The iOS Device as Writing Tool and Student Companion:

Twenty-five years ago, I walked through the halls of my secondary school carrying a fifteen-pound Braille writer in one hand and wearing a bag weighing around forty pounds containing the Braille volumes that were fractions of the books I'd need for classes. Later on, I got a well-designed Australian computer called a Eureka A4 which, weighing four pounds, freed me of considerable weight. The battery wasn't reliable enough to get you through a whole school day. Also, Ebooks had yet to arrive on the scene so I still crushed people into walls carrying my forty-pound pack of fractions of books if they got too close behind me when I turned a corner. That experience stays with me. Whenever I receive new accessible technology, I'm always tempted to see how much it can do for students. How much might this or that new device be able to do? How much lighter might it make one's school bag? Might it also help in social ways giving opportunities for relationship and play with others? My equipment tended to baffle others who couldn't read or write Braille. They mostly had a hard time understanding the Australian voice of the Eureka A4 and it had no screen.

Contrast this with an iOS device. These are extremely portable and easily powerful enough for average day to day tasks. They're easily kept charged with a very small and affordable external battery. A battery no larger than a deck of cards can store 10000 MA of ready power. That's enough to easily recharge a modern day iPAD Pro. Smaller iOS devices like the iPHONE7 I write this on have internal batteries which hold around 1800 MA when fully charged. Accessories like Bluetooth keyboards, bone conduction Bluetooth headsets or Apple's AirPods make it possible to operate completely without wires other than those used to recharge what you're using. Nothing protrudes from your back. You don't even have to worry about wires getting snagged on things or pulled out of their ports. Pretty much every student on the planet has heard of your iPHONE, iPOD or iPAD. If he or she doesn't own one, a friend or family member will. You can use these devices to play some of the same games, read the same books, share favorite songs. You didn't have to pay any more to make this device accessible. You might well have gotten it at the same store as your classmate. Here's the stupendous part. Most of this equipment could be carried in a pocket. You'd have enough storage for thousands of accessible books, your favorite music, any apps you needed, and much more. Presuming it was an iPHONE, or you acquired a GPS receiver, this device would also help you navigate. It would serve as your handy communication device and credit card, identify objects and even read print pages for you. Provided you had Internet connectivity, you could dictate notes or obtain answers merely by asking.

The only part of this setup which wouldn't fit in a pocket would be the extremely light and thin Bluetooth keyboard and/or a portable refreshable Braille display should you wish to write something substantial or read without needing synthetic speech. This can be handy when in class situations or trying to read notes as you give a presentation. There are smaller keyboards which are said to collapse to pocket size. However, these smaller keyboards are cramped and lack rigidity so couldn't be used on one's lap.

All this is very compelling. However, students need to be able to write more than just notes effectively. They need to tackle assignments. That's why a Bluetooth keyboard small enough to be portable but spacious and rigid enough to be used comfortably and quickly anywhere comes in handy. Most Braille displays have their own relatively comfortable keyboards. Braille is useful but not necessary at all times. Ordinary Bluetooth keyboards are universally far less costly than even the most inexpensive Braille displays.

Writing presentable documents in iOS has been problematic for blind people. Back when I first got my iPHONE4, I never would have dreamed of creating anything important or lengthy on it. Using the on-screen keyboard was anything but fast and efficient. It just made sense that one's phone was simply not designed for authorship. A laptop served that role. Attempting anything longer than a brief email was just begging for a first class trip to insanity. The same holds true for attempting to keep up with a lesson taking notes at high speed.

The issues extended far beyond the small completely flat virtual keyboard. VoiceOver initially didn't have an easy method for selecting text to be moved or copied. The finger spreading and pinching technique left much to be desired. Also, it can be difficult to get a proper sense of how a document will look visually due to many things such as how lines rapped on such small screens and how documents were moved through. There was also the whole question of trying to avoid jumping accidentally to a different part of a document than you intended. Sighted people literally see their documents as if on a page or as close as the sise of their device permits. Blind people hear their documents in a more linear sequential fashion. While spellcheck was possible, it remains an annoying and finicky process. Autocorrect can prove more troublesome than helpful with its presumptions regarding what one meant to type being far from actual intention. Who hasn't heard jokes about people getting into trouble because they trusted autocorrect and didn't look before sending that fateful text message?

