iOS 9: Getting Ready for the Upgrade

Apple will be releasing iOS 9 tomorrow, and by all accounts, the new operating system for iPhones, iPads, and iPods looks to be a good one. Featuring Ad blocking, a new power saving mode, an update in Siri's abilities and lots more, iOS9 will run on iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPod Touch 5th gen and anything newer. Early reviews say it may bring new life to the iPhone 4S, perhaps running faster and better than the disappointing performance drop many saw with iOS8.

So… now is the time to get ready.

1. Save all your photos and videos to the cloud or to your computer. There's no sense risking losing them if anything goes wrong, and they're taking up space that could be needed during the upgrade. My practice is to have copies in the cloud and on a hard drive.

2. Remove the apps you never use. It will free up space and declutter your home screen.

3. Make a backup. Check your backup. Your device should be backing up to iCloud every night, but it's a good idea to check, and make sure that you have a current backup. I strongly recommend connecting your device to your computer and making a backup to it using iTunes. It's a more complete backup, and if something goes wrong, it's a lot quicker to restore from iTunes than to restore from iCloud. (I speak from experience. Trust me.)

4. If at all possible, do your update via iTunes. The over the air updates seem to be OK these days, but again, in the event of complications, having the computer and iTunes handy can make for an easier recovery. If you are tight on space on your device, the iTunes update is definitely less of a hassle.

Finally… Maybe just wait! If your phone is critical to your survival (social or business) maybe wait a couple days. Even the finest software on the planet has some… issues… when first released to the public. I guarantee you that not everything will work well for everybody, and that some people tomorrow will really wish they waited for the 9.01 update.

In the past, people have seen problems with extreme battery drain, key apps failing to function, wifi interruption or general unexpectedly slow performance. Why not let the cowboys and thrill seekers check out the new territory and send some messages back from the front. As I've said before, you won't get a prize for updating first, but you may get some surprises. It's better to be a fast follower than a first mover.

Improve your iPhone Security by more than 1 Million Percent?

I like using the Simple Passcode option on my iPhone, but I've always been kind of bugged by the idea that there are only 10,000 possible passwords under that scheme. Since it's always 4 numbers, lots of people tend to use a month/day combination which makes guessing a fairly easy task for many people. Is your first digit 0 or 1? Do your 3rd and 4th digits add up to no more than 31? Is your combination your birth year? Last 4 of your phone number?

If you would like a longer simpler password, here's a cool and easy trick I just learned:

1. Open Settings on your iDevice and go to "Touch ID & Passcode."
2. Turn off "Simple Passcode"
3. Next, change your passcode to something longer, using all numbers.
4. Enjoy your new improved security!

Look what happens when you get to the lock screen now! Instead of needing to enter your long password with the keyboard (really kind of a drag) you just punch it in on the keypad (not too shabby!) The only difference between this and the simple passcode option is that you need to tap the "OK" after entering your code.

OK, I lied. The only difference is you have to tap OK, and your password is now more than 111,000%  harder to crack! (Assuming you have used 7 digits.) You've gone from 10,000 combinations to 11,111,110. Add one more digit and you've increased the number of combinations to over 100,000 which is more than a One Million Percent increase!

I really like the idea that the length of my passcode is no longer known. While I'd never recommend a 1, 2 or 3 character code, a would be thief/hacker would have to try all of them in order to rule them out. They also need to try all the 5, 6, 7 and so on combos, thereby increasing the amount of time it will take to unlock your phone.

Yes, you may have set your phone to erase all data after 10 failed passcode attempts, so perhaps you're not too worried. Then again, you may have a kid or a wise guy friend who just loves wiping out all your data every so often. Me? I'd rather not have to restore from a backup. And if you're one of those people who says "Back… what?" or doesn't know how to restore from a backup or one of those who knows how long it takes to restore from a backup, maybe you would like to make your password a little bit longer and less obvious than a sentimental date.

iOS 8 is coming. Maybe Wait?

Tomorrow, iOS 8 comes as a free update for all iPhones 4S and newer, all iPads 2 and newer, and the 5th generation iPod touch. As always, my advice is wait and see how others do.

