Showing 1 - 10 of 30
Changes to Apple products and updates to apps
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 29/03/2017
» Despite several sure-fire rumours, there was no special event in March. Instead, there was a hint of change when the online stores went down for maintenance on Tuesday evening. A number of additions and changes were made to iPhones and iPads, while new Apple Watch bands were also announced. Apple updated its Swift Playgrounds app with new languages and announced Clips, a new iOS app for making videos: perfect for sharing on social-networking sites. It will be released in April.
Updates to Apple operating systems
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 25/05/2016
» There were several upgrades from Apple last week, starting with OS X. This had a new version of iTunes that organises sections differently, giving a less cluttered interface. With the update to OS X there were also several security updates.
Sizing up the new, smaller iPad Pro
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 13/04/2016
» Towards the end of last week, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro went on sale, a few days after its release in major American and European markets. Initially, only the three Wi-Fi versions are available, but Wi-FI+Carrier models should be out in a week or two, depending on regulator approval. A similar delay occurred in 2014 when the iPad Air 2 was released.
Music and photo adjustment apps on iOS devices
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 27/01/2016
» A few hours ago, on Jan 26 (Wednesday morning here) Apple released its Q1 2016 financial report. Analyst opinion has been split, particularly on iPhone sales speculation: some say down, some say up. With figures from China and India already looking promising, those who always vote for a doomed Apple may be wrong again.
Laptop fixed, care of Apple
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 24/06/2015
» One of the 2015 Helen Keller Awards was given to Apple for breakthroughs in accessible technology. The award was specifically for Apple's VoiceOver technology that provides "spoken and Braille descriptions of items on the computer screen".
Ordering a new Mac mini for my office
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 29/04/2015
» Last weekend, a local user pointed me to a report on the Ars Technica site about the latest Flash Zero Day exploit, one of several already this year. Dan Goodin writes that although Windows users running Flash in Firefox or Internet Explorer are mainly at risk, the CVE-2015-0313 security bug is present in Flash for Macs and Linux.
Metadata apps for the iPhone
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 08/04/2015
» A note first on security for Mac users, taking a hint from the Windows side. Recently, Anthony M. Freed wrote on dark matter, "Analysis of Microsoft Patch Tuesday releases from last year reveals that 97% of the critical vulnerabilities patched could be mitigated by removing administrative rights for users, according to the 2014 Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report". Most Mac users still work in admin accounts, whereas those who work in user accounts in OS X (I always work this way) have an extra layer of protection.
Adding stylus to the iPad
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 25/02/2015
» When Steve Jobs was CEO of Apple he was often right, but there were times when he was wrong. At the 2007 introduction of the iPhone, he was dismissive of the stylus used with many phones. He also later dismissed the idea of a smaller tablet computer, although this may have been to put some off the scent. Jobs said that the finger was the best pointing device for touch-screen input.
Apple suffer a few attacks of the VAT
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 14/01/2015
» Eight years ago this week I was in San Francisco for the announcement of the iPhone by Steve Jobs. I still use my notes from that day (and video of the presentation) when teaching students. One of the most exciting points of the keynote speech was the realisation — there was a ripple through the audience — that the touchscreen iPod, the mobile phone and the breakthrough internet device were not three products, but a single device. Few appreciated then the effect that the last of these — the internet device — was to have.
New year, new predictions
Life, Graham K. Rogers, Published on 07/01/2015
» It is another new year and I expect there will be many new Mac and iPad and iPhone owners. It is also prediction time again. I do not join this game, nor the one in which Apple is told what it must do. Note that after insisting on a larger iPhone (there are two now of course) some say that Cupertino must produce a smaller one, with a 4-inch screen.