Over the years, things have slowly gotten better. As VoiceOver and iOS have improved, these problems have begun to be addressed. Selecting text is a crucial example of this. The process now relies on the rotor. Set it to text selection, flick up or down to choose the unit of measure, [character, word, line, page]. After that, flick right to move forward by the unit of measure or left to move backward. You can even do things like select a line of text, flick upward to change the unit of measure to words, flick left to remove the two or three words you don't want selected when you press the delete button, and then remove precisely what you regret having written. It's the sort of solution that you wonder why nobody thought of originally even while overcome with gratitude that someone finally has. The lack of an efficient easy way to select text was the largest impediment stopping me from adopting iOS for serious writing.

Bluetooth keyboard support has gotten much better than it used to be. Instances of dropped connection are quite rare. Also, the horrid lag which formerly made Bluetooth headsets useless for blind people needing snappy responses to their gestures from VoiceOver has been reduced to near non-existence. Pairing multiple devices is a lot more reliable and easier than it once was. Energy efficiency has also greatly improved.

These improvements make it easier to use various word processing apps on iOS such as Pages or Microsoft Word. Spellcheck in particular is still harder than it has to be. However, you can now at least get your words in the right order and type them easily. Also, the spellcheck functionality built into iOS will at least tell you when it thinks you spelled a word wrong as you read over it. Proofreading and formatting documents accurately remain troublesome issues when using the more popular word processors with VoiceOver. Most word processors operate on a principle called WYSIWYG or what you see is what you get. This is perfectly sensible for sighted people who can look at their documents seeing how they will appear when printed. This presents problems for blind users. Even when VoiceOver announces formatting or other visual information, it can be hard to grasp how the end result will look or where the influence of commands such as emphasis, line breaks, etc begins and ends. What is immediately obvious to the eye is not so for the ear or fingers if Braille is used. I needed to find a better solution before leaving my laptop behind and using my iPHONE to do serious writing.

A big part of the solution was suitable accessories. Over the years, I've found a good sturdy Bluetooth keyboard from Microsoft designed specifically for mobile devices. It's compact and rigid enough to be used on one's lap. Even better, a small lapdesk that was just large enough to fit the keyboard and my iPHONE next to each other. An Aftershokz Trekz Titanium bone conduction headset serves me well when I'm travelling outdoors and don't want to lose my AirPods from Apple. These Airpods are far more portable, longer lasting wireless earbuds which deliver far better sound. A pair of external batteries completes the basic load. One is a 3500-MA battery the size of a lipstick. It fits easily in a pocket. The other is a far larger 26800-MA battery which would easily keep all my gear powered for a week or more. All of this fits in a small shoulder-bag along with a Bluetooth speaker if I'm going somewhere I might want to share what I'm listening to. In total, it weighs well under ten pounds. Far less if I ditch the large battery and speaker as I would on most day trips.

The very last stumbling block was a good writing solution. I needed an app which would let me write easily and have full control over the formatting of what I produced. For me, the Ulysses app was a pricy but very compelling possibility. The big equalizer is the use of Markdown XL. This is a set of formatting and other commands you insert using standard punctuation symbols. These commands are easily read by Voiceover giving you full and accurate control of formatting. They are acted upon when you export your document into a chosen format. For instance, hash signs indicate headings so text following one or more hash signs within a paragraph will become a heading in a pdf or html document. There are simple commands for doing everything from underlining text to adding footnotes or links. With everything in text characters VoiceOver can detect, nothing gets misplaced or forgotten and proof-reading becomes possible. Spellcheck at least tells me if something is spelled wrong. I hope this situation improveds, but thanks to dictionary/thesaurus apps like Wordbook and Terminology, I can easily live with that slight compromise.

The Ulysses Writing App In Depth:

This app won an Apple award at last years WWDC, a conference for app developers. Shortly after this, the app was made accessible using VoiceOver. The app is designed to be a writing tool which scales from short documents through to novels. Simplicity and no clutter are key design principles. Writers can focus on actual writing. Using Markdown language to insert formatting instructions removes the need for toolbars and other things which clutter and distract writers using other word processors. Other features include the ability to set writing goals, keep your writing nicely organised, and much more. Everything you write is instantly backed up to iCloud so no need to worry about saving progress.

This app rewards mastery of the rotor as well as exploration of the screen. Accessibility is good in most areas but a work in progress for less critical things like goal setting. It's still possible but somewhat harder than they might be. To keep clutter to a minimum, options are nested within others. Exploration and experimentation pay off handsomely when learning to use this app to its full potential.

