I was hoping that by the time this article is published many of you would already have an iPad. Unfortunately as I write this Apple has made it known that they will not be shipping the iPad internationally until later in May. I spoke with a client while she was standing in the New York City Apple store and she told me that there was a 45-minute wait to buy an iPad. At that time the iPad had already been available in the US for two weeks.

Let me tell you what the first two weeks of owning an iPad has been like. I wasn’t really that unfamiliar with the iPad. I have been developing applications for the iPhone and iPad for some time now. I had already been able to work with the concepts, by the time I got my first iPad,. However that didn’t really prepare me for the actual experience of holding one in my hands.

A few months ago I wrote that I thought the iPad would be a game changer. I am now pleased to say that was an understatement and that in fact the iPad is a truly transformational object. “It’s going to have an enormous impact on the publishing industry just like desktop publishing did.”, according to Diane Hall of 2 For Life Media. “It is causing us to change our workflow and how we package content. It reminds me of when we got our first Mac and there wasn’t going to be any more paste-up.”

To begin with it has a beautiful display. Web pages and text look more like images than they do on other platforms. As a result every application, movie and image is extremely easy on the eyes. It’s true that the iPad doesn’t do anything that you can’t do on a smart phone or a computer. However it is not only a device for consuming content, rather it is for experiencing content and creating more. Every day new creative applications appear on the App store for creating images, retouching images and making music.

“It looks better than print. It’s consistent. Has the ability to consistently deliver your content. With the iPad you know what you’re work is going to look like. You’re not wondering what kind of monitors it will be viewed on. It’s about control of delivery and it’s so widespread,” continues Diane Hall. “As a delivery form is most like print from the point of view of the intimacy between the reader and the content. That is what print has always been famous for… It lends itself well to our base, which is delivering an experience content package for readers and advertisers alike. For us that’s what print does and why it’s not like book publishing.”

Some technologies come out slowly and then become ubiquitous over time. This list would include the personal computer, the laser printer, pagers, the Internet, the iPod and smart phones. It usually takes some kind of catalyst to make the idea reach a tipping point. In many ways each of the afore mentioned have affected my own life and my work. It’s only been two weeks and I find myself reaching for the iPad constantly – more than my iPhone and MacBook. Each of these are extensions of mind and experience – how I reach out and take in the world.

I can already envision having one of these everywhere; in the living room, in the kitchen, in the office. In the office and living room I use the iPad to read my e-mail, browse the Internet, make notes, and read news. In the kitchen we use it for recipes and watching online video. We use it to do crossword puzzles in the bath. In the bedroom again to read e-mail, browse the Internet and read books.

Initially it was hard to describe what an iPod or iPhone was. Not just a music player and not simply a phone. The iPad is also not just the Internet in your lap and it is also not just an e-book reader. It is e-books, calendar, contacts, e-mail, Internet, business applications, word processing, recipes, games, movies, music, note taking, encyclopedia, star charts, web forms, business portals all synced with nearly all of the information that you need to have at your fingertips. It is about the experience. “The iPad is so exciting”, says Edna Clay, founder of Wedding Bells magazine, now in her 70’s. “There are so many good things about this for our industry.”

Strange thing happened yesterday… I’ve been using my iPhone as an iPod for the past couple of years. I also prefer to manage what songs I carry so I set my iPhones, iPods and my shiny new iPad syncing to “Manually manage songs and videos”. After upgrading to iTune 9.1 – required if you have an iPad – it seems that you cannot actually rely on this setting.

I had many songs on my iPhone and went to add a video. So I innocently checked “Sync Movies” so I could add The Dark Knight to my phone… What happened was that iTunes UNCHECKED “Manually manage songs and videos” and performed a sync. Imagine my surprise when I got to my car and put my iPhone in the cradle so I could listen to “Them Crooked Vultures” – the first “album” I’ve ever bought from from Apple. I pressed play and nothing. I had NO Music and NO videos. I also was miles away from the ONE mac that can sync with my iPhone…

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I’m all in favor of quality products being available to end-users. Recently Apple, who controls the content on the Apple store, has decided to start removing iPhone applications based on the content. This raises an interesting question for me as an iPhone developer. What about the apps that I’m making for use by my company, my friends and family as well as acquaintances and clients?

