Procreate Is A Full-Featured Mobile Easel And More

The biggest reason for why I always wanted to become a writer is because I’m not good at creating visual art. I like to look at any kind of great art — from the old masters to talented dribbble users — and this love for well-crafted visual arts helped me getting to write here at MacStories. I’m better at talking about cool pixels than creating them. However, three days ago I bought my first iPad, and Procreate by Savage Interactive is considered one of the finest apps when it comes to using all the capabilities of the new Retina display.

After testing it for some time, I have to say that Procreate seems to be a perfect companion for artists when it comes to digital sketching and painting on the road. It’s a full-featured creation app, not forcing the user to cut back in functionality at all. Before I dive in deeper into its feature set, let me shortly recap the app’s main elements and controls.

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My New Dropbox List-Making App: TaskAgent 2.2

In the past few months, I have been refining my Dropbox-powered writing workflow, adding new tools and checking out updates to existing ones in order to achieve a reliable, yet seamless environment for quick notes, longer articles, and lists. In particular, I mentioned TaskAgent, an iOS app to manage lists through easily formatted text files inside Dropbox.

In TaskAgent, I keep lists of apps I want to buy or update, and lists of stories I want to work on. These lists can be archived and retrieved later, and they exist as standalone .txt files in my Dropbox. If I want, I can add items to my lists using TextDrop, GoodReader, or TextEdit on my Mac; I guess it’d be nice to have a dedicated TaskAgent Mac app with the possibility of entering items with keyboard shortcuts.

See, on my computer and iOS devices, I keep lists. I have the aforementioned work-oriented lists of apps and posts I’d like to work on. I have lists of apps I want to recommend for our Inspiring UI series, and I have lists of developers I want to interview. But I also keep lists of podcasts I want to check out, movies I want to buy, groceries I need to pick up, and ideas I want to submit to a developer as feedback for his beta app.

In my mind and in my workflow, lists and tasks are separate entities. A list may contain items that will become tasks; my OmniFocus keeps the things I know I have to do – neatly organized and synced to the cloud. Over time, I have found the separation of lists and tasks to be necessary to properly divide my organization skills in two distinct areas: remembering Vs. doing. And I have found TaskAgent 2.2, released today, to be the best app at enhancing this text-based setup on the iPhone and iPad.

From a core functionality standpoint, TaskAgent 2.2 isn’t too dissimilar from the versions we have previously covered here at MacStories. However, alongside a much simpler formatting syntax and a slew of new features, TaskAgent 2.2 impressed me thanks to its completely redesigned interface and Dropbox sync engine.

On the iPad, large “notebook thumbnail previews” adorn a sidebar that can be dismissed with a button in the upper toolbar. On the iPhone, lists are shown through a Facebook-like panel that also contains shortcuts to create a new lists, enter the Settings, or open Archived lists (which aren’t permanently deleted). TaskAgent 2.2 cleverly uses these new list previews to bring up functionalities that would have otherwise been buried in sub-menus within the main interface. A tap & hold on a list will reveal options to quickly delete, rename, duplicate, or archive a list. To avoid the guilty remorse of having too many items in a list, TaskAgent now lets you hide the “0 out of x completed” description, so you’ll focus exclusively on managing your lists without feeling bad about having too many items inside them.

One of TaskAgent’s previously often criticized feature was its New Item dialog. Version 2.2 does away with uninspired blue alert boxes and introduces a new quick way of entering items one after the another: on the iPad, that’s a popover, while on the iPhone the menu has been rendered as another panel on the right. Depending on your settings, new items will be added at the top or bottom of a list, and you can enter multiple ones in a row without having to tap Done every time. The overall workflow is incredibly faster.

TaskAgent 2.2 is unarguably a better version of the app, and, to me, the best solution to manage lists on iOS while retaining the capability of editing them anywhere as long as I can open a .txt file. I can access my lists from my browser with TextDrop or from iOS using GoodReader and ReaddleDocs. I can associate TaskAgent’s folder (which can be moved anywhere inside Dropbox) with a text editor and start editing right away. I can quickly append new items to a specific list file using Alfred, and if I want, I can share a list to Evernote as well, as TaskAgent supports that service, too.