Basic Concepts:

A sheet is what this app calls a document. You don't need to give a sheet a title. A single sheet can contain as much text as you want it to. Therer are no imposed sise limits. Sheets can be put into groups which can be organised in many different ways. For instance, each major section of my guide to iOS is a sheet. I can duplicate, delete, export or change the order of these sheets easily at any time. I can cut, copy and paste text into sheets. Also, I can atach writing goals, notes, and keywords to sheets. Groups of related sheets can be exported as a single document. It is ideal for creating books. This is a very flexible powerful organizational system. Groups can have goals assigned to them. Groups can be sorted in the best way for their specific contents. My group of AMI Audio files is organised by date while the group of sheets comprising the guide I'm writing is organised manually.

Getting to Help:

There are instructions and help available in the app and on the developer's web site:

www.ulyssesapp.com

The instructions are in special groups of sheets found in the main library. You'll be going into the editor to read any sheets which interests you. The first group of instruction sheets is called "first steps" Double-tap on this to enter the group of sheets. Flick right until you pass the "first steps" heading and you'll be at the first sheet which is "quick overview". Doubletap on a sheet to open it. Flick right until you hear instructions being read. Once this happens, you can simply leave it to read the full sheet of information. No action is necessary. When finished, hit the "back" button at the topleft of the screen and proceed to find the next sheet or group you want to look at. The rotor is your friend. Set it to move by character, word, etc, and/or to select text for sharing or movement. Once a sheet is opened, you'll find a counter which may display total characters, words, sentences, etc. This is only visible when the keyboard is dismissed and not on the screen.

The Ulysses Editor:

The heart of Ulysses is the editor. Once you open a sheet, you're viewing it in the editor but not able to write or change the contents. From this external view, you can set goals, change editor settings, and export the sheet if you wish. Buttons to do all these things are found at the top of the screen to the right of the "back" button. Buttons are "editor settings", "export preview", "new sheet", and "attachments". Next comes the text field. To start writing, double-tap on the text field. Now, when you move onto the text field, it will say "is editing". This remains the case even if you move off the text field to use the on-screen keyboard. To leave this writing mode, double-tap the "dismiss keyboard" button which is one move to the right of the text field. Think of it like capping your pen. The app takes advantage of the autocorrect and spellcheck facilities built into iOS. These are useable but can be annoying. To minimize this, I have autocorrect turned off and simply use spellcheck. It will tell you if the word you move onto is spelled wrong. Navigate through the document using the rotor setting it to character, word or line as desired. Use the rotor to select, cut, copy and paste text.

Move past the edit field while you're still in editing mode and you'll find a "dismiss keyboard" button, a "search" button" and a sort of toolbar. This contains "undo/redo", paragraph tags", "inline tags" "special characters" and left/right buttons. The "tags" buttons give you access to the Markdown language commands you'll use while writing if you can't memorise them. You don't have to use this toolbar equivalent at all. I never do but it's there if needed. I recommend learning the Markdown XL commands and simply typing them in when required. Find them in the Markdown XL group of introduction files. This is immediately past the "first steps" group.

The Attachments Button:

While editing a sheet, you can push the "attachments" button one flick to the left of the text field. The "attachments" button lets you attach keywords, goals and notes to sheets. It is the most difficult area of the app to use with VoiceOver at this point but the developers are aware of the difficulties. You need to explore the screen with your finger and do some experimentation to figure this out. Feel for the buttons related to goal setting. The "at least" button can be double-tapped and will change to "at most". There are six sliders which are possible to increase or decrease. Each represents a digit which can be set from 0 to 9. You can use these to attach a goal to a group or sheet of a target number of words to achieve or not to exceed. Very useful for motivation or school assignments. It's just annoying to have to deal with sliders rather than an edit box letting you just type in a number.

Ulysses Completes The Student or Writer's Toolkit:

Things have at last reached a point where producing professional good-looking documents is possible on iOS for blind people willing to learn some extra commands. We can know precisely where formatting is applied and what will happen when documents are exported for distributing or printing. the use of a Markdown language plus VoiceOver improvements combine to make this a truly viable option. This is especially the case when you add a good Bluetooth keyboard into the equation. Ulysses has extensive support including many keyboard commands. Find these in the "details" group of introduction files. To round out your writing toolkit, other apps can address spellcheck challenges and research capabilities. I recommend the Wordbook app or the Terminology app. These are fully accessible apps which combine dictionary and thesaurus.

