Have you had trouble with your iPad crashing when using a larger PDF file in apps like TrialPad or GoodReader? This week, Apple updated iOS to version 10.2. Along with the new emoji, it appears that one of the improvements is better stability with PDF files, as explained at the folks at Lit Software (maker of TrialPad, TranscriptPad, and DocReviewPad). I had been experiencing occasional crashes over the last few weeks, and they haven’t happened at all since I updated. It’s only been a few days, and maybe I’ve just been lucky, but my hope is that iOS 10.2 did fix something. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks shows how to make fun Star Wars-themed custom Apple Watch faces. His tip works for any theme, but with the new Star Wars movie, the time is right for a Star Wars watch face, and I downloaded the R2D2 one that he provides on that page.
- David Sparks and Florida attorney Katie Floyd co-host the great Mac Power Users podcast. This week they released Episode 355 discussing the iPad as Mac replacement. I use an iPad as a replacement for a computer whenever I travel, but otherwise use an iPad along with my computer. Regardless of how you use your iPad in your law practice, there are a ton of great tips in this episode. Worth a listen.
- In late October, I discussed the parts of the 2016 ABA Tech Survey relevant to attorney use of iPhones and iPads. Aaron Street of Lawyerist.com offers his take on the mobile technology parts of the 2016 survey.
- Along with hopefully fixing PDF bugs, iOS 10.2 adds the new TV app. Ryan Christoffel of MacStories reviews the new TV app.
- The Apple AirPods — Apple’s new take on wireless earphones — are finally here. Supplies are extremely limited, and you had to order one in the first few minutes of availability to get them before Christmas, but over the coming weeks it will become easier and easier to find them. It reminds me of when the Apple Pencil first shipped and was incredibly hard to find. Susie Ochs of Macworld has a good overview of what you need to know when you first start using AirPods.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors answers most of the questions that you might have about the AirPods.
- How often should you change your password? Traditionally, security experts have said to do so regularly, but I have always been suspicious of that advice. If you change your password often, it is harder to remember, so you are more likely to (1) pick easier-to-remember — and easier-to-guess — password and (2) write it down or store it somewhere that it might be accessed. But the argument on the other side is that if someone else does get access to your password and then, down the road, tries to use it without your permission, it is better if you had changed it in the interim. I recently ran across an article from March of 2016 from Lorrie Cranor, Chief Technologist for the Federal Trade Commission, that explores whether it is better or worse to have a mandatory password change policy. It’s a good read.
- If you want your iPhone 7 to look like a book, Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac reports that Twelve South is now producing a BookBook case for the newest iPhones. These cases look interesting, especially if you love books.
- Neil Cybart of Above Avalon wrote an interesting perspective on the state of the smartwatch market and the dominance of the Apple Watch.
- Rene Ritchie of iMore reviews the Hermès edition of the Apple Watch Series 2.
- Rene Ritchie also reviewed Apple’s new book “Designed by Apple in California.”
- And finally, Apple produced a video to go along with its new book. Regardless of whether you have any interest in this coffee table book, the video is worth watching because it offers a rare peak behind the scenes in the Apple design studio: