iCloud basics

Those of us that have owned Apple devices for more than 3 years may or may not remember a service from Apple called MobileMe.  All you need to know about MobileMe is that it never really provided the functionality on the scale that Apple had hoped.  In 2011, Apple re-branded MobileMe to iCloud.  In the almost three years that it's been up and running, it's been a blessing to iOS users.  Offering a cloud service that syncs and backs up your content, and it works!

Why is having a cloud service important?  Simply put, every other major software/hardware vendor has one, and without it, you'd still be plugging your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch into your Mac (or PC), and muddling through iTunes to sync and back up your content.  That is so early 2000's!  Today it's ease of use we all desire (or demand).  I can tell you, I applauded mightily in October 2011, when my iPhone 4S connected to iCloud and sent my content through iCloud to my Mac and iPad, it was an awesome moment!

So what is iCloud?  In short, it's a cloud based service that syncs your content and it is the best (and easiest)  option to back-up your iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch).  Let' start with syncing.  If you have multiple devices, and I'm not just talking about multiple Apple devices.  You can have an iPhone and a PC, or an iPad and a Mac, or an iPhone, iPad and Mac.  The combinations are endless (well not really but you get where I'm going).  If you have multiple devices iCloud will sync your content seamlessly as long as your iCloud settings are turned on, on the respective devices.

On the two screen captures above (from my iPhone), you'll notice most of the settings are green (or On), however I have a couple (Notes and Reminders) that are off.  The reason I have those two off is because I use other apps for my Notes (Evernote) and Reminders (Wunderlist).  By having Mail, Contacts and Calendar settings all set to on, it allows all content from those apps to be shared amongst any iCloud enabled device that I sign into with my Apple ID and Password.  So if I enter a new contact on my iPhone, iCloud takes that content to the ether, and passes it to my iMac and iPad (without me having to do anything except make sure the same iCloud settings are turned on, on those devices).  Below are the iCloud settings from my iMac.  There is a caveat for the Mail setting.  If your mail address is not an Apple email (@Mac, @Me, @iCloud), in most cases, not all, the mail setting will be grey (Off).  The reason being, if you use another mail host, like Gmail, Yahoo, Comcast or AOL, you don't need Apple to Sync or back up those systems.  Those other systems are supposed to handle that for you.  So if your iCloud account (Apple ID) is "xyz@gmail.com".  There is no need to have that setting on.  Make sense?  Good!

If you looked closely, you'd notice that on my iMac's settings, Notes is checked.  Why would I have it checked on my iMac, and not on my iPhone?  Because prior to using Evernote, I did use the Notes App on my devices, and if I turn the setting off on my iMac, it will erase the notes that are there, and I don't want to do that...:).  I also took screen captures of the Photos setting and the Documents and Data setting.

So as you can see, iCloud handles, or can potentially handle quite a bit of information.  If you chose not to use iCloud, as I mentioned earlier, you'd be stuck in iTunes hell!  

Now iCloud not only syncs your content, but, it also backs up your iOS devices.  Now, what does that mean, and how does that work you ask?  Great questions!  iCloud back ups work like this:  as long as the Backup setting is turned on (see below)

And your device is On, charging to an outlet, and you are in a wireless network, iCloud will ping your device, check when the last backup occurred (in my case 7:22 PM yesterday), and if you are beyond 24 hours since the last backup, iCloud will create a new backup for you.  Or, you can manually backup your iOS device by pressing the "Back Up Now" option if, and only if it is blue, as in the screen capture above (must be in wireless network for this to work).  Please keep this in mind.  iCloud only keeps 1 backup per device.  So you can manually backup as many times as you'd like during the day, but iCloud will only keep the latest.  Reason is because you only need 1 complete backup.  If you are charing your device, and in a wireless network, but your device is off, guess what will not happen, your device will NOT back up!  Any guesses as to why?  If you said "because when your device is off the GPS is disabled, and iCloud can't ping your device", you are 100% correct!  So, don't expect backups to occur when your device is off, because they will not!

