iChat

I’ll start with iChat, the grand-daddy of the messaging apps.  It debuted in 2002 and was primarily Apple’s own instant messaging client for AOL Instant Messenger.  At first, it was a text only chat, but later versions added video features, screen sharing between other iChat users and even presentation sharing and video conferencing.   compatibility with other messaging networks has also expanded over time.  iChat now supports Jabber-based networks like Google’s Talk, Windows Messenger and Facebook, MobileMe/iCloud accounts via the AIM network, and Yahoo Messenger, and even ICQ.

Great for: Mac to Mac communication and Mac to PC communication.  Since it supports third-party networks, anyone logged into one of these networks is accessible to you as long as you also have an account on that network.  If a mobile phone user has a client and is logged-in, you can communicate with them too.

Downsides: Advanced features, such as video chat, conferencing, and screen sharing, are iChat to iChat only features and requires an AOL Instant Messaging account to make these features work.   There isn’t an iChat for iOS, which is odd considering all that it could do.  It would be nice to have a video conference with Mac users while on the go.

FaceTime

With the iPhone 4, Apple introduced a  proprietary video chat called FaceTime.  It was first released as an iPhone to iPhone video chat, but Apple quickly released a version of FaceTime for Mac which allowed Mac to iPhone video chat.  For phone to phone, it uses the customer’s mobile phone number to be able to FaceTime and for Mac users, it uses an iTunes account and email address to identify the user.  The Mac app resembles the iPhone address book with Favorites and Contacts listed like the iPhone call screen. In the past year, FaceTime has been added as a feature to the iPad 2 and iPod Touch, as well, using iTunes accounts and email addresses to identify users.

Great for: Dead simple video chat between users of Apple products.  It does not require a third party network (AIM, Yahoo, Google) or an account, but relies instead on an iTunes account which every iPhone and Mac user likely already has.

Downsides: FaceTime came with one big limitation – it is Wifi only.  It does not work over cellular networks.  There is no Windows client.  Although certainly simpler to use, FaceTime does not seem like a full Mac app and seems it could be integrated with iChat (or vice-versus) since there is feature overlap.  The primary difference is third party chat network versus Apple proprietary FaceTime.

iMessage

Similiar to FaceTime, iMessage was introduced as a text messaging or SMS alternative.  It relies on open internet and it an Apple proprietary network.  It auto identifies other iMessage users and prefers that network to the carrier’s text messaging network when it finds two iMessage users (with iMessage enabled).  The message changes from the normal green colored talk bubble to a light blue talk bubble when using iMessage.  The best thing is that it isn’t a switch the user must think about – it just happens automatically.  The closest product on market to this is probably Blackberry’s Messenger product that allows Blackberry to Blackberry free messages.

Great for: Text and image messages between iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users running iOS5. It also lessens customer’s dependency on the carrier’s expensive text messaging plans.

Disadvantages: There isn’t a Mac client for iMessage.  It doesn’t work with other mobile devices – only iOS devices.  Wouldn’t this be handy to have in iChat somehow?  When the internet is clogged (like Disney World during Thanksgiving), messages can get stuck going out, but you can turn off iMessage and switch back to the cell network in settings.

Skype

And then there is Skype.  It is not an Apple technology, but its worth including given the fact that it runs on Mac and iOS devices, plus it adds the text message, video calling and voice calling features in a single app.  Skype is also written for almost every other device in the world and it is capable of calling anyone with a phone number anywhere in the world.

Great for: Calling PC users, users without a computer but with a phone number and strong video chat technology over both 3G and WiFi (technically, even 2G networks, though data speeds are too slow for video to work effectively). It allows very inexpensive international voice calls (computer or mobile phone to phone number).  Video chat and computer to computer voice calls are free.

Downsides: Requires another third party account.  Another billing source (if you make voice calls to phone numbers).  Many users complain of dropped calls and non-existent customer support, but what can you expect for a free service.

Disclaimer: This isn’t an exhaustive list of chat client, nor is it intended to be.  As you’ll see on my Mac App Discovery page, I have been a longtime user of Adium, however in recent years, my primary iChat use is remote screen sharing to help my friends when they run into problems.  Adium doesn’t do that, iChat does.  I use iChat.  There are lots of options – Trillium, Adium, etc.  Point is, I’ve got confused friends when it comes to the stock Apple solutions and which one to use for what.  Just trying to clear that up… 

I was pleasantly surprised and impressed how the developers chose to translate a mouse and keyboard based remote device onto a touchscreen device.  The mouse simply stays stationary and the screen moves with touch behind the interface.  It may sound counter-intuitive, but its quite elegant and easy to use.  You can make use of all of the normal iOS controls such as pinch to zoom to increase the size of the remote screen.  The keyboard is shown and hidden by a key on the menu bar at the bottom of the remote screen.  The bar also has keys to switch between right and left clicks for the mouse, which are executed by taping or double-tapping.  There is a magnifying glass key to zoom in and out and a complete list of settings behind a settings key. 

