It seems like a rather cruel twist of fate that I finish my post about obsolescence and fragmentation just as Apple acknowledges a major security flaw in their iOS and OS X Mavericks operating system. Apple has been remained relatively immune to security issues over the years. It's part of what has made them successful. So, I was pretty shocked to see that there was a security flaw in both of their current major operating systems.
Despite the severity of this problem, I have still been reluctant to upgrade simply because my classroom set of iPads are used mostly for creating projects in apps that do not rely on the internet or WiFi. I don't have email, social media, or any private data on my devices. I collect student work through Dropbox or a WebDAV, so I feel like we are safe. I haven't gotten any emails from my IT department, so they must not be worried about it either. This could be a curious crossroads for our district since iPads have received little support from our district. Security threats always tend bring more regulation. Fingers crossed.
FWIW, I have upgraded all my personal devices and encouraged my friends and family to do the same. My personal iPhone 4 was safe with iOS 5 because I'm such a luddite. Check your device at gotofail.com
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Obsolescence and Fragmentation
Every time there is an update of an OS, app or piece of software, I shudder. What new headaches will keep me from doing what I need to get done. What compatibility issues can I look forward to as developers may or may not create updates?
This issue of fragmentation has become more profound in the age of the iPad. With new devices and iOS being released each year, it's difficult to decide, when to upgrade and when to wait. For the past two years, I have handled my updates during the summer only. This seemed like a proactive strategy from a classroom management standpoint. The shifting of buttons and features from one iOS version to another seemed like the equivalent of rearranging my classroom in the middle of the school year, with no plan or concern for how it would impact instruction. Therefore, I am still running iOS 6 on my 24 iPads.
For the 100+ other iPads that I manage for our classroom teachers, it is a whole other animal. Our classroom teachers have a mix of iPad 2 and 4. I encouraged many teachers not to update to iOS 7 until the bugs were worked out. I explained that they may see performance differences from each device. Most of them heeded my advice. The biggest challenge of upgrading is that there is no downgrade option if you are not happy with the devices performance.
Of course, there is also the issue of how well previously purchased apps would run on the new iOS. How long until a developer provides an update? These issues all have a tremendous impact on instruction, if not completely thought out.
Then Apple really threw a curve ball by making iWork and iLife suites free with certain conditions. We purchased Pages, Keynote, and iMovie last year. I had some remaining Keynote codes that had not been redeemed and shared them with our 4th grade team. Unfortunately, the codes were not redeemable because they were for older versions of the app. We had to upgrade the devices to iOS 7 in order to redeem the codes for a new version of Keynote. If you don't understand that solution, I don't either. But Apple does not appear to be supporting legacy versions of their apps for older devices or iOS versions. I would expect this from a third-party developer, but I'm a little disappointed in Apple doing this with their own product line. This is problematic for cash strapped schools looking to make their devices last as long as they can.
I could definitely use a PD on iPad Management for Legacy Devices. Are you listening Apple?
This issue of fragmentation has become more profound in the age of the iPad. With new devices and iOS being released each year, it's difficult to decide, when to upgrade and when to wait. For the past two years, I have handled my updates during the summer only. This seemed like a proactive strategy from a classroom management standpoint. The shifting of buttons and features from one iOS version to another seemed like the equivalent of rearranging my classroom in the middle of the school year, with no plan or concern for how it would impact instruction. Therefore, I am still running iOS 6 on my 24 iPads.
For the 100+ other iPads that I manage for our classroom teachers, it is a whole other animal. Our classroom teachers have a mix of iPad 2 and 4. I encouraged many teachers not to update to iOS 7 until the bugs were worked out. I explained that they may see performance differences from each device. Most of them heeded my advice. The biggest challenge of upgrading is that there is no downgrade option if you are not happy with the devices performance.
Of course, there is also the issue of how well previously purchased apps would run on the new iOS. How long until a developer provides an update? These issues all have a tremendous impact on instruction, if not completely thought out.
Then Apple really threw a curve ball by making iWork and iLife suites free with certain conditions. We purchased Pages, Keynote, and iMovie last year. I had some remaining Keynote codes that had not been redeemed and shared them with our 4th grade team. Unfortunately, the codes were not redeemable because they were for older versions of the app. We had to upgrade the devices to iOS 7 in order to redeem the codes for a new version of Keynote. If you don't understand that solution, I don't either. But Apple does not appear to be supporting legacy versions of their apps for older devices or iOS versions. I would expect this from a third-party developer, but I'm a little disappointed in Apple doing this with their own product line. This is problematic for cash strapped schools looking to make their devices last as long as they can.
I could definitely use a PD on iPad Management for Legacy Devices. Are you listening Apple?
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