Random Thoughts « KatieFloyd.me

My Apple Predictions for 2012

New year, pre CES and Macworld, rumors of an “Apple Event” in January mean it’s time for Predictions! Everywhere you turn Apple pundits and analysts are throwing their hat in the ring and telling us what we can expect to see from Apple in 2012. Some of the rumors are way out there, some seem to be on point. So I figured I’d join the fray and jot down some thoughts on what I think we can expect from the company for the year to come. My guess is 12 months from now we’ll all look back on this and have a big laugh…

iPhone:
We can expect the iPhone will be upgraded to the much-anticipated iPhone 5 in the Fall of 2012. The new iPhone 5 will bring a re-designed form factor, true 4G data connection and overall improvements to Siri, speed and battery life. I’m not confident the iPhone 5 will be a quad core device, but it’s a very strong possibility if the chips are available that won’t eat too much battery life.

iPad:
The iPad 3 will be released in the spring of 2012 and no surprise will bring improved cameras, a higher resolution display and perhaps a jump to a quad-core processor. If the iPad three goes quad-core I think it’s all but certain the iPhone 5 will follow. Contrary to current rumors, do not think we will see the release of an iPad 3 and the release of an iPad 4 in the same year. I believe Apple will stick to a once a year, or possibly even extended release cycles in the future for the iPad. The iPad 3 will gain Siri support along with 4G networking capabilities. I see a low-end iPad 2 remaining at a lower price point to try to recoup some of the market that may be interested in devices like the Kindle Fire. An 8GB version of the iPad 2 may make sense now, especially given Apple’s growing dependence on Cloud storage. I very rarely come close to filling my 16GB iPad to capacity.

iPods:
I anticipate fairly minimal changes again to the iPod line this year with the possible exception of the iPod Touch. We may see the re-introduction of a camera into the iPod Nano, but no Wi-Fi given the small form factor. I think this will be the year the iPod touch will finally get bumped to 64GB and the Classic iPod will disappear, especially given the emphasis on the Cloud and a $25 subscription to iTunes Match. The iPod Touch will likely see improvements to the screen and camera this year and I will even go out on a limb and say this may be the year we see the option for a an a la carte 3G data plan (similar to the plans offered on the iPad) for the iPod Touch. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if the iPod touch kept with a slower processor and data capabilities to keep overall cost down.

Macs:
This will be an evolutionary year for Macs. We will continue to see the development of the Thunderbolt. There will be the obligatory upgrades across the Mac line with faster processors, graphics cards and a push towards SSDs. I would hope to see Apple make the move to USB 3.0 this year. The major change to the Mac line will be that the 15” MacBook Pro will take on the Air form factor but the 17” will remain for those who refuse to give up the additional peripheral support. The Mac Pro will see a major update in specifications, but I’m afraid it will likely be the last. We may continue to see some increases in overall screen resolution, but I doubt we’ll see any true “retina display” yet in the Mac line due to cost.

Software:
I expect we’ll see updated iLife and iWork suites fairly early in 2012 with more emphasis on Cloud support and sharing. I do not expect an OS upgrade or even a preview in 2012. There will be a new version of iOS previewed and released later this year with continued emphasis on Siri and the cloud. I also expect to see across the line upgrades to Apple’s professional program similar to the changes made to Final Cut in 2011. I expect FaceTime will gain multi-party support and hopefully be updated to incorporate iMessages, IM and video rather than having separate applications across multiple devices. Apple will continue to push their respective App Stores as the distribution point for software.

TV
So far I think my predictions for 2012 have been fairly realistic. The mythical “Apple TV” is an area where I have the most skepticism and concern. I do think that Apple is planning on making its next major move into the area of video entertainment; I’m just not sure whether the time is right to do so in 2012. I also very concerned that this is the area where if not handled correctly, Apple could have its first major flop in many years.

While I think Apple will release an upgraded Apple TV, I’m not convinced that Apple wants its product in this market to be a $1000+ ultra high-end television. While I have no doubts that Apple could produce one heck of a television in terms of quality and experience, how many consumers would spend that kind of money on an all-in-one TV that Apple updates every couple of years with new features when we live in a world of $49 Roku boxes? Everyone I know already has a newish HD television in their living room with no plans to upgrade in the near future.