If Apple is going to limit what applications can be posted on the site, for instance they point at cookie-cutter applications, then how is a small developer supposed to write an application that is intended for small audience? I might decide to create an application that provides information to my clients. Maybe these are updates on our systems, maybe there new products I have to offer or maybe it’s for people who like to follow this blog. I have built many web applications such as an online timesheet, an online customer database, an online quoting system as well as many little apps like hockey pool. Is Apple going to prohibit my ability to produce and publish these applications?

Apple Computer started out as a homebrew computer club. They positioned themselves as being providers of technology that fought against large corporations – like Apple Inc. The enemy according to Steve Jobs was IBM who at the time were only interested in making programs for business. He or someone near him dubbed Apple as the company producing computers for “the rest of us”. The Macintosh was the platform for the rest of us. The Newton with the PDA for the rest of us. Mac OS X was UNIX for the rest of us. And the iPhone was supposed to be the smart phone for the rest of us.

I started developing applications because I want to build functional utilitarian things for my friends. The original terms “computer literate” meant that you could control computer by writing applications for it. It has nothing to do with whether you can use a keyboard or mouse or send an e-mail or browse the Internet. Computer literate means that you can express yourself programmatically. So if Apple controls the apps store and Apple controls which apps are available on the apps store where is the Apple store for the rest of us?

By the way I do realize that you can jailbreak your phone and install anything alike on it but at the end of the day that’s breaking the rules. And we don’t want to break the rules. We want to be able to express ourselves and share our creations with our friends, our family, and our community. Who knows maybe IBM will open an App store for the rest of us.

Apple announced that the new iPad will ship on April 3. It will be available a short while after that.

Question. Is it okay if I send my fonts to our translators in Montréal? Or is there a way for them to access the fonts on my machines remotely?

Answer. A couple of years ago I wrote an article covering the licensing of software. When it comes to licensed software people often are under the misconception that they have bought their software. In fact, what they have done when they purchased a software title is simply licensed the use of that software. Normally the license is intended for one user on one machine. Fonts although they are small are often overlooked yet they are copyrighted software titles.

So the simple answer is, “No” you cannot share your fonts with your coworkers and friends. Fonts are the creative works made by type foundries; in the past these same type foundries would have made would type and metal type. They once dealt with physical properties and now they deal with software or intellectual properties.

As with any software you should check the end-user license agreement, EULA, as they can often vary dramatically. As a rule of thumb; these are the intellectual properties you should assume that you cannot copy and distribute fonts. Another misconception is that fonts that are bundled with applications are free – they are licensed to be bundled. If you’re the owner of the company you should beware that you are responsible for the actions of your employees.

The business software alliance is a group that oversees infractions in software licensing. According to the BSA, if you’re not sure about font compliance you should contact the font vendor. The BSA doesn’t pursue infractions. They rely on end users reporting unlicensed software use. Surprisingly some fonts are not even allowed to be embedded in a document while others are not even allowed to be used in static images.

I took part in a webcast sponsored by Extensis on font compliance. Here are some recent examples they shared with us. NBC was sued by font Bureau for $2 million for the improper use of their fonts on logos for popular television shows. The Hadopi logo was also found to contain an improperly licensed font. Hadopi is the French government’s anti-piracy organization. Microsoft was sued for bundling Chinese fonts into their operating system.

Adobe’s Fonts are licensed per computer. Their terms state that you can give someone else your version of your font as long as they already own the same title. Adobe does allow fonts to be embedded into documents are going to be edited. Some other font foundries don’t allow this flexibility in fact they don’t allow unlicensed fonts to be hosted on a website.

Mono type, the biggest font vender owners of ITC and Linotype, also allow only allows policy licensed per workstation. They allow you to distribute a version, as above. but they restrict fonts to be in documents to be viewed and printed only. So you can embed the fonts in PDF and allow someone else to edit them. They also have additional licensing for use in a commercial PDF, you can also extend to a multiuse license as well as Web server and embedded applications.

