The perception of SEO as arcane hoodoo is exacerbated by a slew of practitioners who want it to seem incredibly complicated. The truth is very different; the real world of SEO is in fact a place of good old research and marketing. It involves understanding what your customers are searching for and then delivering and promoting relevant content online.
To illustrate the point, here is a short list of easily understood yet highly effective tips that anyone can implement to help with SEO:

1. Who’s the most popular?
Believe it or not, off-page SEO (things you do off your website) is really like an online popularity contest. The more people who talk about and link to your website, the more ‘popular’ and authoritative the site will appear to Google. Over time, this will help your website rank higher in the search results pages.

To create this online popularity, be active in your industry; write for industry publications, comment on industry social media and connect with other influencers. Although the benefits will take some time (typically many months) to become evident, these efforts are cumulative and long-lasting.

2. Keyword research
There are lots of tools to see how many people are searching for a given term on a monthly basis. The best (free) version of this is the Google Keyword Planner. You do need to sign up for an AdWords account first, but it isn’t necessary to run an AdWords campaign to use the tool.

What you need to identify is the following: search volume, competition and relevance to your business webpage. These are easy to establish using the keyword planner and your own knowledge of your business. This research will enable identification of what the target market is searching for, and may even reveal gaps in your website’s content.

3. Leverage existing relationships
We all have these, whether with suppliers, customers, industry bodies or others. Identifying these contacts and asking them to place a link on their website pointing at yours will be beneficial. Such links are like a ‘vote’ for your website and, like the activity in the first tip, will help your site rank on Google.

If implemented consistently over time, these three simple tips will have a big impact on your website’s rankings. And they’re not only great for SEO – they’re just good business practice. As you go on, there are many more measures that will benefit your website from a search perspective, but begin with these to start reaping immediate and cumulative rewards.

Strike Alpha Cradle — This Australian-designed iPhone holder charges your iPhone in the car while holding it securely and boosting its reception thanks to a built-in passive antenna. It can be mounted to the windscreen with the supplied suction windscreen mount, or professionally mounted in your vehicle if you choose. AU$149/NZ$165 for iPhone 6 and 6s (other models available). More info.

Sphero BB-8 (pictured) — Guide a BB-8 with your iPhone or iPad, it listens and responds thanks to its ability to recognise and react to your voice, it can record and view virtual holographic videos and yet BB-8 has a mind of its own and a unique ability to evolve its actions as you interact.

Available from Apple resellers and some electronics retailers AU$250/NZ$280.

Swiss Mobility Rugged Power Pack 6000mAh device charger — For high-speed iDevice charging on the go, it’s hard to beat the Rugged Power Pack, a palm-sized device ruggedised to military standard 810G. It’s both water and shock-resistant, includes a battery life indicator and a flashlight, and it’s precharged out of the box. It can charge two devices at once: a tablet and a smartphone.

Available from Apple resellers and some electronics retailers AU$69.95/NZ$79.99.

Elgato Eve iOS-aware devices — Eve Room (AU$139.95/NZ$149.95) is an indoor room monitoring sensor that measures temperature, humidity and air quality. Eve Weather (AU$/NZ$89.95) is an indoor/outdoor sensor that measures temperature, humidity and air pressure. Eve Door & Window is a two-piece sensor that detects whether a door or window is open or closed (AU$65.60/NZ70.45. All report to your iPhone/iPad via free apps (requires iOS 8+).

iLuv’s SmartShaker — is a little colourful plastic disk that pairs to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth, and besides the vibration option (which might be great for the hearing impaired), it can make an alarm tone, or both at the same time. Palm-sized and very lightweight, the battery is recharged via USB and should last a month. When the battery runs out, the alarm beeps every minute. A free app lets you set this up once it’s paired – AU$45/$NZ50

mophie juice pack — Adding a little bulk plus an extra 120% battery capacity (or more) to your iPhone 6/6s, the juice pack has raised green rubberised strips inside that hold the iPhone slightly suspended for impact resistance. The mophie Power app (free download) gives you an overview of where your charge is at. mophie claims a fully charged 3300mAh juice pack should give you 17 hours more talk time, 12 hours more web browsing, 13 hours more video playback and 60 hours more music playback. AU$149.95/NZ$169.95 (other models available).

Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock — Adds 1xHDMI, 2xThunderbolt 2, 2xUSB3 and 1x Ethernet plus, on the front, another USB3, plus two audio jacks: 9 extra ports. Elgato’s dock includes thee Thunderbolt Dock Utility which appears in your Mac’s top-right menu bar for one-click ejecting of any connected dock devices from the Desktop. AU$339.95/NZ$$389.95.

iRig Lav mic — IK Multimedia keeps producing handy microphones. The latest is a clip-on lapel ‘Lavalier’ mic for recording voices up close. This one comes with a stereo minipin rather than a mini-USB or Lightning connector. Plug it in and it’s immediately recognised as the mic input, but also means you can use it with other recording devices, for example the portable Zoom H2n.

Quality is excellent – natural sounding and clear. Available soon from approximately AU$80/NZ$100, and the two-pack is AU$180/NZ$199)

NetSpot — has received another update. The software helps you map out and analyse your wifi network in detail to help solve problems and place devices more efficiently. There are three versions: Free, Pro and Enterprise. When you launch NetSpot you get two immediate options: Discover, which shows all the wireless zones in range, and Survey, which is where the real power lies.

NetSpot 2.4, free/US$149/US$449 (7-day test license for paid versions available). More info.

Aurora HDR — Aurora HDR from MacPhun lets you adjust exposure levels in photographs. A recent update improved plug-in compatibility with Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture, more versatile ghost reduction, performance improvements and a new preset category for more natural results.

On a tour to promote the launch of Apple’s bigger iPad, the iPad Pro, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said the new 12.9-inch tablet, along with an iPhone paired with an Apple Watch, are the only products he travels with. He no longer totes a laptop.

Well, that’s possible – after all, he’s the CEO of a huge, very rich company. Cook doesn’t have to do any real work; he just looks at stuff other people whip up. I guess Cook reads the news and types the occasional email too – although I have met CEOs and managers who can’t (or won’t) even manage email for themselves. And if you have a team supplying you with all the content you could wish for, you don’t need to do any ‘computer work’ to keep up with your business. Meanwhile, I’ll wager Cook’s minions aren’t mining data for Apple’s CEO on iPads.

For an iPad is a glorified ‘viewer’. I use our mini to view newspaper articles, websites, maps, record voice memos, play music, watch YouTube – and thanks to the ‘glorified’ bit, I can also write on it, but only if I really have to. I can take notes and type emails and, ahem, I can keep trying to resist Fallout Shelter and other games.

Improving the interface
Typing on a glass screen for any length of time is no fun. Of course the iPad Pro can be paired with Apple’s new Smart Keyboard. Using Split View (a feature added in iOS 9) and multitasking, it has to be better than working on a little mini screen, sure. Add a pen, or should I say a Pencil. This allows natural-feeling sketching and drawing since, by comparison to other iPads, the Pro’s screen has a surface that invites direct freehand stylus interaction. Apple’s stylus has been designed to replicate the tactile experience of using a pen or pencil naturally and accurately, with paintbrush, airbrush, felt tip and fountain pen emulations depending on which app you use. Apparently, this is a delicate device in white plastic, with a removable rubber sensor-filled tip for detecting the pressure you’re applying to the screen to vary the weight of the line.

The screen is sure to be nice – 2732 x 2048 pixels gives 264 pixels per inch. That’s 5.6 million pixels in a Retina display. Apparently even so, the iPad Pro feels snappy.

Not a computer
On the computing front, though, an iPad’s an iPad. It can’t process at anything like the rate a computer can. It has the new A9X, Apple’s third‑generation mobile device chip with 64‑bit desktop‑class architecture, which delivers up to 1.8 times the CPU performance and double the graphics performance of an iPad Air 2. Be that as it may, that’s still well short of a MacBook Pro class CPU, even if iPad Pro does outperform 80 percent of low-end PC CPUs, as Apple claims.