I think the better move here is to stick with a sub-$200 box, preferably a sub $100 box that will work with all modern TVs currently on the market today and has all the functionality of a truly next-generation Apple TV packed inside. This does put Apple in a bit of a catch-22 here because everyone expecting a “true Apple TV” so anything less may be seen as a disappointment. For those ultra-high end consumers perhaps sell a separate display that incorporates with the next generation Apple TV for the ultimate Apple living room experience.

I had an opportunity to share these predictions along with Ken Ray of Mac OSKen and Victor Agreda, Jr., Editor-in-Chief of The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Episode 133 of the MacTech Live Podcast. You can find a direct link to the show here.

Cutting The Cable (Part 1)

cable After more than a year of thought and debate I finally cut the cord this week. I’ve lived with Cable TV service as long as I have been alive and never considered another option. But as the cable bill grew larger and the alternatives greater I started to wonder why I was paying for these services and whether I was getting my money’s worth. It’s only been a few days since I cut the cable, so this will be the first in a series of blog posts discussing why, how and whether I’m happy with my decision. Continue reading Cutting The Cable (Part 1)

Thank You, Steve.

I’ve never met Steve Jobs, but he has forever changed my life. In 1984 I was 4 years old; my father bought the original 128k Macintosh primarily to use for his small business. He brought the machine home and, always curious, decided I needed to know what this new toy was all about. My parents were supportive of my curiosity and my dad showed me how to use programs like MacPaint and within a couple of weeks I commandeered the computer. Within a couple of months the Macintosh lived in my room and my dad bought yet another Mac for his business. I was allowed to play and explore on that Mac for years to come and a passion for technology was born that has shaped my life in more ways than I will ever know.

Steve’s influences are everywhere in my life. The iPhone that is never out of my reach is my connection to a larger world with email, twitter, Facebook and instant messaging clients. I’m able to be constantly connected to my office organizing my appointments, tasks and business documents, and contacts. Oh yeah, and it’s a phone too. It’s changed my life in a way that I could never imagined, and in such a way that I could never go back.

The iPod and the iTunes Music Store has opened me up to a whole new world of educational content, information and entertainment. I can spend my commute learning about the latest technology or hearing commentary on world events thanks to podcasting and iTunesU. The iPad has re-energized my love of reading, allowed me to keep up to date on the latest news and events and allowed me to consume and share content in ways I never thought possible.

Then there’s my Mac, my everything machine that is the heart of my technological life. The machine that makes it possible, among other things, to create a podcast with my friend and share it with a tens of thousands of people I’ve never met around the world. If that’s not magical, I don’t know what is.

The topic of Steve Jobs’ resignation as CEO of Apple Computer will generate a lot of discussion and debate over the coming days and weeks. I recently discussed this topic on the Mac Jury if you’re curious on my take on how this will impact Apple, the shareholders and the technology world in general. However, for the purpose of this blog post, I simply wanted to say, thank you, Steve. I hope you are well and I wish you and your family all the best.

Cleaning House

A different type of post for me today, but still tech related. In about 45 days (hopefully) I’ll be moving into a new home that I’ve spent the last five months planning and building. With the big move approaching, I’m taking the opportunity to clean through all my stuff and make sure that I only move what’s absolutely necessary. I pride myself on not accumulating “junk” and I would never call myself a “pack rat” but how many spare USB cables does one person need anyway?

I packed up a large storage tub full of spare cables and old software and took it off to my local Mac Users Group with a sign that read: “Free to Good Home.” I came back with an empty tub. I’ve also donated boxes of books to our local Friends of the Library and taken several more boxes of household items to charitable organizations.

However, there were a few tech and larger items of value that I wanted to sell and try to recoup some of the investment, especially considering I had some significant moving expenses coming up. I despise eBay. Maybe selling an item here or there is okay, but I can’t stand how eBay takes a cut every step of the way. Listing fee, final value fee, PayPal commission, it just keeps going on and on. For tech related items that are still sold, I much prefer selling on the Amazon Marketplace. Amazon takes a cut too, but one cut at the end, and they tell you up front exactly how much they’ll take at the time you list your item for sale.

I could go on for several paragraphs explaining how the Amazon Marketplace sales process works, but my friends over at CNET recently published a video detailing the process (direct link – also embedded below) that’s worth checking out. The one new addition that CNET didn’t cover is that now Amazon also integrates with Stamps.com and allows you to print shipping labels and charge posting directly to your Amazon account which effectively deducts it from your profits. I really like this feature, especially because I have access to a postal scale at work and can easily weigh and package my shipments.