Émigré is even more restrictive. They don’t allow any modification. They require an additional fees for use in PDF, Flash, and embedding in EPS files. They will allow embedding only if all users have an existing license. They do have a lot of extra licenses, site licenses and server bureau licenses etc.

So what can you do: You can own all your font licenses. You can ignore the problem. You can have your partners acknowledge that they have the rights to use the fonts. You refrain from using fonts that don’t allow embedding. And you probably should read the EULA.

There are several tools to help you manage your fonts. For instance expenses makes a product called Universal Type Server. With the UTS you can limit the user to have access to fonts. You can control who can share the fonts. And you can control who can add the fonts. You can also you can also have the server report on your company’s font compliance. At the end of the day there are no “font police” – all it requires is that someone makes an innocent phone call.

Apple announced the iPad today. It is a hybrid of an iPod Touch, Amazon Kindle and a Mac. At long last we have our beloved Newton and a graphic tablet all rolled into one…
Early reviews are mixed with many people impressed and some pundits less than enthusiastic. The latter critical that Apple has modified and added their iWork apps to the device. Here’s a bit of office productivity and yet they would complain if there was no productivity apps.

Apple is now the “world’s largest mobile devices company in the world” – bigger than Nokia, Samsung and Sony (in the mobile devices space.) Apple introduced the world’s first modern laptop in 1991 with the introduction of the PowerBook – with a raised keyboard, palm rests, an integrated pointing device (track ball). The Newton PDA introduced in 1993 and in 2007 Apple reinvented the cell phone with the iPhone.

The iPad represents a third category, according to Apple, between the smart phone and portable laptop. They are insisting that this middle categories key tasks must be better than smart phones or laptops. The key tasks are browsing, email, photo sharing, video, music, games and ebooks. NetBooks, according to Steve Jobs, aren’t better at anything – they’re just cheaper PCs. The iPad in a magical and revolutionary device.

I have been dragging around laptops to meetings since 1991 – apologizing to attendees while waiting for the laptop to start up. Next I got a Newton and apologized while I had to reenter the cursive writing because I hadn’t learned to “write” correctly. Finally moving to a Palm Pilot as my main PDA. Since that time I have continued to use spiral bound paper note books. They’re easy to start – simply open and start writing. However searching the content means flipping physical pages and it’s difficult to email – unless you tear out the page and scan it as an image.

That all changed when the MacBook Air and iPhone came out. The Notes app, contacts, calendar and IMAP email and syncing with Mobile Me is totally productivity for me! I can leave the office and captain my whole business with my iPhone – from the back seat of a street car. I have the latest iMac on my desk, a MacBook Pro 13 in my briefcase as well as a couple of Xserves. The iPad is the device that we have all been longing for. Productivity and portability. With 3G access I can even run my business from the cottage (thanks to iPhone tethering.)

Let’s be honest the iPhone is too small to read a book on – most annoying if you wear bifocals! Too small for a crossword puzzle and now you and your loved one can enjoy a movie together. Newspapers and magazines can now concentrate on delivering content in a new media way. Gone is the static presentation of news and current affairs. I will miss the books from the sixties that say “one day man will land on the moon” but now you’ll have instant access to wikipedias take on Man’s exploration of the heavens. News will now update as quickly as your FaceBook and Twitter feeds.

We actually have 5 iPhones – my main cell, my partner Carol’s and two iPhones to “pass back” for the grandkids to play games on. I’ve had an iPhone since November 2007 (imported from San Francisco) and gladly sold my Blackberry for $25 at a garage sale. Yes, I’ve been annoyed by all of the iPhone’s short comings – What!? No copy and paste!? Hey! I used to have three Newtons so I know about patience. But at the end of the day, the iPad is a unix driven device that you can easily carry around and watch movies while you’re on break! Don’t worry Speck will make an awesome case and OtterBox will make a weather proof case for the bathtub. In the meantime use a ZipLock bag to keep it dry.

iPad Features:

• high-resolution, 9.7 inch LED-backlit, IPS display
• wide, 178° viewing angle
• Multi-Touch screen
• just 1.5 lbs and 0.5 inches thin
• 10 hour lithium polymer battery technology
• Wi-Fi, built-in 802.11n and BlueTooth + EDR
• available in an unlocked 3G model using GSM micros SIMs
• 1GHz A4 chip inside iPad was custom-designed by Apple
• choice of 16, 32 or 64GB flash storage
• 30-pin dock connector, charge or connect the Camera Connection Kit or the Keyboard Dock
• Microphone & powerful, built-in speaker produces a full, rich sound
• Accelerometer & Compass (GPS)
• iPad will run almost 140,000 apps from the App Store
• iWork productivity applications, Keynote, Numbers and Pages
• Safari, Mail, Photos, Video, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, App Store, iBooks, Maps, Notes, Calendar and Contacts
• $499 – $839 USD

Q. Ever since I upgraded to Snow Leopard I have been unable to print Adobe PDFs. I print the file but I cannot find the PDF when it is done.

A. Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.6 aka Snow Leopard, is an upgrade for Intel based Macintosh computers that uses 64-bit processing, which allows for faster and wider data processing. As a result the computing experience is much faster and seemingly gives new life to all compatible Mac desktops and laptop computers. While the upgrade has negatively affected some printing services, the refinements in Snow Leopard make it a welcome improvement.

In the case of Adobe’s virtual printers, Adobe PDF 9.0 et al, the method used to print a PDF contravenes Apple’s security protocols. In the past when you chose to print a PDF from a program you were actually printing a PostScript file using the LaserWriter print spooler, which was then silently passed to Adobe’s Distiller application. Distiller would actually convert the PostScript into a PDF and save the file to the location you specified.

That is a simplified explanation and there are more applications under the hood involved. Apple’s CUPS or common unix printing system handles most printing tasks and there is some issues with the permissions set by software manufacturers that is prohibiting successful printing. You may see a notice in a print spooler that warns that you need to contact the manufacturer for an update.

The method to print a PDF your self involves a few simple steps. You can print your file to PostScript which will result in saving a file ending with “.ps”. Next open Adobe Distiller and drag and drop the PostScript file onto the main window. Distiller will convert the PostScript file to a PDF and save it in the same folder as the PostScript file. In most cases you would choose “Standard” but if you want a PDF ready for press you can choose “High Quality Print” or “PDF-X1a” – check with the printer’s account manager. If you want the send the PDF by email choose “Smallest File Size” to create a compressed version.

The Acrobat Team has added an Apple Automator workflow to print PDFs. From the Print dialog you can choose “Save as Adobe PDF” from the PDF menu.

If you’re printing with the regular Mac OSX Print pane:
Choose Print from the File Menu.
This will open Mac OS X print dialog.
Choose the “PDF” button and select “Save as Adobe PDF”.
Click Print.
In a few seconds Automator will open and prompt you to choose what type of PDF
Choose Standard (see above).
On the next window, you will be asked where to save the PDF.
Automator will create the PDF.

Q. How does it work when you want to acquire a domain name that is parked by someone else? I was looking into registering a domain but it looks like it’s just kind of sitting there…

A. Registering a domain name is similar to getting a deed or more accurately a lease to some actual real estate. You determine a name for your domain and contact a registrar to pay for the rights to that domain name. The domain is yours to use for as many years as you pay for it. While you hold the rights to a domain you have the exclusive use of it.

A domain is meant to be a group of computers and or services owned by a single organization. A domain can be as small as a single computer or server that hosts a website, an email server and/or an FTP site. Often a domain is named for the company that owns it such as apple.com, sun.com or Microsoft.com but often the most successful domains are named for the service or information they provide.

Unfortunately nearly every combination of English words have already be registered and parked. The owners may be speculating that someone would be willing to pay more privately for the domain and the squatter would profit from the sale. Parked pages also can be set up to advertise other services and the squatter could enjoy recurring revenues from the ads. If you really want a particular domain name you may have to offer pay extra to get it.