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Volkswagen's 2021 GTI adds a hybrid powertrain and tech-filled interior
Last year Volkswagen unveiled its new eighth-generation Golf, and now for the Geneva Motor Show it's revealing some performance-tuned variants. The good news is that the 2021 GTI has more horsepower inside with an updated EA888 engine that manages 245hp, up from 228 in the previous model. It also includes the Golf's new "Digital Cockpit" that ditches analog dials for a 10.25-inch display and 10-inch navigation system, plus ambient lighting with 30 available colors. The bad news, as Autoblog notes, is that a plug-in hybrid GTE version (and diesel-powered GTD edition) will only be available in Europe. Specs reveal the GTE pairs a 150hp 1.4-liter turbocharged engine with an 85Kw electric motor and lithium-ion battery. Operating together, they're rated for the same 245HP as the gas GTI and can manage up to 37 miles of range in all-electric mode. Naturally, the styling and suspension are updated for these hot hatch models, and now the active damping setting allows drivers to set and store their personal preferences via a digital slider. There's no word yet on pricing, but we expect to see these on sale later this year.
Sound off! What apps help you get things done?
For the procrastinators among us, I share your philosophy: Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? Sadly, the people who sign our paychecks don't really agree; they strongly encourage us to get things done today. Right now! There's a ton of different apps that help manage our to-do lists and claim to make us more productive people. With so many options, how do you choose something that gets you down with GTD? Share your favorite productivity apps in the Engadget forums!
Things 2 for Mac now on sale for 50% off
Cultured Code has a treat for Mac owners looking for a new task manager. Starting today, Things 2 for Mac is on sale for US$24.99, a 50 percent discount off the app's normal $49 price tag. Things is a fantastic to-do manager that appeals to a wide range of users. With tags, projects and areas of responsibility, it's robust enough for power users looking for a nimble task manager. At the same time, it's not loaded down with lots of extra options, so even beginning users can jump right in and start managing their tasks with minimal effort. This limited-time sale applies only to the Mac version and ends January 31. This is only the second time Cultured Code has discounted Things for the Mac, so grab it while you can.
Things 2 now out, adds long-awaited cloud sync
Cultured Code has released Things 2, an update to its Things task manager, including the very, very long-awaited cloud sync capability. Did we mention that we've been waiting for it for awhile? The best news is that unlike rival The Hit List, cloud support is free on Things 2. Things 2 is a multiplatform release across the Mac, iPad and iPhone; updates to all editions are free from 1.x. In addition to the cloud sync tool, called Things Cloud, other new features include: Things for Mac Daily Review list that pulls up a list of tasks and let you decide if you want to work on them today. Mountain Lion capability, including streamlining with Reminders so Siri can easily be used to enter tasks Retina display updates Things for iOS Daily Review added Design UI tweaked Scrolling date picker Other iOS improvements such as tapping and holding a checkbox to cancel a task, log completed tasks automatically and VoiceOver accessibility Things 2 is a welcome release, and we're looking forward to putting it through its paces. Unfortunately, the delay in adding cloud sync (other productivity systems -- such as OmniFocus -- have had the feature for years) has lost Cultured Code a lot of its goodwill, as apparent by reading the comments on the linked posts above. We're glad to see Things Cloud is finally clear of its beta evolution and ready for prime time. When you sign up for the Things Cloud service on either your Mac or your iOS device, you'll get a confirmation PIN via email. Entering the PIN in your client will confirm your account, and from that point you can log in on all your devices using your email/password combo. (Don't reuse passwords, please.) The first Things instance you connect to the cloud will populate it with data, and subsequent devices (if they have to-dos on them already) will give you the option of merging, replacing local, or replacing the cloud list of tasks. Things' previous Bonjour/WiFi sync scheme has been removed in the 2.0 release, so if you update your Mac copy of Things you'll need to update everywhere in order to sync with the new cloud service. If you need to retain local network syncing for some reason, there is now a "Legacy Sync" version of Things 1.5 for Mac (and a corresponding "Things 1 Mode" toggle in the iOS apps) that maintains Bonjour sync. Things 2 for Mac is $49.95 through the Mac App Store, and a free trial is available from Cultured Code's website. Things 2 for iPad is $19.99 and Things 2 for iPhone is $9.99. Both iOS versions require iOS 5 or later, and the Mac version requires OS X 10.6.6. Thanks, Eric!
Daily iPhone app: ListBook
ListBook is yet another to-do app with an engaging interface that is easy to use. Of course it exists in a sea of GTD (Getting Things Done) apps, but I think it is staying above water. The app is US $1.99. ListBook is universal, supports notifications, and allows you to send your lists via email, but the list is not converted to text. The receiver must have ListBook too. That's a bit nasty. Items can be tagged with colors, names, or descriptive icons. There is no limit to the number of lists, and you can easily swipe left and right to change lists, or even delete items. It's all very intuitive. Any items that aren't completed show up as a badge on the icon, alerting you that you have items yet to do. The latest version claims the iPad and iPhone version can sync, but for the life of me I can't figure out a way to do that and nothing on the developer website that I can find explains it. I've contacted the developers, but no answers yet. (Update- the developers have now added a page to describe how you can set up the sync function.) I started using the app right away, so it really doesn't require instructions. I like the app enough to use it for my various listing tasks, something I haven't used an app for in the past. I fault it for the confusion about syncing and inability to mail your list to anyone but another ListBook user. You can see some screen shots below. %Gallery-151948%
TUAW'S Daily iPad App: Pocket Informant HD
WebIS Pocket Informant is an advanced PIM that has been around for years, transitioning from the Windows Mobile platform to iOS quite nicely. The iPad version of this calendaring and task management app is particularly notable for its wonderful layout and efficient use of the entire iPad display. One feature Pocket Informant was known for, even back in its Windows Mobile days, was its many settings and options. And, thankfully, these features are carried over to the iOS application. The settings menu on the iPad has options for General settings, Appearance, Today settings, Calendar settings, Task settings, Sync setting and Advanced settings. Under each of these headings are options to change colors, views, orientation, notifications and more. It's a field of dreams for those that like to tweak an app to their personal tastes. Pocket Informant HD has the appearance of daily planner and can be viewed in either portrait or landscape view. In either orientation, there are tabs on the right side which lets you switch from calendar view, task view, agenda view and settings. Each section has even more options in the top bar. From this bar, you can add an event or task as well as switch from days, month or week view. You can also display information from an individual calendar and use a search box to find a specific appointment or task. Despite all these options, everything is neat, orderly and pleasing to the eye. For those who adhere to a planning regimen, Pocket Informant HD supports Getting Things Done or Franklin Covey ABC/1-99 Prioritization of tasks. It also syncs with multiple Google calendars, iOS calendars and Toodledo. Some users may be overwhelmed by all the options and views available, but most users will be pleased by the power and flexibility of this personal information management app. At $12.99 Pocket Informant HD is pricey, but it's worth the cost for those that rely on their calendar to help manage their busy lives. %Gallery-129441%
Captio: The simple app that just might change your life
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have the worst memory. I also have a bad short-term memory. This makes it tough to remember the things that pop into my head throughout the day, and it makes it especially hard to keep track of tasks and other actions that I must take. I've wanted to use my iPhone to "bottle" these fleeting thoughts for years, but nothing on the App Store allowed me to do this without some sort of distraction. Enter Captio, a new app from Ben Lenarts of Boonbits. It's a small note taking application that allows you to capture thoughts, ideas, tasks, and other tidbits of information as they come to you. You may say, "But there are a million of those apps on the store, Josh, you handsome man!" Given, but Captio has one killer feature that everyone else has failed to deliver on: nothing. For example, here's how it works: Step 1: You open the app. Step 2: You type what you need to remember. And that's it. Your idea is in your email inbox. That's what makes Captio so great. You can add a quick photo before Captio whisks the idea out of your mind, but the feature is hidden quite well under the keyboard (as not to distract you). It's one fast app, too. I don't mean that in the same way that reviewers normally say it, either. Captio could outrun Usain Bolt strapped to a rocket cheetah. My iPhone 4 loads it from a cold start in about a second, and it's even quicker when loading from multitasking memory. If you're looking for something to capture everything you need to remember (and capture it quickly), I highly recommend picking up Captio. It's available now on the App Store for a fantastic $0.99. Just be prepared to break the news gently to your iPod icon, though; he won't be happy to lose his spot on the dock.
