S B ound yte
Transcription
S B ound yte
LMUG London Mac User Group SoundByte Number 236 October 2014 The meeting on Monday 13th October will be at Tiger Tiger 29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4SP. (The Old Explorer is being refurbished) iOS 8 helps to increase the functionality of your iPad T O he iPad has grown to become the most popular tablet since its launch in 2010. With iOS 8 now here - we go through 15 key tips to help you get the most out of your mobile companion. 1 – Get the most out of the default keyboard Apple has revamped the default keyboard - which is now known as QuickType. This aims to recommend contextually appropriate words to help you complete sentences faster. It does this by learning your vocabulary, so the more you use it, the better it will become. If you want to type with two hands you can split the keyboard by placing two fingers in the middle and pulling them apart. This makes it much easier to input content with your thumbs. You can rejoin the keyboard by pushing it together with your fingers. Download a third party keyboard If QuickType isn’t up your street, it’s also possible to download third party keyboards. Swype is our favourite and is also proving to be the most popular in the App Store. The app allows you to type out words without lifting your finger off the screen and you can also add slang words to the dictionary. Answer calls with your iPad With iOS 8 it’s possible to make and receive phone calls from the iPad when it is sharing the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone. To do this you must sign into FaceTime using the same Apple ID on both devices and make sure Wi-Fi calling is off. n Monsday 13th October 2014 7pm—Newsbyte Paul Foster 7.15—Software Snapshot Spree Paul Foster & PietroFalcone 7.30—Q&A and announcements 8pm—iOS 8 and new iPhones Steve Naybour Raffle prize—tba This meeting will be held at Tiger Tiger in the Haymarket because our usual place is having a re-fit Apple Pro Tips Read more: http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/23193/ipadtop-15-productivity-tips-tricks#ixzz3FeJeaq5d 1 www.lmug.org.uk 1Password 5 Touches New Heights in iOS 8 F or years, 1Password has been a constant part of my workflow and security profile. The password creation and management software, first released for Mac OS X and later for iOS, makes quick work of creating a strong password for every site and retrieving it on request. The new 1Password 5 for iOS 8 unlocks the utility’s full capability and makes iOS 8 itself much better. It’s also now free, with an in-app purchase for a small set of Pro features. (1Password is also available for Windows and Android.) As 1Password aged, it matured. In version 4, its improved browser integration in Mac OS X and interface overhaul on both platforms reduced the effort required to access passwords and other confidential data while also improving how categories of disparate things were organized and could be filed into folders or tagged with metadata. With 1Password 4 for OS X, I finally started filling in all my forms and credit card numbers from the program. But 1Password integration in iOS suffered before iOS 8’s release because of Apple’s strict limitations on inter-application communication. While 1Password could (and still can) sync via Dropbox and iCloud to keep passwords and other data up to date between various installations on mobile and desktop systems, there was an awful lot of copying and pasting required, and that isn’t one of iOS’s strengths. An improved in-app browser in 1Password 4 was a big step up for accessing Web resources, but it carried a lot of compromises: cookies couldn’t be shared between Safari and 1Password’s browser, and so forth. iOS 8 has given AgileBits the tools they needed to pull a lot of threads together. But because of Apple’s requirements and how AgileBits adapted some of 1Password’s current settings and thinking to iOS, how to make use of all the new options can be confusing. Here’s some step-by-step advice. What’s New -- You can read AgileBits’ announcement, but the brief story is that 1Password 5 for iOS sports three key additions and two improvements, one of which has yet to be enabled. The additions are: Because of Apple’s new support for extensions in iOS 8, 1Password can be used directly within Safari. You can unlock 1Password using Touch ID on the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus. Apps that use 1Password’s framework can incorporate the extension in various ways, such as allowing login by unlocking 1Password, including via Touch ID. No round-trip is required. Instead it all happens within the other app. The two improvements relate to syncing. AgileBits rewrote its iCloud sync to use Apple’s overhauled CloudKit, and the company says it’s fantastic compared to the previous set of tools, although it requires iCloud Drive, which in turn requires the upcoming OS X 10.10 