In addition to remote control, the file management and transfer capabilities that exist in the desktop version of the LogMeIn products is also baked into the iOS version.  You can pull copies of files from local disks on the remote computer and open them in iOS programs, using Quick Look or other features to play common media types.  In addition to the ability to download, since iOS has no native file manager, LogMeIn Ignition includes file storage as a feature within the application.  But file management doesn’t end there, it also includes cloud file storage

To switch between tasks, Ignition uses a multi-window concept, like in Safari, to open windows for Remote Control, the list of available computers, and file transfer.  You can easily switch between your open tasks.  All in all, its a well rounded and complete remote management solution for your desktop from your iOS device.  I am very impressed.

Tonight, while trying to screen share with her at home (I can get to her over VPN when she’s in the office), I was forced to troubleshoot this nuisance.  After a few minutes of Google research, I came across a post on Apple discussion forums that pointed me to the Video menu in iChat.  Turns out, there are controls there to enable Audio, Video and Screen Sharing or to disable them if you don’t wish to advertise these services to other users in iChat.   I have included a screen shot below to show the options.  Turns out that my friend had inadvertently disabled Screen Sharing at some point and with a quick click, we were back in business and I was able to see her screen and help with her problem.

This past week, I received a call from my next-door neighbor and friend, Kendall, who is a food rep.  He was traveling to Charleston to present a new line of meats to a restaurant but the other food rep who would be working with him would need to drive over 8 hours from Florida in order to join the meeting.  Instead, he asked what would be involved in having him video chat for the meeting.  Kendall is not a Mac or iPhone owner, but I told him about Skype and that we’d need to buy a web cam for his laptop.  Then it dawned on me, tell him about FaceTime.

Our family has had a lot of experience, this year, with FaceTime.  Either my wife or I both have been traveling for work almost every month this year.  Many times, due to my wife’s job change in February, we have not been able to afford the time off to travel together, and so one of us would be home with our daughter while the other traveled.  FaceTime has enabled us to talk while we’re in hotels and traveling and see each other.  It has performed as well as all the Apple ads have portrayed it and really, it is a feature I would really, really miss if I lost it today.  It has let me and my wife talk with our girl about her day, let her tell us her stories and let us tuck her in at night before bed.  My wife was able to read the nightly bedtime story, just like she were at home (especially since my daughter has a few favorite books and my wife has memorized those).

As I relayed this story to Kendall, I could hear his enthusiasm grow.  “Philip, you might be on to something there,” he said.  And surely, we were. So, I offered to lend him our family iPad and work with him to get everything setup.  We added a set of external speakers to make the audio louder, because were concerned that the restaurant might be noisy during the meeting.  The only other step was to add a contact for his associate, and we were all set. (As a failback, we also setup Skype, just in case, but it was not needed).

Kendall’s business associate had an iPad and one quick phone conversation had him we were testing FaceTime from home.  Kendall traveled to Charleston as planned and tested everything from the restaurant the night before and it performed great.

On the day of the meeting, the restaurant staff gathered around for the presentation.  Kendall setup the iPad and started the FaceTime call with his his iOS enabled business associate.  And the presentation began.  There were few thoughts about the underlying technology that enabled it because it just worked.  The only issue of the day was that some of the staff could not see the remote associate well on the iPad screen depending on their angle, but they could hear him and he could see everything going on there.  And the ability to see what was going on in the room made the presentation go off fantastic.  Kendall was the arms and legs for the presentation, able to talk to and cater to the staff while his associate spoke and watched remotely.  All of this enabled by two 1lb. gadgets that are easily transportable and WiFi in the hotel and restaurant.

Certainly, this isn’t an Apple only ability.  Skype and other video chat applications could do the same and pre-date FaceTime, but with so many iOS devices and Macs in the world, the ability to have a platform like FaceTime that just works is a huge advantage for customers.  Skype will run on PC’s and other tablets and lots of devices, so it has its advantages, too, certainly.  But, one of the biggest for FaceTime is that it is dead simple to use and that goes a long way with less technically inclined folks.