For most of us, it will be fine. But, you never know. Is your phone OK right now? So maybe wait and see what happens to battery life,
Internet connectivity, email and critical apps for the brave ones who "just do it" tomorrow. What do you lose by waiting until those reports are in, versus what could you lose if your perfectly working iPhone stopped working perfectly?

If you are traveling, it's always a good idea to wait until you are back at home. If your phone is one of the rare few that brick, and a few always do, would you rather be home, yelling at your local Apple Genius, or sleepless and phoneless in Seattle, or Austin, or Cleveland (God forbid.)

In law school, my torts professor tried to explain the idea of a "slight risk of grave danger," by pointing to a giant fish bowl full of jelly beans. "Here," he said, "I have a few thousand jelly beans. They are delicious. One of them is made of cyanide, and will kill you quickly. Who would like to try one jelly bean?"

Most people will get grape, or cherry, or lime, or that weird white one… but someone's gonna get the poison one. Back up your phone and be at home before you take that chance.

iOS 7.1.2 Update for iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch Now Available

According to Apple, latest iOS update includes the following changes:

• Improves iBeacon connectivity and stability
• Fixes a bug with data transfer for some 3rd party accessories, including bar code scanners
• Corrects an issue with data protection class designations of Mail attachments

It also contains "miscellaneous bug fixes and security updates."

You can download the update over-the-air via Settings > General > Software Update or install it via iTunes by connecting your phone to computer using a USB cable. Even though you can update/upgrade directly over the air on your phone, don't. Although it's only a 23.1-megabyte delta update (just the changes, not a whole system file) user experiences with over-the-air upgrades vary, while those who use the tried and trusted USB method seem to be unanimous in their success stories. And, I always like to make a fresh backup to my hard drive first.

Here's the safest way to upgrade/update:

• Attach the iPhone to your computer.
• Open iTunes.
• Click on "Back Up Now."
• Wait for the backup to finish
• Click on "Check for update" and then do update to 7.1.2

Because it's a delta update, you shouldn't have to wait to long to get back on the device, with all your data and settings intact.

As always, unless you are absolutely dying to have the listed issues fixed, maybe wait a couple days. You never know what might be broken, diminished or deleted in an update. You won't get any prizes for updating first, but you might get some surprises.

What's In Your (Digital) Wallet?

On April 29, the Supreme Court heard the case of a young man who was pulled over for driving a car with expired tags.

"Hmm… coulda happened to me," you think.

Sure, that or an inspection sticker, tail light out, jaywalking, whatever. What happened next is frightening. The cop who pulled him over picked up young Mr. Riley's Samsung Instinct M800 smartphone and took a look-see. There he found pictures that linked our motor vehicle violations suspect to an unsolved drive-by shooting that ultimately resulted in a murder conviction and a 15-to-life sentence.

While few of us will have sympathy for a murderer who was convicted of murder, the thought that I could be jaywalking down the street at one moment and giving the police complete and unfettered access to everything on my iPhone the next (photos, email, documents) is horrifying.

This is one more reason to have a strong password on your smartphone: Although the protection provided by a strong password might not survive a court order, it will certainly prevent the immediate disclosure of your most personal photos and emails during a routine traffic stop!

You may not have killed anyone, but is there anything on your phone that you don't need Barney Fife taking a gander at? Riley's lawyer argued that it may be one thing for cops to go through your pockets and wallet, but letting them nose through an Android or iPhone at a traffic or sidewalk stop is like giving "the police officers authority to search through the private papers and the drawers and bureaus and cabinets of somebody's house." The Court's decision may decide whether it's legal for the police to search the digital contents of your cellphone without a warrant.

Even if it's legal, it doesn't have to be easy. Even a 4-digit code is better than nothing. Maybe take a moment to lock it up, now.

Teach your iPhone to Speak Correctly

If you use Siri to make phone calls or send text messages (and if you don't, why don't you?) it can be infuriating to hear the way she mangles some people's names, or even worse, refuses to call them until you say the name her way.

