How-to: Fix iOS6 App Store not loading

Like many others I was not so much excited but very curious to get my hands on Apple's new iOS 6 update.  One feature that I was particularly interested in trying was the Passbook app to keep track of things like boarding passes, loyalty cards, etc.  When I started up the app I was greeted with a button inviting me to go to the App Store (you need to download apps that integrate with Passbook).  Once in App Store I was greeted by an error message telling me that my phone cannot connect to the App Store.  Huh?  How'd Apple let this get out the door?

After playing with the phone a little more I noticed that every time I opened App Store app I got the same message about not being able to connect to the App Store.  Once the app was started I could navigate the Featured, Charts, etc. links but the initial error message always (and annoyingly) popped up.

Turns out this is a common error that people are experiencing and the discussion boards at discussions.apple.com are all atwitter.  While the solution below may seem bizarre it does seem to do the trick.  The nature of the solution suggests to me there is some kind of certificate issue at play but the details of that don't really matter.

1. Go to Settings -> General -> Date and Time and turn OFF "Set Automatically"
2. Set the date 2 or more years into the future
3. Go back into the App Store app where you will get the same error message.  No matter.
4. Go back into Settings -> General -> Date and Time and turn "Set Automatically" back ON

Now you should be able to successfully launch the App Store app without the error message.  You will likely get a message about a certificate not being recognized or being out of date.  Just touch the Continue button when that comes up. 

People Spaces Reading List

Tomorrow afternoon I will be giving a talk on creating productive, team-based workspaces at the SWOC PMI Symposium 2012.  Below is a list of the reading materials that I think reflect the principles of what I will talk about.  This is by no means an exhaustive reading list but it goes provide a flavour and supports some of the claims that I make in my talk.

• A. Cockburn, "Characterizing People as Non-Linear, First Order Components in Software Development", 1999
• A. Cockburn, "Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game, 2nd Edition", 2006.
• M. Cohn, "The Ideal Agile Workspace", 2009
• D. Hartman, "Designing Collaborative Spaces for Productivity", 2007
• J. D. Meier, "Microsoft patterns & practices Agile Workspace Tour", 2009
• J. Pierce, "Great Agile Workspaces: The Physical Environment", 2011
• J. Pierce, "Great Agile Workspaces: How We Communicate", 2011
• J. Sutherland, G. Schoonheim, N. Kumar, V. Pandey, and S. Vishal, "Fully Distributed Scrum: Linear Scalability of Production between San Francisco and India", 2009
• S. Teasley, L. Covi, M. S. Krishnan, and J. S. Olson, "How Does Radical Collocation Help a Team Succeed?", 2000
• A. Williams Woolley, C. F. Chabris, A. Pentland, N. Hashmi, and T. W. Malone, "Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups", 2010

How-to: Use an external display with an iPad (UPDATE)

In a previous article I described ​how to get your iPad to display on a screen or projector.  The most promising method was to use an Apple TV device to receive your iPad screen output.  However, because the Apple TV does not support WPA2 enterprise, the type of wireless security most often used at corporations and university campuses, this option was off the table for those who might want to most use it.  It occurred to me after writing the original article that one way to get around this limitation is to create your own wireless network using a portable router like Apple's Airport Express or the Asus WL-330N3G. 

At a high level, here's what you need to do.

1. Configure the Airport Express to create your own wireless network ("Air Lecture", for example).  I recommend configuring wireless security as well so select WPA2 (Personal) and enter a password that you will remember.  Now whenever you plug the AirPort express into a wall socket it will create the "Air Lecture" wireless network.
2. The Apple TV and iPad should now see the "Air Lecture" wireless network.  Configure both devices to join "Air Lecture" entering your wireless security password in each device.
3. Now that both the Apple TV and the iPad are on the same wireless network you can use AirPlay (as described previously) to display your video-enabled app or your entire iPad interface (depending on the type of iPad you have).

Once the components are configured you can just plug everything in before you start a meeting or a class and you can wander around presenting your content from your iPad.  Here's what it'll cost you (Canadian $):

1. Apple iPad 16M Wifi base model - $519
2. Airport Express - $99
3. Apple TV - $109

100 Days Experiment

Starting March 7th between 4-4:30pm Eastern I'm going to begin an experiment on Twitter.  Every day for 100 days straight I'm going to tweet a Leonard Cohen song lyric.  Not just any lyric will do though.  There must be rules for this kind of thing.

The Rules

• Duration: 100 days straight (no gaps)
• Timing: tweets will be sent around the same time every day
• Focus: same songwriter (no intermixing songwriters)
• Writers only: doesn't matter who performs the song
• No titles: lyric cannot contain the song title or any significant words from the song title
• Significance: lyric should have some poetic, lyrical, political, or social significance
• Simplicity: lyric is presented by itself without commentary, quotes, or other affectations
• Accurate: lyric is presented exactly as the writer wrote it without paraphrasing or tweet hacking
• Hashtagged: only allowable embellishment is the hashtag of #100daysofcohen 
• Retweetable: maximum length of tweet including hashtag should be around 125 so that it can be easily retweeted
• Breadth: As much as possible the collection should cover the breadth of the songwriter's career rather than just one period

How-to: Use an external display with an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch

Quick Bite: Apple provides a number of ways to export iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch video, audio and graphics to external displays like a television or projector.  Full user interface mirroring is only possible using iPad 2 and iPhone 4S devices.  Mobile warriors generally will invest in an Apple TV 2 or an inexpensive remote control app.  Two major caveats: Full mirroring presents a security challenge as your password will be presented on the external display.  And Apple TV 2 may not support the type of wifi security you use in a typical campus or office setting.

Being the head of IT for a major business school, I often get asked by professors and instructors how they can make use of their iPad to display classroom content on a projector or screen.  Unless you're trapped behind a lectern or podium you need a lightweight, portable tool for displaying presentation materials.  Tablet computers like Apple's iPad are ideally suited for the mobile presenters providing there is a way to export the iPad display to a monitor or projector.  In this article I will cover the different ways to display content from your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch (collectively known as iOS devices).

Mirroring vs Video Output

Mirrored Springboard

First, it is important to understand the differences between "mirroring" and "video-enabled apps".  Mirroring refers to the ability to display the entire iOS interface on an external display.  This includes not only the output of apps like Keynote or Videos but also Email, iCal, websites and even the app springboard itself (as illustrated here on the right).  Mirroring is supported only with the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.  These devices output up to 1080p resolution and 720p for video.  Please note that when mirroring ALL of the user interface is displayed to the screen including the virtual keyboard and the keys you are pressing even if those keys are typing out your password.  If you are going to enter a password then turn off mirroring first by using one of the methods described below.

All other iOS devices, including the original iPad, iPod Touch (2nd gen and up), and iPhone 3GS and up support video output only for video-enabled apps.  Video-enabled apps are apps that have been specifically designed to output to an external display.  The built-in Videos and YouTube apps, for example, can output video and audio.  The iOS version of Keynote supports exporting its presentation display (it exports nothing while editing).  These older iOS devices will output up to 720p (which is the resolution used in the new building classrooms).  Even older devices like the original iPhone and earlier iPods can output video and audio only using a Composite Video Adaptor.

Video Adaptors

Apple and 3rd party vendors produce an array of adaptors that can be used to output iOS device displays.  These adaptors all feature a standard Apple 30-pin doc connector on one end and a standard video connector on the other allowing you to connect video cables to your iOS device.

Digital Display Adaptor

Digital Display (HDMI) Adaptor

If you can guarantee that the displays or projectors you will be using support HDMI then this is definitely the adaptor to purchase.  It supports full mirroring for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S devices and supports output for video-enabled apps on older devices.  The one connector will carry both video and audio from the iOS device to the display.

VGA Adaptor

VGA Adaptor

If you can't guarantee that you'll always have an HDMI capable display then I recommend getting a VGA adaptor instead.  VGA has been around far longer than HDMI and is almost always supported.  You can still mirror your iPad 2 and iPhone 4S user interfaces and output the display for video-enabled apps on other devices.  You'll need to use a stereo audio cable if audio is required.

Component/Composite Adaptor

You can also purchase adaptors for more traditional television displays including composite and analog HD component video.  Almost all Apple devices, including legacy devices like the iPod Nano, are supported but you can only export audio, video and picture slideshows using this adaptor.    

Regardless of the adaptor used, if you are expecting to wander freely around the classroom or boardroom projecting content from your iPad then none of the above solutions are for you.  All of these solutions leave your device tethered to a video cable.  In the next section I'll describe two options for untethered presentation of content.