Another avenue I’ve used for selling larger items that are impractical to ship is Craigslist. You have to be careful on Craigslist because there are scammers and you are meeting people face-to-face to conduct business and sometimes inviting them into your home. So be careful. I found the Craigslist Mobile iPhone App has helped greatly in my sales process. I can take photos with the iPhone camera, write a brief description and post, all directly from my iPhone. Best yet, it’s free.

These services have helped me clean house, hopefully they’ll help some of you too.

Data Security While In For Service

Apple Logo with Lock My MacBook Air recently had to be sent back to Apple for service to replace a faulty logic board and hard drive. On the rare occasions in the past where I’ve had to send my Mac in for service, there has always been some warning or some steps I could take to prep my computer for service. In this instance, the failure was instantaneous. Working one moment, non-responsive the next and I was never able to bring the machine to a state where I could access data or make modifications.

I knew it was standard procedure, but I cringed when the AppleCare service rep asked me for my administrator account password. The keys to the kingdom. My entire life was on that machine and giving up my admin password could mean giving a nefarious person the command codes to my entire life. I tried to talk my way around giving up my password to no avail.

As companies go, I probably trust Apple more than most with this information. I’ve been told by people inside the company their confidentiality and data disposal policy is very strong. Still, the thought still made me uneasy. While the hard drive alone would likely be of minimal value – the combination of the hard drive and the admin password could be disastrous.

Fortunately, some of the precautions I put into place prior to the hardware failure should have served to protect my most confidential data in the unlikely event of a data breach. This incident has also started me thinking about what steps could be taken in advance to protect data when your Mac is at its most vulnerable, when being sent in for repair. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

Use a secure password manager and set the password to something other than your login password. I’ve preached at length about the need to have unique, secure passwords. But that’s only good if the key to your password manager is secure as well. Obviously, it should not be the same password as your login password. If someone has an admin password for your Mac, that will be the first thing they try.
Use the features of your password manager. It surprises me how many people use a solution like 1Password or another password manager to store their passwords, but don’t truly take advantage of all the features such as strong password generation or finding and eliminating similar or weak passwords. Your passwords should all be unique and random. Don’t repeat passwords across sites, ever.
Consider using disk encryption. I’ve never been a great fan of FileVault but it seems to come of age with the release of Mac OS Lion. My biggest complaint about disk encryption solutions is that it seems to create some problems with my other favorite utilities, backup utilities. So you may have to play a little give-and-take here to find a workable solution. Just keep in mind, in the case of FileVault, once you give up that admin password, you’ve just unencrypted FileVault. In the case of an alternative solution like PGP, you’re likely going to have to un-encrypt to properly diagnose and work on your machine.I’m very eager to see what changes Apple has made with FileVault in Lion and what better protections that will offer.
Use secure disk images. You can create secure disk images for your most sensitive files. Files stored in secure disk images are inaccessible without the disk image password, regardless of whether someone has access to your account. The only problem is that these images typically are stored as a single file, sometimes as a bundle. So if the image becomes corrupt you can lose all your data inside. Backups are important.
Use an alternative admin account. If Apple wants an administrator password, this will allow you to give them access to a password that is not your primary account. This will offer you some additional protection. I also like the idea of having a fresh clean user account for troubleshooting purposes. Setup a password for this account that is unrelated to any of your other passwords so your other passwords aren’t compromised if you have to give it out.
Change your default keychain password. Passwords for many items are stored in your login Keychain. Mail accounts, wireless routers, etc. By default, your login Keychain password is the same as your login password. Changing this password makes using your Mac a bit of a pain because to really do anything with your Mac you’re going to have to punch in yet another password to unlock your keychain too. As with everything, security is a balance between security and user-friendly usability.
Consider the security offered by the cloud. This may sound counter-intuitive but if you have sensitive items stored in a cloud-based solution like Dropbox, you can usually use the web interface for the cloud solution remove files from the computer next time it tries to connect. The options vary by service, but it’s something worth checking out.
Look at security services. If your Mac suffers a hardware failure, many software based solutions will likely not work. However it’s an option worth considering for other situations. Apple may make this easier as there are rumors of a “Find My Mac” feature in Lion.
If you have a special situation, explain it and ask. While not common procedure, especially if you are taking your Mac for repair at a local facility, you may ask the Tech or management for the return of your original hard drive or proof it was destroyed. This is more difficult when you ship your machine away, but still may be possible. Be prepared that you may have to pay for the defective part. For example, I had a defective Time Capsule replaced under AppleCare a few years ago but the defective unit still worked well enough to access data. While I had to take the functioning Time Capsule into Apple for diagnosis, the Manager (with a credit card hold) allowed me to take my old unit home for 24 hours so I could perform a secure erase on the hard drive.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of security precautions you can use with your Mac, nor is it intended to be. For a review of that topic, I suggest you check out Mac Power Users Episode 10: Mac Security. This post was directed to steps you an take to make your Mac more secure whens sending it off for service. If you have thoughts or suggestions, please leave a comment to this post so others can benefit.

