Random Thoughts and Tips for iOS 9

Every year about June, Apple announces the beta for the new update to iOS. About that time I swear off the beta, reminding myself how miserable I was last time I installed a beta iOS. Then a little fuse gets lit inside my brain. It’s long enough to burn for a few weeks and then explodes in an explosion of complete disregard for common sense leading me to install the new iOS beta on my iPhone and iPad.

This year I installed the betas in late June and have now been using iOS 9 every day for over two months. I’m not going to write a thorough review. Instead I’m going to share a few thoughts and tips I picked up over the last couple months:

  • Here are some words I thought I’d never write: One of the stars of the new iOS is the Notes app. I’d written the Notes app off entirely years ago. (Remember Marker Felt?) The new version is really impressive. You can format text, add pictures, links, drawings, and add check boxes. Moreover, getting data into Notes is easy with the Notes extension sprinkled throughout the operating system in a way that only Apple software could. Syncing has been solid and I’ve been testing it with a database in excess of 250 notes. As Mr. Plain Text guy, I haven’t decided yet what I’ll do for managing notes but Notes is absolutely a contender, especially if you’re looking to store pictures and media with your notes. (Indeed this post has been a running bit of text in Notes throughout the beta.)
  • The iPad updates, including Slide Over and Split Screen work as advertised. Once you use your iPad with two apps open, you’ll never be able to go back. The keyboard improvements and mouse cursor with two fingers are also quite handy. Don’t forget you can do that two finger mouse thingy on or off the keyboard. While these are all nice updates, it feels to me like there is still work to be done on iPad “productivity”. For instance, why can’t I drag and drop between two split screen apps? It feels to me like the Apple train is now in motion in terms of increased iPad productivity but there is still plenty of work to do. Also, if you’ve got a keyboard connected to your iPad, command-tab is golden.
  • Siri continues to improve. I won’t tell you to try Siri again if you’ve previously given up on it since I seem to do that about once a month around here but it is getting better. There are new commands, “What’s a 20% tip on $23.32”, and dictation transcription continues to improve.
  • When I first heard Spotlight was going back to a separate screen (swipe to the right), I was unhappy. I didn’t want another screen. I was wrong. the new Spotlight is significantly better with recent people, apps, places, and news.
  • The ProActive assistant stuff sounds like a great idea but I didn’t see it in action as much as I expected. Guessing at who’s calling (by comparing an incoming phone number to phone numbers found in email) is awesome. I also liked when it would give me an ETA for my trips as I got in my car but that was inconsistent. I had several flights during this period and ProActive Assistant never sussed that out. I like that Apple wants to make the phone smarter without stepping over the creepy line but I suspect that like iPad productivity, this is going to take a few years for full realization.
  • Low Power Mode is for real and saved me a few times on days where I was running out of battery. I couldn’t tell if I was getting the promised extra battery life but that’s probably going to be more apparent after iOS 9 gets out of beta. (Today!)
  • Maps is like Siri. It just keeps getting better.
  • The News app is nice and now it’s on every iPhone. I’m interested to see how many people adopt this. (MacSparky.com is an approved publisher by the way but I’m still sorting out some issues before works properly in News.)
  • You can now search settings. The nerd in me loves that.
  • The San Francisco font gives the iPhone more personality than Helvetica ever could. After using the new font for a few months, I couldn’t imagine going back to the old one.
  • You can now know when the keyboard capitalization key is on and when it is not. Hallelujah!
  • I’m all for the new six digit security code. You can turn it back to a four digit code but if you’re using TouchID, why would you?

This year’s update isn’t nearly as big as last year’s and that’s a good thing. The new iOS includes some real nice tweaks and fixes but shouldn’t turn your world upside down. I think that’s exactly what we needed this year.

XOXO Fest 2015

Over the weekend I traveled to Portland and attended the XOXO conference. I first heard about this converence years ago and was finally able to attend this year. I almost didn’t go. I’m still digging out from getting behind over the last couple months and as I was packing, I was thinking how much work I could get done if I stayed home over the weekend and pretended I was out of town. I sure am glad that I went.

