With just a few hours to go in 2010, I'm thinking about 2011 already. This year, I'm not really making any resolutions, since they are made to be broken. Instead, I've written a list of things that I can do using my Apple products to make my life even more enjoyable than it already is. When you get to be my age (over a half-century old), you want to "grab for all the gusto you can get." Since I'm never away from an Apple product (well, almost never -- I don't use my iPhone in the shower), I know that my Macs, iPad, and iPhone can help me make 2011 a very happy New Year.

1) Read more books. I do a lot of writing, which has strangely enough left me with less time to read for enjoyment. With iBooks and the Amazon Kindle reader both installed on my iPad and iPhone, I plan to download a lot more books in 2011. Re-reading some old favorites and exploring new authors will be a nice way to start reading again.

2) Take at least one photo a day. Having my iPhone 4 in my pocket all the time makes it dead simple to take pictures, and even when my day consists of hanging around my home office writing, I can usually find something to snap a photo of with Instagram, Camera+, or the regular iPhone camera app. I started doing this last year just before New Year's Day, but the app that I was using changed mid-year and wouldn't let me post additional photos. This year? I'm just going to post my daily pictures to a new Flickr set so my Project 365 isn't dependent on the whims of a developer.

Continue reading Ten ways I'll use Apple products to have more fun in 2011

Ten ways I'll use Apple products to have more fun in 2011 originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Once you have a fair number of apps on your iOS device, you might find that you occasionally "lose" an app somewhere in the pages and/or folders of your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Handily, there's a trick for locating that app using iTunes. I consider myself a seasoned iTunes/iPhone user, and this simple little tip was a surprise to me. It might be to you, too!

Connect your device to your computer and let it show up under "Devices" in iTunes. Select the device and click on the "Apps" tab of the info panel. You'll see a list of all of your apps on the left, and a rendering of your device's screens (pages) on the right. All you need to do is double-click an app on the left to see exactly what page it's on, and in what folder, if you've organized that way.

Now, if only Apple hadn't removed the search field on the apps list. I've accumulated a decent app library, and scrolling that list is a pain, but at least I'll be able to find the apps on my device now.

Hat tip to Mike Tselikman!

iPhone 101: Where did I put that app? originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a recent interview, Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio (the makers, if you haven't heard by now, of Angry Birds) says that from a developer viewpoint, Apple is the platform to go with. "They have gotten so many things right," says Vesterbacka, "and they know what they are doing and they call the shots." He says that Android's issue isn't so much about device fragmentation as it is "ecosystem fragmentation" -- by spreading itself out so much, Google's smartphone OS has "so many different shops, so many different models" running that it's tough for developers to find their own place in all of the chaos.

Vesterbacka also makes the point that much of the Angry Birds success has come simply from marketing. His two steps to succeeding on the App Store are first to "create a great app," and then to "get the message out." He repeats that a few times -- Angry Birds itself is definitely a solid game, but part of the reason that Rovio enjoys such success is their effective marketing and reaching the people who are interested in buying their game.

You can watch the full video of Vesterbacka's interview with Google after the break. Personally, I think a lot of the success that Angry Birds has had is a "right time, right place" kind of thing. That's not to take anything away from Vesterbacka and Rovio -- his insights are certainly dead-on and he clearly knows what he's doing, and the company deserves all of the success it has earned. But with a platform as big as the iPhone, there was bound to be a killer app at some point, and Angry Birds is definitely one of those.

[via 9to5Mac]

Continue reading Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best

Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a recent interview, Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio (the makers, if you haven't heard by now, of Angry Birds) says that from a developer viewpoint, Apple is the platform to go with. "They have gotten so many things right," says Vesterbacka, "and they know what they are doing and they call the shots." He says that Android's issue isn't so much about device fragmentation as it is "ecosystem fragmentation" -- by spreading itself out so much, Google's smartphone OS has "so many different shops, so many different models" running that it's tough for developers to find their own place in all of the chaos.

Vesterbacka also makes the point that much of the Angry Birds success has come simply from marketing. His two steps to succeeding on the App Store are first to "create a great app," and then to "get the message out." He repeats that a few times -- Angry Birds itself is definitely a solid game, but part of the reason that Rovio enjoys such success is their effective marketing and reaching the people who are interested in buying their game.

You can watch the full video of Vesterbacka's interview with Google after the break. Personally, I think a lot of the success that Angry Birds has had is a "right time, right place" kind of thing. That's not to take anything away from Vesterbacka and Rovio -- his insights are certainly dead-on and he clearly knows what he's doing, and the company deserves all of the success it has earned. But with a platform as big as the iPhone, there was bound to be a killer app at some point, and Angry Birds is definitely one of those.

[via 9to5Mac]

Continue reading Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best

Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It happens around this time every year -- some company that makes its money from security computers claims that next year will finally be the year the Mac goes under attack from virus programmers. This year it's McAfee, who are claiming in a report that due to the popularity of iOS devices, Apple will become a "prime target" for hackers and virii in 2011. As you might expect from a company that sells anti-virus software, McAfee claims that its research shows "threats of data and identity exposure will become more pronounced," especially on the Mac. Go figure.

That's not to say that you shouldn't be careful about your computer -- always stay away from sketchy websites and browse as securely as you can, always use secure passwords, and always keep your Mac up to date with the latest patches and fixes, just in case. I'm not even saying that all anti-virus software is a waste of money -- there are some good worthwhile solutions out there if you feel they're necessary. But the anti-virus folks have been predicting Macs will finally get threatened for years now, and Apple's platform is still much more secure than most others.

McAfee predicts Apple under threat in 2011 (again) originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Following up on my article about the best Mac apps I used in 2010, here are some of the best hybrid "Mac and iOS apps" I used in 2010. This wasn't an attempt to come up with a specific number, just the results of some careful reflection.

You may wonder why some apps appear on this list instead of the Mac list. For example, Dropbox has an iOS app, why not add it here? Because my primary use of Dropbox is on the Mac. Yes I use it with iOS, but it's usually through another app that is syncing back to my Mac. On the other hand, using OmniFocus for iPad (our review) led to me using OmniFocus for Mac more, so I put OmniFocus on this list.

All that is to say, these are my distinctions, and you are free to disagree with them.

1) myPhoneDesktop (or MPD) is a little-known gem of the iOS world. The US$5 universal iOS app pairs with desktop software on your Mac, Windows or Linux PC, and it allows you to send text, phone numbers and even images to your iOS device. While there are lots of pasteboard sharing apps (like Pastebot) that allow two-way sharing of pasteboard data, I find myself using MPD much more often because it is simpler and easier to use.

If I am on my Mac and want to download a new app on my iPad, I select the URL from Safari and press command (⌘) + C + C (just like regular "copy" except you press "C" twice). Instantly, I get a push notification from MPD on my iPad, which opens the link, hands it off to the App Store app, and I purchase and download the app right from my iPad.

Since I first reviewed it, MPD has been continually improved and updated, including support for iCab Mobile on iOS devices as well as GoodReader and even GV Connect, which means that you can place a call through Google Voice on your iPhone from a message sent from your computer!

Continue reading The best Mac and iOS apps I used in 2010

The best Mac and iOS apps I used in 2010 originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been in the private BitTorrent scene for at least a couple of months, you should be familiar with TorrentBits.Ro tracker (TBS). TBS is one of the larger General trackers out there and is one of the long standing private torrent sites with over 4 years of lifetime. The site has its roots in Romania and its right up there in the list of respected Romanian trackers along with the likes of iPlay, FileList, LastTorrents, ExtremeShare, SceneFZ etc. Despite being a popular tracker with a...

Wanna enjoy your favorite DVD movies on your beloved iPod anytime and anywhere? SnowFox DVD to iPod Converter is a comprehensive, powerful and simple-to-use DVD to iPod converting application which able to convert DVD for playback on all iPod models, including iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iPod classic and iPod touch. Main features of SnowFox DVD [...]

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First of all, let us wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Along with the rest of the internet, the file sharing community is busy celebrating this joyous season in grand style. As we predicted in a previous article earlier this month, lots of private trackers have opened public registrations over the Christmas holidays, welcoming in new members from all parts of the world. We have already featured quite a few of these sites on the blog and this article features five six...

As the end of 2010 approaches, I started looking back over the Mac applications that I used this year to see which ones stood out. They weren't necessarily released this year (although many were), but they were apps that helped me get stuff done in 2010. I didn't try to come up with some specific number or any other predefined criteria, I just took a good hard look at my Applications folder, menu bar and System Preferences. They are presented in no particular order.

Dropbox reached 1.0 in 2010, and the milestone release included some significant Mac-specific features such as Extended Attribute Sync. This was also the first year that I exceeded the free space Dropbox provides, and paid for a 50 GB account. Thanks to the referral program, educational user referral bonus, and extra free space programs that Dropbox offers, I have 83.4 GB of space in my "50 GB" account.

TUAW folks have written extensively about our love of Dropbox, but if you've somehow missed it: Dropbox is a folder on your computer which syncs (and therefore is "backed up" and version-managed) online, and which you can then sync to all of your other Mac, Windows, or Linux computers. (Want to know more? Check out the official Dropbox tour.) Thanks to the API which the company announced back in May, many iOS developers have added Dropbox syncing as well, making 2010 a pretty significant year for Dropbox and its users. (Cost: 2 GB/free; $9.99/month or $99.00/year for 50 GB; or $19.99/month or $199.00/year for 100 GB.)

Read on for the rest of 2010's best Mac apps...

Continue reading The best Mac applications I used in 2010

The best Mac applications I used in 2010 originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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