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Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner review
We live in a world full of fabulous idle distractions -- a million TV channels, videogames at our fingertips, the world's greatest literature just a few menu selections away. Yet still we're stuck cleaning the same floors more or less the same way our forefathers did, despite the fact that they had a lot less fun stuff they could be doing instead. The $249 Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner is another attempt to free us from that burdensome task and, like the Neato XV-11 we recently reviewed, it is quite clinical and comprehensive in the way that it does things. However, while this one is likewise a heck of a lot smarter than a Roomba, for some it'll be of rather more limited usefulness. Why? Read on to find out. %Gallery-105973%
TUAW's Daily App: Mint.com Personal Finance
Not all of the apps we spotlight here are new or games (though I admit that most of them have been lately). Mint.com's app has been around for a while, and it's just as useful as the site that gives it the name and functionality. If you have a bank account, you should at least give Mint.com a look -- just by plugging in your bank information (which is as secure as it can get on the site), you can start seeing patterns and trends in your spending even without doing anything at all. And after a few months of use, the site will even do things like create a budget automatically for you, tell you when you're spending more than you usually do, and even recommend ways to save your money. The iPhone app does all of that on the go, giving you instant access to your financial information wherever you are. You can check your accounts, edit your transaction records, and see your monthly budget (so even while out shopping, you can know exactly how much money you've got to spend) as long as your iPhone has a connection. You can get alerts when something goes wrong. And security even on the mobile device is excellent -- there's a password built-in to the app, so anyone using your phone can't get immediate access to your information, and if you lose your phone, you can even disable iPhone access directly from the web app, ensuring that no one who uses your lost phone gets any sensitive information from the app. Oh yeah -- and it's all free. Mint.com is definitely worth a look if you haven't installed it yet.
Was the Siri purchase about search?
Here's an interesting take from Searchblog's John Battelle about the Siri purchase by Apple yesterday: he believes that it's the first step towards the eventual Apple goal of conquering search for the app world. Google is, of course, the king of search on the Internet, but as the iPad 3G releases today, we're spending less and less of our time on these devices actually browsing the web, and more and more of it inside of apps. That's where search needs to go, says Battelle, and Siri could help exactly that happen for Apple. In other words, he gives the example of searching for a phrase like "Chicago rental car" in Siri, and properly configured, Apple's Siri could say back to the user, says Battelle, "Hey, you know what? You don't need to rent a car. You can use the Chicago Transit. Here's an app for it. You can get from the airport to everywhere you want to go without having to rent a car. Plus, you'll save $150 which we know is a goal of yours because you've been interacting with the Mint application," and so on. Siri would become a voice-activated search assistant, not for the Internet at large necessarily, but for all of the apps and functionality on your iPhone or iPad. It's certainly possible, although Apple has so much cash saved up right now that they don't really need good, focused reasons like that to pick up a strong piece of tech like Siri. But yes, Battelle's guess makes sense, especially considering the increased amount of time that people are spending in apps versus the browser on the iPad.
Chronicle: An elegant way of tracking your bills
Let's face it: paying bills is not fun. There's the $75-plus monthly AT&T bill (assuming $40 voice + $30 data + $5 text messages) for your iPhone, the $25-plus broadband bill that your iPhone, iPad, and Mac use, as well as a host of other recurring bills that make life that much more fun and, well, livable: gas, electricity, water, car payments, etc. While paying your bills and watching your bank account decrease at the same time may not necessarily be fun, LittleFin Software's Chronicle makes it a bit more enjoyable.
Mint automatic floor cleaner up for pre-order, shipping this summer
It's not like the automatic vacuum cleaner market could get much more crowded, but Evolution Robotics has put an interesting twist on things with its Swiffer-packin' Mint. If you'll recall, we saw this guy wiping up the downright disgusting floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center back in January, and now it looks as if production plans are moving along nicely. Equipped with a NorthStar positioning technology that enables it to never hit the same spot twice on the same run, this hardwood sweeper is now up for pre-order. Unfortunately, getting in line requires a non-refundable $20 deposit, but the outlay will be applied to the purchase price and will enable you to snag one of the first shipments this summer (which is significantly more awesome than waiting for it to hit retail shelves in Q4). Don't worry -- your Roomba won't be too envious.