The conference is fantastic. The speakers are inspirational and all of the attendees are interesting with fun stories to tell about their own goals, desires, and careers. It was a great weekend where I heard some outstanding speakers, connecting with lots of old friends, and made several new ones. Coming back it reminded me of that warm fuzzy feeling used to to get returning from Macworld.

I will definitely be going back next year if I can get in.

MPU 278: iOS 9 and New Apple Hardware →

This week’s Mac Power Users episode focuses on the new features in IOS 9, which will be downloading to your device in just a couple days. Katie and I assembled a nice list of interesting new features and improvements that you’ll want to hear about.

At the end of the episode we talked at some length about last week’s Apple announcements and the new hardware coming our way. This is a really fun episode.

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Sponsor: OmniPlan →

This week MacSparky is sponsored by the Omni Group's project management software, OmniPlan. For years, operating project planning software has always felt like something just one step below brain surgery. That is not the case with OmniPlan. The Omni Group's top notch set of programmers and designers came up with a project planning software that actual humans can operate. It looks gorgeous and appears on all of the Apple devices including the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It lets you simply setup projects with appropriate resources and easily maintain and track your project as you proceed forward.

I create Omni Plan documents for larger client projects and share with my clients. That way they can see what I'm up to and my projected date of completion. It makes me look great. Learn more at the OmniPlan website.

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Random Thoughts Following the Apple Event

I've been thinking about the new Apple announcements at this week's event and have a few random thoughts.

  • Combining the iPad and iPhone events into one worked out okay. I can see this continuing into the future.
  • Did you see the way Tim Cook lit up while talking about the iPad. Also, watch the way he proudly carried the iPad Pro on stage? It’s increasingly clear the iPad is Tim’s thing. He's stated publicly before that he does a lot of work on his iPad. I'm guessing that will only increase with the iPad Pro.
  • Lots of people are going to attack Apple for making a stylus. I disagree. A 13" tablet is a much different animal than a phone and something that big can definitely use a stylus.
  • The Apple Pencil seems longer than most stylii I’ve seen. I’m sure there is a reason but have no clue why. I’ll be curious to see how it balances in my hand.
  • The comparison between the iPad Pro and Microsoft surface are obvious but there are some important distinctions. iPad Pro has a different screen ratio and doesn’t run OS X. To me it seems like the iPad is a tablet with PC leanings and the Surface is a PC with tablet leanings.
  • Apparently the Apple Pencil can charge remarkably fast. Apple states on its website that with 15 seconds charging, you can get 30 minutes of battery life. That’s a good thing since hanging the $99 Apple Pencil off the bottom of your iPad or the side of your Mac seems like a really easy way to break it.
  • It is strange that there’s no 3-D touch on the iPad Pro. Remember when Touch ID was on the phone but not the iPad and it made everyone a little crazy? Get ready for that again.
  • I thought it was cute how they had the email from Phil to Craig explaining the release date for El Capitan is September 30 but never directly acknowledged it.
  • I had no idea watches with bands that go around twice are a “thing”. My daughter has subsequently set me right on that account.
  • I’m assuming the 6s plus camera still has image stabilization and the 6s camera does not.
  • It is interesting that Apple chose to use big enterprise companies to demonstrate software on the iPad Pro. With the initial introduction of the iPad they also focused on productivity software but it was only Apple software (iWork). Now they’re bringing out Microsoft and Adobe.
  • Looking at split screen apps on the iPad Pro, it just begs for drag-and-drop data transfer between applications. I hope that shows up soon.
  • I’m curious to see how the fact that Apple now has its own iPhone rental program pans out. This puts them in direct competition with the carriers for phone sales. Maybe the carriers don’t care since they are about selling data more than devices but I suspect they do care and want us tied to them, not Apple,  for the phones. Either way, buying a new phone is about to change.
  • I was disappointed to see that the low-end iPhone is still 16 GB. It seems nutty that in 2015 the entry level iPhone has just 16 GB of memory. This new phone can shoot 4K video and one of its big new features is the ability to add video to every photograph you take. That’s going to be difficult to manage with just 16GB of storage.
  • I generally like the look of new Apple TV remote. I’m curious to see what one feels like in my hand. As a game controller, however, I have to wonder. I wish Apple would have made a legitimate first party game controller with buttons and joysticks. Leaving that to third parties seems a mistake.
  • It is strange how they didn’t show much of the interface for the new Apple TV. It also looked a lot like the existing interface with a new coat of paint. Maybe I just answered my own question.
  • Universal Search? Yes, thank you.
  • The inclusion of volume control from the Apple TV remote makes a lot of sense. I often have to chase down the TV remote solely for this reason. I also suspect volume control through the Apple TV was necessary for Siri. I’m guessing when you press the Siri button, the TV will mute.
  • The release of 32GB and. 64GB models is also curious. Under what circumstances will 32GB not be enough? Hopefully we’ll get a better understanding once we get our hands on the new Apple TV.
  • Even though the Apple TV got bigger, they removed the optical out cable in the back. If (like me) you’re relying on this for your sound, you’re going to have to work around that.