Let's say I have a friend named "Jimmy Kao." Every time I would ask Siri to "Call Jimmy Kao" she said, "I don't see Jimmy Gow in your address book. Perhaps you mean Jim Franklin?"

Yeah, Siri. Right. That's what I meant to say… not. So I got stuck asking her to call "Jimmy Kayo." I didn't like that, because I kept forgetting to say his name wrong, so I changed his nickname in my address book to "Jimmy Gow." Then Siri understood what I said, but also started referring to him as "Jimmy Gow" in print, like in texts and emails. But, no longer, thanks to this somewhat hidden-but-kind-of-obvious trick:

One day I said, "Learn to pronounce Jimmy Kayo" and Siri said, "OK, How do you pronounce the name (Jimmy)? and I said "Jimmy." Siri said, "OK, thank you. Which pronunciation should I use?" and there were 3 sounds for me to playback and choose from.

Next Siri asked "OK, How do you pronounce the name (Kao)?" and I said "Gow," and there were 3 sounds for me to playback and choose from. One of them sounded pretty close to what I wanted and I chose it.

What happened next was so cool! While she spoke the words "Thanks for correcting me on that, Rob. I'll pronounce it as 'Jimmy Gow' from now on," what it said on the screen was "Jimmy Kao."

Now Siri speaks my friend's names properly and spells them properly too, no matter how they're spelled or pronounced.

…and, with a last name like "Falk" I really appreciate being able to teach her the right way to say it.

iPhone Battery Life Tip That Actually Works, Immediately

If you have "Facebook Messenger," delete it. You're welcome. Go back to what you were doing.

I did this, and my battery life immediately and dramatically improved.

As it turns out, Facebook Apps are battery eating monsters, even when you think you are not using them.

Honestly, you could go in to your iPhone Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn off Messenger, but why bother? Once you turn off Background Refresh, you have nothing but a big hunk of disconnected bloatware sitting on your phone, taking up space.

And, guess what? If you are like most people, you'll never miss it. Go ahead and open the Facebook App. Look in the "Messages" section. Yep, it's all there and you can continue to receive, reply and create messages right there. As it should be. In one app.

Facebook wakes up &
runs every 10 seconds!

Speaking of the Facebook App, it's gnawing away at battery life too. Unless FB updates are mission critical, consider turning off Background App refresh for it as well. And turn off Location Services for Facebook while you're at it: Settings > Privacy > Location Services and toggle Facebook to "off." Chances are you won't miss a thing.

If you're really curious, here are a couple articles that explain why Facebook Apps are killing your battery:

The Guardian, April 8, 2014

Sebastien Düvel, iOS Programmer Blog

Annoyed By Facebook's Automatically Playing Videos?

Turn them off!

Just go to "Settings" (a little triangle in the upper right part of your window will open a drop down menu that takes you there) and look for "Videos" in the left column. (Mac users will need to use Chrome or Firefox to make the change. For unknown reasons, the "Videos" setting doesn't show up in Safari, although once you change the setting, it will work on all of your browsers.)

Make the change by clicking on "Videos" and choosing "Off"

Unfortunately, you'll need to make separate changes to your phone in order to stop the pesky buggers from running by themselves there, at least on Wi-Fi. Cousin Markie doesn't let us turn them off entirely, but at least they won't chew up your data.

Android Users: Open Facebook, open the left sidebar, and tap "App Settings."Check the "Auto-Play Videos on Wi-FI Only" box.

iOS Peeps: Open the "Settings" app, find "Facebook" (down below "Game Center") and then click on "Settings." Click the toggle next to "Auto-play on Wi-Fi Only" so that the toggle shows green.

iOS 7.1 - A Jailbreak Killer!

The iOS7 update looks good for everyone. It even promises a snappier performance for iPhone 4 users. But, it's also a jailbreak killer. And not any old jailbreak killer; those who seem to know say that this update might be "the end of all jailbreaks."

Certainly, each successive update has taken longer and longer to jailbreak. So, if you are really attached to those fun little features that only a jailbreak provides, hold off on the update. Otherwise... as always:

1. Attach the iPhone to your computer.
2. Open iTunes.
3. Click on "Back Up Now."
4. Wait for the backup to finish
5. Click on "Check for update" and then update to 7.1

Your phone will be unusable for about an hour and will need to remain connected to the computer for another few hours, depending on how many apps, pix, music, etc. need to be restored to the device.