TUAW Exclusive: Aaron Patzer on the future of mobile finance, Mint.com, and Quicken on the Mac
To the dismay of many, Mint sold to Intuit in September 2009 for $170 million. I say dismay because many users of Quicken products had been less than thrilled with Intuit's offerings for some time, and some people were concerned what a twenty-year-old company that seemed stuck in its ways would do with a popular user-friendly Web 2.0 startup. Out of all the negative press, perhaps Mac users could be forgiven for having the most anxiety over the acquisition. Many had abandoned Quicken Mac 2007 in favor of Mint.com. Mac users wanted to move on from the stale Quicken ecosystem and go with something simple and easy. Now, that simple and easy solution had moved to where the users had escaped from. Luckily, Intuit wasn't like other companies who buy smaller start-ups just to eliminate a competitor. Intuit recognized that Patzer and his team possessed the much-needed original financial software ideas and UI design mojo to put a spark in their aging products. In November 2009, Intuit made Aaron Patzer VP/GM of Intuit's Personal Finance Group -- which left him in charge of Intuit's personal finance offerings, including Quicken for Mac.
Evolution Robotics Mint bot is the Swiffer of Roombas, keeps track of its positioning
If you haven't figured out how to clean your floor robotically by now, you might be a lost cause, but Evolution Robotics is willing to give it a try with its new Mint machine. The bot uses regular Swiffer pads, and is designed for cleaning hard floors with a shove of the wet-nap. Outside of its lack of vacuum, the Mint also differentiates itself with its "NorthStar" positioning tech, which lets the bot keep track of its exact location with GPS-style tech, relative to a base station, ensuring that it hits every spot and doesn't waste time with random meandering. Mint should hit retail in Q4 of this year for under $250. Check out a video of it in action after the break. %Gallery-82160%
Quicken Essentials for Mac available for pre-order
Quicken Essentials for Mac is finally available for pre-order. Too little, too late if you ask me. Its taken three years to get this next version of Quicken for Mac out the door. In that time, worthy alternatives have risen, like iBank and Mint.com. While I won't give it a review until I've tried it, it seems that Intuit should just give up until they want to make a financial software package that the Mac deserves. Here are just a few of my peeves from the Quicken Essentials for Mac FAQ (bold added): 1. Can I track my investments? Yes, Quicken Essentials for Mac allows you to track the overall value of your investment accounts and the value of your specific holdings. It will not, however, track investment buys and sells, nor will it provide some advanced investment performance reports. If you need more more advanced investment features, try Quicken Mac 2007. 2. Can I export my data to TurboTax? Quicken Essentials for Mac does not support that capability. If you'd like that functionality, we recommend trying Quicken Mac 2007. 3. Can I pay my bills within Quicken? While you cannot pay bills within the product itself ("direct bill pay"), you can track your bills and make sure you have enough cash to pay them when they're due. A few alternatives available include using Quicken Mac 2007 or using the bill pay functionality on Quicken Bill Pay. Did you see that? If you want to do anything useful, you have to buy their three year-old product. I ditched Quicken for Mac years ago, moved to iBank, then eventually quit that and moved entirely to Mint which has a great iPhone app [iTunes link]. How good is Mint? Good enough that Intuit has since purchased it. I can only hope they plan to leave it good enough alone. Thanks Gilbert
Mint Studio hands-on and impressions
Digital Signature's new Mint Studio iPod dock may not look all that different than the company's previous Mint 130 model on the outside, but it's gotten a few fairly significant upgrades to its internals, which was enough to get us interested in it again. The biggest of those are some improved wireless capabilities, which still rely on the same tried and true 2.4GHz band as before, but promise an increased range of up to 100 feet (up from 45 before), and less interference from other devices thanks to some new channel-hopping technology. The real kicker, however, is that the wireless transmitter is able to support up to three of the systems simultaneously, making the Mint Studio a cut-rate multi-room audio solution of sorts -- although anyone looking for anything close to Sonos-level functionality will want to look elsewhere. Read on for our full impressions. %Gallery-75129%
Why do crap apps still exist? They sell.
