As a consistent iPod user and Apple enthusiast, I constantly find myself looking out for the latest and greatest applications. I’ve tried a multitude of personal productivity applications over the last year, however, it wasn’t until recently when I found Diacarta that I felt like I had one that I actually want to use. Other applications at times, seemed confusing while being overloaded with advanced options that in turn make them less intuitive. The user interface is so clean, simple, and intuitive that it literally takes you a few seconds to add another task into your day. With a library of over 50 different icons, the interface also does something I’ve never seen in another personal planner — visually map out your day! You can very easily drag-and-drop these icons to the appropriate time of day and it will snap in place, automatically adjusting the time. How much easier can you get!?

Another neat feature of this application is the ability to switch between your AM and PM tasks or even days, with only the flip of a finger. I liked this personally because if you’re as busy as I can be a times, all those tasks pile up and get to look a little intimidating! So in a way, this is feature is helping to organize your day, and ease your mind.

As a designer, one of the most interesting things about this application was reading about the development of it in another review. Created by Jake and Georgia Yanchar, two former New York City lawyers, Diacarta is said to have evolved from daily organizers that Jake would draw daily in his Moleskine notebook. I think this only says alot about the application and its simplicity. If one person can organize their life from a few sketches in a notebook, and turn it into a iPhone application, it just might be worth a try! You might be surprised!

In-flight entertainment sucks at best.  I’ve always thought it a stretch to call it “entertainment.”  Have no fear, Apple and a company called Bluebox are on the case!

Soon enough we could all be tapping away our flight time with an iPad for entertainment, courtesy of the AIRLINE.  Seriously. How much  better would the whole “travel” experience be if more airlines started offering this as an option?  In fact, it could help turn the air travel industry around.  Well, maybe not, but it would certainly be a good perk in a world of paying for carry-ons, no in-flight meals (not even those salty peanuts, much less the dry turkey sandwich in plastic wrap), and extensive security waits.  I know I would rather fly knowing an iPad was waiting for me.  I saw this on BitRebels.com originally, and the details are on Bluebox Avionics’ website where the company goes on to say:  “It leverages the power, flexibility and quality of the most advanced consumer device ever produced.”

I must admit, I own an iPad and look forward to using it the next time I have to travel.  But for those who don’t already own one, this could be a deal-changer.  The idea that flight attendants could simply pass out iPads so that passengers can stream movies, music, games, and flight information, along with exploring 200,000 other applications, is certainly a bonus.  Imagine the saved weight and cost of all those small LCD’s built into headrests, the delivery hardware, wiring, etc – one can only imagine it being a BARGAIN in the long run.  Apple would sell more iPads, undoubtedly, and content creators will be scurrying to provide in-flight special applications, news, and movies, as well as networked games.  It would be pretty intense to race your fellow passengers in an in-flight networked game of  RealRacingHD on iPads.

According to Bluebox: “The concept is simple: consumer technology has leapfrogged the once state-of-the-art systems produced by the long-established manufacturers, and it is now mature enough to offer an IFE solution that’s more flexible, more powerful and more secure than any proprietary alternatives.”

Coming on an iPad to a flight near you, as soon as this July!

This piece really pushes the envelope when thinking in terms of what we could consider ‘traditional.’ Designed by Marlies Romberg, the Wooden Computer Station does a great job of fusing the lines between technology and traditional woodworking. For those of you who might have seen my posts in the past, this would be a great accompanying piece to the Wooden Mouse designed by Alest Rukov.

Props
Design: Marlies Romberg
Article: Design Milk

At first look, it might look like a regular plotting printer, but after a few seconds you’ll realize that this contraption is anything but ordinary. This invention called simply “The Plotting Machine” was developed by the folks at You Don’t Matter. This modified printer can work in various types of media and do anything from print, draw, cut, and scratch using any type of traditional technique, allowing for results that are neither man-made nor machine-made. I find the aesthetic to be one of its most interesting qualities. Although its a machine, none of the images it produces are ever the same. This may vary by pressure, color, media, etc. Furthermore, with the proper equipment, you could attach a glowing diode and take a timed exposure and actually watch this machine draw out its masterpieces with light. Overall, I think this is a truly unique piece of equipment. I hope anyone else out there will share my enthusiasm!

For more information and to view some of the work produced from this piece, click here.

A game based on typography you say? Where do I sign up!? Think you know your Arial from your Helvetica, your sans from your sans serifs? Then step up to the plate. With three levels of game play from the ease-yourself-in, ‘Somewhat Difficult’ through to the incredibly challenging ‘Exceedingly Difficult’, there’s lots of fun to be had for novices and typographic experts alike. I’m not sure how many of you saw my post with the original Font Game, but this new version puts this font-filled action in the palm of your hands via the new iPod application! Check out the beautifully designed Font Game by John Boardley, Justin Stahl and Kari Kari Pätilä.

