StevenFrank
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Notational Velocity, Simplenote, and Dropbox bring child-like wonder
The phrase "game changer" is no doubt cliché and overused, but every now and again it just fits. I had heard about Notational Velocity when Merlin Mann posted about it on 43Folders. It changed how I use my iMac, MacBookPro, and iPhone, bringing them all together in a very cool way. The app has been around for awhile (we talked about it five years ago!) but some new features and new technologies make it well worth another look. It took me a minute to understand why I'd want Notational Velocity, it because it sounded like yet another "everything box" like Yojimbo, which I was already using. Notational Velocity does save notes, either in ASCII, RTF, or HTML, but with the latest version, Notational Velocity syncs with Simplenote or WriteRoom for iPhone. It also easily syncs via Dropbox if you follow the important configuration notes here. Imagine if Apple had created an over-the-air method of syncing Notes and it all Just Worked. That's what Notational Velocity has achieved. Notes on my iPhone, my iMac and my MacBook Pro. Edit a note anywhere, and the changes are synced nearly instantly and appear everywhere. It's fast, it's seamless. Thinking about getting an iPad? That's only going to make this setup even sweeter.
Transmit turns 10, we Panic
Milestones come and go, but the big milestone of the day was 10 years in the making. Panic's Co-founder, Steven Frank, noted on his personal website that their flagship product, Transmit turned 10 years old.Transmit, originally called "Transit," was released on September 8, 1998. Who knows, without the success of Transmit we might not have the other beautiful applications from Panic. If you want to relive the old days of Transmit, Panic offers up a free version (you must be running a pre-OS X Mac, or have a classic mode enabled Mac) for your downloading pleasure. Join TUAW in saying, "Congratulations, Panic." We cannot wait to see what is next!
Transmit 3.6.6 relieves .Mac sync problems
Panic recently updated their Transmit software to version 3.6.6 after the previous (3.6.5) update caused problems with syncing over .Mac. Steven Frank (co-founder of Panic) wrote on his personal blog about the issue. According to Steven, "TransmitSync," a service that syncs Transmit favorites with .Mac, would crash when certain configurations were in place. The other change made in the 3.6.6 update is restrictions of dot characters when uploading to Amazon S3. Transmit 3.6.6 is a free upgrade to all Transmit 3 users and can be downloaded from within Transmit or from panic.com.[via Steven Frank]
Checking in with the pundits on Android and the Open Handset Alliance
It already seems like an eternity ago, but Google's big Open Handset Alliance / Android announcement was arguably the biggest news of the week, and it inspired a number of tech pundits and bloggers to weigh in -- and Steve Ballmer to talk some major smack. Since no one really knows how any of this is going to play out, we thought we'd round up some of the more interesting viewpoints for easy reference -- and maybe some easy laughs -- when we get our hands on the first "GPhone" in late 2008.We gotta start with John Dvorak, who cut straight to the point and said "The Google phone is doomed." Additional money quotes include "Google is actually not a charismatic company that can make this new platform happen in a big way," and "When I see a bunch of joiners jumping on some unknown, unreleased unfinished pipe dream, I actually laugh." He even roped in the iPhone, calling it more of a "photo album than a phone." Actually, Dvorak's whole column is a great read even if just to experience the man's naked anger towards every phone ever made.Not to be outdone at the contrarian game, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came out swinging as well, saying "Their efforts are just some words on paper right now." Actually, he does have a point there -- although Google and HTC may have been developing that "Dream" prototype, the real news will come in late 2008 when Android devices start shipping. How does that compare to WinMo, Steve? "They have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they're welcome in our world."
Why a Mac tablet from Apple doesn't make sense
Laurie posted OWC's announcement of their upcoming ModBook Mac tablet just as I began rounding up commentary from some Mac notables as to why a tablet from Apple simply doesn't make sense. OWC's announcement indeed makes things a bit more interesting, but I think some of these thoughts from Steven Frank (of Panic, Inc. fame) and David Sobotta, one of Apple's own former sales managers, can shed some light on why Apple is likely to stay away from this market. Mr. Sobotta tells a longer story over at The Guardian of his 20 years of experience at Apple, and Steven Frank more or less rounds up the bullet points in a Macworld rumor call-out post. To sum things up: the idea of a tablet Mac is cool - really cool - but the fact of the matter is that the tablet PC market sucks. And by 'sucks' I mean "it's downright horrendously dismal." Steven also reminds us that Apple hasn't really been making products for unidentified markets for about a decade now. Sure, there are a big handful of Mac Photoshoppers that would love to be able to craft their next Fark submission with a Mac tablet on the couch, but the unfortunate reality is that Apple - already a niche company - would need a *lot* more interest in an über-niche product like this to make it profitable. To make matters worse, already established industries (like the medical field) *still* aren't touching the tablet PC products that have been on the market for over two years now. Steven lists a lot of other good obstacles that simply don't seem ripe for Apple to tackle anytime soon, and Mr. Sobotta certainly offers some commentary from behind Apple's well-guarded veil as well. Which brings me back to the intriguing ModBook announcement from OWC. Apple hasn't made the idea of a tablet Mac work just yet (though who knows: maybe next week could prove everyone wrong), but OWC apparently has. Next week should be a very interesting one, to say the least.
