CameraConnectionKit
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A tech geek's trip from hell
I'm on a trip right now out of the country, and so far it's been a tech geek's trip from hell. The first day, I ran my iPhone 5 (running iOS 7 beta 2) out of juice -- not surprising, since the beta OS is somewhat power-hungry at this point. Guess what? The iPhone 5 has decided to refuse to start up normally. It has gone into a continuing loop of trying to start up, then rebooting, ad infinitum. Sad, really -- I was planning on shooting a ton of panoramas with the iPhone 5, and I took some wonderful photos from the airplane on the way over. My only choice with this device is to wait until I get back home and then reload the device with a fresh image of iOS 7. Sigh. At least I have my wife's iPhone as a backup for shooting those panoramas. Day two, spouse and I -- both avid photographers -- spent most of the day shooting images of the beautiful Icelandic countryside. Our usual nighttime habit while we're on our trip is to back up the day's photos onto two iPads so that we have the originals on each camera plus two backups. So, while sitting in the lounge at the hotel tonight, I started doing the backups only to find that the Camera Connection Kit wouldn't read either of the 64 GB SDXC cards. After cussing loudly (don't worry, the lounge was empty except for my wife and me), I did a Google search to find that the Camera Connection Kit won't read SDXC cards unless they're formatted in the time-honored and ancient FAT format. Of course, I assumed that formatting the cards in the camera like I've always done would mean they'd be readable by Apple's Camera Connection Kit. Wrong! So, the 64 GB cards are now back in my bag full of camera goodies, and a pair of 16 GB cards -- SDHC -- have been drafted into service for the rest of the trip.The photos we took today will have to wait until we get back home to be moved to some sort of backup media. In addition, I discovered today that although I brought a variety of charging cables on the trip with me, as well as a device or two to allow me to plug multiple devices into one outlet, I had neglected to grab my European to North American plug adapters. Last night was fine, as I had a fully-charged external battery pack that I used to charge up one iPad and also had one North American standard outlet that I could use to charge up another. Tonight? All of the devices will be hungry for electrons. At least the airline we're flying, Icelandair, has USB chargers built into the seats so we'll be able to charge the devices on the next leg of our trip. Knowing my luck so far, they won't be working. I was happy to see that the hotel had a publi- use iMac near the lobby; my smile turned to a frown when I discovered that they were running Windows 7 under Boot Camp on the machine. After finding that I couldn't access the iMac's SD card reader from Windows 7 (I was going to upload the photos to Dropbox), I reached around to the back of the machine, powered it down, and rebooted in the hope that I could get it to boot into OS X. No such luck; the hotel IT people had set up the machine with a password. My revenge was leaving the iMac unusable to any of the other guests. Mua-haha! Your takeaways from this post? Never assume that your technology is going to work perfectly for you when you need it the most. Read the fine print about the Apple (and third-party) hardware you'll be using, and using the jargon used by my wife in the aerospace business, "test like you fly." In other words, test all of the component parts exactly the way you expect to use them before you actually leave home -- that way you'll be able to avoid issues like the one I ran into with the Camera Connection Kit. I just assumed that because I had formatted SD cards in my camera before and used them successfully with the CCK, that everything would be OK. That was a stupid assumption. Also, create a packing checklist and use it. I would have remembered the plug adapters if I had put them on a list. I fully intended to grab them, but got caught up in the typical last-minute packing rush and spaced them out. Finally, if you're not a tech blogger / writer by trade, consider leaving as much of your tech at home as you can. You'll certainly be immune from stupid annoyances like I've run into if you don't have a lot of technology accompanying you on a trip. And isn't a vacation supposed to be a relaxing time away from the normal hassles of life? I'm going on a three-day long weekend trip at the end of the summer, and I think I may just go with nothing but a good paperback book.
