40Tech

4 Insanely Simple Steps to Email Inbox Sanity

Evan Kline — Wed, 23 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

The other night, I glanced over as my wife was using her laptop in bed. I couldn’t help but notice a number that jumped out at me: 7000+ unread items in her email inbox. I think my wife uses her inbox as a holding pen for her messages. She also isn’t too strict about using a second email account as a bacon address for her less important messages. While never as, um, interesting as my wife’s email practices, my inbox was out of control last year. Four changes helped me bring sanity to my email inboxes.

1. Declare Bankruptcy to Start With a Clean State

The first step I took, when my Gmail inbox was a disaster, was to declare email bankruptcy. I had a large number of messages that I intended to get to some day. I eventually was honest with myself, and figured that if I hadn’t read a message after a period of time, I probably wasn’t ever going to read it. So, I reviewed all messages that were less than a few weeks old, and archived the remainder.

I can happily report that I have been able to keep my inbox under control ever since declaring bankruptcy. I wish I had noted the date that I took that step, but I think it has to be close to a year since I did it.

2. Don’t Obsess Over Tagging and Folders

After declaring bankruptcy, the next step for me was to become less obsessive about tagging every message, and to seriously slim down the number of tags that I use. I went through my tags, and merged several of them into brooder categories.

I also reduced the number of tags that I apply to individual messages. I do have several Gmail filters set up that pre-label a majority of incoming messages. Beyond that, though, I typically will only apply one tag to a message. Part of this is because I use Apple Mail to access my Gmail account. Within Mail I use Mail Act-On, an Apple Mail plugin. With a quick key command, I can move a message to one of several Mail folders, and get it out of my inbox. This assigns the message to the identical Gmail label. Being limited to one label/folder helps speed things up, since I’m not worrying about every possible label.

Also, I often don’t even bother with labels. I just tap the archive key, figuring that I can rely on Gmail’s search capabilities to find messages later.

3. Don’t Sweat It, and You Won’t Hate It

The third change was a change in mindset: do it but don’t sweat it. I carve out periods of time to get through my messages. If I don’t get to my mail, though, I don’t sweat it. This helps me not dread going through my email. The mere fact of not dreading email helps me get through my mail almost every day.

4. Don’t Use a Unified Inbox

The third change is one that is contrary to a technique we’ve discussed here previously, and is a change that will cause many of geeks out there to gasp in dismay – I no longer use a unified inbox for all of my accounts. The reason for this is simple. I had one account that was dragging down all of the others. It was busier than the other accounts, yet less important. If I don’t get to that one, it’s no big deal. With my accounts segregated, I can now get my main inboxes to zero on a regular basis, and get to that “busy” inbox when I have more time. That also helps with my “don’t sweat it and you won’t hate it” mindset.

There are four steps that anyone can take, without much effort, to help get a crazy email inbox under control. If you have any tips for managing your email, let us know in the comments.

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Print From Your iPhone or iPad to Any Printer, With Fingerprint [Windows/Mac]

Evan Kline — Mon, 21 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

One of the limitations of the iPad is that it normally can’t print to just any old printer. If you want to print from your iPad, you usually need an AirPrint compatible printer. If you’re like me, and bought your printer before Apple introduced AIrPrint, or if you just own a printer that isn’t AirPrint compatible, there is a way to print from your iPad to your current printer.

To print to a printer that isn’t AirPrint compatible, that printer needs to be accessible by a computer that is on the same network as your iPad, and the computer needs to be turned on. I keep my Mac running 24/7 (with the display set to sleep after a short period of inactivity) so that my AppleTV can access my iTunes library, so the requirement of a running computer isn’t a problem for me.

If you can keep a computer running a lll of the time, then you can get iPad or iPhone printing by installing FingerPrint, an app that runs on both Windows and Mac. Once you install FingerPrint, your printer should appear in the print options when you print from any app that is printing-enabled.

FingerPrint not only lets you print, but also send documents to Dropbox, open photos in iPhoto (Mac only), and open photos and documents on your computer.

Fingerprint isn’t the only app that lets you print from your iPad via your computer. If you’re on a Mac, Printopia does the same thing, plus adds Evernote support. It is twice as expensive as FingerPrint’s $9.99 price tag, though.

FingerPrint is available for Windows and Mac. I’ve tried the Mac version, and it has worked flawlessly for me. You can also download a free trial, which is probably a good idea so that you know that the app works with your setup.

If you know of other ways to print from your iPad, let us know in the comments.

FingerPrint

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And the Company With the Most Security Vulnerabilities is . . . Apple?

Evan Kline — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Prior to the Flashback malware fiasco, Apple’s platforms had a reputation for being secure. That reputation might not have been deserved, if a report from the first quarter of 2012 is to be believed. That report, which predated the discovery of the Flashback trojan, took a look at the number of vulnerabilities that major tech vendors reported. The numbers might surprise you.

The report comes from Trend-Micro, a computer security company. A healthy bit of skepticism is probably good when reviewing reports of rampant vulnerabilities from companies that sell products to contain the fallout from those vulnerabilities. Here, though, the numbers are based on vulnerabilities as cataloged by CVE, which describes itself as “a dictionary of publicly known information security vulnerabilities and exposures.” The numbers, therefore, are only as good as the data from CVE. According to Wikipedia, CVE is maintained by MITRE Corporation, ”with funding from the National Cyber Security Division of the United States Department of Homeland Security.”

It’s also import to remember that we’re not exactly comparing apples to apples. A vendor with one main product or a very simple product, for example, stands a good chance of experiencing a lower number of vulnerabilities than a vendor with many products or complex products.

Apple took top (or worst) billing, with 91 reported vulnerabilities. Oracle, Google, and Microsoft followed, with 78, 73, and 43 vulnerabilities, respectively. Apache got top marks with 24 vulnerabilities.

Keep in mind one important factor, though: number of vulnerabilities does not equal number of attacks. The Trend Micro report specifically calls out Android, identifying approximately 5000 malicious Android apps in the quarter.

It’s a scary world out there. Do you feel safe on your devices?

TrendLabs Quarterly Security Roundup [via Cult of Mac]

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Should This Android Lover Switch Back to iOS?

Evan Kline — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

17 months ago I abandoned my iPhone and embraced Android. At the time, iOS was a much different operating system than it is today, and I had grown increasingly frustrated with its limitations. Now, I might be ready to move back to an iPhone. Should I?

Why I Switched From iOS to Android

The primary reason that I made the switch from Android to iOS had to do with the limitations of iOS. Those limitations fell into two camps:

Apple-imposed App Limitations

First, I was very frustrated with Apple’s erratic behavior when it came to approving apps. I wanted an official Google Voice app on my iPhone, and, at the time, couldn’t get it because Apple had rejected it. I also wanted a good podcasting client, but the pickings were slim because Apple was rejecting apps that supposedly duplicated the functionality of apps that came with the iPhone.

When I switched to Android, I was happy to be able to install whatever apps I wanted on my phone. Carriers sometimes try to limit access to apps, by making them not appear in Google Play (formerly the Android Market). To get around that, all you need to do is remove your SIM card, and connect to Google Play via WiFi.

Apple’s tighter control over the App Store does give it one huge advantage over Android. Security isn’t as tight in Google Play as it is in the App Store, but most advanced users can live with that.

Sandboxing and Lack of a File System

The limited way that iOS apps can talk to each still makes me bash my head against the wall when using my iPhone. Apple introduced iCloud as a file system of sorts, and many app developers use Dropbox in the same way, but these are incomplete solutions.

I understand Apple’s reasons for not including a file system. It keeps iOS simple, which is what most users want. But for power users, being stuck on an island when using an app can be maddening. If an app doesn’t support Dropbox, good luck trying to work on a document in one app, and continue it in another. Yes, there are workarounds, but they’re just that – workarounds.

Working with files you want to bring into iOS is equaly maddening. Check out the article I’ve written concerning how to get video onto the iPad, if it isn’t named exactly the way that iOS wants it to be named, as well as the other ways to get video or photos onto the iPad.

Android makes it much easier to perform many tasks, thanks to the existence of a user-accessible file system, and thanks to the lack of strict sandboxing. That does bring with it more security concerns, but it is a price that most advanced users are willing to pay.

The most obvious example of Android’s superiority in this regard can be seen in the Share menu. Any app can tie into that. This means, for example, that you don’t have to wait for an app developer to tie its app into Evernote or Instapaper. Actions for Evernote and Instapaper are in the Share menu once those two apps are installed, meaning that other apps can readily access them.

Getting files into Android is easier, too. Plug your Android device into your computer, and drag the file to the desired location on your phone. I spent an entire Saturday morning trying to get certain video files to show up in my iPad Camera Roll, instead of in the video app. I had to do this because iMovie on the iPad can only access video files located in the Camera Roll. Yet another limitation brought about by the lack of a file system.

Why I Might Switch Back to iOS

If it sounds like I’m venting against iOS, you’re right. There are parts of it that still feel like a Fisher-Price toy. But I’m also not blinded by some strange allegiance to one platform or the other. I’ve never understood the rabid cheerleading for both iOS and Android, and the way that some writers seem blinded by their love of either a platform or a company. A phone is a tool. It’s not part of some holy war. Both Android and iOS have strengths and weaknesses. I just need to decide how the scale tips for me. Here are some reasons I am considering making the switch back, notwithstanding an iPhone’s many limitations.

Apple Ecosystem

I can hear some of you cringing already at the words “Apple ecosystem.” It does feel sort of like a deal with the devil, but Apple has made a compelling interplay between its devices. I have an iMac, MacBook Air, and iPad, so I’ve been able to see this interplay at work. My Android phone feels like the odd man out.

iCloud keeps certain documents in sync between iOS and OS X devices, and Photo Stream is a great way to have your photographs automatically sync to all of your devices, without any thought. Many apps also provide syncing of data and settings between iOS devices, such as TweetBot’s use of iCloud to sync your reading position in your Twitter stream (I’ve tried using the TweetMarker integration to sync to my Android phone, and it just doesn’t work reliabily).

More important than Apple’s contribution to the ecosystem, though, is the contribution of developers. It seems like many iOS developers develop companion apps only for the Mac. OmniFocus is a classic example. Although OmniFocus isn’t available on Windows (which I use at the office), it is such a great app that I use it as my main productivity tool. There’s an iOS app and a Mac app that can sync with one another, but no Windows or Android app.

I also use EyeTV, a television app, on my iMac. My EyeTV HD device hooks into my cable box, and gives me television on my iMac via the eyeTV program. I also can stream shows and recordings to the eyeTV app on my iPad, but not to my Android phone. There is no reliable eyeTV option on Android. If I had an iPhone, I’d always have television with me. (I did have a Slingbox at one time,but that died after a year, and research online showed that not to be an uncommon occurrence, so I was in no hurry to rush out and buy another).

If I still used Windows as my main platform, the ecosystem would be less of a concern. But iOS and its apps just work better with a Mac.

Apple’s Loosenign of Restrictions on App Store Apps

As discussed above, Apple had a habit of putting its own interests against the interests of its users in the early days of the App Store. Apple has loosened the reigns since then. There is now a Google Voice app in the App Store, and there are now some excellent podcasting apps on iOS (I do have an iPad, so I try out apps there). The situation isn’t nearly as open as Android, but it has improved.

Decisions, Decisions

I still have several months to decide between and iPhone or another Android phone, since my firm’s contract doesn’t expire in the immediate future. I still feel that in many cases the iPhone is for the majority of users who just want something simple, while Android is for the power user. I consider myself a power user, but it’s a close enough call that I’ll have a tough decision.

What would you do?

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What Chrome Apps Do You Actually Use? [Reader Feedback]

Bobby Travis — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:23:23 +0000

I like Google Chrome. Love it, in fact. I love the extensions, I love the OS-style feel of it, and I love the apps integration that makes that feel possible. It long ago took over Firefox for me, and, while I love the foxy Fox, I’ve never been able to go back to it full time.

The one thing I find with Google Chrome, however, is that — like my computer and my mobile devices — I have a tendency to collect apps that seem useful, and then rarely use them. I tell myself that they might come in handy one day (and therefore should be kept), but that’s probably just an excuse — an excuse that got me wondering: do you have the same problem?

I organize my apps into different pages, and I’ve listed them below, only detailing the Quick Apps page, which are the ones I like to keep available and (in theory) use the most. I’ve uncluttered recently, but I still find that I barely use many of the apps within.

Evernote Web - I never open this. Well, very rarely. I use the desktop app or my mobile apps instead. I keep it, though, on the off-chance that I’ll load up Chrome OS or install Linux and sync my profile. Or something.

Springpad – I like Springpad and I do use this, as the app is strictly web-based at this time. I also enjoy some of the integration into the context menu, though I don’t actually use it that often.

Producteev - I use this one, too. Producteev has a desktop app, and that’s great, but it needs work. I also prefer to have my task manager in the browser, as I do most of my work while online, and the browser makes it quickly accessible.

Wunderlist - I love Wunderlist. It’s probably the sexiest task/list manager out there. I rarely use it, though, as my workflow is based around Producteev. Occasionally, I might use it to quickly make a pretty list that I want with me on my iPhone and iPad, but I have no real need for it. But it’s pretty!

Wunderkit - I know what you’re thinking… If I don’t use Wunderlist, what do I need the whole Wunderkit for? Short answer — I don’t, even though it’s awesome. But I keep thinking I might employ it as an alternative for Producteev or something. That will likely never happen, though — and shouldn’t I put it in my App testing folder, instead? Yeah, you’re probably right. And yet…

Mint - Now this, I use. I don’t use it enough or to its full potential, but I do use it. Mint is an awesome money managing app, and it has been working up in Canada for a while now. I’m not letting this one go.

Timer - This is a simple button that fires the Timer site/app (formerly TimerTab, which we covered here) — which allows you oddly enough, to time stuff. You can even set a YouTube video as an alarm. I chose Spill the Wine by Eric Burdon and War.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gmail | Offline Google Mail - I live in Gmail, so this is a no brainer. I set it to open in its own window and roll out. I don’t usually use Offline Google Mail, and I think it may be totally useless now that Google is doing better offline mail within the regular Gmail app, but I haven’t tossed it yet. Just in case…

Google Calendar - There are a number of ways I can get at Google Calendar, but I use this when I want it to easily open in its own window. Which is a rare thing… but I do still use it.

Google Docs - This is my web portal to Google Drive – which is an awesome 5GB of free storage space with a 10GB file size limit, plus more — and it could be an Evernote alternative in its own right.

TweetDeck | Hootsuite - I have no idea why I keep these here. I find that I manage multiple Twitter accounts more effectively on my phone, or by using LastPass to sign in to the account I choose. For work accounts, I have a whole other browser profile that I tend to use, so there is never any real conflict. If I consolidate, though, one of them could be useful, I suppose. Who needs to have so much social information thrown at you at one time, though? Keep it simple and lower your stress level, says I.

Box | Dropbox - I use both of these, but if the two, Box is the only one I ever open, because it is a web-only interface. I use my OS for Dropbox. I keep it there for the Google OS potential, though. I used to have SugarSync there, as well, but that app seems to have disappeared for the Chrome Web Store.

My other pages are separated by Design, Fun Stuff, and App Testing.

In Design I have several Aviary image editing and creation apps, Picnik, and Audiotool. Again, I think I keep these for when I’m on a computer that isn’t Adobe-friendly, as I never use them otherwise. Design also has Zootool (a visual bookmarking app I never use), jsFiddle (code-testing sandbox that I rarely use), Pinterest (more for my wife, than me – and why under design…?), Summify, and Revisu (helps with design iterations when using Google Drive).

Fun Stuff (which is woefully bare, unfortunately) has Kid Mode for Chrome, which is the Zoodles app for my daughter. Zoodles is awesome, but the app hasn’t worked properly in Chrome for a while, leading me to use Firefox for this particular function. This page also has YouTube (which I mostly get to via search), Full Screen Weather (which I usually check on my phone), Graphicly Comics (which I never use), and Planetarium (used rarely). Netflix used to be here, but it is nowhere to be found on the Web Store now.

App Testing tends to change, by its nature, but there are a few things in there that are persistent for some reason. I’ve left Jolicloud in there, as well as Memonic, and SlideRocket (which is cool, but I don’t generally use due to the pricing). I’ve also got HelloFax in there (it works with Google Drive and I use it sometimes, but had nowhere else to put it), Summify (it will stop working eventually, as it’s been bought by Twitter, but I keep it here in the meantime) and Thinkery (possible Evernote alternative I need to get around to testing more). This is also where I keep the Web Store link.

So there you have it. Even after going through every app in my Chrome set up, I still don’t know what ones to get rid of, but I only use about a third of what I have with any regularity. It’s a conundrum, I tell you!

How about you? Do you have any Chrome apps that you keep around, but never use? What are the apps that you do use, and couldn’t live without?

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Uh-oh. You Broke Your iPad Screen. Now What?

Guest Poster — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Today, 40Tech is pleased to present a guest post from Donal James.

An iPad without a functioning digitizer screen is pretty much worthless. Unfortunately the screen is a fragile component that is easily damaged. Even a fall of a few feet is usually enough to shatter the delicate glass.

Damaged or broken digitizer screens are one of the most common problems encountered by iPad users. According to warranty company SquareTrade, ten percent of iPad 2 owners reported damaging their iPads within the first 12 months of ownership, with the number increasing to 20% within the first two years of ownership. Many times when the touch screen becomes cracked or broken, the LCD screen beneath is unharmed. If that’s the case, you don’t need a new iPad – you just need to replace the digitizer screen.

There are several options when it comes to dealing with a broken digitizer screen:

Buy a new iPad

iPads aren’t cheap. And there really isn’t anything wrong with the one you’ve got, except that the screen is damaged. If you can afford this option fine, if not – read on!

Take your damaged iPad back to Apple

This is probably the easiest way to handle the problem – return the iPad to the Apple Store for a replacement. However, there seems to be no consistent policy from Apple in the case of a broken digitizer screen. According to Apple warranty information posted on their site, the following types of damage are not covered by their warranty: Damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, liquid contact, fire, earthquake or other external cause; and defects caused by normal wear and tear or otherwise due to the normal aging of the Apple Product.

However, if you drop in on a few of the iPad forums you’ll see several different stories from posters about how Apple actually handles this issue, ranging from replacing the broken iPad with a new one for free, no questions asked, to charging several hundred dollars for a new screen. One poster even said they were told they had to buy a new iPad! The most common recommendation seemed to be: if you don’t like what they tell you at one Apple store, take it to another Apple store! (Editor’s note: when I had a non-screen related issue with my iPad, and took it to the Apple store, they did make a record of what was done, so I’m not sure whether shopping around would work or not).

Take your iPad to a third party repair shop

If you don’t want to deal with Apple, you can take your iPad to a third party repair shop. Since broken digitizer screens are a fairly common problem, you shouldn’t have any difficulty in locating a repair shop that can provide the service you need. There are local brick and mortar shops as well as online repair sites that can fix you screen good as new. A short online search will turn up the names of several repair shops that specialize in repairing broken digitizer screens.

Before you turn over your precious iPad to a complete stranger, do a little research. For instance, is the shop an Apple Authorized Service Provider? Even if your iPad isn’t under warranty, this is a good sign that the people working on your iPad know what they’re doing. Get an estimate before work begins. Also, prices for this service can vary greatly, especially when it comes to shipping costs. If you’re looking to save a little money on the bill, a local drop off shop may be your best choice.

Do it yourself

Many people don’t know it, but you can replace a digitizer screen yourself. There are many companies sell OEM replacement digitizer screens; you can usually get one for under a hundred dollars.

If you’re looking to save money this is the way to go. Replacing a damaged digitizer screen is a fairly straight forward DIY project requiring only a few simple tools and about forty five minutes to complete. Disconnecting the old screen and connecting the new one takes about ten seconds; most of the forty five minutes will be spent opening and resealing the iPad, which is the most difficult part of the procedure. Of course, if you screw up, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter how the digitizer screen became damaged; the important thing is getting it fixed, right? Whether you have a damaged screen or just lie awake nights trembling at the thought, isn’t it good to know you have several options available when it comes to dealing with this tragedy? Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. You’ll have to decide which one is right for you. But the result will be the same: your iPad will be good as new!

Guest author Donal James is an internet content specialist working for ScreenTek Inc, a Houston based company that specializes in providing OEM replacement iPad, iPad 2 and iPad 3 digitizer touch screens.

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10 Fantastic WordPress Plugins to Make Your Blog Sizzle

Evan Kline — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:00:42 +0000

I was recently asked to identify some of the essential WordPress plugins that we use are here at 40Tech. A few years ago, we covered five of them. Amazingly, we’re still using all five. There are other plugins, though, that we also use. While I would prefer a lean WordPress installation, these other plugins bring functionality that is important. With that in mind, here are ten additional plugins that make 40Tech tick.

1. Efficient Related Posts

At the end of every post here at 40Tech.com, you’ll find a list of five posts that are (usually) related in some way to the topic of the post that you’re reading. The Efficient Related Posts plugin takes care of generating that list. While not perfect – some unrelated stories sneak in at times – the plugin generally does a good job. Many other related post plugins generate that list on the fly, which can put a real strain on the memory and CPU of a web server. This plugin avoids that problem by generating the related posts list when a post is saved, not when it is visited. It keeps the related list for old posts current by regenerating the list for an older post when a new post finds that older post to be related. The drawback of the plugin is that instead of the reader having to wait for the list to be generated, the post author must wait when he or she saves a post. One word of caution – the plugin hasn’t been updated in over a year, although it still works fine here on 40Tech.

2. Simple Lightbox

The ightbox effect is what you see when you click on a photo, and its expands while the rest of the screen darkens. For an example, check out some of the screenshots in Bobby Travis’ post on using Google Drive as an alternative to Evernote. Other lightbox plugins were hit or miss when trying to get the lightbox effect here on this site. This plugin was plug and play, out of the box.

3. Subscribe to Comments

At the end of the new comment box here on the site, you’ll see a checkbox that you can check to be notified of new comments via email. This plugin takes care of that.

4. WordPress Editorial Calendar

With two writers here at 40Tech, we need to keep track of when we are publishing articles. This plugin gives us a nice visual way to do just that. It provides a calendar in the administration panel, that lists each post scheduled for each day. Posts can easily be dragged to different days, too, giving this plugin a speed advantage over the default WordPress method of opening individual posts.