It’s impressive – for an iPad; but once you add in the keyboard and pencil, it costs as much as a laptop anyway.

But does any of this signify the ‘end of the PC era’? Steve Jobs had already claimed this before his death, and Cook has just repeated the phrase with the iPad Pro as David to the PC Goliath. It’s clear the PC market (except for Macs) has been in decline, but an interesting figure is that the 50 million or some lesser PCs sold over the past few years tallies nicely with the figure of iPads sold over the same period. If this is really a correlation, it’s not Macs that are killing PCs.

Instead, iPads are doing the damage.
iPad Pro pricing is from A$1249/NZ1399 for the 32GB with wifi up to A$1699/NZ$1899 for the 128GB with wifi and cellular. The Smart Keyboard is A$269/NZ$319 and the Pencil A$165/NZ$189.

Last week Google announced the addition of another factor to the already complex mix: this time, machine learning is the focus and the addition is named ‘RankBrain’.

RankBrain was first reported in this Bloomberg article and Google confirmed that rollout commenced early in 2015, with the service already fully live for a couple of months.

What’s really interesting is how important RankBrain has become in such a short space of time; it has been officially declared the third-most influential factor in ranking search results by Google senior research scientist Greg Corrado

Unfortunately, despite being asked by several sources, Google will not confirm what the first two most influential ranking factors are (one is likely to be link-based metrics). What Corrado did say however, is that RankBrain is one of the hundreds of signals that go into an algorithm that determines what results appear on a Google search page and where they are ranked.

Machine learning describes the process of computers learning from and making predictions on the data they process.

When taking into account that approximately 15% of Google searches (about 500 million daily occurrences) have never been searched before, the utility of RankBrain becomes more apparent. It is this staggering number of searches that it is looking at targeting and improving: when someone types in a phrase for which there are no exact matches in the search results.

The Bloomberg article featured the following example:

Despite the strangely worded query: “What’s the title of the consumer at the highest level of a food chain”, the results produced are pretty good.

The fact that Google has publicised RankBrain shows that it wants to get some mileage and also that it is happy with initial results. It is also arguable based on the rapid success of the new service, that the future will hold increased machine learning for the Google algorithm and technology in general.

If you are interested in learning more about how words can be connected via machine learning, Google provides a good place to start.

‘Enterprise’ used to be Apple’s final frontier, but those days are behind us, it seems. Normally, every three months, Apple puts out its figures, breaks more records and then its share price drops because, although the figures are always huge, Wall Street analysts always seem to want more and they start selling shares.

Not this time – shares went up.

Somehow, without seeing the irony in his statement, FBR & Company analyst Daniel Ives said the September quarter earnings news was “a major step in turning the positive tide around the Apple Story.”

Erm, the ‘Apple story’ has been incredibly successful for years now, but still Wall Street refused to see it and continued to moan about it. Perhaps too much is never enough.

Watch us break it down
Apple doesn’t break figures down anywhere near enough to really satisfy Apple watchers, with its need to control every facet of what it projects. This control was recently extended to cutting third party product lines in its Apple Stores and, for those lucky few suppliers still allowed in, on the condition they had to redesign their packaging to be more Apple-like! That’s what market power allows you. I’m trying to think of a nicer word than ‘megalomania’ – suggestions welcome.

But how is that executive wrist-piece faring? I say this as Apple Watch is a projection of success. It’s going to be redundant in a year or so, yet still people buy them, and wear them with admittedly beautiful, tailor-made straps for every occasion: sweaty time in the gym, cool and high-tech for the boardroom and bespoke leather for dinner, thank you very much. You’re buying something that’s tangibly going to be short-lived – but Apple Watch sales topped US$1.7 billion in five months, to the end of September.

At least you can get standalone apps for it now – for example, Runkeeper now lets you collect and show data as you jog without having to try and pack the companion iPhone along as you do so. There are already 1300 such apps available.

The China boost
Apple’s continued success is largely thanks to China. Not that long ago, this was due to getting products made cheaply. Now Apple is selling them back to the Chinese with high profit margins intact.

Meanwhile, Samsung has been selling more handsets at less profit (the reverse of Apple’s approach): the Korean giant’s IT & Mobile unit reported higher shipment of smartphones but also that its profitability declined. That’s to be expected from fire sales to boost sales of the disappointing Galaxy S6, along with a lower handset Average Selling Price.

And how Apple is taking the enterprise
Meanwhile, Apple has been beavering away growing its enterprise business, to the tune of US$25 billion. Apple has done this in a variety of ways, but apparently the enterprise focus of each new iOS release is a major component. Apple has developed a multi-faceted strategy of mobile security, enterprise OS support, over sixty mobility partnerships, the promotion and development of professional health and financial apps and a new business focused iPad Pro will appear soon.

Oh, and there’s Apple’s quiet but ongoing business website – and even a once unthinkable collaboration with IBM (Apple once lampooned Big Blue as much as it did Microsoft).

A smart move
Co-developing enterprise apps (in the joint MobileFirst program) with IBM is a smart move. It has had IBM execs and engineers using Apple gadgets, and personal computers as well: IBM is saving $270 per Mac installed compared to Windows PCs.

That’s Apple’s famous ‘ease of use’ at work, and its well-documented reliability. IBM already has over 30,000 Macs in circulation and is adding another 1900 every week.

It’s not just Apple touting these support savings at IBM, by the way. IBM’s Fletcher Previn revealed the company has been able to cut costs in IT support since staff members were given the option of either PCs or Macs last June. “We just need a lot fewer people to support these machines,” Previn said. Macs are initially more expensive to buy, as Previn pointed out, but “every Mac that we buy is making and saving IBM money.” You can just imagine support technicians the world over failing to welcome this news; at IBM, at least for some, Apple has gone from the company they loved to hate to the one they hate to love.

Apple is selling more Macs than ever before, anyway. Apple CEO Tim Cook said, during the earnings call, that Apple sold 21 million Macs in the past year and 5.7 million Macs in the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter that ended September 26th 2015.

That’s an all-time record. High times.

Those new to the world of Apple might think of the vendor primarily in terms of iPhone and iPad. But the Mac is what really brought the firm to people’s attention, and it launched twin revolutions of usability in computing and so-called ‘wysiwyg’ – what you see is what you get.

It might seem almost difficult to conceive in this century, but once upon a time, what you saw on your screen did not match its printed output – they could be entirely different things.

Apple’s clever ‘gui’ interface kicked off a digital publishing revolution (desktop publishing) that completely disrupted, and soon destroyed, the traditional pre-press industry.

Macs are still there, of course, across laptop and desktop models, and Apple recently updated the all-in-one iMac line with Retina (high definition) displays across the line and other features, and also took the opportunity to re-engineer the keyboard, mouse and trackpad, making them Lightning-connector rechargeable.

Aesthetic attention
The keyboard has had the most change, with its scissor mechanism redesigned to increase key stability and to increase the efficiency of key travel. The whole device has a lower profile, which should help comfort. The accessory trackpad (some people prefer them over mice) is larger, with edge-to-edge glass (all the MacBook trackpads have glass surfaces, too) and of course it has the new Force Touch feature.

But if you were a cold-hearted trader, bereft of soul, you might wonder why Apple hasn’t just stopped making Macs to concentrate where the money is: iPhone. To longer-term users, this would be anathema – the long-held loyalty many of us feel to Apple since those Mac days would be deeply shaken, probably irredeemably, by such a move.

Growth in an adverse market
Luckily, Apple seems to have no intention of doing any such thing. And even before the latest iMacs were announced days ago, the Mac now has 14.8 percent of the US personal computer market. Even in Apple’s Mac heyday of the late 1980s, Apple only ever got to around 12 percent. The new high means US Mac shipments jumped 7.3 percent, according to Gartner Inc. Worldwide, Mac sales rose 1.5 percent over the third quarter of 2015; this varies tremendously by territory – for example, New Zealand and Australia have much higher percentages of Macs to PCs than, say, India.