The Wall Street Journal's Digits blog takes a look at "crap apps" -- those pieces of junk on the App Store that do one thing and do it pointlessly, whether that thing be farting or belching or making the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard (yes, really) or what have you. And they come up with a very intriguing, albeit obvious, reason that the App Store seems so filled with completely terrible and silly apps. Why? Because they sell.Yes, even "legitimate" iPhone developers -- those people working hard to create an innovative touchscreen interface, or bring some crucial functionality to the iPhone -- are finding that of all the apps they release, the crudest and most stupid are the ones that sell. They profile a guy whose serious movie apps aren't selling, but whose cobbled-together-in-five-minutes gimmick apps are making a mint. In short, the reason our App Store is full of way more fart apps than apps like Twitterific 2.0 is because people are paying for the fart ones. The message we're sending with our wallets is that if you want to make a million dollars on the App Store, don't toil away to polish your groundbreaking award-winning puzzle game. Just give us a gag we can show to our friends.Is it right? I'd say no, but then again, even I have been pulled in to a gimmick app or two: I bought Cat Piano (in my defense, I've gotten enough entertainment out of it to find an easter egg: shake your iPhone while playing). But next time your finger is poised over the "Get App" button on that 99-cent belching app that you just know the friend you're seeing later will get a total kick out of, think to yourself: is that two-second gag worth an App Store full of crappy apps?
Motorola VE70 Cocktail Mint and Cocktail Tropical: best served shaken
For fans of modishness, small and predictable, you'll find oodles to love about Motorola's latest drink specials. Er, phones -- we meant phones right there. Anywho, Moto's new VE70 Cocktail Mint and Cocktail Tropical only differ in color -- Mint is a mixture of chic black, fresh mint and pearl white while Tropical uses white, light green, violet and orange. Otherwise you'll find a 2.2-inch QVGA display, a built-in camera, 3G support and of course, a wine dictionary. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to price / release information, but a few more images are waiting for you in the read link.[Via UnwiredView]
Mint's V10 mini projector gets price and release date
Wait, who's this Mint character anyway? Ah, yes -- that Australian firm that hires Aiptek to do at least some of its dirty work. The V10 mini projector that we spotted earlier this year has been blessed with an official price and release date, promising a VGA beam in the palm of your hand for around $600 this September. As a refresher, you'll get 1GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot and a woefully inadequate 60 minutes of battery life. But hey, it's ridiculously small.[Via CNET]
Mint and iPhone: Two great tastes that taste great together
Mint is an excellent web stats tracking app from Shaun Inman with a powerful, extensible plug-in architecture. The iPhone is an excellent... well you know the rest of that one. While these two things might not have much to do with each other at first glance, a plug-in and a hack have brought us one step closer to having a more minty iPhone experience.First up is a new iPhone Pepper (aka - plug-in) for Mint that formats your stat panes into a single column for better viewing on MobileSafari. Simply install it via the typical Mint procedure, activate it and *boom* - this new pepper stays out of your way when using a real desktop browser, but auto-detects MobileSafari and displays the proper single-column formatting when you're on the go. The drop-down pane atop Mint's admin panel even works, offering quick access to panes way down below with only two taps. Next up on the list of iPhone Mint-ification steps you can take is adding a full-blown Home screen button for Mint, courtesy of iPhone Apper and what looks like the easiest way to get ssh/sftp installed on the iPhone yet.
