Month: July 2013

I encountered a strange bug on my iPhone that has an even more bizarre solution.  Here are the details in case the same thing happens to you.  I have an Apple TV connected to my television and I wanted to mirror what was on my iPhone to the TV.  Normally, this is very simple to do.  As explained in this Apple support article, on an iPhone 4S or later, you can double-click the Home button (which displays your recently used apps) and then swipe twice from left to right to display the AirPlay icon on the bottom right of your screen.  You then tap that icon, select an Apple TV that is on the same network, and turn on Mirroring.  The procedure is fast and simple, and it makes everything on your iPhone screen also show up on the TV.

At least, it is supposed to be that simple.  When I tried to do so the other night, I didn’t see an AirPlay icon:

After confirming that my Apple TV was working and that my Apple TV and iPhone were on the same local WiFi network, I wasn’t sure to do next.  After a lot of searching the Internet, I finally found this thread on the Support Communities area of Apple’s website that offered a bizarre solution that actually worked for me.

It turns out that you can fix this problem by going to your Settings app and selecting General -> International -> Language.  Then change your language from whatever you are using now (such as English) to another language (I chose French).  Then switch it back to your original language.

That’s it.  Now when you double-click and the Home button and then swipe twice from left to right, you should see the AirPlay icon.  As you can see, it worked for me:

I am running what is now the latest version of the iOS for iPhone, version 6.1.4.  I suspect that Apple will fix this in the future — indeed, iOS 7 handles the buttons for things like AirPlay in a whole new way — but for now, there seems to be some connection between changing your language and mirroring to an Apple TV.

For a while now I’ve seen rumors that Apple is developing a watch or other small personal accessory, something that many have called the iWatch.  I didn’t think much of the rumors until Apple CEO Tim Cook said this past April that Apple is working on “the potential of exciting new product categories.”  Not just a new product in an existing category (such as an updated iPhone or iPad) but a new category altogether.  Then earlier this week there were reports that Apple applied for trademarks on the word “iWatch” in Russia, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey and Columbia.  Then there was a report this week by Mike Isaac of All Things D that Apple just hired Paul Deneve, who had been the CEO of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, to work as a Vice President at Apple on “special projects” reporting directly to Tim Cook.  Deneve has a history at Apple (he worked there from 1990 to 1997), although that was before Tim Cook and many others at Apple worked there.  So Apple is working on a new type of product, they are applying for a trademark on “iWatch,” and they are hiring someone who has experience selling fasionable clothes and accessories.  I’m sure there are many other possible explanations for all of this, but you can no longer ignore the interesting possibility that Apple is considering a new iWatch product this year or next year.  And now, the news of note from the past week — which wasn’t much this holiday week:

• Ian Paul of TechHive surveys Wi-Fi availability on domestic flights.  Virgin and AirTran have WiFi on all flights; otherwise, your best bets are likely to be Delta or Southwest.  The last few times that I’ve flown Delta after spending all day in a deposition I’ve noticed that there was an option for 30 minutes of Gogo Internet WiFi for only $3.  That turned out to be a great option for me — enough time to catch up on the important emails that I missed during the day.  Easily worth the three bucks.
• Speaking of Southwest WiFi, Buster Heine reports that you can now watch in-flight TV for free using an iPhone or iPad on Southwest flights.
• Alex Heath of Cult of Mac reports that Microsoft’s OneNote iOS app received a major update.
• And finally, the funny folks at Scoopertino have a “report” that Apple is abandoning the iOS 7 icons that were previewed last month and is now going a different direction:

I write columns for two free TechnoLawyer newsletters that are distributed via email:  SmallLaw and BigLaw.  Although the newsletters have different target audiences, I encourage you to sign up for both of them because no matter what kind of law you practice you will often find useful tips in both newsletters.  For example, while I work for a large law firm, I enjoyed Brett Burney’s June 6, 2013 SmallLaw column on the best iPad apps for scanning documents.  If you don’t subscribe to the BigLaw newsletter, you should definitely click here to do so before July 9th because that issue will contain my interview with Jones Day attorney John Walker.  John is a litigator in the firm’s Atlanta office who represents clients in high-stakes products liability litigation around the country, and he is very savvy with technology.  My BigLaw interview with John will focus on his favorite iPhone and iPad apps.

