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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."
37Signals' Chalk, iPad-only collaborative web app
37Signals is well-known as the developer of some powerful collaboration tools for the Web like Campfire and Basecamp. It's obvious that the employees of the company know how to use a chalkboard to sketch out flow charts, scrawl UI mockups, and so on. In fact, the four team rooms in the company's new offices have corkboard walls and large chalkboards to facilitate brainstorming, and 37Signals employees wondered if they could take those chalkboards with them everywhere. The result? Chalk, a free iPad-only web app. To use the free Web app, just use Safari to point to chalk.37signals.com, and then tap the plus sign in the Safari toolbar to add the site to your home screen. Don't worry -- you needn't be on the Internet to use the app. Once you've created the home screen icon, the app persists and will load whether or not you're connected. Chalk is simple: you have a piece of pink chalk, a piece of white chalk, and an eraser. There's a chalkboard, and for some reason, there's a light switch on the wall. I think it's there just for fun and realism. To save a drawing, just tap the share button, then tap and hold to either save the image to the Photo Library or to copy it. To learn more about Chalk, check out the video on the next page.
37signals buys Ember, kindles an official Campfire iPhone app
Campfire, from 37signals, is a web-based group chat tool that uses secure chat rooms to allow groups to collaborate from wherever they are. A little over a year ago, the developers at Overcommitted came out with an iPhone client for Campfire. That app, Ember, cost $9.99, and was an excellent tool for remotely joining a Campfire group and getting work done on the road. Well, the app was so good that 37signals announced today that they've purchased the app from Overcommitted, renamed it to Campfire for iPhone, and they're giving it away for free in the App Store. According to the 37signals blog, the company was so impressed with Ember that they approached Overcommitted about purchasing it, and the developer was happy with the idea. A deal was cut, a few changes were made to the app, the app made it through the Apple vetting process, and as of yesterday, Ember is known as Campfire for iPhone. If your team uses Campfire for collaboration and file sharing, be sure to grab Campfire for iPhone as soon as possible. The app works on devices running iOS 3.1.3 or later, although it is not optimized for iPad. [via Mashable]
Low-tech testing on a high-tech iPad
Here's a little levity on the eve of the iPad launch chaos tomorrow. We're going through release after release today of all of these iPad apps, and after browsing page after page after page in the App Store, it's sometimes easy to forget just how much work went into each one of these things. The Omni Group has a nice writeup on their blog about how they designed the OmniGraphSketcher app, and while the iPad will be the center of attention tomorrow for its blend of technology and innovation, the Omni app was actually designed in a very low-tech way: with paper. They designed a same-size iPad mockup and cut out a bunch of paper menus and interfaces, and then did their testing with them that way, going with instinct on what goes where and how it all worked out. The iPad is an innovative device, to be sure, but the reason it's so innovative is because you can model it easily with much older technology like paper. Developers don't cut out a paper mouse and keyboard to design their desktop apps, but with the iPad, the interface has to be re-designed completely, and so cutting out colored paper is just as effective as testing out code. Very interesting, and something to keep in mind as we all touch and poke and prod our new devices tomorrow. [via 37Signals]
Satchel is Backpack on the iPhone done right (finally)
Being a productivity nerd who happens to love technology has its benefits. Those of us who are happy to spend a Friday night creating and destroying a list of tasks have absolutely no shortage of quality applications upon which to practice and hone our weirdo craft. For web-based task management there's the popular and venerable Backpack by 37Signals which, up until very recently, was in bad need of an equally awesome representation on our iPhones. I'm happy to say that the clouds have wandered west and the iPhone-toting Backpack lovers can rejoice at the advent of Satchel [App Store]. I know what you're thinking. "Dude, could you be a little more gushy about a freaking iPhone application?" Perhaps I could, but there's a reason that this article is written with such an overt sense of elation and joy. I love this application. It has succeeded where others (most notably, FrontPocket) have woefully failed. So, if you just want to know whether or not I "endorse" this product, the answer is yes. Read on if you're curious as to why.
