5 Mac Tricks You’ll Actually Use Everyday!

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The Service Centre is a series that highlights the best Apple tips and tricks that you can start using right now! As a proud member of the Apple Consultant Network, as well as being one of the most accomplished Apple IT Services firms in Australia, a great deal of our time is spent helping organisations integrate Apple Services into their business IT solutions. This is why we want to help you get the most out of your Mac by showcasing some of the best features you might not know about. Learn more about how we introduce Apple into businesses in a strategic and cost-effective way.

In this episode of The Service Centre, we showcase 5 super simple and easy to use tricks that you can use every day that will boost productivity.

For over 15 years eStorm Australia has been partnering with business, education and government as their trusted Managed IT Services provider and single source supplier. Our team of specialists deliver superior on-site and remote services tailored to suit your specific requirements.

Call us today on (07) 3120 0640 or email us at [email protected].

5 Useful Mac Tips You’re Probably Not Using

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As a proud member of the Apple Consultant Network, as well as being one of the most accomplished Apple IT Services firms in Australia, a great deal of our time is spent helping organisations integrate Apple Services into their business IT solutions. Here you can learn more about how we introduce Apple into businesses in a strategic and cost-effective way.

We want you to get the most out of your hardware and software, so we put together 5 interesting Mac features you might not know about that could be improving your Mac use.

 

 

eStorm Australia is an IT managed service provider headquartered in Brisbane. We partner with your business and provide IT solutions and services that suit your specific requirements. Our solutions include a variety of services that are critical to overall business success and competitive advantage.

If you need any information, or to find out exactly how we can help your business – contact us anytime on (07) 3120 0640 or email us at [email protected]. If you are located outside of Brisbane: Sydney: (02) 9188 5148 – Melbourne: (03) 9088 6431.

In need of our other IT support and managed services? We specialise in Managed Cloud Services, IT Support Services, Managed Network Services, Business Telephony, Hardware and Software Procurement and Education Services.

Exciting New Announcements from Apple in the World of Education

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Lots of exciting new announcements from Apple, particularly in the world of education! Here’s the highlight reel:

apple education event new ipad 9.7"

iPad

Apple launched a new 9.7″ iPad now compatible with Apple Pencil and designed for powerful AR applications to bring out the creative genius of every kid + a whopping 200,000 apps made for education!

The new 9.7″ iPad comes loaded with:

  • A10 fusion processor chip to enhance multitasking
  • 64bit desktop class architecture
  • 40% faster CPU
  • 50% faster graphics performance (both when compared with the previous gen 9.7″ iPad)

apple education event ipad 9.7" with apple pencil

Augmented Reality

A number of new apps are being released including:

  • Boulevard AR App: working on bringing together every art piece from around the world
  • Free Rivers App: detailed landscapes which allows users to insert dams into the landscapes to witness the outcome
  • Frogpedia Science App: allows you to dissect a virtual frog with the Apple Pencil
  • Everyone Can Code – Swift: AR kit module introduced that includes teacher guides and rubrics.

iWork

Apple also announced they are working on a new version of the iWork productivity suite for iOS

Pages and keynote will feature integrated apple pencil support to enable users to add drawings and smart annotation features. Smart annotation will also work by anchoring to the word – not just writing over the top like other devices.

Teachers will be able to use the iPad and Apple Pencil to mark up students pages reports as a result of the suites new markup functions. When a user annotates a document the markup anchors to the word or image.

 

apple education event mark up students work with ipad

 

Classroom

Classroom, currently available on iOS, is coming to Mac (beta in June).

Classroom is a teaching assistant that helps teachers manage their students iPads, as well being able to guide the children through lessons, keep them focused and share their work.

Through Classroom, teachers are able to launch apps, books and web pages all on students’ devices simultaneously, as well send and receive documents.

Classroom allows teachers to view their students screens to ensure they stay focused.

apple education event classroom for ios and mac

 

Schoolwork

Schoolwork, a cloud-based app, allows teachers to assign hands out, homework, reminders and track student progress, as well as develop their own handouts to include links, pdfs and other documents.

Schoolwork allows teachers to bring apps into the classroom, assign activity within the apps, observe student progress and creations whilst protecting privacy.

Schoolwork can also be integrated into 3rd party apps using Apple’s ClassKit API.

 

Apple Teacher Learning Centre

Share your classroom activities or learn from others. Earn badges and grow your learning.

 

Additional

  • iCloud Storage: 5GB to now 200GB through Apple School Manager

A few things that weren’t mentioned in the keynote, but went live on the Apple site right after, include new iPhone and iPad cases, new apple Watch bands, as well as a Space Gray Magic Keyboard, Trackpad and Mouse, which were previously exclusive to the iMac Pro.

 

Learn more about eStorm’s education device procurement program or how you can benefit from MDM (Mobile Device Management).

image of colourful new ipad and iphone cases apple watch bands and apple pencil cases

IKEA using Augmented Reality

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Tim Cook said in recent months that he was so excited about Augmented Reality that he wanted ‘to yell out and scream.’

He named furniture buying as an example of something that can be completely changed by the use of AR.