Update your iDevices, Watch your Macs

The SSL vulnerabilities revealed on Saturday are serious. Everyone with an iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch should update their devices to the latest OS. That's 7.0.6 for most of you, and 6.1.6 for those of you who won't or can't upgrade to 7.

The very fact that Apple issued an update for 6 tells you that this is important.

Until you can update your iDevices, please turn off WIFI whenever you leave your secure home or secure office network. Right now, I would trust nowhere else.

Even though you can update/upgrade directly over the air on your phone, don't.

Here's the safest way to upgrade/update:

1. Attach the iPhone to your computer.
2. Open iTunes.
3. Click on "Back Up Now."
4. Wait for the backup to finish
5. Click on "Check for update" and then do update to 7.0.6

Your phone will be unusable for about an hour and will need to remain connected to the computer for another few hours, depending on how many apps, pix, music, etc. need to be restored to the device.

If you don't want to upgrade right now, switch off wifi. It is important.

Macs not running Mavericks are OK. People with Mavericks, in addition to avoiding unsecured wifi should:

1. Stop using Safari and Mac Mail.
2. Use the latest Firefox or Chrome.
3. Keep an eye open for an update from Apple; it's coming soon.

Is (Battery) Life Letting you Down?

It seems that many people are disappointed in the decreased battery life in the recent iOS7 upgrade. Looking at it through my rose colored, Apple fan boy glasses, I see it differently. I don't see the battery life decreased as much as I see the functionality of the iPhone increased. Background updating of my favorite news and weather apps means I spend less time waiting for updates when I run the app. The 3D effects aren't really "functionality," but I'm enjoying them. Location awareness in so many more apps makes their results more relevant, but also draws more power. Notifications and Push technology suck down the juice, but I like finding out right away when Amendola or Gronkowski are healthy, and I love knowing when "Rain is Imminent!" I like talking to Siri, but she wears down the battery too.

Unhappy with the time between charges?

Easy solution: Decrease the functionality.

First, take care of basics, and get rid of the stuff you really don't need:

• Have the phone lock sooner.  Go to Settings > General > Auto-Lock and set the interval to a shorter time, such as 1 Minute.
• Don't automatically update Apps! Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and turn off the toggle for Updates.
• Disable the parallax effect that gives the home screens that 3D look. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion.
• Turn off the Background App Refresh for the apps that you don't need updating all the time. Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
• Turn off AirDrop. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and select the toggle in the Control Center.
• Disable all of the Notifications that you don't really care about. Turn off the stock ticker. Go to Settings >Notification Center.  Change Alert Style to None. Turn Badge App Icon off. Turn Sounds off.
• Dim your screen some. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and slide the slider in the Control Center.

Situationally, there are more fixes:

• Turn off Bluetooth when you're not using it. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and select the toggle in the Control Center.
• Turn off the GPS if you're sitting in one place all day. Turn it on when you need them. Go to Settings>Privacy>Location Services
• Turn off Wi-Fi if you don't use it. Go to Settings>Wi-Fi
• Even if you do use Wi-Fi, turn off "Ask To Join Networks" and you'll save a bit. Go to Settings>Wi-Fi
• If you have low cell tower signal, think about using Airplane Mode. The phone uses a lot of power trying to stay connected, and if you have less than 2 bars or dots, chances are you're missing calls anyhow. Turn off Airplane Mode to make calls or check for emails.
• If instant email is not a priority, change email from Push to Fetch and set the Fetch interval higher. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars >Fetch New Data and turn it off. Scroll down and choose a new interval. The longer the interval, the more battery saved.
• If you listen to Music, set the Equalizer to Off. Go to Settings >Music >EQ and tap Off. Any other setting uses more battery.

If you're not using a car charger, you're crazy, and if you haven't invested in a charger - or at least a USB cable - for work, do so!

