Bradley C

One of my favorite sessions from Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is the “What’s new with device management session”. It’s usually towards the end of the week, but it’s one that IT managers should always pay attention to. We aren’t getting the earth-shattering changes we did in years past, but that’s simply because a lot of the low hanging fruit has been picked. There are some notable changes coming in the fall updates, though. So here’s what’s new with device management in iOS 13, iPadOS 13, tvOS 13, and macOS Catalina.
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During the WWDC 2019 Keynote, Apple announced watchOS 6 for Apple Watch. While watchOS 6 didn’t get as much stage time as other new software releases, it still looks like a great release. One of the features that is most interesting to me is the API for streaming audio. In watchOS 5, Apple offered streaming on Apple Podcasts and Apple Music, but it left out the ability for third-party developers to access it. Spotify used Apple Watch as one of the reasons Apple isn’t play fair with how it treats its own products vs how it interacts with competitors. I argued that Spotify wants all the benefits of Apple’s platform, but without giving Apple any revenue. With the new streaming API for watchOS 6, it’s time for Spotify to ship or shut up.
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As with any major Apple announcement, I watched the WWDC Keynote with anticipation on how it would impact my job as an IT Director who primarily manages Apple devices. While the hardware Apple produces is certainly important, the software they plan to release every fall is what I pay attention to most. What is the impact of WWDC on IT departments as we head into the fall software releases? Let’s dive in.
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I’ve been a fan of podcasting since 2004 when I was listening to This Week in Tech, DL.TV, The MacCast and other great shows. Since then, the podcast industry has grown by leaps and bounds. When the iPhone included a built-in Apple Podcasts app, podcasts finally moved from a niche industry to something that is part of the social norm. But it’s still incredibly complicated to actually build podcasts unless you are familiar with microphones, editing software, and RSS technology. Could Apple offer an official podcast creation tool?

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Time Machine was introduced with OS X Leopard (10.5) back in 2007, and it was pitched as a way to easily backup your computer to an external drive. Over the years, it was expanded to work with the Airport Extreme (now discontinued). Now, it still works with USB drives, but you can also use products like Synology to back up your Mac over the network. Is it time for Apple to take the next step with backups and build a Time Machine service in iCloud for macOS?
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A few weeks ago, we published an article where Tim Cook said that Apple had acquired 20–25 companies in the past six months. Cook mentioned that Apple generally is looking at smaller companies and eyeing “talent and intellectual property“. I have an idea on a company who would fit in very nicely at Apple given its current strategy. Apple should buy The Athletic.
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Apple School Manager is the cornerstone of Apple’s K–12 strategy. When Apple began to push the iPad in K–12, their tools were a little disjointed. They had the Volume Purchase Program, Device Enrollment Program, and Profile Manager built into macOS Server.
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Watch faces for Apple Watch have been a point of discussion since watchOS 1 and the Series 0 Apple Watch. Apple has expanded the options over the years, and the Siri watch face is one of the most unique ones. With that being said, I still end up using the Infographic Modular face on the Series 4 Apple Watch. When swapping back and forth between watch faces recently, I had the idea for a Siri complication inside the Modular Apple Watch face for watchOS 6.

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I’ve been managing macOS in an enterprise environment since 2009, so I was around during the “stable” periods of Snow Leopard, as well as what others would call unstable periods. One of the common themes I’ve heard in my technology circles over the past few years is that macOS has become less stable. I manage 100s of Mac laptops at the moment, and I would estimate I’ve been responsible for 1,000+ devices over the past ten years. So, I think I’m qualified to discuss the current state of macOS stability.
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A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I had purchased an Apple Watch Series 4. One of the key reasons I purchased it was for GPS tracking while running. I’ve been listening to podcasts while working out for a good decade even when people thought I was crazy. For me, the Apple Watch with AirPods or Powerbeats Pro is the dream device for running. With watchOS 5, we finally got a built-in Apple Podcast app and support for third-party apps to sync files over to Apple Watch. Since I am such a fanatic about podcasts, I try almost every iPhone podcast app that comes around. For the Apple Watch, there aren’t as many podcast apps that support watch only playback, but I still wanted to give a round-up of the best ones.
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Apple Mail vs G Suite webmail is a discussion I’ve had with many other IT directors at different schools over the past few years. Some Apple schools focus everyone on using Mail.app since it’s built it, updated with macOS, and creates a similar experience on iOS. Other schools actually remove Mail.app from the new Mac deployments and force people to use the G Suite web interface? I could argue it both ways, and I’ll give you my explanation in this week’s Making The Grade.
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Jamf is announcing a brand new product today along with some additional enhancements for Jamf Pro. Jamf School is a brand new platform aimed to K-12 schools who don’t need all of the functionality of Jamf Pro, but still want the ability to use a mobile device management system. Built on the foundation of their ZuluDesk acquisition earlier this year, Jamf is doubling down on providing products and service for every type of customer.

