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Wedding Video Via iPad

by Walt Mossberg on June 19, 2013

Q:

I used my iPad to shoot video of my brother’s wedding. I want to get the file into my computer, but it’s too large to email or place in my Dropbox account. Any ideas on solving my problem?

A:

You can transfer the file to a computer using the iPad’s charging/syncing cable. Just plug it into the computer and if it’s a Mac, launch iPhoto and you can use its import function to transfer the video. If it’s a modern Windows PC, a window should appear and you can use its import function to transfer the video. On a PC running the old Windows XP, you would use the Scanner and Camera Wizard. Apple has an article explaining all this.

Q:

What is the best way to transfer files from my old computer with Windows XP to my new computer with Windows 7?

A:

I’d suggest trying the built-in file transfer utility in Windows 7, called Windows Easy Transfer. It’s automated and can operate over a network, or by using USB flash drives, external hard disks or a special cable called an Easy Transfer Cable, which costs under $20.

Q:

How do you remove pictures from an iPhone? I have tried to delete them, but I have been unsuccessful.

A:

In the Photos app, in the Camera Roll, which is the main repository for pictures you take on an iPhone, there’s a trash-can icon at the lower right of the screen when you are viewing a photo. Tap it and select “Delete Photo.” The same thing works with Photo Stream, the optional feature that wirelessly syncs pictures among all your Apple devices.

To delete photos synced from a computer via a cable, you have to connect the device to the computer, de-select the albums you chose in the iTunes program and then re-sync.

Write to Walt at mossberg@wsj.com.

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Nvidia to License Its Graphics Chip Technology

by Arik Hesseldahl on June 18, 2013

nvda-logoGraphics chip maker Nvidia said today it will begin to license its chip technology to third parties as a way of more efficiently addressing the expanding demand for its technology in the marketplace.

In a statement published on its corporate blog, David Shannon, the company’s corporate counsel, said that “it’s not practical to build silicon or systems to address every part of the expanding market. Adopting a new business approach will allow us to address the universe of devices.” He said Nvidia had licensed an earlier GPU core to Sony for use on the Playstation 3, and Intel pays it $250 million a year in licensing fees as the result of a settlement of a lawsuit in 2011.

At least part of this can be attributed to Nvidia’s hiring of Bob Feldstein from rival Advanced Micro Devices. Feldstein was one of a batch of AMD execs who bolted for greener pastures in 2012.

Feldstein’s job at AMD was to run licensing for its ATI graphics chips, and that technology landed in Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii, among other consoles.

“This is the right time for Nvidia to be doing this, too,” said analyst Patrick Moorhead of MoorInsights and Strategy and a former AMD exec. “Nvidia’s Kepler-based graphics give them the best competitive hand. I could very well see an Apple and Samsung interested in their graphics patents.” He also sees Nvidia technology being used in smart TVs, which so far haven’t been much of priority for the company.

One company likely to be hurt by the move, he said, is Imagination Technologies, which provides most of the licensable graphics for smartphones, a key target of today’s move.

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