Transporter 2.0 on iOS

In the midst of all the hubbub of the last few days, Transporter released version 2.0 of their iOS app now with the ability to upload pictures from your phone or iPad to your Transporter storage. (Katie Floyd writes it up and takes credit all in one post.) 

There are increasing numbers of vectors to get photos from iThingies to cloud storage and this is opening a lot of new solutions for the geekier among us. I’m working on just such a system right now and plan to do a Mac Power Users episode on it in the not too distant future.

All Fields Guides on Sale to Celebrate Mavericks iBooks

A lot of people are installing Mavericks today. In case you didn’t notice, iBooks is now on the Mac and my Field Guides will look fantastic on your Mac. To celebrate this new platform for media rich iBooks, I’ve put the entire MacSparky Field Guide Catalog on sale.

Paperless, now $6.99

Markdown, now $6.99

60 Mac Tips, now $3.99

This sale will end next weekend. I’m tremendously proud of these books and I hope you enjoy reading/watching them as much as I enjoy making them.

iWork Collaboration? Yes Thank You

Today Apple released a whole pile of new products (including a Retina iPad mini). We finally got a substantive update to the iWork applications. The last major update was January 2009 so I’m really looking forward to digging in with these new applications. Most surprising to me was the fact that Apple demonstrated collaboration between the native Mac app and the Web version. I didn’t think this was going to happen. At this point, it is still kind of unbelievable to me. I can’t wait to do some serious testing to find out if this is as awesome as it demos. 

New iPads Today and The Silly Season

Later today we’re going to get new iPads and hopefully some other new iThingies. The rumor mill seems to be converging on the idea that we are going to get a retina iPad mini. I sure hope they are right. I’ve been using the non-retina mini and and while I like it, I’ve never gotten used to the non-retina screen. I’d be willing to give up some battery life and even a little weight for a better screen.

Regardless, it seems like silly season, the weeks leading up to an Apple announcement, this time has not been nearly as bad as it was in the past. All that being said, if the volume goes up on iWatch rumors next year and Apple suddenly plans an event, I fully expect the Internet to go completely fracking crazy.

 

Home Screens: Katie Floyd


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This week I’m featuring my kind and patient podcast partner Katie Floyd (website) (Twitter). Katie and I have been partners on the Mac Power Users podcast for four years now and she still (usually) answers her phone when I call. That makes Katie special.


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What are some of favorite apps?

Since the update to version 2, OmniFocus on iPhone has become my favorite place to interact with OmniFocus throughout the day. When I’m entering or organizing a long list of new tasks I’ll still use the Mac App, but the new forecast view allowing me to see at-a-glance everything I need to get done today has been a game changer.

I keep Reminders on my home screen because I use it for different things. Reminders has become my default App for lists. I keep shopping and related lists in Reminders. I like Dr. Drang’s recent tip to create reminders to look at the shopping based on location. I also have my default Reminders list dump into OmniFocus so if I need to enter a quick series of task to process later, I’ll usually enter them in Reminders, or possibly Drafts and export to Reminders. With background processing OmniFocus will now regularly pick them up and move them to the OmniFocus inbox.

Downcast is probably my most used App after Mail. I made the switch to Downcast a couple months ago after their Mac app was released. I was just so fed up with the state of the Apple Podcasts app and syncing. I caved in and bought an armband for use at the gym and I hate it, but I really like having a great podcast app. Of course, now I hear the Apple Podcast app has been updated and actually syncs so maybe it’s time to look at it again.

Evernote is where I store “everything else” and it got a really nice update with iOS 7.

Drafts is the App that I use to start notes, ideas or other ramblings, then shoot them off to the respective apps for storage or to finish later.

What’s changed on your home screen since iOS 7?

Like David, I’m using Twitteriffic now on iOS. I really like the Twitteriffic interface with iOS 7.Tweetbot is my preferred application from a feature and functionality perspective, but since it hasn’t been updated yet (I hear an update is coming soon) I was finding it a pain point to use. I hope to be able to go back one day. (You’ll notice I still keep Tweetbot on my 2nd screen).

I also got rid of Pastebot and Calcbot. Pastebot never quite worked properly for me in iOS 7 and hasn’t been updated in years and was time to go. CalcBot was obsolete in part because I have quick access to the calculator through Control Center. In fact, features like Control Center and Siri have allowed me to move a number of apps off my home screen (Calculator, Clock, etc.) and I think the next time I’m looking for space on the home screen for an app, the Camera app may be the next to go since I have easy access to it already via the lock screen or Control Center.

What is the app you are still missing?

A great calendar app. Fantastical is the best so far but it hasn’t been updated for iOS 7. I hear Fantastical 2 is due out soon. I’m hoping that fits the bill.


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My home screen is setup mostly with folders, with a few one-off Apps that are more frequently used. I like that since iOS 7 I’ve been able to add more items to folders which means I now only have one “Productivity” and one “Utility” folder. For years, I’ve always tried to keep my iPhone down to two screens, my iPad I have down to one.

What feature would you add?

I use Siri all the time and I have bluetooth built in my car. However the microphone in my car isn’t as good as the microphone in the iPhone and as a result Siri isn’t nearly as accurate. There’s an option to toggle Siri to use either the car bluetooth or the iPhone, but you can’t mix and match. When Siri’s connected to the car, she doesn’t understand me as well, but gives great feedback (because she reads everything on screen for eyes-free mode). I wish there was a way to use the iPhone’s microphone for better recognition but the car’s speakers for better feedback.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Overall, I’m really enjoying iOS 7. Great update.

Thanks Katie. 

 

The Mother Ship

 Apple received unanimous approval yesterday for the new corporate headquarters they are planning on building in Cupertino. Looking at these pictures, I think it is going to be pretty impressive.

There seems to be two schools of thought with a big vanity corporate building. On one side, people say that building something like this is the first sign a company is about to fail. The logic goes that when you spend this much time and effort on something like your corporate headquarters, you aren’t paying enough attention to your products.

I disagree. I think the fact that Apple puts so much effort into making a beautiful campus that satisfies their needs indicates they are equally concerned about their products. It shows that that Steve Jobs’ influence is still alive and well. When you meet someone that sweats the little details, they probably also sweat the big ones.

Either way, I’m looking forward to visiting a mother ship that actually resembles a mother ship.


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Terminology 3


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Greg Pierce, the same guy that brought my beloved Drafts, has released a new version of his dictionary/word sleuthing app, Terminology. Terminology 3 is a ground-up rewrite for iOS 7.  In addition to a built in dictionary/thesaurus, Terminology searches across the web and other apps which support integration. It includes iOS sync between your devices and extensible via URL scheme.

Terminology is a great writing tool and now it looks great on iOS 7. It’s $2.99 and universal for the iPad and iPhone. 

 



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On Skipping Twitter’s New Direct Message Feature


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There is a new option at Twitter allowing you to receive direct messages from people you don’t follow. The logic goes that it is difficult for non-friends to get direct messages to you so why not open it up to everyone? Why not indeed? I’m personally not going to be turning this on for a few reasons: 

1. Spam

You know those spammy at-messages that show up in your Twitter feed? I expect it will be 50 times worse if they can DM you. 

2. DMs are Precious Flowers

I generally use DM’s for nice little comments to friends, like when they make something I enjoy or I want to wish them a Happy Birthday. My friends do the same for me. I don’t want that getting cluttered up. 

3. I have an email account

I have an email account and after investing a non-substantial amount of time, I’ve figured out how to live with email and make it useful to me. I don’t want strangers sending me more things to “process” in my Twitter account. That would ruin all the fun. 

The whole thing just strikes me as nutty and the exact opposite of what I liked about Twitter when I joined in January 2007. If this new change were mandatory with all accounts, it would make me seriously question whether or not I keep going forward with Twitter. As it stands, it’s now just an option which will remain, for me, unchecked.