Google now has a new interface for iPhone users. VERY useable. I especially like the Gmail and Reader screens. Thanks Google!

(Photo Credit: KW2DIO)

[story at TechCrunch]

Technorati Tags: google,iphone

I recently posted that the “Mobile Upload” functionality in Facebook (to post pics from my iPhone to my Facebook account via Gmail) was broken.  Well, it must have been something on Facebook’s side… I didn’t change anything and now it’s working again.  Either way it’s a good thing.  My workaround to moblog to Flickr was okay, but it was a disconnect in getting pics integrated into Facebook, e.g. tagging people in the pics.  Hopefully this lasts a while. 

I’ve been messing with a new app on the iPhone to help me organize my life… reQall is a new way to keep a to-do list or help me remember miscellaneous factoids. Instead of writing stuff down (or typing it in on my computer) I call a toll free number and leave a message. My voice message then gets translated into text and shows up on my personal reQall page which is accessible via the web or a nicely formatted iPhone page. reQall also sends me an email a day with the “tasks” I’ve recorded. Pretty neat.

I used to call my answering machine and leave myself “to-do” messages, but that had some limitations. It’s kinda neat that I can now make that same call, it gets automatically transcribed (with pretty good accuracy), and is accessible from pretty much anywhere. Very helpful when I’m on the run. Even if you don’t have an iPhone, you can try it out (it’s free). Check it out!

[reQall]

If you have an iPhone, RUN, don’t walk, and check out this page. What a great resource!

iPhone Application List

BTW, it looks like Apple may be launching a Web applications directory soon. Yup, still lovin’ my iPhone.

Apple’s iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is pretty cool. Immediately after updating my iPhone to firmware v1.1.1 I “clicked” on that little purple iTunes icon and presto, I was browsing an iPhone formatted version of the iTunes store. I gave it a try and purchased Matchbox 20’s “How Far We’ve Come” (which in hindsight was so fitting). It couldn’t have been easier… in seconds the song was on my iPhone and crankin’ away (great song BTW).

Yesterday I stopped in to the Hoboken Starbucks on Washington Street (yes, the one I affectionately refer to as the “AMD Hoboken Office”) and checked to see if the Starbucks iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store was live. The Starbucks feature wasn’t there yet, but I was still able to access the T-Mobile HotSpot for free and browse the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store on my iPhone. I went ahead and purchased an album (Pearl Jam Live at Lollapalooza 2007, for those keeping track). In less than 10 minutes 20 songs were on my iPhone and crankin’ away again. Wicked cool!

It’ll be neat when the Starbucks iTunes functionality gets enabled in NJ (I’ll check it out in NYC this week anyways). I always seem to like one of the songs playing in Starbucks and not know what/who it is. Pretty soon I won’t need to ask someone and will be able to purchase it on the spot. Some smart people at Apple and Starbucks… maybe I should finally jump in on those stocks.

For the past several weeks I’ve been moblogging pics directly from my iPhone to my Facebook photo albums by simply Gmailing the pic to Facebook. Worked great… I’d snap a pic and in minutes it would be up on my Facebook. Well, it looks like Facebook has discontinued support of this method and is now only allowing mobile uploads via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) transfers. No biggie right? Well, unfortunately the iPhone does not include MMS support… Yup, there is currently no mechanism in the iPhone to MMS a picture to another cell phone (or to Facebook for this matter). Someone please tell me I’m missing something here, but I’m pretty sure I’m not. Ironically, this coincided with me updating my iPhone to firmware v1.1.1. I don’t see how the firmware update could be to blame, but you never know.

So, now what to do about moblogging? I tried pxPipe as an alternative way to upload pics to Facebook, but it looks like they’re affected too… just didn’t work. I think for now I’ll just be moblogging pics to my Flickr or SmugMug. As for posting to Facebook, I’ll have to manually transfer pics to my albums for now. Ugh, so much for “real time”. Hopefully MMS support is slated for a future iPhone firmware update. We’ll see…

How is it I DID NOT buy these stocks years ago?? Yeah, I’m still kicking myself for that. Either way, I’m lovin’ my iPhone more everyday (even with firmware v1.1.1)…

—

Starbucks to spread 50 million pieces of iTunes love

In order to promote its new partnership with Apple and the Wi-Fi Music Store, Starbucks plans to give away 50 million iTunes songs to US customers. Between October 2—the launch date of the Wi-Fi Music Store capabilities at select Starbucks locations, according to a separate announcement of the company’s today—and November 7, the coffee kings at about 10,000 stores will hand out roughly 1.5 million free song downloads per day. That’s a lot of songs… and coffee.

<snip>

[via Ars Technica]

More negative news regarding the Skype/Intel partnership… Apparently the forthcoming Mac version of Skype (that supports video and 10-way conference calling) will now only run on Intel dual-core chips. I’d have no problem with this if there was a valid technical reason for this limitation, but there is none. Bottom line is they’re now screwing their Mac PowerPC users, just like they did with their Windows (AMD) users.

