David Findlay on the latest Notesy release:
>While working on 2.0 I came across Ethan Schoonover’s wonderful Solarized color palettes on the blogosphere. 2.0 adds background and pen options for Solarized Dark and Solarized Light. I’m a big fan of Solarized Dark myself.
He’s also added a ton of other features like subfolders and markdown preview with custom CSS. It’s a great update to my goto iPhone note app, Solarized makes it that much better.
I have always found outlining a post harder than just writing one with no outline. However, I knew when the OmniGroup announced that they were bringing OmniOutliner to the iPad that I would snatch it up right away because I love using that app as a note taking tool in meetings — on the Mac it lends itself well to that task.
As I had already decided to buy the app I immediately bought it and installed it when it launched, here’s my impressions of [OmniOutliner for iPad](http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnioutliner-ipad) after using it to actually outline a few of my posts and spending considerable time with the app.
### Omni Uses the App ###
One thing that is immediately evident is that this is an app made by people who actually use the app on the device. Thought was put into the controls in the app, how you enter data, style it, and organize it. You don’t have to wonder how you move items around, or make children and parent items — you just do what you think you should be able to do and more likely than not you will be right.
It’s things like that which make using this app so fantastic.
### Color Schemes ###
OmniOutliner on the Mac has always support colors, but rarely are they used because it just isn’t *that* easy to do so. Enter the iPad app and the OmniGroup has pre-made seven different color themes and styles that you can duplicate and use. My favorite of course is the Solarized light theme — it’s like they read my mind on this one.
The neatest thing is that these color themes carry over to your Mac. If I set the colors on the iPad and open the same file on my Mac it will look the same, what a great touch that you would expect to have in an app of this caliber.
### Outlining ###
As I said in the intro I don’t normally outline things, but the iPad also makes it a pain to edit text and to write long form (without a bluetooth keyboard at least). This is the void that OmniOutliner has filled for me since I downloading it. Allowing me to quickly structure and “write” a post with great ease. Opening the file on my Mac, or more likely set the iPad next to my Mac screen, and I can take off writing.
I also get the added benefit of actually being able to see the flow of a post before I write it — which hopefully produces better quality content.
As a straight outlining tool OmniOutliner is one of the most robust you can get on your iPad and again the actions work just as you expect them. You can arrange items by dragging them and also delete with a swipe.
### Other Uses ###
The great thing about OmniOutliner has always been the flexibility that the app provides — even so far back as the kGTD system days. That doesn’t stop here either, there are great preset templates for things like logs (I created whiskey log to track the whiskey I have tried) and of course for note taking and basic spreadsheet layouts.
The pre-installed spreadsheet looks basic at first until you realize that it is actually auto calculating a few cells — this is not a Numbers replacement, but it is a very nice and quick spreadsheet tool. With a few added TextMate bundles and copious use of the notes fields you could actually write an entire post in the app — though that seems bit ridiculous if you ask me.
### Miscellaneous Good Things ###
It’s incredible how fast and light this app feels. It launches quickly and opens documents with very little delay. The app gives you access to the full range of fonts available on the iPad — a nice departure from the typical forced Helvetica apps that flood the writing app categories.
One last point before moving on: the icon is not blue or purple — it’s orange. I am not sure if they are trying to create a brushed metal look, but either way I like the app icon quite a bit. Having said that, if you put it next to the iPod icon you are asking for trouble.
### $20 ###
You can’t talk about an OmniGroup app without mentioning the price. They sell OmniFocus at $40 on the iPad and OmniOutliner keeps the high priced tradition with a price of $20. Is the price high? Yes, in comparison to other iPad apps. Is the price too high for what you get? No.
Think of it this way, the Mac app will run you $39.99 for the non-Pro version — the iPad version is half the price with no reduction in features — it’s worth $40.