And finally comes the brutal but honest truth: If you want a phone with a battery that lasts all day, it's easy:

• Stop using email.
• Stop surfing the web.
• Stop checking and updating Facebook.
• Stop tweeting, Vining, Pinning and Instagramming.
• Stop taking pictures and videos.
• Stop watching Youtube, Netflix, Vimeo.

I promise that if you use your phone as a phone only, you'll have plenty of battery life.

Here's that real life advice I promised: Stop wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? FaceTime Audio Calling!

FaceTime has always been more of a cool, Dick Tracy trick in these quarters, than an actual useful service. I mean who wants to clean up their office, brush their hair, or hey… put on a shirt, just to talk on the phone? That and the unflattering camera angle that gives even Kate Moss a double chin has relegated FaceTime to the land of the absent parent/infant lullaby and the party trick.

But no more! Not with FaceTime Audio calling.

How can it be that this is not the lead in every single review of iOS7?

In terms of call quality, iOS 7 has taken the iPhone from worst to first. We're talking Hi-Def. HQ! This is crystal clear, CD-quality audio so clean it is, at first, disturbing. You'll be so amazed at the clarity and realism that you'll lose track of the content of your conversation.

As recently as yesterday, when someone has asked, "How do you like that iPhone?" my stock reply has been, "It's the worst phone I've ever had, and you can have it when you pry it from my cold dead hand." As all iPhone users acknowledge, the rest of the iPhone user experience makes up for the up-til-now hideous telephone service. I've tried the handset, the speakerphone and well reviewed Jawbone and Plantronics bluetooth earpieces to no avail. Maybe it's AT&T but it seems that my Verizon friends all have similar complaints. It seems it may really be in the nature of cellular calls on the iPhone, because with the introduction of FaceTime Audio Calls there are no hardware limitations; this handset, this speakerphone, this earpiece… all sound great!

FaceTime Audio Calling only works between iPhones on iOS7 and on wi-fi at both ends of the call UPDATE 10/21: It seems to work over 4G as well! Give it a try. You'll stop talking about Siri's new voice, the "Control Center" and the weird new colors.

And whatever you are talking about? It will sound amazing!

Time to update to iOS7?

iPhone 4S or 5?

Definitely go for it.

But:

• Do a full, encrypted backup by wired connection to your computer.
• Do the upgrade through iTunes on your computer
• Be ready to not be able to use the phone for +-30 minutes
• Expect to have to spend a couple hours getting used to how things look and how some things are different or relocated.

My advice... start it going before dinner. Get it to the point where the software is downloaded, unpacked and you can see that it is starting to grind away on the install. After dinner, keep it plugged in to power, and mess around with it during evening.

If you have an iPhone 4 you should probably still update; your phone may be a little slower, but most people are still happy with the changes.

If you have a 5 and a non-Apple charger, the charger will not work after the update. take it to the Apple Store, give them the charger and $10 and get an official, won't fry you, Apple brand charger!

Lost ...and Found

A news story today caught my eye, and made me smile

A man accidentally forgot his iPad on an airline flight. An honest and helpful departing passenger found it, and brought it to the less honest flight attendant, who took his iPad to her home and promptly made it her iPad. But the man who lost the iPad used the built-in "Find My iPad" option to zero in on it's location. He called the cops in her hometown, they went to the address he gave them, grabbed the iPad and arrested the crook. [Full story here]


Did you know that every modern Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod has the built-in ability to be found? It's easy to take advantage of these features, but there are a few things you do need to do before the need to find your device arises:

1. You need an Apple ID. If you set up iCloud already, you have one. If you haven't set up your free iCloud account already, what are you waiting for? It has so many great uses besides finding your iDevices that there's no reason not to set it up.

2. You need to activate it on your device - in advance - if you want to be able to use it. On your iDevice, go into Settings>iCloud, and scroll down to Find my i[Device]. Make sure it's "On."

3. Download and configure the free "Find My iPhone" App from iTunes.

4. Know your iCloud username and password. This means that although you need to use a secure password, you also need to be able to absolutely positively remember this one.

Then, in the event that your Mac or iPhone is lost or misplaced, you can either use the app on one of your other devices, or a friend's device, or get on the web and log in to iCloud and activate "Find My iPhone."