TaskAgent makes lists “open” and available anywhere. Only $1.99 for a limited time.

Alien Blue 2.1→

Alien Blue 2.1

My favorite Reddit client for iPad, Alien Blue by Jason Morrisey, was recently updated to version 2.1, adding a number of functionalities (including iCloud sync, which will work alongside an upcoming update to the iPhone version) aimed at increasing the app’s Reddit-based discoverability features.

From Alien Blue’s subreddit:

Inside Alien Blue, you’ll now find a well curated and up-to-date list of active subreddits ranging across a wide variety of topics. This list is maintained and updated nightly. If you see something missing, you can make a recommendation in any of the categories and they’ll be live soon after.

To better leverage Reddit’s wide-ranging amount of information available every day, Alien Blue now lets you easily organize similar subreddits (sections of the site) into groups that are synced to iCloud, and will automatically carry over to the iPhone once the new version comes out. At first I didn’t get the usefulness of groups – I was used to accessing my most-visited subreddits through Alien Blue’s sidebar, which, by the way, in version 2.1 seems to be more reliable at switching between “compact navigation” and extended panels depending on whether you’re holding the iPad in landscape or portrait mode.

Subreddit grouping, however, has changed the way I use Alien Blue. Aside from the convenience of neatly categorizing similar subreddits in the app’s sidebar, each group can be turned into a “front page” collecting all the most upvoted links of each subreddit. This means that, for instance, I was able to create a “Learn” group within Alien Blue, throw TodayILearned, HistoryPorn, Wikipedia, and ExplainLikeImFive in there, so that when I’m in the mood of learning new things and cool facts, I can enjoy my own “Learn” Reddit front page made of the subreddits I grouped. It’s incredibly smart.

Check out all the improvements in Alien Blue 2.1 in the official announcement post, and download the app at $3.99 on the App Store.

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Bang On Centralizes Mobile Search

Mobile search is and has ever been a very problematic area. After nearly five years of iPhone, developers are still discussing iOS browser search functionality, speed, and the right way of implementing it into the devices workflow. When it comes to services other than Google or Bing, Apple took the easy way by dividing its mobile OS into multiple apps with each one having its own searching capability (Safari for websites, YouTube for videos, etc.). This trend did not stop after the launch of the App Store: third-party apps like Articles and more recent examples like Spotify rely on their own search engine implementation. Bang On by Derek Kepner might be able to change that. Read more

Apple Confirms Sandboxing Deadline For Mac App Store Apps on June 1

In an email sent to registered Mac developers earlier today, Apple has confirmed it will begin enforcing a deadline on Sandboxing for Mac App Store apps on June 1, 2012.

As a reminder, the deadline for sandboxing your apps on the Mac App Store is June 1. We’ve made the process easier with new sandboxing entitlements and APIs now available in OS X 10.7.3 or later and Xcode 4.3.2.

If you have an existing app on the Mac App Store that is not sandboxed, you may still submit bug fix updates after June 1. If you have technical issues that prevent you from sandboxing your app by June 1, let us know.

Previously pushed back from November 2011 to March 2012, and then again from March to June 1, 2012, sandboxing is a new technology aimed at limiting an application’s access to certain areas of OS X through a system based on entitlements. As we wrote in February:

Sandboxing is a new technology in OS X Lion that limits the functionalities of Mac App Store applications to a list of “entitlements” that cover various areas of the operating system an app can access, such as networking, printing, or a user’s files. A sandboxed application would be unable to harm the system outside of its operational scope (managed by the entitlements), and this has caused some concerns as apps would lose access to the Mac’s entire filesystem, which is required by some functionalities of certain applications that aren’t necessary malicious or “compromised”. Similarly, inter-app communication would be a technical issue with sandboxing, as apps like TextExpander, Keyboard Maestro and CoverSutra — utilities that perform actions in the background without asking for user’s interaction in some cases (user-initiated actions can override the sandbox) — couldn’t get past the sandboxing requirement for the Mac App Store.