5. XCloner

I’ve previously written about Updraft as a WordPress backup solution. Since then, I’ve moved on to XCloner. XCloner will backup both your files and your database, and you can select from a few different backup destinations. On every WordPress site where I use XCloner, I send my backups to Amazon S3. The only trick I haven’t figured out is how to automatically prune backups from S3, so I periodically go in and manually delete older backups from my S3 account.

6. Maintenance Mode

Maintenance Mode is an old standby. If you’re performing work on your site, you can activate this, and your visitors will then see a custom welcome message, and be unable to go further into your site.

7. Contact Form 7

Contact Form 7 lets you insert highly customizable contact forms onto your site. It allows for a great amount of customization, as opposed to generating one-size-fits-all forms. That means it is a bit more complicated, but once you dig into it you’ll find that it isn’t too difficult.

8. Really Simple CAPTCHA

If you’re going to use Contact Form 7, then you may want to cut down on spam using CAPTCHA. You know CAPTCHA – it is the verification system that requires you to read some offset characters, and input them into a text entry box. Really Simple CAPTCHA is a CAPTCHA plugin for Contact Form 7. I’ve actually had very little spam on any WordPress site using Contact Form 7, but the Really Simple CAPTCHA plugin eliminated the little bit that did get through. One issue to be wary of – the latest version of this plugin doesn’t play nice with servers that run LiteSpeed, causing the CAPTCHA image not to display. Some WordPress users have come up with somewhat of a workaround.

9. CommentLuv

I have a love-hate (or luv-hate?) relationship with CommentLuv, which is a plugin that gives a commenter the ability to append a link to a comment that he or she leaves on your site. That link is typically to the commenter’s latest blog post on his or her own blog. I like to learn about other blogs, and also appreciate the general sense of community this plugin can foster, but it also attracts comments that aren’t much better than spam. It got bad enough here at 40Tech that we switched the plugin to “no follow,” which means that commenters won’t get any help in their Google ranking just be leaving a comment.

10. AdRotate

We keep the lights on here at 40Tech by running AdSense ads most of the time, but occasionally run ads submitted directly by advertisers. AdRotate lets us specify when certain ads will run, and designate ads as fallback ads. You can also group ads together, so that ads within a specified group will rotate through a spot.

There are ten of our key plugins, to go with the five we listed previously. What plugins do you use on your site? Let us know in the comments.

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How to Download Full-Res Images From Dropbox to Your iPad

Evan Kline — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Dropbox is a great tool for moving files between different operating systems, but it isn’t perfect. If you use the Dropbox iPad app, then you may have noticed one glaring weakness: if you download images to your iPad’s Camera Roll via the app, you’ll find that the image quality is horrible. Yes, the Dropbox iPad app downconverts your images, leaving you with, in technical terms, crappy photos. There are at least a couple of workarounds, though.

I first noticed this problem in my never-ending quest to get images from my Android phone onto my iPad. I’ve previously written about how to do this both with and without wires. Dropbox seemed like the next logical solution to the problem. I uploaded my photos to a Dropbox folder from my Android phone, using the Dropbox Android app. I then downloaded the photos to my iPad using the Dropbox iPad app, only to see the horrible image quality.

Workaround #1 is to just visit your Dropbox account in Safari, instead of using the iPad app. From there you can click the link to each photo to display it, one at a time. Then perform a long press on each photo after it loads and select”Save Image.” That will send each photo into your camera roll.

Workaround #2 is to use Goodreader, a PDF reader for the iPad that is more of an uber file and document manager. With Goodreader, you can input your Dropbox credentials, browse your Dropbox files, and download full resolution copies of your photos.

In Goodreader, add your Dropbox account in the “Connect to Server” section by clicking the “Add” button. Once you’ve entered your credentials and logged into your Dropbox account, browse through your Dropbox folders in Goodreader until you find your photos. Tap on each photo that you want to download (you can select multiple photos), and click the “Download” button. Choose where you want the photos to be saved in Goodreader, and then click the next download button.

You can then Close Goodreader’s Dropbox window. Go to the “My Documents” pane in Goodreader, and browse to the location where you just saved the photos. One by one, you can load each photo, and tap on the camera icon to save it to your Camera Roll.

Goodreader costs $4.99 in the App Store, but it is a worthwhile investment, given how versatile it is.

Do you have another method for getting photos onto your iPad? If so, let us know in the comments.

