March, 2011

Apps / iOS / iPad / iPhone / Review / Tips — 1 Comment
25
Mar 11

Instacast for Podcasts

I listen to a large number of Podcasts. My queue of podcasts has almost doubled since Dan’s 5by5 really started pumping out quality material. While I love the increased variety, managing and sycning has become a mjor stumbling block to getting the latest content. Even if I charge my iPhone all night, I still need to connect it to Mac to sync with iTunes every morning before I leave for the office.

Instacast

I heard about Instacast for iOS about two weeks ago. It sounded intriguing but I was skeptical. I tried using the Audible app for audio books, but I hated having them outside of my iPod app and having to manually select and download books. I figured I would have the same issue with Instacast.
After nearly two weeks of using Instacast for Podcasts, I have stopped syncing all but two podcasts with iTunes (I keep an archive of all This American Life podcasts and I subscribe to the Shawn Blanc podcast)

Instacast has a very easy workflow. Here’s how I am using it. When I first launched it, I added podcasts that I already had on my iPod. This is very straight forward. Instacast reads the list of podcasts in your library and offers to add them to your streaming library of favorites. Unfortunately there is no “Add All” function, so it is a bit tedious at first. It is still a fairly easy process.

Once your podcasts have been added to your favorites, you can browse each podcast episode or browse at a higher level and view all of your podcast “shows.” The number of un-listened to episodes is displayed next to the podcast name. There is also a smart list of all un-listened to podcast episodes for all shows. This is great if you want to just listen to all of the new podcast one after another.

I have only found one issue with Instacast and it is a weakness shared by all stream apps such as Pandora. If you lose network connectivity for any length of time the podcast playback ends and there is no indication of the problem. If you are familiar with streaming apps then it will not be a surprise, but I would not recommend it to inexperienced users.

Conclusion

Overall the application is a fine addition to any iOS device. It really is the kind of app that Apple should have embedded in the iPod app.

Apple / Hardware / iTunes — No Comments
23
Mar 11

Apple's Streaming Service Already Exists

I’m surprised there has not been more buzz about this. There has been a lot of speculation that Apple will stream iTunes media some time in the future. The future is now on the AppleTV 2.

Apple is already streaming podcasts for the AppleTV 2. If you setup some favorite pdocasts on your little black brick, Apple registers those favorites with your iTunes ID. Now any other AppleTV 2′s that are using the same iTunes ID have the same favorites available for browsing and streaming. Apple even attempts to track the played info for the podcast. If you stop watching or listening half way through and move to another AppleTV, you can pick up where you left off.

I suspect that this is a sneak peek at how they will use streaming with iTunes and all Apple devices.

Apple / iOS — No Comments
13
Mar 11

Lining Up

I’ve avoided much of the iPad 2 buzz this past week. Some of it was easy to avoid but I do read Asymco regularly and even Horace Dediu chimed in about the launch.

I prefer not to add to the mindless chatter that has been taking place in the Apple blog echo chamber, but I would like to say a bit about what I saw.

In Line not Out-Of-Line

I pre-ordered the iPad 1. Given that Apple did not provide pre-orders far in advanced of store purchases for the iPad 2 launch, I decided to wait in line on March 11th. I’m glad that I did, but not because I am writing this on an iPad 2 (black, 64G Verizon, if anyone cares).

I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the many like minded people anxiously awaiting the opening of the pearly gates. But what really struck me was the sheer numbers and attitudes of people there. The queue membership crossed all walks of life (limited to those that had >$500 to spend on a gadget). There were students and teachers and executives and hippies. There were spectacles in togas and pillars in suits. There was every variety of consumer anxiously waiting to pay Apple on launch day for an updated version of a piece of electronics. That is astounding.

It also struck me how seldom this sort of consumer spectacle occurs. The XBox and Playstation are the only other consumer product that I can think of outside of Apple’s iOS devices that draw this kind of crowd. It’s really quite stunning that one company draws such zeal for an item with an entry price of $500. It’s also not a niche of fans either. I was in line next to a small business owner and an apparent high school student. Both were there to purchase the same device with money that obviously did not come easy. What’s more, both could not stand to wait to make the purchase. There were audible cheers when the line began to move. It felt like Disneyland.

I also want to point out that not a single person in a line approximately 500 people deep had an argument or security related event. Everyone was just happy to be there in the hopes of getting a new iPad.

Reality Check

I don’t want to imply that everyone in line had altruistic motives. On the contrary, a good number of folks were there to buy units to resell on the grey market. That’s my supposition, but I do know that the AT&T 3G units sold-out first. This makes sense if you consider that the Verizon models are only useful in North America while the AT&T units can be sold overseas at a premium. A large number of the customers that were ahead of me in line purchased two units (the maximum allowed at launch).

The Big Give Away

I conducted an informal poll of several fellow line-squatters. A handful were buying an iPad 2 to replace their first generation device. That kind of shocked me. I thought I was alone in this approach. I intended to buy a new iPad and donate my “old” device to my father-in-law. I think this will be the new Apple halo effect. Happy iPad 1 users donating their device to family members that would have never bought an iPad. My guess is that those new users will fast become Apple line-standers of the future.

 

Backup / Security / Tips — No Comments
7
Mar 11

Backup that Mailbox

Category 2 Data

I posted previously about finding your data buckets. It amounts to sifting through all of your digital records and assigning a cost and benefit. The ultimate goal, is to know what you have and how to secure it.

I assign email messages to category 2, along with receipts and warranties. Most email is unlikely to be crucial since I’ve probably already acted on it in some way. This is very different from family photos or tax documents which are generally irreplaceable.

Backup

I primarily use a MobileMe IMAP account for personal email. This means that all of it is stored in the cloud. While I tend to trust the stability and robustness of Apple’s MobileMe service, bad things still happen. That means I need to secure my own data and not count on someone else to safegaurd it for me. I clone my boot drive periodically, which includes email. This ensures that I can get to my email if I have a catastrophic disk failure and MobileMe goes offline. However, the 3-2-1 model means that it is not secured until I have at least 3 copies.

Archive

Apple Mail provides a simple way to get your mail out of the application and into a backup folder. Simply select the mailbox folders and choose Archive Mailbox from the Mailbox menu. I export two copies. one copy goes to my Dropbox account. The second copy goes to an archive folder on my Drobo. That means that my mail is secured in the following way (in addition to MobileMe):

  • 1 copy on my machine (SSD drive)
  • 1 copy on Dropbox (cloud storage)
  • 1 copy on Drobo (NAS disk storage)

The final trick is to make sure Spotlight and Launchbar both exclude my data backup locations. I really do not want to see multiple copies of the same email when I search from either tool.

Hardware / Review / Tips — No Comments
5
Mar 11

The Stylus Matters

Ben Brooks recently wrote about the using the Griffin stylus for handwriting on the iPad. I agree with much of his post, but one thing I have discovered is that the stylus really makes the difference. I’ve tried several (but not the Griffin). A nice comfortable stylus is much better than using your finger for taking notes. Additionally, a stylus with a rubberized tip is key. It provides a subtle resistance against the glass that feels more like writing on paper. It’s still much more slick than the sensation of writing on paper but better than the foam end on some stylus devices.

My personal favorite is the The Acase Capacitive Stylus (associate link). There are several versions. Most come with an attached plug that fits in the headphone jack of the iPad that attaches the stylus to the device. My personal favorite is the combo stylus that includes a ballpoint pen. It’s also slightly longer than the standard version. I am still baffled as to why no one makes a full pen-sized stylus though. The biggest downside is the small size of the stylus in the hand.