I don't use Ulysses for jotting down quick notes. It takes a little time to get in a sheet and double-tap on the edit field. Another app called Drafts happily solves that problem by dumping you instantly into an edit field whenever you open it. Much more convenient for quick notes. The calendar and calculator built into iOS plus the Timeglass, Google and Wikipedia apps available from the app store round out my primary writing tools. Most of these apps are free. Timeglass is an app which allows the creation of timers which can have multiple stages and alert you with sounds when each stage is reached. This can be very helpful regarding time management. Ulysses costs around $34 Canadian but is well worth the price for people who need the portability of an iOS device but want the full power of a serious author's workstation.

Enjoying Music on iOS Devices

Music on iOS Personal Blog Post

Your iOS device is a wonderful and accessible way to explore and enjoy music. I've been adding to my collection ever since I got my iPHONE4.Apple has its own proprietary music file format andyou can't just fill your device with MP3 files unless you get an app which can handle them. Again, it's a case of convenience versus cost. If you buy into Apple's ecosystem, I think you'll find that music is an area where Apple treats its customers handsomely.

There are two ways to get music from Apple for your iOS devices. It is delivered in a format especially designed to sound good on iOS devices. You can either buy music on iTUNES which is yours to keep, or subscribe to the Apple Music service. This gives you access to over 30 million songs, curated playlists, and many other benefits provided that you pay a monthly subscription. If you don't pay, you lose access to any music collected which you haven't bought from iTUNES. These options are not mutually exclusive. You can own iTUNES music and still subscribe to Apple Music without forfeiting anything. We'll look at the merits of each option.

The iTUNES Marketplace:

The iTUNES Store app gives you the ability to purchase music as well as movies and TV shows. You can also rent movies. Many now have audio description. Look right after the title and rating for images which are announced by Voiceover to make certain a movie or show has closed captionning and/or audio description. Have plenty of storage space. Movies are quite large. Songs and albums comprise only sound and take far less space. Records are kept of all purchases made so you can remove content from your device and re-download it as needed. Everything is tied to your Apple ID. Remember it and your password always.

Use the "music and "search" tabs found across the bottom of the iTUNES Store app to find and purchase desired albums or songs. In the "iTUNES and App store" settings found in the Settings app, you can customise whether you want to use cellular data when downloading new purchases. Also, you can choose which kinds of purchases to download automatically when you make them. Also, you'll see whether you've set touch ID to be able to authorise purchases or whether you must simply use your password all the time. It's a good idea to look through those settings as well as the Touch ID and Password settings and be familiar with your options. If you have concerns about others accessing your device, you may prefer Touch ID so that your fingerprint can authorise purchases and people won't see you enterring your password.

When you open the iTUNES Store app, you default to the "Music" tab. It's at the far bottom left of the screen. At the top of the "music" tab is an options area with Genre, "Featured", "Charts" and "Item list" buttons. The "Item list" is a wish list you can add to using the "share" button in an item's entry. For instance, "share" an album and choose the "add to item list" button from the menu that appears. The iTUNES store works just like the app store. Double-click on an item title to go to that item's entry. Use the "back" button at the top left to back up one level. Use the button with "get" or the purchase price of an item of interest to obtain that item. You will be prompted to authorise the purchase by password or Touch ID.

You can also find spoken word material which is treated the same as music on iTUNES. The CBC or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation puts up many of their audio drama productions and popular radio series as albums for sale on iTUNES. It really pays to search and explore. I've found some very good audio drama made available through iTUNES. If you have a computer, you can get iTUNES software and authorise it to download and play content. This makes it possible to more physically back up what you have purchased if you wish.

The music app will be what you use to play music or other audio content purchase from iTUNES Store. Don't worry about there being any sort of capacity limits outside of the storage space on your device. Provided you have a WIFI connection or are willing to use cellular data, you can always download anything you've purchased but deleted from your device to save space. These things don't count against your iCloud data. It's a separate thing. I have far more content than would ever fit on my iPHONE or in my personal iCloud space at once. Every now and then, I delete and download albums as desired.

Call me a digital dinosaur but I like to actually own a collection of music I enjoy. I therefore make occasional use of the iTUNES store slowly expanding my permanent collection. As more features have been added to Apple Music and more people in my social circle opt for these music services, I have decided to give this new flexible model of music collection a long-term try. There's something really compelling about being able to have access to so much music without spending a fortune. Below, we'll take a closer look at the Apple Music service.