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In March, we covered Spotify’s It’s time to play fair campaign where the company laid out reasons it felt Apple wasn’t playing fair. Like most services, Apple obligates Spotify to pay a 30% cut in order to use in-app purchases when signing up new subscribers (it drops to 15% in year two of the subscription). Ultimately, Spotify wanted the EU to probe Apple Music in relation to how Apple treats its competitors vs its own business.
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Being in school IT, I’ve been around the iPad from day one. I’ve owned just about every iPad over the years (original, 2, 3, mini, Air, mini 4, 10.5-inch Pro, 12.9-inch Pro, and 11-inch Pro). I’ve deployed thousands of iPads since 2010, and I’ve worked with countless students and teachers on using the iPad in the classroom. I know the iPad. I can explain the good, and I can vent about the bad. I know people who use the iPad full time, and I know people who used to use the iPad. It appears iOS 13 is going to be a big one for the iPad, so I am excited. There has been recent discussion around mouse support coming to the iPad as an accessibility feature in iOS 13, and that is welcome news for me.
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When I was at the National Association of Independent Schools conference back in February, I was walking through the Expo Hall looking for new products that I could bring back to my school. I teach Swift Playgrounds to our 4th and 5th graders as a part of our 4C’s curriculum. When I passed a booth displaying the Piper Computer, it immediately caught my eye. I made a contact at the company and arranged to get a review unit.
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I’ve had a long road with the Apple Watch. I bought the original one on release day, but sold it within a few months due to the slowness of watchOS 1. I purchased a Series 2 when it was released, but I ended up returning it a few weeks later. When the Series 3 Apple Watch was released, I ended up buying one to write a review, but returned it before the return period was up (it was around Christmas so I had a longer return period). In the entire time the Apple Watch has existed, I’ve probably owned it a total of six months. A month ago, I picked up another one. This time, I have a Series 4 Apple Watch with LTE. I know I am late to the Apple Watch party, but I do have some thoughts that I think are interesting based on my past history, and my thoughts on Apple’s health plans with Apple Watch. I’ve been around the watchOS scene from day one, but I’ve definitely come and gone for periods of time.

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Coming off the heels of Apple’s March event, it’s clear that Apple is all in on services. After all the services are released, you could easily spend $50+ with Apple on recurring charges for Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and more. Services don’t have the massive margins that a $1200 iPhone XS Max does, but one advantage is that they are recurring. Once Apple gets your $9.99 per month for an Apple Music subscription, you will likely have it for a while, and you are likely to continue to buy at least some of Apple’s hardware devices. An iPhone user might have an Apple Watch and a Roku TV, so it makes sense for Apple to have Apple TV+ on the Roku as well. Apple, in 2019, is all in on services. What about Apple’s enterprise services?
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A few weeks ago, I took a look at the best Twitter apps for iPhone. It was interesting to read the replies I got on Twitter from people who felt strongly one way or another about third-party apps or using the official Twitter one. People who like third-party apps often prefer them for reasons that do make sense. People who are fine with the official Twitter app (based on how they use Twitter) should stick with it. The great thing about the ecosystem (it’s hanging on by a thread) is that both third-party and first-party options work for people. It’s really one of those “what’s best for you” situations. This week, I want to look at the best Twitter app for Mac. Because Twitter killed its official app for Mac last March, third-party apps are all you can use (except for TweetDeck). Twitter would prefer desktop users use Twitter.com. While the Twitter website is fine for casual tweeting, people who use Twitter on desktop with any regularity will want a dedicated app. This week, I am going to pick the best Twitter app for the Mac.
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Back in 2014, the headlines around Apple and K–12 education revolved around the cancellation of a major contract with the Los Angeles United School District. When Apple announced the contract in early 2014, there was a lot of excitement around the project. The approved deal allotted $115 million for deploying between 40,000 and 70,000 tablets to classrooms for use by students and teachers. One of the main drivers behind the project was standardized testing. As someone who just finished up another year of standardized testing on iPad (and getting back the results immediately), I can empathize at the benefits of using the device for testing. The LAUSD project ended up being a massive failure. We covered it extensively throughout the process, and while there were a lot of mistakes, I want to look at it from a technical point of view to explain the LAUSD iPad hacking scandal.

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One of the hot news items from Apple’s March event was Apple News+. Apple News+ is a $9.99 per month subscription that includes access to 300 magazines and a handful of popular newspapers. Apple News+ got me thinking about an Apple Podcasts+ service to help drive revenue for podcasts.

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