Q: I'll be taking a trip to Italy this year and taking lots of photos with my iPhone. What's the best way to add information to an iPhone photo? For example, I'd like to list who or what is in the picture. (I can easily do that on my Mac, but I won't have it with me on the trip.)
Thomas Minneman, Charlotte, N.C.
A: The easiest way to caption photos is to use the "markup" function in the iPhone's photo editing tools. The only disadvantage to using this method is that "markup" overlays the caption on the photo, obscuring part of the picture. (There are also several non-Apple apps for the iPhone that work the same way; see tinyurl.com/s4rxdoe).
To try the iPhone's "markup" feature, call up a photo, click "edit" at the upper right corner, then click the three dots that appear at the upper right corner. In the next menu, click "markup." In the following menu, select a text size and color, then click the plus sign to the right. In the resulting pop-up menu, select "text" to create a text box on top of the photo (you can move or resize the text box to avoid covering up something important in the picture.) Then touch the text box and select "edit" to begin typing your caption. If you like the result, click "done" twice. If you don't, click "cancel" at upper left and try again.
If you decide later that you don't like having captions written on top of your photos, click "edit" then click "revert" at the bottom of the screen. Choose "revert to original."
Another option for labeling your vacation photos is to create a new photo album on your iPhone for each location you visit. (To learn how, see tinyurl.com/vhxa389). Then, when you return home, transfer the contents of each vacation photo album to a Mac or PC, where you can "rename" the individual picture files with more descriptive labels. For example, you could rename a photo from a trip to Italy that has the nondescript file name "Photo Jul 1" to "Roman Colosseum at dusk." To change the file name of a photo on your computer, see tinyurl.com/v54onwn for Mac or tinyurl.com/tpnv2hf for PC.
Q: I pay for a Comcast internet service with a 500 megabits per second download speed, but Comcast's speed test website said I was getting download speeds of only 260 to 320 megabits (my PC has a wired connection to the router, so I know it's not a Wi-Fi issue.) A visit from a Comcast technician didn't help. Then I switched to Ookla's speedtest.net, and immediately started seeing download speeds of 500 megabits or more. What speed am I really getting?
Ron Wacker, Eagan
A: I would trust the results from speedtest.net.
Why should the various internet speed tests produce different results? Because they don't all use the same method to calculate speed. One test server might repeat tests over a single connection, while another might use several connections at once.
Results can also vary based on the distance between you and the test server. The greater the distance, the more slowdowns result because of other internet traffic and the increasing number of "router hops" (each time a signal is relayed is called a "hop.") Other speed factors are the time of day (internet congestion is greater in the daytime) and which web browser you use.
E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander@gmail.com. Include name, city and telephone number.