Gartner says Apple now sits at 7.6 percent of the global PC market. The figure was 6.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Not that many years ago it was under 2 percent. The Mac has managed to gain global market share in 33 of the last 34 quarters.

Part of the reason for Mac growth despite a global trend of declining PC sales is the iPhone, of course. If you love your iDevice and you need a computer, Apple becomes a more compelling choice than it once was, and the old arguments of ‘they’re less compatible’ just don’t wash any more. (This particular argument against Macs hasn’t had any credibility for at least a decade, actually, but ill-informed viewpoints can be the slowest to change.) Another big factor is that the enterprise is finally accepting Macs as viable workplace choices – still more secure, longer lasting and efficient to operate. According to a survey by JAMF Software, three out of five businesses now support Macs. Of course, Mac security will only come under more pressure the higher its profile becomes.

Future: Rosy
So is the future completely rosy for Apple’s Macs? Microsoft is fighting back, both on the tablet and on the personal computing front. Once geared-up, Microsoft can still be a formidable adversary. Meanwhile, the line between PCs and tablets is starting to blur anyway, with the Microsoft Surface and the forthcoming iPad Pro, which has a slightly textured surface for drawing feel. Gizmodo has attempted to compare these.

Also, I expect that if the move away from PCs to tablets continues, this could hit Apple eventually too, even though all the recent trends have been to the contrary.

But at least for us dedicated Mac fans, Apple is still sweating the detail on every aspect of Mac design, as this fascinating Medium article attests. And that’s got to be good news.

Whenever an Apple release is imminent, the market is in thrall that it is likely to release something ground-breaking – despite a record that shows Apple does this only once every few years, rather than every few months.

It’s always a juggling act for a company to keep its existing users happy while entertaining the new-tech lust of journalists, commentators, the markets and, most importantly, those who might ‘switch’, whether that be to a tablet, smartphone or computer.

The latest announcements promise a lot to existing fans and users rather than the whizz-bang features that might attract new ones. And criticism for this is expected, but also wearying. It doesn’t improve through repetition.

The new iPhones are designated ‘6s’ – again, Apple almost always does this. It learns from and improves on an existing device before the next, potentially bigger step-up to a full model-number change (ie, to iPhone 7).

On iOS 9 and El Capitan
Apple has also made clear that iOS 9 and OS 10.11, which I have been trialling for some time, will soon be available for public consumption. While offering fairly long lists of new features, in use they don’t feel that much different to existing versions. They won’t offer neo-shock to updaters (the updates are free from 16th September), but they will work better, faster and more intelligently.

iOS 9 makes existing features, like Application Switcher faster, more attractive and easier to use.

In the lore of long-term Mac users, Snow Leopard stands out as the favourite, refined, bug-fix version of the Mac Operating System 10 ever. Snow Leopard was stable, lean in data consumption and a pleasure to use.

That’s what can be expected of OS 10.11 ‘El Capitan’. Even the name is an indicator – it’s a feature within Yosemite National Park rather than a separate Californian scenic spot (Yosemite is the code name of the current system).

Should you have a fast newish Mac, you’ll notice a considerable improvement running 10.11 on your machine – to some, particularly those with grunty video cards, you’ll feel like you had a hardware upgrade.

OS 10.11 offers a new integrated video routine called Metal for Mac, which allows faster and more fluid graphics performance in high-performance apps – and in games.

For the rest of us, Apple has concentrated on ‘improvements under the hood’ that promise to make Macs feel snappier and work more efficiently across all kinds of everyday tasks.

It’s not ALL good
But for me, some of the other features that garner attention, like ‘Split View’, seem useless and join the not-used list of ‘big’ new-system features like the older Mission Control and Spaces. I know some have liked those and used them well, but most ‘use’ I’ve seen is from people launching them inadvertently and getting frustrated, wondering what they actually do and how they’re helpful.

I have to wonder if Apple polls daily users to see what they do and don’t appreciate in a system. I suspect not, or at least, not widely. But I’m far from the target audience for Split View as I commonly have two screens running different views simultaneously. I suspect I’m like a lot of people: I’ll try all the new features and end up using 10% of them, if that.

The little things that count
But there’s one thing I do love – shake your mouse, or your finger on the trackpad, and the cursor grows to indicate where it is, then shrinks back to normal. Minor, easy – but definitely usable, especially on a two-monitor setup or a 27-inch iMac. Spotlight, the OS X search function, goes off the machine to search online as well, and also supports natural language searches, for example ‘Emails from John in June’. There’s more – plenty of small, handy things you will actually use.

And the big ones
However, in last week’s announcement Apple seemed to set greater store by the iPad Pro and Apple TV. Apple TV is easy to appreciate, particularly for heavy users stymied by the laborious interface and simple remote. The new one will address both these criticisms while adding more power. Hurrah!

iPad Pro is another thing. A clear attempt to bridge the shrinking gap between low-cost laptops and even more portable tablets while tablet sales having already begun to decline, the conundrum faced by all tech companies is the same: smartphones. It seems for most tasks, most people just need a smartphone.

In a way, Apple’s Watch just increases the utility of a smartphone (without an iPhone, it’s useless). Meanwhile, Apple’s profits are largely iPhone-generated – hence the 6s, capitalising on the success of the 6.

Will iPad Pro work? It’s a hybrid of a laptop and a slate once you add Apple’s Pencil and Keyboard – and the cost then pretty much adds up to a laptop anyway.

I don’t think it will work – but Apple has the resources to take a punt. What it comes down to is a single basic difference – better apps on a MacBook and, on the Pro and Air models anyway, usable ports.

Meanwhile, for those craving Apple innovation, I only have one thing to offer: 2016.

Big news in Apple-land: a new iPad Pro, a new mini, two new iPhones and an Apple TV with more power and an easier-to-use and more useful remote, although all these things won’t appear at once. Pretty much every single thing was anticipated – Apple has seemingly lost the ability to keep its ship entirely watertight, although logic pointed to all of the above even without leaks and rumours from the supply chain.

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have 3D Touch, a new A9 CPU, there’s a rose-gold colour (which is why you won’t need those tinted specs) and you’ll be able to buy them from September 25th (and preorder them from the 12th).

3D Touch is new way to interact with the handset, sensing pressure from fingertips (as per Watch) to enable new shortcuts supported by iOS 9, with which both models will ship.

The 6s also boasts a 12-megapixel iSight camera with a larger image sensor, which means better photos that take up more storage space – which might definitely become an issue should you order the 16GB model.

Apple reckons the 64-bit A9 CPU is 70 percent faster at CPU tasks and 90 percent faster at graphics tasks compared to the A8 of the iPhone 6.

Apple is also taking the consumer a little more seriously these days, following on from the multiple Watch and strap iterations available (hardly Jobsian). There will be a new range of Apple-designed leather and silicone cases in several colours, and even Lightning Docks in colour-matched metallic finishes for the obsessive.

A bigger iPad
Also, the long-awaited (and speculated-upon) iPad Pro can be had with an optional Apple Keyboard and even an ‘Apple Pencil’ Stylus, which would have never got past Steve Jobs’ office.

The new device won’t be available till November and presumably is an attempt to stem the general slump in tablet sales. It features a 12.9-inch display with a resolution of 2732×2048, and a new processor, which Apple claims is 1.8 times faster than that in the iPad Air 2.

The Smart Keyboard snaps on magnetically (like the Microsoft Surface, as many are pointing out). It uses the same dome-shaped keypad mechanism as the recently-introduced MacBook.

The Apple Pencil stylus features a variety of digital and electronic enhancements designed to make iPad Pro and Apple Pencil a tool for artists, CAD designers, and more.

