Month: June 2011

Sorry for the lack of real posts yesterday and today.  I’ve been traveling and rather busy at work. But if you are looking for something good to read today, and if you are at all curious about the new iCloud offering that was announced by Apple earlier this week, Macworld published a comprehensive guide to everything that we currently know about iCloud, all in an easy-to-read question and answer format.  Check it out.

Yesterday, Steve Jobs and other Apple executives previewed iOS 5, the next version of the operating system for the iPhone and iPad.  Due to be released this Fall, this is a major update that provides incredible enhancements.  Apple says that there are 200 new features, and highlighted a sampling of them yesterday.  Here are the features that I think lawyers will really love about iOS 5 on their iPhone or iPad.

1. Better e-mail.  The Mail app is probably the most important app for most lawyers, and thus I am thrilled to see that it will receive many improvements.  First, your messages will look better with support for bold, italics, underline, indents, etc.  Second, you’ll be able to drag an address between the fields, making it simple to change someone from a “to” to a “cc” or vice versa.  Third, on the iPad a new split screen keyboard will make it easier to use your thumbs to type, much like you do an on iPhone.  Fourth, the Mail app (and other apps) will include a dictionary, making it easy to look up what a word means.  Fifth, you will be able to flag messages so you know to follow up on them later.  Sixth, you can now search the contents of messages (even older messages on your server not yet downloaded to the iPhone), making it much easier to locate an older message just by looking for a word that appeared in the message.  (Right now, you can only search the “to” “from” and “subject” fields.)  Seventh, in portrait mode on the iPad, you’ll be able to swipe from the side to see your inbox list.  Eighth, you be able to send and receive encrypted e-mails if your company supports S/MIME.  Ninth, there will be better offline support in Mail.  Tenth, iOS 5 will support custom keyboard shortcuts.  For example, you can tell your iPhone that every time you type p-c it should automatically change it to “Privileged and Confidential.”  This is an amazing set of improvements to what I consider the most important app on the iPhone.
2. iCloud.  This free service will automatically sync your contacts, calendar entries,  mail, Safari Bookmarks and iBooks across devices, replacing the current $99/year MobileMe service.  Once a day, iCloud will also backup your data over Wi-Fi.  If  you ever lose your phone and need to get a new one, just log in on the new iPhone to quickly restore from the last automatic backup.  iCloud should also make it simple to share documents and photos between your iPhone, iPad and computer (both Mac and PC).  The document syncing service could be particularly useful to attorneys, addressing the constant problem of what is the best way to get a document from your computer to your iPad.  Many attorneys currently use Dropbox for this; we’ll have to see how iCloud compares, how Apple handles document security, etc.  Apple only showed the sharing of iWork files (Pages, Keynote and Numbers); I want to know about sharing Word and PDF files.  You can also use iCloud to share calendars, so for example you can set up a calendar with activities relating to your kids.  Every new calendar entry that you add automatically goes via iCloud to your spouse’s iPhone and vice versa.  I have a feeling that iCloud will become one of the best parts of iOS 5.
3. Music.  iCloud’s treatment of music deserves special mention.  Songs that you buy from iTunes will automatically sync to all of your iOS devices.  You can buy a song on an iPad and then quickly listen to it on an iPhone.  Additionally, if you have music that was not purchased from iTunes (such as music that you ripped from a CD), you can pay Apple $25 a year to have the rights to download or stream those songs to any of your devices.
4. Redownload of apps.  iCloud will make it easier to re-download an app that you previously purchased (or, for free apps, previously downloaded).  Part of this feature is actually working already.  Go to the App Store on your iPhone right now, tap on the Updates button at the bottom right, and then tap the new “Purchased” link at the top.  You will see a list of all apps currently on your iPhone and all apps that you previously purchased which are not on your iPhone with a link to tap to redownload the app.  (By the way, the iTunes app on the iPhone also now allows you to redownload songs that you previously purchased.)
5. Improved notifications.  The current notification system on the iPhone has shortcomings.  Currently, if you miss a call or a text message, a notice appears on your iPhone.  Often however, I pick up my iPhone and swipe to unlock only to realize too late that there was a notification there, which I have now missed.  Plus, it can be cumbersome when you have multiple notifications build up.  Also, if you are using your iPhone, notifications currently interrupt what you are doing.  iOS 5 has a Notification Center that stores all notifications in a single place.  As new notifications come in, that just appear in a small bar at the top for a few seconds and then they go away.  You can access your notifications at any time just by swiping your finger down from the top of the phone.  You can even see your notifications when the iPhone is locked.  It looks very slick.
6. Reminders.  Apple’s new Reminders app will allow you to create multiple to do lists, including tasks with due dates.  The app will even be location aware, so you can tell your iPhone to remind you to get the milk when the iPhone sees that you are at the grocery store, and you can tell your iPhone to remind you to call your spouse when it sees that you have left your office.  Reminders will also sync your to do lists with Tasks in Outlook.  The Reminders app looks to be really useful and I suspect that a lot of lawyers will use this one all the time.
7. Newsstand.  If you subscribe to a magazine or newspaper on the iPad or iPhone, all subscriptions will appear in a new location called the Newsstand.  Best of all, new issues will download automatically in the background.  Thus, whenever you are ready to read, the latest issues are already on your iPad or iPhone.
8. Safari improvements.  You can tap a button to make the text of an article on a web page more readable (removing the ads and side columns), similar to what you can do with Readability (my review is here).  You can also start reading a webpage on one device, such as an iPhone, and then save it to a Reading List so that you can continue to read it later on your iPad or computer.  Safari in iOS 5 will also have tabbed browsing.
9. Text messaging improvements.  Instead of just using the Messages app on the iPhone to handle text messages, a new iMessage app for the iPhone or iPad will support realtime messages of text, photos, videos or contacts using 3G or Wi-Fi without using your phone company’s text messaging service.  This looks similar to the messaging system on BlackBerries, but it has a lot more enhancements.  You can even get delivery and read receipts, the messages exist on both the iPhone and the iPad, and the system is secure encrypted for privacy.
10. Faster, better pictures.  Currently to take a photo on the iPhone you need to swipe to unlock the screen, then launch the Camera app, then take a picture using the on screen button.  With iOS 5 you’ll be able to launch the Camera app directly from the lock screen by double-tapping the home button, and you’ll even be able to press the volume button to take a picture.  All of this will make it much faster to take a picture with your iPhone.  Plus, the Photos app will include some simple editing tools so that you can crop, rotate, remove red eye and enhance the photo.
11. No computer necessary.  No longer will you need to connect to a computer running iTunes to first use an iPhone and to update the system software.  With iOS 5 this can all happen over Wi-Fi.
12. AirPlay mirroring.  If you want to show off to others what is on your iPad 2 screen, you will be able to do so wirelessly if the TV is connected to an Apple TV (which is so small that it is easy to take to any meeting).
13. Wi-Fi iTunes sync.  You won’t have to plug your iPhone into your computer to backup and sync with iTunes.  With iOS 5 you can do so over Wi-Fi.
14. Twitter.  For those of you who use Twitter, it will be tightly integrated into iOS 5, making it easier to share a photo, webpage, map location, etc.
15. Switch apps quickly.  A new multitouch gesture will let you swipe to switch between different apps, which should be faster than double tapping on the home button to do so.
16. FaceTime improvements.  The video quality in FaceTime is improved, and you’ll be able to receive FaceTime call invitations even if you are currently on a FaceTime call with someone else.
17. Games.  Improvements to the Game Center feature will enhance the ability to play games with other people.
18. And more.  Apple did not provide many details, but additional improvements in iOS 5 include alternate routes in maps, persona directory support (whatever that means), hourly weather forecasts, new typing shortcuts, custom vibration patterns, real-time stock quotes, an option to speak text, improved PDF support, and the ability for the LED light (the flash next to the camera) to blink when you have a phone call or an alert.