Apple Music:

This subscription service lets you access any music in Apple's vast collection of over 30 million songs. They offer many ways to do this including creating radio stations based on music you like on the fly, curated playlists and recommendations tailored to you specifically, and much more. You can store favourite albums and songs on your device so you're not streaming them using up ddata when you hear them. You can use an optimise music option to remove songs not played often from your device. It still remains a part of your library. As long as you pay the roughly ten dollar per month charge, you have access to the music you want.

Taking this approach, you need not use the iTUNEs app at all. Everything is integrated into the "Music" app found on your device. The "For You", "Browse", "Radio" and "search" tabs let you take advantage of the many aspects of the Apple Music service. This brings the number of tabs across the bottom of the Music app to 5 with "Library" at the far left and "search" at the far right. The "Connect" tab disappears and is incorporated into the contents of the "For You" tab. You are buying access and guidance. There are also other perks such as special early releases, videos and interviews by artists. One of the largest perks is the yearly Apple Music Festival. This is a series of concerts put on by popular musicians during September which any subscriber to Apple Music can listen to free of charge. Events are streamed live and videos are made available soon after. Other special events like album releases and special shows happen from time to time.

When unsubscribed, the "Radio" tab gives access to Beats1, an internet radio station broadcasting 24-7 with people like Elton John and other famous musicians providing programs. This is internet radio with serious money put behind it. Subscribing to Apple music gives access to many more expertly run stations in that tab. Also, it is possible to create radio stations on the fly based on the song you're currently hearing. One of the options revealed by double-tapping the "more" button in the music player is "create station". Using this will instantly create a playlist featuring the artist you're hearing plus similar artists and songs. If you hear something which catches your interest, you can easily check out the artist and add songs or albums to your library. 

New subscribers get a three-month trial before they must start paying.

The Music App:

This app is how you play music purchased from Apple or available through Apple Music subscription. If you subscribe to Apple Music, this app will be all you need to enjoy, obtain and manage music on your device. If you don't intend on using Apple Music, you'll still use the Music app for enjoying what you purchase from the iTUNES store. Either way, you should go to the "Music" settings in the "Settings" app. There, you'll find a setting to show or hide Apple Music. Switching this to "off" will remove many elements only of value to Apple Music subscribers so they don't clutter your experience. Also, you'll find some nice goodies like an EQ setting, volume limiter and more. I like the Late Night and Lounge EQ settings while using my AirPods. However, other settings may be preferable when using AirPlay to play music on various Bluetooth speakers.

Tabs across the bottom are:

Library:

This is where music you have purchased or added to your collection resides. You can sort and manage it. There are buttons across the top. Edit, Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, and "Downloaded Music". These let you focus on the part of the collection which interests you. Pressing "Downloaded Music" reduces what is shown to only that music you've chosen to store on your device. Use this button when you're offline or don't want to use cellular data streaming music. Otherwise, any music you want to hear is simply grabbed and streamed for you. Competing with other priorities, the music on my device is slowly whittled down to what I most treasure.

Connect:

This tab provides a way for artists and fans to connect. You can follow artists and receive their updates. Also, you can post your own comments on what artists post. You don't need to subscribe to Apple Music to take advantage of this. Note the "following button at the top left. The default behaviour is that any artist whose songs you add to your library are automatically followed. You can change this behaviour and/or search for specific artists to follow in the area opened up by the "following" button. This tab will not be present if you have the Apple Muic elements shown because its contents are placed in the "For You" tab.

Browse:

This tab appears to the right of the "For You" tab and left of "Radio". lets you explore the gigantic collection of videos, interviews, extras, albums and songs made available to Apple Music subscribers. It has all kinds of curated paths to help you get to the kind of music you want. Great for when you don't know specifically or can't remember artist or song names. This tab and the "For You" tab contain the expertise you invest in when subscribing to Apple Music. Knowing how to use the Voiceover rotor is useful since there are headings dividing what the "Browse" and "For You" tabs contain.

Radio:

This tab will always have BEats 1 radio station. This is Apple's flagship music station featuring famous personalities and DJs. It streams 24-7 and has a wide variety of shows. Subscribing to Apple Music will grant access to a great many more specialized stations whose music is curated by experts. Past shows are also made available here.

Search:

This tab gives you the ability to search for artists or songs both inside your library or in the larger Apple Music collection. Double-tap the edit field and type in what you want to look for. Note the buttons near the top which let you choose whether to look in your library or the entire Apple Music collection. Flick over the rsults and double-tap on any that interest you. If it's a song or album, you'll be focussed in on that content. Use the "back" button at the top left to get back to the broader search results.

