iOS5 and iCloud

Well, it's been two weeks since Apple released its new iOS5. Hopefully the servers have had time to settle down as millions of users have downloaded this update.  

Now let's take a look at some of the features of iOS5.  I'd like to start with my most anticipated feature, iCloud. iCloud was billed as a new service allowig you to synchronize your contacts, calendars e-mail and more between multiple iOS5 devices such as your iPad, iPhone, iPod and Mac or PC. 
When Apple announced iCloud it was implied that you would be able to easily sync contacts, calendar events and documents between devices simply by saving changes. Well it doesn't appear to work quite that way. I've had little success in synchronizing my contacts between my iPad and my MacBook. I've had no success syncing my contacts, calendars, etc. with any of my PCs. It appears that you have  to connect your iPad or other device to your computer in order to  turn on sharing of contacts, calendars, etc.

Documents are an entirely different matter. Simply saving a document will not synchroniz it across devices. You have two actually save the document to a folder on the iCloud server.  Then on the other device you need to open the document from that folder. Not exactly what I was expecting. The presentation announcing iCloud (see video) made it seem like you could save a document on your computer and then simply grab your iPad, take the presentation to the clients office, and open it with no extra steps.

Overall, though, I really like the new operating system. It has many new features that are both fun and useful. We"ll take a look at some of those in the coming days. In the meantime please feel free to add your thoughts about iCloud and let's have a lively discussion.

Mac's Latest Mobile OS

Last week Apple released its latest mobile operating system, iOS5, which is designed to power iPads, and newer iPhones and iPods.   This new OS claims to have more than 200 enhancements.  I plan to dig deeply into this claim and report my findings here.  I'd love to get your input as well.

Le's take a look at the upgrade process.  This is the last upgrade that is supposed to require a connection to a computer.  I connected my iPad 1 to my Mac and kicked off the upgrade.  I needed to upgrade my iTunes to the latest version, which added some time to what became a rather lengthy process.

Once I had upgraded iTunes, the system insisted on backing up my current iPad configuration, even though I had done so just a couple of hours earlier.  The backup is horribly slow (a fact noted many times in Apple's support forums).  I admit, my 64GB iPad is more than 2/3 full of books, music, magazines and apps, but still... 

After more than four hours the backup finished and the iOS5 install began.  It took about an hour for the software itself to download.  Then the installer reformatted my device and installed a bare-bones version of the operating system.

Once the operating system was installed, it went on to restore my original configuration - settings, apps, etc.  Again, this was a time-intensive process, but my only interaction was to keep checking to see if this process had completed.  Finally,  after another couple of hours the process was finished.  Anxious to check out all the new features I picked up my and found -

Virtually all my apps had been restored to my desktop, not the original folders.  I'm sporting a couple hundred apps, so it was a real PITA to have to go through eight or nine screens of icons and drag them back to their proper folders.

Total time for the upgrade: about seven hours (not counting the shuffling of the icons).  Was it worth it?  Cautiously yes.  The Apple servers have been really slow (inundated no doubt by millions of people upgrading).  Some of the cool new features like online backup iCloud and Newsstand are undoubtedly suffering due to the crazy amount of traffic.  Hopefully things will ease up as the majority of people looking to upgrade complete the process.

Check back over the next few weeks to get some updates on the hottest features and find out what others are saying.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences as well.

Network Security 101

If you read Wednesday evening's post regarding wardriving and wireless security, i hope you took my suggestions to heart and now have a secure wireless network. But even a secure wireless network doesn't guarantee data security. Even the best passwords can be cracked and wireless networks can be compromised. You need to implement good security on your home and/or office computers as well.

The place to start is with your computers's users. Every computer with any sensitive information should require a user name and password before allowing anyone to access the desktop. True, it doesn't take a lot to get around this first level of security. But it's like locking your front door - a determined crook can kick your door in, but a locked door keeps the casual crook out.

Next, don't keep an unencrypted list of your important passwords on your computer. It's amazing how many times I find clients with a spreadsheet called "passwords" on their desktop of Documents folder. There are plenty of programs like RoboForm and SplashID that allow you to securely keep track of the many passwords we need every day.