And attention to the smaller one
More exciting, perhaps (I’m a fan of the smaller iPad) is a new iPad mini 4. It has the faster iPad Air 2 internals yet an even slimmer profile, and it’s lighter despite the higher-performance internals. Specifically, that’s an Apple’s A8X processor, the M8 motion coprocessor, Touch ID sensor and 1 gigabyte of built-in RAM.

New Apple TV
Also great for all lizards of the lounge (or boardroom) is the new Apple TV. It will have Siri, games and Apps. Not only will you be able to control the TV with Siri (‘What did she say?’ and it rewinds 15 seconds, for example) but the new remote has a thumb-swipeable Touch surface so you can scroll, select and navigate your TV screen more easily, plus four buttons and a volume rocker.

I must admit, I’m looking forward to this one, even though I’m not yet clear on when we can get one.

• Prices, including GST, are A$1079/NZ$1199 for the iPhone 6s 16GB model, A$1379/A$1229/NZ$1399 for the 64GB model and A$1379/NZ$1599 for the 128GB model.
• The iPhone 6s Plus will also be available in gold, silver, space grey and the new rose gold metallic for A$1229/NZ$1399 for the 16GB model, A$1379/NZ$1599 for the 64GB model and A$1529/NZ$1799 for the 128GB model.
• No word on local prices yet, but US prices will be iPad Pro from US$799, Smart Keyboard US$169, Apple Pencil US$99.

http://www.apple.com/nz/tv/experience/
http://www.apple.com/au/tv/experience/

Apple has risen dramatically over the last decade, as Microsoft stumbled. However, a stumbling giant is still a giant – Microsoft is massive and powerful and by far the most desktops in the world still run Windows. And the new Windows is getting good reviews, which must be of great relief to Richmond.

But how things are changing.

The desktop computer is no longer the ruler of IT. Worldwide PC shipments recently experienced their biggest drop in nearly two years. Mobile has taken over the mantle of personal computing power.

That said, against all logic, Mac sales still keep going up. But this isn’t quite as encouraging as you might expect. Apple still isn’t the major player in personal computer hardware sales – Lenovo is, then HP then Dell – but they’ve all been declining. Meanwhile, Macs saw year-over-year growth of 16.1 percent.

Percentages, though, are only part of the equation: in the second quarter of 2015, Lenovo shipped 13,444 million units, HP 12,253, Dell 9560, and Apple just 5,136 million. Even discounting the ‘other’ vendors (Acer, ASUS, etc.), that’s 35,257 million units running Windows against Apple’s 5,136. Include the ‘others’ 25,746) and 61,003 million PCs shipped, putting Apple’s ‘increased’ figure, even though it has risen, at just 7.8 percent of all computers sold for the quarter.

Apple’s percentage is stronger in countries like the US (where’s it’s over 12 percent), but it’s also pretty good in Australia and New Zealand while much weaker in other countries, for example India.

Actually, eventually, expect Mac sales to decline too – it’s likely they’re only so strong at the moment thanks to a sort of halo effect of iPhone, from which Apple makes the bulk of its revenue. You know: love your iPhone, then you come to the point where you’re considering a new PC…but the first choice in this day and age, for a single device, is for the smartest you can get.

In this light, tablets look like an intermediate step between a phone and something on the desk while the world got used to pocket processing power – which might be the reason tablet sales are still in decline. And iPad sales are steadily slipping, along with the rest of the tablet market. In fact, iPad is becoming a smaller percentage of the shrinking tablet sales; the line needs a product boost of some description. But it still holds the biggest share of what is, outside iOS, a very fragmented market with Apple’s next closest single competitor, Samsung, around 10 points behind Apple’s quarter of the market share.

The real winner here is Google, since its Android operating system spans over 51.07 percent of mobile devices.

Not that Apple is giving up on iPad by any means. At least, not according to rumours that say new iPads – perhaps even an ‘iPad Pro’ – will be announced in September, along with new iPhone 6 models.

Meanwhile, where does Apple Watch sit in all this? It’s essentially a wrist-borne enhancement to an iPhone. Apple likely sees it as another reason to get an iPhone while being a must-have accessory for those already in the iPhone camp. Non Apple tech pundits propose Apple Watch is ‘not very’ successful while the pro-Apple camp says it’s doing ‘better than expected’. But who really knows? Apple’s not saying, although CEO Cook maintains Apple is finding it hard to keep up with demand. Soon, too, watchOS 2 will become available which might give it a burst.

Meanwhile, Apple keeps raking in massive profits across all its lines – if you wanted just one indicator of Apple’s success is would be ‘profit margin’.

All eyes on the September, product announcements, then – can Apple continue to grow its relative share of the still Microsoft-dominated world?

Apple’s Watch pointedly plays to the Apple crowd. That’s because without an iPhone it’s of very little use and therein the Watch signifies a departure for Apple.

First impressions: this thing is beautifully built. And whether it’s the NZ$600 Watch or the sublimely ridiculous $30,000 version, its poweered by exactly the same internals, and that goes for the slimmer-line 38mm or the larger 42mm version, too. There is no difference in speeds or operations between versions whatsoever, so do please take note. I’d get the cheapest and a couple of straps; with this quick-change accessory, you have a Watch to suit for every occasion.

Strap yourself in
Apple has put a lot of effort into the straps. The aluminium one, for example, is hand-brushed and designed to not snag your wrist hairs. Beautiful design comes at a cost though: it will set you back NZ$789/A$679!

That’s more than the cheapest Watch itself.

The Sport Band (NZ$89/A$79, available in green pink, white, blue, black and dark grey) at first glance, looks like a typical rubbery-plastic work-band material, but it’s not: it’s made from fluoroelastomer and has an easily adjustable pin-and-tuck enclosure. The Classic Buckle, meanwhile, is made from Dutch leather milled with a subtle texture – it has a stainless steel buckle (NZ$289/A$229). Some high-tech has been added to bands, too: the Leather Loop, which only fits the larger Watch, is a band of Venezia leather cells, each containing a magnet so that it latches to itself with surprising strength (NZ$289/A$229). The Milanese Loop is a high-tech-looking woven stainless steel mesh (NZ$289/A$229).

There is such a variety of bands, Apple recommends going into a store and having a decent look-and-feel: in New Zealand, that’s only possible at Noel Leeming Wairau Park and Queen Street in Auckland, and Noel Leeming in Tory Street in Wellington. However, in Australia, check it out in all the proper Apple Stores. That said, the website does try and answer all your questions and it’s definitely worth a look.

Unisex wrist bling
One thing I appreciate is that Apple doesn’t make a male and female version. There is a smaller and a larger Watch and that’s it – some guys will prefer the smaller, some women the larger. It’s all about personal choice and comfort. Likewise the bands aren’t gendered. Phew! Anyone would think we were in the 21st Century. And it’s about time.

Searching for deeper meaning
But what is Apple actually doing with this most personal of devices? It’s quite a departure. If you’re one of those who think Apple is a closed loop, walled garden or private party, prepare to have your opinion reinforced.

Basically, it’s a remote controller for iPhone – the heavy processor lifting is done there, rather than on the watch, which doesn’t even have its own GPS. When your phone rings, you can answer it on your wrist. You don’t even have to go all Get Smart – when driving, for example, tap the Watch face to answer and easily drive with your hand on the wheel and chat – there’s a little speaker and mic in the side of the casing.

An optician friend pointed out that it’s really for the under 45s, as most people after that age require reading glasses. If that’s you, opt for the larger model.

Is the traditional Swiss under fire?
Does it replace a traditional watch? Well, no. The time of 3:30 is 3:30 whether you’re looking at a Swatch or a Rolex – except with the Apple Watch, you have several faces to choose from, and most of those are customisable: choose the face and, in some instances, the colour, and add various date formats, outside temperature, time in another city and more. Each ‘face’ is a little info centre.

You can buy a traditional watch for less. You can get super-waterproof ones. You get ones that go 20 years and still run without becoming obsolete.