Go ahead, press your luck! See if you can beat me.

Props:
Application: Font Game

Image from thinkgeek.com

I have seen many different iphone lenses or microphones in the past but the ‘Bubo’ from OWLE really takes the cake. The rig itself is a single piece of aluminum with four tripod or accessory mounts on the top and bottom of the side hand grip as well as a cold shoe mount for a light or another microphone. It comes with a .45w wide angle/macro combo lens that screws into the rig and a microphone that connects directly to your iphone.

The videos on OWLE’s website are pretty cool, listen to the ukulele video on the Action page to really check out the sound quality. The snowboard video is very impressive, I bet having the extra handling made filming a breeze.

A little interesting fact: Bubo is the name of the mechanical owl in the classic film Clash of the Titans

Link • OWLE Bubo Tour on Youtube
Link • OWLE’s website

Here’s the deal.  If you’re working on a PC running Windows, please do yourself a favor and kick Internet Explorer to the curb.  I know, it’s easier because Microsoft pre-installs it and makes it the default browser, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the best or the easiest to use.  Once you discover Firefox, you’ll wonder how you got anything done without Add-Ons, Extensions, and all the other bonuses you get in addition to one of the fastest and most compliant browsers in the world.  So, go get your own copy of Firefox here!  Go.

Internet Explorer is notorious for security problems, and has a mind of its own sometimes when rendering html code properly.  Every other browser, no problem. But inevitably something will cease to work on Explorer.  As a web developer,  I’m dealing with at least two of these issues now, so I must admit that my insistence that everyone “cease and desist” with Explorer is at least partly selfish. While Explorer still has a grip on the browser market share on PCs, Firefox has climbed the ladder and now occupies 22.5% market share, including mobile devices, Macs (which you can’t even GET Explorer for anymore – whew!), and PCs that are preset to use Explorer.  That means that a good number of you who come across this article have already seen the light of day!

The other beauty of Firefox is that it’s an open source project, meaning that:

• It’s FREE
• There are thousands of people working on new functionality, plug-ins, add-ons, and extensions to make Firefox even more functional.
• It’s FASTER (Explorer ranks last in this regard when compared to Safari, Opera, and the leader Firefox).
• Cross-platform support

I personally use Macs and an iPhone, so Safari is the default choice rather than IE, but still not as functional and customizable as Firefox.  OK, so when you make the switch (and you WILL), there are about 5,000 add-ons waiting for you to customize your web browsing experience.  There are some essential add-ons and plug-ins and doo-dads and thingamabobs that I find essential to my day, and you might find useful:

PingFire – (pings updates automatically to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blog, LinkedIN, etc- adds one button to your menu bar!
All-in-one Sidebar – organizes your add-ons, downloads, etc into a neat single sidebar.
Facebook Toolbar – automatically updates with number of messages, status, etc. – adds to the top menu of Firefox
FoxyTunes – adds a menu bar at the bottom to control iTunes, and monitor what you’re listening to, etc.
TwittyTunes - works with Firefox to ping your Twitter status with what you’re listening to, browsing, interested in, etc with one click. Also shortens URLs automatically.
StumbleUpon – for finding interesting websites, discovery, recommendations, or just inspiration.
TinyURL creator - to automatically shorten really long URL’s for easy emailing and inclusion in Twitter posts.
XMARKS – syncs your bookmarks across all your machines, automatically, including passwords (use at your own risk, although I trust it enough to use it myself.)
Video DownloadHelper – will download any Flash video, quicktime movie, etc from almost ANY website (YouTube, Vimeo, news sites, concerts), and will convert to most formats (including Quicktime), then add to iTunes for a killer video playlist!!
Boost for Facebook -  lets you “skin” Facebook with different themes colors.  Tired of that blue yet??
Clear Cache – adds  a simple button to your toolbar to clear the internet cache.  Really useful for web developers.
FireBug – allows you to view and adjust a site’s HTML/CSS code in real time! Pinpoint where that mysterious formatting problem originates. An ESSENTIAL tool for web designers.  Great for developers to discover file names, CSS formatting, includes, and font treatments embedded in code.

There are literally over 5,000 plug-ins for Firefox, some more useful than others. I use the list above every day, and would have a very hard time using another browser at this point. That should get you started!

Yet another blast from the exhaust of The Rocket Pop.

