Why The iPad Is The Best Thing To Happen To NFL Safety Since The Football Helmet [Feature]

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At the opening of this year’s NFL season, we looked at how the iPad has become a popular training tool among many NFL teams. With the season over and the Super Bowl just days away, many players, coaches, and fans are already looking ahead towards the NFL draft in the spring and next season.

Next season, Apple’s tablet will be an even bigger part io the NFL and it may even revolutionize parts of the organization and even the sport of football itself. Here’s how.

FileMaker iOS Apps Are Easy To Build Alternatives To Native Apps

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FileMaker pitches its product line as an alternative to native iOS app development.
FileMaker pitches its product line as an alternative to native iOS app development.

Last week FileMaker launched a new campaign to encourage businesses to adopt the company’s flagship database product line as an app development platform for the iPhone and iPad. The move is unique and the idea of FileMaker as an enterprise development solution does have its appeal – creating FileMaker apps requires no software development knowledge or experience and it can deliver native performance and functionality that HTML 5 web apps can’t.

This Fall Brings Tons Of Ways To Become A Mac And iOS IT Expert

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This week's MacSysAdmin 2012 Conference in Sweden kicks off a line of Mac/iOS conferences and training oppotunities for IT professionals.
This week's MacSysAdmin 2012 Conference in Sweden kicks off a line of Mac/iOS conferences and training opportunities for IT professionals.

While many Apple fans and IT professionals that support iOS devices in the workplace are eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s Apple announcement, a group of Apple in the enterprise experts are meeting at MacSysAdmin 2012 – a conference for European IT professionals tasked with managing Macs and iOS devices in business, education, and other workplace settings. The annual conference traditionally posts videos of its sessions online for free (as does the Penn State MacAdmins Conference that was held in the U.S. this spring).

That isn’t the only major conference for Mac and iOS IT professionals, however. October brings two other major events (one of them free) and there are a number of excellent smaller events scheduled throughout the fall.

Three Critical Business Dilemmas The iPhone 5 Will Create [Feature]

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Even before its launch, the iPhone 5 is creating concerns and challenges for businesses and IT departments.
Even before its launch, the iPhone 5 is creating concerns and challenges for businesses and IT departments.

Apple will launch the next iPhone (presumably named the iPhone 5) along with iOS 6 tomorrow. The new iPhone is expected to pack a range of updates that will make it a much more significant release than last year’s iPhone 4S. The biggest expectation is that the iPhone will include 4G LTE support and that, unlike the new iPad, it will support LTE bands used outside of North America.

We won’t know all the details of the iPhone 5 until Apple’s unveiling at the Yerba Buena Center. There are, however, three important issues that business users and IT managers will need to in mind during and after following tomorrow’s launch event – all three of which could have a significant impact on bring your own device (BYOD) programs that encourage users to bring their personal mobile devices into the office.

Why Most NFL Teams Are Ditching Their Playbooks For iPads [Feature]

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The right tools and apps make the iPad a perfect solution for NFL teams.
The right tools and apps make the iPad a perfect solution for NFL teams.

The NFL season kicks off tonight with a game that pits the New York Giants – last season’s champions – against the Dallas Cowboys. For many teams, this season also marks the first use of iPads instead of the traditional paper playbooks. A handful of teams pioneered the iPad as a complete replacement for playbooks last year. Although the iPad was only used as a playbook replacement by a few teams last year, it was more broadly used as a training tool and a companion to traditional playbooks. This year many more teams are investing in the iPad as a digital playbook and a player training solution as well as a way for coaching staff to communicate more directly and effectively with players.

There’s certainly a cool factor that any technology and football fan will appreciate. There’s also a lot that many businesses can learn from the NFL teams about how the iPad can be secured, managed, and used in almost any professional context.

New Federal Rules Show The Impact of the iPhone and iPad on Healthcare

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acknolodge the success of iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices in healthcare in new EHR rules.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges the success of iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices in healthcare in new EHR rules.

The success of devices like the iPhone and iPad in healthcare has become so pronounced that the Department of Health And Human Services has begun to single-out the use mobile devices as part of the meaningful use requirements for electronic health records (EHR) systems. In addition to identifying mobile device use, the agency has also taken steps towards explicitly regulating mobile device security needs in the healthcare industry.

Like Apple, Amazon Disses Google Maps In Upcoming Kindle Fire Revision

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Like Apple, Amazon decides against Google Maps for upcoming Kindle Fire revision.
Amazon follows Apple's lead and decides against Google Maps for upcoming Kindle Fire revision.

Apple’s decision to ditch Google Maps in favor of its own mapping technology in iOS 6 wasn’t much a surprise. However, Amazon’s decision to reject Google Maps in its second generation Kindle Fire tablet is a bit of surprise – particularly since the Kindle Fire is an Android device.

