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AT&T to enable BlackBerry Bridge support before sundown
Most tablets function just fine on their own, but RIM's BlackBerry Playbook introduced a unique, yet restrictive interface that limits Bluetooth tethering to a similarly-branded handset. This feature, called BlackBerry Bridge, lets your tablet piggyback on a handset's 3G data connection, also enabling access to productivity apps like email and calendar, which are still otherwise unavailable on the PlayBook. Unfortunately, this option hasn't been made available for AT&T users, but that's about to change, as the feature will be added to App World today. While the Bridge suite is totally gratis, enabling the AT&T 3G data connection requires a monthly tethering plan of $45, which means anyone grandfathered into the unlimited data feature will need to decide if it's worth the jump. Bridge not sounding like your cup of tea? Don't worry -- at least you can take comfort in knowing that the days of pining for native email are numbered.
Agenda is a fast, tidy calendar app for iPhone
Agenda (US$1.99), from Washington, DC developers savvy apps, is a calendar app for the iPhone that's legible, fast, bursting with Multi-Touch support and reminiscent of the desktop organizers we used before apps replaced archaic paper. Nearly every function is a swipe away, and even the icon displays the current date. Here's my look at Agenda for iPhone. UI Black text on a field of white. That's Agenda. As some apps get "cutesy" and try to resemble real-world objects, (I'm looking at you, Calendar for iPad), the folks at savvy apps went in the opposite direction. Agenda features year, month, week, day and event views. A colored dot indicates an event's parent calendar while the tools – navigation buttons, edit/create button and settings button – remain consistent across all views. Best of all, nearly everything you'll want to do, aside from enter event details, can be accomplished with one hand. Heck, with one thumb. %Gallery-126892% Use A calendar must satisfy two main tasks: record information and display it. Here's a look at how Agenda handles both. To enter a new event, tap the "+" button in the lower right-hand corner. The Add Event screen appears, which should be familiar to anyone who's use Apple's Calendar app. In fact, it's identical. Populate the title field, start/end time, repeat field, etc. as appropriate and then tap Done in the upper right. The sheet disappears, and your event is added to the calendar. Agenda's only real advantage in event creation is that the button is always available. With Apple's Calendar app, the new event button disappears while in single event view. Of course, Agenda shines when displaying information, making great use of swipes and taps. By default, Agenda presents a list view. Each day in the list features the date, pending appointments and their respective start times. Swipe up and down to scroll through the list and tap the top of the screen to return to the current day. As you enter a new month, its name is briefly displayed. Here's where it gets fun. Swipe right once from the list view to produce month view. A gray bar highlights the current week, and the current date is in red. Every day with pending appointments displays a dot(s) corresponding to the parent calendar's color. While in month view, swipe up and down to move from month to month, and tap any day to see its events in detail. Next, swipe right again to enter yearly view, which presents a nice overview of the whole year. Again, tap any month to jump to it. Back to list view. Swipe left once to enter daily view. A mini calendar appears in the upper left while the date appears in the upper right. Below a divider is a color-coded list of what's due on that day. Swipe up or down on that list to move from day to day, or tap any item to see its details. Here's what's really cool: while in this event-specific view, swipe up and down to scroll through that day's individual events. Any phone number or address is tappable from event view, so you can place a call or jump to a map. Conclusion Agenda isn't the app for rapid event creation. However, those interested in a speedy, efficient and good-looking way to move through their events ought to consider Agenda. The fact that you can do almost everything with the swipe of a thumb is very nice indeed. Old eyes like mine appreciate the legibility, and I can't help but love the speed. Good work, savvy apps. Agenda is very well done.
Google Sync adds mail server search, appointment confirmation to native iOS apps
Google Sync has pushed Gmail messages, calendar updates, and contacts to iOS since its launch in 2009, but this half-baked solution previously lacked some key functionality. Beginning today, users can finally perform mail server searches and confirm appointment requests from their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. This means that you'll be able to search for messages in your entire mailbox, not just for emails stored on your device -- a feature that first appeared with iPhone OS 3, but without Google Sync support. You can also respond to calendar invites from within the Calendar app. Fancy that! A third update brings support for sending messages from other addresses listed in your Gmail account, though only the first two features worked when we took Sync for a spin this afternoon. (Curiously, Google omitted a "Send Mail as" screenshot on its blog, so this last update may not actually be available yet.) This latest trio of updates is available for both gratis and Google Apps accounts, so head to the source link for set up instructions and the full feature rundown.
