iPhone VIP Security App

I’ve started using the free Verisign VIP security token application on my iPhone and I’m impressed. Once set up, your online retail accounts (including eBay and Paypal) will send a token number to your iPhone or iPod touch. This becomes an additional gate to the transaction and changes within minutes. It adds an extra step, but if someone gets your Paypal ID and password they are out of luck.

Apple Products in Business

This week the Macalope dishes out a beating to the PC World weenies for their article about how the Apple tablet is bad for business even though nobody knows what it does, how it works, or whether it even exists. (The best word in the entire post, “Nostradumbass”.) I, frankly, am fine with this anti-Apple bias in the business place. The more people continue to ignore Apple technology, the more I will kick their teeth in with it at the courthouse.

Home Screens - Chuck Joiner

Chuck Joiner is one of the most insightful and well respected commentators in the Mac community. Chuck produces several podcasts but his flagship podcast is “Mac Voices” where he interviews distinguished Mac developers and writers. I always enjoy Chuck’s podcasts and couldn’t wait to find out what is on his home screen. I am, however, going to need to talk to Chuck about that inbox.

So Chuck, what is on your home screen?

I’m still carrying quite a few of the iPhone’s default apps because I really do use them, though a few slots have been taken over by things I find more useful or better.

Tripod - There are plenty of great camera apps out there, but Tripod solves a problem for me. I never seem to hold the camera still when I shoot. Using the iPhone’s accelerometer, Tripod waits until the camera is still (after the shutter has been tapped) and then takes the photo.

If you’re trying to catch something fast, it isn’t the best option, but if you’re doing pictures of people or more static shots, this will all but guarantee you a sharp photo. You’ll also find out just how steady your hand is by watching the real-time equalizer.

WeatherBug Elite is the best weather app I’ve found, mainly because of the animated radar maps that are of a reasonable scale right at launch.

Google Reader - Yeah, I know, very old school. I’ve played with plenty of newsreaders, and while NetNewsWire lives on the second screen, I still find just using Google Reader’s web site convenient and easy. Who says iPhone-specific web sites are a bad thing?

Favorater - A speed-dial app that provides one-touch dialing via photos. Assign a button a contact from your Address Book; it will put the photo on a button and allow you to designate up to three numbers for the button. Just single, double or triple tap to dial the indicated number. Great for frequently called phone numbers, and easier to read than the native iPhone app.

Pandora Radio - Who doesn’t have Pandora on their home screen? One-touch access to music you like from your Pandora account. As close to instant music gratification as you can get.

AT&T Mark The Spot - This has been on my iPhone since it came out, since I was experiencing an alarming number of dropped calls. Some feel this was a useless app, others thought it was a reasonable attempt by AT&T to gather information on their service challenges. Either way, it made me feel better to use it whenever I had a problem. And use it I did. There were days I hopped up and down on it like a jackrabbit. In the last couple weeks, I’ve hardly had to invoke it at all. Whether it made a difference or not, at least it made me feel better punching the “Dropped Call” button. Consider it a therapy app at the very least.

Dragon Dictation - One of those apps that you use to show off the capabilities of your iPhone, Dragon Dictation lets you dictate a short note, and then email, text or copy it to the clipboard. It works amazingly well, and even handles proper names, though the controversy continues to rage over the app’s uploading of your contact list to help accomplish the latter. Why type when you can talk?

WSJ (The Wall Street Journal) - Even if newspapers are on the down slope, The Wall Street Journal is still a must-read for anyone in business. This app gives you free access to much of the content (including the Op/Ed pieces) for free, although the in-app ads are a bit overdone.

Tweetie 2 - The space for a Twitter client on my home screen keeps changing, but is currently occupied by Tweetie 2. A nice, full-featured app that lets me get to what I want on Twitter, though I really like the sync options of TweetDeck with its desktop sister app.

What is your favorite app?

The one that solves whatever problem/need/desire I have at the moment.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

I’d have to say the iPod video functionality is as close as I get to a guilty pleasure, since I usually have a favorite movie or TV show tucked in there somewhere in case all else fails and I have some extra time on my hands. Right now, that’s the Good Eats 10th Anniversary show, converted over from my TiVo.