Up next for FaceTime – a birthday party…  I just sent off an email to my in-laws who will not be able to make it to my daughter’s birthday party this year, but I hope that they will attend using FaceTime.  They have recently made the Apple transition with iPhones and Macs, so we will try to let them join us virtually, wish their grand-daughter a happy birthday, and even watch live as she opens her present from them…  Those miles between us just shrank to nothing, and that is a huge accomplishment.

Apple has shaped a lot of my personal beliefs on how to succeed, long-term in business.  A study of their resurgence is a study in how to optimize, simplify and really meet your customer’s needs.  I wanted to pull out some things that I think have made Apple and Steve Jobs immensely successful.  

1) Streamline your product offerings – The saying goes “do not try to be everything for everyone or else you will fail for all.”  One of his first acts upon returning to Apple, Steve Jobs cut the product lines severely, down eventually to just 4 – the Power Mac, iMac, Power Book and iBook.  He killed the Newton Message Pad.  And I appreciate this change.  Instead of supporting gobs of product lines, its fairly easy for me to explain which Mac is right for you and give you your options.  It streamlined their production, their development resources, and freed the employees to innovate instead of simply support product lines.    Make it easy for customers to understand what you sell.

2) Focus on making the best products, and profit will follow – No doubt that Profit is important.  A company must make a profit to stay in business, however, Steve Jobs at Apple, Pixar or NExT has never focused on profit as his primary motivator.  At NExT and Apple, he wanted to make the best computers and software that he could possibly make.  NExT was never a vastly profitable company, but they made fantastic software, which would eventually become Mac OS X  and then iOS — the underpinning of all OS software in Apple today.  In addition, when the industry ran towards low cost and low margin PC’s, the Mac did not.  I think Jobs and Co. understood that long term profitability and sustenance of their company required that they maintained their margins, and today, they have created products people value and will gladly pay higher margins for.

3) Take Care of your Customer – Consistently, Apple ranks as the #1 computer vendor for Consumer Reports service survey.  It is because Apple creates quality products first, but when a problem does arise, they take exemplary care of their customers, whether by phone, Internet or in-person.  Not all customers appreciate that, I agree, however to build loyalty to our company and brand, this is key.   In my opinion, the customers you will win by taking care of them will be type that you want to keep.  Those who are ‘deal hunters’ will run wherever the best price can be found and I don’t believe there is ever a way to make them stick with a brand.

4) Experiment and Don’t be Afraid to Fail  – People want devices that solve problems or enable them to do things.  Talking about the iPad with a co-worker, I wondered allowed how long the device actually existed in Apple before it was released. Apple develops products and offerings in small teams, like startups, and then if it doesn’t meet standards, its sidelined or scrapped.  A company should not be afraid to scrap an idea or product, or worse should not deliver a product just because it was developed.  It should deliver products that meet customers needs and have value.   Jobs learned this during the NExT years, where its hardware was never a huge success, but in failing, you learn important lessons on how to succeed.  Another example, though I wouldn’t call them failures, is the game Angry Birds.  Angry Birds‘ maker Rovio made 50 other games before developing its blockbuster Angry Birds.

5) Think Different – Don’t follow the crowd, blaze a new trail.  Don’t continue to do things the same way because its always been done that way.  Look at things, evaluate, innovate and change.  If anything, Apple is company that ushers in change and is not afraid of change within their organization.  Not every idea has been a blockbuster, but they have had more than average.

6) Have High Standards – Perhaps the most evident personality trait of Apple inherited for Steve Jobs is his high standards.  These standards have led to iPhone, iPad and Mac OS X.  Jobs and Co. do not half-do anything.  They seek to do things to the best of their abilities.

7) Experience Matters – I’m not talking about job experience here.  I am talking about a customer’s experience with the product. This is something Jobs and Co. completely understand.  The users’s experience should be intuitive and common-sensical.  Apple’s user interfaces both for touch and mouse based system are stellar.  They aren’t always perfect, but it is evident that a lot of testing, research and thought has gone into developing these systems.  Apple understood this from a buying experience, too, as it has shown with its immensely successful Apple Stores.  It tops the list of dollars per square foot year after year – selling more than $4000 per square foot per year.

Early on, I got a taste of success (particularly for a blogger with NO following) by blogging during VMworld 2008 about the announcements being made from VMware.  It was the first time I had content picked up and linked to from others, and I’ll admit, it felt good.  To this day, my blog still gets some traffic from web searches about VMware’s Fault Tolerence feature.