Yosemite. AgileBits also made Wi-Fi sync automatic — you don’t have to invoke it — but this change will come into effect only once 1Password 5 for the Mac sees the light of day. The other major change is that 1Password for iOS is now free. The Pro upgrade to add some organizational features is a one-time in-app purchase of $9.99. Existing 1Password 4 for iOS owners get these features unlocked without paying for them. The freemium split is interesting, because I imagine most users won’t particularly care about support for less common items (bank accounts, reward programs, software licenses, and so on), multiple password vaults, custom fields, and folder/ tag organization, but they will want to sync with desktop versions of 1Password on the Mac or in Windows, both of which remain paid products. The freemium model is a great way to get new people using 1Password for iOS, and then either paying the in-app fee or buying desktop software licenses. Turn On and Use Touch ID -- All versions of 1Password rely on a master password, which unlocks your vault. The iOS version also has an option that lets you compromise between having to enter the full master password repeatedly — often a pain for a good password on the iOS keyboard — and leaving 1Password unlocked for extended periods of time. You can set a short PIN that you can use between times you’re required to enter the full master password. The PIN unlocks the master password, and that unlocks the vault. Thus, you could have 1Password ask for the master password every 24 hours, but set it to require the PIN after a specified delay (like 2 minutes of idle time) or after switching away from and then back to 1Password. TidBits by Glenn Fleishman: [email protected], @glennf 2 David Sparks on choosing iPhone 6 or 6 Plus Picking between the 6 and 6 plus Until a few months ago, as an iPhone user getting the new iPhone has been pretty easy. There’s only been one. veryone I know has had trouble choosing This year Apple, for the first time, released two different between the iPhone 6 and the larger 6 Plus. iPhones in the same cycle. (I’m not forgetting the 5C. I eventually chose the 6 Plus and am very That just doesn’t count.) Now there’s choice. Specifically, happy with it. David Sparks of MacSparky had a a big one and a bigger one. For some reason, this choice of iPhone really similar dilemma but made the opposite choice. threw me for a loop. I was pretty torn about the that He exchanged his 5.5in initial choice phone for the smaller 4.7in device which suits him better as beautiful big 6 Plus screen and increased battery life versus the problems that come with carrying a phone bigger he explains here. than a Pop Tart. I purchased the 6 Plus with the idea that I I have now settled in to life with the may end up turning it back in for the smaller one. Indeed, 6 Plus and am enjoying it immensely. My iPad that is exactly what happened. I used the 6 Plus for a litmini, while still being used occasionally around tle over a week before exchanging it for the 6, which I’ve the house, has not been out with me for the day also now had for a week. I’ve been living out this first world problem all since the 6 Plus arrived. Add the convenience of over the Internet so I thought it was at least worth writthe Snugg case/stand and my modified Logitech keyboard and I have a winning lightweight combi- ing the epilogue. 6 PLUS PRAISE nation. I liked the big screen 6 Plus quite a lot. That Problems remain. Not all iPhone apps extra screen real estate came in handy. I spend quite a lot have yet been optimised for the larger screen. of time reading PDF documents. Using the 6 Plus I was Many do not work in landscape mode, which is able, for the first time, to read PDFs on my phone. That is pretty handy considering my phone is always with me. now my default viewing option. Others, such as 1Password have been optimised but, disappoint- The 6 Plus optimized applications have not rolled out yet but I suspect they are coming and in the next year, ingly, have no support for landscape. This is persmart developers are going to jump in with both feet. haps the biggest trade-off when going with the apps (which are my particular weakness) larger phone. It works so well in landscape mode Productivity stand to improve the most with this extra screen space. for browsing, reading and writing that is is a con- The battery life was also a marked improvestant frustration to find often-used apps such as ment. I spent the day at Disneyland with my family shortly 1Password lying on their side. after getting the 6 Plus. The Sparks family makes regular There is only one aspect of the 6 Plus trips to Disneyland and we usually carry an external battery in our bag because Disneyland is hell on phone that I truly dislike. The 16:9 screen format is not my favourite and I would prefer the more usable batteries. While there, I took pictures, fiddled with Twitter, and did the other