SNL iPhone App Parody - Rescue Dogs 911

In case anyone missed the last episode of Saturday Night Live, they showed a ‘Digital Short’ about a man (Andy Samberg) who’s house is being robbed. He grabs his iPhone 4, can’t talk so he uses a 911 app and gets… just watch the video, it’s hilarious! The video is courtesy of Hulu and NBC (US viewing only). “This new phone app has few kinks, but it’s still useful.” Read more

The Potential of MobileMe→

The Potential of MobileMe

I am grateful for what MobileMe offers — I use iCal every day and would be pulling my hair out if it weren’t always in sync between my iPhone, iPad, Mac — but I could just as easily get my contacts and calendars synced for free via Google. And that is precisely my point. Apple is letting other cloud services define and strengthen the relationship between our desktops, laptops, and mobiles more than Apple is.

In many ways Dropbox and Google are driving the iOS / OS X relationship more than MobileMe is. While MobileMe is syncing my contacts and calendars, Dropbox is syncing my most-dear files: the projects, articles, and notes I’m interacting with every day. What are iWork.com and MobileMe for if not for the sharing and syncing of everything between our Macintoshes, iPhones, and iPads in sync?

MobileMe works great as a contacts / calendar / bookmarks syncing solution, but Google is catching up. Not to mention Dropbox: what’s going to happen when everyone’s most loved San Francisco-based startup announces a system to automatically sync preferences between multiple devices? Apple needs to change and improve MobileMe. With faster and multitasking-enabled iOS devices, it’s in their best interest.

Permalink

Jackass Of The Week: Dan Lyons→

Jackass Of The Week: Dan Lyons

Android has also transformed Google and its longtime ally Apple into fierce rivals. Until recently, Apple seemed destined to rule the mobile Internet, thanks to the popularity of the iPhone, which was introduced in 2007 and quickly began grabbing market share. But Android has enabled handset makers like Motorola and Samsung to develop credible rivals to the iPhone. This year, as those companies have gained traction, Apple’s momentum has stalled. Rubin credits the fact that Android is an open-source program used by dozens of phone makers, while Apple goes it alone, developing its own proprietary hardware and software. In September Apple CEO Steve Jobs got a little hot under the collar of his mock turtleneck and told reporters he didn’t believe Google’s sales figures.

I look forward to Fake Eric Schmidt.

Permalink

Inkiness: Elegant Sketching for iPad

Here’s what happened with this post: I was going to write something like “here’s a neat little app for you to play with while Twitter is down”, then Twitter came back online. With a new CEO. Huge congrats to the Twitter team and good luck to Dick Costolo.

Anyway, I was going to talk about Inkiness for iPad. Inkiness is a very simple and elegant application to take notes on the tablet using your fingers. You can sketch and jot down your ideas, draw mockups (if you’re really good at it), share your creations via email, Twitter and (huge) Evernote. The greatest selling point of Inkiness is how simple it is: it’s just about sketching and sharing. There’s no fancy “import from” option, no PDF annotations, no additional features that would make it just like any other app out there. It’s about drawing with your fingers (it works great with my PogoSketch, too) inside an elegant and beautiful user interface. Read more

Reactable Brings Interactive Multitouch Music Making to iOS

The Reactable is a virtual modular synthesizer that allows you to create music by interacting with a touch-based tangible tabletop. You basically touch this surface and place block on it to create music. The instrument has been used by many musicians at many conferences and festival, and especially by Icelandic musician Björk, who used one during the 2007 Volta tour. You should really go check out some videos of the Reactable in action. Read more

The Glif: We Need This iPhone Stand & Tripod Mount

I’m not exactly an accessory guy: I’m not into cases and skins, I like my iPhone naked. I purchased a Just Mobile Xtand, though: it’s a great way to keep the iPhone at a good visible angle on my desk and, frankly, it looks great next to the iMac.

But the Glif could be a lot better: a stand/tripod mount hybrid that doesn’t suck, doesn’t look bad and, most of all, could finally help you get things done. It could be a great way to use your iPhone as a digital clock, a great camera tripod…just watch the video below. Why am I saying “could”? Because the guys behind the Glif need our help. They have created a prototype, but the manufacturing process will cost around $10.000 to be completed.

Here’s the official Kickstarter campaign for Glif. Go donate right now, we need this. [via DF] Read more

How To Easily Send Files From Your Mac to Gmail

As you may know, I moved my primary work mail to Gmail using the Google Apps engine. I’ve always been a huge fan of Gmail’s web UI, but when Google announced Priority Inbox and the new accounts for Google Apps users (they’re basically just like personal accounts now, but they run on Apps) I thought it was the right time to switch. I haven’t looked back: Gmail is powerful and the Priority Inbox makes navigating through hundreds of messages a day a better experience.

Gmail comes with free online storage space. You can basically store as many emails as you want and forget about deleting attachments because the email provider requires so. So I thought: wouldn’t be great to be able to store files on Gmail and easily retrieve them from any device? It’s still normal email, with my files in it. Follow the instructions below to see how you can upload files from your Mac’s Finder to Gmail with just one click. Read more