Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for November 15, 2015

The Apple iPad Pro reviews are in, and they're pretty much all over the place. The general consensus seems to be that it's a fantastic iPad, but a terrible laptop replacement.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ipad-pro-versus-surface-pro-4-the-app-store-is-the-secret-weapon-2015-11



iPad Pro: Day 2 and already making my work better, easier, and faster

Now that I've had two days using the iPad Pro for work, my impression is highly favorable. I've used iPads for years for my work so I had no doubt the Pro would handle my needs. What I wasn't prepared for is how well it would do that.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/ipad-pro-day-2-and-already-improving-my-work-routine/



Review: Apple's iPad Pro with A9X CPU and 12.9-inch Retina display

Anyone who has been satisfied with an earlier iPad as a PC replacement probably does not need an iPad Pro. Simply put, the horsepower will likely go unused by that type of user, and the larger form factor makes the device far less portable and convenient.

Of course, high-end power users and "true" professionals also won't be able to rely on the iPad Pro as their primary computing device yet.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/11/14/review-apples-ipad-pro-with-a9x-cpu-and-129-inch-retina-display



I tried Apple's new gigantic iPad Pro and was pleasantly surprised — but it's not for everyone

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ipad-pro-with-apple-pencil-first-impressions-review-2015-11



We unboxed Apple's largest iPad ever

http://www.techinsider.io/ipad-pro-unboxing-2015-11



One of the most influential Apple bloggers just sounded Intel's death sentence

He writes:
The entire x86 computer architecture is living on borrowed time. It's a dead platform walking. The future belongs to ARM [microprocessors], and Apple's A-series SoC's are leading the way.

http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-gruber-intel-x86-dead-platform-walking-2015-11



Apple SVP Phil Schiller just unveiled the new iPad Pro, and it is enormous.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ipad-pro-video-2015-9



Apple's latest iPhones are the most powerful smartphones you can buy

A long review of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9686/the-apple-iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus-review/2



People are loving Apple's $100 Pencil

http://www.techinsider.io/apple-pencil-review-roundup-2015-11



The 2 main reasons people aren't buying the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch isn't a flop. It's just too new.

Price was the No. 1 reason.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-watch-owner-survey-cites-price-novelty-as-barriers-2015-11



How Apple is giving design a bad name

For years, Apple followed user-centered design principles. Then something went wrong.

although the products are indeed even more beautiful than before, that beauty has come at a great price. Gone are the fundamental principles of good design: discoverability, feedback, recovery, and so on. Instead, Apple has, in striving for beauty, created fonts that are so small or thin, coupled with low contrast, that they are difficult or impossible for many people with normal vision to read. We have obscure gestures that are beyond even the developer’s ability to remember. We have great features that most people don’t realize exist.

products, especially those built on iOS, Apple’s operating system for mobile devices, no longer follow the well-known, well-established principles of design that Apple developed decades ago.

Apple is destroying design. Worse, it is revitalizing the old belief that design is only about making things look pretty. No, not so! Design is a way of thinking, of determining people’s true, underlying needs, and then delivering products and services that help them.

The problem is not restricted to Apple. Google maps become more attractive and more confusing with each iteration. Same with the Android operating system. 

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3053406/how-apple-is-giving-design-a-bad-name%22%22

Reader comment on http://www.osnews.com/story/28954/How_Apple_is_giving_design_a_bad_name

I'm appalled at just how unfocused, chaotic, messy, inconsistent, and hard to use iOS has become.



Apple updates iWork for Mac and iOS with Office compatibility fixes and more

http://9to5mac.com/2015/11/11/iwork-mac-ios-update/



Apple hit with second class action lawsuit over Wi-Fi Assist data overages

plaintiffs seeking a jury trial for damages in excess of $5 million.

for not disclosing the potential for cellular data overages resulting from iOS 9's new Wi-Fi Assist feature, a move plaintiffs argue costs unwitting customers exorbitant carrier fees.

After a barrage of complaints Apple published a support document on its website detailing how Wi-Fi Assist works and, perhaps more importantly, how to disable it. Plaintiffs, however, contend the company did not act swiftly enough.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/11/13/apple-hit-with-second-class-action-lawsuit-over-wi-fi-assist-data-overages



This guy likes Blackberry’s newest competitor to the iPhone.  He writes:

My first evening was an exercise in a bit of frustration, but it's not the device -- it's Android, with a few notable exceptions.  However, that frustration was tempered by a number of things BlackBerry has done to keep the BB10 experience available on the Priv.

Not the best camera, but not bad either.

I like the keyboard a lot.  No, it’s not an “on screen” keyboard.  It’s an actual “slide out” keyboard.

The screen is very readable in full sunlight.

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=230892

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=230896



The 16 most essential social media apps in the world

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-social-media-apps-2015-11



Plan Your Digital Legacy, and Update Often

many people are neglecting to include digital effects in their estate plans. Estate planningexperts say that may be a big mistake. Valuable assets may go unnoticed, or money and time might be spent tracking them down.

Many statements are delivered via email, and important financial records may be stored in the cloud or on computers.

And some assets like digital currencies, video game characters and Internet domain names exist only in cyberspace. “So they can be overlooked, since they aren’t as tangible,” said Tim Hewson, president of USLegalWills.com, adding that such assets “can be worth tens of thousands of dollars.”

Experts recommend making a thorough inventory of all online accounts and their passwords but not to include them in your will. Wills should not be changed frequently while online account information often is.

Email passwords are especially important to note, Ms. Sillin said. Email usually holds a digital paper trail of account transactions, such as online bank statements and digital payments.

Some assets can’t be passed on to heirs.  Apple does not allow heirs to inherit an iTunes library.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/your-money/plan-your-digital-legacy-and-update-often.html



The Dream Life of Driverless Cars

Cars are already learning to drive themselves, by way of scanner-­assisted braking, pedestrian-­detection sensors, parallel-­parking support, lane-­departure warnings and other complex driver-­assistance systems, and full autonomy is on the horizon. Google’s self-­driving cars have logged more than a million miles on public roads; Elon Musk of Tesla says he’ll probably have a driverless passenger car by 2018; and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers says autonomous vehicles ‘‘will account for up to 75 percent of cars on the road by the year 2040.

Currently, this technology has its own flaws and vulnerabilities.

cities may have to be redesigned, or may simply mutate over time, to accommodate a car’s peculiar way of experiencing the built environment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/magazine/the-dream-life-of-driverless-cars.html?emc=edit_ct_20151112&nl=personaltech&nlid=11893479