With today’s reminder, Apple has confirmed that new apps submitted to the Mac App Store after June 1 must adopt sandboxing, whilst existing apps that are not sandboxed will still be available to receive bug fix updates. Earlier this week, a report suggested that, in relation to the upcoming sandboxing deadline, Apple was also looking into “banning” new apps with “hotkey” functionality, though it appears that such policy won’t take effect, according to several sources. Recently, several OS X developers expressed their wish for Apple to further delay the sandboxing deadline to the end of June in order to better explain the ramifications of the technology at the upcoming WWDC. Unfortunately for those developers who were hoping for a revised deadline for apps that have proven to be incompatible with sandboxing, WWDC kicks off on June 11 – 10 days after the sandboxing deadline.

A number of Mac applications using Sandboxing are already available on the Mac App Store. Most notably, 1Password by AgileBits implemented the technology back in September 2011, and others like Edovia’s Screens for Mac and, recently, Pixelmator were updated with support for sandboxing as well.

Jack White, Norah Jones, and Usher to Perform at Apple’s iTunes Festival 2012 in September

Last July, Apple’s annual iTunes Festival for 2011 rocked London with top-notch performances by bands like Linkin Park, Coldplay, and Foo Fighters — this year’s follow-up slated for September will bring Jack White, Norah Jones, Usher and more to the Roundhouse in London. The festival schedule for this year’s iTunes Festival isn’t complete, but you’ll find this year’s must-see headliners already scheduled for the following dates:

  • Usher, September 1st
  • Emeli Sandé, September 5th
  • Jack White, September 8th
  • Norah Jones, September 10th
  • One Direction, September 20th

Live concerts will be streamed to viewers worldwide through iTunes or the iTunes Festival app for iOS devices. Last year, the iTunes Festival app made available the schedule, live concert streams, photo galleries, concert replays, and performance highlights (availability depending on the band and when you saw them). From your iPhone or iPad, you’ll also have the option to stream the concert to your television through the Apple TV. Shortly after a performance, you can typically find live highlights through EPs released through the iTunes Store.

If you live in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, or Germany, you have a chance to win a pair of tickets to see your favorite artist. The rest of the world can tune in to watch the live streams online or through Apple’s application. Throughout September, Apple will be streaming live, must see performances of your favorites artists. You can sign up for updates through the iTunes Festival page on iTunes or follow @itunesfestival on Twitter.

[via MacRumors]

Four Years of App Store: Developers Weigh In On Search, Discovery, and Curation

“The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days”. That’s how Apple co-founder and late CEO Steve Jobs saluted the launch of the company’s new storefront for iOS (née iPhone OS) applications on July 14, 2008. Almost four years and over 25 billion downloads later, the App Store has evolved into a brand that spans two platforms (iOS and OS X), three different iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad), a variety of Macs, and that hosts over 600,000 apps from more than 200,000 registered developers. Albeit minimal in terms of revenue for a company that makes billions off iPhones and iPads, the App Store created a new economy that nurtures an ecosystem ultimately aimed at selling more devices, as well as showing consumers that, nowadays, software is revolutionizing the way they approach work, entertainment, and other personal tasks. In spite of its tremendous growth, however, little has been done to improve a basic premise of the App Store: finding new apps.

“Discovery and search has been a huge concern of mine for a long time”, said Craig Hockenberry, Principal at design and development studio The Iconfactory. Hockenberry and his team were among the first developers to support the App Store in 2008 with Twitterrific, a Twitter client for iPhone that has expanded to the iPad and Mac, with different versions available on the App Store and Mac App Store. In 2009, a year after the App Store launched, Hockenberry offered a series of suggestions to Apple in order to improve certain aspects of the App Store – namely, following early discussions with developers that decided to sell software on the “iTunes App Store”, he noted how there was “still much room for improvement” to turn the App Store into a viable and reliable business platform for developers who weren’t simply interested in experimenting with it.

Hockenberry’s “Year two” post still rings true today, in spite of the functionalities that Apple fixed, improved, or brought to the App Store in the past four years. For instance, Apple created a “New and Noteworthy” section on the homepage of the App Store that is refreshed on a weekly basis to showcase apps Apple deems worthy of attention; promotional codes, which Hockenberry listed as one of the tools that had helped them sell more products, were made available internationally in late 2010; either on print, its website, or YouTube, Apple has kept pushing ad campaigns to educate iOS and Mac users on the importance and convenience of the App Store.