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%
First Look: FrontPocket for iPhone and iPod touch
As a gadget hound and productivity freak, I've tried just about everything over the past 10+ years, both hardware and software. My gadgets have included a Palm IIIe, two Handspring Visors, a Newton 2100, a Newton eMate and a Palm Tungsten E2. They were all nice (some more than others), but each shared deficits of one type or another. Graffiti and easily-lost styluses were two biggies.As for software, I've used iGTD, Omnifocus, Tracks, Midnight Inbox, Things, MonkeyGTD and more. Again, they're nice but share a common issue. Namely, each solution is limited to the author's interpretation of how an organizational system works best. I don't want to learn a piece of software before I can begin managing my stuff. Nor do I want to be limited to the author's ideas, even the great ones. Basically, I want an electronic version of my favorite tool - paper.I do nearly all of my capturing and organizing with pen and paper, as nothing is more useful, flexible or promising. A blank page is pure potential. You can create a grocery list or sketch a solution to world hunger on the back of a napkin. I was about to give up on software when I tried Backpack. It's exactly what I was looking for.Backpack offers users a blank page. You can type anywhere, move objects around, add notes, lists, to-do items or photos and files. There's no toolbar, no drawers, nothing. Just a fresh, white surface ready for input. I love it, and today my Backpack account is my virtual right arm.On Sundays, I move all of the week's to-do items to a notebook, which I update from Monday to Saturday. On the following Sunday, I "sync" my notebook with my Backpack and start again. Sometimes, when I'm stuffing my cargo pants with the notebook, iPhone, wallet and keys, I think, "Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate something here?" Since Backpack on the iPhone is a dismal experience, I never did. Until now.FrontPocket is a native iPhone and iPod touch application for Backpack. I've been using it for the past week and it's growing on me. It won't replace my notebook just yet, but it's got real potential. Click below to read more.Update: The folks who produce FrontPocket let us know that version 1.1 is pending in the App Store now, and should fix the startup crashes and read-only errors that some users are experiencing.%Gallery-37322%
Win one of 10 copies of Logbook
Cory took a look at Transmissions' Logbook app last week. Designed for your Logbook on Backpack: The application gives you a simple user interface with which you can update your status and add completed tasks. If you're having a hard time remembering to update your Journal, have Logbook remind you every x number of minutes, and only between certain hours. In addition, you can set a keyboard shortcut for showing/hiding the application in the menu bar.Now, courtesy Transmissions, you can win one of 10 licenses for Logbook. Just drop them a line at contest@transmissionapps.com to enter.UPDATE: fixed the email address, sorry folks!
First Look: Logbook for Mac
If you frequently use 37Signal's Backpack web software, then chances are you don't like having to open a new web browser tab/window each time you wish to update your Journal. Logbook hopes to ease your woes by updating your Backpack Journal directly from your Mac OS X Menu Bar. The application gives you a simple user interface with which you can update your status and add completed tasks. If you're having a hard time remembering to update your Journal, have Logbook remind you every x number of minutes, and only between certain hours. In addition, you can set a keyboard shortcut for showing/hiding the application in the menu bar. Your updates are sent using 128-bit SSL encryption.You can purchase Logbook from the developer's website for $12.99. A demo of the application is also available.
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!
Backboard gives Backpack some Macintosh style
Backpack by 37signals is a terrific online organization and collaboration tool (we've written about Backpack many times). Those wanting a desktop application that works with Backpack have used the popular Packrat. This week, Lars Steiger has offered a solution with more Macintosh style, called Backboard.Aside from a Mac-like appearance, Backboard also adds a few features to Backpack, like the ability to attach dates and priorities, support for multiple accounts and a nice overview of tasks.Backboard is currently in private beta, but if you ask nicely, perhaps Lars will put you in the queue.[Via 37signals' product blog]
Campfire goes iPhone
If you're a fan of web-based group chat tool Campfire, you may be pleased to learn that it's now available for the iPhone. Now, when you visit Campfire sites on the iPhone, you'll be directed to an iPhone-optimized version. Due to the way the developers have created the iPhone version, you'll need to use two-fingered scrolling to move through your transcript. For more details, check out 37signal's post, where they explain the technical reasons for the two-finger scroll. Apparently, on the iPhone the "auto" overflow property for HTML gets rendered as a separate frame. If you'd like to learn more about the iPhone's special capabilities and limitations with respect to its Mobile Safari implementation, I strongly recommend you look into the iPhone Web Dev group at google groups.