Those early results did not turn into overnight success.  After VMworld 2008 and 2009, the blog has received relatively low numbers of visits, participation and readership. I allowed it to languish with only a few updates here and there.  The growth has been relatively slow, but recently doors are opening up.  Opportunities, like attending HP Discover and the Blogger Reality Contest, are allowing me to attend great networking and technical events,  to report on great new technology being introduced, and to refine my skills as a blogger.  The future for this blog is looking as bright as ever and I just wanted to to take time to thank those involved for the opportunities, support and encouragement.

Although the Genius Bar won’t install the upgrade for you, customers are free to use the WIFI network in store to download the 4GB upgrade.  This certainly sounds like a workable solution for anyone and with Apple’s network of stores around the country, one is certainly close by.

Websites, such as Silicon Alley Insider and AppleInsider, have been reporting that iCloud will include a streaming music offering and have followed speculation and anonymous confirmation from music industry insiders that Apple has struck deals with three of the big four music companies for its cloud offering.  What is yet to be seen is whether the iCloud offering will consume MobileMe, compliment it, or replace it all together.   Speculation has run rampant that MobileMe will move to a reduced rate, free even, though all will be seen after the keynote.

Mac OS X Lion was previously demonstrated and a partial list of features and upgrades were shown at last year’s “Back to the Mac” event.  Lion is touted as the release where many iOS features were incorporated back into the Mac platform which gave birth to iOS, including autosave, instant-resume, full screen apps, the launchpad, and the Mac App Store which launched in January.  Lion also bundles the Mac OS X Server features formerly released as a separate software package, opening new possibilities to power home and business users at no additional cost.

Latest rumors indicate that Lion will be released through the Mac App Store, though that is still to be confirmed.  In addition to new distribution, the new release also appears to include a number of UI refinements which has been the case in each iteration of Mac OS X since its initial release.

Much of what is known about Mac OS X Lion has been divulged from developers who received pre-release versions of the software through the Apple Developers program.   On the other hand, iOS5 and its features should be surprise for attendees and watchers.  The new version of iOS has been kept under close guard and very little concrete information is available about what it may include.  But, with the launch of iCloud, its easy to speculate that both iOS5 and OS X Lion will have deep ties to the new service.

Here are some links to other articles about the software:

• BoingBoing.net: Beware MAC Defender: OSX malware disguised as anti-virus software
• ArsTechnica: Fake “MAC Defender” antivirus app scams users for money, CC numbers

If you are searching for legitimate Mac antivirus, I suggest you check out either the free Sophos Antivirus for Mac (which I reviewed here and I run it at home) or Norton Antivirus for Mac.

Enter Disk Drill. Disk Drill, made by Clever Files,  is the software I have been missing for a number of years on Mac.  There may be other software available, but I’ve never found it when I was searching.   It supports file recovery from HFS and HFS+ , NTFS and FAT formatted volumes.   The software includes both a recovery vault option which keeps a “smart history” of your file activity to increase your chances of recovering a file.  It also has a scan functionality if you accidentially deleted a file and need to try and recover it.  Like all software in the genre, if you’re using the disk you are trying to recover from, then there is a good chance that you will overwrite the deleted file.

Install is super simple – just drag the app to the Applications folder.  On first launch, a tutorial to explain how the software works appears and explains the software extremely well.  You are also prompted to install the Recovery Vault option – which appears to be optional – though I proceeded with its installation.  The Recovery Vault option require administrative access on the Mac, so you’re asked for your password to install it.

My initial deep scan of the hard drive shows about 6 hours to wait before the scan completes.  Since I am not really looking for a deleted file, I didn’t continue with the scan.  The recovery vault in the future will protect me if something accidentally is deleted.

I must admit, however, that in all my years since switching, I have not deleted anything I didn’t mean to.  I have lost work when Word has crashed a time or five, but never really lost anything by accidentally deleting it.  Could it happen – certainly – and if it were say my iTunes or iPhoto library – that could be bad.

The best bet, in any situation, is a proactive backup – Mozy or Time Machine come to mind immediately.  Perhaps I am paranoid, but I do both – sending my iTunes and iPhoto libraries to Mozy on my two primary Macs and having a full disk image backup of all four of my family’s Macs.

To be sure, this app has a solid place in the market.  Oh, and did I mention that its currently free during its beta period.