DashNote: A SimpleNote Dashboard Widget

Use SimpleNote on your iPhone? Want a free, easy way to review and update notes on your Mac? Resen answers the call with DashNote, a free Dashboard widget that connects to your SimpleNote account, and allows you to edit and create new notes.

Category: Software

The Middle

So, the technology world is abuzz about an unconfirmed Apple event scheduled (supposedly) for January 26. During this event, it is expected that Apple will reveal the mythical tablet computer the world has expected them to build for years.

I, for one, hope they do not.

I’m not going to get in to hypothetical discussions about hardware that hasn’t been announced. There’s no point to that. However, I will examine Apple’s current hardware and price points, and share my opinions about a potential new product that might fill a spot in what I like to call “the middle”.

“The middle” is the price point between the high end and the low end. Apple would probably argue that the middle of their product map currently is the 13″ Macbook Pro. At $1299/$1599, it very well may be the absolute middle, price wise. But operating on the assumption that we are talking about consumer devices, I think it is safe to remove the Mac Pro from the equation (at $2500), and look at the high end consumer device being a $1700-$2000 iMac. The low end of Apple’s consumer offerings are their iPod Touch models. That puts “the middle” at a price point of $700 – $1000.

And here’s where things get sticky.

That price point is currently occupied by the polycarbonate Macbook. While it retails for $999, Education customers can get the white plastic Mac for $899, and in some schools, a bit lower.

Can Apple really introduce what is essentially a larger iPod touch, at a price point that is at or near a Macbook Pro? Is there an audience for such a device? Obviously, it would have to have a few more features than an iPod Touch. A web cam would be a nice addition. Being a somewhat mobile device, one could also imagine that it would have 3G capability (of course, with the wedding to a wireless provider). Most of the speculation though hinges on what OS it would run – Mac OS X, or OS X Touch. Being a tablet, it is probably safe to assume it would use the latter. OS X Touch was built for touch screen devices. And while that gets Apple a tablet computer with over 100,000 apps, it also makes for a pricey machine with reduced functionality.

I’m sure Apple would love to move more of their user base off of Mac OS X and on to OS X Touch devices. After all, Apple controls the experience of OS X Touch to a higher degree than they do with Mac OS X. And here is where my enthusiasm for the Apple tablet dies.

Simply put, everything I dislike about the iPhone is wrapped up in the control Apple exerts on approving 3rd party applications. When Apple created the iPhone application approval process, the argument for exerting total control over the approval process was pitched as a necessary evil, because a rogue 3rd party app could “bring down an entire phone network¹“. A tablet device that doesn’t offer telephony features has no chance of causing this, but yet I doubt Apple will change the App Store for one OS X Touch device.

Then there’s the cannibalization question. Would a $700-$1000 tablet device cannibalize sales of the Macbook? In this economy, I would have to give that question a resounding yes. However, if you are Apple, would you rather sell a $1000 device like the Macbook, or a $800 device like the tablet, where you earn 30% off of every app sold for it? Granted, it takes a lot of app sales to bridge that $200 difference, but I would bet in Apple’s eyes, it’s a wash. The tablet would give them greater control over the entire user experience, right down to the app level, and I’m sure to Apple, this is very appealing.

But for me as a user, it is not.

I’ll reserve judgement, of course, until I see if this mythical device does anything I couldn’t do with a Macbook (apart from navigate it with my fingers touching the glass). Apple obviously has a way of making ordinary products seem extraordinary, so anything is possible.

But count me as one of the people who aren’t excited at the prospects of a $1000 OS X Touch device occupying Apple’s product line up.

¹: OK, Jobs made the comments “You don’t want your phone to be an open platform. You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.” back in 2007 before the App Store. But you see where I’m coming from.

Category: Opinion

Merry Christmas!

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you in 2010!

