Tapbots has released a wonderful upgrade of Tweetbot for the iPhone (bringing it to version 2.0).  When version 1.0 came out I quickly jumped on this app for the iPhone.  It was and still is the go-to app for Twitter in my mind.  Sure, Twitter has their own app and it works just fine.  If you are running iOS 5, you can download it easily and quickly and integrate it into your phone, BUT I enjoy using Tweetbot, it works really well and does so much more than the plain vanilla twitter app.

In my opinion, $3 for this app is a bargin!  Now for even more fun..  Version 1.0 has been released for the iPad!  With the same benefits of the iPhone and the additional real estate, it again is well worth the $3 price tag.  This is my go-to app for ALL twitter interactions.  If you use twitter regularly, give Tweetbot a go…

Apple has been improving the offering for their Apple TV (through software updates) with Netflix and some sport channels (MLB and NBA).  It works great with iTunes and streaming libraries from a device on the network but is limited to the Apple ecosystem, Wall Street Journal live, YouTube and Vimeo as well as tight iCloud and AirPlay (which works great with other Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads).  That being said, it is missing things like Hulu,  Pandora, Amazon, and HBO Go (which are all bundled into the Roku).

I’m looking forward to testing a Roku shortly so will see how it works, not just how the ad’s display it.  Apple continues to create and provide an exceptional tight solution but the Roku fills in some gaps the AppleTV is still not getting (though I hope they will soon).  Have any experience with the Roku or AppleTV, share them with us.

UPDATE:  Having played with the Roku a little, this is a nice, powerful LITTLE (and I mean little) device.  The system is robust enough to stream video from the usual places (Hulu, Netflix and Amazon) with little setup (though for the setup there is some running back and forth between Roku and computer to enter codes etc).  Once that is done, the system works smoothly, the video quality is fantastic (especially at 1080p) and solid.  One note (maybe I just have not found this yet) but I do not know the quality I am getting while the system starts streaming something.  The video quality improves over the first 15-30 seconds, but would be nice to know (as with the desktop clients) that you are seeing “one bar to HD” quality.

A few things to consider:

As always, check your battery needs (how many AA or D cells do you actually have in the house).  Would be tough to open that long-awaited gift to find out “batteries are NOT included”!To connect this together, look into rechargeable batteries.  We have a small stock of AA’s that are used for everything from Light Sabers to XBox controllers to the wireless Apple keyboard I’m typing this on.

If you purchased a device like an iPad or Kindle, it may be a good idea to just power it up and confirm it works.  Connect it to your home wireless network and maybe spend some time charging the devices so the system can be used right away.

If you get an iPad or iPhone outside your home, set up on the device, but hold off on connecting it to a computer until you are back to your home to be sure to sync it to the appropriate computer – this will keep you from having to set it up all over again when you connect it to the home computer.

Getting a new Blu Ray player, AppleTV or Roku?  Did you grab that ever elusive HDMI cable?  It is a wonderful time of the year and one of those times when I’m sure many of the big-box stores love since people come back time and time again to grab batteries, cables or something else…

Merry Christmas to all and a wonderful and Blessed 2012!

The new phone is once again an improvement to the iPhone 4, but not huge – the party line has been if you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS, this upgrade is a no-brainer.  You should qualify for a subsidized phone upgrade and the speed, features and quality of the device are worth the cost of the upgrade.  Those owners of iPhone 4′s have less compelling upgrade options.  The quick run-down on the iPhone 4 to iPhone 4s differences are;

• Faster Processor
• More memory and storage
• Better camera
• Siri “voice assistant”
• iOS 5 (which will be available for the public on 10/12/2011)

Walking through Apple’s SoHo and 5th Ave stores, there were flowers out front and messages of support and encouragement to the family and friends of Steve Jobs, but it reminded me of the opportunities and how Steve and Apple impacted what I do and how I think today.

I reflected on the one “Steve note” I was able to participate back in the days of MacWorld in NYC, the energy and excitement in the room and the power and vision this one man conveyed and held.  It was a time when Motorola and Starmax were making Mac clones and when Steve was not running Apple.  Steve returned to the company after those troubled years outside the company he started and began the turn around (again).  This was a time when I recall buying some of the first stock I ever did with some “bonus money”.  A small number of shares of Apple at about $13.  I recall thinking and hearing about people speaking of the stock rising (maybe to $20) when in Boston for MacWorld and being so very excited…

I also had the opportunity to work with some very smart and exciting people as part of the Apple Retail experience (when it was more of a cult than a store).  I first worked as a sales person at the Tice’s Corner store in Northern NJ and then transferred to SoHo when that store opened up).  Tice’s Corner was the 13th retail store and I still have a number of friends and peers that I stay in contact with from those days more than a decade ago.  I also was able to purchase stock as an employee at about $10/share, but when I left the “Holiday shares” that had vested at about $20 were still above the asking price and essentially worthless…  Oh, hindsight…

I never met Steve, I felt his presence and his passion.  Personally I have been working with Macs since my SE 30 when I started my freshman year of college at Syracuse in 1989.  It replaced an aging Commodore 64 and quickly became a passion and desire I wanted to do more with.  Now more than 20 years later I continue to personally prefer Macs, support them personally and professionally and as an IT professional know that Windows is important, but I LOVE Macs!

