A Few Points on iOS 7

There is a lot getting published today about Apple’s new iOS 7 operating system for the iPad and iPhone. I’m not going to go in depth. (If you are looking for that, Macworld.com is the place to go.) Nevertheless, I do have a few observations having used it now (full time) for about a 6 weeks.

  • Give iOS 7 some time. It takes about two weeks to adapt and it will grow on you.
  • Everyone keeps talking about how “flat” iOS 7 is but it doesn’t feel that way to me. Zipping up and down through folders and apps makes this operating system feel like there truly is a third axis. I can’t wait to see what developers do with that. I think the three dimensional nature of this “flat” operating system may turn out to be its best innovation.
  • The new font support is great if you like text a little bigger.
  • Multi-page folders: Golden for app packrats (like me). No longer do I need three separate folders full of utilities (or games).
  • Spend some time with the new notification center. I didn’t like the text summary at first. Now I prefer it.
  • I know a lot of people are worried about background app refresh updating a cherished app with a broken version. I’m not. I’m just glad to not have to see all those uninstalled updates every time I go in the App Store.
  • Background Syncing is going to be huge for me. I’ve already been using it on a few beta apps and soon we’ll take it for granted.
  • I’m still not entirely happy with buttons that are just words. I understand the design decision. I’m not even sure I have a better idea. It just still looks odd to me. Maybe this one will take a few more months of use.
  • After an hour of use of iOS 7, bubbly iOS 6 apps look very, very old.

 

The AppleCare Question

Since it is likely a lot of us will be buying a new iPhone in the next few weeks and, possibly, a new iPad in the next few months, I wanted to revisit the AppleCare question. 

AppleCare Plus on iPad and iPhone – Yes

On mobile devices AppleCare+ makes a lot of sense. It costs $100 and lets you replace your dropped, dunked, or otherwise wrecked iPhone/iPad twice. Granted you will have to pay a fee for each exchange (it used to be $50, now it’s going up to $80) you are still bucks ahead on phones and iPads that start at $550 and could go up to nearly $1,000. I don’t use a case but think of AppleCare+ as my invisible case. We’ve already used this on two of the iPhones in my household and the iPad 3 has a nasty scratch on the screen that will result in its replacement as soon as I get time. Unless you’ve got some other insurance on your iPhone or iPad, I wouldn’t think twice about it.

AppleCare on MacBook – Probably

I’ve always bought AppleCare on my MacBooks as well. About five years ago I had a MacBook Pro that had something wrong inside where it would reject a logic board after a few months. This started about 18 months after I purchased it (6 months out of the standard warranty). After Apple replaced it a few times, and the second replacement failed I received a call that started with, “David, we’re just going to give you a new Mac.” As a result, I keep buying AppleCare on my laptops even though I’ve never needed to use it since then. I probably still will continue to buy it with laptops though I can understand why some don’t. They are pretty reliable as of late. The best case for not buying it is if you keep your laptop on a desk all the time and treat it more as a desktop machine. Still, there are a lot of densely packed electronics in there and it is so easy for something to go wrong on a machine so complex. Note that AppleCare for Macs does not cover accidental damage.

Apple Care on the iMac – Probably Not

This is the hardest case for AppleCare. iMacs are generally easier to repair and they aren’t dragged around with you every day so there is less wear and tear. They generally have better ventilation (and bigger fans) and are much less likely to run into issues.  I’ve got AppleCare on our iMac (that is now approaching three years) but don’t think I’d buy it again (assuming we replace that machine).

An insurance guy once told me that lawyers are the best insured people on the planet. We always see things going wrong so we always buy insurance. Maybe I’ve got a bit of that bias but when I replace my iPhone, I will be paying an extra $100 gladly.

For more on AppleCare Macworld recently did an article summing up all the details.

 

New Movie in the Harry Potter Universe

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling announced she is writing a screenplay for a new Harry Potter Universe movie that takes place 70 years before Harry. It will instead focus on Newt Scamander as he collects material for his Fantastic Beasts  book.

I sure got sucked into the Harry Potter books. One of the best things about the books was the world itself. It is such a great mix of wonder, danger, and whimsey. I’m looking forward to a movie that focuses even more on this strange place sans Harry and Voldy. All that being said, a cameo appearance from a very young Albus Dumbledore would just make my day.

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Hours Are the New GigaHertz

Marco Tabini wrote an article for Macworld about why battery life is such a big deal to Apple. I couldn’t agree more. Across the product line, Apple wants to be able to put those cute little green clock animations in their presentations. Apple aims at the fat 90% of the market and while a few points better on a benchmark are nice, what they really want is for one non-geek to tell another non-geek about how he flew from Honolulu to Boston without having to plug in. 

On that theme, I’d always thought the idea of an ARM-based (or some other based of an ultra low power chipped) Mac as something years and years into the future. After seeing Apple unveil the 64 bit A7 for the new iPhone 5s, I’m not so sure anymore. I know a lot of people that would be interested in a Mac (even a bit underpowered) that ran for 20 hours.

 

Reeder 2

Today Reeder 2 hit the iOS App Store. The new version looks great and works on both the iPad and iPhone. Using Reeder again on my iPhone and iPad feels like slipping under a warm blanket on a cold night. For more details, check out the MacStories Review. 

The NSA Reads BlackBerry BES Encryption Too

So now we hear that they’ve also hacked the BlackBerry BES encryption. I’ve noticed, in myself at least, that the more of these revelations that become public, the less I am surprised each time. I can’t help but wonder that we have already lost the fight for any hope of actual online privacy.

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