### File Management ###
One of the most important aspects of a tool like OmniOutliner is how well it will play with your Mac. That means if I have an outline on my Mac, how easy is it to get it open on my iPad — and vice versa. Sadly this is the biggest speed bump for OmniOutliner. The obvious choice would be for the app to work with Dropbox — thus allowing you to quickly and painlessly work between your device, sadly the OmniGroup did not implement this in it’s first version. ((I really hope this is coming though.))
Instead here are your options for importing a new file to OmniOutliner on your iPad:
1. Copy from iDisk — to which I ask who has the time to save a file to idisk?
2. Copy from WebDAV
Let’s talk about the second option for a moment, as you perhaps don’t know what to do with it. Except Omni’s likely customer base is one that knows what this means and has a webDAV server setup. But if you don’t, you still have an options. What you may not know is that with the help of [DropDAV](http://dropdav.com/) you can create a webDAV server for free (for free Dropbox accounts) out of your existing [Dropbox](http://db.tt/nQKF6kW) account — which works just fine for importing to OmniOutliner.
Once you hook the two together things work pretty decently with your Dropbox account. ((Be sure to add a trailing slash on the DropDAV url when you enter it: https://dav.dropdav.com/ and that should fix any constant re-login issues you may find.))
Export gives you two options as well:
1. Email — gee thanks.
2. WebDAV
Again here number two is really not that useful until you hook up Dropbox and DropDAV — then it becomes all sorts of powerful. The biggest issue that still remains is version control. Importing and exporting means that you aren’t doing a modification sync so you will likely get tripped up with an old version somewhere, at some point. I’d like to see native Dropbox integration here so that I don’t have to worry about which version is the most recent.
#### Document Selector ####
One last thing: OmniOutliner uses the same document selector carousel that apps like Pages and Numbers uses. You see a smaller thumbnail of the document with name and options — scrolling laterally to see other documents. As has been noted about Pages and Numbers this only works with a small grouping of documents. Once you reach, say, 20 documents the entire system becomes very cumbersome to use.
I think a quick solution would be to implement some type of search mechanism for the file picker, but even then we need some improvements here. The Apple carousel view really isn’t made to handle a bunch of files quickly.
### Brown ###
The top and bottom toolbars use a textured brown coloring — which I don’t quite get since it isn’t strong enough to where it feels like skeuomorphism, it just feels off. I can forgive little things like this, but it causes two problems:
1. It reminds me of iCal, which is ugly.
2. When you have a dark background it is too light and draws my eye. On a light document it is too dark and draws my eye. These two bars just feel heavy and *there* — instead of being out of the way.
The brown color seems like an odd choice when put next to the sleek silver gradient of the column header bar, this isn’t enough to say that it is a bad design, or ugly — but it is a bold choice that I don’t care for.
### TextExpander ###
One huge missing element is TextExpander support. I asked OmniGroup CEO Ken Case about this on Twitter, to which he [replied](https://twitter.com/kcase/status/68726098128683008):
>Not sure yet how easy TextExpander will be to integrate: it works with standard UIKit text fields, but ours are custom.
[and](https://twitter.com/kcase/status/68726224977002496):
>(We had to build our own custom text fields to support rich styles, inline attachments, etc.)
It sounds like they are looking into adding the support, but are rightfully concerned with how well it will work with their non-standard UI. That’s a major bummer and one that I hope they find a work around for — once you get used to TextExpander it becomes very annoying when an app doesn’t support it.
### Better than Good ###
Even with the flaws I pointed out this is still a very good app for two reasons:
1. It is far better than the Mac version (I am seeing a trend with OmniGroup offerings here).
2. It makes my iPad better.
Even if they only met criteria number two you would be hard pressed to call the app anything but very good. The biggest hurdle the app still has to deal with is a syncing/Dropbox solution, if and when they get that handled this will be a must have app.
FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker — you know the person who helped approve the Comcast/NBCUniversal deal and is now going to work for them — just released a [press statement on the matter](http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0513/DOC-306569A1.pdf). Let’s take a look shall we:
>I’m proud of my nearly eight years of government service, and especially my service as an FCC Commissioner under Chairman Genachowski’s leadership. Until late this spring, my plan was to seek renomination for a second term as Commissioner. That was true all through the winter during consideration of the Comcast/NBCUniversal transaction and in the months after it was completed.