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Send and Receive Text Messages From Your Computer With DeskSMS [Android]

Evan Kline — Tue, 01 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

I love Swype on my Android phone, but I still prefer typing on a full keyboard. For that reason, I’m not a big texter on my phone. If you’re like me, and prefer typing on your computer keyboard, then DeskSMS might interest you. DeskSMS is an Android app that lets you send and receive text messages from your computer.

To get up and running with DeskSMS, you install the app on your phone, and then install either a chat client or browser extension on your computer or tablet, or use Gmail or a web interface. When you install the app on your phone, you check boxes next to which services you want your text messages forwarded to.

Text messages then show up at that destination, and you can send messages from there as well. I just set it up with the Chrome extension, since I almost never use a chat client. The web client, shown below, can be opened right from the browser extension.

One word of warning – DeskSMS looks like it is free from the Android page, but that is actually just a free trial. When the trial expires, you have to pay a yearly $4.99 subscription fee. The listing in the Android Market doesn’t mention this, and I can’t find a developer website with any information on the trial or the subscription. I had to comb through user reviews on the Android Market to get that information. It’s a shame that the developer isn’t more up front about the cost, because in my trial of the app, it worked really well.

There are a few other apps that work similarly to DeskSMS. We previously covered AirDroid, which includes texting among several other features. If you have a favorite app for sending and receiving texts from your computer, let us know in the comments.

Here are some related posts that might interest you:

Could Google Drive Be An Evernote Alternative?

Bobby Travis — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:29:34 +0000

So let’s talk. There’s been a lot of conversation around the web — and on this site — about possible alternatives for Evernote. Springpad was the goto app for many, though the most recent update has pulled them further away from that comparison, and drawn the ire of many users in the process. If you look at Springpad, though, as well as several other apps that offer services that are considered comparable to Evernote (Shelfster, Thinkery, OneNote and Catch, for example), you can define a general criteria for a note taking application that I think — no matter how odd it may sound — could also be met by Google’s latest cloud offering and the new face of Google Docs: Google Drive.

Stick with me. I’d love to have a conversation with you all about this.

First: What is Google Drive?

Google Drive is the latest cloud drive offering to hit the web jungle. It came out just this past week and has already been cited as a direct threat to Dropbox, Skydrive, Box, and all the rest. On the flip-side, it’s also received the standard Ahhhhh, Their Stealing My Private Information!!!!! treatment by the web media, as well — in this case, somewhat unfairly (more below).

Google Drive Features

Once you start using drive, you can say goodbye to the docs.google.com url. Your docs shall forever become a part of Google Drive. You’ll still be able to revert to the old Google Docs interface, for a limited time, but the default new dashboard is where you will start, and eventually end up.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s the feature-set, in a nutshell:

Storage is low cost and in abundance. And it can take crazy large files, and allows you to view files most other services don’t. Sync with your computers and mobile devices (iOS coming soon) in the same manner as Dropbox.

5GB of free storage space — and Gmail goes up to 10GB
Additional space starting at $2.49/month for 25GB, $4.99 for 100GB — all the way up to 16TB (these also up your Gmail to 25GB)
Google Docs don’t count against your storage
10GB filesize limit per file
Upload up to 30 types of files –this includes Photoshop, Illustrator, movies, photos and more, as well as viewing of those files (graphic designers, rejoice! — and yes, this means movie and music playback, too)
Add and manage files from your desktop environment
Google Docs files (.gdoc, .gsheet, etc.) are actually shortcuts to their respective web editors, so don’t take up additional hard drive space on your PC
Offline viewing (offline editing is in the works, too)

Sharing, sharing, sharing! Collaborate! Individual files, folders, or your entire Drive…

Add a person, go public, or share a link — you can even give people without Google accounts editing capability
Send Drive links in Gmail to make sure everyone always has the updated version — no attachment worries
Or send Drive files as attachments, or even in the body of the email (classic Google Docs features)
Share photos and videos right from Google+
Easily view and manage files and folder shared with you
Collaborate on any type of file — comment and chat on any of your files, in real time
30 days of revision history

Search — including including OCR and Google Goggles

Filter by keyword, file type, file owner, and more
Search text in scanned documents
Find a photo using the search bar — Goggles can recognise objects in your images

Third-party apps. There are already several available on the Chrome Web Store, many of them free or freemium services. These apps will plug right in to your Google Drive allowing you to do all kinds of fun things. Some examples:

HelloFax lets you send free faxes right from Google Drive — it also has signature signing capability, as do a couple of other Google Drive apps like DocuSign
Pixlr and Aviary for Google Drive let you edit uploaded photos
SlideRocket can be set up to be your default presentation app
Revisu lets you share designs for feedback and track version history
Lots more available and lots more coming via Google Drive > Settings > Manage apps > Get more apps

Any of you starting to see why I couldn’t help but compare it to Evernote? More on that, below.

What About My Privacy?

Google Drive’s privacy policy and terms of use came under fire almost the moment it launched. I have this picture in my mind of writers hearing about the launch and rubbing their hands together with glee as they consider all the readers they will be able to draw in with negative Google headlines. Don’t get me wrong, I still think Google may be the sweet face of Evil, and many of the concerns were and are valid — they’re just out of context.

Google’s Terms of Service states:

“You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.”

This is a good thing. But here’s where the confusion comes in:

“…you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones.”

At first glance, this is freaky — but the reality is that this is used so that Google can integrate Drive with its other services — for you, of course — and to provide the other functions of the service, such as OCR and image recognition. Of course, this also means they can use the content to better provide you with more accurate advertising, but this is something they do with their services already.

Bear in mind that they can also be compelled to give up your information to government bodies or law enforcement agencies if required to by law. This is a standard thing that applies to every online service that houses its servers in the United States.

All of these things can be found in similar fashion in the Dropbox terms of service — and even the Evernote terms of service, though some may find Google to be a bit more ambiguous. Personally, I find the Amazon Cloud Drive terms of service much more frightening.

What does this all mean? Only this: Google’s scary privacy points are, in this instance, not so different than any other online drive’s terms of service. Does this mean there aren’t potentially frightening possibilities; that it’s all really candy and roses? No. Not unless you consider that the candy and roses could be laced with Rohypnol, that is. But these privacy issues are simply the risk you take when you put your files and personal information online. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be concerned, just that you need to make the same decision, no matter what cloud service you use.

Next: Google Docs vs Evernote

*Evernote*	*Google Drive*
Sync between devices (including mobile)	Yes
Offline viewing	Yes
Offline editing	Not Yet
Collaboration	Yes
Sharing	Yes
Keyboard shortcuts for quick launch	With tweaks (custom shortcuts)
Rich text editing	Yes
Easy organization by notebooks and tags	Yes, but with folders (no more tags)
Powerful search	Yes
OCR	Yes
Add attachments	Yes
Search within attachments	Yes
Third party integrations	Yes, with more on the way
Add content by email	Not at the moment
Web clipping	Only manual copy and paste works at the moment
Low cost	Yes
Upgradeable storage	Yes

NOTE: You can create desktop shortcuts to open new Google Docs files, and then add custom hotkeys to those shortcuts to easily open new “notes”. The same urls used for the shortcuts can be used to create a dropdown in your browser’s bookmarks bar, although one bookmark, loaded in the browser sidebar is a great option for Firefox. The URLs you need are in this Google Document: http://bit.ly/IIiHAo. I’ve also added the shortcuts I decided to use, while testing. If there’s interest, I’ll do a full how-to on this.

NOTE: You can also add Google Drive to the Windows Send To context menu by typing %APPDATA%/Microsoft/Windows/SendTo to a Windows Explorer window – press enter. Then open another Explorer window, create a shortcut of your Google Drive, then drag it to the Send To folder you just opened. Now, when you right click on a file, you will be able to send it right to your Google Drive (this is based on the Windows 7 OS and also works for Skydrive and Dropbox).

Where Google Drive Wins

Google Drive allows you access to a full office suite, from full document and spreadsheet creation to presentations. It will also allow you to handle files more easily, as well as have real-time, collaborative conversations within the files/notes themselves. For people who want to have a powerful suite that they can leverage in nearly the same way as Evernote, then Google Drive could be a very good option. The same goes for people who don’t like the new Springpad, but find that Evernote just isn’t enough for them.

Where Google Drive Lacks

The lack of speedy clipping is an issue for me. This can be overcome with some simple copy and paste, or with extensions like Send to Google Docs (turns a whole web page into a PDF and sends it to Google Docs), and will likely no longer be an issue once some enterprising person or business creates an app for just that, but for the moment it is a bit of an annoyance. Not a deal breaker, though.

The other thing is that it is just not as straightforward as Evernote. The workarounds I put together make it easier to get going, but I find that the keyboard shortcuts I created sometimes fail until I remake them in the shortcut’s properties. And as I’ve mentioned in posts before, Evernote is really good at the simple things it does: taking and organizing notes. Once you add all the extra power and options of Google Drive, then you run into the potential of it becoming unwieldy, unless you manage it really well.

So there it is, my curiosity and thought process laid out before you. Your turn now! I want to know what you think – feasibility, practicality of application, pure ridiculousness, et al. Let’s chat about it and see what we can come up with as a group!