MobileMe: Some speculation about the transition to iCloud
I'll start this post off by stating the obvious -- there's a lot about how MobileMe services will transition to iCloud that we don't know yet. But I'm going to take a stab at some of the most pressing questions we've received from TUAW readers regarding the transition. As more facts come in, we'll update this post and/or let you know in a new article. First, let's talk about what's available in MobileMe as it stands today. The details are in that graphic above, which is taken directly from the web-based MobileMe service. There are web-based versions of Mail, Contacts (Address Book), and Calendar (iCal); there's Find My iPhone, which has already become a free service; there's iDisk, a "cloud-based storage" solution; and then there are things like Gallery and iWeb hosting. Speculation #1: Web-based versions of Mail, Contacts, and Calendar will be de-emphasized I'd speculate that the web-based versions of Mail, Contacts, and Calendar will get less attention going forward, and might even disappear on June 30, 2012. Seriously -- who needs them? If you have a Mac or three, you'll sync Mail, Address Book, and iCal through the free iCloud service. The same with your iOS devices, which will send Mail, Contacts, and Calendar changes to the iCloud, where they'll all be echoed to the rest of your digital world. For Windows users, you'll be using Outlook 2010 or 2007 to sync to the iCloud. The only scenario in which you might not be able to get to your "stuff" is when you're using a public computer of some sort at a hotel, on a cruise ship, or at a cybercafé in Spain. Of course, you don't want that to happen, so you'll have your iOS device with you. Hook up to Wi-Fi or use your 3G data service, and the problem is solved. That's why they call them mobile devices. [The counterargument would be that dropping web-based access to PIM and email from iCloud would be a pretty big competitive disadvantage for the service, compared to Google and Microsoft offerings. It's equally likely that the web components will simply flip over from MobileMe to iCloud without any new features or engineering effort -- since Apple is already doing a passable job on them. –Ed.] Speculation #2: iDisk disappears Apple's already stated that iCloud will back up your content -- music, photos, apps, and documents. But there's nothing out there about what will happen to your other stuff. I personally have about 15 GB of iDisk storage available to me on MobileMe, of which I've actually used about 3 GB. All of my important data is sitting out in my Dropbox, syncing between my Macs and iOS devices. I personally don't see the need for iDisk in this world of Dropbox, but there are others who may be using iDisk since they either don't know about Dropbox and similar services or don't want to migrate to them. I think iDisk is going to go extinct, but that Apple will provide iDisk users with a variety of third-party cloud storage solutions and warn them to migrate their data well in advance. There is a full year to prepare. Speculation #3: Gallery is toast Gallery was Apple's way of creating web-based photo albums of your photos for sharing with friends and relatives. Once again, I can't see a need for it in the post-MobileMe world. Apple has already provided an "out" to those who want to share their photos to the world -- iPhoto supports sharing pictures to both Flickr and Facebook. I don't know what Flickr's membership is these days, but Facebook has well over 600 million users, and a good number of them may be former or current MobileMe subscribers. Those two services are perfect for photo sharing, and I'd be willing to bet that the current number of photos hosted in Gallery is a tiny fraction of the number out on Facebook or Flickr. Another reason I think Gallery is going away is the tendency for people to use iOS devices as a sort of electronic photo album. I don't know how many times I've seen my wife show off photos of our trips to friends or complete strangers using either her iPhone or iPad. It's a lot easier than telling them to go out to some long-winded MobileMe URL to see a gallery of pictures. Speculation #4: So long, iWeb hosting As the author of several editions of a book on iWeb, I have a vested interest in the future of this Apple product. However, the future just doesn't look all that bright for iWeb. The software hasn't been updated recently, and there is a lot of rumbling out on the Apple Support Forums about what will happen when MobileMe disappears. My guess? Apple will once again tell MobileMe users that they need to find their own hosting. iWeb can publish websites to a number of hosts, so it's no big deal to republish on a new one. I even wrote a post almost two years ago about how to use free Dropbox space to host an iWeb site, so there's a solution. Finally, a significant portion of the people who set up iWeb sites initially were putting together personal sites. Many of those people have probably gone the easy route and are either letting friends know about their lives via Twitter and Facebook, or have set up sites with free services, like Blogger or WordPress.com. Nevertheless, judging by the frustration and concern on Apple's support boards, this may be one of the trickiest transitions to manage. Conclusion Before some of our readers who are adverse to change go all ballistic on me in the comments, remember what I said at the beginning -- we don't really know what's going to happen to some of these services between now and the demise of MobileMe on June 30, 2012. All of this is speculation about what will happen, based on my personal perspective. If you have an alternative idea, or you're a disgruntled MobileMe employee who wants to spill the beans, please let us know about it in the comments or send us a tip via the "tip us" button at the top of the page.
Patent suggests location- and traffic-aware iOS calendar alerts
A newly discovered patent from Apple describes a system for generating an alert based on calendar events and GPS location information. The system would expand the normal preset, time-based alert system with one that dynamically uses your location. The system would tie your GPS location to your calendar entires and remind you when you are near an event or pull up directions to your meeting or event. It could also use weather information, traffic data, public transportation schedules and more to help get you where you need to go. The patent was filed in 2009 and was only recently made public by the USPTO.
How to: Share iCal calendars without MobileMe
This how-to over at Gearz.de will help you share your iCal calendar around even if you don't have a subscription to Apple's online MobileMe service (a very forgivable offense, especially since its expected replacement iCloud service is now just a week away). Unfortunately, the writeup is a little technical, as you'll need to actually configure your local web server to share out and broadcast the calendar to anyone who needs to read it. That means you'll need to do a little console typing and config file editing, but as long as you follow directions, it should work just fine. A simpler solution might be to use an app like BusyCal to do the syncing for you, or even just use a service that's already in the cloud, like Google Calendar (which is what I actually do). But if you're already tied to iCal, either because you've got a calendar on there or just because you like the app, following those steps should help you get sharing to anyone up and running.
Fantastical vs. Today: Mac calendar app faceoff (Updated)
Earlier this week I reviewed Flexibit's new Fantastical app and Today from Second Gear Software. Both offer attractive and useful front-end access to iCal. Today I'll compare the two head-to-head and pick a favorite. Why these two apps? First, Fantastical is the fresh newcomer, garnering much well-deserved attention since its release a few days ago. Today offers similar functionality and has been around since 2008. They perform similar tasks but differently, and in subtle ways cater to different audiences. Before we get started, catch up with the Fantastical review and the Today review. All set? Then let's begin.
Today is a useful, lightweight calendar app for the Mac
Today from Second Gear Software is a lightweight calendar app for the Mac that focuses on simplicity and speed. It's not an alternative to iCal, but rather a tidy front end. With some configuration, you'll be using Today to create events, tasks and more, all with custom keyboard shortcuts. I've spent a few days using Today. Here is my review. Note: yesterday I reviewed Fantastical from Flexibits, and tomorrow I'll post a head-to-head shootout between the two. Don't miss it. Additionally, I'll have a brief bonus comparison to Quick Cal from Smelly Puppy. For now, on with the review.
Fantastical improves the Mac desktop calendar experience
Calendaring on the Mac has come a long way since I was using Palm Desktop on a 333 MHz iMac. iCal is the Mac OS default today, and it works well. There is room for improvement, however, and Fantastical takes a huge step in the right direction. This handy app lives in your menu bar, providing quick access to your many appointments across calendars (including iCal or Outlook 2011). Fantastical supports incredibly rapid and natural full-text entry for appointments, making it easier than ever to get your events where you need them. It looks great, works well and is definitely worth your time. Read on for the full review. Note: tomorrow I'll post a review of a competing product, Today by Second Gear Software. Then, on Thursday, we'll do a head-to-head shootout between Fantastical and Today. %Gallery-123721%
TUAW's Daily Mac App: CalendarBar
For most office-bound people, checking their calendar is one of the biggest chores of the electronic world. On the Mac, we've got many great options for managing calendars, including iCal, but what about a fast way to check your schedule from your desktop? That's where CalendarBar comes in. This little gem of a Mac app sits in your menu bar, ready to tell you what's coming up at a moment's notice. Click the icon, and a menu showing all your up-and-coming appointments and important dates drops down for easy viewing. CalendarBar will integrate with iCal, meaning you can view any calendar you can sync with it. Even if you're not an iCal user, CalendarBar can connect with Google Calendar and even Facebook for events and birthday integration. Clicking an entry will launch the appropriate application and take you to that specific event. In iCal's case, it'll launch and bring up the properties for the event. For things such as a birthday reminder from Facebook, CalendarBar will launch your default browser and show you the person or event of interest. Tasks from iCal are also displayed, with the ability to limit them to a set time period and clear them right from CalendarBar. Reminders can be sent via Growl. The menu bar icon can show you the current date or display the number of calendar entries. The drop-down menu also has extensive customization options, with the font, style, width and dates all adjustable. If you're someone who has all their dates, meetings, birthdays and reminders plugged into an electronic calendar, and you need fast at-a-glance access, then CalendarBar is an absolute no-brainer. It's small, simple, slick and fast for US$4.99.
Microsoft releases Office 2011 Service Pack 1
Office 2011 version 14.1 (Service Pack 1) is now available from Microsoft's website. As announced on April 6, the update includes a variety of improvements to the new Outlook for Mac, including built-in support for Apple's Sync Services which allows users to more easily synchronize Outlook data with other Mac OS X software (like iCal and BusyCal) and devices (like the iPhone and iPad) through iTunes. The update also includes the usual fixes for "critical issues" and patches a security vulnerability that could allow an attacker "to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code." Microsoft offers more details about the software update on its official Office for Mac blog. Even if the update isn't showing in Office's AutoUpdate utility yet, you can download the 246 MB package here. [via MacUpdate]
Office 2011 Service Pack 1 due next week, improves Outlook compatibility
The upgrade from Microsoft Office 2008 to 2011 has not been without its drawbacks; for users of Entourage who moved to the all-new Outlook for Mac, in particular, there have been a few holes in the feature lineup. None of them are necessarily showstoppers, but the collection of odd omissions has given the flagship mail/calendar/contact management platform an air of unfinished business over the past few months. Good news, though: Microsoft's Office for Mac blog reports that we will be seeing Service Pack 1 for Office 2011 next week. The big-ticket returning feature for Outlook is calendar support in Sync Services, meaning that Outlook calendars may once again synchronize locally with iCal, BusyCal or tethered iPhones, iPod touch or iPad units through iTunes. Outlook's punch list also includes editing support for Exchange's server-side rules (which last appeared on the Mac in Outlook 2001 for Mac OS 9!), the return of the Redirect and Resend options in addition to simple message forwarding, and editing of messages in the Inbox. Excel is also getting better Solver integration, and there are sure to be hundreds of other bug fixes and minor improvements. While the Sync Services calendar support is welcome, it's slightly ironic that it's coming back to Microsoft's PIM at the same time that Apple's MobileMe calendars are transitioning to CalDAV -- which in turn is breaking Sync Services support for those hosted calendars via iCal and BusyCal. That means there still won't be a supported way to get MobileMe calendars to synchronize with Outlook for Mac (or Entourage 2008, for that matter), at least in the short term. There are some Outlook users who will be able to synchronize to MobileMe's CalDAV servers... but they aren't using Mac OS X. 32-bit versions of Outlook 2007 or 2010 on Windows can indeed sync up to MobileMe, with the help of Apple's MobileMe control panel on Windows XP, Vista or 7. The Office 2011 SP1 download will be available sometime the week of April 11; we'll let you know when it drops. Hat tip to The Loop.
QuickCal for Mac: natural language events and todos for iCal
QuickCal has been one of my favorite ways to add items to iCal. It started with a Dashboard widget that let me use natural language to add calendar events. I loved it (actually wrote about it back in '09). Then it became an iOS app, QuickCal Mobile, and I was able to add entries with blazing speed while on-the-go, as well as view all of my upcoming appointments within the app. It currently has a place on my iPhone dock for instant access. Now, QuickCal is a desktop application, available in the Mac App Store, and it has some cool new capabilities. The natural language engine is pretty smart to begin with. You can type things like "Dr. appt 4p" and an event is created for today at 4:00pm titled "Dr. appt." You can also get more verbose, adding locations and start and end times. It does todo items, too. "todo - Get something done by wed" will add a task to iCal with a due date. That's not working for me in the current version, but I've seen video of it working splendidly in the upcoming 2.3 release. You set a default calendar to add to, but you can change the target calendar by typing part of the calendar's name in the entry box. It can run menubar only, dock only or both. You can also set it up to launch directly to entry mode and quit after you finish one event or todo. That's perfect if you just want to run it from Quicksilver or LaunchBar and not have it running permanently. The menubar offers a dropdown showing all of your upcoming appointments and todo items. You can click an entry to open it in iCal, but you don't really need to. You can see everything you need to -- and in the upcoming version you can also check off tasks and see priorities and days until due -- from that little icon up there. Once the new version is approved by Apple, it will actually turn iCal into a much handier todo list than it normally would be. Smart reminders automatically set alarms based on the distance away an event is, and the duration of the event. If you set a day long event for a month away, you'll get reminders at configurable intervals up to the date. If your new event starts in an hour, you can automatically set just a 15 minute alarm. You can turn this off, but it makes setting reminders a breeze. Sound good? Grab it fast, it's only US$.99 while the upcoming version is in review with Apple. It could be days, it could be hours ... who knows? But it's cheap right now, and handy for anyone who uses iCal.