Ride the Rocket,

Scott Dickens
Owner and Social Media Junkie

I read the NY Times when I have the chance, and this article caught my eye.  It claims that fewer than 30% of iPhone users do work with their iPhones. I beg to differ.  Maybe I don’t represent the masses of users, but in the course of my work, I use the following native apps on my iPhone:

Phone
Mail (I use my iPhone mail reader almost exclusively, especially to weed through the first check of the day – SO easy to sort and delete on the iPhone!)
SMS Text
iCal Calendar
Photos
Camera
iPod (for instructional podcasts, entertainment in the office, transferring and previewing online video files, etc)
WeatherBug (if its going to rain all day, I’m not dragging my camera crew around looking for exterior shots at Lewis Ginter)
YouTube (to preview productions online, provide comps to clients, etc)
Maps
Safari (I develop websites, mobile apps, etc)
OmniFocus (CRM software)
App Store (to keep everything up to date)
NY Times (market info and continuing education, research…like this article)
USA Today (see above)
Newser (ditto…)
Pingle (for updating social networks, blogs, etc)
Facebook (I develop social media brands for local businesses, mobile apps)
Twitteriffic
Tweetie
Twittelator
LinkedIn
MySpace (just to test output for social media clients)
WordPress (for updating this blog, duh)
Yelp (to decide where to take clients to lunch, buy supplies, etc)
Google Earth (to figure out terrain, accessibility, directions to meetings, etc)
MProfs (great marketing newsletter!)
Huff Post (news, market research)
Mashable (market research)
TWC
Joost (video streaming site, testing, etc)
Stitcher (for creating panoramas – great for panning in video!)
Air Sharing (for exchanging files to and from remote locations and my home office)
iHandy Level (for leveling tripods and cameras on-site)
Flashlight (for when we drop a bolt in a dark, smokey bar before a music video shoot, right Josh?)
vCardMailer (like beaming a contact for Treo and Blackberry owners)
Remote (for controlling Keynote presentations)
iRecorder (for site notes, ideas in the car, etc)
Tasks
Clock (countdown timers)
Loopt (for finding other crew members in a crowded site)
…and there are more web shortcuts as well…I won’t completely bore you.

But you get the picture.  If my iPhone is in my hand, it’s in use, most likely for work-related activity.  But it’s so much MORE than a phone.  I seldom use the phone functions on the iPhone.  Less than 25% of my time, I would guess (and I use it for SALES!)

I rest my case, but again…I don’t know how “typical” a user I am, but I know plenty of other people who use them for business, and that number will only increase with further app development, further integrating it into business/server-class applications for larger workgroups.  It’s already happening.  The next rev of the iPhone should be a pretty major release as well…and I’m sure I’ll have one.

Another rambling from the exhaust of the Rocket Pop!

Scott

I referenced the following sources:
http://blog.compete.com/2009/04/29/iphone-smartphone-personal-business-usage/

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/apple-iphone-owners-dont-use-it-for-work/

iPhone photo taken by jkrums, posted on TwitPic

Cara and I were on the highway Thursday afternoon for a wonderful dinner in DC at Legal Seafood, then a mind-bending concert from Metallica (incredible, by the way!).  On the way, Cara checked her Facebook account on her iPhone when she saw an update from a friend about the US Airways crash on the Hudson River.  But she didn’t see any real news of a cause or outcome.  After firing up MY iPhone and paging to the New York Times app, which just refused to update, caused by a massive hit of traffic I assume.  So I paged over to Tweetie on my iPhone where I immediately saw a stream of about 30 tweets about outcome, cause, links to pictures, the captain’s name, and anything else I’d ever want to know regarding the amazing splashdown by “Sully.”

It was the first time I can recall relying solely on Twitter for first-hand news reporting…and ACCURATE reporting I might add, partially from the constant fact-checking and “communal” nature of the medium.

In my mind, this was a watershed event.  A shift away from mass, commercial media outlets like radio or television stations, to more non-commercial means of communication…one owned and operated by a conscientious public eager to provide information that others might find valuable.  In the process, many major news outlets picked up their photography of the plane from bystanders submitting shots from their iPhones! Somehow I knew Apple would find a way to prove valuable, even in NY during a cold emergency.

Another emission from the exhaust of the Rocket Pop,

Cheers,
Scott

Rocket Pop Media LOVES this new app for the iPhone.

You guys with iPhones that give presentations with Keynote (because Powerpoint is SO yesterday, right?) Anyway, check it out, along with the new iLife, iWork, and more…from the Apple site.

“The new App Store application works with Keynote ’09 (part of the new iWork ’09 productivity suite), letting you progress through your slides with a swipe. Hold iPhone vertically, and you see presenter notes; horizontally, and you see the current and next slide in your presentation.”

AND, it’s only .99.  Now that’s a bargain.  AND another excuse to go buy a Macbook Pro.