“Plans can change.”
>Not once in my entire tenure as a Commissioner had anyone at Comcast or NBCUniversal approached me about potential employment. When this opportunity became available in mid- April, I made a personal decision that I wanted to give it serious consideration.
“I talked to a couple of head hunters and heard rumblings, but I am not foolish enough to talk directly with these companies about a job. In April I decided I had to do what was best for me, not what I was nominated to do.”
>Therefore, I immediately sought counsel from the General Counsel of the FCC, and recused myself on April 18th from any matters involving Comcast or NBCUniversal. I have not only complied with the legal and ethical laws, but I also have gone further. I have not participated or voted any item, not just those related to Comcast or NBCUniversal, since entering discussions about an offer of potential employment. Because of this, I plan to depart the Commission as soon as I am able to ensure an orderly wind-down of my office.
“I had to find where the line was drawn in the laws, so I talked to law people. Also I haven’t done my current job one bit since I accepted the job at my buddies company — two weeks notice baby! Oh, and I want to leave real quick like.”
>I will of course comply with all government ethics and Obama pledge restrictions going forward. I am excited to embark on the next phase of my career and am grateful for having had the opportunity to work with great public servants at the FCC.
“Thanks to Obama and the FCC for getting me this fat pay day and all the connections to make me a good lobbyist. Peace out.”
In a series of stupid and confusing posts Lodsys has partly responded to it’s patent trolling ways. As always Craig Grannell has us covered with what you need to know. Mostly just know that Lodsys says a whole lot of nothing while using a lot of feel good analogies.
Dragos Pirvu:
>Now Eldar Murtazin states that Microsoft is going to buy Nokia’s mobile division meaning that the Finnish-based company will no longer produce smartphones. The deal will see Microsoft paying more than $30 billion for Nokia after last week it paid $8.5 billion for Skype.
I doubt that this would be an all cash deal. I also don’t get this deal for either Nokia or Microsoft, therefore I am going to go ahead and say that I doubt this rumor to be true. ((With Ballmer though I probably will be wrong, as logic goes out the door with him.))
Xavier Morera on the Microsoft culture:
>MS Consulting IMHO was not what it could be, I worked there too and they have extremely good technical people, but the only thing a lot of them seem to be passionate about is being a Microsoft employee and not building amazing stuff. Besides, a lot of them look down on other companies when they shouldn’t.
Xavier is not alone, since posting my [Ballmer piece](https://brooksreview.net/2011/05/ballmer/) I have received tons of email from current and former employees and consultants all sharing the same sentiment.
This is a killer bundle that has three of my favorite Mac apps in it for $29 — a bargain. You get Keyboard Maestro, TextExpander **and** Mail Act-On, which make it worth it right there. Awesome deal.
This is the twelfth [installment](https://brooksreview.net/tag/quick/) of the Quick Takes series, where I look at five (or so) apps and tell you my thoughts on them.
### [Shine](http://appthat.com/shine/) (iPhone) ###
Ryan Gomba was kind enough to send me over a promo code for Shine the other day, it’s a $0.99 weather app for the iPhone. Be sure to check out Justin Blanton’s write up on the app [right here](http://hypertext.net/2011/05/shine-weather-app). He makes some great points about the app.
The icon isn’t that great and that’s probably being kind. The visual styling of the rest of the app is top notch down to the ‘can’t update’ detail that overlays a red tag with a refresh icon in it to let you know your data is out of date — it’s a nice touch for something that most apps see as an afterthought. The temp is huge and easy to see, you can quickly flick through to see weather forecasts by day or broken down to every few hours. Like Justin I would love to see a feels like temp reading, but the badge icons are something I tend to ignore (or turn off) so no desire for that here.
