One More Thing…

If it's fall, it must be time for an iPhone refresh and today was the day.

I will readily admit I'm an Android user. It would take quite a bit to get me to leave that eco-system for Apple because I'm just too set up with my Android apps.

That said, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on today's product announcements. This should not be considered a detailed review, and just my observations gleaned while watching the streaming keynote.

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The new iPhones are certainly attractive and as close as they ever have been to pushing me towards Apple mobile products than before.

The iPhone has finally grown…literally.

At one time it had the largest screen of any smartphone. But, they stood fast while everyone else passed them by. In fact, they kept the 3.5" screen size until the release of the iPhone 5; adding a mere  half inch more.

Now, they're making a quantum leap to 4.7"! I really like that they jumped to the 4.7" screen. That's the size on my 1st Generation HTC One (M7), and it seems to be a sweet spot for me.

What's a little disappointing, is that the screen is the equivalent of 750p resolution, when you take pixel density into account. Better than basic HD, yet not quite the typical 1080p on most Android phones.

Will most people notice the difference? Probably not.

Additionally, they're releasing a bigger brother, dubbed the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a 5.5" screen. This is clearly aimed at the growing phablet market, dominated by the LG G3 Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Note models.

While I've got relatively large hands, I have to ask myself how large is too large? We're talking a phone, after all. Some of my friends swear by them though.

Apple bumped up memory, with both new models topping out at 128Gb of onboard storage. They still haven't added a microSD card. But, with cloud storage options more readily available, that's becoming less of an issue. (Though carriers need to wake up and raise their data caps to step in line).

Both new models come with 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity, and they're implementing a neat feature (where carriers allow for it) that the phone will jump onto available Wi-Fi if it can't reach a traditional cell tower.

Apple has also finally added an NFC chip!

Near Field Communication allows a couple of devices in close proximity to communicate with each other. Android phones have had this in a while now.

Why is this important?

Probably the #1 usage of NFC in phones has been for contactless payments, such as Google Wallet. It's great. Tap your phone against specific credit card readers, and the credit card you have attached to your phone will be charged.

Unfortunately, financial institutions came out with their own competing product, formerly known as ISIS, but recently redubbed SoftCard.

They actively discouraged carriers from allowing adoption of Google Wallet, until recently, with the release of KitKat (Android 4.2).

But, Apple isn't simply adopting someone else's version of contactless payments. Starting next month is Apple Pay.

Apple Pay will be a secure payment system that securely stores your credit card information so you pay just like the Android devices.

They're taking it one step further though as Apple Pay will not provide your account information to the merchant. Rather, it will use a one time number that the Apple Pay-equipped credit card terminal recognizes.

Your credit card information is stored onboard the phone, in a newly designed chip, which encrypts the data. A big advantage over Google Wallet is that it uses Apple's finger print authentication to allow purchases.

Should you lose your phone, you will be able to disable payments using the Find My iPhone service.

Apple Pay launches next month, and they've already announced some large merchants, including McDonalds, Walgreens, Whole Foods and Disneyland/Disney World.

Apple Pay is a game changer folks. While the financial institutions were able to put up stumbling blocks when Android-based phones introduced this, Apple is a juggernaut. Pretty much every person that has an iTunes account, has already provided Apple with their credit card number.

Providing existing merchants are allowed a relatively painless way to add Apple Pay, there's virtually no way for it to fail.

And then Tim Cook muttered that phrase made famous by Apple founder Steve Jobs

"One More Thing"

With that, the Apple Watch made its public debut.

I am absolutely impressed with what they've come up with. Despite using a square form factor, it's absolutely gorgeous. Rounded edges. Removable bands that come in fashion and sports versions.

The home screen looks like a kaleidoscope of polka dots. You then select app by clicking on its dot.

My favorite feature was Digital Tap, best described as rather Twitter-like. But, it provides suggested quick responses based upon content from the first message. It also allows images and unique tap sequences to be sent.

Apple Watch will also support Apple Pay, though your iPhone will need to be handy. Now you won't have to dig into your pocket for your phone, and can simply hold your wrist up to the credit card machine.

Pebble, Motorola, LG and Samsung need to be concerned as it looks like functionality is several steps ahead of what the competitors currently offer.