Now I wrote about Photo Stream in an earlier blog, so I'm not going to go too much into it here, except to say that you should make sure your Photo Stream settings (below) for My Photo Stream and Photo Sharing are turned on.  The Burst Photos is specific to the iPhone 5S, no other devices currently have that capability.   If Photo Stream and Photo Sharing are off, your pictures will be stuck on your iOS device, until you will manually move them to your Mac (or PC).   

Now if you are a PC users with iOS devices, don't feel left out, you can download the iCloud Control Panel for your PC, and that will allow you to sync content between your iOS devices and your PC, nice move Apple!

Another key element of iCloud, is space.  How much do you get, how much does it cost, what if you run out!  When you create an iCloud account, you get 5GB of free storage.  If you have multiple devices attached to that iCloud account, you'll run out of 5GB quickly.  You can purchase an additional 10GB for $15/yr, 20GB for $40/yr, and 50GB for $100/yr.  Honestly, the additional storage is costly considering what other services offer.  I wonder if and when Apple will lower the prices here.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if you have an Apple ID for iTunes, should you use that for iCloud?  My best answer here is, it depends.  If you have a family, sharing an Apple ID for iTunes, I recommend each of you having your own Apple ID for iCloud.  An example would be family of four, mom, dad and two kids.  The Apple ID for iTunes has been set up under dad's email.  Now everyone has multiple devices, and if everyone is sharing dad's Apple ID for iCloud, you'll find you have no space to back up.  Not to mention your contacts, calendar events etc, etc, etc are a combination from everyones devices!  Yuck!  So Mom, and kids should create their own iCloud account (Apple ID).  Don't fret, you can still share calendar events and other content, you'll just share what you want to.  

Well I hope this iCloud intro has been helpful.  Until next time, best to you and your devices!

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A review of the new iPhone 5S and iOS 7 Touch ID.

In case you missed it, Apple has released a new iPhone, the 5S!  The new iPhone 5S doesn't have a new form factor, it can't beam you to other locations, and it can't drive your car (yet!).  The new features it added, though perhaps not mind blowing, or for that matter, even visible to the eye, have helped position the 5S to what I would call, a very "forward thinking" smartphone.  It's priced the same as the iPhone 5 that it has replaced, and sets itself apart from other smartphone(s) with its advanced new 64-bit processor architecture (all other smartphones have 32-bit processors) that powers a very cool, very impressive, Touch ID fingerprint sensor as well as easy-to-use new camera upgrades that we've come to expect with the new iPhone releases.  In this blog I'm going to highlight the Touch ID and its features.  I will cover new camera features in the next blog, soon to come.

The iPhone 5S provides four major enhancements to the iPhone 5 (which, by the way,  was not only the world's top selling iPhone, but the top selling smartphone as well): the new Touch ID for both  security and convenience; new camera features in both hardware and software; a brand new, advanced new multiple-processors architecture that combines the speedy new A7 as well as the new M7, which provides background-task efficiency; and new radio components that provide broader LTE carrier coverage and better compatibility. They may not seem like much, but believe me, these are significant updates. 

Touch ID

The most prominent to the eye, is the new Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The Home button is now circled by a slightly inward-sloping metal ring (used to sense your finger's presence without requiring press) in the same finish color as the sides of the device (in Silver, Gold or Space Grey). 
Rather than being slightly concave as with all previous iPhone Home buttons, the new sapphire Home button disc within the ring is flat. Since the ring's edge lies flush with the front surface of the device and the button within is slightly recessed, it has a similar feel to previous Home buttons. 
The "click" action of the button also feels the same. If you compare older Home buttons, on the 5S there's what appears to be a slight optical illusion that makes the new Home button look smaller, thanks to the color-accented metallic ring calling attention to the button's edge.

This results in a contrast of Touch ID being both readily apparent and invisible at the same time. The software implementation of Touch ID is also purposely invisible. 

The TouchID has no movie-style depiction of "scanning… authenticated!" with animations, buzzing or flashing lights for feedback. It just works, you touch the Home Button, your iPhone 5S unlocks.