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.
Ta-Da List optimized for iPhone
Last week, Randy Hunt at Citizen Scholar described just how he got his iPhone integrated with Highrise from 37signals. Today, Ta-Da list gets the iPhone treatment.If you're unfamiliar, Ta-Da List is the super simple (and just as useful), free list manager from 37signals. Now, folks who visit with their iPhones will automatically be re-directed to an optimized version of the site. I just logged into my own account, and it's fantastic. The pages have been built to fit so well on the iPhone's screen that you forget you're on the web - it feels like a stand alone application on the iPhone. If you're a GTD freak (and even if you're not), you ought to check this out. I tip my hat to 37signals. Ta-Da List for iPhone is great.
Pyro 1.6: Campfire client gains search, drag and drop file transfer enhancements and more
It's been over a year since we first mentioned Pyro, the powerful Mac OS X client for 37signals' Campfire web-based chat service for groups and businesses. While I personally didn't pick up a copy back then since I wasn't a Campfire user, I'm not entirely familiar with every change that has come since April '06. Still, even the most recent list of changes warrants Pyro another mention, especially since I'm looking at using Campfire for a few uses and projects. In addition to already offering a dashboard and central location for all your Campfire chats and displaying message status alerts in the Dock icon, check out what's new in Pyro 1.6: Any file type can be dragged onto Pyro to share in a Campfire chat Pyro will automatically zip a folder or .APP Dragging an image from a web browser will insert a URL for that image instead of uploading it Campfire's new sidebar search field now works in Pyro Support for the new WebKit installed by Safari 3 beta (mentioned on the Pyro development blog) and of course, bug fixes As Campfire's example uses page details, there are a lot of great scenarios for such a slick web app, and Pyro looks like the perfect tool to bring together the coolness of Campfire with the power of Mac OS X. Surprisingly, Pyro is still offered free, and even though Campfire primarily focuses on business users by offering a few paid accounts, it too has a free account with which you can register and tinker around to see if Campfire is right for your use.
Backpack widget updated
The Backpack Dashboard widget, which many of us here at TUAW have known and loved since we found it, has been updated after a long hiatus to v1.2. Unfortunately, I can't find any documentation describing exactly what is new, though I can say that the 'login error' messages I often used to get when waking a machine from sleep have disappeared. I tried contacting the widget's developer, Matt Pennig, for details, but haven't heard anything back from him.[Update: Matt just got in touch with me to confirm that the big change in this version is an update to the login code. Anyone experiencing the problems I mentioned should be pleased with their disappearance in v1.2. Matt has also set up both Amazon and PayPal donation links at his site, so drop him a few bucks if you enjoy his Backpack widget.]Either way, this is still a great widget for working with Backpack, and remains available from Chipt Productions, LLC.
37signals on Why Mac
37signals is the company that brought the world Ruby on Rails, Basecamp, and a raft of other Web 2.0 goodies. They did it all on Macs, and Apple has posted a video profiling them and their Mac usage. Check it out, and remember that Macs help you innovate.[via Coudal Partners]
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: bpiDash - a second widget for Backpack
Finally, some competition in the Backpack widget department: bpiDash (from the maker of dashLicious) is a Backpack widget that more or less matches the other Backpack widget we've always known about from Chipt. bpiDash, however, has a unique trick up its sleeve: populating a note with text from the clipboard. This ought to make the research and notation process a bit easier, and possibly raise Backpack up one notch on the Scale of Usefulness™ towards the ranks of Yojimbo, SOHO Notes and Journler (if it hasn't already surpassed them on your list, that is).The widget is offered as freeware from the author's site or DashboardWidgets.
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.