The Now Playing Screen or Mini Player:

This element of the app is crutial to your full enjoyment. While albums or other contents are displayed, the mini player will be available right above the tabs at the bottom. It's easiest to touch the tabs and flick left essentially moving up onto it. There are pause and skip buttons plus the title of the track you're hearing. Flicking left gets you to a place where you double-tap to expand the player. This puts you in the "now playing" screen.

The "Now Playing" screen puts the focus on what you're listening to now. The tabs will be unavailable until you dismiss the "Now Playing" screen. The button to do this is always on the top left. Next, there are next, previous and pause buttons. You'll find a handy volume slider, shuffle and repeat buttons. "Playback destination" lets you switch to other connected speakers, headphones, etc. Great for quickly sharing music if you have a Bluetooth speaker paired and turned on. Any artwork associated with the album or song is displayed. The "More" button is important. It gives access to options to remove, download, or perform other actions like adding the song or album you're hearing directly to a playlist. I use the "more" button often when I want to remove tracks I don't currently want stored on my iPHONE when they come up. This way, they just disappear but are still in my library in the cloud should I ever want them again.

Final Thoughts:

For people on tight budgets wanting a fully accessible way to enjoy music, Apple now offers an extremely compelling option with the Apple Music service. This is even more the case if your iOS device doesn't have much storage space. To take full advantage, you need a good WIFI or cellular data plan. This is vital if you're going to stream your music or listen to the Internet radio stations. Provided you have that, you're good to go. Hard core fans will appreciate the many extras like connection with their favorite artists, curated playlists and collections, etc. You'll never run out of new things to listen to. New albums, playlists and more are added all the time. If you hear something cool while out and about, chances are you can add it to your personal library without paying anything beyond your subscription fee. Another nifty addition has to do with Siri. You can ask Siri to play the top songs of a time period, shuffle the album or playlist, add songs or albums to your library, skip songs, and much more. It's like having your own personal DJ. If you don't recognise a song, you can ask Siri what it is. You can tell Siri to rate songs from 1 to 5, and tell it what you do and don't like. This improves songs selected for you and influences the contents of the "For You" tab.

I've come somewhat late to this music party. There's a lot to explore. I've already grabbed a bunch of albums which have languished on my iTunes wish list awaiting funds. I need not wait anymore. I must confess to still beeling a bit uneasy about renting access to damned near everything rather than acquiring a smaller selection of what I like and outright owning it. Music on iOS Personal Blog Post

Your iOS device is a wonderful and accessible way to explore and enjoy music. I've been adding to my collection ever since I got my iPHONE4.Apple has its own proprietary music file format andyou can't just fill your device with MP3 files unless you get an app which can handle them. Again, it's a case of convenience versus cost. If you buy into Apple's ecosystem, I think you'll find that music is an area where Apple treats its customers handsomely.

There are two ways to get music from Apple for your iOS devices. It is delivered in a format especially designed to sound good on iOS devices. You can either buy music on iTUNES which is yours to keep, or subscribe to the Apple Music service. This gives you access to over 30 million songs, curated playlists, and many other benefits provided that you pay a monthly subscription. If you don't pay, you lose access to any music collected which you haven't bought from iTUNES. These options are not mutually exclusive. You can own iTUNES music and still subscribe to Apple Music without forfeiting anything. We'll look at the merits of each option.

The iTUNES Marketplace:

The iTUNES Store app gives you the ability to purchase music as well as movies and TV shows. You can also rent movies. Many now have audio description. Look right after the title and rating for images which are announced by Voiceover to make certain a movie or show has closed captionning and/or audio description. Have plenty of storage space. Movies are quite large. Songs and albums comprise only sound and take far less space. Records are kept of all purchases made so you can remove content from your device and re-download it as needed. Everything is tied to your Apple ID. Remember it and your password always.

Use the "music and "search" tabs found across the bottom of the iTUNES Store app to find and purchase desired albums or songs. In the "iTUNES and App store" settings found in the Settings app, you can customise whether you want to use cellular data when downloading new purchases. Also, you can choose which kinds of purchases to download automatically when you make them. Also, you'll see whether you've set touch ID to be able to authorise purchases or whether you must simply use your password all the time. It's a good idea to look through those settings as well as the Touch ID and Password settings and be familiar with your options. If you have concerns about others accessing your device, you may prefer Touch ID so that your fingerprint can authorise purchases and people won't see you enterring your password.

When you open the iTUNES Store app, you default to the "Music" tab. It's at the far bottom left of the screen. At the top of the "music" tab is an options area with Genre, "Featured", "Charts" and "Item list" buttons. The "Item list" is a wish list you can add to using the "share" button in an item's entry. For instance, "share" an album and choose the "add to item list" button from the menu that appears. The iTUNES store works just like the app store. Double-click on an item title to go to that item's entry. Use the "back" button at the top left to back up one level. Use the button with "get" or the purchase price of an item of interest to obtain that item. You will be prompted to authorise the purchase by password or Touch ID.

You can also find spoken word material which is treated the same as music on iTUNES. The CBC or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation puts up many of their audio drama productions and popular radio series as albums for sale on iTUNES. It really pays to search and explore. I've found some very good audio drama made available through iTUNES. If you have a computer, you can get iTUNES software and authorise it to download and play content. This makes it possible to more physically back up what you have purchased if you wish.

The music app will be what you use to play music or other audio content purchase from iTUNES Store. Don't worry about there being any sort of capacity limits outside of the storage space on your device. Provided you have a WIFI connection or are willing to use cellular data, you can always download anything you've purchased but deleted from your device to save space. These things don't count against your iCloud data. It's a separate thing. I have far more content than would ever fit on my iPHONE or in my personal iCloud space at once. Every now and then, I delete and download albums as desired.

Call me a digital dinosaur but I like to actually own a collection of music I enjoy. I therefore make occasional use of the iTUNES store slowly expanding my permanent collection. As more features have been added to Apple Music and more people in my social circle opt for these music services, I have decided to give this new flexible model of music collection a long-term try. There's something really compelling about being able to have access to so much music without spending a fortune. Below, we'll take a closer look at the Apple Music service.

Apple Music:

This subscription service lets you access any music in Apple's vast collection of over 30 million songs. They offer many ways to do this including creating radio stations based on music you like on the fly, curated playlists and recommendations tailored to you specifically, and much more. You can store favourite albums and songs on your device so you're not streaming them using up ddata when you hear them. You can use an optimise music option to remove songs not played often from your device. It still remains a part of your library. As long as you pay the roughly ten dollar per month charge, you have access to the music you want.

Taking this approach, you need not use the iTUNEs app at all. Everything is integrated into the "Music" app found on your device. The "For You", "Browse", "Radio" and "search" tabs let you take advantage of the many aspects of the Apple Music service. This brings the number of tabs across the bottom of the Music app to 5 with "Library" at the far left and "search" at the far right. The "Connect" tab disappears and is incorporated into the contents of the "For You" tab. You are buying access and guidance. There are also other perks such as special early releases, videos and interviews by artists. One of the largest perks is the yearly Apple Music Festival. This is a series of concerts put on by popular musicians during September which any subscriber to Apple Music can listen to free of charge. Events are streamed live and videos are made available soon after. Other special events like album releases and special shows happen from time to time.

When unsubscribed, the "Radio" tab gives access to Beats1, an internet radio station broadcasting 24-7 with people like Elton John and other famous musicians providing programs. This is internet radio with serious money put behind it. Subscribing to Apple music gives access to many more expertly run stations in that tab. Also, it is possible to create radio stations on the fly based on the song you're currently hearing. One of the options revealed by double-tapping the "more" button in the music player is "create station". Using this will instantly create a playlist featuring the artist you're hearing plus similar artists and songs. If you hear something which catches your interest, you can easily check out the artist and add songs or albums to your library. 

New subscribers get a three-month trial before they must start paying.

The Music App:

This app is how you play music purchased from Apple or available through Apple Music subscription. If you subscribe to Apple Music, this app will be all you need to enjoy, obtain and manage music on your device. If you don't intend on using Apple Music, you'll still use the Music app for enjoying what you purchase from the iTUNES store. Either way, you should go to the "Music" settings in the "Settings" app. There, you'll find a setting to show or hide Apple Music. Switching this to "off" will remove many elements only of value to Apple Music subscribers so they don't clutter your experience. Also, you'll find some nice goodies like an EQ setting, volume limiter and more. I like the Late Night and Lounge EQ settings while using my AirPods. However, other settings may be preferable when using AirPlay to play music on various Bluetooth speakers.

Tabs across the bottom are:

Library:

This is where music you have purchased or added to your collection resides. You can sort and manage it. There are buttons across the top. Edit, Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, and "Downloaded Music". These let you focus on the part of the collection which interests you. Pressing "Downloaded Music" reduces what is shown to only that music you've chosen to store on your device. Use this button when you're offline or don't want to use cellular data streaming music. Otherwise, any music you want to hear is simply grabbed and streamed for you. Competing with other priorities, the music on my device is slowly whittled down to what I most treasure.