In addition to providing a preview of iOS 5 yesterday, Apple announced some updated numbers that demonstrate the strength of the iPhone and iPad:

• Apple has sold over 200 million iOS devices to date, about 44% of the mobile market.  (Android has 28%, RIM has 19%, and all the rest are 9%). 
• Apple has sold 25 million iPads since they first came out 14 months ago. 
• Apple has sold 15 billions songs on the iTunes music store, making it the #1 retailer of music in the world. 
• Customers have downloaded 130 million iBooks. 
• The App Store now has over 425,000 apps, 90,000 of them designed for the iPad.  Over 100,000 of the 425,000 apps are games.
• Over 14 billion apps have been downloaded since the App Store launched less than three years ago.  
• Apple has paid iOS developers over $2.5 billion.

iOS 5 will be a major release that will provide some amazing enhancements to the iPhone and iPad.  The only bad news is that we need to wait until this Fall to get it.  I can’t wait.

At 10 Pacific / 1 Eastern today, Steve Jobs will give the keynote address at WWDC, Apple’s developer conference.  The focus is supposed to be the next version of the iPhone and iPad operating system (iOS 5), the next version of the Mac operating system (Lion) and a new cloud storage system called iCloud.  We’ll find out in a few hours what Steve Jobs has to say about iCloud today, but if you want to see what he said about something similar 14 years ago, check out this video of Steve Jobs talking at WWDC back in 1997.  This was just a few months after Steve Jobs returned to Apple, before he became CEO and when his only role was to be an advisor.  Around the 16 minute mark, Steve Jobs says:

In the last seven years, do you know how many times I have lost any personal data?  Zero.  Do you know how many times I’ve backed up my computer?  Zero.  I have computers at Apple, at Next, at Pixar and at home.  I walk up to any of them and log in as myself.  It goes over the network, finds my home directory on the server, and I’ve got my stuff, wherever I am.  And none of that is on a local hard disk.