Vintage meets future: importing photos to an iPad from a floppy disk
The iPad's Camera Connection Kit is a remarkably talented accessory. With its standard USB connector plus a bit of ingenuity, clever folks have found all sorts of things to connect that would not ordinarily be expected to connect: headsets, keyboards and a variety of storage devices. You can even connect an iPhone to an iPad and import photos from one to the other. The latest demonstration of how flexible the CCK can be comes via vintage Mac fan Niles Mitchell. He pointed out this video showing an iPad importing photos (slowly and deliberately, to be sure) from a properly prepped floppy disk. Given a powered USB hub to provide adequate juice, it's possible to fake out the iPad's import process by using a MS-DOS/FAT formatted floppy and putting a "DCIM" folder on the disk. Any photos inside that folder that have DOS-legal filenames (8.3) will be read by the CCK and the iPad. Is it practical? Heck no. But it's still pretty cool. Video below.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me share my photos overseas
Dear Aunt TUAW, I have an iPad2. I am traveling to Spain in November and want to NOT tote my 17" Macbook. Is there an easy way to take files (primarily older photos that I have taken) with me on a USB flash drive and using the camera connection kit USB adapter have access to these files so I can display them to my Spanish hosts? Your loving nephew, Leo Dear Leo, It's a lot easier to let your data travel by itself. Consider uploading your photos to Flickr, PhotoStream or Dropbox. The Camera Connection Kit is primarily intended to let you offload your photos from your camera to a net-connected device, so you can better use your equipment's limited storage. Although you can use the CCK for bringing photos along, you'd probably be far better served by copying your pictures to a net service and accessing them with your hosts' own computers. Plus, CCK components are small and easy to lose. That aside, let Auntie remind you that forcing people to sit through long slideshows is condemned by the Geneva Conventions of Unusual Cruelty. As a rule, you'll want to bring the bare minimum to keep in touch on your trip, or to use for music or reading during down-time. It's the people, and the experiences there that you'll want to savor, not the toys that you have to lug around with you. Hugs, Auntie T.
Xoom Camera Connection Kit makes us lust for Photoshop on Honeycomb
Soon enough you'll be able to transfer photos from your digital camera straight to your Xoom, provided you're willing to shell out $20 for the Xoom Camera Connection Kit. We already knew that the tablet was capable of reading USB drives with a little trickery, but Motorola's upcoming update will officially unlock that functionality (albeit in a limited form). The glorified micro-USB cable isn't available online yet, but we've heard if you call Verizon and ask nicely for item number MOTMZ600ADPKIT they're more than happy to send one your way. If asking for a random series of letters and numbers seems a little strange, just pretend you're a secret agent and it's some kind of cipher -- preferably one that doesn't remind you to drink your Ovaltine.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Can I use my iPhone 4 videos in the iPad 2's iMovie app?
Dear Aunt TUAW, I just bought the awesome iMovie for my new iPad 2. Now I want to be able to import videos that I captured on my iPhone 4 into iMovie on the iPad and edit them there. How can I do this? Love, Your niece Nixie
3-in-1 iPad camera connection kit is triple the goodness in one package
Here at TUAW, most of the bloggers are huge fans of devices featuring multiple levels of functionality jammed into one little box (this probably has something to do with a lifelong fascination with Swiss Army Knives.) That's why there were smiles all around when M.I.C.Gadget, a blog that follows stories about gizmos that are, uh, Made In China, had a story about a new 3-in-1 iPad camera connection kit. As you know, the Apple equivalent sells for US$29 and is made up of two separate dongles. Two dongles = twice as much opportunity to lose one of them. This little 3-in-1 kit features the USB port and SD card reader that make up the Apple connection kit, but there's one more thing -- a micro-SD card reader as well. Boom! But wait, there's more! The connection kit comes in black or white, which will be a nightmare for people who have problems making decisions. Want to buy one? They're available for US$29.90 from the M.I.C. Gadget Store, but act now to avoid bitter disappointment. There are only 25 of the kits left in stock as of this morning... [via Gizmodo]
iOS 4.2 said to be blocking iPad Camera Kit from supporting some USB devices
It seems that folks hoping for the Apple's Camera Connection Kit to solve all their USB-related iPad problems just can't catch a break. First the kit was nearly impossible to find, and now we're seeing a slew of user reports saying that iOS 4.2 has made the USB portion of the camera kit nearly useless for many USB devices that were previously supported. As 9 to 5 Mac reports, the problem seems to boil down to the amount of power that can be emitted from the iPad's 30-pin connector -- it used to be 100mA, but iOS 4.2 appears to have cut that down to just 20mA, presumably in an attempt to conserve battery life. The big issue there, of course, is that everything from USB keyboards to microphones and even some cameras no longer work, and there isn't much for users left to do other than to hope that Apple brings back support in a future update. Feel free to share your own tales of woe in comments, or let us know if you're having problems with the iPad camera kit.