Review: Inateck Aluminum Unibody USB-C 3 Port USB and Ethernet Hub

With the inclusion of the USB-C port, the new MacBook is more friendly to third party parts manufacturers than it has been in a long time. There’s already a long list of established accessory makers and upstart Kickstarters all cooking up ideas to take advantage of this new port. 

One of the first arrivals in my bag is the Inateck Unibody USB Hub (Product Page) (Amazon). This travel-friendly device features three bus powered USB 3.0 ports and an Gigabit Ethernet port. This is all in a small package less than 4 inches long and 1 inch wide. It has a 1 foot USB-C cable attached for plugging into your MacBook. I’ve been testing the Inatech against the Apple USB to USB-C adapter and find no discernable difference in data transfer speeds. While about $10 more than the Apple adapter, I think the Inatech’s two additional USB ports and Gigabit Ethernet make it the better value.

I like this device because it has a nice aluminum design that is befitting the new MacBook and gives me a lot of flexibility for just a little room in my bag.

The Focus Course →

While I first met Shawn Blanc while wearing his nerd hat, I've been really pleased to see Shawn writing about more productivity focussed subjects. Recently, Shawn released The Focus Course. This is a course of videos and PDFs to help you figure out where you want to go and how to get there. I've only started going through the materials and they are good. If you're feeling adrift or just want to help get yourself more focussed, check this out.

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Sponsor: SaneBox →

This week MacSparky is sponsored by SaneBox. This only seems appropriate since over the last few days I’ve received multiple emails from MacSparky readers thanking me for the reference to SaneBox. Managing your email is harder than ever and SaneBox can make a big difference. SaneBox is a series of web-based tools that will help manage your email while you’re off doing other things.

SaneBox will filter your email for you, separating them more important from the less important. Imagine waking up to find your inbox with just six important emails instead of 150 emails with six important emails hidden inside them. SaneBox can also defer your email so if you get something that needs to wait a few days, you can defer it and it will disappear from your inbox until the designated date and time.

SaneBox can also keep track of the replies to your email so if you have an important email that doesn’t receive a reply, SaneBox will remind you. This is just a few of the many features you get with the service. I honestly don’t know how I get by without it. Learn more at SaneBox.com. Get $5 off with the links in this post. Trust me, this one can change your game.

On Illness and Content

You may have noticed things have been a little quiet around here as of late. I’ve hinted around about me getting sick but not really explained in full detail. In February, just a few days after quitting my job, I woke up in severe pain and unable to get out of bed. It turns out I had a kidney stone. It wasn’t dreadful but was causing me problems about once a week. After four months, The thing was still rattling around inside of me and I went through a small surgical procedure to take care of the problem. That was late July. Unfortunately, the procedure didn’t work and the kidney stone just got pissed off. For much of August, I was experiencing between five and eight kidney stone attacks a day, which if you’ve never had a kidney stone, I can assure you is pretty miserable. So in summary, my productivity for the last month was all shot to hell.

