Best feature you didn't know Apple's iOS 13 delivers...

Another month, another update from Apple for your iPhone. By this time, we know to have our device plugged in to attempt the update. And please, please, please - opt to do this overnight so you do not have to watch the small thermometer progress at dripping fudge speed across your screen. I believe you'll prefer the, "Good morning, we are done with the update" message.

Since the update delivers software for a number of iPhone editions, you'll find some features that address the newer muliple camera models of iPhone, new editting tools, etc. There's one feature that should be LOUDLY ADVERTISED but isn't getting the credit it deserves. Here are the details:

There is a new feature that allow you to "tune out" the robo-calls we all receive seemingly on a non stop basis.

This feature is activated by entering the SETTINGS (grey gear icon) and selecting the green PHONE app's icon. 

Once inside PHONE, scroll dow and activate the "Silence Unknown Callers" feature. This will allow people that call you from unrecognized phone numbers to leave a message for you, but will NOT notify you via phone ring or vibration. You will get a notification that a call has come in or a message has been left from the unknown number. 

This feature should help with the growing number of daily interruptions we experience, many that lead to nothing worthwhile.

Give it a try - I believe it has already lowered my blood pressure! 

-dm

iPhone battery deal

As a result of Apple losing (Yes, they don't win every time) a lawsuit, any iPhone user can purchase a replacement battery for $29 between now and Dec 31, 2018. The battery replacements were priced at $79 prior to this ruling. Once January 1st hits, the price will be $49.

My iPhone 7 is reliable but has suffered lower charge times in the last 6 months. I cannot make it through a day without charging in the car, plugging in at work, etc. 

I was a perfect candidate for this program! I made an Apple "Genius Bar" appointment on a Thursday for the very next day. When I went to the Apple store at our mall, I was told the replacement would be $29 as long as no water damage was found inside my phone AND I had never had it serviced at a third-party fix-it place. Good by me, I qualified.

The technician took me in on time, had me disable the 'Find My Phone" feature and asked me if I had done a backup. I had, but not via the iCloud online method. The more complete - "plug it into iTunes with a cable routine" is how I backed up my phone. He explained the reason a backup was necessary was that if the phone did not go back together smoothly or the screen did not calibrate properly, Apple would give me a replacement iPhone 7. This of course, would render my data lost without having done a backup before I arrived.

I gave them my phone, wandered around the mall at Christmastime for an hour, and returned to pay $32.03 (tax included) for the replacement of my battery. The tech explained that Apple recommends replacing the battery at 500 cycles or recharges - Mine had 959 - so I was overdue. 

I'm hoping this new battery in a phone that otherwise does all I require will allow me to do more with less midday recharging. 

I'd encourage owners of the iPhone 6, 7, or 8 to take advantage of this before next week. As you may imagine, many people will receive new Apple products as Christmas gifts. This will clog the Genius Bar appointments following December 25th. Get in on this while it's still civilized at the Apple store!

-dm

Apple Watch

It's coming - an Apple Watch courtesy of my wonderful girlfriend. I played with one at the Apple Store, sat through an interesting demo with one of their genius guys, it was neat. 

I'll have a nice personal experience-rich report shortly after it arrives!

Lackluster by design?

What happened to Apple's new release? The phones that changed mobile device standards have gone through an upgrade, but who's buying? I've been past our local Apple store twice since the Friday presale event - I can tell you it's not crowded. Among my coworkers and friends, there isn't any "new iPhone buzz" like there was with past releases.

If you do not follow tech related news and rumors, some are proclaiming Apple to be past it's glory years. No more Steve Jobs influence and better competition are listed as reasons why. Can you imagine that in Steve Jobs' last months, he was silent? Doubt it. Plenty of his ideas and plans are alive in Cupertino. I believe the phone as a centerpiece of life goal had been achieved. I think Apple's next foray into other wearable devices or TV and the bizarre model we've accepted are its next big ticket items. Samsung, Nokia and others will take the phone to new heights. Apple should look to disrupt cable, sports, news and entertainment as delivered to us via large media companies. Look at what iTunes has done to music.
If you told anyone 15 years ago you could buy just the "good" songs on an artist's album, you'd be dreaming. That's what we do now, if we buy them at all - because streaming music on demand is now a great option vs owning copies of the tracks. Imagine if this were done for media? That's where I think Apple is heading. I envision them having a simple to use and feature robust TV unit, built in storage and networking. The true leap forward will be the model it tethers to - a system of on-demand free and pay-per-view programming that sends the traditional networks and media companies for a scramble. I'm sure you'll be able to control your Apple TV with your iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, too. That's a quick iOS software update away!