My Recent AppleCare Experience

AppleCare Box It started just like any other evening. I just returned from a day at work and was tending to my normal evening computing routines of updating podcasts, checking RSS feeds and reviewing emails. Suddenly the spinning pinwheel of death appeared and my computer was completely unresponsive. With little choice, I pressed the power button and waited for my machine to reboot. When it did, I was greeted with a kernel panic at startup. If you’ve never seen a kernel panic before, count yourself lucky. It’s a daunting screen that tells you in several different languages something really bad has happened and your computer can’t recover. Not good.

Remembering my troubleshooting techniques, I unplugged all external devices and rebooted again. This time, a folder with a question mark. I grabbed the USB key that shipped with the Air and was able to reboot from it, but Disk Utility did not see a hard drive. This is looking more and more like a hardware problem so I phoned AppleCare. Continue reading My Recent AppleCare Experience

Et tu, Dropbox?

Sunday afternoon Dropbox made a code update to their system that disabled their authentication mechanism.They left the front door unlocked for 4 hours. If you knew an account holder’s username, any password you typed in would unlock the account. Dropbox claims less than 1% of users logged in during that period time and those users have been contacted. I was one of them.

In my case, I remember logging in to my Dropbox account on Sunday afternoon, although I don’t recall the specific time. I just received my MacBook Air back from the Apple Depot and as an additional security precaution thought it would be good form to change the passwords to my most sensitive services. Dropbox sent me an email letting me know that my account was logged in during the time of the breach, but because I accessed my account during that time, I now have no way of knowing whether the access was just my access or whether anyone else logged in to my account as well. Thus far, it doesn’t appear that Dropbox can tell whether an account was accessed with an inappropriate password. Though it appears that none of my data has changed. Aside from their initial blog post, Dropbox has provided no official information as of the date of this post. As a security precaution, I changed my password again as soon as I learned of the breach.

In my last post, ironically posted during the time of the security breach but before it became public knowledge, I commented about how I stored my entire Documents folder on Dropbox and how this act saved the day when my Air suddenly died and required service. We also sung the virtues of Dropbox on Mac Power Users Episode 47 and I explained how I implemented my system of creating a symbolic link to my documents folder in Dropbox. (It should be noted that I’ve cleaned out my Documents folder so that it truly only includes Documents.)

What to do now? I’m still going to use Dropbox, but I am going to be more aware of what’s in there. Dropbox is simply too convenient a service for me to stop using it and my workflow has become too depending on it. I have never stored confidential information in Dropbox unencrypted. While I wouldn’t want anyone reading the contents of my Documents folder, it contains mainly word processing documents, spreadsheets and presentations, no financial or client confidential information.

Someone asked me if I was going to continue to use Dropbox sync for applications like 1Password. Yes, because the 1Password database is additionally encrypted within Dropbox, the file itself is useless. My guess is the 1Password folks will review this incident and discuss it further in their blog.

The reality is these security breaches are going to happen because the people who run these systems are human, and humans make mistakes. I will not vilify them, but I do expect them to learn from the experience and implement better security and testing procedures. Am I upset? You bet. But hammering out an angry blog post will serve no productive purpose. I expect changes are already in progress at Dropbox to ensure this type of embarrassment does not happen again, however their reputation has been tarnished. I am also concerned this accidental incident may make Dropbox a bigger target for malicious attacks.

We as users must take a hard look at the services that we take for granted and take better steps to control our own privacy and security, we can’t count on companies to do this for us. While we have no control over what happens at the corporate and the sever level, there are things we can and must to do protect our information: