The other day I read a hit piece about Apple’s alleged poor security. First and foremost on the list was the alleged hacking of iCloud accounts to acquire stashes of explicit celebrity photos. It didn’t matter that Apple reported that these intrusions weren’t the result of any fault with iCloud, but because Internet criminals got ahold of the usernames and passwords of the entertainers.

I suppose it is difficult for a celebrity to hide their online presence. They will want usernames that are easy to recognize, usually their own names. So you only need to make a good guess about their passwords, and here they need to be strongly advised that such basic choices as “1234” or “password” are non-starters. Apple’s iCloud Keychain can even suggest a secure password that is near-impossible to guess, except by repeated tries.

Apple has also added brute force protection, meaning you can’t just keep guessing before you are locked out, along with two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of protection. So you may be able to figure out the correct password, but the system will also send a keyword via email or to your mobile phone. Of course, if someone has your mobile phone, and you haven’t bricked it using Apple’s Find My iPhone feature, forget about privacy.

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It is certain that Apple seems to be beset with lots of problems these days. While everything appeared to be coming up roses when the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were launched on September 9th at a media event, things sort of went downhill from there. Even the live stream of that event had a shaky start, with fits and drops and, for a time, a Mandarin Chinese translation almost overwhelming the English language feed.

All right flooded servers no doubt revealed more interest in the goings on than Apple might have anticipated. That was a good thing.

No so good was the lurid tale that some celebrities had their iCloud accounts compromised, thus resulting in the leak of explicit photos. Now it turns it this wasn’t an iCloud problem, but a problem involving famous people not securing their online accounts with strong passwords, and I won’t get into the wisdom of storing revealing photos in the cloud.

The next story was all about a rock and roll album from U2 that Apple distributed free. It doesn’t matter that Apple paid an estimated $100 million for a marketing campaign that included a healthy paycheck for the Bono and his colleagues. That the download suddenly appeared in 500 million iTunes accounts was allegedly a huge imposition on one’s privacy. I suppose it was an issue if the accounts were compromised, but they weren’t. I suppose you have to be concerned about folks who set their iTunes accounts to automatically download new material, thus resulting in filling their Macs, iPhones and iPads with unwanted musical tracks.

In fact, Apple had to release a tool to allow you to remove the album, “Songs of Innocence,” from your account. But it was just as easy to ignore it, or delete the download if you didn’t want it. No harm done. So Apple continues to run the TV campaign.

Segue to the release if iOS 8, which flooded Apple’s servers. It took me hours to upgrade two iPhones and an iPad on a 50 megabit Internet hookup. Not pleasant, but not a critical problem. Unfortunately, even when download speeds returned to normal, the upgrade was difficult for those who had gear without a lot of free space. The download was roughly 1.1GB, but if you did an in-device upgrade, it needed several more gigabytes with which to process the installer file. Things would return to normal after the installation and housecleaning, but if you didn’t have enough space, you had to do the update with iTunes on your Mac or PC.

As I write this article, about half the iOS user base has upgraded to iOS 8, and the actual figures depend on which analytical tool you use. But it will probably never hit the estimated 91% level of iOS 7, because support for the iPhone 4 was dropped. If you have an iPhone 4s, you may find that the performance tradeoffs aren’t worth the bother, but nothing forces you to upgrade.

However, the 8.0.1 update caught Apple flatfooted. It worked well enough, except on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, where caused a heap of trouble. Suddenly the carrier connection was lost and Touch ID was deactivated. Apple took the hint and withdrew the update a little over an hour after release, although an estimated 40,000 iPhones were impacted. Apple apologized and posted instructions on how to revert to iOS 8. The next day, iOS 8.0.2 was released, and it appears most problems have been resolved, though there are still various and sundry iOS 8 bugs left to be addressed. Did I mention the occasional crashes in Apple Mail?

Until the 8.0.2 update appeared, HealthKit didn’t work, and now health-related apps have begun to appear. The highly-touted Continuity feature, which integrates iOS and OS X devices, is only partly functional. We have to await the release of OS X Yosemite, which is expected later this month. Still, Handoff, which lets you start or pick up, say, an email and move to another device to continue, won’t support all Macs. You need a 2011 or later model that includes hardware for Bluetooth LE.

Sure, developers and regular beta testers are already downloading a GM Candidate of OS X Yosemite, with the hint more fixes are necessary before the final release is out. Some suggest it’ll go live the third week of October, but we’ll see.

Just for the record, I think the BendGate issue, that an iPhone 6 Plus was extremely vulnerable to bending when placed in your pocket, was bogus. So while it may have made a certain YouTube channel richer by attracting millions of downloads, it was otherwise a non-issue. An iPhone 6 Plus is acceptably durable based on all the bend and drop tests I’ve seen.