Nozbe for iPad 1.1 integrates Evernote with your projects
We've mentioned GTD app Nozbe a few times before, but not since the release of their iPad app. If you're looking for a complete, easy-to-use task management app for your iPad and haven't checked it out, here's your kick in the pants to take a look. Nozbe was originally a web-based application (still is), and creator Michael Sliwinski (also editor of Productive! magazine) has continued to develop amazing features into the web version. One of the more recent developments was Evernote integration, where you could tag projects in Nozbe with tags used on notes in Evernote, and have your Evernote notes show up when viewing projects in Nozbe. The latest version of the iPad app includes this functionality, along with improved file attachment handling. The Nozbe iPad app is a full-fledged task manager which doesn't require a subscription to the web app to be fully-functional. In my opinion, though, the online synchronization and ubiquitous availability of your tasks on any platform is a major part of the appeal of this application. The iPad app is easy to use and easy to understand, offering full GTD compliance while not inundating you with choices and options that just make task management too complex. There's a version of Nozbe for iPhone as well, and they all sync together via the web application. Among the many features of Nozbe that impress me are the myriad ways of getting tasks into your lists. From Twitter to plain text import, email, Dashboard widgets and, of course, the iPhone and iPad apps, finding a method that fits your workflow is an easy task. For the geeks, there's even an API that's pretty well fleshed out, allowing you to create your own means of adding tasks, checking them off, managing projects and more. I do long for a Mac desktop app, but I'm finding plenty of ways to make it just as easy to use the web version, and discovering that there are benefits to "working in the cloud" when it comes to task management. If you're just interested in the iPad app, pick it up on the App Store for $14.99US, and check out the iPhone version for $4.99US. Subscriptions to the web version start at $7.50 per month (if you prepay a year). You can have a go at the free trial, too, and see if it's a good fit for you.
First Look: Taska for iPad and iPhone
I'm by no means a power GTD user, but like a lot of you I am juggling different projects and need to find a way to organize them. When I was younger, I carried around a paper planner, but now I have an iPhone and an iPad in addition to my desktop Mac. The iPad on its own makes an awesome replacement for a paper planner. Paired with the iPhone, it's incredible. Any productivity developer for the iPad needs to have the following in mind. It has to stand on its own as an effective program. It has to work seamlessly with the iPhone, preferably with cloud syncing It has to be affordable. The available productivity apps that span both iPhone and iPad are usually lacking in one of the above areas. For Things, it's price and the lack of cloud sync. You're shelling out $30 for the iPhone and iPad products alone. Tack on the desktop and that's another $49.95. Same goes for OmniFocus, whose iPad app is not available yet. Within the past couple of weeks, some affordable alternatives have emerged on the App Store. These programs are pretty great on their own, but they also come with issues -- especially when it comes to syncing with other devices. First up, we take a look at BitAlpha's Taska for the iPad and iPhone.
iPad launch first look: Things for iPad
Cultured Code has released the iPad version of their classic iPhone task list app, Things. The new Things for iPad (US$19.99), as you can see in the video above, is absolutely gorgeous on the new Apple platform, and benefits greatly from the larger layout. I've personally downloaded the iPad version, synced my tasks, and the app seems like it's a natural part of the iPad. We'll be publishing a full review of Things for iPad soon. In the meanwhile, feast your eyes on this 34 second video showing everything you'll be doing to keep yourself up to date on your work and personal tasks.
