I participated in the most recent episode of the Mac Roundtable. We were all tired of the iPhone speculation and instead focused the show on email management and some of our favorite software and toys. Somehow I managed to talk about OmniFocus (again) and also discussed my experimentation with Evernote and the Amazon Kindle. I hope it is as enjoyable to listen to as it was to record. You can download it here.
Yesterday I volunteered to help some dear friends (and fellow Mac users) with their wedding slideshow. I did the usual drill with FotoMagico and it looked spectacular. Just for giggles, as I was going out the door I packed my usual bag of goodies I take when doing presentations with my Mac. Thank goodness I did! The video guy didn’t have any cables for the projector and, even worse, the DJ was about 50 feet away from the computer and didn’t have any audio cables.
I pulled out my trusty Audioengine W-1 (reviewed here) and an RCA adapter (also brought by me). Using the W-1, we were able to wirelessly bridge audio to the DJ and the slideshow was saved. I just continue to find uses for those Audioengine W-1s. I think the DJ plans to buy a pair now too.
It wasn’t so long ago that there were no task management applications on the Mac worth a damn. What a difference a few years make! Now there are multiple quality applications from the lightweight Do It! to the 800 pound gorilla, OmniFocus. There are also several web based solutions, like Remember the Milk. I’ve made no mystery of my appreciation of OmniFocus (reviewed here). I know, however, that this Omni love is not universal.
A lot of users feel OmniFocus is just too much for them. Not quite intuitive enough and too ponderous to figure out. The word “bloat” hasn’t been used, but implied. I can appreciate these comments but having used OmniFocus since the alpha, I can’t help but think a lot of these complaints are a result of a lack of familiarity with the program which is, once you figure it out, very scaleable.
One of my favorite Mac writers is TidBITS’ Matt Neuburg who reviewed OmniFocus with several compliments and complaints. Matt has also done a few screencasts explaining his heartburn. This has prompted a response from OmniKing, Ken Case on the Omni blog. While I understand Matt’s criticisms, I think Ken’s response is spot on. OmniFocus just works for me. It is as much a part of my day as green tea and cranky lawyers (not me of course). The idea of OmniFocus Touch in a few weeks has me giddy as a sugar-saturated schoolgirl backstage with Hannah Montana.
I think that Omni’s challenge with OmniFocus is largely getting new users over the initial hump. Omni has a few screencasts but that is not enough. They need to go deeper so new users have an easy way to get running. I realize some users simply don’t need a task management system with the depth of OmniFocus, but for those who do, Omni needs to show the way. After all, reading the manual is so 90’s.
I’ve had a few readers email me following up about my over-air time capsule recovery of my cratered Aperture library (all 34 gigs of it). These emails fall into two general categories:
1. Friendly questions about whether you can actually recover a 34 gigabyte file over the air, and;
2. Indignant outrage at why on earth I would do such a thing. These emails also include questions about whether I have a lick of common sense.
So just to keep the answers simple …
To group #1: Yes, you can. On an “N” network it takes about a day.
To group #2: You are probably right. I could have done it over ethernet cable but I just wanted to see if it was possible without it. Call it, “taking one for the team.”
Everything came back fine and things are happily backed up again not only on the Time Capsule but the SuperDuper external drive too.
I know things have been quiet here the last few days. The day job has been keeping me on my toes. I did appear, however, on this week’s Typical Mac User podcast. I recorded a small bit for Victor following my attendance at a PC software seminar where I got swamped with questions about my shiny Mac. It is a funny couple of minutes (at least it tries to be). If you are interested, head over to the Typical Mac User podcast and check it out.
Somehow I managed to corrupt my Aperture database today. The bad news is I did about 3 hours of photo touch up and rating since my last SuperDuper backup yesterday. The good news is Time Capsule had my back.
Time Capsule is great for recovering typical files like word processing documents or preference files. I had never tried to recover something like a 34Gb Aperture library but there is a first time for everything. Well I can tell you it is not exactly snappy.
That is right … 21 hours. An hour later the estimate was down to 16 hours so maybe it is not as bad as it seems. I could instead connect it directly via ethernet cable but I’ve decided to just let it ride and see how it pans out. If everything goes according to plan it should be restored tomorrow and THEN I’ll make a new SuperDuper backup. So while it is not exactly snappy, large Time Capsule recoveries are possible.
I am fortunate enough to have two Macs. I keep one at home and the other follows me around. To make matters even more confusing, there is a PC box on my desk at the office. My challenge was to figure a way to keep the files synced between these various computers without becoming a slave to a thumb drive. These are the kind of problems that make my little geek heart go pitter-patter, obsessing over making sure everything is in sync rather than doing any actual work.
