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Engadget Podcast: Samsung's slew of Galaxy Book laptops
This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat Samsung’s latest Galaxy Unpacked fiesta and all its new laptops.
Hey email app open to all after Apple 'definitively' approves it
After flip flopping on whether it would approve Basecamp’s Hey email app, Apple has “definitively approved” Hey for the App Store.
Apple re-approves Hey email app after last week’s standoff
Apple changes its stance and approves Basecamp's Hey iOS app.
Basecamp CEO says Apple App Store issue is about 'absence of choice'
Basecamp CEO Jason Fried has written an open letter explaining what his real problem is with Apple’s App Store payment policies. Spotify chief Daniel Ek revealed long ago that the company can’t afford Apple’s fees.
Apple Watch Connected program rewards you for wearing it to the gym
Apple is launching a new Apple Watch Connected partnership program this week to make it more compelling to use the company's wearable at your local gym. At launch, it is partnering with four chains in the US -- Orangetheory, Basecamp Fitness, YMCA and Crunch Fitness -- with more to come. Gyms can join the program for free as long as they offer a set of specific perks to members.
Going 'off the grid' with BioLite's BaseCamp stove
Tent? Check. Sleeping bag? Check. Spare battery packs to stave off the fear of being disconnected from the grid? Double check. Earlier this month, I loaded up the aforementioned gear for a quick weekend camping trip. It was honestly more glamp than camp, since we drove right up to our spot in Tolland State Park, which had showers and bathrooms nearby. Still, we'd be without power on-site for a couple days if not for a few backups. On top of that, someone in our crew had developed a serious Candy Crush addiction that could potentially drag our power ration down to zero. Luckily, we also packed BioLite's BaseCamp and NanoGrid system. The BaseCamp is a (relatively) portable, wood-powered grill with a thermoelectric generator, while the NanoGrid is a combination flashlight, lamp, battery and environmental lighting setup. Did these additions help us make it through the weekend alive, well and connected? Yes on all counts, but there's more to the story.
Google letting curious explorers take Glass for a free spin
Glass has run the opinion gamut from "great" to "hate" to "surprisingly useful," but Google thinks you should forget all that. We just received an invitation (after the break) to several Google Glass "Basecamp" offices with the following teaser: "There's a lot of talk about Glass, but have you tried it for yourself yet?" If you're near San Francisco, LA or New York, you'll need to schedule an invitation for a fitting, service or a demo. For those worried about the original, not-so-stylish cyborg look, Google has hooked up with couture magnate Diane Von Furstenberg to create more normal eyewear designs. And of course, anybody can get them now -- as long as you're willing to burn $1,500.
Generate power to recharge gadgets while grilling with this camp stove
BioLite has been recharging smartphones, action cams and GPS units via camp stove fire since 2012, but now it's offering a larger model that will grill enough grub to feed your entire crew. The BaseCamp stove offers the same heat-to-electricity conversion, but with a much larger cooking surface for grilling dinner (up to eight burgers at a time) for more than just a pair of weary hikers. The built-in power pack has been upgraded as well, generating 5W and storing power for juicing up devices during dessert alongside a UI that gauges temperature and displays the amount of electricity being generated. Need to use a pot to boil water? That cooking surface can wrangle the flame for optimal output with the flip of a lever. If all of that sounds too good to pass up, units are set to ship in September and you can one for $299 during the company's Kickstarter effort.
Future of third-party apps based on 37signals products remains uncertain
Today, 37signals -- makers of productivity and virtual team software like Basecamp, Highrise and Campfire announced that it was becoming a one-product company. That one product is Basecamp, and the company has now renamed itself "Basecamp" as well. The decision to focus on Basecamp alone means that the company's other products will either be sold off or supported in-house while at the same time being removed from sale to new clients. The decision to possibly sell off additional products affects not only 37signals (sorry, Basecamp), but also the many third parties who sell apps based on the company's products. Apps like Propane (OS X) and Satchel (iOS) rely on the API from Basecamp products such as Campfire and Backpack, but at the moment, the future is a bit hazy. For a company to scoop up a product like Campfire and shutter it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and Basecamp has said it will not sell to a company that is planning on axing the products outright. So for now, the worst-case scenario for both the third-party app makers and their users is that a buyer will attempt to lock down the services in order to release a singular official app. "Ultimately we can't control what another company would do," Basecamp CEO Jason Fried told me. "But we can control who we sell the product to. So it's on us to do our best due diligence regarding a company's true motives." Fried couldn't say whether or not any interested parties have come forward, but he did say that he hopes that any deals would shake out within "a few months."
Lara goes camping in first episode of Tomb Raider's 'Guide to Survival'
A video series focused on Tomb Raider will dive deeper into the mechanics and story of Crystal Dynamics' reboot. Guide to Survival's first episode focuses on Basecamps, which Lara uses to apply skill points to upgrade her skills and equipment. She also uses fire to survive because tank top.