Yet traditional watch sales, according to one report, dipped 14 per cent in June.

What happens with what comes next
What will Watch sales look like when Watch 2 comes out and all those who dropped hundreds on the first iteration get that sinking ‘I need to upgrade’ feeling?

Before getting too cynical, many have way more disposable income than I do. For the busy person, being able to access many iPhone functions on your wrist will be nothing but a boon and well worth the sticker price – no more scrabbling in your bag or shuffling about trying to grab your iPhone out of your pocket for a surprising number of functions.

The device, down to the straps, is impressively well built. It is genuinely useful. This is no flimsy geegaw. It’s a very classy product. Apple has taken the first major step away from simplified product lines into a world of choice.

But the real utility lies in ease of use for the busy person, and the ‘quantified self’ features which monitor exercise and body outputs. It’s these two areas which will most likely prove the Apple Watch a lasting product line (or not).

When Apple Music launched, it was impossible to say whether or not it would be a game changer, although the three-month free trial might be the key to its success. Now that Apple Music is streaming, and free, it’s fair to say it comes with pluses and minuses.

On the upside, it’s a pretty good service, flexible and powerful (beyond a possible dislike of Beats1, the managed streaming radio-like aspect that’s the front window of Apple Music). An immediate advantage is that it’s already on all Apple devices with the latest OS.

Playlists are a real strength – Apple has actually hired breathing humans with beating hearts to draw these up, and from what I’ve looked at, they’re doing a good job. Many of us find it hard these days to find new music – if you let Music’s curators take over, you’re going to hear new things that should match your ideas about what’s good and what’s not.

On first use of the new Music or iTunes, you’re prompted to tap bubbles of things you like; they expand. Double-tap them to raise your level of liking (the bubble expands more). From then on, Music tries to both match and titivate your taste.

There are many roads to discovery: just under New alone you can find active playlists for exercising, the picks of Apple staffers and, separately, those of the curators, check out top charts, choose a driving playlist, there are ‘Spotlights (New Artists, the ’80s etc), and all this for 17 different genres. All through the selections are music videos too – you can spend a day or several just watching these.

You can really get lost in these sonic environments. How lost? Thirty-million songs so far …

But what does Apple Music do for musicians? I seem to remember hearing, way back, that Michael Jackson became a millionaire on something like eight cents per single sold. I don’t know if that’s accurate but the fact is, music companies make tons of money while the musicians make tiny percentages. The streaming phenomenon further clouds the situation: as Anil Prasad wrote on Medium, “In what other industry would suppliers offer their goods to distributors without being told precisely how much they’ll receive for their inventory?”

He makes a good point.

Will streaming make your existing iTunes music collection (and the iTunes Store) redundant? Apple doesn’t say so, maintaining the attitude that they’re ‘parallel systems’. But it makes you think; and how would the artists come out if this? Release your song into the cloud, for Apple and others to do with it as they will?

It’s a personal service. Theoretically, and according to the Terms of Service, you can’t stream this stuff over the work PA or in your café. This will be hard to police: you’re listening to your ‘personal’ stream: how can you help if it’s being overheard?

The ‘Make music available offline’ is a feature letting you stack up some tracks to listen to on an aeroplane, for example, when you’re not (or should not be) connected to the internet. This might be good for a 2-4 hour flight, say between Australian, US and European cities, but for the kinds of long-haul flights we typically embark on to reach another country, good luck with that – I don’t have the patience. At least you can add entire albums. Of course, you should still have your existing iTunes songs to listen to.

Finally, the worst problem of all: iTunes on the Mac. This has been suffering bloat-on-bloat for years and years already. With all this extra streaming stuff tacked on, trouble seems inevitable. When will Apple fundamentally redesign iTunes?

In the meantime, your taste, from classical through jazz to emo, awaits Apple Music satiation. So dive into that free three-month subscription and give it a go.

Traditionally, publishing a book is regarded as marginally more difficult than actually writing it. With the online age, that’s changed and among the options available to publish electronically is Apple’s iBooks.

This platform has a good and a bad side. For: it’s an app already on every Mac, iPad and iPhone. Against: hardly anyone uses it.

Be that as it may, publishing a book on iBooks is quite a journey and one which made me reconsider what books are.

Sure, books use pages of words to encode information. They can include pictures. Notes can be scrawled in the margins and bookmarks added – but that’s pretty much the limit of a traditional book.

In getting to grips with iBooks Author, the app used to create ‘Made for iBooks’ volumes, I was simultaneously reading a printed tome on economics. I started feeling dissatisfied – not because of the content, but with the format. The limitations of paper and print were obvious.

You see, even a glorified PDF/ePub can be put into the iBooks Store and work as an iBooks volume. In this format, it supports some inline images, and the standard iBooks features of words being selectable to define, search, highlight or add a note.

Also, you can get your Mac or iDevice to read out the words if you don’t feel like doing so yourself.

Any notes, bookmarks or highlights sync via iCloud – read to page 76 on your Mac, and resume on the same page on the iPad – and your notes are there too.

Made for iBooks, however, takes it much further. These volumes support video, sound, animations and panoramic images.

If the economics book was Made for iBooks, all those boring black and white line graphs could have been interactive (and in colour). Notes could be added notes without defacing the book, and hot-links to supporting websites introduced.

With iBooks, there’s no limit on pictures: instead of eight in the middle, you can have as many as you want, sited for relevance.

Another upside: Apple takes 30 percent of every iBook sale, leaving 70 percent for the publisher, who can immediately offer their work In 51 countries.

Some might recoil in horror – but consider that Amazon takes 50 percent of every eBook sale. Even worse, when I published a book with a traditional publisher, I got just 8 percent of the trade price.

But back to that downside: most people aren’t even vaguely aware of iBooks.

My advice to all Apple owners, therefore, is to check it out. There are excellent, free manuals for iPad, Mac and so forth. There are thousands of free, quality books which typically sell for under $20. They’re available to read in seconds, and you can usually access a free sample chapter before purchase.

And if you’re a prospective publisher? iBooks is an excellent platform which equips you to get your work out there at low cost and with the promise of a better return.

When Mac Observer recently discussed whether Apple would be ‘more competitive’ by dropping the Mac platform, it prompted a Wall Street Journal article by Christopher Mims, who opined that Apple is stretched thin with Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch – and iCloud, Apple Pay, iBooks, iTunes, Apple Music, OS X, iOS and more.

But it makes profits on all these things. Good profits. For Apple really knows how to make profits – perhaps that’s what Apple knows best of all. Even on Macs, when most of the general public’s attention is fixated on iPads and iPhones, and maybe Apple Watch: Apple made more profit from selling Macs than the top five PC makers combined in 2013.

Despite that, Apple makes a lot more from iPhones.

Be that as it may, why is this kind of pressure applied to Apple? Perhaps I don’t read the right trade publications, but does anyone tell Subaru to stop making helicopters; Mitsubishi to stop making ships?

People have said this kind of thing about Apple for ages. Back in the noughties, pundits used to say “Apple doesn’t know what it is – is it a software company or a hardware company?” The reply: “Apple is a software company and a hardware company”.

There’s a lot going for Mac. OS X development led to iOS, each of which is a subset of the other. They so well to each other for good reason; reciprocating development cycles result in consistent look, feel and features.

But while I still get more excited by new Macs than anything else from Apple, I’m in a minority.

Apple’s road ahead is dictated by many things, but money has always been a primary motivation. If Apple decides to delete the Mac at some point, it won’t be because of outside pressure.

Mims’ main point is that with Mac, Apple Is trapped into pouring resources into the ‘king of last century’s technology’ –the personal computer.

But Macworld’s Glenn Fleishman thinks Mims is pushing away details like Apple’s fundamental view of itself, its software engineering process and its hardware development.

