LMUG
London Mac User Group
SoundByte
Number 237
|November
2014
The meeting on Monday 10th
November will be at
Tiger Tiger
29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4SP.
(The Old Explorer is being refurbished)
Our new meeting place
O
O
ur regular monthly meetings have moved to
the cloud lounge in Tiger Tiger, this is due to our
previous venue in the basement bar at the Old
Explorer closing down.
Everything else continues unchanged, but
here are a few words in the form of a Q&A to help you
with the location change.
Why has LMUG moved?
The previous venue at the basement of the old explorer
has closed. There is also a new manager and use for the
basement, as a 'cosy cocktail bar’.
Where are the meetings now held?
LMUG meetings are now held in the plush cloud lounge
at Tiger Tiger, this is on the first floor in the venue and
looks out over the Haymarket street below. You get to
the cloud lounge via the stairs from the main bar and
then you follow the room round to the right.
Where is Tiger Tiger?
It is a bar, restaurant and night club on Haymarket,
5mins walk from Piccadilly Circus. Charing cross and
Leicester sq are both 7 min walk.
Is a night club venue right for LMUG?
We were given around 10 days notice of the old explorers plans to close their basement.
Tiger tiger is a free venue that is quite plush,
it serves food and drink and gives us lots of room. In
addition the management team are very positive as on
a Monday evening the main venue does not get going
until 2230. Hence we have the place to ourselves. They
also setup the equipment and room for us.
What about food and drink?
We have our own bar and food from the restaurant can
be ordered and served to you at your table in the cloud
lounge.
n Monsday 10th November
2014
7pm Newsbyte
Paul Foster
Software Snapshot Favourite Apps
Spotify – Steve Naybour
Preview – Tina Jacobs
7.30 Q & A and Announcements
7.45 Yosemite Advice on upgrading and some of the
new features – Steve Naybour
Raffle prize Mophie’s Juice Pack battery (a small
keychain sized pack which can be used to power an
iphone or an ipad)
7.15
W
e are busy planning the LMUG Christmas Party on
Monday 8th December, it will be an amazing fun
night featuring a Pub Quiz covering apple news from
over the years as well as general London and Tech News.
The night will also feature prizes, for the quiz
teams as well as an IPAD Mini!
In addition we will be ordering food for all to
enjoy to assist us in catering for the right amount of people can
you please RSVP?
Please do this by either:
1) RSVP on meetup or just
2) RSVP via an email to membership secretary on [email protected]
The party is open to full Lmug members only paying the £15 per year membership.
The event will be in the cloud lounge at Tiger Tiger
in Haymarket London.
We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
We look forward to you joining in on the fun.
1
www.lmug.org.uk
mobile browsers). To use it, you need the IMEI
or serial number from the device, which can be
found in Settings > General > About. The IMEI
or serial number can also be found on the rear
panel of the device, if you have really good eyes
or a magnifying glass.
To check the status of Activation Lock
on a device, enter the IMEI or serial number, then
enter the CAPTCHA. I had problems trying to
read the CAPTCHA, so it might take a few tries.
Alternatively, click Vision Impaired to hear an
audio CAPTCHA.
The Web page then informs you
whether Activation Lock is on or off. If it’s on,
Apple provides links to additional resources. To make the most out of Apple’s
Check Activation Lock Status tool, I recommend
asking the seller to provide the serial number or
IMEI before agreeing to the purchase. That way,
you can make sure that you’re not wasting your
time, or potentially getting into an undesirable
situation.
What You Need to Know about
Activation Lock
W
ith new iPhones on the market, it’s
prime shopping season for used
iPhones as upgraders look to sell their
older models. But as much as used iPhones can
be a good deal (an iPhone 5 is still magic!), buying used can be stressful, due to working with
a stranger, dealing with payment logistics, and
worrying if the iPhone has any unseen problems.
However, thanks to a new tool from Apple, you
can at least make sure the iPhone isn’t stolen.
Back in iOS 7, Apple introduced
Activation Lock, which is enabled when you turn
on Find My iPhone in Settings > iCloud. (It works
similarly on the iPad and iPod touch, but I’ll focus
on the iPhone here.) When Activation Lock is
enabled, it prevents:
Disabling Find My iPhone
Erasing the iPhone
Activating the iPhone on a cellular network
The point of these features is to discourage theft,
since once Activation Lock has been enabled, a
stolen iPhone is worthless to a thief. Or at least
it is as long as potential buyers know to check if
Activation Lock has been turned on.
There are two ways to disable
Activation Lock, which you would need to do
before sending it in for service or selling it to
someone who will need to reactivate it on
another account. You can turn off Find My iPhone
in Settings > iCloud, or you can erase the device
entirely with Settings > General > Reset > Erase
All Content and Settings. In either case, you will
be prompted to enter your iCloud password
first — that’s the key fact that a thief is unlikely to
know.
Of course, if you know your iPhone
was stolen, you can use Find My iPhone to put
it into Lost Mode or even wipe it remotely to
ensure that your data stays private. Activation
Lock remains in place on a wiped iPhone to
ensure that it can’t be reactivated by the thief —
it’s just an attractive paperweight at that point.