What Touch ID does

iOS 7 currently uses two features for the Touch ID sensor: Passcode Unlock and iTunes & App Store purchasing. This gives Apple the ability to focus entirely on getting the initial experience right, rather than unleashing a multitude of half baked feature concepts, or erring in other ways that would be worse than never having implemented Touch ID at all.

In practice, being able to log in with a finger press is both a quick convenience and an intuitive simplification over having to manually type in a passcode, similar to having a proximity key that lets you get in and start your car without requiring a physical key. The Touch ID convenience hopefully makes it much more likely that you'll create and use a passcode, and set your phone to lock immediately. 

Apple says half of its users are not currently using a passcode, and it's likely that many of those who do, set a delay so they don't have to type it in the passcode every time they wake their device. With Touch ID, it's much more practical to have your phone locked all the time. Logging in with a finger touch is almost as fast as unlocking the phone without a passcode.

Touch ID certainly was not created to make your iPhone 5s impenetrable to spy agencies.  But the reality is that Touch ID is far more accurate, faster and more secure than a simple passcode, or any of the alternatives on the market: the  'swipe to unlock' gesture used by Android OS, or the Face Unlock experiment. The latter provides a great example of how being first to market in a category  is not better than being first to market with a great product (Touch ID).

Apple hasn't just beaten Samsung and others to market with workable fingerprint login as a feature, but it's made it known that Touch ID enhances security and can deliver a great product, rather than being an invasive spyware tool designed to collect information about users and what they do, as Samsung did when it gave away a "free" music app in Google Play to its Galaxy customers. Who could trust Samsung or Google with their fingerprints after that disaster?

Further enhancing the Passcode Unlock functionally of Touch ID is iOS 7's new Activation Lock  capability, a new feature that activates automatically when you configure a device with a free iCloud account and turn on "Find my iPhone." 

Activation Lock links the device's activation process with its firmware ID and your iCloud account, so if your device happens to get stolen, the jackass thief who took it can't simply wipe it for quick and easy resale.  Apple's answer involves something it has that the Android platform does not: a centralized activation process. 

The security provided by the Activation Lock is similar to carrying a credit card instead of cash. Thieves can still hold you up, but they can't be guaranteed any payoff. Activation Lock is a welcome deterrent to would be attackers.

Activation Lock available to those with an iPhone 4 and forward via the free iOS 7 update. Using Activation Lock doesn't require a passcode, and turning off iCloud's Find My Phone isn't possible without your iCloud account. 

Using Touch ID with iTunes & App Store

The other (optional, but highly recommended) use of Touch ID is to authenticate purchases in iTunes and the App Store. Apple currently requires you to sign into your account to make a purchase, and sign in again every 15 minutes. If you already have a secure Touch ID fingerprint configured, you can bypass signing in by turning on this new Touch ID feature. 

When you first activate iTunes purchasing, you are asked for your iTunes Apple ID password. Subsequently, you can use your fingerprint instead, Awesome!  Apple's priority for Touch ID is clear, to secure your devices.   However, the infrastructure behind Touch ID as a passcode clearly has broader applications, and the fact that Apple is launching it with iTunes suggests additional plans for Touch ID for perhaps to authenticate sales and also adding security to other transactions as well. 

Touch ID instantly makes it more convenient for Apple's iPhone 5s customers to make iTunes and App Store purchases. It doesn't require signing up for new accounts, and doesn't replace one easy swipe with another easy tap; it replaces a moderately annoying password prompt interruption with a finger touch, again, Awesome!  Once Apple has more experience with how its customers are using Touch ID, it can, and I sure will, move development forward.

I hope this review is helpful, I'd love your feedback!

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Great iOS Apps.

Well I sure am glad we are out of February, it was ridiculously cold!  Hopefully that didn't stop you from checking out the great apps I highlighted last month on The MacMentor's Weekly posting on Facebook for the App of the week.  My goal with the app of the week postings is to make you more aware of the great tools out there for your iOS devices.  Then at the start of each new month, give a more in-depth review of those apps with these blog posts.

Ok, so the 1st app highlighted this past February was a cool note taking App that is a nice companion to Evernote.  The app is SwiftKey.