How many screens full of apps do you have?

Nine…and I’m trying to cut down.

What is the app you are still missing?

A pay-as-you-go tethering app. Is that really too much to ask for?

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPod touch?

I couldn’t even count. Even if I’m in the office, it is on the desk beside my MacBook Pro.

• What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPod touch?*

The ability to have access to information anywhere, anytime. It magnifies your ability to be productive to an amazing degree. When the rumors started circulating that Apple was working on a phone, none of us had any idea just how much this device would affect us.

If you were Steve Jobs, what would you add to the iPhone?

The option to control apps running in the background. I understand the reasons this hasn’t happened, but would like to have the option to run some things simultaneously, even at the cost of battery life.

Thanks Chuck!

New Information Manager - Thoughts

Green & Slimy Software just released an interesting information manager app with a notebook paradigm called “Thoughts.” It includes advanced text formatting, images, tables, and export to RTF and Microsoft Word. It sells for 24 Euros and is worth checking out.

OmniFocus iPhone 1.6

The new version of OmniFocus for the iPhone has been out a few weeks now and it is a big improvement over prior versions. The Omni Group is getting very efficient at syncing large databases over 3g and WiFi networks. The increased syncing speed makes it really easy to access, update, and use your task list anywhere.

Tablet Musings

Two years ago, in a fit of pre-Macworld euphoria, I posted a short article explaining my history with tablet computers and my desire for Apple to bring its own special touch to the form factor. At the time, the idea of an iTablet was no more than wishful thinking. It appears, however, that my wish may be coming true. So what is there to add to this discussion where so many pixels have already been sacrificed? To start, it is a good idea to look at those those articles I’ve found most insightful.

• Gruber
• Siracusa
• Ihnatko

While all three of the above articles have different takes on where this new device will go, they also have a common threads: the device is going to err on the side of simplicity over complexity. For instance, a user interface that more closely resembling an iPhone over that of a Mac. Likewise most agree the operating system will be more focused on the needs of a touch based tablet as opposed to the load anything, run anything operating system of the last generation of Windows tablets. This is most certainly the right direction.

My Tablet Experience

I used a tablet PC as my primary machine for about 18 months starting in 2003. This experience gave me some insight about what worked and what didn’t.

There really is nothing more natural than holding a screen in your arm and using a pen (or better yet finger) to manipulate the UI. It felt much more natural than a mouse when it worked. I do a great deal of reading. Doing my reading on the tablet almost made that experience easier. The hardware limitations got in the way but when the stars aligned and I was able to reference web content, saved research, and other assets with the stylus, it was quite liberating.

Interestingly, my favorite app on the PC tablet was Microsoft’s OneNote. This was the one application that was built with the idea of pen computing in mind and it felt like it. Sure it had some issues but taking notes with the pen generally worked. Furthermore, digital annotation of PDF files was painless. I think Microsoft had the right idea with this app but didn’t take it to its logical conclusion. They should have forked Windows and made a tablet operating system with tablet apps. If the full experience was like that of OneNote, Microsoft’s tablet push may have taken hold.

The biggest problem with the Tablet PC was hardware. It was heavy, large, slow to boot, ran extremely hot on my lap, and the battery life was dreadful. Put simply, it did everything to discourage me from taking it out of my bag except zap me with 120 volts every time I touched it.

So Apple is probably cooking up its own tablet. Presumably it will have a sleek design that incorporates a custom UI, instant on, and otherwise cure most of the sins that led me to ultimately ditch my last tablet computer. This still leads to the question, however, of “why?” What is the compelling reason to use a tablet when we already have incredibly powerful laptops and equally handy pocket computers in our phones. Even though Apple has never even acknowledged the tablet project, PC World has already determined it would be useless for business. I disagree.

How Does It Fit?

A lot of people are asking what they would do with a tablet. I’m sure Apple has an explanation or they wouldn’t release a product. Apple enters markets with a sniper rifle, not a bazooka. As a former tablet user, I have some ideas how I would use such a device.