A map will open up, and - if it can - the app will pinpoint the location of all your stuff! You also have the option to make the lost device beep loudly (very useful when you don't know where your phone is but you know it's around here somewhere), lock it and pop up a message ("Hey, If you found my phone, please call me at this number...) or erase it (This is the "nuclear option:" a last ditch effort to avoid having all your private stuff become someone else's. After you erase the information on an iOS device, you won’t be able to use Find My iPhone to locate it or play a sound.)

If you are running iOS 6, you'll even be able to track your device, keeping a log of all the places your phone goes until you can get it back.

So, download the app and play around with it, and visit iCloud and try it there as well.

If you need help, you know where to find me!

UDID what?

A hacker group known as AntiSec claims to have hacked into an FBI agent's laptop and downloaded a database containing 12,000,000 UDID's along with other personal information attached to those IDs.

A UDID is the Unique Device Identifier for your Apple iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch.) It's kind of like DNA trace, only digital. And just like DNA trace, if someone has merely that alone, it doesn't do them much good. But if that UDID gets into a database (like CODIS, perhaps?) with your name, and other personal data, it becomes a very powerful tool for identity theft, or privacy invasion. And AntiSec says the FBI and other entities are working on just such a database. Some may find that troubling. (The rest are brain-dead.)

While the FBI has denied that it was the source of the leak, it hasn't actually denied having the information.

There's a more detailed explanation of the whole thing available at TechCrunch.

And, there's a good way to find out if your UDID is one of the million published. Here's how:

1. Plug your iDevice into iTunes.
2. Click on your iDevice in the Devices part of the window.
3. Click Summary in the Main window.
4. Click on the Serial Number area. It changes to your UDID.
5. Make note of that string of characters
6. Browse to LastPass.com
7. Just enter the first 5 of those characters and see if it thinks you've been leaked.

If it comes back with your whole number, it's been leaked. Otherwise, you're not one of the million, but there are 11 million more where those came from. :-(

This is a good reminder to make sure that you have taken all the security measures you can with regard to your iDevices, your computer, and all your various Internet accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, your bank and credit cards, and all those other places that really only have a few keystrokes between the bad guys and all of your stuff.

If you are still using the same user name and password at more than one site...

If you are still using passwords like fluffy1994...

If you are not already using 1Password or LastPass or some thing like them...

Now is the time to take a security inventory and step up your guard. I'm here to help if you need me.

For now, whether your UDID has been leaked or not, there's not much more to do. Except maybe join the EFF.

Frozen iPhone / iPod / iPad? Try This!

If your iDevice has locked up... like an app won't quit, and it doesn't respond to just pushing the home button, try this:

Restart: Hold down the power button and the home button, and keep holding them. The device may say "slide to power off." If so, do that, wait until it is completely off, and then turn the device back on again.

If the "slide to power off" doesn't appear, or if you continue to have problems after a restart, try this:

Reset: Hold the power and the sleep buttons. Keep holding both buttons, even if the slide to power off option appears. The screen will go black and maybe a little streaky. Keep holding the buttons. Wait until the Apple logo comes up. Now let go of the buttons. Wait for your phone device to finish starting up. It's going to take longer than usual.

All Better? Good. You're welcome

No? Sorry. Call me. Maybe I can help.

PhotoSynth - I Love This App!

One of the shortfalls of the iPhone and iPad cameras is their fixed wide angle aspect. I've frequently been frustrated by the camera's inability to capture landscapes, or really anything much beyond casual snapshots. With all those megapixels in my pocket - more than three times as many as in my dedicated camera (and less than 1/8 the size and weight) - I've often wished I could take a picture 1/3 as good.

Photosynth changes the game. Even though it is made by Microsoft, it is one of my all time favorite photography apps. (That alone should tell you how good it must be.) I find myself going to it over and over again. Photosynth allows you to take wide angle and panoramic photos with your iDevice, just by slowly moving around as it automatically shoots overlapping images which it then weaves together into a (mostly) seamless picture. You can take a big wide shot and crop it and save it to your photo roll (click on the image to the left), or you can go the whole 360° route and then view your panorama in the App or on the associated web site, which can have some pretty dramatic results! Click on the box to the right and be sure to expand the resulting image to full screen to really take in just what this offers!

