Another casualty of progress

As time marches on and Apple improves a product line, some things that customers value are bound to get caught in the gears of progress. One such dreaded change strongly indicated has been Apple’s dramatic shift from the iconic 32 pin connector used since the introduction of the iPod for a smaller caliber input cable. While the new cable may be easier to use and could offer some additional functionality (such as a Magsafe-like connection) many users and practically all accessory manufacturers will be at least inconvenienced by the changing form factor requiring a new adaptor or new cables, docks, or new accessories outright.

Another such casualty of progress comes to us via a post from TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog). According to the article the competition between Apple and Google have resulted in another change to the upcoming iOS6 release, as the imbedded YouTube App that’s been a part of iOS before there was an iOS will now be discontinued. The article references the ending of the contract between Apple and Google that provided the integration as the true source of the change, but with Apple distancing themselves from their primary mobile device competitor other motives are impossible to overlook. Apple has already announced that they will be replacing the original Maps App that used Google Maps with one of their own design; completely cutting iOS integration with Google’s non-web search products would seem to be the logical conclusion of this strategy.

Apple officials don’t expect iOS users to do without, claiming that mobile Safari is capable of providing the same level of access as the stand alone app. Google is also thought to be working on a downloadable free app for the iTunes App Store so that iOS users that still crave a direct portal will still have the option of one.

It is notable that this change will only be on iOS6; earlier versions of Apple’s mobile operating system will still have the YouTube app in place.

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Life with Mountain Lion (so far)

I tend to be one of those brave souls that are labeled ‘early adopters’- if there’s something new and shiny out there I gravitate towards it. Couple that with the aforementioned shiny thing being extremely affordable (such as OSX Mountain Lion‘s $19.99 price tag) and I’ll be one of the first in the queue.

Now that the not-so-long wait for the latest version of Apple’s operating system is out, what are the early verdicts? Yahoo News references several pundits in it’s review, and the buzz so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Many reference the iOS influences and iCloud integration as primary factors making OSX 10.8 a must-have for Mac users. The negative comments have been limited to halfhearted praise, with a smattering of complaints that 10.8 is merely an evolutionary step or a refinement of the prior version of OSX where Microsoft is introducing a radically different interface on Windows 8 in a bolder attempt to unify mobile and PC experiences.

I for one think Apple has a better strategy. As I’ve argued before, the user experience on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones is markedly different from laptops or desktops. While even Apple is moving to integrate the platforms and offer a smoother user experience, they still recognize that there are enough differences to warrant separate operating systems (for now, at least). Touch interface isn’t optimal for upright screens on laptops and desktops, and tablets lose their value if tethered to both a keyboard and mousepad (as Microsoft’s Surface tablet keyboards have sported)- you may as well have a full laptop. True hybrids like Asus’ Transformer models might show the future of mobile computing, but to date they haven’t caught on in any meaningful way.

So how has life been in the few days I’ve used it? Overall it’s been a very welcome update, offering a more noticeable improvement than my transition from Snow Leopard to Lion (I bought my first Mac just after the release of Snow Leopard and was given a free upgrade, so never used Leopard). New features aside, the biggest changes I’ve noticed have been speed and clarity.

I don’t have any empirical data to prove it, but Mountain Lion is noticeably snappier than it’s predecessor. I had already done what I could to optimize my iMac with extra RAM and was more than happy with it’s performance, but 10.8 feels quicker. Safari rivals Chrome at it’s best now, and other non-Apple apps like Steam boot much quicker.

The second impression has been the clarity of the screen. Nothing changed with my iMac hardware-wise, but icons look sharper, colors are brighter, and the new look Dock is visually pleasing. One admission- I did tweak the color settings from the default iMac settings, so your mileage may vary. The color change was a subtle one, but the screen does seem more vivid.

Sadly, not all of 10.8′s functionality is with us yet. I love the new Sharing icon in Safari (I had been using plug ins in both Safari and Firefox for sharing websites or images via social networks or email), but the advertised Facebook integration isn’t active yet- only email, Twitter, and Messages. iCloud sync allowing Safari to show all open browser tabs on your mobile device at your Mac hasn’t worked for me yet either; I’m assuming the upcoming iOS 6 release will be required.

A majority of the new features have gone unnoticed or unused. I haven’t needed to use iCloud documents yet, but I am thankful to have it. Notes and Reminders have been ported from iOS, but again in the past couple of days I’ve had 10.8 I haven’t had an instance to use them.

iChat‘s replacement Messages is another matter. I had installed the beta of Messages shortly after it was offered by Apple and had really enjoyed the extra flexibility it afforded. I use Google Talk extensively, and being able to send iMessage texts to iOS devices was very handy. The final version in Mountain Lion is more polished but essentially the same.

Migrating all updates to the App Store was a common-sense move. While you can still manually check for updates via clicking the Apple icon in the upper right corner of your screen and selecting ‘Software Updates’, instead of launching an independent update routine it launches the App Store. I still plan on perusing non-Apple sources for software, but I do appreciate the additional security and stability that the App Store’s gatekeepers afford. For those that aren’t so adventurous or demanding the App Store will likely have just about any software you would need for daily computing.

The ultimate question is should you upgrade? The easy answer- provided your Mac is Mountain Lion compatible- is absolutely. This is the least expensive upgrade to OSX Apple has provided to date, and the additional features and performance improvement makes upgrading a no-brainer. Even my 2009-era Mac Mini runs 10.8 like a champ. The only negative I have noticed in daily operation has been my iMac being very slow to wake from sleep. Once running it tears through anything I ask of it, but I’d love to see an early bug fix for this minor issue.

If you’ve been nervous about adopting a “.0″ version of an operating system, fear not. Mountain Lion may not be a paradigm shift from Lion, but my experience has been very positive to date.