Jobs also admitted that he wasn’t a fan of the Newton, but he did see a future for a small connected device in an interconnected world.  You can see around the 1:03 mark that Steve Jobs is starting to think about what will one day become the iPhone:

To me, the high order bit is connectivity.  The high order bit is being in touch, connected to a network.  That’s why I bought the Envoy, it had a cellular modem in it.  I don’t think the world is about keeping my life on this little thing and IR’ing it into to my computer when I get back to my base station.  To me what I want is this little thing that I carry around with me that’s got a keyboard on it, because if you do e-mail you need a keyboard, until you perfect speech recognition.   You need a keyboard.  You don’t sit there and write stuff.  You need a keyboard.  And you need to be connected to the net.  So if somebody would just make a little thing where you are connected to the net at all times, you’ve got a little keyboard like an eMate with a modem in it, my God I’d love to buy one.  But I don’t see one of those out there.

Watch the full keynote to see more vintage Steve Jobs, saying many things that are still relevant today:

(Link via TiPb and The Tech Bench.)

Next week, Apple is hosting WWDC, its annual conference for the developers who write software for Apple products.  Monday at 10 Pacific, Steve Jobs will give a keynote address.  Although Apple typically keeps the content of keynote addresses secret, this year Apple announced that it will discuss (1) iOS 5, the next version of the iPhone / iPad operating system, (2) iCloud, presumably an online storage option that you can use with your iPhone, iPad and your computer, and (3) Lion, the next version of the Mac operating system.  Much of the iPhone and iPad-related articles from this past week were just speculation on what Apple will announce, but other than those predictions I ran across the following news items of note form the past week:

• I’ve seen several CLEs, and many other events, over the past few months in which an iPad or iPhone was a free giveaway to one lucky participant.  According to Philip Elmer-DeWitt of Fortune, Apple is now trying to stop these promotions as a violation of Apple policies, presumably based on the fear that these free giveaways diminish the Apple brand.
• In April I reviewed Google Authenticator, a method of verifying particular computers, iPads, iPhones, etc. that are authorized to use your Google account.  The idea is that even if a bad guy gets your Gmail password, he cannot access your Gmail account from another computer until that computer is authenticated.  Underscoring the reason to use this free service, Amir Efrati and Siobhan Gorman of the Wall Street Journal reported this week on an announcement by Google that bad guys in China recently hacked into many Gmail accounts, including accounts of some prominent individuals.  Google noted that those using the Google Authenticator service were protected.  To be honest, Google Authenticator can be a little tricky when you initially set it up, but there is a good reason for you to do so.  If you use Google services, check out my article from April.
• The federal government has typically been very conservative on the use of technology, with BlackBerries typically approved but not other smartphones.  But as I have noted in the past, even President Obama now uses an iPad, and many congressman use iPhones or iPads.  Michael Rosenwald of the Washington Post reported on the increasing acceptance of iPhones and iPads by the federal government.
• If someone e-mails you a ZIP file, how do you open it on an iPhone or iPad?  Tom Mighell reminds us on his iPad4Lawyer site that you can use the great GoodReader app to unzip the files.  My review of GoodReader from last month is here.  I consider it an essential app on my iPad.
• I’ve written in the past about expensive apps for the iPhone.  The most that Apple allows someone to charge for an app is $999.99, and I’ve noted in the past that one such app is BarMax, a bar review course.  David Murphy of PC Magazine writes about BarMax and two other $999.99 apps.
• Last week, Amazon promoted its MP3 download service by selling the new Lady Gaga album for only 99¢.  Ed Christman of Bilboard reports that Amazon sold about 440,000 copies at that price, and since Amazon made up the difference, the promotion to spread awareness for purchasing MP3s from Amazon is estimated to have cost Amazon a few million dollars.  But what struck me as really interesting is that even with this promotion, iTunes still sold about 200,000 copies of the album at full price according to Billboard.  Amazon all but gave the album away for free, and that many people still bought the album from iTunes?  Wow.  For what it is worth, I buy my music from both Amazon and iTunes.  iTunes tends to be my default store, but I’ll often look to see if something is cheaper on Amazon and if so I’ll get it there.
• Macworld offers some useful tips for those who travel with the iPhone or iPad.
• And finally, Adam Rosen of Cult of Mac reports on an app developed by the University of Iowa that lets students learn all sorts of information about what is happening at the school, and the app even includes a feature that lets students see which washing machines and dryers in their dorms are available — and for those which are not available how long before the cycle is finished.  Too funny, but now that I think about it, an app that I certainly would have used as a college freshman.  Best of all (ahem) I see that the app is a free download for anyone, so if you are really bored at work today, you can launch the app and find out how many washers are free to use in Burge South, the third floor of Mayflower, or the Slater Basement.  Click here to get University of Iowa (free): 

  

  

Microfiber cloths are nice to have to keep your iPhone or iPad screen clean.  C.T.A. Products, LLC makes the Cloth Addiction Microfiber Cloth, and I noticed earlier this year that New York attorney Niki Black posted a favorable review (including a video) on her Legal iPad site.  The company recently sent me a free review unit, and I have been trying it out for a few weeks.