Sanho's 750GB HyperDrive photo backup HDD plays nice with your iPad
Here's a little nugget you may not have already been aware of -- Apple's iPad is only capable of registering USB hard drives (via the Camera Connection Kit, of course) that are 32GB or smaller, which may or may not bum a vast majority of you out. Thankfully, Sanho's latest and greatest HyperDrive was tailor made to circumvent that limitation, and it just so happens to be the company's most capacious. Checking in with 750GB of open space, this unit boasts a "patent pending ability to turn individual file folders into virtual 32GB drives on the fly that are readable by the iPad," and as you'd expect, there's also a CompactFlash and Secure Digital slot for offloading images directly from your camera's memory card (at up to 40MB/sec). There's even a 3.2-inch QVGA color display, support for JPEG and RAW files and the ability to act as a vanilla USB hard drive; it's available now for $599, though smaller versions are available for those with less pocket change. %Gallery-101580%
Dear Aunt TUAW: Will my MacBook Air Ethernet adapter work with my iPad?
Dear Aunt TUAW, Whoa, it's sure been hot here in Texas lately, so it's a good thing you're staying in air-conditioned comfort at the resort there in Florida. That reminds me of something I meant to ask you... Since I'm basically hanging out in my dorm room with its gigabit Ethernet connection to beat the heat, I'd love to figure out a way to hook that big pipe to my iPad. Remember the old MacBook Air that I got rid of? Well, I still have the USB Ethernet Adapter for it, and I was wondering if plugging that into the USB port on the iPad Camera Connection Kit would give me a way to use Ethernet on the iPad. I don't have a Camera Connection Kit, but if this works, I'll run out and buy one as soon as I get money from Mom & Dad. Stay cool, Your loving nephew, Chris
iPad Camera Connection Kit a commodity item, now fetches $100+ on eBay
Now that the USB-wielding cat's out of the bag, it's looking like supplies of the iPad Camera Connection Kit aren't keeping up with demand -- one Engadget reader tipped us off to the fact that the $30 attachments are worth up to $180 on eBay. A quick bit of sleuthing showed that Apple's actually still selling the things -- they're simply backordered, with a three to four week shipping delay -- but sure enough, niche e-tailers currently list the dongles for as much as $150, and eBay auctioneers are finding the kits sell for two to five times the original MSRP. If your external HDD experiments didn't work out the way you'd liked, at least you can be sure you'll get your money back. [Thanks, Paul P.]
Dear Aunt TUAW: Do I need my cable caps?
Dear Aunt TUAW, Wow, it's a new record! I opened my iPad Camera Connection Kit about 20 minutes ago and have already misplaced one of the caps ... Help me, Aunt TUAW. How do I keep my caps under control? Love and hugs, Your loving nephew Stevie
hacksugar: Working with iPad-mounted USB drives
Recently, TUAW has looked at using the iPad's camera connection kit to attach and use USB drives. If you're using a jailbroken iPad, you'll be pleased to discover that the camera connection kit allows you to connect a USB stick or hard drive and access it from your iPad. That means you can easily bring extra files on-the-go and copy them into third party (i.e. no, you're not going to update your iTunes library on the go...yet) applications. Mounting drives is the province of a built-in application called MobileStorageMounter. It's part of the iPad's core services. When it sees a new FAT or HFS USB device, it attempts to mount that device using standard Unix services. If it finds a built-in DCIM folder on the drive, it launches the iPad Photos application. If not, it throws up the dialog shown at the top of this post, reporting that the attached USB device is not supported. As far as you're concerned, that error message is good news. It means that the device has been properly mounted and is ready for use. If you do not see the dialog, it's time to take one of two courses of action: a quick fix that works most of the time and a thorough fix that always works. Read on to learn more...