These are just some of my thoughts after watching the live keynote today.

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IPhone Pricing (w/2yr contract):

iPhone 6:

• $199 (16gb)
• $299 (64gb)
• $399 ($128gb)

iPhone 6 Plus:

• $299 (16gb)
• $399 (64gb)
• $499 ($128gb)

iPhone Pre-orders start Sept. 12th, and start shipping Sept. 19th

Full pricing for the Apple Watch was not announced, other than it starts at $350, and will be available early 2015.

Apple should have the recording from today's iPhone and Apple Watch announcement posted shortly.

iPhone users have Siri…I've got Sami!

(left: Speaktoit, right: Eva)

By now you'd be hard pressed not to know that Siri is the amazing "personal assistant" app that came with the new iPhone 4S during Fall 2011.

You've heard the commercials with the calm female voice offering up info on things from gas stations to rodeos, and can apparently pin point your location in a matter of seconds.

This was what made the jump from the iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S a little more palatable despite still being within a 2 year Verizon contract.

When Siri first came out I wondered why there wasn't something like that for Android. I actually discovered a program called Iris. In all honesty, it seemed to be more about being a sarcastic takeoff of Siri, which added little to my cell phone experience.

Recently, I saw a reference to several new Android apps that would take on Siri. Intrigued I checked things out, planning to avoid what Iris offered. This lead me to Speaktoit Assistant.

Speaktoit is interesting in that it's not just a computer screen on your phone. It's actually an avatar, where you can change hair, eyes, clothes, voice and gender. There are three different skin tones, and both male and female versions for your selection. You can also give her any name you want, in case Sami isn't good enough for you.

After launching for the very first time, she asked me to provide my name. Doing so, I was immediately greeted with a computer female voice that sounded remarkably close to Siri saying, "Hello Robert. My name is Sami!" Fortunately, I had the ability to change Sami's voice to something more naturally sounding, so I choose one with a soothing English accent.

Calling people is as simple as saying, "Call Robert Marshall mobile." Sami tells me "Calling Robert Marshall mobile" and it dials. Sending an SMS text message is just as easy. After it recognizes the person from your address book she asks you want to send? Sammi was able to recognize pretty much whatever I threw at her consistently. It was only when I was using uncommon words that she had a few hiccups. Still, I was quite impressed.

Calling up programs is as easy as saying "Open GMAIL." If you want to look up some info, such as what's the temperature," it's not as polished as the Siri commercials make the iPhone out to be. Sammi says let me check that, and opens its own browser window, which you have to maximize to really see it properly. If you try to maximize it, you're prompted which browser on your phone to use. One funny thing is that when she acknowledges something with OK, she reads it as "awk" not "O-KAY."

Now, for the really annoying feature missing. To use Speaktoit, you have to either push a microphone symbol on the screen, or type your command in. The app does NOT listen for a push of your Bluetooth headset's button. For that matter, even after you've pushed the button on the screen, it does not use the microphone on your headset, and you have to speak into your phone's main microphone. This is a lack of a MAJOR feature as far as I'm concerned. I'm in a Hands Free state, and if you're caught doing pretty much anything on the phone's screen, you could be subject to a citation. At the very least I cannot understand why they wouldn't allow using of the Bluetooth microphone.

Additionally, the app resides in memory so your battery does take a hit, but it's not bad if it's just sitting there. However, any regular usage at all, and it seemed to eat my HTC Thunderbolt's battery for lunch. Granted, the Tbolt is known as a battery hog, but I've got it rooted, and am using SetCPU to turn down the CPU's speed to 300mhz when not in use, which has usually given me a full day's worth of standby life.

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There's another app, called Eva (or Evan if you want a male avatar) which has the major plus of working through the Bluetooth headset. Unfortunately, it's only as good as the headset you're using. There is a huge delay with my Samsung WEP460, which probably explains why I've been having problems with the built-in voice dialing sometimes. It opened any apps on my phone with the command "Open app name" and even reminded me I'd have to upgrade to the paid version when I told it to update my Facebook status. Eva doesn't rely on her own built-in browser. When I asked her where I was located, she actually used the Google Maps app I've installed.

