I received an email from a Kansas attorney earlier this week asking if I had ever had a problem opening PDF attachments to an email. He told me that a few weeks ago he started to have problems with certain PDF files where the text would be replaced by black lines, would be blank, or there would be other display problems. He sent me some files that exhibited the problem and while I saw it happen once, I could not get it to happen again. However, I see a thread on the Apple Support Communities indicating that a number of people have been having the same problem since iOS 7.1 was introduced in March of 2014. He also told me that he found a workaround — go the bottom of the email message, tap the blue text "Download full message" and then tap the attachment. I haven't had enough experience with this problem for me to write a full post on it, but just in case some of you out there are not as lucky as I have been and have had trouble reading some PDF attachments, you might want to try that workaround. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Ohio attorney Paul Unger reviews Microsoft's PowerPoint app for iPad. The title of his article gives away his conclusion: "It's a Good Start, but Needs Improvement!"
- Nerino Petro of the State Bar of Wisconsin Law Office Management Assistance Program wrote an overview on using an iPad in a law practice for Wisconsin Lawyer magazine.
- South Carolina attorney Jenny Stevens reviews Aduro's Rotata iPad mini case, a case with a rotating screen.
- California attorney David Sparks notes that iThoughts — a mind mapping app — is updated and is now on sale for only $1.99.
- As tweeted by longtime analyze of all things Microsoft Paul Thurrott, Microsoft announced at the recent TechEd Conference that about 27 million people have downloaded the new Office for iPad apps so far. That doesn't tell you how many folks have also paid to become new subscribers of Office 365 so that they can use all of the features in the new apps, but I suspect that Microsoft has seen quite a few new paying users due to the iPad apps.
- I use the app GoodNotes when I take handwritten notes on my iPad. People often ask me if I can search my notes, and while I've never really found a need to do so, I can understand how it would be a nice feature. Yesterday, the developer of GoodNotes tweeeted "Handwriting search demo" with the hashtag "#soexcited" and a link to this video. I suppose that means that we will see a GoodNotes upgrade that adds the ability to turn handwriting into text that can be searched, which will be interesting.
- Jordon Kahn of 9to5Mac noted that yesterday Apple updated its Podcasts app to add Siri support and improved episode browsing. I listen to a lot of podcasts, but a few weeks ago I stopped using Apple's Podcasts app to see if there was something else that I might like more. I used Downcast for a few weeks, and earlier this week I started using Castro. I haven't yet decided whether to stick with one of them, keep trying more apps, or go back to Podcasts, but the Podcasts app will be much more useful now that Siri works with it.
- Adam Zeis of iMore notes that in a small but growing number of cities, you can now send a text to 911 in an emergency. I can definitely imagine a situation when you don't feel safe talking out loud on a phone but you are able to send a text seeking help — but note that if you text, you'll need to tell 911 where you are located, unlike with a phone call when they can track your location.
- Michael Brown of PCWorld explains why you might want to use a travel router when you are on the road and reviews six new devices.
- Some people have been talking about the recent rumor that Apple is buying Beats, but as Scoopertino reports, the real news is yet another recent acquisition.
- And finally, here is a new video showing off the $300,000 Bentley Mulsanne. I mention it for two reasons — neither of which is that I own one, or am likely to ever own one in my lifetime. First, one of the optional configurations of the car is for the backseat to have "twin electrically-deployed picnic tables with concealed iPad holders, integrated charging and dedicated space for Apple wireless keyboards, Naim Audio, Rear Seat Entertainment System and wi-fi hotspot, providing a supremely comfortable working environment or a world of entertainment at your fingertips." Second, this entire video was filmed using an iPhone and edited using an iPad in that backseat "electrically-deployed picnic table." The end of the video gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how it was created. It is all very neat, but the only thing that I could think of while I watched that video is that the only ones who ever sit in the backseat of my car are my son and daughter (age 8 and 6) and I don't ever see the day when I will give them integrated, backseat, electrically-deployed iPad tables. (via Apple's Phil Schiller on Twitter)