(Should a stolen iPhone be returned, you can
restore it from backup, entering your iCloud
password when prompted to get past Activation
Lock.)
So, where does all this leave you, the
prospective used iPhone buyer? As I mentioned
above, Apple has introduced a Check Activation
Lock Status tool (note that it doesn’t work on
2
iPhone is dead. Arise the
OneDevice
Y
esterday I explained why am now happy
with The One Device. The iPhone 6 Plus has
replaced both iPhone and iPad mini in my day
bag. And I am not missing having two devices at my
beck and call.
But why do Apple and other tech manufacturers continue to differentiate between phones
and tablets? They are now essentially the same product except that the so-called phone is able to make
cellular calls. The tablet can do everything except
make cellular calls. It is a false and outdated differentiation. These days people are making fewer cellular
calls. VOIP calling, which is perfectly possible on an
iPad, is arguably now more important than cellular. It
is free, for starters.
So how can Apple get away with charging a huge premium for the cellular wireless which
probably costs peanuts? A basic 16GB iPad Air costs
£399 while a relatively tiny 4.7in iPhone is £539.
That's a lot of extra dosh for a wireless chip, with
the loss of the huge screen adding insult to injury. It
doesn't make sense except from the point of view
of phone manufacturers who can charge a premium
because everyone thinks they need cellular connection.
Imagine if Apple created a real fusion
device, the OnePad, with screens ranging in size from
the 4in iPhone up to the largest iPad Air. Those who
opt for the cellular capability on any of these devices
would be able to make calls and send carrier-based
SMS messages. Simple, really.
Manufacturers such as Apple will worry
about cannibalisation. Will people who make few
cellular calls choose just one device, say an iPad mini
or, even, an equivalent of the iPad 6 Plus? I certainly
would and, indeed, I have already done so with the
6 Plus. Yet at the moment Apple and others are not
prepared to face this unpalatable future. The iPhone
will continue, as will the iPad, but only for the time
being.
I predict that in a very few years we will
be offered just one do-all device in a range of sizes.
Already, the "phone" in iPhone is redundant because
making phone calls is the least of its tricks. Most people spend more time browsing, reading and playing
games. Calls are a sideshow. The cellular phone call is
on borrowed time and data is the future, so let's see
All the articles on this page come from Michael
Evans www.macfilos.com. These and many others
are well worth reading.
A
iPhone 6 Plus as an iPad replacement
fter a week with the iPhone 6 Plus I have grown
to love it. No longer do I harbour dark thoughts of
returning it to Apple in favour of the 4.7in model.
On the contrary, I am revelling in the extra screen size, the
superb resolution and crisp text. My one criticism of the
overall appearance of the 6 Plus is that it is a bit too long
and not quite wide enough. The chosen 16:9 letterbox
screen might be good for viewing videos but for my sort
of work it offends my sense of perspective. On the other
hand, the relative narrowness means that it fits into pockets more easily.
For reading, the 6 Plus is a delight. Somehow
the text looks much more crisp than on all other iOS
devices. I find I can read small font sizes more easily than
on the iPad mini, for instance, and certainly better than
on the iPhone 5S. I throttled the Kindle font size down a
couple of notches and am enjoying the greater amount
of content on screen with the reduction in page turning.
I have also been pleasantly surprised by the Readly app
which keeps me constantly supplied with magazines. At
the outset I feared the publications would be unreadable
on the 6 Plus. However, this isn't so. The experience is
not quite as good as with the iPad mini but is more than
acceptable, especially in landscape mode.
I am not discouraged by the larger footprint
of the 6 Plus and I find it quite comfortable to hold. It fits
easily in a shirt pocket or the inside pocket of a suit coat. It
even fits it into the front pocket of a pair of jeans but this
will be something for next summer. Over the winter there
will always be a nice jacket pocket to house the phone. I
have adapted to two-thumb typing, as with the iPad, and
it works well. The experience of typing is undoubtedly
enhanced by the new predictive text facility of iOS 8.
Undoubtedly I did the right thing in exchanging
the smooth, slippery leather Apple case for the rubbery
silicone version. This makes the phone much more secure
in the hands. It feels good, with just the right amount of
resistance, and it helps prevent slipping when the phone is
propped up on a table.
Life without the iPad mini
As a replacement for my iPhone 5S and iPad mini combination it is more successful than I could have hoped. The
tablet has not been switched on for a week. However, I
do have some reservations about the way iPhone apps
behave on the 6 Plus but I will come to that later.
The only thing I really miss from the iPad mini
is the Logitech Keyboard folio which I have been using for
the past several months. While it creates a rather bulky
package, the folio turns the mini into a perfect little laptop
for writing and browsing.
Keyboard options for the iPhone 6 Plus are
so far almost non-existent. I found the iWerkz folding
keyboard and stand but the price is high at Amazon UK.
So my thoughts turned back to the Logitech folio which I
already own and which has now become redundant. The
keyboard is just the right size, any smaller and typing would
be a pain. So why not use it for the new iPhone? This would
be cheaper than buying a new keyboard.