Category: News

Silicon Alley Insider: Apple to Demo Tablet in January

Silicon Alley Insider is reporting that Apple has asked several third party developers to prepare their apps to run in full screen resolution (rather than at fixed 320×480). This is presumably for a demonstration of the fabled Apple tablet at an Apple event in Janaury.

I’m not sure if this is true or not, but if Apple was going to release a tablet based upon the iPhone/iPod touch OS, it would need to give developers a bit of a head start to alter their apps to run on the larger device.

Category: Rumor

Microsoft loses Office patent appeal

Microsoft lost a patent appeal that forces Word (and by inclusion, Office) to be removed from sale by January 11th. The suit involves parts of Word that deal with XML export that i4i charged were infringing upon their patents.

Now, before you get too excited about Microsoft Office being removed for sale, remember that Microsoft has deep pockets. There’s a very high likelyhood that Microsoft will just write a check and be done with it. However, Microsoft has said it’s working quickly to ship versions of Word/Office that remove the infringing code.

The only versions affected are Word/Office 2007 for Windows. The Mac version is exempt.

Category: News

Verizon Removes Search Choices For BlackBerrys

File this under WTF:

From the Register:

Yesterday, all of the search providers that used to be available through the browser disappeared and bing is the only option. I hate bing. I no longer am able to search using Google, Dictionary.com, or Wikipedia from the ‘Go to…’ page on my browser. This is a very poor decision…to take choice away from their users,” the first post says

I know AT&T has its problems, but Verizon has shown they are no better, and in many cases, worse than AT&T.

Category: News

Sequel Pro 0.97 Released

I had been a big user of CocoaMySQL years back, and was excited when I saw that project get new life as Sequel Pro. The team working on this app is nothing short of amazing. They have taken a useful tool and made it nearly indispensible.

New in this release:

• New application icon
• New server processes panel
• Query favourites editor
• Filter editor
• Improved tooltips including image previews
• Pagination interface for the content view
• Much faster (and more stable) import and export
• Early support for document-based connections
• Ability to stop custom query and content loads
• Introduction of threading for some tasks

I’ve been using the nightly builds of Sequel Pro for over a month now, and I amazed at how solid they are. Feature wise, Sequel Pro offers you just about everything you need to create, edit and maintain MySQL databases locally, or remotely via SSH.

Sequel Pro is (astonishgly) free, but if you use it, please consider donating to keep the project moving ahead.

Category: News

SecondBar and BetterTouchTool

Annoyed that the menubar doesn’t extend to your second monitor? Peeved that your new Magic Mouse doesn’t support a middle click like the old Mighty Mouse?

These two utilities might help.

First off, SecondBar does exactly that – add a second bar to your extended monitor.

BetterTouchTool allows you to set gestures when using the Magic Mouse. Using gestures, you can re-enable a middle click.

Both apps are somewhat experimental, and offered free of charge here.

Category: Software

YATC: Kiwi

Yet another Twitter client (YATC) has bubbled up for Mac users. Called “Kiwi“, this Twitter client has an emphasis on simplicity and theme customization.

I’ve been using Kiwi most of the day, and I am quite impressed with it. How impressed? It’s replaced Tweetie in my dock for the time being.

Developed by YourHead Software, Kiwi is $14.95 and comes highly recommended from OS X Factor.

Category: Software

Camangi Webstation

Those who are pining for a 7 inch tablet at a low cost need not pine any longer. The Camangi Webstation is real, and nearly upon us. Weighing only 13.75 ounces and featuring a 7″ 800×400 touchscreen display, GPS and Android 1.5 (hopefully this is upgradeable), this looks like a nifty product.

I say nifty and not killer, because of a few nit picks:

• Wi-Fi is only 802.11b/g.
• System memory is only 128MB. This will seriously limit future Android upgrades.
• Looks like Camangi has eschewed the Android Marketplace for it’s own Camangi Marketplace. This brings in to question whether apps from the Android Marketplace will even run on the Webstation.

If you can live with those limitations, the Webstation costs $399, with pre-orders getting you a $10 reduction in price.

Category: News