Tag Archives: Apple

Stuff I Didn’t Ask Apple For, But Got Anyway and Really Like

Here’s a list of capabilities Apple added to the Appleverse that I never really asked for, or at least didn’t write a blog entry asking for, that I really like.

End to End Encryption in Notes – This was a big one. I had long wanted to be able to share notes with my wife and Apple delivered on that several of years ago. That took notes to a usability level that let me get rid of Evernote and the thrice damned OneNote. Now that the notes are encrypted my wife and I can use them together for just about every aspect of our lives from caring for our aging parents to recipes. A useful product just keeps getting better.

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Kudos Apple

According to this article on Apple Insider, Facebook’s CFO is complaining that iOS 14 will hinder Facebook’s ability to track users across apps and the web and will reduce its ability to serve targeted ads and measure ad effectiveness.

Targeted ads, and ads in general, are not a problem for me because I block them all. If a web site will not let me see their content without ads (their right), I move on to other sites that will. But tracking me across the internet, even when I will never see ads or even if I will, is a problem. It’s the tracking, not the ads I want stopped.

The internet is not working correctly until Facebook and Google are broken. So kudos to Apple for anything they contribute in that regard.

A Modest Proposal

If I’m using my iPad as my primary computing device, which Apple obviously intends I should, why shouldn’t the Facetime camera be on the long axis of the device, the side with the volume controls? I so seldom use the device in portrait orientation, especially since I have a keyboard/folio, that having the camera on the side is a pain.

Follow Up to Using iPad as Primary Computer/Apple as a Service Company

Since early September I have been using my 12.9” iPad Pro Gen 3 as my primary computing device and I must say it is handling the task with very few complaints.

Furthermore, my complaints are mostly about how iCloud works rather than how the device works. All of them center around services that Apple offers that, if they worked better, would make a huge difference in usability on the iPad.

My first annoyance is with Apple Notes. It syncs across devices and across accounts with shared folders. But it does so with glacial speed. If I scan a pdf of a document and add it as a note it will take as much as a day to propagate across all of the devices and users it is shared with. I have noticed it comes in two stages.

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Blogging With Apple Notes

So one of my first projects was to find out how iPad could support my blogging activities, preferably without spending any money or only a little.  I needed something that would work well with my self hosted WordPress site and would or could have a low distraction environment.

Most of the dedicated iPad blogging software that works with WordPress gets horrible reviews.  That includes Blogo which I had used and liked previously on Mac, until they switched to a subscription model and I dropped them like a hot potato.  Apparently other users didn’t like the change either and their revenue dropped like the same hot potato.  The developer claims they are understaffed and are working hard to recover.  Blah.  They get two stars out of five.

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From TF 700 Transformer Infinity to iPad

First of all this is not a review, this is more of an attempt to put together my thoughts on what its like using the two tablets.  It is very subjective and, frankly, your mileage may vary considerably.  Fortunately both of these great tablets are available in the market and we can choose to buy the one that suits our needs, tastes and pocket books.

I originally bought the Transformer over the iPad for several reasons:  expandible memory via micro SD card, the attachable keyboard dock, cheaper price (marginally), the prospect of getting rid of iTunes, the ability to access the the Android file system (although in a limited fashion without rooting the device), the ability to switch default browsers and the ability to assign file types to particular applications.  Of those reasons only two really wound up mattering to me; accessing the file system and the abiltiy to assign file types to particular applications.  I wish I could do those things on an iDevice.

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Change

Change is coming for me. Not big change, not some metaphysical realization that shakes my world and makes me run off and join a commune, just the garden variety sort. I’m changing operating systems.

After years of being a user of Windows and Linux I’m switching to Mac across the board. I have avoided Apple because of the expense, the squirrelly interface design decisions, and the lack of freedom (with Apple it’s their way or the highway). But I’m tired of futzing with computers. I just want them to do what I want them to do.

So I’m turning in my Windows laptop for a Mac, my Android tablet for an iPad (this post is being written on that iPad), and my Android phone for an iPhone. There are sure to be issues and adventures, outside the Apple walled garden their products are not as well supported, and I’ll try and chronicle them here, mostly for my own benefit.

First up will be iPad vs TF700 Transformer Infinity.

Keep Your Jailbreak and Fix the PDF Hole

Are you so concerned about the PDF exploit on all versions of iDevices that you’re considering squandering your Jailbreak to upgrade iOS 4.0.2?  Concern yourself no more you can have your cake and eat it too.  Saurik had just released a PDF patch on Cydia that will fix the exploit and leave your jailbreak intact.

PDF Fix Screen Shot

Now if only Apple would take the hint an push updates, not the entire OS every time there is a minor fix.