Base Tent offers mobile access to Basecamp
I've been using 37signals' Basecamp to manage projects large and small for almost a year now. It's tremendously useful, and everyone I've shown it to falls in love. While the folks at 37signals have produced some great applications, they've left the extras to 3rd party developers. I've been using Outpost for a bit, and this week I had a chance to try out Base Tent [App Store link]. While not as pretty as some of the others, it works very well.The ProsWhen first launched, Base Tent asks for your login criteria and begins its initial sync, which was much quicker than I anticipated (note that I did all testing over EDGE). Four tabs label your Dashboard, Projects, To Dos and Milestones, and they use the same color coding you'll find on Basecamp. Below is a series of icons that let you re-sync, access the app's help pages or add and remove accounts (I only have one account, but I imagine those with more than one will appreciate being able to jump back and forth). Best of all is the option to find tasks, etc. assigned to a certain contact. Of course, the purpose of dropping ten bucks on an app like Base Tent is ubiquitous access to Basecamp.Click any item in the Dashboard to jump directly to it. Reading and responding to messages is intuitive, though longer threads take a bit of time to load. The app includes an option to view a message title, post date and author or the full text, which is nice. Responding to a comment is just as easy as you'd expect and syncs as you publish.The Projects page lists all aspects of a given project. What's really nice here is the option to move between projects and contacts with a click, just like Basecamp's "Switch to a different project" feature. I had a very easy time adding to dos, responding to messages and setting up appointments from the road.The ConsBase Tent syncs upon launch to look for changes. Unfortunately, this process commandeers the display until it's finished. Additionally, and I know this is a bit superficial, but the Dashboard screen looks a bit cluttered. I'd like for the "Completed By" text and date to be a bit smaller. Finally, I know they're going for the Basecamp "look" with the tabs, but they seem cramped in the iPhone's display.TUAW Buying AdviceThe good news is that none of my complaints are about the app's performance. Interacting with Basecamp via Base Tent, which is the point after all, is pleasant and reliable. Many of Basecamp's customers, myself included, depend on the data in Basecamp for our living. The developers have told us that a major update of Base Tent is complete and currently awaiting approval at the App Store. At $10.00 US it isn't the cheapest solution in the App Store (nor its it the most expensive), but it's worth it. %Gallery-51076%
Outpost to manage your Basecamp projects from iPhone
Around here we all seem to be addicted to GTD applications (especially those that sync with online services). That's why it is only fitting that we would mention a new iPhone application named Outpost. Outpost manages your 37Signals' Basecamp projects on your iPhone. Basecamp, as you might already know, is 37Signals flagship application for managing clients, projects, tasks, etc. However, with a native application to manage Basecamp projects I can definitely see myself using Basecamp more than I do now. Outpost should be available on the AppStore in "early to mid August." For more information about Outpost, you can check out their website and development blog. Thanks, Jim!
Widget Watch: Avalanche - A free Basecamp client for Yahoo! Widgets
Basecamp is a popular and powerful web-based project collaboration and management service from 37signals, makers of other TUAW favorites like Backpack and Highrise. Fortunately, even though Basecamp is web-based, 37signals provides a rich API with which 3rd party developers can make all sorts of neat apps and widgets that tie into the service. A group of students did just that for a class project, resulting in Avalanche, a free Basecamp widget for Yahoo! Widgets. While I don't use Basecamp to any serious degree, Avalanche seems to be pretty feature-filled, offering access to all your Basecamp messages, todos, time entries, contacts and milestones. Going above and beyond, however, the 37signals blog reports that Avalanche includes features not found in Basecamp, such as auto time entry, spreadsheet generation of time reports, time estimate tracking and contact exporting (which I thought Basecamp already did). Ultimately, Avalanche looks like an impressive widget for a service loved by its vast and growing base of users. Of course, as with many other widgets, Avalanche is offered free from Avalanche-widget.org.
PackRat author solicits software feature requests
On Sunday, software developer Rod Schmidt, author of PackRat, the Backpack service client, posted a request on his blog. He's interested in creating a PackRat-like client for project collaboration tool Basecamp. PackRat, if you recall, is an OS X tool that lets you work offline on your Backpack data. Schmidt is looking for feedback and suggestions for a similar Basecamp client. He writes, "I think this product has even more potential than PackRat and I'd love to get some feedback." If you have some ideas, pop by his webpage and leave a comment.
Widget Watch: Telescope, a Basecamp widget
After blogging the Basecamp widget, TUAW reader Mike Jacobsen wrote in to let us know about a Basecamp widget he recently launched for Dashboard, called Telescope. For now, Telescope appears to be more of a monitoring widget than anything, allowing users to: List current projects View last 25 updates (to-dos, milestones, messages, comments, files) Filter update list by project View next milestone for each project Mike also blogged his experience with building the widget in Dashcode, and links other projects that have either produced products, such as Packrat and other Basecamp utilities. He even lists 37Signals APIs and resources in case you're a developer looking to hop on the bandwagon.It's good to see more work being done on utilities that interact with these web services in creative new ways. My personal favorite is still Packrat for Backpack, largely because of its offline and syncing capabilities.
Widget Watch: Basecamp
Basecamp is an award-winning, web-based project management service from the much-loved 37Signals, makers of the equally-loved Backpack. Since Backpack has had its own widget for a while now, it seems that Kennedia Consulting felt it was high time Basecamp received the Dashboard treatment as well. The cleverly titled Basecamp Widget offers an interface to the pleasantly simple, yet powerful, Basecamp web service, allowing you to: View Milestones, Todos, Posts and Contacts for your active projects Complete and Uncomplete Milestones Complete and Uncomplete ToDo items The author has also stated that a slew of additional features are planned for the widget, depending on how much interest is expressed from the community (hint hint). So check out the widget, submit some feedback and let the developer know you care.