Remote Control Apps

If your iOS device needs to be tethered why not control it via a remote control app on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  This method can be used to control an iPad or a Mac.  It's not the most elegant solution and remote control apps are usually limited to controlling only one kind of application.  For instance, the Apple Remote app can be used to control iTunes for playback of audio or video (Tango Remote is similar).  Apple Keynote Remote can be used to control Keynote on a Mac or iOS device.  2Screens has its own remote.  And so on...  A more general way to control a Mac or PC is via a VNC app running on your iOS device but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Apple TV 2

By far the most elegant solution for displaying your iOS device content is using an Apple TV 2 device.  Or it would be the most attractive if not for one frustrating flaw that Apple has not yet addressed (more on that in a moment). 

Along with the introduction of the $99 (CDN$120) Apple TV 2 in September 2010, Apple introduced a feature called AirPlay which enabled the Apple TV 2 to serve as an output display for an iPad 2 or an iPhone 4S without any video or audio cables.  This enabled device mirroring as if a digital display adaptor is connected to your device. 

To use AirPlay ensure that your Apple TV and iOS devices have the latest versions of software.  You'll need iOS 4.3 or later on your iPad (1 or 2), iPhone 3GS or later, or iPod Touch 2nd gen or later.  You'll also need Apple TV 4.2 or later on your Apple TV.  If you routinely install updates when notified by Apple then you will be fine.

Once you are set up and on the same wifi network, your iOS devices will automatically detect the presence of an available Apple TV.  Video-enabled apps like Videos and YouTube will display an AirPlay icon (see right) when an Apple TV device is detected.  Touch the icon and select the Apple TV device from the list to export the iOS display to the Apple TV.  The AirPlay icon will then turn blue. Touch the AirPlay icon again to disable the external display (say, if you want to enter a password).  This method works for any iOS device that supports video-enabled apps or full mirroring.   

The other AirPlay method, available only for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S devices, enables full device mirroring.  To do this, double-press the home button to display the multi-tasking bar and then swipe right.  You should see something similar to the illustration below.  The AirPlay icon will be displayed whenever an Apple TV 2 device is detected.  Touch the AirPlay icon to enable full mirroring of the iPad 2 or iPhone 4S display.  This will mirror all aspects of the display to the Apple TV device regardless of whether or not the app is video-enabled.

Enabling Mirroring

Note that the iOS device and the Apple TV 2 need to be on the same wifi network for this to work.  This is where it all breaks down for use in many corporate or campus settings.  At this time Apple TV 2 does not support WPA2 Enterprise encryption.  Most well run corporate and campus wireless networks use this more robust type of wireless encryption.  If you run a small, single subnet network (like a home network) then you might be ok.  Regardless, lack of WPA2 Enterprise support on Apple TV is a huge oversight by Apple.  Especially considering that Apple TV 2 runs iOS and all other iOS devices support this encryption method.  

I hate to end on a bummer note but that's it.  I've contacted Apple about this but they are characteristically tight lipped about when or even if this will be addressed.  Given Apple's recent embrace of education technology I'm hoping that they fill this easy-to-fix hole.  

Agile Reading List

Tonight I will be giving a talk to our local PMI chapter about what it takes to succeed in Agile.  This gave me an opportunity to gather and hone some of my thoughts regarding what I've been referring to as "Whole Agile".  Below is a list of reading materials that I think together reflect all of the aspects (and not just practices) of what it takes to succeed at Agile.  This is by no means an exhaustive list of books on Agile Methodology that I recommend but rather it is mean to cover all aspects of Whole Agile.

• Augustine, Sanjiv and Cuellar, Roland.  "The Lean-Agile PMO", Cutter Consortium Executive Report, Vol. 7, No. 10, 2006.
• Cockburn, Alistair.  Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2006.
• Cohn, Mike.  Agile Estimating and Planning, Prentice Hall, 2005.
• Highsmith, Jim.  Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2009.
• Martin, Angela, Noble, James and Biddle, Robert.  "Programmers are from Mars, Customers are from Venus: A practical guide for customers on XP Projects", 2006.
• Poppendieck, Mary and Poppendieck, Tom.  Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2003
• Rooney, Dave.  "An Organizational Structure for Agile Projects", Cutter Consortium Executive Report, Vol. 8, No. 5, 2007.