iPad News Reader Applications with Google Reader Support

Update: Byline doesn't seem to have an iPad version coming anytime soon.

While Safari Web browsing, Mail and iBooks may be top killer apps on the iPad, News Readers are going to be awesome on the iPad. While they work pretty well on the iPhone today, they're going to be even better with the larger iPad screen and the new user interface controls. I'm making the assumption that all three of these applications will be upgraded for the iPad and get even better with time.

The most powerful news readers I've seen use and sync to Google Reader, rather than their own proprietary data store.

 1) I've been using Phantom Fish's Byline (@phfish) for awhile now on my iPhone, so I'm a bit biased. But, after carefully reviewing the competition again - I still think it's the most powerful and intuitive choice. Byline, $3.99, does the basics well. It's relatively good at syncing while accepting input and its user interface is streamlined around common features. Yes, there's a handful of features I'd like them to add, but the lack of these extras doesn't take away from it being the most useful app of this field. Namely, ByLine only offers basic sharing and note taking features. It's missing Post to Twitter, Copy URL and Post to Instapaper, a handy mobile reader.

The Blog Herald calls Byline, The iPhone App For Google Reader Freaks. Thanks to Chuck Taylor (@_chuck_taylor_) for turning me on to Bylines.

2) What ByLines is missing, Newsrack, formerly Newsstand offers for $4.99 - more sharing options. But, its interface is slightly more cluttered, slower and less intuitive. In an attempt to create some extra gee whiz user interface (like an actual news stand browsing mode), it loses its utility and simplicity. In fairness though, some people will possibly like this application better than ByLine. It runs a very close second.

Wired Magazine loves Newsrack:

"Newsstand solves this by incorporating pop-up exporting to almost anywhere. You can email full articles (including pictures) from within the application (no quitting to go to the mail app) or add to Instapaper, Delicious, Twitter, ReadItLater or just copy the URL, all from a pop-up screen. Better, this option persists when you browse out to websites, meaning you can navigate to a linked article and send it to Instapaper to read, say, in a bar later."

NewsRack App Demo from Ole Zorn on Vimeo.

Wired also says Newsrack syncs better than Bylines. I was confused by the additional navigation options and found the application in general less responsive.

3) Finally, NetNewswire, by NewsGator, which offers a free ad supported version ($4.99 with no ads) is the third selection.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with NetNewswire compared the ByLine and Newsrack. On the iPhone, it felt like it had too much space between items - and wasn't as usable. Some people may find this cleaner. On the iPad, perhaps with some improvement, the spacious aesthetics of this application may win out in the end.

A few last thoughts: With Apple Insider reporting that the New York Times is struggling how to price The Times iPad application - these applications create downward pricing pressure as many readers may be happy to use a universal feed reader and their Web browser as a primary news reading application. I still have some fears that sites like The Times may go too far and block web site browsing via iPad browsers via user agent strings.

I think it's important Google offer an oAuth interface since the company synchronized its logins such that most users are sharing their email passwords to use these phone applications. Not very secure. I think each of these applications should use oAuth with Twitter and Delicious, as they use Facebook Connect nicely. When the iPad and iPhone OS add multitasking, hopefully, these applications will make better user of Safari.

Quality news readers are going to make the iPad much more effective than the Kindle (which charges for RSS feeds because of its carrier relationship with Spring) and the lack of a working Web browser.

The iPad is Heavy - Selecting a Reading Stand

I've been using my Amazon Kindle DX for awhile now. And, it's heavy. My wrists get tired holding it. If I set it down on the table, my neck gets tired reading it. I finally found a $10 portable stand that works well with the Kindle DX for passive reading.

While the Kindle DX weighs 1.18 lbs, the iPad weighs 1.5 - 1.6 lbs. I expect that this is going to prove too heavy to hold for most long term casual reading.

  Wired reports on this Kickback stand from Scosche (similar to it's iPod Touch stand) but I suspect the Apple integrated case & stand (scroll down) will prove popular. The nice thing about the Kickback promo graphic is that one version provides a portrait reading mode. Obviously, a case/stand that provides both portrait and landscape support will be most desirable.