Reading/Research

I’ve been using a first generation Kindle for some time and come to rely upon it. While I initially made fun of the technology, the ability to carry professional journals, reference materials, Instapaper articles, and fiction anywhere is wonderful. Using an Apple Tablet, I’d be able to duplicate that functionality and combine it with a working browser, which brings everything up a notch.

Also, Don’t underestimate the use of a well executed tablet while working at your real computer. It becomes a second monitor and processor. For instance, I could annotate research on the tablet and refer to that screen while writing about the research on my iMac or MacBook. You could also run social networking apps, like Twitter, on the tablet while working on your Mac or even watch a screencast about software on the tablet while operating the software on the Mac.

Sharing

Much of my daily routine involves sharing information with others, be it in the form of PDF’s, timelines, diagrams, or Keynote slides. Being able to do this on a tablet would be extremely convenient and natural in small meetings.

Organization

Much of my routine involves data management in applications like OmniFocus, Bento, OmniOutliner, and my PDF viewer. I don’t need a keyboard with these apps so much as I need quick access to reference materials and the ability to make adjustments. The ability to access this data without sitting down to a laptop would be great.

Surfing

While you certainly don’t need a tablet to review RSS feeds and web surf, it sure would be handy if the UI is done right.

Entertainment

I’ve never watched many movies on the iPhone because the screen is too small. This is even more true for educational video podcasts. That problem disappears entirely with a 10” screen. Moreover, the tablet could be a fantastic gaming machine. Playing chess on a larger screen strikes me as a much more pleasurable experience than on an iPhond. I’m sure that would be equally true for any of the tower defense and action titles that would immediately flood any Apple tablet App Store.

Writing

Writing on a tablet seems to be the biggest challenge. This will entirely depend on Apple’s implementation. I think it will be difficult to have any system match my typing speed unless the device works with a bluetooth keyboard. I’ve been wanting one of those on the iPhone since it launched and I’m not holding my breath. I will note, however, that since most iPhone apps now work in landscape mode, I’ve found my typing accuracy and speed on it to have substantially improved. Regardless, we’ll have to wait until the 27th on this one.

Editing Documents

While I have some concerns about writing on a tablet, I think it would be ideal for proof reading and editing. I have followed the rumors of a tablet version of iWork with some attention. I think this would be a great platform to make small edits. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on the tablet would be ideal.

The App Store

I expect the Apple tablet to have the same gold-rush onslaught of applications that the iPhone received. I’m sure creative developers will find new ways for me to use the device that I’ve never dreamed of.

One More Revolution

I’m really fortunate. I used PC’s before the Mac and was there to see the way the original Mac fundamentally changed the relationship between humans and their computers. I saw a similar transformation a few years ago with the introduction of the iPhone. I am now very excited to see what Apple does with the tablet form factor. It is, in my opinion, the next revolution and I can not wait to be a part of it.

It Is On.

Apple enthusiasts, pundits, haters, and geeks everywhere are rejoicing. Today Apple sent out notices for a January 27 event to "see our latest creation." Silly season for tablet rumors is now in full swing. I've got my own tablet musings nearly done and will be posting them in the next few days.

Scrivener and Dropbox

Dropbox is acknowledging a problem with syncing metadata heavy files like those in Scrivener. I've been syncing Scrivener files over Dropbox for sometime with no issue. Before, when I used SugarSync, I experienced this problem and it ultimately drove me to Dropbox. Regardless, I am taking new steps to keep local copies of all Scrivener files and encourage you to do so until Dropbox sorts this out.

Mac Power Users - DNS and Macworld

 

The most recent episode of the Mac Power Users is now up. In it we interview George Starcher and discuss the relative benefits of the OpenDNS and Google DNS services. We also interview Paul Kent as my Macworld giddiness starts to kick into high gear.

Macworld Numbers Lab

 

There is still room in my Macworld Numbers lab scheduled for February 9 at 10:00 a.m. The session is going to explore iWork's Numbers by focussing on relevant spreadsheets related to the mythical Area 51 Tin Foil Hat Club. We'll be tracking things like abductions and tin foil hat sales, having a few laughs, and learning Numbers along the way. Also, you can get a discount for any Macworld session using the coupon code "DSPARKS".