Still columnist Kirk McElhearn is now suggesting, in his Kirksville blog, that maybe Apple is trying to do too much too fast. Annual OS upgrades for Macs and iOS gear, not to mention new hardware and new services, is just overwhelming the company.

There’s a lot of merit to what Kirk says, and we’ll be talking more about it on this weekend’s episode of The Tech Night Owl LIVE. My feeling is that Apple is, in part, responding to the endless media and analyst complaints that there isn’t much real innovation since Steve Jobs died. The stock price has been pressured, and the attacks are endless and sometimes furious. So maybe Tim Cook wanted to show ’em all and thus overcompensated. There are always defects in new Apple software and hardware that require quick fixes. But maybe Apple needs to enhance quality control, or just slow down.

The critics will just have to wait!

Windows 8 is the operating system that nobody asked for, except for Microsoft executives who believed that the failed interface used on the Zune and Windows Phone must be brought over to a traditional PC environment. Even tech pundits who were inclined to favor Microsoft above logic were skeptical. After the release of Windows 8 in 2012, the most popular third-party utilities included ways to restore a usable Start menu.

In other words, Microsoft ditched the traditional Windows interface, except in a less functional desktop layer, without offering anything that made you more productive. It was just different, and I suppose some might praise Microsoft’s gutsy move to overhaul an extremely successful product. The intention was to embrace the move to mobile computing. But few would argue that the changes were for the better.

A Windows 8.1 update fixed some things, and modified the Start menu somewhat, but not in the way that brought back the tried and true design and functions. The enterprise, Microsoft’s most lucrative customers, stayed with Windows XP or went to Windows 7.

For months there were rumors of a Windows Threshold or a Windows 9 that would scale back the worst ills of Windows 8, and restore some of the functionality of Windows 7.

Calling the new version Windows 10 is very much a marketing ploy. Rather than jump one version number, they are jumping two version numbers to pretend that Windows 10 represents a huge sea change, but it comes across more as a version 7.5 with remnants of Windows 8’s tiled interface.

So the most important feature is the return of the Start menu with added customization capabilities. This will allow you to add your favorite apps, contacts and sites. But it’s still just an update to the traditional Start menu with a few flourishes.

Yet another feature is allowing Windows Store apps, sporting the interface formerly known as Metro, to run in a normal app window, with the ability to move and resize, along with standard title bars. As I said, Windows 7.5.

Other key features are about better window management, such as snapping them to the corners of the screen, and the ability to set up multiple desktops. The latter feature, and the Task view function, are similar to what you’ve been able to do in OS X for several years, so it’s Microsoft playing catch up again.

Windows 10 will somehow be unified so there will be versions that work on tablets and smartphones. But that brings you back to the fundamental flaw of Windows 8 — designed for both Intel and ARM processors — which is that mobile gear and traditional PCs aren’t meant to interact with users in the same way. This is particularly true if you have a PC without a touchscreen, and it’s also clear that the more expensive convertible Windows note-books with touchscreens haven’t been barn burners in the marketplace.

I don’t know about you, but it appears there aren’t really that many new features in Windows 10, or at least they haven’t been disclosed. It seems to be all or mostly about the Start menu and window management, so there’s not much to crow about. It’s very possible, despite the numbering, that this is a rush job — or a rush job under Microsoft’s typically inefficient development process — to cure some of the key ills of Windows 8 and recover lost ground.

It appears as if Microsoft is struggling to address some key objections to Windows 10, and there’s also the promise of enhanced data integrity across platforms, a useful feature if it involves advanced file management and not just another buzzword that implies more than it delivers.

Again, Microsoft is evidently embracing a Windows everywhere philosophy, a scheme that has never been shown to be successful.

True, it’s early in the game for Windows 10. A public beta, or Technical Preview to be precise, was released Wednesday, but the final version isn’t expected to appear until some time in the second half of 2015. Microsoft, however, doesn’t move terribly fast, so don’t expect many ongoing visible changes. Consider that Windows 8 was also available in beta form for quite a while, but the final version wasn’t much different despite all the complaints about Microsoft’s serious missteps.

At this point, with PC sales on the decline, anything Microsoft does to kill the stench of Windows 8 would be an improvement. Whether businesses who refused to embrace Windows 8 will suddenly adopt its successor is a huge question mark. I expect most companies would rather wait to see if there are serious bugs or upgrading glitches before taking the plunge. IT departments are typically conservative about such things, which is why many still haven’t embraced Windows 7.

