Mac Power Users Episode 26 is up. It is our second show in the workflows series and features Dan Benjamin from Hivelogic and 5by5. Dan had some great ideas concerning his writing, programming, and podcasting. You can get it in your browser here or on your iPod/iPhone/iPad here.
iPad OmniGraffle Review
I have been using OmniGraffle on my Mac for years. It is, in my opinion, the premiere diagraming application on the Mac. I do some of my best thinking when I sit down and organize my thoughts visually with a diagram. The ability to quickly put together professional looking diagrams is a definite edge in my day job. I have even had other attorneys ask me what company I used for my “graphics” when in fact it is just me and a few minutes with OmniGraffle.
OmniGraffle on the iPad is not a simple port of the existing Mac application. The Omni team started from scratch. The user interface was re-designed from the ground up around the touch interface and the iPad’s screen size. Interestingly, the developers did not have access to an actual iPad when developing this application. Instead, they used a fiberglass cut out in bits and pieces of paper with user interface elements printed on it to figure out how to put the application together. Regardless, the programmers overcame this handicap and released an outstanding product.
There are many features worthy of exploration in iPad OmniGraffle. The first time you open iPad OmniGraffle, you are presented with a series of documents that show you the ropes. You should go through the built-in tutorial. There is a lot under the hood with this application and you can save yourself a lot of time down the road if you learn the basics first.
There is no menubar but instead a series of smart icons that are context sensitive. For instance, hitting the pencil icon brings up icons which are a pre-formatted square and free hand drawing tool. Once you create your object, you can move, resize, shadow, and color it just as if you were on your Mac. It is remarkable how quickly the gestures built into OmniGraffle becomes second nature. You can even attach objects with magnetic lines that remain attached as you move them around the screen. While none of this is revolutionary in comparison to the native Mac OS X application, it is remarkable that this can be created so easily without a keyboard a mouse. It almost feels like playing the piano.
That being said, a few times the interface was more complex than it needed to be. Setting object order, for instance takes some doing from the layers menu. I would prefer a simple “Send to Back” button.
I found the physical process of creating and moving these boxes with my fingers even more intuitive than doing it in front of the keyboard. The Omni group also included smart guides which allow you to snap your objects in alignment with one another. Even better, you can set up a grid with custom spacing and snap your objects to the grid as you create them. With very little time you can have a precise looking diagram and, with the touch of a button, remove the grid.
iPad OmniGraffle ships with a nice assortment of images, connectors, shapes, software tools, and variables. If you have any favorite stencils on your Mac, you can copy them over to your iPad and OmniGraffle will import them.
iPad OmniGraffle allows you to assign your objects to layers and turn them off and on as the need arises. I have already found it useful when sharing data with clients. Building a diagram in small pieces and then adding the layers one at a time makes it much easier for the audience to digest complex data.
iPad OmniGraffle is an outstanding implementation of the touch interface. Any aspiring iPad developers should take a long look at the care and deliberation that went into this application. Since the iPad released, the Omni Group has already made a significant upgrade fine tuning the user interface now that they have got their hands on an iPad.
At $50, OmniGraffle certainly is more expensive than most applications you will find in the iPad store but it is a professional graphics application. The OmniGroup has gone on record to explain that if you buy OmniGraffle and are unsatisfied, they will provide a refund. OmniGraffle, in any iteration, is not necessary for everyone. But if you find yourself using it on the Mac, pick it up for your iPad.
This review is based on an evaluation copy of OmniGraffle provided by the Omni Group.
The Case Against Everything Buckets
Alex Payne explains my general bewilderment with all of the Mac bucket applications. Thanks to MPU listener Tommaso for the link.
Home Screens – Jeff Richardson
At this year’s ABA Tech Show, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my favorite bloggers, Jeff Richardson, who publishes iPhoneJD. Never mind the legal focus, Jeff’s blog is excellent for all power iPhone users. In addition to his insightful commentary, Jeff is an all around swell guy. You can follow him on Twitter, @jeffrichardson. So Jeff, lets see your home screen.
What are your most interesting home screen apps?
LogMeIn Ignition is particularly interesting because it allows me to control a computer from my iPhone, which is almost like running a full desktop program (such as Outlook or my document management software) directly on the iPhone. Because of the size of the iPhone screen, you don’t want to do anything that is very time intensive, but for things that don’t take much time it gives the iPhone the power of a full Mac or PC.
What is your favorite app?
It is impossible for me to pick one favorite app. The third party apps that I probably use the most right now are Twitterific, NetNewsWire, Facebook, Quickoffice, Documents to Go, MoxtionX GPS Drive, NotifyMe, Dragon Dictation and LogMeIn Ignition. But even to designate one of these as my favorite isn’t accurate. For example, I don’t use Skype very often, but when I do have a need for it, it is a must-have app.
Which app is your guilty pleasure?
Probably word games. I used to be addicted to Wurdle and 2 Across, but lately I’ve been playing Scrabble more. But again, this changes over time. I remember a period when I was addicted to Peggle.
How many screens have you filled?
The iPhone has 11 screens and I always have them all filled with quite a few on the “12th” screen, which means I can only get to those apps by doing a search for the app name. I cannot wait for the next iPhone OS which will allow for folders and thousands of apps. Yes, I suppose that makes me an appoholic, but there are so many useful apps that do so many useful things.
How many times a day do you use your iPhone?
I use my iPhone throughout the day and night. How many “times” are there in a 24 hour period? That’s approximately how many times I use my iPhone in a day.
If you were Steve Jobs, what would you add to the iPhone?
We all have a sense of what is coming in the next iPhone thanks to Gizmodo incident that has been all over the news lately. One of the rumored new features is a better camera, and I would appreciate that. I love taking pictures, and for “real” pictures I use my Nikon D50, but SLR cameras are too big to have with you all the time. I frequently take pictures or video with my iPhone just because that is what is with me, and even though the camera on the 3GS is an improvement over the 3G, I would love to see an even better, crisper, higher-definition camera that takes better pictures and video. I realize that there is a limit to what you can do with a device as small as an iPhone, but that doesn’t stop my from wishing for it. Additionally, I would love to see voice commands integrated throughout the iPhone, and with Apple’s recent purchase of the fantastic Siri app, perhaps we will see this soon.
Thanks Jeff!
New Tools – TextSoap
I’ve recently discovered Unmarked Software’s TextSoap which has become a very useful tool for a text geek like myself. Expect a full review in the future. For now, just check out the new version.
1Password for Windows
For those readers stuck in Windows purgatory at the office, Agile Web Solutions has something for you.
iPad Dropbox Released
iPad owning, Dropbox using geeks rejoice. My friend, Don McAllister, wrote up the new version nicely.
Home Screens – Keith Alperin
After a small hiatus, I’m happy to present a new Home Screen post. When in Chicago for the ABA Techshow, I was lucky enough to have tea with an excellent Mac and iPhone developer, Keith Alperin. Keith’s company, Helium Foot Software makes several Mac utilities, my favorite being MercuryMover. In addition to his coding prowess, Keith is a devoted father (he takes his son to the opposite site of Chicago every day for school) and an overall swell guy. Make sure to check out his software. You can follow Keith on Twitter right here.
What are your most interesting home screen apps?
I have two that when i use them, they make me feel like i’m living in the future. First up: Buster [iTunes link]. Here in the big shouldered city of Chicago, my family and i lead a pretty pedestrian lifestyle. We have a car, but generally you’ll find us on public trans. Buster will tell you exactly how long you have to wait until the next bus arrives and gets bonus points for knowing what stop you’re at. Second in order only is Briefcase. Briefcase [iTunes link] is one of a few apps that lets you keep and view arbitrary files on your device: pictures, pages/word docs, audio clips, almost anything. What really sets briefcase apart is how it can connect to your home machine from anywhere in the world and download and view just about any file from your hard drive. Indistinguishable from magic.
One more that i wanted to mention is Constitution [iTunes link], because you never know when a constitutional crisis, or good political argument will break out.
Which app is your guilty pleasure?
I’m tempted to say my twitter clients, but i’ll go with a really fun game that i downloaded recently called Ground Effect [iTunes link]. It’s futuristic rocket plane racing at its best.
What is the app you are still missing?
I’m going to out myself here, but the app that i’m missing the most is a phone! I’m the last iPhone developer who doesn’t own an iPhone. I have a fleet of iPod Touches (one of which is always at my hip) but i’m waiting for the baddest iPhone A4 to come out before i finally throw down and sign up with AT&T.
How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPod touch?
I’ve never counted. Is there an app for that?
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPod touch?
After having the internet in your pocket, you never want to go back.
If you were Steve Jobs, what would you add to the iPhone?
I’m in no position to give advice to Uncle Steve, but if i had my four iPhone wishes fulfilled the would be:
- More
- of
- the
- same
As a developer, i’m acutely aware of the hardware limitations of the device. Everything takes power. There’s so little memory. The CPU is so much slower than on a Mac. Giving us more of what we have will make apps like the current crop easier to develop and will enable a new generation of apps that would make today’s iPhones shed unicorn tears.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Two things. The 100 ton bird in the room is Twitter and almost everyone in the MacSparky home screen fraternity has a Twitter app on their home screen. Currently, mine is Tweetie [iTunes link], but in the same position on my second screen is Twitterlator Pro [iTunes link]. I was fortunate enough to meet Andrew Stone (who wrote Twitterlator) at WWDC last year and he was such a neat guy that i bought it on the spot. For now i like the almost minimalism of Tweetie but i often switch those two around since Twitterlator has so many more features.
Secondly, i wanted to point out that there is some really incredible iPhone software available from independent developers. The iPhone really lends itself to the type of relatively small, yet highly polished app that indie developers really excel at creating. Also, love it or loathe it, the App Store has opened that floodgate between regular every day users and tiny one and two person software shops. I haven’t been able to get any numbers but anecdotally it seems that a high percentage of regular iPhone users are buying indie software; and from where i sit, that is an indisputable Good Thing.
The Lost iPhone Fictional Apology
I need to read McSweeny’s more often. Here is their fictional apology from the guy who lost the iPhone prototype by Rupinder Gill.
Steve Jobs Talks Flash
Today Steve Jobs posted his thoughts on Flash. I already posted my two cents on Flash. I think all of Steve’s arguments are valid and their rationality stands in contrast to Adobe’s tantrum-like campaign. Another point is that Apple simply doesn’t want its mobile platform to be beholden to Adobe. It is a calculated business decision that certainly includes some risk. So far, it proves itself to be the right decision as the Internet seems to be slipping away from Flash. I think the killing blow would be a set of HTML 5 development tools that bring it on par, or close enough, to Flash.