Monthly Mini-Bytes - October 2020

 

The iPhone 4 is Back! ...or 4s, 5, or 5s. Your pick! Who said everything old is new again? Chaucer? Socrates? Kane? Doesn't matter, because rehashing a successful old design language ain't a bad thing. The iPhone 4 when it debuted way back in June of 2011 (yes, we used to get iPhones just in time to enjoy some summer wine) was an elegant and remarkably space-efficient design. I loved those phones, and held onto my 5s for over three years. When Apple updated the iPad Pros in 2017 mimicking those classics, it was a big hit. Now they have applied it to the new iPhone 12 family. And yes, the iPhone 12 is a family. From the Mini to the Pros there is a phone to fit everyone. They all benefit from the same powerful internals from the processors to 5G compatibility. If you choose any of the 12s, you will not be making a bad decision. That being said, we recommend a 12 variant over any other iPhone being sold right now. They are that good. The iPhone Mini is smaller than an iPhone 8 or SE, but with a larger edge-to-edge screen. The regular 12 is the best all rounder. Go for the Pros if you are heavy into photography, with the iPhone 12 Pro Max boasting camera advancements that will really impress. To learn more about the iPhone 12 family visit: https://www.apple.com/iphone/

Smart Speakers and Privacy Apple just launched a new HomePod mini and it is excellent. The sound of the original HomePod was fantastic, but we don't own one and we won't. It's too bad. The rich sound that seems to emanate from every part of the room is just fantastically rich, but it's the "smart" part that scares us. Apple beyond all the other smart speaker makers does the best job in regard to privacy. The HomePod listens actively for the "Hey Siri" command and only then sends your conversations to Apple's secure server for analysis. That means it's listening all the time, and whether it's an Alexa or Cortana, smart speakers eavesdrop on every single word spoken. Amazon even lets you look up conversations that Alexa has recorded. Scary? You bet. With a smart speaker you have willingly given large corporations 24x7 access to every conversation in your home. This is something the Soviets or East Germans would have employed if the tech was available, but now we plunk down several hundred dollars to give access to... who knows! Even if Apple or Amazon or Microsoft calm us with their promises of security, we know that systems get compromised all the time. And if you really want to get scared out of your mind, check out the Fox TV show Next, which chronicles a rogue artificial intelligence that uses a smart speaker to manipulate a youngster into almost doing the unthinkable. Okay, this is a bit alarmist, maybe... but is it? I think it's important to understand technology and weigh the benefits over the shortcomings. Sure, a smart speaker can pull up your playlists on demand, but I remember a time not that long ago when I walked up to a CD player, put in a disc, and listened away. And it sounded really good, too. The final thought here is to always cautiously embrace technology. The benefits to you have to outweigh the risks, and if your privacy and security is important, take a second look at that smart speaker.

iPhone 12 Family MagSafe Secret

Okay, well it's not a secret, but it's definitely a new feature. All iPhone 12 variants now have MagSafe charging along with a whole host of nifty accessories. Think of this like the evolution of the charger for the Apple Watch. It gives the iPhone 12 phones the ability to lock onto wireless charging pads to keep them from shifting about. It will be interesting to see how folks end up using this feature. To learn about the new MagSafe feature for the iPhone 12 check out this article from CNET: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/iphone-12-magsafe-accessories-how-apples-snappy-new-magnet-feature-works/

Monthly Mini-Bytes - September 2020

 

The Case Against Innovation Let's just face facts: Apple is no longer innovating. It has been almost nine years since Steve Jobs passed and the face of Apple has changed much since he was at the helm. Updates to products are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The iMac hasn't been redesigned in eight long years. The iPhone still sports the dreaded "notch" even though competitors like Samsung have found a solution for their products. In fact the new Apple Watch Series 6 boasts tech that was present in other watches years ago. For me -- for someone who wonders why the heck we walked on the moon in 1969 and just recently put American astronauts back into space, shouldn't we be on Mars by now, or mining the asteroid belt? I digress, but my point is I love technology and the ability for humanity to advance forward through it. Apple drew us toward it with its constant innovation, change, and ability to surprise with its "one more thing." Those days are gone, and that's a sad thing for me. But it's not the end of Apple, for in 2020 technology is so intertwined into our daily lives much more than it ever was when Steve Jobs was around. Our dependency on it, for good or for bad, is a fact that we cannot deny. That being said, the most important traits for a technology company have evolved away from springing forth that new shiny object to security and reliability -- two things that Apple has always had at the core of their business. Apple products work without the hassle, complexity, and gaping security holes of their competitors. They have based their operating systems on a proven, reliable, and secure base. Their App Store follows a rigid approval process, and their mobile devices (iPhone and iPads) are the go-to for large companies, because of their ability to be secured in an enterprise. So, let Samsung and LG be the tip of the spear for foldable screens and optical blood pressure monitoring. Let them spend their capital on $2,000 phones that may only last a year. Let other companies take the risk, and let all of us understand what Apple offers today -- something it always had in the past, but has become much more important. Their stuff just works securely and reliably. And at the end of the day, that's the most important thing.

iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and WatchOS 7 are Good Apple recently released updates for all its mobile devices. We have been on them for a while. There have been a few hiccups, but overall they seem stable. I did have a problem with watchOS 7 where my Series 3 would shut down unexpectedly. The recent patch seems to have remedied that oddity. Overall the updates are mild. Your current workflow won't really change other than little things like scrolling up-and-down versus side-to-side on the Apple Watch in Apple Pay, or the Request Desktop Site being moved in Safari. There are a ton of new features, but you don't have to use them necessarily. Wendy and I have found our workflow to be about the same. To learn more about each, visit: iOS 14: https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-14/ iPadOS 14: https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-14/ WatchOS 7: https://www.apple.com/watchos/watchos-7/

Search Engine Letting You Down?

There is no doubt that Google is the gold-standard for search engines. They do a very good job of cleaning their search results, but over the past few years it seems as their algorithm evolves, I think it's changing into a Border Collie and herding me to certain results. You can't blame them. If you play in their sandbox, buy their ads, or maybe even have other presence in their ecosystem, I can see how that would make a site more trusted in a search result. Still, if you are having problems finding information, it may be time to diversify your search engine portfolio. Duck Duck Go has been around for many years and touts itself as super strong on privacy, and that's great. But what's even better is you seem to get slightly different results for the same search from Google. This is not unusual as you would see the same things with Yahoo and Bing, but Duck Duck Go really sells the privacy angle, so that's one other piece to the puzzle that makes it an attractive alternative to Google. Now, you will still stumble across bogus sites, so be careful. It is the internet after all. To learn more about Duck Duck Go, visit: https://duckduckgo.com