Connect:

This tab provides a way for artists and fans to connect. You can follow artists and receive their updates. Also, you can post your own comments on what artists post. You don't need to subscribe to Apple Music to take advantage of this. Note the "following button at the top left. The default behaviour is that any artist whose songs you add to your library are automatically followed. You can change this behaviour and/or search for specific artists to follow in the area opened up by the "following" button. This tab will not be present if you have the Apple Muic elements shown because its contents are placed in the "For You" tab.

Browse:

This tab appears to the right of the "For You" tab and left of "Radio". lets you explore the gigantic collection of videos, interviews, extras, albums and songs made available to Apple Music subscribers. It has all kinds of curated paths to help you get to the kind of music you want. Great for when you don't know specifically or can't remember artist or song names. This tab and the "For You" tab contain the expertise you invest in when subscribing to Apple Music. Knowing how to use the Voiceover rotor is useful since there are headings dividing what the "Browse" and "For You" tabs contain.

Radio:

This tab will always have BEats 1 radio station. This is Apple's flagship music station featuring famous personalities and DJs. It streams 24-7 and has a wide variety of shows. Subscribing to Apple Music will grant access to a great many more specialized stations whose music is curated by experts. Past shows are also made available here.

Search:

This tab gives you the ability to search for artists or songs both inside your library or in the larger Apple Music collection. Double-tap the edit field and type in what you want to look for. Note the buttons near the top which let you choose whether to look in your library or the entire Apple Music collection. Flick over the rsults and double-tap on any that interest you. If it's a song or album, you'll be focussed in on that content. Use the "back" button at the top left to get back to the broader search results.

The Now Playing Screen or Mini Player:

This element of the app is crutial to your full enjoyment. While albums or other contents are displayed, the mini player will be available right above the tabs at the bottom. It's easiest to touch the tabs and flick left essentially moving up onto it. There are pause and skip buttons plus the title of the track you're hearing. Flicking left gets you to a place where you double-tap to expand the player. This puts you in the "now playing" screen.

The "Now Playing" screen puts the focus on what you're listening to now. The tabs will be unavailable until you dismiss the "Now Playing" screen. The button to do this is always on the top left. Next, there are next, previous and pause buttons. You'll find a handy volume slider, shuffle and repeat buttons. "Playback destination" lets you switch to other connected speakers, headphones, etc. Great for quickly sharing music if you have a Bluetooth speaker paired and turned on. Any artwork associated with the album or song is displayed. The "More" button is important. It gives access to options to remove, download, or perform other actions like adding the song or album you're hearing directly to a playlist. I use the "more" button often when I want to remove tracks I don't currently want stored on my iPHONE when they come up. This way, they just disappear but are still in my library in the cloud should I ever want them again.

Final Thoughts:

For people on tight budgets wanting a fully accessible way to enjoy music, Apple now offers an extremely compelling option with the Apple Music service. This is even more the case if your iOS device doesn't have much storage space. To take full advantage, you need a good WIFI or cellular data plan. This is vital if you're going to stream your music or listen to the Internet radio stations. Provided you have that, you're good to go. Hard core fans will appreciate the many extras like connection with their favorite artists, curated playlists and collections, etc. You'll never run out of new things to listen to. New albums, playlists and more are added all the time. If you hear something cool while out and about, chances are you can add it to your personal library without paying anything beyond your subscription fee. Another nifty addition has to do with Siri. You can ask Siri to play the top songs of a time period, shuffle the album or playlist, add songs or albums to your library, skip songs, and much more. It's like having your own personal DJ. If you don't recognise a song, you can ask Siri what it is. You can tell Siri to rate songs from 1 to 5, and tell it what you do and don't like. This improves songs selected for you and influences the contents of the "For You" tab.

I've come somewhat late to this music party. There's a lot to explore. I've already grabbed a bunch of albums which have languished on my iTunes wish list awaiting funds. I need not wait anymore. I must confess to still beeling a bit uneasy about renting access to damned near everything rather than acquiring a smaller selection of what I like and outright owning it. However, it's still very early days. Perhaps, in a year's time, that disquiet will go away as I get used to this new paradigm.

However, it's still very early days. Perhaps, in a year's time, that disquiet will go away as I get used to this new paradigm.