Downfall with this app is it does not come with any normal-sounding voices. However, it works with the SVOX Classic engine, and any of the English-speaking voices they offer. Unfortunately, each voice you add is going to set you back $2.99.

Eva's paid version is a whopping $9.99. However, there is a free version, with most of the same functions. It's missing a few things, but what exactly is missing, beside the updating of your Facebook status, is unclear.

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For those wondering, yes, there is a voice navigation system already built into Android, called Voice Navigator. Frankly speaking, I've never had any success with it, and usually takes four or five attempts for it to understand what I said. Either that, or it will hear me, but then offer to dial some number in some far off land. Rumor has it they're working on a new version called Majel, which is to be the official Google response to Siri. I will believe it when I see it. It will most likely require something like Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean to work, despite 90%+ phones still being on Froyo or Gingerbread.

UPDATE

Just a quick follow-up to my original blog posting. I emailed the maker of Eva asking them what the difference is between the free version and the paid version. Turns out the free one (Eva Intern) runs for a limited amount of time, and then you have to buy the $9.99 version to continue using it. WHY Google Market allowed for a crippleware version in their market is beyond me.

Additionally, I've ended up uninstalling both Eva and SpeakToIt at this point. My battery life was absolutely hideous, to the point of not making it more than a few hours if I used the product much at all. Your mileage may vary, as the HTC Thunderbolt is known as a battery hog. If you experience something different, please post a comment.

Getting a LOT more than you paid for

I'm pretty sure most people are familiar with the phrase "you get what you've paid for" when it comes to free, or very cheap, versions of tools, and to be fair, that's accurate a great many times.

Today, I'm going to introduce you to some software that's FREE and can replace many packages that cost several hundred dollars without sacrificing too many features.

Generally when people think of free software they think of stuff that runs on the linux operating system. While that may have been true a few years ago, it's not so much the case anymore. Authors are coming out with applications that run on Windows and Apple's OSX as well. You may ask why they'd do that? For some it's just the kicks they get out of doing it. For companies, they see the value of "wetting someone's appetite for their product. The trade-off for that free price is sometimes they may include advertisements, or have some of their features disabled compared to a paid version (crippleware), or they affix a price tag to it, hoping the person will find it useful enough that they would pay for it on an honor system (shareware).

The three applications I'm going to mention today are totally freeware. No price attached. No strings attached. There may be add-ons offered by companies, which will enhance your user experience which cost money. But, I'm not going to go into any of those.

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LIBREOFFICE (word processing, spreadsheet, etc.)

Today the gold standard of office suites is, no doubt, Microsoft Office. If you purchase the student or home version, this will typically include a word processing application (Word), a spreadsheet (Excel), a presentation program (PowerPoint) and a note organization program (OneNote). Several years ago, Microsoft made the decision to bring out tiered packages. This allowed them to give you more options the more you pay for them. As a result, Access, their database application was pulled out, and is now only available with the Professional version. You can look at paying between $119 and $349, depending on which suite you purchase.

In the long run, not bad as Microsoft Office is accepted as the standard in pretty much any industry. However, why pay that kind of money if you don't need to?

The best option for people to consider is LibreOffice, from the Document Foundation. LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice, which has been the premiere open source productivity suite for years. (A fork basically is when someone takes a software package and creates their own package, but adds their own improvements moving forward.)

While LibreOffice does not include a notes application, it has equivalents for the other applications included in the basic office package, in addition to database, drawing and simple math editors. LibreOffice will open any .docx files sent to you by others. You can edit them and still save them in a Word format (.doc). A person could use Evernote to make up for the loss of OneNote. In January 2012 PCWorld did a good comparison of Evernote vs. OneNote and actually rated Evernote as a better option.

As far as I'm concerned ANY first year college student should be able to use LibreOffice in lieu of Microsoft Office, and your professor will never know as long as you remember to save your files in Office format (.doc, .xls, etc.)

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THE GIMP (photo and graphics editing)

If you're a professional photo editor chances are you will be using Adobe's Photoshop Suite. This has been around for years, and has carried a triple digit price tag for years due to its acceptance as a standard and not many alternatives doing as much as it can. If there's a graphics format out there, I'd bet Photoshop will be able to open it. Standalone Photoshop is a whopping $699, and the cheapest suite is the Design Standard package, for $1299. However, that includes a whole bunch of other graphical production programs as well, which are generally overkill for anyone that's not in a professional graphics house. Adobe does offer a stripped down program, called Photoshop Elements, which probably gives most people all the items they'd need out of Photoshop, at a LOT less money (currently $99).