I've found the app to be pretty easy to use, consistently yielding pleasing results. My experience is that it works best when nothing in your shot is moving. Ask people to hold still as you pan near and over them or you will have ghosts and blurs, but sometimes that can be part of the fun. The app, and the non-required use of the web site are both free.

Keep Your Feet on the Ground and Your Stuff in the Clouds…

The cloud... the cloud... everybody's talking about the cloud. What's the deal?

The cloud is basically a short way to say, a big hard drive that somebody else takes care of, located somewhere I don't know, that I connect to through the Internet but it kind of feels like it's right on my computer or phone (and it kind of sort of might be).

Much easier to say the cloud. What's so good about the cloud?

• you can use it from anywhere there is Internet
• it doesn't take up space at your place
• it is always backed up so you won't accidentally lose your stuff
• it is never fills up (although you might have to pay for more space)
• a whole lot of it is free

Free, you say? Absolutely. Google Drive and Dropbox are two of the leading providers of cloud services whose basic package is free. Just click on the links above to start the sign up. Apple's iCloud is also a cloud service (duh) but works a little differently.

Both of Drive and Dropbox will install special folders on your computer. What's cool about the folder is that anything you put in it is automatically copied to the cloud. You can install this special folder on your home computer, your office computer, your phone... and automatically, you'll have access to everything that's in the folder. Change a file at the office. Open it up later on your home computer, make more changes, and find the changes waiting for you at the office the next day. You can also share whatever is in your folder with any one else! No more e-mailing giant picture or music files!

Apple's iCloud, although free, is only useful to people who use an iOS5 device, or an OS X 10.7 Computer. You can install iCloud on a Windows 7 or Vista computer as well, but if you don't have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, there's not much point. Not a storage option like Dropbox or Drive, iCloud is the little bit of Apple magic that keeps all your contacts, calendars, music, and photos synced between all of your computers and iDevices. iCloud replaces MobileMe, which will disappear for good on May 30. If you use MobileMe, now is the time to move to iCloud or consider some other alternative.

Setting up Dropbox and Drive are fairly straightforward. I encourage you to give it a try. If you need help transitioning from MobileMe to iCloud, the Apple tutorials and assistants will lead you through it step by step. It is almost always smooth as silk, but there have been some snafus. As always, if you would feel better having a professional take care of any of this, or your having a hard time deciding just what to do, I'm just a phone call or e-mail away.

Pageonce - I Love This App!

Pageonce - for the iPhone and the iPad, makes keeping track of your credit cards, regular bills, and bank accounts fun. Or, at least as much fun as it can be. Once you enter your usernames and passwords into its relatively simple interface, Pageonce keeps track of your balances, payment due dates, and any unusual activity in all of your accounts.

But, the real beauty is that Pageonce sends me alerts a week, and then again a day before my payments are due. It let's me know when a new bill is ready for review. And, it let's me know if there are any problems like an unusually large transaction. You really need to get this app and set it up to fully understand the value it adds. Because it aggregates all this info for you, there's no more logging in to 5 sites or running the bank app, the discover app, the Visa app, phone company app, the whatever app just to know how things stand.

I've been using it for over a year now and while it's not Angry Birds, I have to say, "I Love This App!" Originally worth it at $9.99, this app is available in the App Store at the remarkable price of FREE!

iTunes Smart Playlists

If you haven't yet tried the "smart playlist" feature in iTunes, I highly recommend it. Smart playlists automatically update themselves based on rules that are easy to set up. One of my favorite smart playlists keeps 45 minutes of music that is made up 1/2 with songs from my most frequently listened to songs, and 1/2 with songs I haven't listened to in over a month. And, all of the songs on the list have just the right beat for me when I'm out running. This way, every time I run, I have a fresh mix of familiar and old favorites that works just right for me at exercise time. Smart playlist creation is just one of many features of iTunes that I can introduce to you during a one-hour "Making iTune MyTunes" class.