I usually don’t post In the news on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but I ran across a number of interesting articles this week that I thought were worth sharing while they are still fresh. I saw many reviews of the iPad Pro this week, and I was surprised to see so many of them judge it by asking whether the iPad Pro is a laptop computer replacement. Especially for attorneys, that just isn’t the right question. I see that California attorney David Sparks feels the same way, given his post this week called The Right Question About iPad. As he writes: “I think it’s a mistake to get hung up on whether or not an iPad can replace a traditional computer. It’s like asking if buying toaster means you can get rid of your oven.” Exactly. And now, the news of note from this past week:
- Ohio attorney Chad Burton wrote about the iPad Pro this week, and he also criticizes reviewers who just focus on whether an iPad Pro can replace a computer.
- ABA Journal posted its 9th Annual Blawg 100, a list of some of the best blogs by and for lawyers. As always, the list is a great place to learn about new websites that might be of interest to you, so I encourage you to check it out. (iPhone J.D. was named to the Hall of Fame last year and thus is no longer eligible for the annual list.)
- A few years ago, I reviewed an iPhone app called Stick Texting that lets you add funny animations to your text messages. The app was written by Mitch Robiner, a partner in the Tampa, Florida office of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart. If you have your own idea for an iOS app and are trying to determine how to get started, you’ll be interested to learn that Mitch just published a $24.95 ebook called App Income: The Perfect Side Business. Mitch gave me a free copy to read, and it is a detailed 72-page book with lots of information in it on how to get started, how to hire programmers, how to use advertising to increase sales, etc. Definitely worth reading if you are interested in getting into the business.
- D.C. immigration attorney Reid Trautz posted his 11th annual Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers. I see that the Apple Watch made the list.
- Geoffrey Fowler and Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal wrote a Tech Holiday Gift Guide, and the Apple TV, Apple Watch, and many iOS accessories made the list.
- In a review for Macworld, Susie Ochs sees a lot of advantages of the iPad Pro, but concludes that she prefers the iPad Air 2.
- Jason Snell gives advice on choosing between an iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad mini in this article for Macworld.
- Several folks posted specific reviews of the Apple Pencil this week, which makes sense because it is one of the best features of the iPad Pro. Jackie Dove of Macworld says that if you have an iPad Pro, it is a no-brainer to get an Apple Pencil.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac wrote this review of the Apple Pencil.
- Myke Hurly wrote this review of the Apple Pencil for The Pen Addict.
- Neil Hughes of AppleInsider wrote a good article on what you can and cannot do with an Apple Pencil. Apple was smart in deciding that there are some functions that require a finger, so you cannot accidentally trigger them with the Pencil.
- Teddy Svoronos is a PhD candidate and a teacher. He wrote an interesting article on how he uses GoodNotes, the primary app that I use to take notes on my iPad.
- Josh Ginter wrote an article for The Sweet Setup concluding that the best cases for the iPhone 6s are Apple’s Silicone Case and, if you want a more premium option, Apple’s Leather Case. I’ve been using the Apple Leather Case ever since I got an iPhone 6 and I really like it.
- Rene Ritchie of iMore wrote a comprehensive review of the Apple TV.
- If you use an Apple Watch, you might be interested in the new Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock that Apple just started selling. Rene Ritchie wrote a Hands On for iMore. It looks OK, but I’m very happy with the more compact and much cheaper Spigen Apple Watch Night Stand that I reviewed three months ago.
- More merchants will be able to offer Apple Pay now that Square debuted this week the new Square Reader designed to work with contactless payment services, as noted by Graham Spencer of MacStories.
- Randall Munroe, who writes the great XKCD comic, has a new book out called Thing Explainer which explains lots of complicated concepts using only the 1,000 most common words to make them easier to understand. There is an excerpt from the book in The New Yorker in which Munroe explains Einstein’s theory of relativity, which Einstein first presented 100 years ago this week. I wish I could have read this when I first tried to understand the concept when I was in school, and no matter how old you are, it is worth reading today. And yes, there is a (slight) iPhone connection because that article mentions how Einstein’s theory is important for making the GPS in an iPhone work.
- And finally, I’m usually a big fan of the commercials that Apple releases for the Holiday Season each year. I wrote about some of the best ones last year on Christmas Eve. I don’t know if this will be the only Christmas-themed commercial that Apple runs in 2015, but they came out with a great one this week. Apple technology plays only a small part in the ad; instead, it is more of a gift to Apple’s customers, a 90 second music video with Stevie Wonder and Andra Day. I think that Stevie Wonder sounds even better singing this song today than he did when he first released the song in 1967, and Andra Day’s voice is amazing. Definitely worth watching: