing Scrollbar Hide by Saúl Pilatowsky.  By default it only hides the vertical scrollbar but you can configure it to hide both.  You can also configure it such that the scrollbars are either permanently disabled or appear "when needed" (basically when the mouse pointer roams close to the right or bottom edges).  Another option is No Scrollbar by Bestrafer which simply hides the vertical scrollbar.  For both extensions you may need to restart Chrome for the scroll bars to stay gone.  After that, you can take a tiny step closer to the full Lion experience.