Unlike Apple, Amazon isn’t developing its own mapping systems. Instead, the new Kindle Fire will rely on mapping functionality from Nokia. Unlike the original Kindle Fire, which had no innate location services or maps app, the new version will sport  location-based services, though whether they will be based integrated GPS or solely on Wi-Fi triangulation (like the Wi-Fi only iPad models and the iPod touch) is still an unanswered question.

IBM Envisions Watson As a Super Smart Version of Siri On Your Smartphone

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In Watson 2.0, IBM plans to bring the supercomputer to smartphones worldwide.
In Watson 2.0, IBM plans to bring the supercomputer to smartphones worldwide.

Could IBM’s Watson replace Siri? That’s an interesting question and IBM’s answer appears to be yes. Big Blue is working to turn the supercomputing solution that made news when it beat Jeopardy! champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter into an app that could run on a smartphone. If successful, IBM will turn Watson into a supercharged version of Apple’s digital assistant.

New IT Guide From Apple Details How FileVault 2 Works

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A new Apple white paper helps IT manage FileVault 2.
A new Apple white paper helps IT manage FileVault 2.

Apple has released a new white paper for CIOs, IT leaders, and IT professionals. This one targets FileVault 2, which was introduced in Lion and remains present as a high security feature in Mountain Lion. The 42 page document joins a growing collection of white papers and guides available from Apple that detail the mechanisms and best practices for integrating Macs into Windows-centric enterprise environments.

Horizon Mobile For iOS Will Separate Busines Apps And Data, But Will Apple Approve It?

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VMWare's Horizon Mobile aims to complete separate your work apps and data from everything personal on your iPhone or iPad.
VMWare's Horizon Mobile aims to complete separate your work apps and data from everything personal on your iPhone or iPad and secure them at the same time.

At VMWorld, this week VMWare showed of Horizon Mobile for iOS – an enterprise solution that separates business apps and content on an iOS device from a user’s personal apps, documents, and data. It’s an iOS version of a tool that VMWare previously demoed, but hasn’t yet shipped, for Android devices. While the name and the goal of Horizon mobile is essentially the same on both platforms, the company is taking a vastly different approach for iPhones and iPads.

Not only is the iOS approach different, it’s also nowhere near as revolutionary – other mobile enterprise companies have using similar approaches for a while and the one truly distinctive feature is one that Apple might not approve for distribution.

How To Deploy iOS 6 In Business The Right Way [Feature]

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iOS 6 has lots of business potential, but having a plan about rolling it out is critical.
iOS 6 has lots of business potential, but having a plan about rolling it out is critical.

With the release of iOS 6, Apple will offer business users a range of new features. A few of which are VIP email filtering (already in Mountain Lion) with custom notifications, more options when declining a phone call on the iPhone, much-needed privacy options, and Apple’s new Do Not Disturb feature – which should help some mobile professionals to “switch off” after work and maybe even get a good night’s sleep.

iOS updates are generally designed to be user-friendly and easy enough that anyone can manage to install them. As with any major OS or business critical software upgrade, however, there may be unforeseen issues with iOS 6 – particularly when it comes to internal iOS apps and iOS access to enterprise systems.

An iOS 6 upgrade policy and strategy is something that every IT department should have in place before Apple releases iOS 6. For businesses that actively support user devices in the workplace through a BYOD (bring your own device) program, that upgrade strategy is even more critical.

AirPlay Direct Could Be The Best Business And Classroom Presentation Tool Ever

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AirPlay Direct could be the best business and classroom presentation tool ever.
AirPlay Direct would easily win fans in business, education, and even IT.

One of the first thoughts I had when Apple announced AirPlay Mirroring as a feature in Mountain Lion was that it would make an excellent mobile presentation tool and one that would be far easier to bring to business meetings, trade shows, or client-site training events than hauling a projector. With just a MacBook Air and Apple TV, you can plug into any HDTV, display, or projector that supports HDMI and be ready to go. That’s a great combination for any business traveler.

If Apple does announce AirPlay Direct, a new version of AirPlay that doesn’t require a Wi-Fi network, the company will have made the lives of business travelers, trainers, and educators even easier. It will probably also make network administrators in both business and education a bit happier as well.

Good Keeps Your Work From Spilling Over Into Your Personal Life On Your iPhone Or iPad

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The latest release of Good for Enterprise delivers more security and separation of work and personal data on an iPhone or iPad.
The latest release of Good for Enterprise delivers more security and separation of work and personal data on an iPhone or iPad.