One thing that a lot of weather apps are missing for a Seattleite is the text forecast. You can show us the weather icon forecast all you want, but in Seattle that will be clouds or rain , so it can’t say things like:
– PM Showers
– Showers
– Rain
– Partly Cloudy
– Mostly Cloudy
– Wind/ Rain
– Sprinkles
– Rain AM only
There’s a lot going on with Seattle weather and I would love to be able to see that without having to scroll through the hour view and look at the percent chance of precipitation.
### [Verbs](http://verbsapp.com/) (iPhone) ###
Verbs is a $2.99 iPhone app that allows you to IM with people over MobileMe/AIM/Gtalk — I particularly like the Droplr integration in that app (it’s one of my favorite services). This is a great looking app and I really love the icon — fits perfectly with the app.
You can cycle through conversations with a card like interface that is a clone of how the iPhone Safari tabs work. I have two major annoyances with this app:
1. The app constantly gives me notifications that it has lost connection. I don’t want IM on my phone so that I can initiate conversations, I want it so others can shoot me a message — which only works if I am connected and online. I just don’t trust this app to keep me online all the time, part of this is the limited multi-tasking that iOS offers.
2. Though the overall design is great, the conversation view is what bugs me the most. The text does not wrap in the entry field, which is annoying and silly, the send button is next to the delete key meaning that I send messages when I am trying to delete things. This interface needs a slight update.
Overall I am pretty happy with the app and think that it works great for those occasional times I want to IM on my iPhone.
### [Vocabology](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vocabology/id383809431?mt=8) (iPhone) ###
This little free app pulls the word of the day from multiple different sites. Forget about whether you get anything out of word of the day types things, it’s still fun to see from time to time. The interface is very sparse and you can pick and choose what sources you want to see. Clicking through to the definition shows the iAd that is placed on the second screen — you only see it if you want to know what the word means and I think that was a great way to implement ads.
My favorite part: the Urban Dictionary word of the day (which I didn’t know existed), today’s word: Bed Gravity. Clever.
### [8mm Vintage Camera](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/8mm-vintage-camera/id406541444?mt=8) (iPhone) ###
I have been avoiding this app since I saw it, $1.99 price and the icon made me walk away. The screen shots I have seen about it though really intrigue me — I mean who doesn’t want messed up color, out of focus and shaky looking video from their HD quality iPhone camera? I mean *I* do.
This app feels like Instagram for videos without all the sharing and social aspects. That’s not a bad thing — Instagram is great and one of my favorite new things out there — but the filters can be a little over the top and that is what 8mm is all about: over the top gimmicky video. That doesn’t mean that you couldn’t make a very cool video with it, but most people won’t.
### [Splinter Cell Conviction HD](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/splinter-cell-conviction-hd/id371111757?mt=8) (iPad) ###
The game is $0.99 at the time of writing and it is a continuation of the Splinter Cell game series. The graphics are good, but not great — this isn’t Infinity Blade. Splinter Cell suffers from the same problem that every other shoot ’em up game on the iPad does: accuracy. It is very hard to be accurate when your finger is often larger than the bad guys head.
I haven’t played through the game yet, but the few levels I have played have been entertaining to the point where I had to make a conscious effort to put down the iPad and write this short blurb up. Well worth a buck, probably two or three. One thing I will say is that this game really sucks down the iPad battery life.
### [Prompt](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prompt/id421507115?mt=8) 1.1 Update (iOS Universal) ###
I wanted to touch on this app again because the 1.1 update adds two really great improvements:
1. Nicknames for connections.
2. The ability to automatically execute a command upon connection.
The second thing means that I can setup my SSH connection to the TBR server to automatically execute an Apache restart — the most common problem I encounter on the site. This is a great update to an already excellent app and it’s little touches like this that keep making it better and better.
*If you liked this installment be sure to check out the other [installments](https://brooksreview.net/tag/quick/).*
We have the full text of Steve Ballmer’s speech to USC students now, and oh boy. Ballmer:
>I also have to tell you, a guy I know in Seattle has a son who goes to the school down the street here, UCLA. And I saw him the other day, yes, that’s right. I saw him the other day, and he starts chirping at me, chirp, chirp, chirp. I said, “I’m going down to USC to speak.” Chirp, chirp, chirp, UCLA better, chirp, chirp, chirp. I had it. I whip out my Windows Phone, I Bing the university rankings, and I just show it to him right there in black and white, USC 23 – UCLA 25.