As I noted earlier this week, my favorite microfiber cloth is the MOBiLE CLOTH and the new MC Nano.  The MOBiLE CLOTH cleans screens faster and better than any other cloth that I’ve ever tried.  The only disadvantage of the MOBiLE CLOTH is that it is thick.  Perhaps that is what makes it work so well, but sometimes you want something very thin so that you can toss it in your pocket without taking up any real space.  The Cloth Addiction Microfiber Cloth is incredibly thin — thinner than the similar microfiber cloths that you typically find in stores that sell eyeglasses or sunglasses — but the thin size doesn’t stop it from doing the job.

The cloth comes in a plastic pouch so it is easy to carry around.  I see on the website that if you purchase the 8.75 x 12 inch version for $8.95, you get the 7 x 7 inch version (the version that was sent to me) for free.

The Cloth Addiction Microfiber Cloth does the job without taking up much space.

Click here to get the Cloth Addiction Microfiber Cloth from the manufacturer’s website ($8.95).

Apple’s Keynote, Pages and Numbers apps on the iPad have long been not only useful apps, but symbolically important apps.  The apps are useful because they all do a good job of creating documents.  Additionally, these apps demonstrate that the iPad can be used to create work-related documents.  Especially when the iPad was originally introduced, these apps proved that the iPad was not just a toy or a content consumption device.  These apps have received good reviews and I use all of them on my iPad from time to time.  Indeed, there have been several times when I have found it easier to create a presentation in Keynote on my iPad than to create a presentation running PowerPoint or Keynote on my computer.

Yesterday, Apple updated all three of these apps so that they now run on the iPhone.  (They work on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and the third- and fourth-generation iPod touch.)  These are universal apps so if you already have them for your iPad, the same apps will now run on an iPhone.  These three apps can handle not only documents created in Keynote, Pages or Numbers on the Mac or iPad, but can also read and edit Microsoft Office documents (PowerPoint, Word and Excel).

These apps are useful on an iPad, but is the same true on the iPhone with its much smaller screen?  Because the apps are brand new it is a little early to tell.  I can imagine situations in which the Keynote app would be useful.  Creating a presentation on the iPhone seems cumbersome, but if you create a Keynote presentation on the computer or iPad I can see it being useful to (1) make some quick edits on the iPhone, (2) review your presentation on the iPhone as you rehearse in an environment (such as on a plane) where you don’t want to use your computer or even an iPad, and (3) run your presentation by connecting a cable from the iPhone to a projector or monitor.  Note that Keynote is, I believe, the first Apple app that runs only in landscape mode.

As for the Numbers and Pages apps, I find it hard to envision spending much time using these apps on the iPhone.  Pages is a star on the iPad when you want to create a document with a nice layout, but the iPhone screen is too small to really appreciate a layout on a document.  I would prefer to use a program like Quickoffice or Documents to Go, apps that focus on making the text easy to read without an undue emphasis on preserving full-page formatting.  And any Numbers spreadsheet with more than a few columns and rows is going to be difficult to work with on the iPhone screen.  Curiously, Numbers only works in the portrait mode, even though many spreadsheets seem more suited for a landscape view.

  

Although I am currently skeptical that I will use Pages or Numbers on the iPhone very often, I must admit that when iMovie was released for the iPhone, I doubted that the app would be very useful on the small screen.  My opinion has changed over time becasue I have frequently recorded some videos on the iPhone and then used iMovie to quickly turn them into something more professional by merging and editing clips and by adding some titles and a soundtrack.  Perhaps over time I will find circumstances in which creating or editing documents in Pages or Numbers makes sense on an iPhone.

It is certainly impressive that Apple found a way to make these sophisticated apps usable on the small iPhone screen.  For example, as Dan Moren of Macworld notes:  “To ease working with the smaller screens, a Smart Zoom feature for Pages and Numbers automatically follows the cursor while you’re editing text or data, then zooms back out to give you an overview when you’re done.”  If nothing else, having these apps installed on your iPhone will make it easier to view documents created in Keynote, Pages or Numbers on an iPad or desktop when someone e-mails them to you.

Click here to get Keynote ($9.99): 

Click here to get Pages ($9.99): 

Click here to get Numbers ($9.99):