External HD support hacked on the iPad
Here's an awesome trick for adding external HDD storage to an iPad. By "awesome" we mean complicated, round-about, wire-friendly and ultimately impractical (are you going to sit at Starbucks with this rig?), but hey...why do people climb Mt. Everest? Because it's there! After reading our own Erica's post on enjoying Apple's deceptively versatile iPad Camera Connection Kit, Maxwell C. Shay found a way to get his jailbroken iPad to recognize an external drive with it. Maxwell explains the process in great detail here, but basically he used his MacBook to tunnel through via SSH and trick the iPad into mounting the drive connected with the kit and a split-USB cable. This set up won't win any prizes for looks, but as for ingenuity it gets an A+. Well done. [Via Engadget]
iPad Spirit jailbreak + Camera Connection Kit = external HDD support
Looks like that iPad Camera Connection Kit isn't as overpriced as we thought; not only does it have USB headset and keyboard support, but one enterprising user has hooked up an external hard drive using the dongle as well. Max Shay has an exhaustive walkthrough at his personal website, but the gist of the matter is that you'll need a jailbroken iPad, a split-USB cable to give that drive some extra juice, and a terminal of some sort (Max used his MacBook) to trick the iPad into mounting your external storage, after you use SSH to tunnel through. The result is an unwieldy wired assembly we wouldn't be caught dead with in public, but perhaps useful in a pinch -- or as the latest proof of what the iPad could do if only Apple would let it. Video after the break.
iPad hacksugar: More than you wanted (or needed) to know about Apple's iPad Camera Connection Kit
The iPad. It is awesome. And the iPad camera connector kit is even more awesome. It works with USB keyboards. It works with USB headsets (seriously, I just spent a half hour on the phone with Kyle Kinkade on Skype voice chat that way). And, of course, it does photos. You can import photos from cameras, from SD cards, and even from iPhone OS devices. But that's not the sum of what most people really want to do with their iPad USB ports. What people want, what they really really want, is to insert a USB memory stick and read arbitrary files off and write arbitrary files onto that device. On that end, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is this. USB drives do mount properly and show up in the system as /dev/disk2s1. Yay. You can even add more drives via a hub. The iPad supports both FAT and HFS+ drives. The bad news is this. As iPhone developer Dustin Howett discovered, that mount point is sandboxed away from normal developer use. You cannot read from or write to that disk using standard iPhone SDK applications. Another unnamed developer did a little digging. He discovered that the iPhone supports the same kind of Image Capture Core engine that is used on the Macintosh. Unfortunately, that engine (which is backed by the Mobile Storage Mounter application in Core Services) appears to be limited at this time. The only data that can mount and be read is DCIM folders, and only through the Photos application. That's not to say that the functionality for reading arbitrary disk storage is not available -- it is -- but it has been blocked off from general use at this time. (Yes, a jailbreak will easily bypass this limit.) Posting the images mounted notification com.apple.mobile.images_mounted Posting a notification that regular storage has been mounted com.apple.mobile.storage_mounted This remains in line with Apple's user empowerment policy. Just as the UIImagePickerController can only access pictures that the user selects, just as the UIDocumentInteractionController can only present documents chosen by the user, the USB system (for now) will only offer access to pictures that the user decides to move to the iPad. Should the demand for a more general shared documents approach be loud enough and strong enough, history has shown that Apple can and does respond to the clamor of the buying public's requests.
iPad Camera Kit ships with USB headset and keyboard support
Reports are coming in that the iPad Camera Connection Kit has finally shown up on a couple buyer doorsteps, and that the pair of white dongles may actually have been worth the wait. While one is a simple SD card adapter that adds one-touch image and video import (including RAW, complete with EXIF data) to the iPad, the second provides a USB port with some exciting new functionality. TUAW reports one reader could type on an iPad via USB keyboard, and those rumors about USB audio were true, too: TidBITS was actually able to make a Skype call after connecting a USB headset. Before you get too excited, however, please note that the USB and SD image transfers are one-way, and not all peripherals are supported -- for instance, TidBITS' iPad sneezed at an external hard drive. Also, according to the Apple Store, Camera Connection Kit shipments are still two to three weeks out, so don't be surprised if it still takes some time to get yours. For now you can make do with the video after the break.