The iPad's weight is going to be another factor keeping the small Amazon Kindle 2 selling well for a long time.

iPad To Do List and Task Management Applications

Aside from browsing the Web, the iPad may be the first mobile device that really makes managing tasks and to do lists easy and useful. I tried task management on the iPhone and just couldn't get excited about managing lists on the small touchscreen. The expanded real estate and speed of the iPad should make a big difference. Note to Apple: Multitasking in the next iPad OS update will help a lot too!

Here are some of the top to do list and task managers that you can check out today on the iPhone, OS X or the Web. These are the most likely task and to-do list applications to be quickly tailored for the iPad:

I've always been most impressed with Cultured Code's Things. It's an aesthetically well design OS X application also available for the iPhone. It's $50 on the Mac and $10 on the iPhone.

OmniFocus for OS X costs $80, it's iPhone application $20. I found OmniFocus a bit wonkier - it reminded me more of Windows applications than OS X apps.

The New York Times likes both Things and OmniFocus as well: see IPhone Apps to Organize Your Life from July 2009.

Both Things and Omnifocus are designed to work well with the Getting Things Done system, a book subtitled "The Art of Stress Free Productivity". I've never been a GTD cultist - but some that I've known are remarkably accomplished people.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
by David Allen

The next up on the list would be Apple's own iCal now called iPad Calendar. I am hopeful the larger screen on the iPad may drive Apple to make improvements to its basic task management system. Screenshots of the iPad Calendar look great - it's just hard to tell if they've done anything new with tasks.

Remember the Milk is a Web-based to do list manager with an iPhone application. The RTM Pro account is $25 annually and bundles the iPhone application for me. I began using RTM on the Web and tried it on my iPhone but found it just wasn't responsive enough for me.

Both the New York Times and LifeHacker like ReQall, an interesting voice recognition iPhone driven task manager. It'll be interesting to see how ReQall migrates their service to the iPad. It's strength is on the phone - will they come up with an iPad application that pulls everything together. It'll be interesting to see.

Similarly, Evernote, may struggle to move from the iPhone to the camera-less iPad. I could never get excited to use Evernote, but it seems like a useful tracking (list-type) service. 

LifeHacker also likes Zenbe, a cleanly designed Web and iPhone to do and task management application.

Google's task list also warrants a mention - but again, it's not compelling me to switch. I just can't excited about the Web-based apps.

Taking Notes with a Stylus on Your iPad

Update: Thanks MacSurfer for linking to us! Here are two other stylus products for iPhone and iPad. Pogo Stylus and Pogo Sketch via CNET - but still they emphasize typing not drawing, writing.

While Apple didn't include a stylus for handwriting recognition or note taking on the iPad, I expect we may see a variety of after market solutions in the coming months. 

There are a number of iPhone touch screen safe stylus' already available. But note, this one isn't recommended for dragging:

Rubber angled tip provides enough contact with screen to allow proper electrocurrent flow to replicate the use of your finger on the touchscreen. Best for typing and selecting rather than "dragging".

Therefore, it's probably not going to be very useful for taking notes on the iPad.

More likely, we'll see some updated Bluetooth pens that you write with on a surface beside the iPad - and see the ink tracked on the display. Check out the Pen-It Bluetooth Digital Pen from 2007:

When you use it to write on special paper (which has been pre-printed with literally millions of little dots), it records your strokes for later wireless upload to your Mac. Apparently the pen has a tiny camera which makes this possible. The Pen-it NOTES application on the Mac then retrieves your scribbles as vector data(!) which can be saved or further edited on the Mac. Of course, as Merlin Mann notes, this locks you into their paper, and they don't say exactly how much it will cost. It is also not clear whether this is compatible with Apple's Inkwell technology.

While this pen requires special paper, it's possible future designs will work on their own.

It's a bit frustrating that Apple hasn't provided a stylus option - perhaps it's something they'll release later. They clearly want the device to be simple and focus on multitouch.

For me, the iPad is missing a note taking application e.g. page management tool that doesn't require the multitouch keyboard.

iPad Screen Sharing with Your Mac OS X

Update: Thanks for the link MacSurfer!

I expect to do a lot of web surfing from my iPad from the couch - and I won't always have all the documents on my iPad that I want to browse. A screen sharing application for the iPad will be critical for letting me use my Mac desktop from my iPad. This can also be set up to operate remotely over a wide area network (e.g. access my Mac at home from my iPad while at a coffeehouse).

I'm hoping that Apple releases a simple screen sharing application for the iPad. However, you can try out the iPhone application for screen sharing that is available today, Mocha VNC Lite.

Install the Mocha VNC application on your iPhone, set up screen sharing on your Mac - and you're good to go. You won't need any additional software on your Mac. Obviously, the functionality will be a lot more useful with the iPad's larger screen.

Here's a great screencast, set to Lionel Richie no less:

I finally turned in my Comcast cable boxes

Those of you who read Idealog know that I don't like Comcast's customer policies very much. Well, I finally pulled the plug on my "enhanced" digital television experience. I'm now TV-free, for now!

Review of Epson Artisan 810 All-in-One Wireless Printer Scanner Fax

For years under Windows trying to scan was always a headache. When I switched to Mac OS X back in '04, keeping my trusty HP Laser Jet 3380 scanning properly never worked very well either. I think they finally killed support for it with Leopard - and I could never successfully scan over the network.

So, when something simple like scanning over WiFi and printing iPhone photos comes together elegantly and almost effortlessly, I'm kind of amazed again despite my depth of involvement with personal computers and technology.

The Epson Artisan 810 Wireless All-In-One Printer gave me this sense of amazement again this week ... and for an extremely economical price.

Most importantly, I wanted a device that would allow me to replace my EFAX service (read my EFAX warning below) with the ability to scan multi-page documents into PDFs and the ability to do so over WiFi. The Artisan and its automatic document feeder does this quite well. I can scan over WiFi from my Mac over WiFi, or from the the device to my Mac over WiFi or to a USB Flash drive or compact flash drive - lots of flexibility. And, it works great in OS X Snow Leopard (just make sure you install the Epson Snow Leopard updates from the web).

The Artisan also supports the super useful and fun Epson iPrint iPhone Application which makes printing iPhone shots to the Artisan a simple one step wireless joy. I haven't really delved into WiFi printing but my iPhone camera just got a lot more interesting, no messing with iPhoto and file management, just choose the photo and click to print. The Artisan also has slots for Compact Flash, Micro SD and xSD as well as the USB Flash for printing photos directly from the device.

The Artisan's large touch screen display makes configuring the device for your WiFi network and everyday use of the device quite easy. The software install could still be a bit smoother and less annoying (pops in front - always on top - so you can't multitask during the install). The OS X software utilities could be better organized too - accessing the memory card over WiFi requires a few extra installation steps. However, overall this is an easy machine to use.  The MyEpson site is actually very useful with a FAQ, handy video tutorials and mostly well organized user interface - more useful than these sites usually are. 

The Artisan paper tray is actually a bit complex to use but that's because it supports both plain paper and photo paper simultaneously. So, I can literally print a paper document from the Mac, then a photo from my iPhone without changing anything around. Unfortunately, printing envelopes requires moving the paper out of the tray.

The Artisan also has automatic duplexing or two sided printing. It's a great way to save paper and now I don't have to manually print odd pages first, flip the printed pages and re-feed them and print the even pages - that never really worked well for me. It also prints 4 pages on a single page if that's readable for you. 

This device has so many skills: It's a fax machine. It prints color labels onto CDs - yes, there is a CD slot - no need more those CD label printing kits any longer.

At $199, this device runs circles around the $425 Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500.

As for EFAX, it's a terrible company that provides a relatively useful service. But, fax is nearly dead. Most people I work with exchange scanned PDFs, which is why the Artisan is such a useful affordable device. EFAX is an extremely difficult service to cancel. Avoid EFAX if you can.

Study: 73% use bank password everywhere

Yet another good reminder that you should be using an inexpensive password managent solution like 1Password:

MSNBC reports that 73% of users are using their bank password on other Websites.

Password overlap also creates an easy end run around sophisticated banking security technology, which is only as strong as the weakest site where the password is used. Banks might enforce strong password creation requirements, for example. But if a consumer uses a bank password it at a poorly defended small site, a hacker can break into the small site, steal the log-in information and essentially crack the bank's high-tech system.

via redtape.msnbc.com

This story from Twitter gives an example of another way criminals can get your email and password and then try it at bank sites.

iPad 3G Costs Raise Spotlight on Compounding Internet Access Fees

So Many Devices, So Many Access Fees!

It's wonderful that we have so many wireless digital devices to enrich our lives and hopefully make ourselves more productive. But, just how many times should I have to pay for Internet access?

