October 2011
Siri, Reminders and OmniFocus Oct 31, 2011
Ben Brooks: What I have found is that those one-off reminders that belong to no project and therefore are simple “reminders” fit pretty well in the Reminders app. 2 So instead of looking at Reminders as a competitor to OmniFocus, … (More)
The Apple Gift Catalog From 1983 Oct 31, 2011
Yikes! The only thing here I’d ever get caught owning would be the coffee mug (obviously). (Via The Loop.)
The Not-To-Do List Oct 31, 2011
Speaking of defining the things you’re not going to do, Michael Hyatt wrote about the importance of having a not-to-do list. It’s the same premise as David Sparks’ aforelinked No Journal. When I was the director of marketing for the … (More)
David Sparks’ No Journal Oct 31, 2011
Who says you can’t define the things you’re not going to spend your time on?
Instagram Started as a Location Check-In Service Oct 29, 2011
Naomi Zeichner interviewing Kevin Systrom, one of the founders of Instagram: How did you develop the idea of the Instagram filter? It started off as a mobile check-in app that let you post pictures and videos. People ended up liking … (More)
Macworld’s Review of the LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt External Oct 29, 2011
It has read and write speeds that are, as expected, crazy fast for an external drive. But it’s also a good bit more expensive — especially considering you have to buy the $50 Thunderbolt cable on the side.
“Taking Away Ugliness” Oct 28, 2011
My pal, Josh Farmer, pitches a bold idea: what if Typekit were to buy Comic Sans for the sole purpose of taking it off the market? Typekit has allowed typographical beauty on the web in a way unimagined before. They … (More)
The B&B Podcast, Episode 32: Displays and Televisions Oct 28, 2011
Ben and I talk about Cinema Displays, Apple TV, and my AT&T data usage since the iPhone 4S.
Stephen Hackett’s Case Against iPhone Games Oct 28, 2011
“Boredom isn’t a bad thing. But strangling it with Angry Birds probably is.”
[Sponsor] PDFpen from Smile Oct 28, 2011
PDFpen is a great application for editing your PDFs. You can add signatures to PDFs and email them back, instead of resorting to printing and faxing. You can even make corrections and edit images. There’s also OCR for scanned documents … (More)
Lumia Walkthrough Videos Oct 28, 2011
About half-a-dozen Lumia walkthrough videos by Nokia showing browsing and searching the Web, driving and maps, music, contacts, etc. Other than the Windows Phone logo that appears at the end of each video, there’s no mention of the Lumia running … (More)
Nokia’s Lumia Commercial Oct 28, 2011
I like the concept and the story, but how come there’s no action shots of the phone? Also: not a single mention of Windows Phone 7.5? This video, however, has much more action shots of the phone in use, and … (More)
The iPhone Is Helping Sprint to Keep Their Unlimited Data Plans Oct 27, 2011
Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint, really loves having the iPhone on Sprint. Elizabeth Woyke, writes for Forbes: The iPhone is so data-efficient, [Hesse] said, it will help Sprint keep its mobile data plans unlimited. Good news for Sprint customers. AT&T … (More)
How to Reopen Recently-Closed Tabs in Safari for iPad Oct 27, 2011
Good to know. And it sure beats shaking to undo.
Pogue Reviews Mango Oct 27, 2011
David Pogue: Windows Phone 7.5 is gorgeous, classy, satisfying, fast and coherent. The design is intelligent, clean and uncluttered. Never in a million years would you guess that it came from the same company that cooked up the bloated spaghetti … (More)
Regarding Bluetooth 4.0 in the iPhone 4S Oct 26, 2011
The new Bluetooth chip that’s in the 4S is very light on power consumption: The phone, which went on sale Oct. 14, is the first to have a new type of Bluetooth chip that can connect using very little power. … (More)
Nokia Lumia 800 Oct 26, 2011
If I were in the market for a different phone, this very well would be the one I’d pick up. It’s nice to see Nokia making fun and drool-worthy devices again.
Backblaze Performance Update Oct 26, 2011
Backblaze got a pretty significant performance update today. I currently do my off-site backups to Amazon via Arq, but only for about 20GB worth of data. If you want to back up everything to an off-site location, and don’t want … (More)
Quicksilver Roars Oct 25, 2011
If you’ve felt a bit out of step and missing QS on your Mac ever since Snow Leopard killed it in 2009, now is a good time to go back. Me? I’m too hooked on LaunchBar to switch back.
The iPod of Thermostats Oct 25, 2011
Steven Levy profiled Nest Labs and their new thermostat on Wired. This article answered the question I’ve been asking today: other than its gorgeous design and remote connectivity, how is the Nest Learning Thermostat that much better than my current … (More)
This Week is My Week to Contribute to the Read & Trust Newsletter Oct 24, 2011
Each week one of the members of the Read & Trust network writes an article for the newsletter. And tomorrow is my turn. I had a lot of fun writing this week’s piece; it’s on the history of my gadgets … (More)
A Kick-Butt App at a Discounted Price Oct 24, 2011
1Password for iOS is on sale. And if you snag a copy vis this link I get a nickel from iTunes in about two months from now.
PDFpen from Smile [Sponsor] Oct 24, 2011
My thanks to the fine folks at Smile Software (makers of TextExpander), for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote PDFpen. PDFpen is a professional-grade PDF editing tool that is easy and affordable for even the non-professional. With it … (More)
60 Minutes’ Show on Steve Jobs Oct 24, 2011
60 Minutes sat down with Walter Isaacson to talk about Steve Jobs, based on the Steve Jobs biography, written by Isaacson, that just came out today. If you want to watch the 45-minute show straight through, here’s the video link.
Dan Frommer on How Apple Could Finally Put the “TV” in Apple TV Oct 24, 2011
The current box-top peripheral known as the Apple TV is built as an addition to most people’s TV setups and wouldn’t work for a lot of households as the only television software and programming available. Dan’s post is a good … (More)
Apple’s Celebration of Steve Oct 24, 2011
I watched the event last night and thought it was just great — especially what Jony Ive shared towards the end of the program.
Entrepreneurs Who Go It Alone Oct 24, 2011
Kristina Dell’s article for Time about solo entrepreneurs, including Marco Arment and Maciej Ceglowski.
Why Adding Phonetic Names Changes the Order of Your Contact List Oct 21, 2011
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. But it’s meant for Japanese names. Personally, the occasional and slight re-sorting of a few contacts here and there doesn’t bug me. I hardly ever find myself looking someone up in the Master … (More)
The Verge’s Nokia N9 Review Oct 21, 2011
Nice and comprehensive review by Vlad Savov. The hardware and software of the N9 both sound great — not mind-blowing, but certainly head-turning. Too bad MeeGo is a dead end. But on the other side, from the looks of it, … (More)
Tremendous, Tremendous Demand for the FreeGS Oct 21, 2011
There’s never been a free iPhone on the market before. It’ll be interesting to see how the free iPhone 3GS (the “FreeGS”) does over the next year compared to the 4 and the 4S, as well as how the 3GS … (More)
The B&B Podcast, Episode 31: The Fanny Pack Oct 21, 2011
Siri, iPhone 4S battery life, fanny packs, sushi, 4.65-inch touch screen phones, cameras that let you focus later, monkey hats, and more.
[Sponsor] CardFlick Oct 21, 2011
CardFlick is the easiest way to create and share business cards with your phone. Create customized business cards from our stunning themes, then share them with a swipe. With CardFlick Pro you can take your card to the next level … (More)
Typekit’s New and Improved Font Browsing Oct 21, 2011
A great new update to the Typekit fonts page featuring a nice new graphical interface for browsing and perusing fonts.
512 Pixels Oct 20, 2011
Stephen Hackett rebooted his Apple-centric weblog a while back he’s been cooking with gas ever since. Stephens’s a talented and intelligent writer — he’s cheeky and sarcastic, yet also friendly and polite. And I especially like what a clever headline … (More)
M.C. Hammer is Launching a Search Engine Oct 20, 2011
When asked about the potential competition his search engine startup may face, M.C. Hammer replied, saying: “They can’t touch this — WireDoo is too legit.”
NetNewsWire 3.3 Oct 19, 2011
The first public update since Black Pixel acquired NNW earlier this year.
Siri Is as Revolutionary as the Mac Oct 19, 2011
James Allworth: In true Apple fashion, there is little that is technologically novel. The original iPhone was much the same — the touch interface; pocketable computers that could do email, web and music — these all existed when the original … (More)
Dumping the Downloads Folder Oct 18, 2011
I have never used the Downloads folder. Like Brand, I prefer downloads to show up on my Mac’s Desktop (though I simply changed Safari’s default folder for downloads to save to). I prefer the Desktop for downloads mostly because I … (More)
Fantastical 1.1 Oct 18, 2011
A great update to the calendar app I use the most. Fantastical now allows editing and deleting events, as well as iCloud support. Who knew such a fancy and robust calendar application could exist behind such a tiny icon in … (More)
CardFlick [Sponsor] Oct 18, 2011
My thanks to CardFlick for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. CardFlick is a free iPhone app and Web app that you use to create and share digital business cards. To get started, you can download the free iPhone app … (More)
webOS: Now More Apple Friendly Oct 18, 2011
Today’s OTA update to the TouchPad adds better support for pairing non-webOS Bluetooth keyboards, and it lets you pair non-webOS phones to the TouchPad so you can answer calls on the tablet. When I tested and reviewed the TouchPad back … (More)
Reminders and OmniFocus Oct 18, 2011
Stephen M. Hackett on Apple’s Reminders app: Reminders seems like a great little app for little tasks. But I don’t think it can replace OmniFocus, even for someone like me, who doesn’t use lots of the app’s features. When Apple … (More)
How to Tweet With Siri Oct 18, 2011
In short, you can tweet with Siri by simply using Siri to post to Twitter via SMS. You do it by linking your mobile phone number to your Twitter account and setting up a contact named Twitter with the phone … (More)
iPhone 4S Teardown Oct 18, 2011
I mentioned in my iPhone 4S review yesterday that the vibration of my new iPhone is different. iFixit guys know why. In their teardown of the 4S, at step 16 they find the vibrator motor: Out comes the vibrator motor. … (More)
iPhone’s Phonetic Name Fields Oct 17, 2011
Two little-known fields in iPhone contact cards are the Phonetic First and Last Names. Fill them in to help Siri understand your requests better and to keep Siri from mispronouncing the names of your friends and family. To set a … (More)
The $5 App That Justifies my $500 iPad Oct 17, 2011
There are 4 apps that far and away get the most usage on my iPad: OmniFocus, Simplenote, Reeder, and Instapaper. And Instapaper is my favorite and most-used of them all. Today, Instapaper got a major update — version 4.0 — … (More)
How Many iPhones Will Be Sold Next Year? Oct 17, 2011
Looking at Horace Dediu’s projections and charts or how many current iPhone owners (of any model) are likely to upgrade, as well as the assumed growth rate of the iPhone at each concurrent release, and taking in to account the … (More)
Selling 16 iPhones Per Second Oct 17, 2011
Over the weekend, Apple sold more than 4,000,000 iPhones. That’s about 16 iPhones sold every second. The Kinect for the Xbox 360 currently holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling consumer electronics device by selling 8 million units in … (More)
[Sponsor] Timing – Automatic Time Tracking for OS X Oct 14, 2011
Timing is the best way to keep track of the time you spend with your Mac. It automatically tracks which documents you are editing, applications you use, and the domains of the websites you visit. You’ll never have to worry … (More)
“Could Not Activate iPhone” Oct 14, 2011
From what I’ve read online and on Twitter, it seems the activation issues are pretty much isolated to AT&T. Ugh. And sadly, that is my experience here at shawnblanc.net headquarters as well. Anna’s and my new phones showed up over … (More)
Steve Wozniak, First in Line for iPhone 4S Oct 14, 2011
Mark Milian, at CNN.com: Wozniak acknowledged that he could have easily made one phone call to Apple and gotten the phone he’s waiting in line for, but he didn’t. He has yet to play with an iPhone 4S or its … (More)
What can you say to Siri? Oct 14, 2011
Lots of examples and categories from TUAW of how you can interact with Siri. The next big question: how long until using Siri in public becomes normal? It took me about a few months before I felt comfortable using my … (More)
My New Favorite Pen Oct 13, 2011
The Pilot G2 0.38mm has been my favorite pen for at least a couple of years. Until about 2 weeks ago. The Uni-ball Signo has now taken it’s place. If you like the ultra-fine-tipped G2, I think you may like … (More)
Instacast and iCloud Oct 13, 2011
Martin Hering: I am pleased to announce that now with version 1.4 Instacast is fully integrated with iCloud. This means, you can now finally synchronize your podcasts and playback information with multiple devices or have a backup in case your … (More)
Like Drawing With a Bar of Soap Oct 13, 2011
Bob Mankoff, cartoonist for The New Yorker, shares about his first Mac: Amazingly, you could draw on it with this thing called a mouse, in Mac Paint. In practice, it wasn’t so amazing—it was like drawing with a bar of … (More)
Up Close With Mobile Safari Oct 13, 2011
Mobile Safari got a pretty significant update yesterday in iOS 5.
These Aren’t the Tones You’re Looking For Oct 13, 2011
New section of the iTunes app on iOS: Star Wars Alert Tones. (It’s iOS 5 only, I think.)
Greg Pierce Goes Indie Oct 13, 2011
Greg Pierce, the man behind the development shop Agile Tortise, has now gone indie with his company. This is great news — Greg is one of the good guys. Greg has helped me keep shawnblanc.net going full-time by sponsoring the … (More)
iTunes Movie Trailers App for iOS Oct 12, 2011
Apple’s Trailers app is fast and beautifully designed. I especially love the way showtimes are displayed. Goodbye Flixster. (Oh, and by the way, I don’t actually hate cupcakes.)
Dan Moren’s iOS 5 Review for Macworld Oct 12, 2011
Very thorough, and very well written. There is a metric ton of new features and other cool odds and ends in iOS 5, but I think this intro paragraph from Dan sums up what exactly is so hallmark about today’s … (More)
The B&B Podcast: Today, not Tomorrow Oct 12, 2011
A special bonus episode of The B&B Podcast that’s all about iOS 5, iCloud, and the iPhone 4S. And where by “special bonus episode”, I actually mean “making up for last week’s skipped episode. Sorry about that.”
Siri as the Future of the Web Oct 12, 2011
Nice piece by Kyle Baxter: Most articles about Siri have focused on Siri’s natural language recognition and how revolutionary it is. While it is integral, it is not the important part. It is the means, not the end. Focusing on … (More)
What’s Next for Apple Oct 12, 2011
Great piece by Matt Mullenweg. “When I walk through Best Buy, which I try to do once every few months, it feels like it’s technology at its worst, the magic of progress used as smoke and mirrors to confuse and … (More)
AirPort Utility (iTunes link) Oct 12, 2011
New universal iOS app from Apple. Use it to manage your Wi-Fi network and AirPort base stations from your iPhone or iPad.
“A Second Interface to iOS” Oct 12, 2011
John Gruber in his review of the iPhone 4S: In a sense, Siri is like a second interface to iOS. The first interface is the app interface. Launch, tap, drag, slide. The Siri interface is a different world. As stated … (More)
“I Hope You Don’t Say That to Those Other Mobile Phones, Jim” Oct 11, 2011
Jim Dalrymple’s iPhone 4S review. Regarding Siri: Siri is not your typical voice recognition technology. You don’t dictate to Siri, you interact and have a conversation with Siri. It’s difficult to explain how good Siri is, but you’ll find out … (More)
“This Is the Best iPhone Yet” Oct 11, 2011
MG Siegler’s review of the iPhone 4S. Regarding Siri: A number of folks have written that while Siri looks good, it seems like a feature that gives good demo but won’t actually get used. I disagree. I think this is … (More)
“Like It Says on the Box, I Was Designed by Apple in California.” Oct 11, 2011
Joshua Topolsky’s short and sweet iPhone 4S review.
Jason Snell’s Conversation with Siri Oct 11, 2011
I’m Impressed at how quickly Siri takes dictation — when I’ve used Dragon Dictation on my 4 it is about half as fast. Of course, I’m sure part of Siri’s speed has to do with the 4S’s A5 chip. And … (More)
From the Archives: The Potential of MobileMe Oct 11, 2011
Written a year ago last week, I’d say it was pretty spot on.
The Free 3GS Oct 11, 2011
Tony Bradley on why the iPhone 3GS is Apples “secret weapon”: The iPhone 3GS will still have iOS 5 once it ships on Wednesday. It will still have iMessage, and access to iCloud. It will have Twitter integration, reminders, and … (More)
Indroducing The Syndicate RSS Sponsorship Network Oct 11, 2011
Starting November 1, RSS sponsorships on shawnblanc.net will be handled through The Syndicate. The Syndicate is the first RSS sponsorship network I know of, and I am honored to be a part of its starting lineup. The network has some … (More)
Timing for Mac [Sponsor] Oct 10, 2011
Many thanks to Timing for Mac for once again sponsoring the RSS feed. Timing is a utility app, it runs in the background in your Menu Bar, and it’s primary function is to keep track of how you spend your … (More)
iPhone 4S Pre-Orders Top One Million in First 24 Hours Oct 10, 2011
Let’s play with some numbers: AT&T reported that their first-day pre-orders were over 200,000. That leaves 800,000 remaining units. Let’s just assume those remaining units were split evenly between Verizon, Sprint, and the additional countries you could order an iPhone … (More)
How John August Writes Oct 10, 2011
In the spirit of The Setup, John August shares his writing routine, hardware, software, etc. Oh my nerd. (Via Garrett Murray.)
AT&T: Over 200,000 Preorders for iPhone 4S in the First Day Oct 8, 2011
I’ll be honest with you, I pre-ordered Anna’s and my iPhones first thing yesterday morning because I wanted to make sure I got the models we wanted (16 GB black for me, white for her), and that we would get … (More)
Tweet Speaker Oct 7, 2011
App Cubby’s brand new Twitter app, Tweet Speaker, is just great. It’s not a full-fledged Twitter client, but rather it’s a single-purpose app. Tweet Speaker reads your tweets, and it’s quite impressive. I’ve been beta testing it since June and … (More)
Siri’s Social Dilemma Oct 7, 2011
Smart piece by Shadoe Huard about the potentially awkward social situations that may surround Siri. It’s one thing to talk to your iPhone in your car or while out on a jog. It’s another thing to talk to your iPhone … (More)
[Sponsor] Periodicity – The New Reminder App for Mere Mortals Oct 7, 2011
Periodicity is a new reminder app for the iPhone. With Periodicity you can easily configure any periodical event you want to be reminded of, whether it is an anniversary, a weekly appointment, your workout every third day or a daily … (More)
These Nano Guys Got It Right Oct 7, 2011
Bill Eccles on the fine details found in iPod nano’s home page: Worth noting is that the second hand is swept (i.e., it moves in less-than-one-second increments—5Hz, I think—just like a real mechanical movement watch) and that the minute and … (More)
Pre-Order the iPhone 4S Oct 7, 2011
Assuming you’re eligible for an upgrade straight away, it looks like you can only order an iPhone 4S for delivery on October 14 — you can’t reserve one for pickup at your local store. So if you (like me) enjoy … (More)
A Eulogy of Action Oct 5, 2011
Seth Godin: Steve devoted his professional life to giving us (you, me and a billion other people) the most powerful device ever available to an ordinary person. Everything in our world is different because of the device you’re reading this … (More)
President Obama’s Statement on Steve Jobs Oct 5, 2011
President Barack Obama: The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.
Steve Jobs, 1955-2011 Oct 5, 2011
So sad. We all hoped he would beat his illness, but alas. Steve made an impact on so many, and for that we are thankful. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
Why Is There No iPhone 5? Oct 5, 2011
Intelligent (as always) answer from Horace Dediu. In short, the market has less want of an “iPhone 5″ this year than it will next year.
The New Home Page for the iPod nano Oct 5, 2011
Two classy touches to the nano’s home page: (a) The Mickey Mouse watch face is animated and shows the correct time and date; (b) Matt Kearney’s fantastic album, Young Love, is featured.
The Carrier Question Oct 5, 2011
News to me: AT&T is the only network in the U.S. currently supporting the 14.4Mbps down that Apple mentioned yesterday. (And speaking of carriers, if you’re not eligible for your upgrade yet, Ben Brooks did some math and discovered it … (More)
Unicorns and Wheels: Apple’s Two Types of Products Oct 5, 2011
Great post by Jason Kottke. Not every iPhone update can be the first iPhone again.
Siri Understands Accents Oct 4, 2011
MG Siegler: Siri didn’t work for me when UK English was turned on. When I switched to US English, it worked perfectly.
Why Siri Just Might Work Oct 4, 2011
A great article by Paul Miller looking at Siri and its pros and cons as we know them so far. Miller raises a question I have as well, and that is regarding text input for Siri. From the looks of … (More)
Live Demo of Siri Oct 4, 2011
Looks very easy to use in real life. But I’m curious how it will work with non-scripted use cases, such as: “remind me to get AA batteries next time I’m at Walmart.” I guess if Siri can learn where Walmart … (More)
“From $0″ Oct 4, 2011
Apple’s side-by-side comparisons of the three different iPhones they’re selling. It’s interesting that the iPhone 4S, though it has an extra hour of 3G talk time, has 100 less hours of standby time. Is that true, or is that a … (More)
Check Your iPhone Upgrade Eligibility Oct 4, 2011
I’ll be in line on the 14th because that’s half the fun. (Via Brian Stucki.)
Sell Your Old iPhone Back to Apple Oct 4, 2011
My black, 16GB iPhone 4 with its light scuff on the top-left edge of the casing will earn me a $125 Apple gift card. Not bad, but I bet I could get twice that on Craigslist. (Via Matthew Panzarino.)
Apple’s 1987 Knowledge Navigator, Only One Month Late Oct 4, 2011
Siri, insert a sarcastic “finally” joke right here.
AppleCare+ Oct 4, 2011
Now if you drop your iPhone you can get it fixed for $49: AppleCare+ for iPhone extends repair coverage and technical support to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds coverage for up to two … (More)
Siri Oct 4, 2011
Here is Apple’s page for Siri, the hallmark feature of the new iPhone. The use cases for Siri look pretty great — who doesn’t want a personal assistant built into your phone like this? Siri is no Jarvis, but it … (More)
One Handed Oct 3, 2011
I’ve never felt right about the rumors saying there will be a 4-inch iPhone. Mostly because it would mean an iPhone with a lesser pixel density or a new screen resolution. Neither of those seem likely in my book. But … (More)
Let’s Talk iCloud Oct 3, 2011
James Duncan Davidson regarding tomorrow’s iPhone announcement: Whatever it looks like, the hardware released tomorrow is tactical. Every improvement is designed to address the needs of the next 12-18 months. iCloud, on the other hand, is strategic. It’s going to … (More)
Periodicity [Sponsor] Oct 3, 2011
My thanks to Periodicity for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. Periodicity is an iPhone app built for managing all of your event reminders. It can handle daily events or to-do items, weekly meetings, annual events (such as birthdays and … (More)
Stephen Hackett’s Review of The $79 Kindle Oct 3, 2011
He cancelled his pre-order of the Kindle Touch to get the $79 plain Kindle instead. And he likes it. (I also pre-ordered a Kindle Touch., and it will be my first Kindle ever. Not only have I never owned a … (More)