things I usually do on a phone at proportions of the iPad mini and iPad Air. The 6 When we returned to the car, I looked at my Plus looks too long and too narrow. Paradoxically, Disneyland. battery to see that I still had half a charge. That has never however, the length of the screen when viewed happened to me with any prior iPhone. Not once. There in landscape offers greater possibilities for is a lot to like about the big phone. landscape mode. The extra width lends itself to 6 PLUS PROBLEMS I did have problems though. The phone fit eassidebar-style displays. For good examples of this ily in the pockets of my various pants, jeans, and shorts. implementation look no further than Apple's I never felt it was at risk of falling out. I’ve always carried Notes and Contacts. We have a long way to go before the my iPhone in my front left pocket. That’s my iPhone pocket. Keys and other bits and bobs don’t go there. The iPhone 6 Plus can be regarded as a true substi6 Plus in my front left pocket always made its presence tute for an iPad mini. But I believe developers will known. Taking a walk with it in my dress slacks, it would rise to the occasion and we will see many more audibly smack against the front of my thigh. Sitting down 6-Plus implementations of popular apps. In the at a restaurant, I could feel the pressure of the pocket meantime, these reservations are more than off- and leg against the phone. I never experienced these set by the greater convenience of having just one issues with prior iPhones. Another problem I never overcame in a week device to carry around. of usage is the delicate nature of the big phone. It is large and thin with lots of curvy bits. Handing it to my wife to All the articles on this page come from Michael take a picture felt more like transferring nitroglycerine Evans www.macfilos.com. These and many others than sharing a phone. It just felt like I needed to be very are well worth reading. careful every time I handled the beautiful beast. Some E 3 continued on page 4 SoundByte is the newsletter of the London Mac User Group. It is produced solely by, and for, LMUG members. LMUG Committee 2013/14 Chairman Steve Naybour([email protected]) Treasurer Georgina Chui ([email protected]) Secretary Tina Jacobs ([email protected]) Assistant Secretary Chris Mahon Editor Maurice Baker ([email protected]) Webmaster Membership Officer Pietro Falcone ([email protected]) Technical Officer Andy Leigh ([email protected]) Communications Officer Martin Kelly ([email protected]) Committee Members Gareth Mills & Eoin O’Cléirigh Ideas & Suggestions [email protected]. Website: http://www.lmug.org.uk Enquiries: If you need to contact LMUG by post, email [email protected] with a reason and a postal address will be emailed by return Phone: 07919 968075 continued from page 3 people on Twitter suggested I put on a case but that just makes the phone bigger. I understood the 6 Plus is a two-handed phone but it doesn’t really sink in until you face it directly. At one point I was expecting an important text. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I knew that was it. It took me too long to get out of my pocket and the message was gone by the time I could see the screen. I was holding a briefcase in my other hand and tried, very carefully, to unlock the phone one-handed. I couldn’t without balancing it on just a few fingers and risking dropping it. I think I could have handled the “big in pocket” problem. The “can’t get at my message one handed” problem, however, was my own personal deal killer for the 6 Plus. A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE The Apple Store is pretty nice about these things and they swapped me to the smaller phone without trouble. I held off on this post because I wanted some context for the smaller phone too. In general, I also really dig the 6. I can check messages one handed. It is easier to handle and not as large in my pocket. Having spent time with both phones, I’m still not entirely clear which phone I liked better but the 6 feels right for me, at least for now. If the Apple Watch delivers and I can get that important message on my wrist, I may find a little bigger phone makes more sense in the future. (In other words, I get to deal with this all over again next year about this time.) One point in all of this that I find interesting is the unusual amount of angst I’ve had over this decision. I’ve never had a problem picking iPad or Mac screen sizes. The new phones, however, really threw me for a loop. I think there is something to all this talk about the personal nature of these small electronics. NO GUIDANCE HERE If you are reading this post for guidance as to which phone you should buy, I can’t help you. Nobody can. They are both great phones. There is no magic formula that will tell you which is right for you. One is more portable and the other has a bigger screen and more battery life. Pick your poison. 4