After the iPad launch, the New York Times Bits blog asked: To 3G or not 3G? I'm leaning towards an iPad with WiFi (no 3G), because if anything, I'm trying to reduce the number of providers I pay for Internet access. For now, the only thing AT&T allows us to tether to devices is our wallets...

At home, I pay Comcast about $45/mo. for broadband Internet access. On my iPhone, I pay AT&T $30/mo for unlimited data access. For the past couple of years, I've paid Verizon $60/mo. for 3G wireless access on my laptop via a USB modem so that I don't have to rely on often shaky public WiFi. If I purchase an iPad with 3G, AT&T wants another $30/mo for unlimited data access. Add it all up, $165/mo. for Internet access fees.

Consolidating My Paid Internet Access

For now, I'm looking at replacing my Verizon 3G USB modem with a MiFi 3G or Overdrive 4G/3G device. 

The Overdrive (MobileCrunch review), offered by Sprint for $49-$99 with a two year plan, provides fast 4G access in major cities and fallback to 3G access when in other areas. It acts as a portable router providing WiFi access to up to five devices.

If you're lucky enough to live in a city with 4G, there are performance gains to be had when you're using your modem locally. Sprint is quoting a competitive $59/mo price for 4G/3G plan right now. Also, 4G plans offer unlimited data access. Furthermore, if you live alone at home, you may be able to ditch your DSL/cable modem for your portable 4G device. 

The MiFi is a credit card sized portable router which provides 3G Internet access for five devices simultaneously. Most providers offer the MiFi free with a two year plan and the monthly fees are about the same. I'm encouraged by reviews (JKOnTheRun and CNET) that seem to indicate the MiFi powers up and connects in seconds, offers 4+ hours of operation under regular usage and recharges easily via USB. The MiFi costs about $200 without a data plan, which may also be an attractive price.

Theoretically, using a small, portable router like the MiFi or Overdrive might allow me to get by without Comcast or any AT&T data plan (iPhone or iPad). Wouldn't that be nice.

Prospective iPad Buyers: To 3G or not 3G?

Steve Jobs said many folks may be able to get by with AT&T's $14.95/mo. 250 MB package with the iPad. I'm skeptical of this. Pundits differ, The New York Times says, "In short, paying $15 per month wouldn’t be enough to catch an hour of live baseball over the 3G network and would just barely cover six hours of Web browsing." while Glenn Fleishman says he's used only about 270 MB/mo. on his iPhone. Fleishman includes instructions to check your own iPhone data usage. My own was less than 200 MB/mo. But, the whole point of the iPad is that the larger screen size and fast performance is going to make us want to browse the Web more, much more - and watch more video from HD YouTube clips to iTunes movie rentals. I just don't think the iPhone is a good comparison to your likely iPad data usage.

In general, the iPad is a device I'll use in coffee shops and at home - not so much on the go. And, it's a first generation device, likely to be quickly outmoded in a year. So, I'm going to buy one of the cheaper WiFi iPads and look at switching to a MiFi or Overdrive to consolidate my Internet access costs with my laptop and other devices.

The Root Issue is Broadband Rights

The real issue here however is the failure of government entities to provide high performance Internet access in the form of municipal WiFi. This article on the Killer App of 1900 by Fleishman (via Slashdot) compares early debates about access to electricity to public broadband. Here's hoping one day we can get free high speed access for all of our devices wherever we live without paying an arm and a leg and an arm and a leg etc.

Or, you could hold your breath for wireless companies to offer subscribers a univeral access account or device tethering. Good luck with that.

NewsCloud Receives Knight Foundation Grant to Launch Facebook Sites for Twelve News Organizations

I'm excited to announce that NewsCloud has received a new Knight Foundation grant to continue our work on Facebook applications. The focus of this grant is to work more directly with news organizations and expand our open source development community. Hope you'll check it out...

Through April 2011, twelve news organizations will launch Facebook sites with NewsCloud's open source Facebook application technology, thanks to a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The goal of the grant is threefold:

1. To launch community news sites inside Facebook with twelve media partners showcasing different ways of leveraging the popular social network to reach new audiences. 
2. To improve and expand the features and capabilities of the existing NewsCloud Facebook application.
3. To broaden participation in the open source development community around the NewsCloud Facebook application.

Learn more here