The world will be different, but “the people who believe they can change the world, are the ones who can…”

After much excitement and discussion, Apple (Tim Cook, Apple’s new CEO) presented the iPhone 4S.  A vast improvement (internally) to the iPhone 4.

• A dual-core processor (the same chip that is in the iPad 2) allowing for faster processing, responsiveness and graphic throughput
• An updated camera with more megapixels and improved lens and includes the ability to shoot 1080p hi-def video
• The new iOS 5 (which will work with iPhone 3GS and 4 devices, just in varying degrees depending on the hardware needs for the application)

• iOS 5 will be available on October 12th for download
• Reminders will be one of those “finally” built in apps on iOS 5
• Siri is the biggest hit of the party for iPhone 4S and iOS 5 (and it looks like this will ONLY work with iPhone 4S)

• A personal assistant to schedule meetings with voice commands
• Send text messages or dictate emails
• Read information or texts
• Set alarms or reminders (that can be location based) such as “Remind me to get milk when I leave work”
• Ask questions (“What time is it in Paris France” or “What is the weather like today”)

Check with your carrier (now Verizon, ATT and Sprint) to see if you are eligible for an upgrade (with the reduced pricing) – personally I’ll have to wait for Thanksgiving

If considering the move to the iPhone, look at the iPhone 4 at least…  It will last you 1-2 years and make you happy

The Kindle tie-in is fantistic and easy.  If you have the Amazon Kindle app, Amazon knows the device associated with your Amazon account and the process works very smoothly.  The process is as follows for most users.

Check your local library for access to eBooks (using the ePub or other standard formats).  See if they have extended their options to include Kindle books (again, NYCL has done this in the last couple of weeks).

Search for a book.  Again, many librarys (including NYPL) do not have a huge collection (though it is “respectable”) and check for the check-out options.

I found a number of books I was interested in so I went through the process on the eNYPL site to check out the book and at the final step, the eNYPL site passes you to Amazon.

Confirm you are logged into Amazon using your primary Kindle account (should show your name in the upper left by the Amazon logo) and the right should give you the option to access the book and download it to the appropriate device.

Once you have done this, Amazon generally pushes you to “books you may also be interested in” and purchase, but when you launch the iPad app or your Kindle, you should have your book in 10 seconds.

I have found on the iPad, clicking on the Archive option (from the Home screen) will show you the book you just requested and pressing the book will begin the download into your “home” area of the iPad.

The books look and work just as if you purchased the book from Kindle but have an experation date which they will “return” to the library and will no longer be available on the device.  I like reading and I do not do a lot of it partially due to the fact that there are few books I would buy and many times, just carrying a book around is tough.  At this time I have 5 books on my iPad, all checked out from the eNYPL.

If you enjoy reading and you have a Kindle (or Kindle compatable device), I would highly recommend checking with your local library and see if they have this option or expect to have it available in the coming months.  A wonderful technology advance!

For years I have tried applications that were designed to focus on and provide for an easy and uninterrupted writing environment.

WriteRoom is an excellent option but I found it to be too stark and as much as I tried to use it, it never really got it’s hooks in me.

This last week I finally found one that I love: iA Writer.
There is a solutions for the Mac ($9.99 on the App Store) as well as the iPad ($4.99 through iTunes).

The application is bright, clean and has some wonderful basic features. One of my favorite is Focus. This greys out all other text but the sentence you are currently viewing or writing.
In the last week that I have been working with iA Writer, I have been able to direct my eyes and mind to the task and not be destracted by twitter feeds, email and everything else that goes on in our overly-connected world. If you are looking for something to just craft a note, write a business proposal or blog post (for example), iA Writer is a simple and effective solution.

iA Writer also works with Dropbox so you can push your work to the cloud and then work from other computers or the iPad.  One difficulty I have come across with my iPad 2 running iOS5 beta is there are some sync issues between Dropbox and the iA Writer program on the iPad.  I imagine this will be ironed out once the final release of iOS 5 is available in the next few weeks.

I would highly recommend it. If anyone has any other thoughts, know of other optons or solutions or would like to share their experiences, please do.

Apple has been running developer iOS updates for iPhone 3 and 4 to bring it up to the latest software (iOS 5).  Currently, the rumors are showing that the next week should be the last update of the developer release of iOS 5 prior to public release.  This will then go out to the fabrication plants for iPhone 4s and the expected iPhone 5.

AppleInsider speaks about AppleCare for October 10th
Macrumors aligns with the other reports

This all lines up with a release of iPhone and iOS early in October and have a device in stores in quantities for the holidays.  If you hear or see anything else, let us know.

Simple, elegant and offers a bit more than I ever saw is similar solutions like bump.  One really nice aspect is you can easily email the contact to someone that does not have the app so it does not tie you into a have-to-have solution.

Here is my card and the one I finally settled on after playing with the built-in 12 or so templates.  I believe CardFlick is an smooth, effective and beautiful iOS App.  Highly recommended…

CardFlick