iOS8揭秘：家庭共享新功能拯救老爸

    我女儿走过来，用一种让老爸招架不住的眼神望着我问：“爸爸，我有一款游戏想装在iPad上。能帮我买吗？”

    “把游戏名称告诉我，我一会儿看看，”我答道。

    我努力记下了这款应用的名字，这样晚些时候我才能如约查看。但10分钟后，我把游戏名字忘得一干二净。女儿这次提的请求结果和她平日里成千上万次问我的其他事一样，都被忘光了。（但说实话，我是一个好父亲。）

    第二天她问：“爸爸，那个游戏你看过了吗？现在能把它装到我的iPad上吗？”

    “对不起宝贝，我忘了。那个游戏叫什么名字来着？”

    这种事反复发生了好几次，搞得我们都很沮丧。女儿对于我没去理会她的应用很生气，而我对她的问个没完也受不了了。

    最终的结果是，我终于坐到她身旁，用她的iPad查看那款游戏。游戏看起来没什么问题，可以下载。这意味着我必须在她的设备上使用我的苹果账号。如果我不在家，她将不得不等我回来才能登录账户。（我应该声明一下，她妈妈并不愿沾手这种事。）

    可想而知，这种事情时有发生。这让一个被过度工作压榨的一心多用的父亲想到：总该有一种更好的方法来为应用购买授权。我没法总呆在女儿的身旁，但是话说回来，这些都是可互联的设备，而且解决这一问题并不需要什么高深技术。

    一项解决方案有可能在今天秋季面世，苹果公司（Apple）将开始在其新版的iPhone、iPad和iPod上使用iOS 8系统。这一新的移动操作系统中有一项名为“家庭共享”（Family Sharing）的功能，专为厌烦共享苹果账号的人群设计。该功能此前于6月份在旧金山召开的全球开发者大会（Worldwide Developers Conference）上首次亮相。

    我恨不得马上开始使用这一功能。借助iOS 8操作系统，人们只需在多个苹果账号上共享支付信息便可通过任一账号进行购买，因此家庭无需使用特定的一个苹果账号来登录iTunes进行购买，也不必为了使用iCloud服务而对不同的个人苹果账号进行管理。最多可以关联6个账号，这意味着我所有家人都能够随心所欲地下载应用，然后由老爸来掏腰包。

    这意味着我无需在家里的每一台iOS设备上输入我的个人苹果账号和密码，然后登录iTunes。这也意味着我太太和女儿可以使用自己的账号和密码来登录各自的设备。这还意味着苹果客服将不再收到来自于恐慌丈夫的邮件，质问为什么他老婆在手机上收到了他所有的iMessage对话。

    My daughter approaches me with those eyes to which only a father can fall victim and asks, “Dad, I found a game I want for my iPad. Can I get it?”

    “Give me the name and I’ll look at it,” I reply.

    I try to memorize the name of the app so I can follow through on my promised research. Ten minutes later, I’ve all but forgotten the name and the request is nothing more than one of a thousand questions asked by my kids on a daily basis—all of which are forgotten. (I’m a good dad, honest.)

    The next day she asks, “Dad, did you look at that game? Can you put it on my iPad now?”

    “Sorry sweetie, I forgot. What was the name again?”

    This dance is repeated several times. Frustration builds on both sides of the purchase equation. She is annoyed that I haven’t actually read up on the app. I’m irked that she keeps asking.

    Eventually I end up reviewing the game on her iPad with her sitting next to me. It looks fine; she can download it. Which means I have to sign in using my Apple ID on her device. If I weren’t home, she would have to wait for me to get back to go through the sign-in process. (Her mother, I should note, wants no part of this.)

    As you can imagine, this situation happens relatively frequently. Which leaves this overworked and distracted father thinking: There’s got to be a better way to approve app purchases. I’m not always around, but come on! These are connected devices we’re talking about. Fairly simple technology can solve this.

    A solution is likely to arrive this fall, when Apple begins to make iOS 8 available on new versions of its iPhone, iPad, and iPod. In the new version of its mobile operating system is a feature called Family Sharing, intended for groups of people who are tired of sharing Apple IDs and first announced in June during its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

    I can’t wait to start using it. Instead of forcing a family to use one Apple ID for iTunes purchases yet manage separate personal Apple IDs for iCloud services, people with iOS 8 installed on their devices need only share the same payment information across multiple Apple IDs in order to share purchases from each account. Up to six accounts can be linked, which means my entire family can download apps at will and have Dad foot the bill.

    Which means I no longer have to sign into iTunes on every iOS device in my house using my personal Apple ID and password. Which means my wife and daughter will both sign into their respective devices using their own usernames and passwords. Which means Apple customer service will stop receiving emails from a panicked husband asking why his wife is receiving all of his iMessage conversations on her iPhone.