The very motto that started the app revolution, however, didn’t meet an equal amount of attention by Apple in terms of improvements for the infrastructure behind it. As Hockenberry wrote in 2009, “it’s incredibly hard to find the “that” in “there’s an app for that.” Between keyword spamming and the sheer volume of choices in each category, customers can’t find what they want”.

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Everyme Launches Web App for Group Messaging, Improves iPhone App

Released in April exclusively on the iPhone, Everyme offered a new take on private messaging with groups by combining a clean design with a featured called “Magic Stories”, which allowed the app to automatically fetch important updates from other social networks, and bring them into Everyme. From my review:

Everyme is a private “network” of people, organized in circles, connected to other services. The distinction between “communication” and “sharing” will also define Everyme as a private network, or a messaging service going forward. Unlike most messaging solutions, Everyme could improve its “magic” aggregation and cross-service data collection to simplify organization for its users; unlike most social networks, Everyme could, say, think of something like Xobni’s contact history to provide better, more informative stats about the people you care about. It is an interesting scenario, and I look forward to Everyme’s next steps; today, I don’t think Everyme can be compared to Path — as some are already doing — as the focus is clearly on group messaging, whereas Path has taken a more elegant, Facebook-like approach with its digital journal.

Today, Everyme begins its expansion onto other platforms and connected services by releasing an Android app, web access, and an improved iPhone app with support for Instagram, better communication within groups, and more. I have been able to test the new Everyme for iPhone, and while I am still looking forward to a native iPad version (most of my iMessages these days are sent from the iPad), I have enjoyed the changes brought to version 1.5.

The most visible change in Everyme 1.5 is support for photo uploads with Instagram-like filters. Similarly to how Path for iPhone lets you preview filtered photos as you take them, Everyme 1.5 puts a filter bar at the top of the screen, enabling you to see how a picture will look like with Vintage, Hipster, Pro, Adams, or Sepia effects applied. I didn’t find Everyme’s filters to be as attractive and fun to use as Instagram’s, but I do think they are better than Path’s somewhat curious choices. Photo uploads are generally faster in Everyme 1.5, and because not everyone will want to add yet another filter-based photo sharing tool to their workflows, the team added support for Instagram into the app. With an additional login option in the Settings, Everyme can now look for activity in your Instagram account, and populate your Circles with Magic Stories coming from Instagram as well.

Other minor, yet welcome improvements have found their way into Everyme 1.5. When you share links, for instance, the app now embeds summaries inline to give others an idea of what they are about to click on (Everyme features a built-in browser for webpages); users can now create and edit their own bios, and comments are displayed inline within the news feed. Comments can be deleted with a swipe, and, speaking of gestures, Everyme 1.5 also comes with pull-to-refresh to update circles and stories. Overall, Everyme 1.5 appeared to be faster than version 1.0 in my tests, and I was happy to see a new “export data” option to request an export of all your data you shared on Everyme, and get it delivered via email.

Today, Everyme is also launching a web app to communicate with your Circles. Sporting a clean design similar to the iPhone app, the web app features a sidebar on the left listing all your circles, with unobtrusive notification badges for unread stories and messages; you can manage your profile and your Circles, share stories and upload pictures from your computer, and, overall, enjoy the basic Everyme experience from any modern web browser, which should come in handy for those times when an iPhone isn’t available, or to sift through multiple conversations at once with the convenience of a larger display. I haven’t been able to test the web app on the iPad’s Mobile Safari yet, but I assume it makes for a decent temporary solution until the Everyme team comes out with a native tablet client.

Everyme 1.5 is available for free on the App Store.

Justnotes is Simplenote’s Desktop Companion and a Little More

I already know what you’re thinking: “Justnotes looks a lot like nvALT.” You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that Justnotes is visually reminiscient of Notational Velocity and its poweruser fork, nvALT, but it wouldn’t be fair to judge without getting hands on. I’d posit Justnotes as an alternative to TextEdit on OS X — it’s a container for creating, sorting, and archiving text files. Otherwise, Justnotes is simply the desktop counterpart to Simplenote… With a twist.

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