One of the first secure business solutions for the iPhone and iPad was Good for Enterprise, a secure collaboration tool that allows companies to separate business email, calendar, and contact systems from Apple’s standard Mail, Calendar, and Contacts apps. Going beyond simply separating work accounts and data from a user’s personal accounts, Good’s alternatives securely encrypt all data and must be unlocked using credentials other than the passcode used to unlock an iOS device.

Good released a significant update to Good for Enterprise this week, one that makes the solution more streamlined, user-friendly, and offers powerful new features – some of which are worth considering for their business functionality as well as their innate security.

Parallels Launches Crowdsourced “Apple In The Workplace Barometer”

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Parallels uses crowdsourcing to compare the Apple/BYOD friendliness of companies.
Parallels uses crowdsourcing to compare the Apple/BYOD friendliness of companies.

Ahead of the launch of Parallels Desktop 8, Parallels has launched a crowdsourced “Apple In The Workplace Barometer” that allows businesses or individual employees to see how their workplace ranks in terms of BYOD readiness for Macs, iOS devices, and other technologies. The site offers a quick and simple questionnaire that asks workers (or managers) about their work computing tasks, resources, and company-provided options. At the end of the survey, their company is plotted on a grid that measures active adoption of Apple technologies and active IT support for Macs, iPhones, and iPads.

Will NFC-Based Isis Threaten Apple’s Plans For An iWallet?

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After delays, Isis will launch its NFC-based digital wallet in just two U.S cities.
After delays, Isis will launch its NFC-based digital wallet in just two U.S cities.

After months of delays, Isis has announced the debut of its mobile payment system. A joint venture by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, Isis made news earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress in March, but has been pretty quiet since then. During that quiet period a number of other players in the mobile payment market have stolen the spotlight and announced major deals.

Apple is expected to eventually unveil its own mobile payment system, one that will most likely be based around the iTunes Store payment system, but hasn’t made announcements beyond iOS 6’s Passbook feature. Apple has also kept quiet about whether it will include NFC chips used in some mobile payment systems in the upcoming iPhone 5, which some analysts and pundits consider a barrier to entry into the mobile payment market.

Insomnia? Your iPad Could Be The Culprit

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New research suggest that iPad/tablet use before bed can cause sleep disorders and may raise your risk of other health problems.
New research suggest that iPad/tablet use before bed can cause sleep disorders and may raise your risk of other health problems.

It’s no real secret that bring your own device (BYOD) programs and the explosion of iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices in the workplace have begun changing how we work, how we view work as a part of lives, and how much we work out of the office. A study earlier this year concluded that the average American worker using mobile technologies works seven hours outside of the office (essentially one business day) every week. A more recent study indicated some mobile professionals work even more – up to 20 hours each – during off hours thanks to BYOD programs.

One of the impacts this has one iPhone and iPad-toting professionals is a disruption from the traditional work/life balance that can make hard to fully “switch off” at the end of the day. Now there’s evidence that such a disruption can have a physical as well as a psychological impact on the human body.

What IT Wants To See In iOS 6 [Feature]

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iOS 6 will deliver a lot of business features, but what about enterprise/IT integration?
iOS 6 will deliver a lot of business features, but what about enterprise/IT integration?

It’s been over two years since Apple unveiled iOS 4 with mobile management features designed to make the iPhone and iPad a significantly better corporate citizen. During those years, the landscape of business and enterprise mobility has changed dramatically. RIM has collapsed and will never truly recover, Microsoft has doubled down on the interface it launched late in 2010 with no guarantee of success, and Android has become much more enterprise friendly. Perhaps more important is the fact that idea of mobile management and security has shifted from a focus on devices to a focus on securing data and managing mobile apps.

As all this has happened, Apple’s mobile management framework, which is the system that all mobile management vendors plug into in order to secure and manage iOS devices, has essentially stagnated. With iOS 6 on the horizon, lets look at the areas that Apple needs to address if it wants iOS to remain one of the preferred mobile platforms for business.

How The VA Eliminated Data Breaches On iPhones And Other Mobile Devices

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The VA's mobile security chief offers IT leaders five excellent tips for securing mobile devices.
The VA's mobile security chief offers IT leaders five excellent tips for securing mobile devices.

Like many federal agencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs has embarked on the journey of integrating iPhones and iPads as mobile solutions. The agency currently has 20,000 mobile devices that includes iPhones and iPads along with some BlackBerries and a small number of Android devices. Despite the range of devices, the VA has been very active in trying to eliminate mobile data breaches and, according to the VA’s director of Mobile and Security Assurance Donald Kachman, the agency’s campaign has been extremely successful.

Kachman credits encryption technologies with as a major factor in that success – 99% of all VA data is now secured around the clock on mobile devices and desktop PCs. The security approach is one that can be a model for any organization.