If you want a more powerful editing program, then you might want to consider The Gimp. (Gimp stands for Gnu Image Manipulation Program – a mouthful for sure, which is why they chose to use the rather ungraceful acronym which has stuck despite suggestions to change it).

It needs to be said that the current released version of Gimp (2.6.12) looks about as alien as it can get when compared to Photoshop. Instead of having a single application window, it's divided into multiple panes. This has its plusses and minuses as it allows you to arrange your desktop as you wish, and you can even close some items that you don't need. Not all hot keys work with the same functions as in Photoshop. However, we're on the cusp of the release of Gimp 2.8. This version will offer you the option of a one window screen, as well as the traditional multi-window interface. Gimp will open standard Photoshop (PSD) files, and allow you to edit on the individual layers. It will also let you work on a whole slew of other file formats, including many of the raw formats produced by the camera manufacturers (I was pleased to see it does Canon's recent .cr2 format when I checked). There was a fork of Gimp called GimpShop, where developers tried to mimic the more familiar PhotoShop interface. However, that has fallen behind in development, and cannot really be recommended anymore. There's plenty of tutorials online (Youtube and many user forums are available).

A big Achilles' heel for some people is that it does not have a robust support for 16bit color-depth formats as Photoshop does. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, chances are you won't miss it. Basically, this has to do with the richness of your photo's detail and how much info is available for editing.

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AUDACITY (audio editing)

I haven't really used any of the paid audio editing applications, such as Garage Band, so it's going to be a little harder for me to compare others to it. However, I'd like to mention a wonderful freeware application that lots of people are using, especially for producing podcasts. It's called Audacity. Don't let Audacity's pretty plain looking website scare you off. This application has a great support community.

Audacity allows you to import many different audio formats, and if you have the correct plug-ins installed you can export in a multitude of options as well. I've personally been using Audacity for years to burn the .mp3 versions of our church's sermons for posting to the web.

It allows you to edit a sound file, removing all those coughs and other imperfections that happen when recording something live, and you don't have the opportunity to go back and do it over. If done properly you honestly cannot tell if something was cut out. You can also copy parts of a file so you can transpose them to other places. For instance, I recently had a situation where a subject gave a verse number wrong. I was able to find another place in the original recording where the correct number was used so I copied it and went back to the original problem. Magically, It's fixed. If something wasn't recorded at a high enough level you can amplify recordings too, and it won't let you over amplify the sound without your actually telling Audacity it's OK to do so. Levels can be equalized. Pitches can be adjusted. All pretty cool stuff!

As I mentioned earlier, there are plug-ins available, written by other users, that allow you to manipulate files in certain ways, or to generate other sounds. At present I'm not aware of any instrument packages to add, so if you're looking at laying down a drum track, or something like that, you should look elsewhere. However, you any instrument that you can hook up to a pre-amp or some sort, or that can use a microphone to record can easily be used with Audacity.

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These were three programs picked at random that I use and thought other people might find useful, in case they wanted to get their feet wet, but didn't want to spend a whole lot of money. I made sure to choose applications that have Windows, Apple (OSX) and Linux versions to make sure that most people reading this will be able to use them. Please note, I don't believe there's IOS (iPad) support as of right now, but I'm sure you'll eventually see that down the road since that's the way it seems Apple is moving for consumers.

Going to the library without leaving home!

Today I want to share with you a tool that, perhaps, some people don't realize they have at their fingertips.

In the past, when you needed a book at the library you had to get on the bus, or drive down to the library and fight for parking. There's an alternative out there that's pretty awesome!!

There is a growing, collection of books you can borrow from your library and use on any number of devices. But you say, "I don't have an Kindle Fire, Nook Color, Nook Tablet (or any of the many other specialized readers that are out there nowadays). You're not stuck having to buy one anymore. Do you have a smart phone? According to a 2010 study, there are over 12 million advanced cell phones in the US which would be able to do the job; not to mention most desktop, laptop or tablet computers can as well.