Speaking of passwords, another way I see clients jeopardizing their sensitive data is by allowing their browser to remember user names and passwords for banking, credit card and other Web sites that could allow bad guys to steal money, employee or client information and more. Yes, it can be a hassle to remember these logins and to enter them every time you need to access the site. But programs like RoboForm will enter this information for you - and you only need to remember a single password.

The same holds true for accounting programs like QuickBooks. These programs contain detailed information about bank accounts, credit cards and payroll. If these programs are accessed by bad guys they can drain accounts before you know you've been compromised.

The bottom line is to use strong passwords on all programs containing sensitive information. Don't store these passwords where it's easy to find them, and change them from time to time.

Please feel free to call me to discuss successful password strategies. Mention this blog post (or Facebook post) and I'll give you up to a half hour of my time at NO COST.

Wardriving and Wireless Security

I just saw a report on KOMO news about three local businesses who were victims of "wardriving.". Wardriving is a fancy term for driving around with a car full of computer equipment searching for unsecured or poorly secured wireless networks. In and of itself wardriving isn't malicious. I know of delivery and service drivers how note and share locations of unsecured WiFi networks so they can check email, surf the Web on breaks, etc. There's no harm done and no one's the wiser. Unless they start downloading/uploading child porn or sending death threats. If someone wants to steal your stuff, though, an unsecured wireless network provides the bad guys with the equivalent of a seat at a computer in your home or office. If that computer is also unsecured, you may find your bank accounts and/or credit cards compromised and personal information stolen. How do you protect yourself? First and foremost you secure your WiFi network. If you're using a consumer-grade wireless router that's more than a couple of years old, buy a new one. Newer routers include easy setup utilities that will give you a decent level of security. Many of these newer routers even offer a separate connection for guests. Some things to consider when setting up your router, though. Don't name your network after your business. This is like leaving the box for your new HDTV in front of your house on trash day. Hackers are more likely to spend time cracking an obvious business network. Give your network an innocuous name or, better yet, hide your network's name (called an SSID). Secondly, use a strong password for people who access your network. Random letters and numbers are they way to go. Hackers have programs that use dictionaries to attempt to decipher passwords. People who regularly connect to your network should only have to enter this password once. And don't be shy about changing this password regularly. A dismissed employee or disgruntled customer with access to your network is a big security risk. Finally, use the most secure level of password protection. For example, WPA is a more secure form of encryption than WEP-128. WEP-128 is more secure than WEP-64. A simple Google search can answer most questions about security levels. Or you can call a trusted IT provider for advice. Check back tomorrow for the sequel to this article: how to keep your data safe if your wireless network is compromised.

So Netflix is finally waking up to the fact customers don't appreciate a significant price hike - like double - as a bolt from the blue.  Sure, it was announced in June that they were going to start charging separate fees for DVD delivery and for streaming.  If consumers wanted to use both services, it was going to go from roughly $8/mo. to about $16/mo.

I get the fact it costs money to provide these services, but that's something these folks should have known from the get-go.  Doubling the price, even with 90 days notice, is crazy.  And customers spoke loudly by bailing on Netflix in droves.  It didn't help that Netflix announced it is losing the Starz library (Disney and Sony movies) in February of 2012.

I admit I have been using Netflix streaming for most of my streaming content on TV, but I'm finding their content is rather limited.  I've enjoyed some of the harder to find stuff, but first-run movies and top-tier content is lacking, in my opinion.

So Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announces the DVD service will spin off into a new company called Qwixter.  He's pretty blunt about the fact the new pricing will stand.  But the did apologize for not doing a better job of announcing it.  That doesn't improve my opinion of this move one whit.  I'll keep my streaming for now, will dump my DVD plan.  We'll see what happens.

I'll be using my iPad to stream content from Hulu+ and other sources, though.  If Netflix doesn't pony up with highly improved streaming service it will be time for a change.  It will be interesting to see what happens between now and the end of the year...

What is your streaming pleasure?