Instapaper

Remember that 3 minutes I told you about. Were I get to read something. Ok, so I'm a slow reader. I need more then 3 minutes.

This is were Instapaper comes in. At its core it is both a web service that saves URLs and a iOS app to read those saved articles. Go to Instapaper.com to sign up. The web service is free.

Usage:

1. Drag the bookmarklet to your browsers bookmarks. There are instructions here
2. Start saving articles for reading.

There isn't another step unless you have a iOS device. If you would like more information go here.

If you decide you would like to use more than just the web interface and have articles on your device for offline browsing you can purchase the Instapaper app from the AppStore. I say purchase because the app cost $4.99. Worth every penny. once the app is installed you sign in with your username and password and the device grabs up to the most recent 500 articles. You can make folders for savings and categorizing stories. There is also a straight archive that is just that, an archive. You can add via in app purchase search for $3.99 for 3 months.

You can also use this service to send articles to your Kindle. There is a fee associated doing that but if you are kindle user and do not intend on buying a iPad or iPhone this might interest you.

Instapaper is great app/service. I love always having something to read. Learning or laughing or simply having a place to save and archive your favorite articles or important info from your day.

The best write up I have read is here .

Reeder

A friend of mine just got a iPhone. He is coming over from a Blackberry. He asked me to recommend some apps. Here is part one. I will also be posting about web services that intergrate well with the iOS.

Reeder does exactly that. Reeder reads RSS feeds. Your favorite sports team, maybe a family member has a photo site. The photo bit can be a huge game changer for a couple who just had a baby.

To use reeder you need a google account. The Reeder app will ask for your google account info.

If you would like more info on getting google reader working click here

Then its game on. Go to your favorites sites. I'll get you started.

Fxguide

Why is reeder a game changer. Reeder is quick. I need quick. I have 3 minutes[rendering, we have a render farm its awesome], but sitting there staring at rush is waste of time. I can glance at Reeder and whatever catches my eye I will start to read.

Enjoy,

iPad

What's good about the iPad. It's not what you think.

I am a compositor. I sit in front of a computer all day long. I use every bit of RAM and all cores. When I get home the computer can be a very deep dark hole. The screen sucks me in. An update to the Web site or edit the lastest photos. maybe learn some Python or compositing trick. I could sit at a computer for hours.

Enter iPad.

The iPad provides a rich experience but scales it down for me just enough where I do only what the iPad is good at. I read, return e-mail. Surf the web. I do not listen to music on the iPad, but I play games. During the baseball season I watch or listen to baseball games. Thats about it.

Perfect.

UI

Complaints or not iCloud has been good to me. Nothing has changed. Calendars still sync. My wife and I have the same calendars and that works fine. Contacts/Address Book keep all my contacts up to date. With reminders app I can share reminders with my wife as well as dates and grocery lists or multiple stores. For the most part things are great.

The thing that I find frustrating is the syncing. I have no idea that it's happening or is it going well. That's what Apple wants?

Dropbox works so well my dad doesn't get it. You do what? It does what automatically? Strangely dropbox has a Apple like UI element that Apple can't use. MobileMe used the spinning dashes. But Dropbox doesn't so much better. It's a feel it not see it element. It's really good.

Swipe Left

Recently I came across this problem.

I had downloaded some podcasts on the iPhone. At work when I have no
Podcasts to listen to I grab some thru the iTunes app on the phone. Before iOS 5 the podcasts were treated like any other podcast that had come from a iTunes sync. But now those podcasts seem to have made a home on my iPhone and would not be deleted. Listen to or not.

Answer swipe left. delete

Gestures do solve some ui problems. Just not all of them. If you don't know it there you can't use them. It's not a new flaw it's a old one. If a command is buried in a menu and you don't know about it, you can't use it.

Photoshop is guilty of this. Content aware fill is a great tool. It's not a 100% fix but workable. I recently used it for a clean plate. Got me close and I painted the the rest of it. This tool fills in areas with content from surrounding areas. Sounds cool, huh! It is, but it's in a menu. My dad might use this a lot but I had to show him that it was there. Gestures adds a layer we didn't have before. Going from on the road with my laptop to my office is a change. My MacbookPro is plugged into a external monitor. As a result I no longer have a track pad. And now with the change to more of a iOS interface in Mac OS X a track pad is almost a must.

Michael

Should Lists Have Notifications

I share 4 lists with my wife. When she or I add a item should we have the option to be notified when an item is added.

Since notifications have got so much better with iOS 5 shouldn't a subscriber of that list be notified when things change. I guess the calendar doesn't tell me when she adds a new calendar event. I feel like that is different. When Rikki adds milk to the list I would like to know. She is counting on having milk. I'm forced to look at the calendar when making a entry. With the groceries list I'm not. Siri adds a item. I don't engage that list til I'm at the store. Maybe setup a reminder to look at the groceries list when I leave work. Siri adds a whole different problem. Processing data that really should have to be read from a list.

I'll keep mulling this over.

Michael