I tried a variety of ways to solve this problem ranging from thumb drives to iDisk and I wasn’t particularly happy with any of them. My biggest problem with these solutions is the way they add steps to my workflow. I don’t want to have to think about copying and synchronizing files every time I move from one computer to the next. I just want it done. Like Picard in his dome-headed glory, I just want to look at my Mac and say “Make it So.”
So in this quest for syncing Nirvana, I came across SugarSync. SugarSync gives you a local client (either PC or Mac) in which you plug in your account information and tell it what data gets synched. I’ve got big chunks of my documents folder going up along with my OmniFocus datafile, Bento database, and several other items I want to have everywhere that are buried on my hard drive. You then log in on the other computers and tell them what parts you want synched locally (you can also leave them in the cloud). Once that is done, you are good to go. If I make a change to that little text file that keeps my grocery list, it goes up to SugarSync and then back down to my other Synched computers lickity split. This is really convenient when you are busy trying to figure out world peace but can’t stop thinking about making ’smores.
The multi-platform support does not stop with the Mac and PC. They also support the new “third” platform. The iPhone. SugarSync has an excellent iPhone web site that allows you to access all and view most of your files. So when I’m sitting in the market I can pull up the grocery text list. Graham crackers, marshmallows, hershey bars … Check! You can also forward the documents from your iPhone as an email attachments. SugarSync already has Windows Mobile and Blackberry clients and I’m going to assume they’ll prepare a native application for the iPhone but its web interface is already pretty good.
SugarSync also has a photosharing component that will work with your cell phone. I confirmed this does work but I haven’t used it extensively.
Unfortunately, all this syncing goodness comes with a pricetag. There is a monthly fee. The limited number of files I sync easily fit in the 10 GB limit which results in a monthly charge of $2.49. SugarSync has more expensive varieties that scale up to 250 GB for $25 a month. There is also a price in clock cycles. As I sit here writing on my MacBook with 5 applications open, SugarSync is using .3%. Earlier it was at 7% and when it is actually syncing it ramps up higher. I also don’t like the way its icon insists on staying in my dock. This is the kind of application that should stay in the menubar only. Another pestering problem is the inability to remove a machine from your SugarSync list. I had some problems with one of my Macs recently that resulted in it getting several logic boards and eventually replaced. SugarSync treated each of those logic boards as a separate machine and, as a result, I have 3 machines on my SugarSync account that no longer exist. The developer agrees this is a problem and promises to take care of this with an upcoming client. Lets hope that is soon. Another problem with SugarSync is that it doesn’t always play nice with packages like sparse bundles.
You also have to consider the fact your data is going out into the cloud. The developer explains that the transmissions are all done on a secure connection and the data is also kept secure on the SugarSync servers. In terms of stability, I’ve been using it a few months now and not experienced any problems or loss of data. Be warned however there are reports on the web of people losing data. Don’t forget that syncing data through any system without first having a reliable backup is something like parachuting without a parachute.
While SugarSync is doing the job, I think there are going to be several credible competitors in the near future. MobileMe may get it done for its subscribers and I’m currently in the beta for Dropbox which looks very promising and will probably get its own review when it comes out of beta. Dropbox already appears faster than SugaSync although it does not have such a friendly iPhone interface and, in the current form, does not sync folders all over my hard drive. Instead it has its own dedicated folder in which you must keep files. Taking all of this into consideration, I’d recommend the monthly, and not the yearly, SugarSync subscription.
SugarSync has a free 45 day trial and if you are looking for multi-platform syncing bliss, give it a try.
Am I the only one that thinks about MobileMe every time I have to sync my iPhone to add an appointment? It is funny how this works. I’ve been wire syncing contacts and appointments for a year now without really complaining much. However, since Apple demonstrated the MobileMe service last week, I get peeved every time I have to stop and sync by wire. My appointments are constantly in flux and the wireless immediate syncing I saw last week will be very useful. It is like smelling a delicious pizza only to have the box slammed on your finger and you’re told you can’t eat it for another month. Ugg. While Apple said this will release “early July”, I think that means July 11 but I sure hope I’m wrong. The sooner the better. Am I alone on this?
***Adendum
I thought about this more. If MobileMe requires the iPhone 2.0 software to do its sync magic, doesn’t that mean there is no way on God’s green earth this will come out before July 11?
A few weeks ago I was at the Apple Store and witnessed this young woman in tears. She had all of her high school and college pictures on her aging Mac and the drive failed. She didn’t have a backup and while the Apple gang was doing their best to recover it, they weren’t getting very far. I felt terrible for her.
Then just a few days ago the external drive holding our 200 gigs of iTunes music and movies died. The drive (LaCie) was just 18 months old and gave me no warning. Fortunately, I had backed it up just a few weeks ago so we didn’t lose much but these events reminded me just how important it is to make copies of your data. I wrote about my backup plan a while back and the regimen hasn’t changed much. How are you doing on your back ups?
I’ve recently added a new link for a great photography themed blog called “Photography and the Mac“. This site is the brain child of LA Times staff photographer Robert Lachman. Robert has become an e-friend of mine as he helps out at the MacReview cast and my personal photography sensei. What makes Robert’s website particularly RSS worthy is the eclectic mix of articles. Robert seems to take great pictures on anything from the most high end equipment to something simple like a camera phone. He gives common sense photography advice that everyone can use. Head over and check it out.
I’ve been using “Back to My Mac” successfully now for a few months. I find it really convenient when sitting at the office on my MacBook Air and need access to the home computer to grab a missing file or simply run a backup. Because I use an Apple Airport Extreme router, set up was as easy as flipping a switch. If you need “Back to My Mac” and are running into problems, listen to this week’s MacBreak Tech podcast where the gang digs deep and reveals all the secrets to making “Back to My Mac” work.
The last few years a term of art has been floating around the Mac community. You may have heard it. “The Delicious Generation” This phrase comes from a specific application called Delicious Library that released a few years ago and made a lot of people rethink Apple software design. Well recently the folks at Delicious Monster released Delicious Library 2 and it certainly lives up to the high standards set by its predecessor.
So what is this precedent setting software you ask? In essence, it is a home inventory system for your books, CD’s, video games, electronics, tools, toys, and other things precious. I know that doesn’t sound all that exciting but that is what makes Delicious Library 2 so impressive. It does home inventory with panache’. So let me walk you through it.
Loading up Delicious Library 2 there is a little scanning button. With a click , Delicious activates your iSight camera. You can then take your toys (such as a DVD) and hold the UPC code up to your iSight camera. You hear a satisfying “beep” and then Delicious goes and fetches your title from the internet. It reads the name of your DVD and literally pours the contents on a virtual wooden shelf showing a copy of your DVD. It just doesn’t pull down an image and name though, Delicious grabs tons of metadata ranging from actors, dates, reviews, and even points you to other similar titles you may enjoy. That really is all there is to it. When I scanned in Star Wars it told me “I am your father.” I sat my six year old at the Mac with a stack of DVD’s taller than her and she had them all scanned into Delicious Library 2 in about 30 minutes. Child labor laws aside, getting your stuff in Delicious Library 2 is easy. It was no different loading up the video games and books. Before long, I had most of the family library recorded. You can purchase a separate bluetooth hand held scanner that would probably be a bit faster, but I found the iSight scanning to be very convenient.
Not all of your stuff is going to have UPC codes however. For instance, some of my movies started out as DVD cases inside cardboard boxes with UPC codes on them. Well the cardboard boxes are long gone along with the UPC codes so I had nothing to show my iSight camera. Delicious Library has a text entry search that found all of them very quickly and added them into the library. It appears you can catalogue just about anything Amazon sells. Likewise, Delicious Library will grab all of your iTunes library. That is not just the music. It also gets movies, TV programs, and audiobooks.
My library currently only holds about 300 items without breaking a sweat. One of the changes made in Delicious Library 2 is the switch from XML to SQL which should make management of large libraries more efficient.
So by now you are wondering why bother with an application like Delicious Library? There are several practical reasons including things like insurance records and personal inventories but I have to admit I am hooked because it is just fun. I’ve set up smart libraries with different genres of books. I’ve also got them categorized by where they are located which is excellent for someone like me who is easily befuddled. You can manually fill your shelves or use the “Smart Shelves” feature which allows you to set up specific criteria very similar to smart playlists in iTunes.
Delicious also allows you to publish your library to the web or share it with friends. I am working on setting up a shared book library with several of my local friends so get our own informal library running. One of the export options is an iPhone or iPod optimized version so you can put it your library in your pocket. This could come in handy for trips to the bookstore if you have a large library. Another nice feature is you can drag a Delicious Library item on a contact in the OS X address book and it will add a note they they have borrowed an item and add an entry to your iCal. I really wish I had that when I loaned my Indiana Jones DVD collection out a few years ago. Delicious Library will also go onto the Interweb and figure out what all of your stuff is worth (in multiple currencies) and even, if configured, help you sell it through the Amazon store.
You can get a free trial at Delicious Monster. A new license will cost you $40 and an upgrade from version one will cost $20. Delicious Library 2 is one of those applications that I feel in my bones could never exist on a windows box. Even if you are not interested in creating an electronic inventory, download the trial so you can see for yourself how software looks when it is done right.
Apple announced its 2008 design awards. I was pleased to see several of them went to applications I have positively reviewed this year. In particular Screenflow and Timeline 3d. I also noted the OmniFocus iPhone application won an award. I am counting the days until I can download that one.
Best Student Runner Up: Flow
Best Student Winner: Squirrel
Graphics and Media Runner Up: Fotomagico
Graphics and Media Winner: ScreenFlow
Leopard User Experience Runner Up: CheckOut
Leopard User Experience Winner: Macnification
Leopard Game Runner Up: Command and Conquer 3
Leopard Game Winner: Guitar Hero 3
Best Leopard Application Runner Up: TimeLine 3D
Best Leopard Application Winner: ScreenFlow
Best iPhone Web App Runner Up: Associated Press
Best iPhone Web App Winner: Remember the Milk
Best iPhone Game: Enigmo
Best iPhone Entertainment App: AOL Radio
Best iPhone Social Networking: Twitterrific
Best iPhone Productivity App: OmniFocus
Best iPhone Health App: MIM
I wrote about MobileMe back when it was just a rumor. Now that Apple has lifted the veil, I thought I’d take a moment to share my thoughts about the actual product.
This feature makes my life easier. Requiring me to cable sync my iPhone to get calendar and contact data is frustrating. Add to this the fact that I use two different Macs and the resulting increased likelihood of a sync meltdown and you can see why I am very ready for this feature. That being said, I’m pretty hip to these technologies and, frankly, I’ve expected at least this much functionality for some time. For a lot of people this will be revolutionary. Regardless, it is essential.
The ability to have your calendar, contacts, and email at any computer in a familiar interface is fantastic. I think it is intriguing how different the approaches are between Apple and Google. I will probably catch flak for this but I find the screenshots of the Apple Web applications more appealing than Google’s. That probably arises from familiarity but I also think Apple spends more time on design. I’m not sure how useful picture syncing will be and I’ll address the iDisk below.
There are a lot of iPhone users out there that do not own Macs. There are also a lot of Mac Users that sit behind a windows box at work. This is a necessary and welcome addition. I also wouldn’t be surprised that, if properly implemented, MobileMe acts as a sort of gateway drug for pulling switchers over to Apple.
The bump to 20 gigs is excellent. I also like the ability to share large files easily. The web interface for the iDisk, however, does not do much for me. As a SugarSync subscriber and general syncing nerd, I just feel they could take this further. I get that I can do syncing with an iDisk but it is slow and only works on the local copy of the iDisk. Furthermore, the local copy is a sparse image and not easily searchable or replaceable. The SugarSync solution, which goes and syncs your files from their native locations on your drive is much more elegent. For instance. I keep my Bento database synced using SugarSync. It is automatic. I don’t have to think about it. Doing this through the iDisk requires several steps where I would have to drag the database to the iDisk on the computer I’m leaving and drag it off the iDisk on the computer I’m about to work on. If I forget, then I will end up with two different sets of data. Ugg. Likewise, why can’t we access the files on the iDisk from our iPhones? If it can open a Keynote file as an email attachment why not directly from iPhone iDisk access? Put simply, I think the iDisk could be much more.
My biggest gripe with .Mac is its speed, or lack thereof. This thing is slow. As a totally non-scientific example, sending a 300mb file up over my home network (cable modem) took me 50 minutes last night. Is the capacity of an already slow system being increased to handle millions of “push” transactions? I guess we’ll find out in early July.
Apple is getting slammed for the name “Mobile Me.” I think this is based on a variety of issues ranging from the affiliation to the dreadful Windows Me to people who are generally unhappy when Apple takes the “Mac” out of anything. Trying to seperate myself from the “geek”, I can see the name Mobile Me being pretty effective with a general consumer who really doesn’t understand cloud based computing and enterprises but knows what a pain it is to remember what time the dentist appointment is when you are in your car and left the details on your computer at home. So I really am not griping about the name.
I’m actually pleased with promise that MobileMe provides. The push technology alone will be of tremendous benefit to me. I’m hoping, however, that this is only the begininng. I don’t know about you, but I always got the impression the .Mac service was the ugly step sister at Apple. It occaisionally got lip service but it never really got that special attention that Apple generally brings to its products. I’m hoping that changes with MobileMe. I’d love to see it take on more aggressive file syncing like the SugarSync service. I’d also like to see it serve up video and music so I could park gigabytes of music on video on the MobileMe server and then listen to them from my 3g iPhone. I think we are all headed toward cloud computing and this is probably just another small step in the long march. If Apple gets aggressive with this, it would serve them (and us consumers) well.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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:
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.
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
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.
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