So-Called “Dropbox For Enterprise” Service kitedrive Adds Mac Support

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Secure enterprise file sharing and sync service kitedrive comes to the Mac.
Secure enterprise file sharing and sync service kitedrive comes to the Mac.

Secure enterprise file sharing and file management vendor Accellion has added Mac support to its file sync system for mobile workers known as kitedrive. As we noted earlier this year in covering the launch of kitedrive for iOS, Accellion describes kitedrive as “Dropbox for the enterprise.” That’s a pretty good description. kitedrive syncs content for offline access to business documents, which are securely encrypted during transmission and while stored on the a mobile device, PC, or Mac.

Waiting For FDA Approval For Humans, This iPhone Heart Monitor Is Helping Pets Instead [Video]

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AliveCor's Veterinary Heart Monitor for the iPhone helps vets diagnose heart disease in dogs, cats, and horses.
AliveCor's Veterinary Heart Monitor for the iPhone helps vets diagnose heart disease in dogs, cats, and horses.

What do you do if you’re a medical technology startup while waiting for the FDA to approve your flagship iPhone-based product?

If you’re AliveCor, you launch a veterinary version of it.

The product in question is AliveCor’s iPhone ECG heart monitor, which the company showed off nearly two years ago, at the CES in 2011. The device allows a medical professional to assess a patient’s heart rhythm, providing more data than a stethoscope or manual check of their pulse. Although the device has broad potential, it has yet to be approved by the FDA.

Using Your iPhone For Work Will Cost You An Average Of $1,089 Each Month

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Apple is ready for another huge bond sale. Photo: Cult of Mac
Using an iPhone or iPad for work can result in some truly nasty bills.

While bring your own device (BYOD) programs that encourage employees to use their personal iPhones, iPads, and other devices in the office increases productivity and employee satisfaction, the trend is also turning those employees into workaholics. That’s not entirely a new realization – we’ve covered the potential impact of the BYOD trend on the work/life balance before (including a recent study that showed that BYOD programs actually improve that balance for IT professionals).

The latest research on BYOD’s impact on workers shows two additional insights – a significant number of employees are footing the bill (sometimes a very big bill)  for mobile data service while on the road for work.

VMWare Targets Macs In Business With New Fusion Professional Release

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VMWare launches business/enterprise edition of its virtualization software for Macs.
VMWare finally integrates Fusion with other VMWare enterprise products and functionality.

VMWare announced the newest version of VMWare Fusion, its Mac virtualization product, this week. In doing so it also launched its first business or enterprise version of the popular tool for running Windows and other operating systems on Mac workstations. Dubbed Fusion Professional, the new solution has a range of features that are likely to appeal to IT professionals in both business and education.

Evernote Finally Announces A Service For Businesses [Video]

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Evernote finally expands to offer true business and enterprise features.
Evernote finally expands to offer true business and enterprise features.

Evernote has become an indispensible tool for people all over the world. The incredibly versatile “save anything” tool is used at home, school, and work. One nagging issue has been that although Evernote is an amazing productivity tool and has tons of business applications, it has never been good at sharing on a large scale – like the level of sharing that a business of a few dozen people or a few thousand people needs.

All that is about to change. The company announced a new workplace edition of Evernote for business customers.

Despite the DOJ’s Anti-Trust Case, The U.S. Government Is Happy To Sell Ebooks Via The iBookstore

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The U.S. Government Printing Office now offers reports, documents, and ebooks via Apple's iBookstore.
The U.S. Government Printing Office now offers reports, documents, and ebooks via Apple's iBookstore.

In a somewhat ironic move, the U.S. government has entered into an ebook deal with Apple that will see a range of government reports, documents, and ebooks published in Apple’s iBookstore. The partnership, which was announced earlier this week, coincides with the Department of Justice’s latest legal filings in its anti-trust suit against Apple.

The deal with the Government Printing Office (GPO) will make a wide swath of documents and ebooks available through the iBookstore. While some government documents are available for free, a number of documents and full-length ebooks are not.

iPhone And Online Ordering Has Become Mainstream And Big Business

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Ordering and paying for food using a mobile app or website has hit the mainstream.
Ordering and paying for food using a mobile app or website has hit the mainstream.

Many fast food and restaurant chains now offer iPhone apps that facilitate ordering for delivery or pick up. A number of services, like Splick-it and Grubhub, also help facilitate such orders through an iOS app, offering independent restaurants to compete with the chains. Beyond apps, there are web-based services like Mealeo that offer the same functionality. Despite being a relatively new phenomenon, online and mobile ordering has become a serious business – over two-thirds of Americans use such services on a regular basis.

In fact, of those two-thirds of Americans, most say they tend to order more from a mobile or web service than they would over the phone or in person.