And Mims’ viewpoint is problematic for another reason: innovation isn’t why Apple exists. That’s a view which only came about with the iPhone and strengthened with the launch of iPad. Instead, the company’s primary motivation is enabling people. It’s products emerged from this ethos.

Mims’ critical voice isn’t a lone one. Prompted by the latest WWDC, Gizmodo reckons Apple has ‘fallen’ from being an innovator to a role of imitator. However, while a traditional launchpad for new products, WWDC is the Worldwide Developer Conference, full of developers. Journalists might find developer-focussed announcements a bit puzzling and even ho-hum, but the developers there certainly don’t.

I’m not alone in feeling happy that Apple is working on making all its hardware and software better for people who use it – announcements that formed the bulk of the WWDC keynote. This will result in better use of the tech we have already invested in. Solid, dependable performance is always worth having.

That’s because Google released its hotly anticipated algorithm update, which looked at the mobile-friendliness of a website (and threatened to not rank sites non-mobile optimised sites for searches from mobile devices). The writing was on the wall for many months that a mobile-targeted update was coming, with the first indication Google’s introduction of a ‘mobile friendly’ label in search results on mobile devices:

The next, and clearest, sign was Google starting to send emails to webmasters via webmaster tools. The emailed messages talked about mobile friendliness and included instructions on how to fix any issues.

 

Well over a month since the release of the update, and lo and behold… nothing earth-shattering has happened.

Be that as it may, it is well worth bearing in mind that if a website is not mobile friendly, it won’t provide a great experience for mobile users, so the impact on mobile rankings will likely be minimal.

 

 

 

 

Below are some important things to know about the update:

1. Mobile only – The impact is only seen in mobile search results, not on desktop or tablet searches.
2. Rolling update – This update is not a one-off like many others, so if you create a mobile friendly website in the aftermath of mobilegeddon, you can regain rankings quite quickly.
3. Mobile users – Have a look in Google Analytics; while most websites receive a good percentage of visits from mobile, not all do. If less than 5 percent of your visitors are via mobile (which is unlikely), focus your energies elsewhere.
4. Expense – A mobile solution need not cost a fortune. Use a service like Duda Mobile to make your website compliant for about US$100 per year.

It’s worth remembering that the world is going mobile: In the United States, mobile users have overtaken desktop ones. That means i is simply good business practice to have a mobile version of your website.

To assess if your website is compliant, check out Google’s free mobile-friendly test tool.

This year, WWDC from a distance looked a bit ‘meh’ to me. WWDC is Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco and it was headlined by streaming music…but, even though it uses the voice of Kiwi expatriate Zane Lowe, it’s just music. Hardly new, and much expected anyway. Will Apple Music really have enough to compete with the already-well-established Spotify? I’m not sure – and I’m not sure that I care. But three months’ free trial will certainly help (it will be available from 30th June, by ‘invitation’).

Apple Music will have on-demand content, curated playlists, and a new global always-on radio station dubbed Beats One. (Local pricing will be available closer to launch.)
For more, check here.

Multitasking, at last, in iOS 9
More interesting is the announcement of iOS 9, the key feature of which is the introduction of multitasking to iPads. A new task switcher uses a coverflow-like interface to show currently running apps (similar to the familiar App Switcher, which is accessed by double-clicking the Home button). A Slideover feature brings up other apps quickly. iPads will thus genuinely become more useful, especially in business.

For the rest, in iOS news, Apple has combined the almost-useless-in-New Zealand Passbook with Apple Pay (likewise) into a new app called Wallet. Maps will get transit information for major overseas cities, but Australia and New Zealand? No information yet.

iOS 9 Siri promises subtle, but more proactive, assistance to users.

Mac goes El Capitan
The next Mac OS will be 10.11 (which is confusing my maths-challenged brain – surely Mac OS 10.10 was already actually Mac OS 11?). OS 10.11 is called ‘El Capitan’ after a mountain in California.

While it doesn’t have any major breakthroughs, it promises to get rid of ‘irritations’ and to add in speed efficiencies. Nothing to complain about there: dependable and fast is always good. 10.11 will also get Metal for Mac, a graphics routine that improves GPU performance. (It was introduced in iOS 8 for iPad/iPhone last year). Metal for Mac promises to accelerate Core Animation and Core Graphics to boost system-level rendering by up to 50 percent – great for games but, more importantly, for other video applications. Metal will take better advantage of your CPU and GPU to deliver up to 10 times faster draw call performance for a more fluid experience in pro apps. Performance will vary, of course, based on your system configuration, application workload and other factors, but if you have an i7 Mac with a decent video card, expect to be impressed.

But perhaps my favourite OS 10.11 feature is a pretty simple one: the introduction of the new system font San Francisco, an Apple in-house design that has some character. That’s quite unlike the current system font; the slick, well-designed, yet boring, overused and somewhat spindly Helvetica Neue. San Francisco is both readable and attractive.

El Capitan will also feature a cleaner, redesigned Mission Control, Apple’s quick way to view all open windows. With a crowded desktop, you will be able to simply drag a window to the top of the screen to access a new Spaces Bar and create a new Space.

This might get me to actually use Spaces, which I abandoned soon after it was introduced as too fiddly and unintuitive, although it does have its fans. A new Split View feature automatically positions two app windows side-by-side in full screen so you can work with both apps without distraction – this strikes me as a good idea, at least if your screen is big enough.

Safari time, you’ve got Mail, Photos and Notes
Apple’s browser gets a minor makeover for 10.11, too. Safari will have a Pinned Sites feature to keep favourite websites active in the tab bar. A new mute button quickly silences browser audio (thank goodness!) from any tab.

Native email handler Mail will introduce Smart Suggestions to recognise names or events in Mail messages. This will then prompt you to add them to your contacts or calendar with a single click. You can already do this, and you have been able to for years, but it’s one of those semi-hidden features I’m constantly showing people. You will be able to swipe to delete messages as you can in iOS, and juggle multiple emails while Mail is in full screen.

Photos for El Capitan will let you add locations to a single image or an entire ‘Moment’, and to sort albums by date or title. Third-party editing extensions will become available from the Mac App Store. Photos actually already has some excellent adjustment and editing attributes but, once again, they’re a little hidden. This excellent app has caused some resentment since it was foisted on users to replace iPhoto, in Apple’s inimitable ‘we know best’ style.

There will also be a Notes app. You will be able to drag and drop photos, PDFs, videos and other files into notes, and add content directly from other apps such as Safari or Maps via the Share menu. Easy-to-create checklists help you keep track of important to-do items, and a new Attachments Browser organises your attachments in one simple view, making it easy to find what you’re looking for.

In some ways, this could be a great replacement to FileMaker’s discontinued Bento product and I look forward to it. Thanks to iCloud, your notes will stay in sync across all your enabled devices (all those signed into the same iCloud account).

Apple devices, long held to be the easiest to use, nevertheless create their own sets of problems, particularly when the inbuilt simplicity and ease of use measures are misunderstood or simply bypassed. This can result in some user frustration – but that can be easily addressed with a little insight into how the Apple ecosystem works.

For example, new iDevices aren’t supplied with manuals; instead, the packaging includes a tiny booklet so skinny that many people probably don’t notice it at all. In truth, it doesn’t tell you much anyway.

Turning the new gadget on for the first time initiates a setup sequence; follow the instructions you’re up and running in minutes.

While this typically works perfectly, a common failing is skipping the step of signing into Apple ID (iCloud). Don’t do this and network settings, contacts, calendar and more won’t carry across.

Bypassing this step happens because many users don’t understand what iCloud actually is and the role it plays in maintaining data consistency across devices.

Simply put, iCloud is an internet-connected folder that only you have access to. Signed-in devices swap data through iCloud and between them. Change a contact on your Mac and it changes on your iPhone, and vice versa. Add a Calendar event to your iPad, it magically appears on your iPhone and Mac, and so on.

However, take iCloud out of the picture and this just isn’t possible.