SwiftKey uses what it calls predictive technology, to advance the keyboard by learning how you write to better provide autocorrect and smart next word predictors or predictions.

SwiftKey Note gives you a cool new way to capture your thoughts, in an easy to use, beautiful app.  

SwiftKey is like Artificial intelligence for your iOS device.  The more you use it, the smarter it gets.  Even better, it connects with your EverNote account to further personalize your experience by making predictions based on your EverNote archive of notes.  Below you see screen shots from the SwiftKey app.  Under the +, you see the Elephant Head icon, which is the EverNote icon.  So you can create a note using SwiftKey, and store it in Evernote.   

One of the best features of SwiftKey is that it gets smarter as you use it more, and learns to adapt with you over time.  You can track your typing stats in settings, and watch your typing and productivity get better and better!  

Ok, for the week of February 9th, I choose the new app from Facebook, Paper as that weeks App of the week.  Facebook has been one of the top 50 iOS apps since it came out some six years ago.  But honestly, the app is tired and has needed a facelift for quite some time.  Well Facebook finally gave itself that needed facelift, sort of.  The Facebook app hasn't changed, but they did create a new one, called Paper, that is fantastic, and provides a much better user experience.  

One of my favorite features in Paper is the ability to Edit Sections.  Sections provide you with the ability to view things that the original Facebook app did not offer, sort of like news sections from different Sections of life.  The different Sections offered range from Pop Life, to Flavor, to Planet, to Family Matters.  

To get to Edit Sections, from the your page, or section (which is your home page, screen capture 1 below) take your finger, and swipe down on the screen.   That takes you to the Facebook Section (2nd screen cap below).  On that page, take your finger and swipe down

 Now you are taken to a page that will look similar to the one below.  

Next, you'll click on the Edit Sections field which takes you to a screen similar to the one below.  The lower portion of that screen let's you pick what will be displayed on your "Paper".  It's a cool concept, and adds some much needed life to what was an incredibly dull, boring Facebook experience on your iOS device.  

Once you've added the sections you wish to view, you click done (upper right corner of your screen), and you are taken to what is your Paper home screen.  From there you swipe along the lower portion of your screen to view the posts of your Facebook friends.  If you wish to view a post, you tap on it.  Notice below, the post in the middle that reads "Happy Independence Day".  I tap on that, and it full screens (2nd screen cap below).

So, all in all, Paper is a very cool, much needed update to the Facebook App.  If you visit the Facebook App on a regular basis, I highly recommend downloading and using the new Paper app instead!

Next up, an App that I use regularly to keep track of my to-do's.  It's called, Wunderlist.  

Wunderlist is flat out awesome!  It not only tracks your to-do's, but lets you create numerous to-do lists.  It's super easy to use interface lets you get up and going very quickly, and it's companion apps for the Mac and PC make it that much more lovable (not to mention, Wunderlist can also be accessed via the web!).  

When you open Wunderlist on your iOS device it looks like the screen cap below.

If you want to add a list, notice in the screen cap above the "+Add a list...", simply tap that and you can create a new list.  To create a new to-do, simply tap anywhere on the right side of the screen, and it brings you to a screen that looks like the one below.

Next, type in the name of the new to-do (I've typed "Create new blog" in the field).  Next, click the Done button.  It brings you to an editable screen (like the one below).  

From there, you set your to-do's Due Date.  If you wish to be reminded by Wunderlist, you can have it Remind you.  You can add a subtask, and finally any notes you wish for the particular to-do.  I've added screen caps below to take you through the process.  

All in all, Wunderlist rocks.  Oh yeah did I mention its FREE!  That doesn't hurt either...So if you want an App that gives you a bit more than the Reminders app that comes with your iOS device, go and download Wunderlist.  It's ease of use, and cloud syncing make it an A-list App!

The last App that I highlighted in February is "Keeper Password and Data Vault".  I've had many many clients and friends say to me, "how do I keep track of my numerous passwords, it's getting overwhelming"!  I absolutely agree.  Most of you probably have anywhere from 5-20 different passwords (maybe even more) to access everything from your AppleID, to your email, to your bank account, to countless other sites you access on your iOS device as well as on your computer.  There are endless App options out there to store your passwords, I choose Keeper because it gets fantastic reviews, it's works across platforms, it's easy to use, and its free!  

