iPhone OmniFocus: It Lives!

I was very pleased to see the blogosphere light up with news of OmniFocus for the iPhone. This is the one iPhone application I've been lusting after since ... well ... since the first OmniFocus beta. I've reported on it before and begged for it at MacWorld. Now it appears the folks at Omni have come through with a great looking application. Merlin Mann covered it here.

One feature I never would have guessed is location awareness. I *think* this means that I can open my "Grocery List" context and it will tell me where the nearest grocery store is. There simply isn't enough information out yet to know more detail than that.

On the Omni blog, it is confirmed to run fine on 2g or 3g iPhones and the iPod touch. There is no official word yet on whether it will be a separate license (my guess is it will). Between push calendar and OmniFocus, my iPhone just became even more indispensable. If Omni now announces they also have OmniOutliner for the iPhone in the works, my head just might explode.

3G iPhone Thoughts

This fancy new gadget has already been dissected in the blogosphere but being the narcissist that I am (along with the fact I am too tired to organize my thoughts on MobileMe), I thought I'd add my two cents on the 3G iPhone.

The Look

I'm not particularly excited about them dropping the aluminum back. I suspect this has something to do the the 3g and GPS antennas but plastic is, in my mind, cheaper. I took a look at the plastic on the back of my iPhone and it actually has held up quite well (I don't use a case). Hopefully they use something of similar quality on the 3G phone. I'm glad they are making a black phone, ambivalent about the white and regret they aren't doing a few more colors. I'm sure that will happen eventually.

The Speed

What is not to like about faster? I still think John Gruber has it right and there will be a processor bottleneck at some point. I also am very curious to see the real world battery tests. It will be interesting to see how they compare to Apple's initial reports.

GPS

I still really like my Garmin NUVI. I am not that excited about GPS in my phone because I've never seen it work any good. This feature may be more important as developers incorporate it into new software. Perhaps then I'll feel a need for it but in terms of finding my way around, I am not getting rid of my Garmin anytime soon.

The Memory

I was really hoping for a 32 gig machine. With all this great new software coming out, storage will be more important than ever. That being said, using smart playlists I still have plenty of room on my 8 gig phone.

The Price

Apple is going to grab a ton of market share with that price point. Price is a large part of the focus in this upgrade. It was not about making the camera better or adding video. It is about getting 3G and lowering the price enough to grab market share. However, The lower price point may not be as rosy as it initially appears. AT&T is, according to some reports, subsidizing that price to get it so low. That means you will end up paying more on the back end for your contract. Reports are already surfacing confirming this.

So all of the above being considered, I am not certain that I will be upgrading immediately. I'm not going to say I won't because I get sucked into the Apple product launches like like the pre-Subway Jarod into an all-you-can eat buffet. That being said, it is not a "sure thing" for me. It may make sense to wait until they get a bit more memory. Oddly (or perhaps not so oddly) my daughter is pushing hard why I should get one and "deserve" a new phone. Think that has anything to do with her thoughts about getting the old one? Perhaps a little bit.

Snow Leopard and Eating Crow

Some famous errors..

"This should be no problem .. we won't need any reinforcements .. where are my medals?"
- George Armstrong Custer

"A little sip wont kill me."
- Socrates

"I think it would be really odd for them[Apple] to release a new OS without having some sexy new feature to brag about."
- MacSparky

Well, nobody is perfect. So just a few days ago I wrote how certain I was that Apple wouldn't update Leopard without adding some new features to tempt consumers. Now Apple announces that is exactly what they plan on doing. (To all the readers who emailed me today about me getting this wrong ... thanks a lot - smirk.) I am okay with that. All geeks are. We really get excited about things like processor speed and system efficiency. I still think Apple is going to have its work cut out for it though. The non-geek Mac users (and there are quite a few of those) are going to wonder why they should be shelling out for something that doesn't have any fancy bells or whistles.

Think about it. An upgrade just for geeks. You could chart it against something like "people with iStat menus installed" or "people who have opened terminal intentionally" and you would know exactly who will be bringing the Snow Leopard home.*

Well even though I am admitting I was wrong on this one, I still think Apple marketing will spin this as more than simply "security and stability" fixes. Indeed, the campaign has already begun. According to Apple, Snow Leopard is already listed as a "Quantum Leap" with built in Exchange support, 64 bit bells and whistles and a brand new Quicktime -- and that is just after the first day. By a year from now the list will grow. I'm still pining away for a ZFS file system.

If the world has learned anything from Vista, it is that we don't need our operating system to cure all sins, it just needs to be rock solid for our applications. I "get" where Apple is coming from on this and am looking forward to see what happens next.


* Another question in my mind is "will Snow Leopard be 10.6?" I didn't read about anyone at Apple calling Snow Leopard 10.6. The Apple website just refers to it as the "next major version" but never calls it 10.6. Maybe they will have a reduced price and give it a different number ... 10.5.?. That would be an interesting turn of events indeed.

Haiku to Bluetooth Keyboard

I know I've beaten this drum before but I figured with less than 24 hours until WWDC I would voice my wish for bluetooth keyboard support on the iPhone just one more time. My medium for this appeal is haiku:

Oh Bluetooth Keyboard
On the iPhone we desire
Does Apple permit?

The Case Against the iTablet at WWDC 2008

I've written before about my hopes for an iTablet. I've received several emails from readers asking my opinion as to whether or not I expect to see the fabled device on Monday. I know Apple is unpredictable, but I'm thinking about snowballs in very hot places when I say, "no."

I believe there is such a product in development but I don't see it making its public debut at the developer's conveference. There are a few reasons for this:

1. It is a "Developer's conference"

This is the event for the code jockies. This is where the people who make their living making Apple software get help and a peek at things to come. This is not a consumer event. If there is an iTablet cooking, release at MacWorld makes much more sense than WWDC.

2. The time is not right for an iTablet

Apple has made huge strides towards the mobile platform with the iPhone and iPod touch. Still, they are are just getting out of the gate. I don't see them giving the iPhone programmers an entirely new platform right out of the gate. Also, Apple needs to get all our money for those fancy new 3g iPhones* before they start tempting us with the iTablet. Part of the magic of Apple is the very careful way in which they build the consumer experience. I think they have a very clear idea of what products they will release and when they release them. And, in my guts, it just doesn't seem time for the iTablet, yet.

So I'd love to be wrong but I just don't see the iTablet making its appearance until later, maybe MacWorld 2009.

*Although this probably merits a separate post, I'm also a bit skeptical about WWDC being focused on the 3g iPhone. I could see them talking plenty about the new software and virtually ignoring new hardware. The new iPhone could easily get its own event.so it

Timeline 3d Review

It wasn’t so long ago that I reviewed Bee Docs’ Timeline application. In case you didn’t catch that review, it followed my general survey of OS X timeline applications and I found it the winner for the ease of use and the outstanding final product. I still use it often in my day job to great result.

Timeline is the brain child of Adam Behrenger. I have to admit I love using software developed by small companies like Adam’s. As a user, I know my comments and suggestions are going directly to the guys writing the code. As a result, the software seems tighter and you can feel the sense of pride in the final product that you often don’t get with software designed by committee.

As an example of this, Bee Docs has recently released Timeline 3d. The big difference with this new version is 3d presentation. A universal problem with using timelines is that you either have to dumb it down to a minimum number of events, or it gets too crowded and difficult to read. This is especially true when rendering in two dimensions. Adam came up with a way to take your timeline to 3 dimensions by virtually tilting it on your screen.

Once you drop your timeline into presentation mode you can press the spacebar that essentially tilts the timeline at an angle in a perspective view. You can then see much further down the page. It all looks very impressive, like something right out of CNN. You can then manually move forward or backward down the timeline and it advances the page and three dimensionally pops out the current event of focus.

These very advanced effects are stunning. Just a few years ago, this would have required some serious programming mojo. Using Timeline 3d, you just press the space bar.

Timeline 3D also will export your timeline to Keynote. It doesn’t draw out the animations but does allow you to snap between each step in your three dimensional timeline. I haven’t had an opportunity use this in the trenches yet but I’m thinking I’ll probably just leave the timeline active in Timeline 3D and command tab to it from Keynote when necessary. I like the more fluid transition and the ability to easily go backward and forward.

Timeline 3D can be found at beedocuments.com and is sold as a separate product from the standard Timeline application. You can download a trial and, if you have use for this sort of thing, I strongly recommend you give it a try. The standard edition costs $40 while the 3D version costs $65. There also is an excellent video at the BeeDocs website explaining how he came up with the idea for Timeline 3D on the Beedocs blog.