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Turnabout is fair play

When OSX was first released Apple didn’t have their own browser to bundle with it. The Browser Wars were just forming, leaving just one viable choice- Internet Explorer. That’s right, the dirty secret is out: OSX came bundled with IE. Microsoft’s browser was the default for OSX from 1998 until 2003 when Apple released their own browser Safari. Microsoft ceased development for the OSX version of Internet Explorer in 2005, and removed it from their download offerings altogether a year later.

The rapid rise of the iPod (and later iPhone and iPad) was soon followed by millions of downloads of the device’s companion software iTunes. For good or ill, iTunes and it’s background update software became a way of introducing Apple’s browser to Windows users. Safari was offered by default during updates for iTunes; some users weren’t even aware they were installing the browser. Even with this somewhat disingenuous means of introducing users to the browser, Safari never became a popular browser like Firefox or Chrome with Windows users.

A recent posting from MacRumors now brings the affair full circle, as Apple appears to be in the process of discontinuing Safari for Windows. Safari 6, the latest incarnation of the browser, comes packed with new features that include tight integration with iCloud and iOS devices. This integration with Apple’s entire product line left those few that use Safari on non-OSX PCs in a lurch as they aren’t afforded the same level of access to iCloud.

The actions by Apple leave little doubt as to the fate of Safari for non-OSX users. As mentioned before Apple won’t be offering Safari 6 to any OS but their own, furthermore they pulled the download link for the last version of Safari for Windows, 5.1.7, from their Windows downloads page.

I’ve slowly transitioned from Firefox as my default browser on my iMac to Safari as my iOS device use has increased. The lack of Firefox for iOS and the ability to sync bookmarks and passwords between Safari on my desktop and iOS devices were the first push, and the expanded functionality that Safari 6 and iOS 6 will bring sealed the deal. I’ve found Safari to be an exceptionally fast browser, just as it’s cousin Chrome is (both are built on Webkit foundations), but with some extra features that other browsers lack. While it doesn’t have the same plugin support of Firefox or Chrome, I find that I haven’t needed it; the only plugin I currently run is 1Password (and that’s only to integrate my saved passwords between browsers). While Chrome and Firefox are both fine choices for OSX browsers, I’ve returned to Apple’s answer. Like many things in their ecosystem Safari simply offers the best overall user experience for me.

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On being the family tech support

I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but at some point I became the tech support person for my parents. It began innocently enough with my father asking for help keeping the XP laptop he used for his consulting business going long after it should have been retired. Now I get calls regularly from both family and friends asking for help with various repair and upkeep computer issues, advice on software, help with purchasing accessories, and questions about various iOS devices.

By default the tech aficionado in any family tends to gravitate to this sort of function for their family and/or friends. There are a few universal things I’ve found need addressing when troubleshooting a Windows PC- making sure they have fully functioning antivirus running (not the limited introductory Symantec or McAfee that comes preinstalled), running the system update software (something that surprisingly is almost never done), and checking for conspicuous software downloaded from internet sources (I’ve seen installations of Internet Explorer with three browser bars stacked like a malware tiki totems).

Another common hurdle I’ve noticed is conditioned behavior and reliance on defaults. To this date my father tends to associate the internet with the big blue E of Internet Explorer- even referring to the desktop shortcut as “the internet”. While it’s been improved a great deal over the past few years I’m still not a fan of Microsoft’s browser and try to gently guide any that will listen to one of the alternative browsers available, making the possible transition to a non-Windows environment a little less daunting. Firefox and Opera are fine choices, and I use Safari on my Macs regularly (although I confess I’m one of the weirdos that uses multiple browsers, sometimes concurrently) I try to suggest Google’s Chrome browser as a first alternative. Chrome is one of the fastest browsers, is relatively light on system resources, has a track record of being one of the most secure browsers, supports a great selection of browser plug ins, and meshes perfectly with Google’s other online products. This synchronicity with services that many of us use every day is a big plus- my extended family is still learning about Google services like Google Chat and Picasa photo sharing, and anything that makes the experience more streamlined is a plus for them and something that will circumvent calls for help later.

The fine folks at Apartment Therapy have posted a short article on tips to make Google’s Chrome browser more accessible for older family members. Some of the tips address issues I wouldn’t have likely thought of initially, from adjusting the font size to something easier to read to stressing the advantage of learning keyboard shortcuts for easier navigation and control. More good advice for the Chrome newcomer can be had at Digital Trends and from Google themselves. While it’s not a vital change, getting loved ones to venture away from IE is a good first step in breaking conditioned behaviors and teaching them more about their systems and how to get the most from them.

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Take advantage of your new iPad’s Retina Display

Even when I still ran Windows as my primary desktop OS, I always kept the desktop free of unnecessary icons to take advantage of what I felt was the best digital picture frame you can own- your computer’s monitor. Now that I’m a confirmed Apple afficionado I’ve grown even more fond of having high-quality art and photographs as the desktop background thanks to OSX‘s ability to use an entire folder of pictures, changing at whatever interval you choose.

While the included background image on the new iPad isn’t bad, it’s always nice to personalize your device a bit. Thanks to a recent post on OSX Daily we have access to a nice library of beautiful photographs shot at 2048×2048 resolution. The article credits @RetinaiPadWallsand endorses them as a great source of high resolution images. The images are absolutely stunning and can be set up in just a few taps. If you’re new to the iPad, just touch and hold on an image in Safari you’d like to save, then select “Save Image” from the list that appears when you lift your finger. The image will be saved to your photo library. Open your photo library, select the image you’ve saved, and hit the export icon (the box with an arrow coming out of it). Then choose from the options to set the image as your lock screen or wallpaper screen.

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