What's on your Pod (Update)

Recently I completed an intense three week management course called the Ivey Executive Program (small plug for my employer) where I met many amazingly talented people.  During the first week of the course my iPad was a source of interest for many that had never used one before.  By the second week at least four shiny new iPad 2s were in class with more on order.  I found myself making app suggestions daily and pointing people to my blog where, about a year ago, I posted What's on your Pod?  Since the time of the original article I have, naturally, discovered many other apps that I use weekly and even daily.  It's high time for an update.

As with the last article, I've divided the apps up into three categories: apps on my iPad, apps on my iPhone, and apps that I use on both.  Let's start with the apps I use on both my iPhone and my iPad.

Both (iPhone and iPad)

• Twitter (Free) - I still use this app to view my Twitter feed but Flipboard (keep reading) has become my app of choice of consuming nearly all of my social and news feeds.
• Tumblr (Free) - You might think Tumblr is just another blog site like Blogger/Blogspot and you wouldn't be wrong.  However, Tumblr kills as a photo blog and that's exactly what I use it for.  All the blogs I follow on Tumblr are photo blogs (including my daughter's).  
• Instapaper (Free) - Have you ever been in the situation where you just discovered a really interesting article but you just doing have the time to read it right now?  Services like Instapaper and Read It Later solve this by installing a small script in your browser that you can click to "read it later".  Then use the iOS app to read the article at your leisure (even when offline).
• 1Password ($9.99) - I commented on 1Password in What's on your Mac.  The $10 cost for the iOS app is well worth the convenience of having your usernames and passwords accessible from your devices.
• Netflix (Free) - If you're a Netflix subscriber then get this app.  You know what to do with it.

iPad

• Flipboard (Free) - Flipboard is well known to all but new iOS users.  Basically Flipboard incorporates your news feeds (like Google Reader), social media (like Facebook and Twitter feeds), and curated news content and presents it in a book-like interface.  Next to Mail, Flipboard may very well be the second most frequently used app that I own.  It even integrates with Instapaper for those times when you've found something interesting but don't have time to read it just now.  What it really needs next is support for Tumblr!
• Keynote ($9.99) - Apple's presentation app.  I find making presentations is easier on the iPad than on a desktop.  The forthcoming iCloud integration will iron out the one remaining wrinkle of getting content to and from your iPad.  
• Numbers ($9.99) - Apple's spreadsheet app thoughtfully designed for touch interfaces.  This isn't just a port of a desktop app.  The user interface has been redone in every detail to take into account touch interfaces. 
• iAnnotate PDF ($9.99) - I'm not sure this one is worth $10 but it is a good application for not only reading PDFs (many apps do that) but also for making complex annotations like highlighting, notes, underlining, tabs and bookmarks and more.  I used this app during the Executive Program to read my cases.
• ComicBookLover (Free) - I had previously loaded the Marvel and DC comic book readers but each is limited to just those publishers.  CBR (and CBZ) are now the standard formats for distributing comics so why not just use a generic reader like ComicBookLover.  
• Epicurious (Free) - Recipe viewer and search tool with a beautiful user interface.
• GarageBand ($4.99) - This is a fun one but I don't know if anyone is going to make any serious music with it.  My youngest loves just tooling around in the app and making cool sounding song snippets. 

iPhone/iPod

• Skype (Free) - It's unclear what Microsoft is going to do with Skype but for now it is a great way of making free phone calls.
• Samsung Remote (Free) - If you have a Samsung TV with a wifi or internet connection then you might want to try this remote.
• Groupon (Free) - If you are a Groupon user then get this app and stop printing your Groupon receipts.  
• JotNot Scanner Pro ($1.99) - Anyone who works in an office environment has learned that the best way to take notes is to snap photos of the whiteboard, flipchart, etc.  JotNot not only snaps the photo but crops out the irrelevant edges and then increases the contrast to make the photo much more readable.  Well worth the $2 cost.
• Hipstamatic ($1.99) - Cool retro photos using interchangeable vintage lenses, flashes, and film.

Cases

I thought I'd throw in a special mention for some iPad cases that I've taken a shining to as well.  First is the DODOcase that I have for my original iPad.  Thanks to Ken Drouillard for giving me this hand-me-down after he upgraded to an iPad 2.  This case never fails to get commented on once people realize that there's an iPad inside what looks like a regular black hardcover notebook.  The bamboo construction is light, sturdy, beautiful and pro-eco.  

DODOcase (closed)

DODOcase (open)

The second case I'll mention is a wooden iPad 2 case by Miniot.  This gorgeous cover uses the same magnetic mechanism used by Apple's smart covers.  The instant-on feature even works with it.  When I eventually move on to an iPad 2 (or 3) this will likely be the cover I get.  Again, a big thanks to Ken for discovering this one.

As always, if you have apps that you think are fantastic I really want to know about them.  Please comment!

Review: Watts

Recently, I asked "What's On Your Mac?".  To extend my list, let me introduce you to Watts, a terrific little battery meter for the menu bar.  To say that Watts is a more attractive menu meter than the one built into Snow Leopard is to just scratch the surface.  In addition to doing the obvious, Watts includes some other essential features that, frankly, OS/X really should provide as part of good battery maintenance.  

One feature that I really like is that Watts will keep track of how often you calibrate your battery.  Macbook batteries are great and you will get even better performance out of them if you periodically calibrate them.  This involves fully charging, discharging, and recharing the battery.  You can google "macbook battery calibrate" and find the instructions to do so.  It takes about a half day to run the half dozen calibration steps but I often find that I get so busy that I forget about continuing the calibration steps and have to start again.  Watts will step you through the process and remind you when it is time to move on to the next step.  Another cool and related feature is that Watts will remind you to periodically unplug your laptop (which is also good healthy practice for your battery).  These features plus the useful notification options and battery health information screens make this little application well worth the $8.  Check it out.

What's on your Mac?

Within the span of a week, two good friends of mine decided that it was time to switch from PC to Mac.  I promised both of them a list of the Mac utilities and applications that I have found useful or interesting or fun on my Macs over the years.  Before I start I need to give props to my buddy Scott Corscadden who took the time to school me in the Way of Mac when I made my switch some years ago.

1Password ($39.95) - This great utility keeps track of your passwords, log in ids, and form settings.  It can also generate strong passwords which you access with your 1Password password.  Integrates with all browsers.  You can even store your encrypted 1Password file on a file sharing service like Dropbox so that all your Macs, iPhones, iPads can access the same passwords.

Adium (Free) - Are you an iChat or an MSN?  An AOL or a GTalk?  What about all your contacts?  Do they all use the same instant message service that you do?  With a product like Adium, it doesn't matter.  Use Adium to log into multiple IM services at the same time in the same interface.

AppTrap (Free) - Uninstalling an application on a Mac is as simple as dragging it from Finder to your Trash bin.  While this does uninstall the application it has a side-effect of leaving behind application support files such as configuration files, caches, databases.  AppTrap will automatically detect an uninstall and, after prompting you for permission, delete all the support files for a clean uninstall.  CAUTION: Some application upgrade processes consist of uninstalling the old version and reinstalling the new version.  When doing an upgrade, select "Leave files" rather than "Move files".

Dropbox (Free) - There are a few cloud storage services out there (including iDisk from Apple).  None are as seamless as Dropbox.  Configure a directory to be your Dropbox and any file you put in there will automatically be synchronized on the server and with any other client you have pointing to your account.  Share files seamlessly between your Macs, PCs, iPhones, iPads, Android phones, etc.  The first 2 gig is free.  50 gig costs $9.99/month. 

Evernote (Free) - One of my all time favorites.  At first glance, Evernote seems like a regular text note taking tool.  But you can also take photo notes (with OCR) and audio notes.  Oh, and they're all seamlessly synchronized to the cloud.  And searchable.  Oh, and you can get clients for Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Palm Pre, and Windows Mobile.  Awesome.

Firefox (Free) - Safari is a damn fine browser.  In many respects it is superior to Firefox.  The killer Firefox feature for me is its plugins which I make heavy use of (perhaps a topic for another post).  True, Safari and Chrome both now support plugins but so far neither of them have as rich a set as Firefox.  The moment I can get all or even most of my plugins for Safari I will likely drop Firefox from my list.

gfxCardStatus (Free) - Macbook Pros enjoy not one but two graphics processors.  An integrated processor which is light on features and easy on the battery and a discreet graphics processor stacked with features but can run your tank to empty in no time.  Apple's method of switching graphics processors is to change the setting in System Preferences and then reboot (Holy Microsoft Usability Batman!).  This utility will install a menu icon that not only tells you which card you're currently using but lets you switch back and forth between the two without rebooting.  Sweet.

Growl (Free) - Growl is a simple notification platform.  Many other applications integrate with growl to inform you of updates, alerts and other information.  One interface for notifications.

HandBrake (Free) - HandBrake converts to and from a multitude of audio and video formats.  Perfect for converting the format of the video your brother-in-law sent you to a format your television actually recognizes.

Hula Girl (Free) - I don't know why I like this dashboard widget but I do.

iStat Nano (Free) - This Dashboard widget gives you at-a-glance status information about various hardware and software components running on your Mac.

iWork ($79.00) -This is Apple's office productivity suite consisting of Numbers spreadsheet, Pages word processor, and Keynote presentation software.  If you must work in a Microsoft Office environment then go get Office for Mac 2008 (2011 coming soon!).  If you don't, then get iWork.  It's much cheaper, has all the features that you're likely to need and Keynote kicks Powerpoint's ass simply by lifting its right eyebrow only.

jitouch ($6.99) - Once you use the multitouch features of the Mac trackpad you will very rapidly learn to depend on it.  Using non-Mac trackpads becomes very frustrating when you find that all it does is move the mouse pointer and nothing else.  jitouch extends the multitouch capabilities with literally dozens of other gestures.  Easily worth the $6.99 price tag.

MacVim (Free) - At the risk of starting a text editor flame war I'll go on record stating that I'm a VI fan and always have been.  MacVim is a terrific port of VIM (VI Improved).

MenuMeters (Free) - MenuMeters puts a couple of handy indicators in your menu bar (at the top of the screen) for monitoring things like CPU, network, disk, etc.

NTFS-3G (Free) - Mac OS/X does not natively recognize NTFS partitions.  If you have carved out some of your diskspace to run Windows (via Bootcamp, VirtualBox, or some other mechanism) you might want to install this NTFS read/write driver so that you can read the Windows file system from the Mac side.  There is also a commercial version of NTFS-3G called Tuxera if you prefer to spend money.

OmniDiskSweeper (Free) - The Omni Group makes some really great products for Macs.  DiskSweeper is a free utility for managing your drive space.  With it you can find what's eating all the space.

OmniFocus ($79.95) - The price is a little steep but without OmniFocus I would be a completely disorganized mess at work.  If you have read David Allen's Getting Things Done you will love the care that the Omni Group has taken in developing a product that so closely embodies the GTD principles.  Purchase the iPhone version as well and access your

OmniGraffle ($99.95) -Another pricey-but-worth-it package, OmniGraffle is a sophisticated diagramming tool.  Similar to Microsoft Visio but with a more intuitive interface and richer presentation features, OmniGraffle makes the process of creating complex diagrams easy.  It even will output in Visio format for compatibility.

Quicksilver (Free) - "Act without doing" is the tagline from Blacktree.  Their product, Quicksilver, is difficult to classify.  It leverages Spotlight, Apple's advanced search engine built into Mac OS/X, to easily find and access applications, contacts, music, files, and other data.  Without moving your fingers from the keyboard you can access just about anything on your Mac.  Quicksilver is indispensable. 

Perian (Free) - "The swiss-army knife for QuickTime".  QuickTime is Apple's video viewer.  It's a great app with a simple, clean interface.  Just what you need if you have QuickTime video files to play.  For the other 99% of videos it is useless.  Enter Perian.  Perian adds QuickTime plugins to QuickTime to handle a multitude of other video formats.

The Weather Network (Free) - This Dashboard widget from The Weather Network (Canadian) does a great job forecasting weather.  Get the iPhone version as well.

TweetDeck (Free) - There are a handful of Twitter clients on the market but I prefer TweekDeck over them all.  In one interface you can not only get your Twitter stream, mentions, and directs but also add in Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and Buzz feeds.  Tweet and/or update your stats in any of these social media tools all from the TweetDeck interface.  Be sure to download the iPhone and iPad versions as well.

VirtualBox (Free) - VirtualBox is yet another great free product from the once might Sun Microsystems (I'm really going to miss them).  Hopefully Oracle will continue to develop VirtualBox and keep it free.  VirtualBox is a Virtual Machine that allows you to run Windows, Linux, or other operating systems while running Mac OS/X at the same time.  For those of you that must cling to your favorite Windows programs, use VirtualBox until you kick the habit.  If you want a VM but would rather pay for it then try Parallels ($79.99) or VMWare Fusion ($79.99). 

VLC (Free) - "It plays everything!"  If you need to play the few video formats that Perian doesn't handle then get VLC.  This little video player does indeed play just about any format.

Adobe Reader (Free) - YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It).  Mac OS/X handles PDF files natively.

What's on your Pod?

I recently acquired a new Apple iPad as part of an experiment we're running at work.  In addition to my iPhone, I now have a couple of connected devices that are meant to make my life better.  I've been taking a look at the dizzying number of applications available for both devices and it got me wondering what applications do the folks I know have on their devices.

In addition to the built in applications for email, browsing, contacts, calendars, photos, and tunes here's how my devices are kitted out.

On Both

I think it's pretty well known that iPads can run iPhone applications.  Some applications are written to be resolution independent and look stunning on either device (yay!).  Others are meant strictly for the lower resolution of an iPhone (or iPod Touch).  They are functional on an iPad but look pretty bad when pixel doubled (anyone working at my old company can attest to the poor visual results of pixel doubling).

• Evernote (Free) - essential for anyone like me who needs their brain backed up and/or extended.  Evernote syncs your notes seamlessly between all your devices and computers.
• OmniFocus ($24.99) - the best Getting Things Done (google "David Allen GTD") application I've come across.  Synchronizes your todo information across all devices and computers.  No iPad version yet though (pixel doubling -- puke).
• Tweetdeck (Free) - by no means am I a media socialite but Tweetdeck does a great job at presenting your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, foursquare (and other) feeds in one UI
• Dropbox (Free) - the more computers and connected devices we get the more important it is to have access to your important files no matter where you are in the meatsphere.  Dropbox seamlessly synchronizes your files across all computers and provides access to your files on mobile devices.  Comes with 3G storage for free.  (Oh Apple, why the $99 charge for MobileMe?)
• Net Portal ($1.99) - I don't really know why I bought this app.  It lets you access the files on your computers from your iPhone or iPad.  But if my important files are in DropBox why do I need to get at my computer you ask?  Good question.  Don't buy this app.
• Remote (Free) - Apple's remote control allows you to control your iTunes library or Apple TV
• Skype (Free) - 'nough said
• Flixter (Free) - Movie reviews no matter where you are
• Urbanspoon (Free) - Restaurant reviews and recommendations no matter where you are
• IM+ Lite (Free) - Nice multi-IM client with support for MSN, AIM, GTalk, Yahoo, and others.  Supported by ads unless you purchased the paid version.
• Mocha VNC Lite (Free) - Control your computers from your iPad or phone (although the phone resolution is a bit tiny for this to be practical).

On iPad

• iBooks (Free) - Apple's book reader.  Fantastic.
• Noterize ($2.99) - Note taking ala the built in Notes application but with many more features including the ability to do freehand annotations, and load PDF and PPT files.
• Marvel (Free) - Marvel's comic book reader.  Does a great job at providing the comic book experience in electronic form (don't tell kimota94 though). 
• Adobe Ideas (Free) - freehand sketch tool from Adobe.  Works better with a stylus such as the Pogo Sketch. 

On iPhone

My iPhone apps tend to be applications take either deal with photography (the iPad doesn't yet have a camera) or that leverage the high mobility of a phone over the iPad.  

• PS Mobile (Free) - Adobe Photoshop Mobile.  Simple photo touch ups right on your phone.
• FX Photo Studio ($0.99) - Photo effects on your phone.
• Stanza (Free) - A free ebook reader.  Before the iPad and iBooks I read books on my phone using Stanza.
• Momentile ($4.99) - Momentile is a social media site that, as far as I can tell, really hasn't taken off but I like it.  The idea is that you take a photo every day (or as near to every day as you can) and upload it to your Momentile site as a kind of photo diary.  The iPhone client lets you upload from your phone (which is really essential given that you are trying to capture an image every single day and in unpredictable situations).
• foursquare (Free) - Ok, so I foursquare.  Shut up.

So iPhone, iTouch, and iPad compadres... what's on your pod?