Apple looking to hire camera expert, iPad Camera Kit to support USB audio?
We know it's been hard to deal with the comparative lack of iPad rumors now that the thing has actually be released (in some places, at least), but we've got a bit of a treat today: not one but two camera-related iPad rumors. The first comes courtesy of an Apple job posting for a Performance QA Engineer for iPad media who, among other things, must rely on their "knowledge of digital camera technology (still and video) to develop and maintain testing frameworks for both capture and playback pipelines." While anything to result from that may have to wait until iPad 2.0, Apple software engineering manager William Stewart has dropped another interesting detail on an Apple mailing list concerning the soon-to-be-available Camera Connection Kit. Apparently, in addition to accommodating your digital camera, the USB adapter will also support class-compliant USB audio devices -- although that is yet to be confirmed by Apple itself. Of course, you'll also need some apps to take advantage of that, but Stewart seems to also imply the necessary functionality is at least already built into the OS, which would seem to make apps only a matter of time. We'll let you take the speculation from there.
iPad Camera Connection Kit finally surfaces for pre-order, still absurdly overpriced
If you'll recall, Apple had no qualms revealing the iPad Camera Connection Kit at its 'Latest Creation' event back in January, but the solution seemingly dropped from the face of the Earth shortly thereafter. Even as cases, keyboards and all sorts of other iPad accessories surfaced for pre-order, the camera kit remained nowhere to be found. Over the weekend, the $29 adapter bundle finally found a home at the outfit's website (with a "late April" ship date), offering users a pair of dongles to support USB and SD cards. Of course, one could easily argue that the iPad should have native support for both of these widely used formats without forcing users to lug around two extra peripherals, but if that were the case, this thing just wouldn't be an Apple, now would it? %Gallery-89227%
iPad Camera Connection Kit available for order, shipping in late April
Many people making pre-orders or reservations for iPads were concerned when the iPad Camera Connection Kit didn't show up on the Apple site as available for order. Never fear, for the the US$29 kit is now listed on Apple's website as shipping in late April. No explanation was given for the absence of the Camera Connection Kit in the original list of iPad accessories, although the company may have held back the SD and USB connectors that make up the kit for component quality testing. Among the other accessories for the iPad, the VGA Adapter and Standard Dock will be available on April 3rd and the iPad case is scheduled for mid-April. The Keyboard Dock is showing late April availability, while the iPad 10W USB Power Adapters won't make it to your home or office until sometime in May. [via MacRumors]
Apple's iPad keyboard dock, case and other accessories get the hands-on treatment
Apple didn't give us a great amount of time with its newly unveiled iPad today, and as you've likely seen, we spent the bulk of our allotment touching the unit itself. Lost in the proverbial shuffle were a number of the unit's launch accessories, including the admittedly intriguing keyboard dock ($69), case ($39), iPad Dock Connector to VGA adapter ($29) and camera connection kit ($29). Each of these doodads seem to look and feel exactly as you'd expect 'em to, though we're still baffled by Apple's decision to make you pay extra for access to the world's most widely accepted connector. We're also somewhat appalled (but not surprised) by the $39 price tag purportedly attached to the stripped-down case, and while the $69 MSRP on the keyboard dock is apt to cause some grumbling, at least there are a few iPad-specific keys on there to make it (marginally) worth your while. Dig in below for more on each. Read - iPad keyboard dock hands-on Read - iPad case hands-on Read - iPad Dock Connector to VGA adapter hands-on Read - iPad camera connection kit hands-on