What does “chirp, chirp, chirp” mean? And really, product placement in a commencement speech? Ugh, and later:
>Number one, great ideas matter. Number two, find passion. And, number three, be tenacious, be irrepressible.
He seems really good at the last word from what I see on the outside looking in. Where is number one and two in Microsoft? That’s what Microsoft needs right now.
Ugh…
Jean-Louis Gassée on Microsoft’s Skype acquisition:
>In just the past 12 months, Microsoft has lost $2.5B in its Online business. They spend $2 to make $1 in revenue. Buying and “integrating” Skype will make the picture even redder.
and later:
>Microsoft’s ability to successfully charge for a formerly free product is lacking.
I also love the Elop quips.
You may have seen [Tim Van Damme’s](http://dribbble.com/shots/170007-Instapaper-Redesign) Instapaper redesign and Marco’s response linked to here. What strikes me about all of this is that Tim’s design looks great, but Marco makes some excellent points why it wouldn’t *work* great. A lot of times we (myself included) complain about how an app looks or works — forgetting that what we want may not be possible given the feature set and developer APIs available.
Most of all Marco’s post stands to show just how much thought and care is put into the Instapaper app:
>I’ve often cut entire features during development because there was nowhere good to put them in the interface.
How many other companies would cut a **feature** because they couldn’t find a place to put the button that they were happy with?
Sharon Pian Chan reporting on Steve Ballmer’s USC commencement speech:
>“I thought I might have to Skype in,” Ballmer said. He then urged students to “Please, Skype on!” after graduating.
Compare and contrast that to [this](http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html) and you get why he [needs to go](https://brooksreview.net/2011/05/ballmer/).
UPDATE: [Here’s the full text of his speech](http://www.geekwire.com/2011/irrepressible-steve-ballmer-microsoft-ceos-usc-commencement-speech).
The Macalope:
>Microsoft acquired Skype for an eye-popping 8.5 billion quatloos, which the Macalope knows is not a real form of money, but, let’s face it: Microsoft’s not treating it like it’s real either.
Great work over at The Carton on an Applescript to grab the title for the current Safari/Chrome window. I use it with [this workflow](https://brooksreview.net/2011/03/cmd-one/).
Nilay Patel:
>The OHA might well steward the open-source aspect of Android, but when it comes down to actually shipping a device, it’s entirely Google’s show. And that might be biggest takeaway of all: for all of Android’s open-source ideals, Google is very much in control — and it’s not shy about letting its partners know it.
I’m *shocked*.
>In this episode Shawn and Ben discuss cloud based music solutions and swords.
Yes, swords.
John Brownlee:
>The lead developer behind the popular Mac dock replacement DragThing and the fantastic iOS scientific calculator app pCalc is about to be sued for patent infringement because his software uses Apple’s own in-app purchasing mechanism. And he’s not alone.
The best thing Apple could do here is tell the developers that Apple will fight this for them. If developers have to start hiring lawyers then you can kiss iOS developers good bye.
Ernesto at TorrentFreak.com:
>Comcast has reached out to The Pirate Bay and set aside resources in case the BitTorrent site needs it. “I can have our engineers work directly with them to assist,” Jason Livingood told TorrentFreak.
Yesterday Comcast customers were unable to reach The Pirate Bay — many assumed that Comcast was blocking the site. What is really cool is that Comcast not only reached out to The Pirate Bay after hearing about this, but they also did this:
>Comcast reached out to Serious Tubes Networks, who deliver transit to The Pirate Bay, and they were able to correct the issue.
Comcast probably doesn’t care for The Pirate Bay and all the BitTorrent traffic that it brings to Comcast pipes, but in this case they really did the right thing. Kudos to them.