For obvious reasons I'm not going to show screen caps of my Keeper.  Some important things to know are:

Keeper uses work-class encryption technology, including 256-bit AES data storage.  PBKDF2 encryption keys (what are those you ask?   It's really great encryption technology is what you need to know!).  They also use Double encrypted syncing, and what's called Two-factor authentication.  If you don't understand that, just know it's great technology to keep your passwords safe!  

So, I hope you enjoy checking out and using the Apps that I highlight each month.  If you have a suggestion for the App of the week posting, by all means, don't hesitate to share it with me.  I love finding new apps to share!  

Till next time, best to you and your devices!

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What is an AppleID?

Getting to know your AppleID

What a lovely spell of cold weather Mother Nature has dumped on us here in Chicago-land, or as we are now known, Chi-Beria!  Thankfully the cold hasn't stopped me from blogging!  Today's blog is inspired by my workshops.  At some of these workshops, I cover what I consider the "Basics" of your iOS Device.  I start in settings, and spend a good deal of time discussing the Apple ID.  Reason being, so many people just don't get it's importance.  So I thought I'd write about it in this edition of The MacMentor's blog, and how it ties into what I call, The Apple Ecosystem.

Apple has created quite a wonderful system for all it's device owners.  It started some 14 years ago with the introduction of the iPod and iTunes.  In order for the music you purchased to be tied to the correct device(s), Apple created the Apple ID.  Then a few years later along came iPhone and iPad,  all tied together using your Apple ID.  All part of the Apple Ecosystem.

Apple’s ecosystem consists of  your devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) as well as iTunes, iCloud, iMessage and FaceTime.  The key to the Apple ecosystem is the Apple ID.  Your Apple ID is an email address that Apple uses as a pointer to what I call "Your Apple locker".  Your locker of content within the Apple ecosystem.  Your Apple ID  is what you will use to sign in to the iTunes Store, Mac App Store, iCloud, iMessage and FaceTime.  When purchasing content through iTunes, your Apple ID tells Apple who’s “locker” the content should be assigned to, as well as what devices your content can be shared with.  It's how Apple knows not to assign my purchases to someone else's device(s).  With iCloud, your Apple ID is what Apple uses to push or sync your non entertainment content (Notes, Reminders, Calendar events, Contacts) to all your iCloud enabled devices.   

Another great part of this ecosystem, and a feature that I love is iMessage. 

I'm sure you've all texted from your iPhone.  Did you know you can text to and from your iPad, iPod Touch and your Mac using iMessage?  Oh yeah, did I mention it’s FREE!  That's right folks.  Take a quick look at your Message App on your iPhone.  Click on any message.  It's either Blue or Green.  Do you know why that is?  The green texts are texts that are not going through iMessage.  The blue texts are being sent through iMessage.  I can see you all shaking your heads going, ah that explains it!  How's this for fun.  Apple is basically giving the phone companies the "Bird" (middle finger) with iMessage.  A free way to text.  Of course it's only free to those on Apple devices, but if your whole family is on them, you can get rid of your texting on your cellular bill.  Nice.  

Now let's discuss FaceTime.  FaceTime is the video chat feature of Apple’s ecosystem, that got a great update with iOS 7 and Mavericks and now has what's called FaceTime Audio. 

FaceTime Audio let's you make voice calls through the Apple Ecosystem.  Really?!?!  Do you see what Apple is doing here?  Providing you with ways to no longer have to pay for cellular calls, or texting.  Go Apple!  So how does FaceTime work?  Simple, you sign into FaceTime with your Apple ID and you use the FaceTime App to video chat with anyone else who has a FaceTime capable device.  Real life story.  Last summer, my daughter was in Israel.  From a Kibbutz, she used her iPhone to FaceTime me.  Do you know how much it cost?  NOTHING!  It was completely FREE.  A video call from Israel to Deerfield and it was Free!  Can't beat that with a stick...