3
continued on page 4
SoundByte is the newsletter of the London Mac User Group.
It is produced solely by, and for, LMUG members.
LMUG Committee 2013/14
Chairman Steve Naybour([email protected])
Treasurer Georgina Chui ([email protected])
Secretary Tina Jacobs ([email protected])
Assistant Secretary Chris Mahon
Editor Maurice Baker ([email protected])
Webmaster
Membership Officer Pietro Falcone ([email protected])
Technical Officer Andy Leigh ([email protected])
Communications Officer Martin Kelly ([email protected])
Committee Members Gareth Mills & Eoin O’Cléirigh
Ideas & Suggestions [email protected]. Website: http://www.lmug.org.uk
Enquiries:
If you need to contact LMUG by post, email [email protected] with a reason and a postal address will be
emailed by return Phone: 07919 968075
Continued from page 3
Cannibalised keyboard
I carried the folio keyboard around for a couple of
days just to make sure it would work with the phone. It did. So the
next step was to cannibalise the folio by pulling the keyboard away
from the cover. It is held by glue and comes away cleanly without
any nasty residue on the bottom of the keyboard.
The first impression is how thin this thing is. And it
is featherweight at only 125 grams. Functionally, it works just as it
did when encased in the bulky folio. To prevent it moving around
Starbucks' tables I added two small adhesive rubber pads at the
top left and right. It now sits firmly on a flat surface and feels just
right for typing.
I particularly like this keyboard because it has a physical on/off switch unlike, for instance, the Apple Wireless Keyboard
which is controlled by various presses on one button. It is never
clear when this device is on or off. If the keyboard is not switched
off before replacing it in the bag you find that the phone is still connected and no virtual keyboard appears. Worse, the live keyboard
in the bag will constantly wake the phone and could result in
unwanted actions and battery wastage.
This cheap and impromptu bodge with the Logitech
keyboard is working really well. All I need is some form of clip
stand to attach to the keyboard to provide a secure rest for the
phone. In the meantime, I can usually find a suitable bit of tableware to prop the device. The best so far is the small orange teapot
in the picture.
The one device
Carrying just one device instead of two has many
advantages, not just in weight saving which I cover later. It also
ensures seamless working and avoids synchronisation failures
when the second device is pulled out in a no-signal area, such as
in the depths of the London Underground. With just one device
to worry about, all apps are in the state you just left them when
above ground.
Strangely, I find myself using the 6 Plus all the time,
even when relaxing at home. Previously I have felt the iPad mini
or, even, a larger iPad Air to be essential. Now I am not so sure. I
could get tired of the smaller screen but, for the moment, this is
truly The One Device for me.
App mishaps
Earlier I mentioned the current problem with some
apps. This is both in general and specifically in relation to landscape
mode. This iPhone 6 is not a small iPad and currently it is not
possible to run iPad apps (which are mostly customised for the
larger screen and for landscape mode). Instead, existing iPhone apps
are scaled up and this sometimes results in extra-large type and,
sometimes, a black border at top and bottom of the screen. Also,
many of my productivity iPhone apps do not work in landscape (such
as OmniFocus, Reeder, 1Password) while others do but are currently
unsatisfactory (for instance Writer Pro). It is annoying when working
in landscape mode to open another app and find it stuck in portrait
format, sideways on.
I hope that over the next few weeks most of these
applications will be updated to make better use of the larger iPhone
6 screen estate. I would also love to be given the option to run iPad
apps on the 6 Plus but I am not sure this is physically possible given
the different proportions of the 6 Plus and iPad screens.
Battery life
I am impressed with the battery life of the 6 Plus. When
I decided to make it my one device, replacing both phone and iPad, I
feared the worst. I make very few phone calls but I am a power user
when it comes to writing, browsing, texting and emailing. My iPhone
5S was always running out of juice late in the afternoon and I often
found the iPad mini down to the red bar when I returned home in the
evening.
So far, the 6 Plus has been a revelation. Bearing in mind
that it is out on its own, just the one device and the one battery, it
stands up to the daily grind better than the 5S and the iPad mini combined. In a week of constant use it has never fallen below 50% battery
capacity. Today, after being out for eight hours, during which time I have
been working on the phone more than usual, I have returned to base
with an impressive 77% of battery remaining. This is unprecedented
for any device and it gives me the confidence that the battery will
stand up to a full year's hard labour without too much effort.
Weight loss
Life before the Six Plus meant carrying around an
iPhone, in a leather case, and the iPad mini in the keyboard folio case.
That lot totals 770g. Now my burden of 6 Plus and tiny keyboard
comes to a far more comfortable 320g. What's more, this combination does exactly the same job.
I do have reservations about the updating of apps to
work in landscape mode. And I hope that Apple will concede that
the iPhone 6 Plus is probably better suited to iPad formatting than to
iPhone, if feasible. Until that happens, the 6 Plus is not a like-for-like
replacement for the iPad. But it does well and I am happy to accept a
few compromises in return for the halving of weight and the generally
greater portability.
4