“We’ve talked to Ikea, and they have 3D images of their furniture line. You’re talking about changing the whole experience of how you shop for, in this case, furniture and other objects that you can place around the home”.

Ikea’s digital transformation manager has been working on the first AR app of its kind and said that IKEA was going all-in on the AR technology experience.

“This will be the first augmented reality app that allows you to make reliable buying decision. When we launch new products, they will come first in the AR app”.

The plan is that customers will take photos in their own homes, and to use the app to position realistic renders of IKEA furniture directly into their environment. Customers would be able to see what a sofa would look like in a living-room. For example, placing it in the exact position will allow customers to truly see what the item will look like amongst their decor, but will also show how it spacially works in the area.

IKEA says that Apple’s AR technology is so good that the positioning of products will be ‘millimeter precise,’ with sizes and lighting completely accurate. It’s expecting to have 5-600 products available at the time they launch. The company will have a head-start on other companies and it’s been using photo-realistic renders instead of product photos in its existing catalog for some time now. It will be able to drop these same 3D models into the AR app.

Initially this will be used in-store. Ideally IKEA aims to have customers place a sofa in your home using the app, and then click it in the shopping cart on the e-commerce site.

IKEA is aiming to launch when IOS 11 is released.

iOS 11 What’s new?

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Apple Maps

Do you mostly use Apple Maps? Maps is introducing 3D maps to help you navigate your local shopping centres, starting in American major cities first, with others to follow, similar to the train info rollout. The same goes for airports, with indoor maps now available in iOS 11 for major hubs around the world, and more to follow later on.

If you use Apple Maps while driving, iOS 11 will finally introduce speed limits and lane guidance warnings for easier navigation while on the road.

Redesigned Control Center and Notification Center

iOS 11 will streamline Control Center, putting all of the options in a single screen, including playback and Airpley controls. It will also include an improved vertical slider design for the brightness and volume controls.

Siri Upgrades

In addition to visual improvements and more expressive male and female voice options, in iOS 11 Siri is getting improved translation skills, including English to Chinese, Italian, German, French and Spanish, with more languages due to come.

Messages and Peer-to-Peer Apple Pay Payments

iMessage remains one of the best mobile messaging platforms out there (assuming your friends and family all have iPhones). Apple Pay via a new iMessage app, with TouchID fingerprint authentication, will quickly send payments (encrypted end-to-end) to someone you’re chatting with.

Using iCloud, iOS will now ensure your iMessages remain perfectly synced across all of your devices.

Apple Music

Apple set its sights on Spotify with Apple Music. Apple Music will have a Shared “Up Next” playlist so your friends can see what’s queued up at a party and make their own contributions to the mix.

Augmented Reality

While not immediately available to users when they upgrade to iOS 11, Apple is introducing a new backend tool for developers called ARKit, allowing them to take advantage of an iPhone or iPad’s camera, sensors, gyroscopes and other hardware to create and improve augmented reality experiences made popular by Pokemon GO.

Camera and Photos

iPhone and iPad’s camera apps will be getting new photography filters under iOS 11, including a long-exposure effect for Live Photos for capturing mages of things in motion, which should be perfect for action photography enthusiasts. Live Photos can also be trimmed, and users can specify which frame of the short video can be used as for the still image.

To help maximise the storage space on your iPhone or iPad which can’t be expanded, in iOS 11 is also introducing a new HEIF compression scheme, shrinking images better than JPEG can, with less compression. The same goes for video, with a new HEVC video codec.

Home Kit and Airplay 2

In addition to adding wireless speaker support to Apple’s Home app, HomeKit will introduce AirPlay 2 to control your audio hardware that supports multi-room playback, including the Apple TV.

Apple CarPlay Do Not Disturb

Taking advantage of clever Bluetooth and Wi-Fi doppler effects to detect when you’re in a moving vehicle, CarPlay will automatically lock down your phone, giving you nothing but a blank screen. An auto-reply option for Messages will also be available under iOS 11, letting others know you’re not ignoring them, but are busy driving.

Improved iPad Apple Pencil Support

Apple is now expanding what the Pencil can be used for on the iPad, in standard apps such as Mail, Safari, screenshots and Notes with markup that allows users to easily make hand-drawn annotations

In Notes, iOS 11 uses machine learning to translate and index hand-written notes so they can be searched, or copied and pasted as editable text.

Files App

Apple is finally giving iOS a dedicated File Manager app called Files — at least on the iPad. Filesis a central place to find or delete files for when your device runs out of storage space.

But Files also has access to stuff you’ve stored on iCloud, and other online storage options including Dropbox, Box and Google Drive, so you don’t need to hop from app to app to find a document you need, which is potentially the most useful feature of the new Files app.

Apple iPad Pro Rumours

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Apple are expected to announce the new iPad Pro models at some point during the next few weeks, Rumours have been incredibly busy with speculations of just what we can anticipate from this new hardware. A rumor that popped up this Monday suggested Apple would be announcing its new iPad models as soon as next week.