Ok, that’s a high level of what your Apple ID does for you within the ecosystem, now let’s break it down further first by iTunes, and the Mac AppStore, then iCloud and iMessage.  

iTunes is the heart of the Apple Ecosystem.  It came to life Thirteen years ago, in January of 2001.  iTunes is where you purchase entertainment for your Apple Devices.  What started out as a cool place to buy and store your music has evolved into an incredible online entertainment store, where you can not only buy music, but movies, TV shows, Apps for your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch and much more.  You can even take classes from many of the top Universities around the world through iTunes U!  Whichever device you choose to purchase entertainment content from, you are required to enter your Apple ID (and password).  This allows Apple to correctly share that content to the proper devices.  The Mac App Store works the same way as iTunes, only it’s content is specific to Mac computers, where iTunes content can be used on all Apple devices, and on PC's.

Now on to iCloud.  The iCloud service is Apple’s latest attempt at cloud storage and syncing, and it blows away its predecessor, MobileMe.  What iTunes is for entertainment content, iCloud is for your personal, non-purchased content.  The iCloud service is available on all Mac’s running at least OSX 10.7 and all iOS devices running at least iOS 5.0 (I hope you are all at iOS 7!!).  To enable iCloud on your Mac computers, you’ll go into system preferences, click the iCloud preference, and login in with, you guessed it, your Apple ID! 

On your iOS device, you’ll tap on settings, and scroll down to the iCloud setting, tap, and sign in with...your Apple ID!  Then you’ll choose which content you desire to sync and backup through iCloud.  

Now what some people don’t realize is that iCloud can and should be used to back up your iOS device(s)!  Wirelessly!  How does one go about that you ask?  Good question!  All you’ll need is the white cord and power supply that came with your device, an electrical outlet and a wireless network.  Plug the appropriate ends of the cord into the iOS device and the power supply, plug the power supply into the outlet, put your device to sleep ( or let it go to sleep on its own), and if you are connected to a wireless network, iCloud will find your device, when the last backup was initiated and if it was over 24 hours ago, it will back up your device.  Once a day, iCloud will back up your non-purchased content (mail, if you have an iCloud account, Contacts, Calendar events, Reminders, Notes).  

A couple of other great features of iCloud are Photo Stream, Documents and Data and Find my iPhone.  Photo Stream let’s you share pictures, wirelessly, between all your Apple devices.  Now, on your Macs, you be have the appropriate version of iPhoto (which comes on all Macs circa late 2011 and forward).  If you are running an older Mac with OSX 10.7 or later, and have yet to upgrade iPhoto, you will NOT have Photo Stream on your Mac.  Upgrading iPhoto is simple, go to the Mac App Store and download it for $14.99.  Photo Stream will house up to 1000 pictures at a time, for up to 30 days.  Here’s how it works.  You take pictures with your iOS device, and when you get to a wireless network, those pictures get pulled up to iCloud and will be available in your Photo Stream.  So after a day of picture taking, you can come to your Mac and see those pictures in iPhoto, without having to do anything!  Just click on the Photo Stream option in iPhoto and your pictures are virtually there.  If you use the iWork suite of tools (Pages, Keynote and Numbers), iCloud can be used to sync your content from those applications between your devices.  So you can create a Keynote presentation on your Mac, save it to iCloud, and open it on your iOS device, very, very cool!  The Find My Phone service of iCloud is indispensable.  If you’ve misplaced your iOS device, or sadly if it gets stolen, you can log into iCloud.com (with your Apple ID!), and locate it!  That is awesome for those of us who quite often forget where we leave our devices!  It works using the GPS on your device to locate and display that information to a Map on iCloud.com, very cool!  I once had a customer who had her phone stolen, and we were able to track it on iCloud.com.  We called the police, informed them of where it was, they tracked down the perpetrator and got my client her phone back!  Technology at work!

That friends, is a high level overview of your AppleID, the Apple ecosystem and it’s benefits.  For more in depth help, please contact me to set up an appointment!

Enjoy your day, and until next time...Best to you and your devices!

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