Return of Humpty Dumpty

Every year, about early June, I volunteer at the local elementary school where I give a presentation about how laws are made and the role of the courts and lawyers. This all started when my oldest daughter was in fifth grade and the teachers keep asking me to come back. I love it. It is so fun going over these topics with the kids and they ask such good questions. Once I finish my dog and pony show, the kids have their own mini-trial where they all play roles like the judge, attorneys, witnesses and jury. The trial is about Humpty Dumpty. We all know he fell, but why? Was it an accident? Or was it Murder! The kids conduct their own trial and the jury returns a verdict.

In terms of Mac geekery, the presentation is built in keynote and presented off my MacBook Air into the school's projector. I use all sorts of flashy word effects and transitions. It is much more glitzy than my normal jury presentations. I think all the motion seems to keep the kids interested. I seem to have lost my third-party remote since my last trial so I had to use an Apple remote which worked fine.

It really was a blast to do it again this morning. My favorite question was one tiny little girl who asked, "Is it fun to stand up and yell objection?" to which I enthusiastically replied, "Yes!" If any of you would like the trial materials or the Keynote presentation for the fifth graders in your life, drop me a note. I even have a quicktime clickable version for those of you stuck with Windows laptops. I've seeded this out to lawyers and teachers all over the country the last few years and love to hear it is getting used.

OS X 10.6?

Today TUAW ran an article speculating that Apple may have 10.6 for us sooner than we all thought. I actually mentioned this a few weeks ago on the the Mac Roundtable episode 40 and it didn't get much traction. Apple used to update OS X much more frequently than the big gap between Tiger and Leopard.

Regardless, what I found most strange about the TUAW speculation is the idea that 10.6 would come out as a "stability and security" update without any big new features. I find that really hard to believe. Apple seems to "get" marketing better than just about any big company out there. I think it would be really odd for them to release a new OS without having some sexy new feature to brag about. I would venture to say that there will not be a release without some nice new features. Perhaps the features will only be incremental but rest assured, Apple hype them up.

While I don't know what Uncle Steve has up his sleeve, I do hope they bring more integration with the growing mobile platform. I'd also like to see Apple embrace ZFS disc technology. What are your ideas for 10.6? Let me know.

.Mac Mail Down and MobileMe Wishes

It is probably no surprise to any regular .Mac IMAP mail users that the service has been down most of the day. Thankfully you can access your .Mac mail account via the web but even that service has been spotty (probably as a result of increased traffic). It has been widely speculated that Apple is about to rebrand .Mac as MobileMe and increase the services available. A week from today is the WWDC Keynote so it sort of makes sense. Could this be the beginning of the MobileMe switch? I sure hope so. Being without my IMAP for a day (at least) is a pain.

Speaking of all the speculation over .Mac, I'm a happy user of the current incarnation. Syncing data between the multiple macs in my life is generally pretty easy (except when .Mac hiccups on me). Likewise the easy web pages and storage are also of use to me. I keep a family website and frequently send large files using my .Mac space as a host with FileChute (which I reviewed here). Finally, "Back to My Mac" has saved my bacon more than once when I left a file at home.

This being said, if someone put me in charge of upgrading .Mac (or MobileMe) would take this farther. Just a few of my flights of fancy:


* Push Sync to the iPhone calendars, addressses, and email. This wish is actually expected by several pundits;

* Build in something like SugarSync. In essence an iDisk that actively updates and works with specific local files on your system;

* Give me something like "Back to My Mac" but accessible from my iPhone. Also put hooks into it so I can control iTunes and TV;

* Make it bigger and cheaper;

* Make it faster ... please!

What are your ideas to beef up .Mac? Sound off in the comments.

Mac Roundtable #41

While recovering from my Flu, I was able to sit in on the most recent Mac Roundtable over the weekend. It is now up for download right here. In this episode Allison Sheridan impressed us all with her stories of rubbing elbows with some of the worlds greatest super nerds. Yes, she even fetched macaroni and cheese with Bill Gates. We also talked about our use of .Mac (in which I seem to be the biggest user), 10.5.3 and a few other things Mac. Check it out.