While talking to John, I learned that as a result of all of the travel that he does around the country, he has gotten very good at “travel hacking” — reaping maximum benefit from airline and hotel loyalty programs.  In an average year, John earns close to one million miles/points on top of those that he earns from regular travel.  That gives John and his family the opportunity to travel, even internationally, for free.  John told me about a number of iPhone and iPad apps that he uses and recommends for travel hacking, many of which were new to me.  Here are John’s recommendations:

• OnTheFly:  A front
  
  end to a great flight searching website (matrix.itasoftware.com),
  
  recently taken over by Google.  It’s my favorite resource for flexibly
  
  searching all airlines (except Southwest) at once.  Click here for OnTheFly (free): 
• GateGuru:  I use
  
  this app for finding airline lounges in the U.S. and especially abroad.
  
   Especially helpful for “mileage runs,” when you need to find a lounge with a shower.  [Jeff adds:  Here is a link to my review from 2010.  The app now has a new interface, but I still use it almost every time I have a layover to figure out the best place to eat and to locate shops and services.]  Click here for GateGuru (free): 
• AwardWallet:
  
   Mobile front end to the website of the same name that helps track frequent flier
  
  (and frequent guest) miles/points across different programs, including
  
  expiration dates.  Click here for AwardWallet (free): 
  
• TripAdvisor:
  
   Front end to website; reviews of hotels and other attractions.  Click here for link to mobile web app.
  
• ExpertFlyer:  Web
  
  link to mobile version of subscription site that lets me check seat
  
  availability, upgrade availability, likelihood of being “bumped” from a flight, award
  
  availability, etc. across several airlines.  In many cases I can see what
  
  the agents can see.  Click here for the mobile website.  Click here for the full website for more details and to sign up.
• KayakPro:  I use
  
  it to search hotels primarily.  Click here for KayakPro ($0.99): 
• Southwest Airlines:  App to
  
  search, buy, check in, etc. for Southwest flights.  I don’t fly them often,
  
  but using a travel “hack” last year, I obtained a ton of points and a
  
  “companion pass” that lets my wife fly free on Southwest on any itinerary (paid
  
  or award) that I book in 2012-2013.  Click here for Southwest Airlines (free): 
  
• FlightBoard:  The app gives abundant gate information similar to
  
  what you might see at an airport.  Especially good for (1) checking on the
  
  status of a flight arriving to one’s departure gate; and (2) finding
  
  out what destinations are available from a particular airport.  Click here for FlightBoard ($3.99): 
• STAYConnect Mobile by LodgeNet:  Good to
  
  use as a remote control for hotel TVs in many hotel chains (better than the
  
  nasty one hotels make available, which is rarely cleaned and sometimes
  
  sticky).  Click here for STAYConnect Mobile (free): 
• Priority Pass:
  
   Mobile app that accompanies my Priority Pass lounge membership (free with
  
  American Express platinum card) for lounge access in airports/terminals
  
  where don’t have it with Delta.  A lifesaver, especially for international
  
  travel.  Click here for Priority Pass (free): 
  
• SkyScanner:
  
   Another tool for searching flights.  Click here for SkyScanner (free): 
• Hyatt Hotels:  Useful for
  
  finding Hyatt hotels and searching availability.  I use this more following my
  
  recent “mattress run” for Diamond status with Hyatt.  Click here for Hyatt Hotels (free): 
  
• SPG:  Useful for
  
  finding Starwood hotels and searching availability.  I use this more following my
  
  recent “mattress run” for Platinum status with Starwood.  Click here for SPG (free): 
• Yelp:  Similar to
  
  TripAdvisor, but I also use for restaurants.  Click here for Yelp (free): 

By the way, when you read the BigLaw article, you’ll see that John names some of his favorite music apps, and he told me that he streams music from his iPhone to his stereo so that he and his four daughters can have a weekly dance party.  Here is a cute picture of John’s family.

Thanks, John, for the great tips on travel hacking with an iPhone or iPad, and also for taking the time to talk with me for the upcoming BigLaw article.

—–

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Thank
you to Thomson Reuters for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month.  The company is doing so for two of its technologies.  First, WestlawNext is once again a sponsor.  WestlawNext for iPad is one of the useful law-related apps out there, so if you haven’t tried it yet, click here to check it out.

Second, Thomson Reuters wants iPhone J.D. readers to know about its hosted practice technology solutions which provide a
secure, private cloud with scalable on-demand storage.  You can now use online versions of Case Logistix for e-discovery and Case Notebook for case analysis solutions.  Because the storage is online, you don’t have to purchase or maintain storage hardware.  And that online storage is reliable — the same security, backup and support as WestlawNext.  Plus, you don’t need to worry about software updates because the software online is always up-to-date.