Addon Spotlight: 2 addons by Shackleford
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week: Shackleford. Sometimes when I am out looking for new addons for the Spotlight, I find an author rather than any one addon. Many addon authors are not one-timers -- they've got a few addons under their belts because they either love the work or just can't get enough out of punishing themselves. Suffice to say, we are very appreciative of their work, and really, where would we be without them? Today's Addon Spotlight focuses on two cool utilities from Shackleford, addon author to the stars (maybe). I am a big fan of little utilities, since most of these little wonders sit idly by, performing their functions with nary a whisper or whimper. Things just happen. If you don't already know them, may I introduce CalendarHUD and WeaponUP.
Earbud / alarm clock takes the comfort out of sleeping
Love sleeping with earbuds in? Hate setting your smartphone in its alarm dock before you go to bed? The folks at Thanko have unveiled a little something called EARINALM which may be right up your alley. The premise is pretty straightforward: it's a set of earbuds that contains an alarm clock, stopwatch, and a calendar. The package includes a USB adapter of charging. Yours now for a mere ¥2,980, or roughly $35. The As Seen On TV infomercials practically write themselves.
MobileMe's new calendar mandatory for all users by May 5
MobileMe users were notified today that all users will be upgraded to the new calendar service on May 5. The new MobileMe calendar includes calendar sharing, invitations and an upgraded web app. Those who want to upgrade right away are urged to have the latest software updates and back up their existing calendars before performing the upgrade, which can be done on MobileMe's calendar page. Those looking for more help can check out the support page. The new calendar web app entered beta on July 7, 2010 and exited beta on October 14.
Adult Swim releases free universal app with full episodes in the app
Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming division has been surprisingly Mac-friendly -- not only has it produced a number of great iOS games already, but its shows have included a number of Mac references as well (always in the service of comedy, of course). I guess it's no surprise that Adult Swim released a universal app of its own. Like many television apps, there are some extras, including a schedule of shows, and clock, weather and calendar features. But the real draw here is that you can watch full episodes of Adult Swim shows in the app, from Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job to Family Guy (reruns), Aqua Teen Hunger Force and, one of my favorites, The Venture Brothers. And the best part is that the app is completely and totally free. If you're an Adult Swim fan at all, you'll definitely want to go get it off of the App Store right now. Great to see such a solid strategy from these guys on iOS -- I guess they definitely know where their audience is.
Don't believe the icons: iPad 2 unlikely on February 9
9to5 Mac and others have suggested that the Calendar app icon in the iOS 4.3 beta hints at a release date for iPad 2. Unfortunately, it's not likely. A Springboard preview image in the latest iOS 4.3 beta shows the Calendar app with a big number 9 front-and-center. Remembering that the original iPad showed a 27, and that it was released on the 27th, some wondered if that 9 was a bit of foreshadowing. If so, we missed the hint long ago, because the same 9 can be found on original iPads running the latest iOS. To see it, tap Settings, then Brightness & Wallpaper. Two wallpaper thumbnails appear, one of which shows the Calendar icon with a big 'ol 9. In other words, it's nothing new. If an iPad is released announced* on February 9 (where did the February come from, by the way?), that icon will have had nothing to do with it. *Reader James O'Leary notes that 9to5 and others claim the 9th suggests an announcement date, not a launch. Fine. Still, the "9″ has been there for a long time and quite likely isn't meant as a hint. [Via 9to5 Mac]
New battlegrounds added to the in-game calendar
The in-game calendar has been updated with battleground information in preparation for Cataclysm. The following events have been added: Rated battlegrounds The 10v10 rated battleground will be switching weeks with the 15v15 rated battleground on a Tuesday-to-Monday schedule. Call to Arms All Call to Arms weekends have been moved around to accommodate the two new battlegrounds. The Battle for Gilneas The first Call to Arms weekend for this 10v10 BG begins on Dec. 17. Twin Peaks The Call to Arms begins Dec. 24 for this capture the flag 10v10 BG. We've updated our calendar on the right sidebar to reflect the new schedule. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
New birthday icon for Calendar in iOS 4.2
The release of iOS 4.2 has brought us a nice little surprise in the form of the new icon shown in this post. If you're tracking birthdays in your Contacts application, those birthdays will appear in your iCal calendar with a little gift package icon. It's a nice little touch to the friendly organizer application, and it helps you visually spot that special day for your loved ones. No one's made a big deal about this being a new feature in iOS 4.2, of course, since it's such a small detail (much as the new Voice Memos icon is a small detail). But for those of us who rank reaching out to loved ones to say "Happy Birthday" as a priority in our to-do list, this little touch might be a favorite change in iOS 4.2. In order to set up this functionality, pull up the Contacts record for the person whose birthday you want to track. Select Edit in the upper right hand corner, scroll to the bottom and tap "add field." Then enter the birthday, and the date will show up in your calendar app. Updated to correct iCal/Calendar app mixup. Thanks to Ryan for the tip!