EPR Creations LLC

Top Ten Apple Predictions for 2012

I spend a lot of time on Apple products and consult a number of clients on how best to use computers & mobile devices. For this blog post, I am sharing my ten predictions I have for Apple product, marketing and service releases for 2012:

1. Apple will begin Courting the Businessperson with Renewed Effort

The incredible list of products already exist. But there is a huge gap between Apple product knowledge and use in the business world. Apple needs to begin devoting massive ad spending to court this segment of the market. This prediction isn’t as much about upcoming product launches as it is in marketing focus.

For example, I go into board rooms and meeting rooms all around the city of Atlanta. I have only seen one Apple TV in a meeting room. Every board room and meeting room should have an Apple TV hooked up to the projector or flat screen. It’s just $100 and it allows any person with an iPad to show a presentation through a WiFi connection. I hear that Turner Broadcasting is installing Apple TVs in all of their meeting rooms. Other companies should do the same. Think of the savings in time from not having to have different presenters plug their computers into a projector.

2. Apple TV will be Renamed

The Apple TV device has expanded beyond its name to the point that “Apple TV” actually confuses people. Is it a TV? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? And plus, the rumor is that Apple is actually going to release a TV this year, as in an actual flat screen TV.

3. AirPlay will be extended to All Devices and All Programs

Right now, I can mirror my iPad screen onto a flat screen through Apple TV. But I can’t do that with my iPhone or MacBook computer. What if I could show a presentation on my MacBook without having to get up from my seat and plug in my computer to a monitor? What if every person in the room could show their spreadsheet, presentation, or document by simply clicking a few buttons? The ramifications for the board room and meeting room alone are enormous.

4. Apple will Advertise more about Inter-connectivity of Devices

This is another marketing prediction. Apple will (or should) use advertising money to show how seamlessly a MacBook can connect to an iPhone and how photos, documents, etc can be backed up automatically. As people use 2012 to simplify and connect their device use, Apple is in a prime spot to show how they can do this best.

5. Apple will purchase Dropbox

This prediction is one my brother-in-law has recommended for a few years. Apple should purchase Dropbox. iCloud is great for photos and a few other things, but it seriously lacks as a viable solution to saving any type of document in the cloud. With Dropbox, this could easily be integrated into iCloud.

6. AirPlay will be extended to include Multiple Devices that Play Different Songs

For instance, if I have TVs and Airport Expresses connected to different stereo systems in one location, the only way that I can pick and choose which device should play music is through iTunes on a computer. If there are 4 rooms, I can choose to play music in 2 of the 4 rooms. Right now, I can’t do that on an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. I can only push music to one of the rooms. So, the prediction is that I can choose which room and further to that, I will be able to choose different songs, videos, etc for each room. Right now, I can only play one song. Sonos already has the capability to play different songs in different rooms. Apple should too.

7. Another AirPort Express device will be Released

My prediction is that a new AirPort Express device will be released that costs just $50 and allows for connecting to WiFi to print or connect to a stereo. The drop in price will occur because AirPort Express Lite will not have the router capability but will just be a receiving device.

8. The Mac Mini will Wirelessly Connect to an External Monitor

This will render an HDMI connection from the Mac Mini to an external monitor unnecessary. If the monitor has an Apple TV connected, the Mac Mini will connect automatically.

9. iPad & iPhone app developers will begin to treat these devices as tools instead of interfaces

Right now, you can play a racecar game on your iPad where the iPad becomes the steering wheel and the actual track shows on the flat screen through Apple TV. This is just the beginning. We will begin to see the iPad become the paintbrush and the flat screen TV will be the canvas. The iPad will be the keyboard and the TV or monitor will be the output. iPad Mirroring was the big thing for 2011. Separate interfaces will be the big thing for 2012.

10. The iPod Nano will add a Telephone Feature and WiFi Connection

Most people talk on their phones through a headset already. The actual iPhone device may not be required as a phone if that could be moved to the iPod Nano. Plus, it would be incredibly awesome to start up Siri and tell her to call your wife by slightly lifting up your arm and dictating to your watch. The WiFi connection will open up the device to Apps and more connectivity.