Well, enough is enough… no more Skype for me. I can’t support a company that intentionally limits application functionality based on a partner$hip. I’m back to Yahoo Messenger for the time being and will also be testing the Gizmo Project. Skype will be removed from all of my PC’s and Mac’s and I’ll be asking for a refund on my SkypeIn phone number. I’ve also removed the “Skype-Me” button on my sidebar. I hope other Skype users realize how Skype’s strategy is harmful to the industry and end-users. Shame on you Skype!

Internet telephony company Skype will soon release a new version of its peer-to-peer VoIP software for the Mac with video and 10-way conferencing capabilities that can only be used on Apple Macs with Intel dual core processors, The Mac Observer has learned.

[via Mac Observer]

Some great ideas on what you can do with your iPod (beside listen to music).

In the four years since its introduction, the iPod has proven to be a versatile little device. Despite a relatively closed architecture, hackers have found their way in. Content creators and software makers put information at your fingertips when you’re on the go. Would-be designers have added to the fashionable stylings of the now-ubiquitous white ear buds. Hardware makers and enthusiasts have augmented the iPod with new add-on gadgets. Here are a few dozen things you can do with your iPod besides listen to music.

[via Digg]

My wife and I are big Conan O’Brien fans. Since I haven’t been watching his show during it’s regularly scheduled hours, it was a nice surprise to catch this on my macTV podcast subscription:

[macTV Show #87]

Great to see Conan poking fun at the new iPod. It’s even better to see that Apple is now including some Conan video clips in the iTunes Music store (although I wish they were offering entire episodes!).

Here’s a great listing of open-source applications for the Mac:

[Open Source Mac]

I knew I couldn’t help myself… you’d think a 15GB 3G iPod and a 1GB iPod Shuffle would be enough for me. Nope. I just bit the bullet and purchased a 60GB 5th Generation (5G) Video iPod in white.

I won’t go into a detailed review here (there are already some good ones out there, e.g. Ars Technica), but I will say that I’m impressed. Apple just does things right (except for the forthcoming Intel based Macs, but I won’t go into that here). I can finally fit my entire music library (>4,000 songs) and now have the room and capability to view photos and videos! I’ve been using my Shuffle quite a bit lately and once I saw this iPod I realized how much I missed having a screen!

The 2.5″ screen, form-factor, and battery life all seem very acceptable to me. Can’t wait to see if this thing scratches like many are complaining about. Honestly, I think the people who cry about every little scratch are being a bit unrealistic. I consider some scratching a part of normal “wear and tear”, but putting an iPod in your pocket along with coins and keys is simply asking for trouble. Although I don’t typically put my iPod in my pocket, we’ll see how well mine holds up under normal use. The slip case that comes with it seems useable.

As for video content, I think the catalog on iTunes is a bit lacking for now, but it’s still in its early stages. I’m confident it will expand very quickly, just like the music and Podcast catalogs. I’ve had a good experience so far ripping DVD’s I legally own. Definitely check out HandBrake to convert any of your DVD’s into iPod useable format (MPEG-4). Works like a charm and free too!

It’s great to be able to use the same accessories from my previous iPod, in particular the docking station and cables. I also plan to use this Video iPod as an offload for digital pictures and a recorder for audio. Looks like Griffin and Belkin may have a few good options here. BTW, as I poked around the web I was disappointed to discover that MacMice (DVForge) has gone out of business. They made some pretty cool stuff. However, it looks like some of their products are still for sale around the web.

So far so good with this Video iPod. I’ve already watched a couple Seinfeld episodes, a few music videos, and a full length movie (”Office Space“). I think this one is a keeper.

Guilty as charged. A good find from Javiso:

This cult has transformed us into an iPod nation without us even knowing it.

read more | digg story

Great write-up on blogging tools for the Mac. Except for Movable Type, I’ve tried all of these (yes, even iBlog) and have chosen WordPress for my blog Exit 171. I’m several months in with WordPress (100+ posts) and still loving it. I have about 10 plug-ins active and have only just scratched the surface. The customization capabilities seem endless. FYI, most of the tools mentioned in the article are also supported on Windows and Linux.

According to one recent estimate, a new Weblog is created every second. Everyone from your geeky IT coworker to your Uncle Marvin has one already. So why don’t you? If you’ve got something—anything—you want to share with the rest of the world, a blog is the place to do it. And it’s never been easier to jump on the blogging bandwagon. The tools and services required are inexpensive (and often free) and as simple (or as powerful) as you want.

[article at MacWorld] Thanks for the link Javiso!

Just as I had suspected… it was all Dell’s fault! (be sure to read the article to the end)

More news on the 2005 iBook Riot, held today at the Richmond International Raceway. A new video shows trampling inside the building. Riot cops arrived on the scene late in the morning to quell the crowd. (What does an iBook riot cop carry, a menacing Mighty Mouse?) The consensus from participants: It just wasn’t worth it. Sure, $50 sounds like a great deal. But there is no point trampling children and the elderly for a 12-inch laptop that doesn’t have built-in WiFi and Bluetooth.

[via Gizmodo]