I am all better now and kidney stone-free. This past week I canceled this site’s sponsorship knowing that I needed to dig out on the legal side. Now I’m back to filling my fitness rings on my Apple watch while I’m still behind on email (sorry!), things are getting manageable again and next week MacSparky will be back to its regular programming.

While they are quite uncomfortable, kidney stones are not the end of the world. Once you get rid of them, you’re done. It’s not like cancer or some other chronic illness. Nevertheless, the past several months gave me new appreciation for how difficult it is for people with chronic illnesses to get by. I think about guys like Federico Viticci, who built a flourishing website while at the same time fighting off cancer, and I have more respect than ever. Thank you everyone for the well wishes as I’ve been dealing with this.

The DxO One iPhone Camera Plug-In

DxO, known primarily for its image processing software has got into the hardware business. For years we've been seeing a variety of bolt-on/clip-on/glue-on lenses for the iPhone. The DxO One instead plugs into the iPhone and iPad through the lightening port. The lens housing is in the unit and is s significant upgrade to the current iPhone 6 camera (or anything we'll see in the iPhone 6s). There is a 20 Megapixel, one inch sensor, and an F Stop down to 1.8. All of this adds up to better low light performance, better depth of field, and just generally better pictures at a cost of $600 and an additional thing to carry around.

The Wall Street Journal likes it, as does DPReview, Yahoo, and The Verge. I'm interested but also going to wait to see how it works with the new phone hardware later this month before committing.

The New Apple TV

Rumor sites are reporting that at the iPhone announcement later this month, Apple will announce a new iteration of the Apple TV. The rumor comes from Mark Gurman, who is the undisputed scoop-master of new Apple gadgets as of late. According to Mark, the new version will have two pricing tiers (which may be $149 and $199). Mark does not explain what the extra $50 gets you, although my guess would be increased storage capacity. The new version is supposed to ship with an App store and Siri integration. Rumors also abound that the new Apple TV will be a hub for controlling devices in your home with home kit. While it seems a given that there will be an App store, it is not clear what types of apps will be available. Is it just going to be content channels or will there be games and utilities too? I wouldn't mind a cool utility app that displays my calendar and weather on my TV when not in use otherwise. I also would like to purchase games, but am not sure well that would work without a game controller.

In the Sparks house, the new Apple TV cannot come soon enough. We bought one of the first 720p "puck style" Apple TVs. Over the last year, Apple has dropped support for YouTube (which teenagers watch a lot) and more recently the Apple TV has started resetting itself while we are streaming Netflix and HBO. I know some of Apple's competitors, like ROKU, have made significant progress in past years but because my family has so much content in iTunes and we use AirPlay several times a week, I'd like to stick with Apple. However, even our Apple-nerd family won't wait forever.

The State of Dictation on the Mac and iOS

As we are moving toward the release of iOS 9, OS X 10.11, and Dragon Dictate is about to get an upgrade, I've been looking lately a lot at how far along we've come with the ability to dictate to our devices.

I've long been a fan of dictation but also long felt an outsider in this regard. That isn't so true anymore. This morning I was sitting in a coffee shop and saw a few people dictating into their phones. I think it was the addition of dictation anywhere on our phones that has brought a lot of people in. This afternoon I made an informal poll of other geek friends, I'm hearing that many are using the built-in iOS dictation on at least a semi-regular basis. You should. It's faster and easier than typing.

That same informal poll, however, discloses that almost nobody dictates to their Macs. While Dragon Dictate remains in the lead over the built-in Mac OS dictation, I can report that the built-in Mac dictation continues to improve. It still exhibits strange behaviors on occasion but, If nothing else, it's a free way to find out if you want to dictate more and invest in Dragon Dictate.

While we are in much better shape than a few years ago, I still don't think dictation is for everyone. We haven't got to the point where you can just speak and have full confidence your words are being properly transcribed. On iOS, you still need an Internet connection for it to work. (Wouldn't it be nice if the next iPhone put dictation on the chip so you could dictate without an Internet connection?) Correcting blundered dictation is also still more difficult than it should be.

However, if you are the type that once in awhile just needs to get that first draft of something into your computer, dictation is now definitely up to the task.