Use Apple TV for Your Presentations

I recently had a meeting with a client who said all school and company presentation rooms should now contain an Apple TV. Why? Because as more and more people purchase MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones, these devices can be used to wirelessly show presentation slides through the use of AirPlay. You can purchase a nice size flat screen and an Apple TV for less than most projectors.

Although Apple has recently released AirPlay, more and more apps will begin using this feature to show what is on your MacBook, iPad, or iPhone on a screen through Apple TV.

For now, it’s a little cumbersome, but you can show a PowerPoint presentation through AirPlay using your iPad or iPhone. Here are the instructions for how to do this:

• When complete with your PowerPoint presentation, choose the option to save the presentation as images.
• This will save each slide as a separate .jpg image.
• You can then upload these images to your iPad or iPhone
• You will need to join the wireless network that the Apple TV is located on.
• Photos on the iPad or iPhone are one of the items that can be used through AirPlay to show the images through AppleTV
• Once you have opened up the photos, move back and forth between the images on your iPad or iPhone and that will change the images on the screen.
• You can be sitting in the back of the room moving back and forth between the slides.

iPad: Uploading File from Email to FTP Area

A common request I get from my clients is to post a pdf news file to their sites. These are some of the older HTML-based sites where the client does not have the ability to upload the file into a content management system.

I was looking for a way to handle all of this on my iPad so I could take care of these requests on the road.

I found a solution. It’s not as fluid as using a computer, but it works if you are out and about.

First, download the iStorage HD app. It costs $5.99, but it is also acts as an FTP client.

Here are the steps to add a file from an email on your iPad into an FTP area to load onto a website:

1. Open the email in Mail and click on the file link.
2. Once the file opens, click the arrow button usually located in the upper right corner.
3. This will give you the option to open the file in iStorage HD. Choose that option.
4. Within iStorage HD, you will see a list of files, networks, etc on the left side.
5. Go to iPad/Documents and find your file. Open the file.
6. That arrow option will now be on the bottom of the screen. Click that and it will give you the option to Copy the file.
7. Choose Copy and then close the file you are viewing.
8. Now click the + sign in the upper left corner.
9. Choose “Add Network Account” and insert the FTP Host Name, Username, and Password.
10. Once logged in, go to the folder in which you would like to add the file.
11. Once you are within that folder find the arrow item and choose the option to Paste.

And there you have it. That file is now in the folder. From there, you can open up a page within your FTP area and create a link to this new

How to create a Home Entertainment System with Apple Products

Over the last few weekends, I have set up a complete entertainment system for some family friends. Being a lover of all things Apple, I attempted to use as many Apple products as possible. It is actually a not so secret desire of mine to have a sizable budget to use at my discretion at Apple and Best Buy.

In putting together the system, I was quite surprised at how much Apple has created the ability to connect multiple devices in the home. Products that used to seem disconnected now work together to create a home entertainment system you could have only dreamt about just a few years ago.

Here is a list of Apple products that were combined to make a super connected home entertainment system:

• 11′ MacBook Air
• iPad
• iPhone
• Apple TV
• 2TB Time Capsule
• Airport Express

Here’s what I did:

First of all, I connected Apple’s Time Capsule to the home Internet connection in the basement of the house. The Time Capsule serves two purposes. It is a 802.11n wireless router that works great with Apple products. It also acts as a 2TB hard drive. The Time Machine functionality can be used so that every computer in the house backs up wirelessly on the hour. No more carrying around an external hard drive and having to remember to back up your computer. This one happens automatically for the whole family.

Another great feature of the Time Capsule is its ability to connect a printer and provide printing capability to all household computers.

The next thing I did was to connect two different Airport Express devices in the house. One was connected on the main level and the other was connected in the master bedroom. In a similar fashion to the Time Capsule, the Airport Express acts as a wireless router. The beauty of the device is that it can also be utilized as a repeater of the main wireless signal. So, if your wireless signal coming from the basement is weak in the upstairs levels, the Airport Express repeats the signal to make it stronger.