Things coming to iPad, updates to 1.3
At the end of his latest blog post, Cultured Code's Jürgen Schweizer revealed that the company is working on a version of Things for the iPad. The announcement isn't that surprising, especially given that The Omni Group announced at the beginning of February that its software suite, including Things' GTD rival OmniFocus, is also heading to the iPad. Things has also updated to version 1.3, which adds support for "mixed" projects (meaning that you're no longer limited to having action steps in your projects). Things Touch [iTunes link] for the iPhone/iPod Touch also updated to 1.3.14 in order to be compatible with the desktop release. We have some big fans of Things among TUAW staffers, and I actually tweeted yesterday -- prior to reading the Cultured Code blog -- that I plan to give up on the seemingly-abandoned The Hit List and pick up Things for myself. The iPad is well-suited for these productivity suites, and I'm eager to see how both Things and OmniFocus turn out on the iPad. Edit: The Hit List creator Andy Kim contacted me on Wednesday night, reassuring me that The Hit List has not been abandoned and that he is working on the iPhone version of the software. Thanks for checking in, Andy! [via Cult of Mac]
Potion Factory seeking beta testers for The Hit List iPhone
Andy Kim with Potion Factory contacted us a few minutes ago to reveal that he is seeking testers for the upcoming closed beta of the iPhone version of The Hit List. Those wanting to be in the program are asked to submit how they best use The Hit List in their daily routine. From those entries, 10 people will be selected for the beta. Full rules are disclosed on Potion Factory's Web site. All entries must be received before September 21. The iPhone version of The Hit List comes not a moment too soon. As indicated by the software's Google Group, users who adopted the program over the past year were migrating back to other GTD applications, such as Things, due to the lack of an iPhone app. As a fan of The Hit List, I was doing my best to hold out and see if an iPhone app would come along. I'm very happy not to be disappointed.
Put Things Off is an iPhone task manager worth owning
I'll admit to being a productivity geek. For me, getting things done is almost as fun as fiddling with my system. After trying every app I could, I've come to a conclusion: Paper is where it's at.There's nothing more flexible and full of potential. You can make arrangements to meet a friend or solve a serious network issue with paper and pen. Most of the apps I used tried to mimic the ease of pen and paper, but none match the flexibility.For me, the iPhone adds another hurdle with the touch keyboard. Here's the bottleneck: I write faster that I type on a full-sized keyboard, and I do both faster than I use the iPhone keyboard. Some iPhone productivity apps require lots of typing, categorizing, tapping and clicking. Tally up the time spent being "productive" with your iPhone and it's not worth it. Just grab a small notebook. It only makes sense that I'd love the app from a man who shares my love of paper. Put Things Off for iPhone and iPod touch is a mobile productivity app that I'm happy to use. The initial window (see gallery below) is nice and sparse. To add a new task, click the arrow and type something brief like "Email Tom Re: website." Select a due date and hit Save. A small "card" appears on the To Do List desktop that you can put in one of four boxes: Inbox (the default), Today (determined by your due date), Put Off and Done. In fact, you might not have to do any clicking at all. The Today box is self-populated, the Inbox is the default and the Done box fills itself as you kill off tasks. Which leaves the Put Off box. In the app's preferences, you have an option to delay tasks for a certain amount of time. I've opted to put things off for 7 days, just in time for my weekly review. Therefore, items without a specific due date show up weekly, just in time for my weekly review. GTD'ers can think of it as a dynamic @readandrevew or @someday/maybe list.What I love about Put Things Off is that it comes very close to mimicking paper and pen. I open a note, jot a task and add a due date. Exactly what I do in my notebook. The Put Off box works wonderfully with my weekly reviews and there's no ballet of clicking, categorizing, tagging and whatnot to accompany every entry.Some will call it "under-featured," but I think it's perfect. Try it out and see if I'm wrong. Put Things Off is available in the App Store now for $2.99US. %Gallery-69610%
Things 1.1/Things Touch 1.3.5: Area Sync
Things Touch 1.3.5 has been released along with Things 1.1 and, among a heap of bug fixes and UI improvements, you'll find a new feature for syncing Areas of Responsibility from your Mac to your iPhone (it's not yet possible to create Areas in Things Touch). The feature requires Things 1.1 on the Mac side, which was officially released today, but has actually been available (sans release notes) for about a week (assumedly waiting for Things Touch to make it through App Store approval). Another new addition (which is more exciting, to me) is full AppleScript support in Things on the Mac. I haven't had a chance to dive into it yet, but it's a topic I discussed with Cultured Code at the last Macworld Expo and I'm excited to see it come to fruition. People using Things in any kind of group setting will appreciate the reconsidered approach to task delegation, as well. For those who aren't familiar with Things in general, I'll take a quick step back. Things for the Mac has been a staunch competitor in the Mac task-management colosseum. Battling it out with OmniFocus and newer gladiators like The Hit List, it's been recognized by many for its simplicity and elegance. Things is powerful and flexible, while remaining reliable and simple. Things Touch is its iPhone companion, usable on its own or synced with Things Mac. You may be asking, what's an "Area of Responsibility?" This is one of the features of Things which was hardest for me to grasp. It's not quite a GTD context, and it's not a folder for projects. Basically, Areas provide a flexible means of handling tasks which aren't part of a "project" and aren't necessarily sequential in nature. In the words of Cultured Code: With an Area of Responsibility (or simply "Area"), you don't ask yourself about the desired outcome, but what standards you would like to maintain. An Area corresponds to an ongoing activity. These could be, for example, job responsibilities, roles you have taken on in your family, or personal responsibilities like health. Things is available for download as a free trial, and can be purchased for $49.95US. Things Touch, the iPhone version, is available in the App Store for $9.99US.
Friday Favorite: TextEdit
What's free, flexible, easy-to-use but powerful and can handle a wide variety of file types? Our good friend, TextEdit, an app that ships with every Mac. TextEdit is, of course, a simple text editing tool like Notepad or WordPad on Windows. But there's a lot more to "simple text editing" that you might imagine, especially when TextEdit connects to services and other apps. I'm going to show you a few cool things you can do with TextEdit: create an inbox, use it as a development tool, or grab snippets of text on the go.First, you should know that TextEdit defaults to the .rtf format. If you're not familiar with it, RTF is "rich text" and, unlike the .txt files generated by something like NotePad, RTF includes formatting, like bold or italics or bullet lists. "Plain text" .txt files are pretty much just the basic ASCII characters and paragraph breaks. So what? Well, if you want things to look pretty, you'll stick with .rtf, a format which is easy to share across platforms. Side note: did you know TextEdit will open Word documents? It isn't perfect, but it works if you don't have Word on your machine. The older .txt format is better for coding or when you don't need or can't have formatting.To create an inbox, I suggest the simpler .txt format. What I used to do was set up Quicksilver to easily append to an inbox.txt file, and I used GeekTool to pin that .txt file to my desktop. You could also use LaunchBar to append, and I'm sure there's a way to whip up an AppleScript, but I never bothered. Instead, when I ditched Quicksilver, I started keeping the text file in the Dock, and I just open it up to add items. All this is portable, indexed by Spotlight, and fully cross-platform compatible.Next up: munging HTML with TextEdit, and grabbing snippets of text from any app and dropping them into a file.
Another fistful of apps: Ember, Headspace, myMovies, Nozbe, Juglir and LiveView
According to my completely unscientific research, about 90% of the TUAW mailbag is comprised of iPhone app announcements. In our continuing effort to not deluge you with iPhone app reviews, I present another "fistful of apps": 6 iPhone app reviews in one post. If you don't have an iPhone, you only have to skip one post. For the rest, this is some serious bang for your blog-reading buck. I don't play games much, aside from the occasional word challenge, so the apps I've chosen to review are definitely of a more utilitarian ilk. I'd classify them as productivity apps, including a Campfire client, a 3D mind mapping app, a movie cataloger, a task-management solution, a multi-status updater and a nifty tool for developing iPhone interfaces. Read on for the nitty gritty.