The misconception is that iCloud is seen as backup, but that just isn’t what it is designed for at all (although some items, like Contacts and lists of iTunes and records of App purchases are retained in iCloud).

This isn’t the only potential for apparent simplicity to become a problem, as the following anecdotes show. While demonstrating iPhone tips and tricks, the camera came up and a woman exploded into laughter. I asked why. “Camera!” she said, “iPhones don’t have cameras.”

Despite being a highly experienced professional, in her paradigm a camera had certain features: a central lens, a shutter button and at least one dial. In her eyes, the iPhone had none of these; she went away with a new appreciation for the capabilities of a device she carries every day.

The Dock on Macs can also present challenges. Since the hard drive is no longer visible on the desktop by default, people overlook the Applications folder and assume the apps visible in the Dock are the only apps they have. They’re not – items in the Dock lead to apps in the Applications folder, and the Dock is completely customisable.

This issue is so commonplace that I produced a free-to-distribute PDF explaining it; feel free to email me at mac.nz@mac.com for a copy.

Once upon a time, the only department in a corporation with Macs would be the design department, and a decade or two ago, even that wasn’t guaranteed. But steadily Macs have encroached into the realms of enterprise – executives started insisting on having their own Macs a while ago thanks to the iPhone ‘halo effect’ and now, typically, their workers out on the road often use MacBook Airs and iPads.

As most people accept nowadays, having Apple everything gives you a distinct advantage over the mishmash of devices on offer. By that I mean not only the scattering of Androids and even Windows phones that having to communicate with the mix of different PC brands, but also, the fact that bargain PCs tend to contain a mishmash of components inside their cases too. Seamless communication between services is certainly not a given under those circumstances, unless a very keen and well-paid IT department keeps a very close eye on what’s deployed, how and when.

Apple devices talk to each other fast and seamlessly. More importantly, they do so securely, thanks to the old saw ‘Apple’s walled garden’. The fact that full ‘prime’ Mac OS updates started appearing free a couple of years’ ago, while Microsoft struggled to push out Windows updates to an increasingly resistant established base of PC users, worked in Apple’s favour. (Although, Microsoft is finally about to change that.)

Meanwhile, Apple has made steady progress into these once almost unreachable (for Apple) markets. Yes, there are critical corporate needs that only certain Windows apps serve, for sure – but even then, you can install Windows onto Macs anyway, or install software that lets Windows apps run. Macs these days cost almost the same as business-class PCs, but their total cost of ownership is almost always lower once everything is factored in.

Macs can be managed at scale. As everyone seems to know these days, finally, Macs are more secure out-of-the-box than Windows PCs.

Other advantages include the fact that Macs provide an operational recovery option that an all-Windows environment (so far) does not. To do this on a Mac, you just restart while holding down both the ‘Command’ and ‘R’ keys to launch a hidden recovery partition which has tools to fix the rest of your Mac. It’s nifty, easy and effective.

As a recent Macworld article pointed out, even Cisco Systems, once an adamantly anti-Mac company, now has about 20 percent of its users on Macs. How many people is that? Why, 35,000… apparently, Cisco’s Mac integration was easily accomplished.

Meanwhile, Apple’s key wholly-owned subsidiary FileMaker has just launched FileMaker Pro 14, which adds considerable design tools to the world-leading database app, plus even more interoperability with its free FileMaker Go app for iDevices. For many, many years, FileMaker has been able to run as a web server – that means users can run the database from browsers and the database updates in real time. Now, FileMaker WebDirect and new dynamic fields let easily-placed databases resize themselves on any Apple tablet or phone. Anyone out in the field can access their data immediately and even add to it.

Oddly for Apple, perhaps, FileMaker has always been available for Mac and Windows. Apple’s efforts have been lambasted as lacklustre for Windows users – it’s hardly Apple’s core business. Complaints come from PC users about the PC version of iTunes, for example. It’s a bit of a dog on Mac too, if that’s any consolation, but it’s much worse, evidently, on PC.

It’s also available as a pay-per-month option. Of course, Windows PCs will remain the standard computing device for the majority of users. They might even stage a comeback, if Microsoft’s new management can stay progressive and keep its engineers innovative. Once upon a time – and I think this continued even through the Ballmer years – Apple and Microsoft had close co-operation between engineering teams. You may know that Apple’s networking software uses Microsoft code. Now, Microsoft’s System Center even supports Macs running OS X Yosemite, if they’re running a Microsoft configuration client. There are even System Center add-ons to extend Mac management capabilities, for example Centrify.

Companies don’t just use computers, of course. iOS has also established a lead in enterprise thanks to strong iPhone 6 demand, although tablet (and iPad) share continues to decline.

Good Technology’s Mobility Index Report for the first quarter of 2015 found Apple’s iOS accounted for 72 percent of all mobile device activations. This is actually down one point quarter-over-quarter, losing ground to Google Android.

This is partly Apple’s fault. Since introducing big-screened iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, that bigger iPhone can do much of what people used iPads for as well as having a SIM for cellular connectivity, while remaining (relatively) pocketable. So Apple maybe shot iPads in the foot with iPhone 6, to some extent. A new iPad would have to be pretty incredible to get market share back and meanwhile, of course, rumours of what an iPhone 7 might be capable of are already doing the rounds.

Apple muddied the tablet waters further, in my opinion, by introducing the MacBook: it’s like an expensive iPad with a beautiful screen and keyboard. That said, iPad still commands a comprehensive lead – Apple has seen its share drop to 81 percent in the first quarter, a four percent drop sequentially. At one point, iPad accounted for 92 percent of the market.
Apple’s absorption into enterprise has been pretty solid.

The figures are out and once again Apple has made a record profit … this on the back of sales of over 61 million iPhones. Of these, 20 percent of sales represents existing iPhone users upgrading to iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. And, against expectations (again), Mac sales went up. Other triumphant Apple services include the App Store, Apple’s digital download service, which also contributed to the record quarter. Dollar-wise, Apple earned US$13.57 billion in revenue for the quarter, up from $10.22 billion in the same quarter last year.

China is the golden pot. Apple saw its greatest growth in the quarter there, with revenue up a massive 71 percent year over year. Somehow, first-time Apple buyers are still to be found. First-time buyers run at around 40 percent in the US and, more understandably, 70 percent in China.

The Mac sales growth still surprises me, much as I love ’em, of course. Mac sales grew 10 percent year over year, once again outpacing the overall PC market by a healthy margin. The new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in particular led sales from March. Once again, China is a big help, where Mac unit sales were up 31 percent. Other than that, the overall PC market shrank in China.

You’d almost think Apple is working on a world tech takeover if it wasn’t for the iPad numbers. Although Apple sold 13.7 million units, it has been reducing channel inventory as sales continue to slip. That said, March was a record quarter for iPad sales in Japan, and an all-time record in China.

This is the month iPad turns five years old and Cook reckons iPad sales will return – meanwhile, use of iPads is way above figures reported for other tablets, from online use, app sales etc. Although iPad hasn’t maintained its sales rate, it continues to be the ‘#1 tablet’ and, perhaps most importantly, remains number one in enterprise. Generally, though, it appears that iPad sales are being cannibalised by iPhone and Mac. I would think this would be especially so with the MacBook which is like a hinged iPad with a great keyboard – but it’s too expensive to be a competitor.

Of course, these iPad results caused some analysts to duck for cover, while some just acted surprised. Apple CEO Tim Cook even found time to comment on it, saying, of supply chain estimates, “I’ve never seen one that’s even close to accurate”. His relatively strong reaction was prompted by a question regarding a perceived weakness in launch margins for the Apple Watch.

And what about that Watch? It shouldn’t surprise anyone that it’s not going to last you long. It’s obviously going to be superseded at some point, with something better, from Apple of course. In this it’s quite unlike a traditional wristwatch, or at least a traditional decent watch. iFixit meanwhile opened one up and found masses of glue and soldering. For anyone even considering having a tinker, that’s most off-putting, and surprise, surprise, it’s not going to be component-upgradeable. If you still really want one it’s already on sale in a few countries and more nations will be added to the availability list in June.

