VentureBeat’s MG Siegler reported Monday that Apple may be pushing their “Push” notification system aside; in favor of allowing some background operations to run in the background on the iPhone. This rumor comes partly from MacRumors, but Siegler notes that he has heard whispers about this himself.
Most tech bloggers have said that barring background operations was a mistake and most likely would have to be revisited – Especially since the “Push” system was supposed to have been launched 5 months ago. Apple backtracked on releasing it to the public until they “got it right.” Steve Jobs and Apple have always aid that background ops. sucked up too much battery life and given the heavy web-surfing, video watching the iPhone allows, battery life was the reason for moving to this push notification software update.
What!?!? Without even mentioning that the same functionality has been available on PocketPC, Palm, Nokia, and Blackberry for years, I just have to wonder who will want one of these things (other than the religious faithful). People need this to be a phone, first and foremost. But with 5 hours of battery life? No keypad? (you try typing a phone number on that screen, no matter how wonderful it is — you will want a keypad). And for all that whiz-bang Internet access, you absolutely need the phone to work, immediately, every single time. Will it do that?
As a web and graphic designer, brand expert, and web journalist, I have many, many bookmarks and massive amounts of information I need to collect and remember. Until the amazing and innovative Evernote showed up, I was an ADD mess and my office was a battlefield of papers Post-It Notes and notebooks. Evernote is an application and your own personal database that…well… I’ll let them tell you: Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and make this information accessible and searchable at anytime, from anywhere.
in “Things” (a Getting Things Done application) I immediately grab a Post-It Note, write it down and slap it on my computer, desktop, In-Box or somewhere I’ll be sure to be reminded. Evernote tosses that habit and wasted paper aside. Not only is it more efficient, it saves paper and you can share these items if you need to with colleagues, friends, or the PTA. Your office will be cleaner, and you won’t have that nagging feeling like you’re bombarded with, “Look at Me!” neon Post-Its everywhere.
Things - David Allen’s Getting Things Done time management system is one of the best around to keep me organized and sane. Things is modeled after the GTD system and does a beautiful job. It hits all the right notes for me – simple, clean, and follows 95% of what the GTD system offers. I’m still waiting for the version they were to release ($39.00) but this one does the trick for me. Things syncs to my desktop, making my GTD ecosystem cohesive and as one.
Wordpress - The crew at Wordpress got this one right with their first try. I use Wordpress for this blog and others, I even tutor clients on how to use it. Without Marsedit, Wordpress can be kinda clunky and slow. Sure we now have Google’s Turbo, but not for the iPhone.
Instapaper - I constantly find great articles and research resources on the web I’d like to read, but when I find them I just don’t have the time to read them on the spot. Instapaper fits the bill, saving web pages for you to read on the go and you don’t need an internet connection. You have the option to view the pages as they actually look on the web or as plain text. It is free, but for an inexpensive $10.00 you can upgrade to Pro which has Tilt Scrolling, among other good morsels to make it even more helpful. I did not find on the free version this surprising jewel – syncing with your desktop!
1password - I never imagined that my once small stack of Post-Its with my web usernames and passwords would grow to the size they are today. As each day passes in our Internet 24/7 lives, the more log-in information we collect. 1Password makes logging into any web site a breeze. Starting with the desktop version, they simplified this process, and anytime you log in, 1Password asks you whether you’d like that information saved. After that, you’ll never forget another log-in again.
Evernote - This app began as a desktop app, just as 1Password did. The thing that makes Evernote rock is that you can put anything in it so you NEVER forget. Here’s some examples of what this sharp program allows you to do: gives you the capability to copy entire web pages by manually copy and pasting, taking a screen shot of a web site and storing it, throw photos, text, color swatches, wine labels, anything you like – and the best part is the “take a photo note.” You can choose “iSight Note” and find anything that has some text on it, hold it up to your desktop camera (I use my iMac’s iSight.) Save it and do a search for what text was on that item – This sucker READS text on anything, truly cool and helpful. I’ve used some magazine pages, just because I didn’t want to tear them out. One particular use for me is my Whiteboard in my office – Just in case I forget to transfer anything that’s there, I take a pic of it before I erase it and start brainstorming again.