The idea that tech giant Apple, with its billions of dollars in development and renowned secrecy, is out of the game is false. I believe they are setting up to change the game and the field and the players. They will not win the market share battle with the many manufacturers siding with Android phones. Apple could be lining up to break new ground in a way that only Steve Jobs could have influenced. There are too many good minds clicking away at Apple to follow Samsung around for too long. Now that we are "used to" iPods, iPhones, iPads and the Mac system, it's time for a new breakthrough that shines. On a screen a tad bit more impressive than can be held in a hand or balanced on your lap.

Microsoft! HUGE opportunity, click here...

My son's laptop started crapping out the very day before school started. This is his senior year, and his school's new "tech policy" has all the students leasing an iPad from the school. Except for the seniors. They can choose the BYOD (Bring your own device) route. Which can only work if, well, you have a device. We have his usually reliable machine coughing up a lung at the least convenient time. So with a questionable hard drive, the built-in diagnostics failing, I have to troubleshoot first. I know this because the operating system's tools can't see the hard drive, it has to be replaced. We visit a Tigerdirect.com store and purchase a 500Gb drive for $59 (Crazy, huh?) and install it. Now we are at a standstill. It is naked, nude, stripped bare bones with no operating system. Where will I get one of those from? Windows disks are aggressively protected and serialized, if that what I need I'm in trouble. Unless I have some fancy downloading footwark planned on unscrupulous websites, I am stuck.  I figured our best option was to return to the "mothership" and see what our options were. Prepared for shell shock, sticker shock, or version upgrade shock, this is my equivalent of taking a car to the dealership. Yes, you trust it will be done correctly with all of the proper authorized parts, but you also run the risk of paying the highest price for this repair. With school looming and knowing he won't be borrowing my device for the semester, we fold and agree to inquire about our options.

We went to the mall and I asked the blue t-shirt clad rep how I could get help. He says I could walk over to one of the machines, make an appointment and take matters in that direction. Easy, the machines are programmed to the store's website and appointment scheduler, I ring us in for a 3:45pm meeting, just 2 hours ahead. That will give us time to go home, get the machine and return at our leisure. We do just that, no receipt, proof of purchase or warranty papers. We didn't buy this machine from the store, my son bought it on craigslist from another guy. Not a worry, our appointment is honored, we explain the problem and within 15 minutes, the Apple Genius Bar rep has a network cable plugged into the machine. This links to Apple's servers, and it's loading the version of OS-X that this computer was shipped with. No questions, no hassle and NO CHARGE! This Macbook Pro my son has is from 2009 I believe. It does not get the very latest version of OS-X, Mountain Lion, but since we purchased that upgrade already, I can log into my iTunes account and re-download that upgrade for free. Immediately. If I didn't have the Mountain Lion update on my iTunes account, the cost for the operating system that all Mac computers are using, for business or personal, is $19.99. That's not a typo or errant decimal point, twenty dollars minus a penny. Within half an hour the downloading frezy has ended and my son's laptop is ready for another year of school, and hopefully a year of two of college, also. Total cost to repair the dead hard drive was $59 plus gas to the mall. Wow.

I'm not going to rail on Microsoft vs Apple or about the customer experience. Everyone knows you can't get Windows help in person, nor can you hopscotch an operating system from one dead hard drive to a new one in 30 minutes. Someone with more of an axe to grind with the folks in Redmond can complain about that. What I see is opportunity. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, is leaving. Time for a change. Maybe they're overdue for a change... either way we know this is happening. Guess what? This is the same position Apple was in during the mid 1990s. They were struggling, Microsoft was the top dog, and a new CEO was chosen. We know what happened when Steve Jobs came back to Apple, think retail stores, the iPod, iPhone and Apple's re-emergence as a tech powerhouse. Because largely in part, the new CEO had a fresh vision and he chased it.

Microsoft is now in that role. They are profitable, but in the Ballmer years, the stock price is down more than 35%. The old model of selling software for hundreds of dollars a box is dead. They certainly have the brainpower and the resources to make big waves. Microsoft need a new leader, but more than that, they need a new plan. Or a dream to chase. Bill Gates' dream of a PC in every home became reality. What's next? Who steers the ship? All to be determined. A board of directors, Bill Gates or whoever chips-in on the selection process, they will make the choice of a new CEO. This decision could send the giant software company in any direction, up or down. I think they'd be wise to get an outsider to lead Microsoft. Have this person spend six months inventorying what's possible, then move forward. This great company has the power to bring incredible advancements to us all - the proof is everywhere. Can they or will they depends on how they handle the opportunity they're staring at today.