This from Cook’s lips too: “Right now, Watch demand is greater than supply. We’ve made progress over the last week or so. We’re in a good position, and by late June we anticipate we can begin to sell the watch in additional countries.”

For investors, Apple announced a significant increase to its shareholder capital return programme to a cumulative total of $200 billion. The company is increasing its share repurchase programme by $50 billion, while its dividends will be increased 11 percent to $0.52 per share.

For those, like me, who think Apple’s not doing what Apple did under Jobs, Apple’s going pretty well.
Loizos Heracleous, a Professor of Strategy of Warwick Business School, reckons Apple has shown once again it has staying power. “It would be a mistake to assume that the iPhone is the company’s only advantage. Revenues from the App Store and Mac are important contributors to its performance.

“More importantly, however, Apple can sustain premium pricing for the iPhone and other offerings because of its ecosystem of products and services that, apart from having positive and synergistic effects on the user experience, also create barriers to exit for customers. Apple’s immense operational efficiency – for example it has one of the highest stock turnovers, and one of the lowest Selling, General and Administrative Expenses costs in the industry – leads to extremely healthy margins.”

He also has an opinion on the much-studied Tim Cook, writing that in the three-and-a-half years that Tim Cook has been CEO, he has very effectively sustained the trajectory of high performance that Steve Jobs forged.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

The SEO industry has historically been shrouded in secrecy. Much like the Masonic brotherhood, practitioners have a reputation for mysterious terminology and esoteric knowledge. Terms like ‘black hat’, ‘link bait’ and ‘link juice’ mean little to the layperson and there are sharks, villains and fly-by-nighters in the industry who take advantage of this widespread lack of specialist knowledge.

It is true that technical know-how and time-consuming research are required, but these things have a legitimate business purpose. The technical on-site aspects of SEO, for example, look at how both search engines and humans reach and interact with your website, otherwise known as the user experience, or UX.

Some examples of this are:
1. Keyword research. All too often this area is neglected, but it is hugely important to any good SEO or website strategy. How do you know what your target market is searching for without first looking at the cold, hard figures? A great free tool that will show your approximate search volume is the Google Keyword Tool (you may need an AdWords account to access it).
2. Website structure. This focuses on how easy it is for search engines to navigate your website. You need to instruct them on what to do by providing a sitemap.
3. Content. What sort of content are you displaying? Pictures are all very well, but because Google uses a predominantly semantic algorithm, the website wording must tell customers and search engines alike what the page is about.

There are lots of other things to look at (the mobile-friendliness and security of your website, for starters), but a useful free guide that details some of the basics from Google can be found here: SEO Starter Guide.

Once the on-page work has been done properly, a lot of the effort then needs to be focused on off-page SEO, which involves working with external websites. Think of it as an online popularity contest. If you create awesome content and then get people interested in consuming, linking to it and sharing it, then you are on to a winner. It’s really just good marketing.

Some content strategies that can work include:
1. Blogger outreach. Engage with those online who have a good audience or influence others. Sometimes you might have to pay for this exposure, so don’t be afraid to barter and make sure you get good value!
2. Have fun and engage with your customers. Create a real-world event, take videos, write content and encourage others to get involved and create their own content.
3. Have a blog and invite high-profile people to write guest posts (these can be promoted through your networks and other social media platforms).
4. Get some media coverage. Top-tier, high-ranking media has great reach.

My view is that for companies that operate in highly competitive niche markets, good SEO should leverage existing marketing strategy and incorporate good marketing practice. In a larger sense, general company marketing should include keeping up to date with technology and being engaged in the online world (even if it is as a ‘user’ or online consumer).

For NZ$2000/A$1799, would you buy one of these? I’m not sure. You have probably heard that in Apple’s never-ending quest to slim its tech, this new laptop only has one port (apart from the headphone jack). One port! You can’t charge and have anything else plugged in at the same time. On the immediate face of it, if you want this kind of lightweight (by which I mean light-in-weight, as well as having an anaemic CPU) Mac laptop, why wouldn’t you go for a MacBook Air? For around $300 – that’s $600 cheaper – you get an extremely portable, very slim Mac with all the usual Apple advantages (built-in software, design smarts) plus a lot more: a separate charge port; two USB 3 ports; headphone; dual microphones; Thunderbolt 2 and even a slot for an SDXC card in the larger 13-inch model.

For less money, you also get faster 1.6GHz Intel i5 dual-core CPUs, which to me sounds more attractive than the MacBook options of either 1.1GHz or 1.2GHz Intel ‘M’ dual-core processors.

So you have to wonder what Apple is playing at here. Where exactly does this MacBook fit in? If it were cheaper, I think the form factor and the specs that necessitates would be less troubling. Also, I have to wonder how much cynicism is involved in that single port – is it just a ploy to sell you more adapter dongles? All that palaver adds more of your income into that already-questionable price point.

On the upside, you can choose it in silver, ‘Space Gray’ (sic) or gold. Is that actually an upside? I’m not convinced. Is this new computer a fashion statement or a Mac laptop? But fashion statements seem to be where Apple is heading, what with all those versions and combinations of the Apple Watch up to the truly ridiculous big-noting solid gold version.

Hey, at least you can match a MacBook to it now … the question is, am I missing the point here, or is Apple?

There are, however, more upsides to the MacBook. It’s beautifully made, and looks and feels much more ‘professional’ than I thought it would. It’s no budget build, despite its slow processor and lack of ports. The keyboard is a joy to use, running edge-to-edge of the entire body to give you nice, big (a millimetre bigger), and very thin keys, yet they deliver very responsive-feeling keystrokes. The keyboard lighting is really nice too – instead of lights emanating from beneath the keys, as has been normal on MacBooks for years when the light drops, the MacBook has individual LEDs in the keys so the actual characters do most of the glowing. The characters glow on older MacBook Pros and Airs too, but there’s hardly any under-key spill on the new MacBook, partly from the new lighting scheme and partly because these keys are so slim-line, they’re barely raised. It’s a lot more attractive.

The haptic thing means the trackpad doesn’t actually do a physical click, but it certainly does feel like it’s doing a physical click. Apps will soon be available that let you ‘draw’ on this with pressure sensitivity. A new feature lets you attenuate how the new Force Click attribute works – in System Preferences under TrackPad, it will only appear if you have a MacBook or the very latest MacBook Pro 13-inch. Force Click means you click-and-hold, pressing harder, over something like a word for more info, kind of like the Control-Click or Right-Click you’re probably used to. World beating feature? Not really.

In System Preferences, you can set Force Click to require light, medium or heavy force. Although I have to wonder how much wear and tear will eventually result for users who choose the ‘heavy’ option.

So while it’s a very beautifully built and satisfying to use little MacBook, I find it sits in an uneasy space. With virtually no ports, it’s going to need wireless everywhere you go to connect and to move files, or you’ll soon find yourself travelling festooned with dongles and adapters (in which case, save your money and your patience and get a MacBook Air). But despite its obvious shortcomings, it’s no budget machine aimed at those on budgets. If I was to drop 2K on a MacBook, I’d either be speccing out an Air with a bigger screen and ports enough, or I’d be seriously considering the 13-inch MacBook Pro which has the new trackpad anyway, is much faster, CPU-wise, and has even more ports. These start at NZ$1699/A$1549.

I suspect sales of this thing won’t be stellar, but the strides Apple has made in the all-new haptic-feedback Force Touch trackpad, battery life, the new keyboard and the all-round very solid, slick construction will migrate into Apple’s worthier portable Mac offerings, and that can only be a good thing.

Is this a question of ‘duty now for the future’? A new MacBook Pro with these design, trackpad, keyboard and battery advances is going to be sensational, but for now, I think it’s a niche product looking for a niche.