In 2017, we should see three new iPads Pros – two updates to the existing 9.7-inch and 12.3-inch models and an all new variant with a 10.5-inch display. Apple could possibly announce the upgrades to the 9.7-inch and 12.3-inch iPad Pros next week with or without a press event, hopes are that Apple will be showcasing the new 10.5-inch unit at an entirely separate affair. According to DigiTimes, Apple has ordered manufacturers in Taiwan to bump up production for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro to this month of March as opposed to May or June as it was initially planned.

Since the introduction of the iPad Pro, it has been interesting to see how businesses and organisations of all sizes introduce it into their Apple integration strategy. In some instances the iPad Pro has replaced the more traditional laptop choice for organisations and new hires.

Apple Teacher Program

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Apple just announced Apple Teacher, a new program created to support and celebrate teachers. The program provides a self-paced learning experience with tips, inspiration, news and learning materials to help unlock the magic of iPad, Mac and built-in apps in the classroom. Earn badges and an official Apple Teacher logo so you can share your achievement with the world. Sign up today!

To learn more and to sign up, visit the Apple Teacher website.

 

iOS 10.3 Beta 3: What Will The Update Include?

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The biggest feature to debut in the latest public beta is Find my AirPods—a feature that is sure to be welcome for early adopters of Apple’s wireless earbuds. Like ‘Find My iPhone’, the feature will illustrate the last place a user’s AirPods were active and connected to an iOS device. You will also be able to remotely prompt the earbuds to play a noise so they can be found easier.

Apple is revamping its user ID controls, giving users access to their most important information in a single menu. Users will be able to quickly access their contact information, security settings, payment information, iCloud settings, App Store settings, Family Sharing settings and more. This will all be available in the new profile section at the top of the Settings app.

The iOS 10.3 beta also brings a revamp that most users won’t realize, but will be an unseen convenience. Apple is switching its storage system over to the Apple File System, a universal file system Apple began implementing in 2016. It is optimized for flash and SSD storage and offers strong encryption tools to protect files.

In an effort to expand the amount of other devices and services iPhones and iPads can interact with, Apple has added new features to HomeKit, it’s connected home hub, and Siri, its voice-powered assistant. HomeKit now supports programmable light switches, and Siri will now be able to schedule rides with ride hailing services like Uber.

If all those new features have you wanting to update, you’ll want to make sure your device will be capable of making the jump. Here are the iOS devices that will be compatible with iOS 10.3.

  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone 6
  • iPhone 6 Plus
  • iPhone SE
  • iPhone 5s
  • iPhone 5c
  • iPhone 5
  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch
  • iPad Pro 9.7-inch
  • iPad Air 2
  • iPad Air

Apple iPhone 8 tipped to have front side 3D camera

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Rumour has it the new iPhone 8 could boast a game-changing 3D camera and allow for facial recognition and augmented reality applications.

Ming-Chi Kuo (KGI Securities), claims the front camera on the new OLED iPhone will have a “revolutionary” infrared module that can sense the 3D space in front of it. The combination of the front camera and a 3D sensor would allow iPhone users to generate a 3D selfie, create digital avatars that could then be used in augmented reality.

The fact that Apple CEO Tim Cook said in earlier interviews what “AR is that big, its huge” it makes sense that Apple would be pursuing augmented reality potential. It would certainly give Apple the edge ahead of  Google’s Android in developing 3D algorithms.

The latest speculation follows rumours that Apple may move away from its Touch ID fingerprint scanner in favour of iris or facial recognition technology. This week it was announced that Apple bought Israeli facial recognition technology start-up RealFace. Certainly a case of ‘watch this space”.

Apple has stayed characteristically tight-lipped and has refused to comment on the reports. But the immense buzz around the iPhone 8 has seen Apple’s share price climb on the back of the optimism.

The company is expected to unveil three phones in September. Two nearly identical phones with screens of different sizes, and one super premium phone.

How Apple’s ‘Shared iPad’ can benefit your classroom

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your data
If you are involved in the education sector, the ‘Shared iPad’ feature could be what you have been waiting to hear about for a long time…


Apple’s newly released iOS 9.3 software update is one of the best new advancements for the education sector as it changes the way iPads are used in the classroom.

As the name suggests, the ‘Shared iPad’ feature lets students share iPads. It is designed for schools where cost or policy concerns prevent the implementation of a one-iPad-per-student program. With the new update, students are able to login to an iPad, similar to logging onto their user account on a laptop or desktop. The result is that a student’s apps, content and progress through various tasks will be available, regardless of which iPad they actually use.

There is also a Photo ID feature that allows teachers to see which student most recently used a particular iPad, which should avoid delays related to downloading content and could help optimise on-device storage.
Students will have a four-digit login, similar to an iPhone passcode to login to their account, making it easier for younger students to remember.

As well as this, the iOS 9.3 update also features a new Classroom App that allows teachers to see what students are doing on iPads in the classroom. Teachers can also remotely launch and lock apps, and share student work on a classroom display connected to an Apple TV.

This is the first time Apple have shown an interest in allowing iOS devices to be shared and could be a big step in the right direction for them.

This new update is a breakthrough for digital learning and we look forward to putting it into practice.

If you would like to know more about this, or want to having it implemented in your classroom, please contact the eStorm office today.