Chances are good your library is a member of a digital system which has copies of eBooks that you can check out. You ask, "Isn't the library pirating the book if they hand out copies to everyone that wants one?" It doesn't work that way. Through the use of some ingenious software you need to "check out" a title, and the file has an expiration date with a limited number of copies; typically one or two copies at most, depending on the type of subject. An added benefit of this system is that you don't have to worry about all those late fees because you couldn't get down to the library as you won't be able to use the downloaded book once the expiration date has past.

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Obviously, the first thing you need is a library card. If you're hunting down a library that particularly offers eBooks, check their website. I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have cards from the Oakland Public Library and San Jose's Martin Luther King Jr. Library. And according to their website, the San Francisco Public Library has a huge eBook collection, though I've not used it.

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You will need to install some specialized software to be able to borrow the library's eBooks. Here are some to consider:

Overdrive Media Console: Overdive has computer versions for Windows and  OSX (Apple). Additionally most of major mobile devices and tablets are covered with versions for Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7 and IOS (iPhone/iPad). (Note: not all operating systems support all types of books and/or media files. Check with Overdrive to see what you can access, along with any additional system requirements you have to fill). Of all the software I mention Overdrive is the one I am the most familiar with. A big plus in Overdrive's favor is that it supports audiobooks and music ,as well as the traditional written form.

Adobe Digital Editions: This software, from the originators of the Portable Document Format (PDF), is available for Windows and OSX (Apple). Unfortunately, ADE will not run on mobile devices and tablets at the present time due to (DRM) copy protection software used (Digital Rights Management).

Bluefire: Android and IOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) devices have another option. With Bluefire you can open library books, as well as eBooks you have purchased from the major bookstores, as it handles the DRM without the need of having Adobe Digital Editions installed on a computer to move the file to your device.

'txtr, which also runs on the same devices Bluefire, does not support library books, but does support purchased eBooks, and eBooks without copy protection.

Calibre eBook Management:  I mention Calibre only because it is the only program that I'm aware of that has a native linux client. Granted, not very many of you reading this will being using linux. However, just the fact they built a linux version is something I enjoy sharing. They also have Windows and OSX versions. Unfortunately, this only allows reading of eBooks that are DRM-free. However, some people have been able to use it to transfer eBooks to their phones.

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There are also many virtual libraries online that give you access to books that have been scanned because their copyright has expired and thus are in the public domain with no copy protection.

The oldest one worth mentioning is Project Gutenberg. ProjG has nearly 40000 books available to freely download, in multiple formats, and you can keep the copies for as long as you want, and pass them around to other people. While being one of the oldest, people may not have heard of them.

There's little doubt most people have heard of Google Books because of the flack over copyright issues that arose in the past few years. Google has formed a relationship with several large universities, with the intention of scanning their entire collection. While older books in public domain are not the issue, it's the newer ones the have become controversial. This is clearly bypassing copyright laws, and lawsuits have been the result. As of right now, you can search Google Books and public domain books are available for download. Other books are available for purchase, and some search results have links to libraries where you can borrow them. You will probably need a card to get them though.

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Some book publishers are now offering the ability to buy memberships that give you access to their publications by way of a normal web browser. A great example are O'Reilly Publications and Pearson Technology, who pooled their titles for the Safari Books Online portal. You get access to thousands of titles by purchasing a subscription. The bad news is that the subscription fee can get quite expensive (the all-you-can read plan is nearly $500 per year!!) and you have to have an internet connection to read them. However, the good news is that many libraries give you FREE access simply with having a library card. I access the Safari titles with my MLK card. You log into your library account from home and then read away. Pretty slick!

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I have purposely not mentioned any of the proprietary software installed on the Amazon or Barnes & Noble tablets, as I'm not familiar with their capabilities. I own a Nook Color that has been rooted since January 2011 so I could install what I wanted on it, and have never used any of the Amazon Kindle versions.

Hopefully, this has helped to expand your reading horizons at little to no out of pocket expenses, and you'll give it a try soon. While not every book under the Sun is available in electronic format, the number is getting bigger all the time, and most books that are newly published have a digital version for purchase from the first day they're released, and generally cheaper than the printed version.