You can also connect a stereo system to the Airport Express’ auxiliary output. This output can go into a stereo input. So, in the living room on the main level of the house, we connected the Airport Express to a Bose Wave Radio. In the master bedroom, we connected the Airport Express to the bedroom TV.

With these stereo connections in place, the MacBook Air, iPad, and iPhone all became portable music players that could play music on any of these two stereos. So, as long as the computer, tablet, or phone was connected to WiFi, it could send any song located on the device to the stereo system. You could be a DJ in the basement while reclining in the den.

The realization of how much things had changed hit me as I set up the mid-level stereo system. I removed a 100 disc changer from the entertainment system cabinet and told the family they could now control even more music from their phones.

After setting up the stereos, it was time to work on the TVs. I got 2 Apple TVs for this part. One was for the family room tv and the other was for the downstairs children’s entertainment room. In addition to being able to stream Netflix movies, you can now stream music, photos, and movies from the computer, iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone. And this ability only became available on the iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone with the release of IOS 4.3, and that was only released within the past few weeks.

So, we’re talking about brand new functionality here that really only came out in the last month. The family already had two flat screen tvs and I set up some nice sounds systems to the tv/Apple TV comination.

The final product was really astonishing. By using an iPad, this family could now choose which movie to watch on their TV, change the music playing in the basement, set some jazz music in the living room, and have classical music going in the master bedroom. And they could do this from any room in their house using a computer, iPad, or iPhone.

The Apple products cost around $3500 total. Then of course, tvs and stereos were needed throughout the house. But if you wanted to, you could do a similar system for less than $1000. Here’s how:

• One iPhone 3GS (currently $49)
• One Apple TV ($100)
• A surround sound receiver with 6 speakers ($350)
• 40″ Flat Screen TV ($450)
• HDMI, Taxes & Other Cables ($50)

Now, I’m making the assumption that you already have wifi set up. With these devices, you could use the iPhone as a remote or as a music player that would play music, podcasts and music through the Apple TV and through your surround sound receiver. You could even show photos and videos you took on your iPhone on your new flat screen tv.

If there is anyone else out there with a big entertainment system budget in Atlanta, let me know. I’d love to help.

The eOrchestra

The NY Times had a great article this morning about a string quartet that has adapted to modern technology in a very intriguing way. The Borromeo String Quartet uses music stands like any other group. The only difference is that physical sheets of paper are not on the music stands. Instead, MacBook Pros adorn the stands and foot pedals are used to turn the digital pages of the score.

For anyone who plays music or has been to a concert, you know how distracting turning that page can be. In fact, most pianists have a page turner sitting next to them so as not to disrupt the flow of the music. This is no longer a problem if you are using a foot pedal that takes you to the next page.

The other benefit to the digital sheet music is that you can have the entire score in front of you to be able to see what the other instruments are doing. Typically, if you were playing the violin part, you would only want that part on your music stand so as to have the lease amount of page turns. But if you can turn the pages with your foot, space doesn’t become as big of an issue.

Here is a video of the Borromeo Quartet performing in front of their MacBooks:

The Borromeo Quartet also uses technology to record most of their performances and sell those recordings online. This is a big pull for concert goers who often have an emotional experience at a concert and wish to take that home with them in order to remember the experience. A number of music bands do this as well as a way to make additional income as cd sales and concert ticket revenues are down.

I love following these types of stories as music and technology are two of my biggest passions. I remember seeing the video of Lang Lang playing ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ for the first time on his iPad. Here is one of the best up and coming pianists in the world and he showed some versatility in playing a very difficult piece on his iPad. Here is the video:

Another video including a fascinating mix of music and technology is North Point’s iBand where an entire music group used either iPhones or iPads to play some Christmas music:

If you are interested in the foot pedal for turning pages, you can find more information here. They also have a solution for the iPad. The foot pedal works by plugging into a MacBook through a USB cord. The way you can use this on the iPad is by purchasing a camera connection kit that plugs into the bottom of the iPad. This also contains a USB input so you could use the foot pedal on the iPad.