To make things all the more confusing, Microsoft is promising to rollout updates to Windows 10 in small pieces, rather than issue a large reference upgrade every couple of years. That might benefit consumers who’d like to be able to take advantage of new features right away. But businesses don’t want change for change sake. Having to constantly test minor updates will simply slow adoption of Windows 10.

There have also been published reports that Microsoft might make it free, or free to some people, such as those using Windows XP or even Windows 8. But if Microsoft is killing the golden goose, a key source of profits, how does that impact the company’s bottom line at a time when thousands of employees are being fired?

I’ll have more to say once I’ve had a chance to put the public beta though its paces to see if my initial concerns can be answered.

Today’s iPhone lineup, for the very first time, includes three display sizes. You have the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, commonly called a phablet, plus last year’s 4-inch iPhone 5s. Right now, the smallest version is, as in past years, two older models sold at a discount, or free with a typical two-year wireless contact for the iPhone 5c.

This year, however, there is reason to give last year’s iPhone 5s a much higher priority. Sure, the newest models are somewhat faster, and don’t forget the NFC chip for Apple Pay support. But most people won’t see the performance differences, and not everyone wants a large display. You give up convenience in exchange for big and bigger.

In fact, some people are wondering whether to upgrade to the latest and greatest or stick with a smaller iPhone. One of my friends, columnist Kirk McElhearn, publicly wondered whether the iPhone 6 suited his particular needs, and decided it didn’t, so he’s returning it and switching back to his iPhone 5s. I suspect he’s not alone.

So we have Apple introducing larger iPhones very much because the market has moved in that direction. One key selling point of the original iPhones was that you could do many functions with just one hand. When you start making a handset larger, it’s clumsier to handle, and the iPhone 6 Plus is mostly a two-handed device for many users and awkward for making phone calls. Apple is compromising here to cater to changed customer needs.

This usability question isn’t easily answered, and it probably requires a customer trying out different models to see which they favor. Surely if they are switching over from Android, and are accustomed to handsets of around five inches give or take a few tenths, the answers are fairly obvious. Go with one of the new iPhone 6 models.

For those of you used to the smaller iPhone, the decision is more difficult. Everything has its trade-offs. But if you’re in no position to travel to a store to try one out for yourself, Apple’s 14-day return warranty might be sufficient for you to take a chance. That’s what Kirk depended on as he used his iPhone 6 for a few days.

Of course, buying something, activating it and returning it can leave you without a phone for a few days if you don’t do it directly at the store. I understand that.

During the brief time I had an iPhone 6, I did consider what move I’d make. The iPhone 5s is in great condition, and everything works perfectly. The performance differences are mostly slight. Having the larger display makes for more accurate typing for me at least, and the iPhone 6 also has a brighter picture that is easier to read in bright sunlight. That, by the way, has been the achilles heel of recent Samsung smartphones equipped with AMOLED displays, only reviewers rarely mention that inconvenient truth.

That’s the positive.

The huge negative is that the iPhone 6 fits far more snugly in my pants pockets. I don’t wear super tight jeans, just normal fit, but still it gave me cause for concern. But I am probably overreacting, because I had plastic Samsung handsets in those same pockets for a number of months last year. Both were equipped with standard bumper cases, and they didn’t sustain any damage. I don’t expect an iPhone to have any problems.

Understand I would not consider ever putting a smartphone in my back pocket, whether sitting or otherwise. I think that’s a preposterous location, and it also makes the job of pickpockets easier. I keep a wallet in my side pockets too. But I do not believe that an iPhone 6 is unusually prone to bending, and it’s clear Apple’s testing process and the test results from Consumer Reports — no friend of Apple’s — indicate good durability.

Of course, the proof will be in the sales reports. If initial iPhone 6 sales continue at a high clip, Apple’s decision will be vindicated. But sales of the iPhone 5s will count for a lot as well, not just because it’s cheaper. If enough customers clearly demonstrate a strong preference for smaller iPhones, Apple will probably want to consider having three new models for next year, since the iPhone 5s will become the free model.

That’s just a suggestion, and I realize Apple won’t listen to me. But they should listen to Kirk McElhearn and others who have demonstrated clear concerns about the usefulness of the larger iPhones, despite the feature advantages. Apple sells multiple models of Macs to serve different needs as well. You can talk about customer confusion, but this trio represents a sensible distinct lineup that will give customers a reasonable choice without causing confusion. Indeed, I doubt that most Samsung sales executives can explain, without a cheat sheet, the differences among all those Galaxy smartphones. If Apple sticks with three, there shouldn’t be much confusion. iPhone 6 Mini anyone?