OmniFocus 1.6 checks off bugs and adds new features
The Omni Group just released OmniFocus 1.6, and it's a big, big update. Current users are going to be pleased, even if they don't bother to page through the extensive list of new features and fixes in the release notes. I've never said anything to the contrary, but this is proof that Omni is listening carefully to users and working hard to evolve with user demands while still maintaining their original vision. For the uninitiated, OmniFocus is one of the top contenders for your task manager dollar. Among the commercial options -- along with Things and up-and-comer, The Hit List -- OmniFocus is considered to be the powerhouse, at least as far as features. It's been a bit too much power for a number of people looking for simplicity in both form and function, but for those who need the extra power, it's a solid choice. When I say "extra power", I'm talking about advanced sorting based on just about any criteria, saved filter sets called "Perspectives," AppleScript support, integration with Mail, iCal sync, iPhone sync (with separately purchased iPhone version) and some advanced capabilities to help you determine your "next action" with less input than some of the others. Things and The Hit List are still contending for my ultimate love, but I've used OmniFocus extensively and can honestly say that the only reason I tend to drift away from it is complexity -- both in the UI and in general functionality. As I mentioned, the 1.6 release notes are extensive, and the vast majority of the entries are of very similar importance, making "highlights" hard to do. There are changes and additions to the filtering options, a new "Flagged" collation type for Context view, a prodigious number of bug fixes and enhancements to existing functionality, UI improvements, AppleScript fixes and improvements ... seriously, it's a long list. If you're a current user, you should be notified of the update within the application (check your update settings in Preferences), and new users can download a free demo. OmniFocus will hit your pocketbook for $79.95US ... competitive in the GTD arena and fitting for the punch it packs.
The Hit List 0.9.3 introduces repeating tasks
Potion Factory's The Hit List introduces repeating tasks to the GTD-style client, but in a pretty neat way. Instead of the traditional method of indicating how often a task should repeat, users can type directly into the "repeating" field, using natural language to describe when and how many times it should reoccur. For example, if I wanted a reminder to return my library books, I simply would type in "every 3 weeks on Wednesday." Then a short menu appears indicating how often I'd like for that particular task to repeat itself. Once I complete that chore, it'll jump ahead to the next date it's due.Repeating tasks is something that's been requested since the program debuted, and I really like how you can dig into the specifics of creating them. Potion Factory's Andy Kim acknowledges in his blog entry that the one huge drawback to this feature right now is localization. It's just not there at the moment, but that issue will be resolved once the code itself has been hammered out.Other features in this update, as seen on the release notes, include: AppleScript support. Different way to tweak tasks including smart-folder-like capabilities and disabling the auto-completion of parent tasks when sub-tasks are finished. Duplicate any list, folder, or smart folder by right clicking in the source list. When emails are dragged and dropped into a task, it adds the sender's name and email address in addition to the subject. Various keyboard shortcut tweaks. Many more bug fixes and small features than we have room to list here.
Win a copy of Things for Mac and iPhone
We've covered Things for Mac and the iPhone version before. Things is a slick task management tool with a ton of features, clean layout and powerful organization capabilities. Adding the iPhone version (works on the touch, of course) means you can take your tasks with you -- and sync wirelessly when you have to.Thanks to Cultured Code we're giving away two "Things Packs" which include Things for Mac and Things for iPhone. The usual rules apply: US and Canada only (sorry!), must be 18, only one entry per person, and it's totally random. Enter by telling us how you currently keep track of your tasks, right there in the comments. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment telling us how you manage your tasks. The comment must be left before February 8, 11:59PM Eastern Time. You may enter only once. Two winners will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: Things Pack, including Things for Mac ($49.95) and Things for iPhone and iPod touch ($9.99). Click Here for complete Official Rules.
Macworld Expo: Big things for Things
It was a heck of a coming-out party for Cultured Code's Things, the task organizer and GTD platform for Mac and iPhone. With a passel of awards for the product (including a Macworld Best in Show) and a shipping 1.0 version of the desktop app, the CC gang had plenty to celebrate.I stopped by the Cultured Code booth for a chat with Michael Simmons and a look at some of the late-breaking features in the desktop release. I don't have the evolved and tweaked GTD workflow that some of my colleagues bring to bear, but I can say that Things is one of the few task managers I've found myself "moving into" naturally and easily, and I'm still using it after a couple of months. Now, if it only synchronized with my favorite cloud-side task manager ... but hopefully that's just around the corner.Owners of the iPhone version of Things should check the new "gear" icon for a 20% discount off the US$49.95 cost of Things for Mac, good through 1/15/09.Video in the 2nd half of the post.
