I have been toying with this idea of sharing a shot of my iPhone home screen each month, if for no other reason than for me to chronicle the changes over time. So being that it is the beginning of May, I thought I would pull the trigger on this idea. Here is the first one; it remains a work in progress, but at least my signal is good.

I think the top row is pretty standard stuff.

Dialvetica – The folks at Mysterious Trousers (They also do Calvetica) came up with this one. It is app that lets you initiate a phone call, text or email with any of your contacts with 2 or 3 taps. It also knows who you contact most and displays them on top. Good stuff, and a good icon.

Drafts is a relatively new one…it’s a text editor that allows you to jot down some text and then take an action on what you just wrote….tweet it, email it, text it, copy it to your clipboard, etc. It supports Markdown and connects to Dropbox. I like it, it works great – but I don’t know, it still feels like a solution to a problem I don’t have.

Byword – this is my favorite Markdown text editor on the Mac, and they pretty recently came out with their iOS app. It earned immediate promotion to my front screen because I write in it all day on my Mac and through the magic of Dropbox, they sync — so it’s almost like I am never not at work. It’s a good app, albeit possibly an update or two away from being really awesome. (Where’s the dark theme?)

Spotify – enough said.

ScoreMobile – I’ve tried all the sports apps I can think of, and I have a problem with all of them. I just have less problems with this one. I hate the icon, and the UI is pretty brutal…but you can get everywhere you want with just a couple taps. Probably the biggest problem I have with sports apps is trying to get baseball statistics. Like a real, complete box score. I know you can get to them on ESPN’s app, but it feels like 100 clicks to get there. Anyway, I am open to suggestions on this one, because that icon really bugs me.

Reeder – If you use Google Reader for RSS feeds, get this app. It’s the best one there is, and it’s not even close. It syncs beautifully and it looks great.

Tweetbot – Like Reeder is to RSS, Tweetbot is to Twitter. It’s just the best, and again, it’s not even close. I am going to do something on Tweetbot coming up here in a few posts, so I will leave it at that for now…just download it already.

Evernote – I have tried my hardest not to use Evernote. I have looked for every excuse, tried any other app I could find. But I keep coming back to it. I don’t know why, but I think it’s because it is just so seamless with so many devices, programs and platforms. It is easy to get anything into it. Processing it all once it’s in there? That is my problem, and Evernote is not a great task app – but here I am, still using it. I know someone out there knows exactly what I mean.

Pastebot – A nice little iOS clipboard utility from the makers of Tweetbot. If you are going to do any writing on iOS, this makes it a lot less painful. Plus you can save commonly used phrases or snippets to use over and over again.

Instacast – I use this for podcasts. I was never a fan of the native handling of podcasts, and this app makes it super easy to avoid having to deal with that.

Wunderlist – This spot is only being kept warm by this app. It is a nice simple, todo app, that is pretty device-universal at this point, but I just can’t get into it. And the app has had a ton of stability issues lately. Although I am sure that will get corrected, it probably bears mentioning.

I don’t know what I want out of a todo app – you would think I would know, having tried them all at this point, but I don’t – I only know what I don’t like, and this is in that category. (Along with anything GTD, but that’s another post.)

Messages – standard, native messages app

Sparrow – email replacement. It works for me because all my mail is on Google Apps and I can live without push. It is a beautifully designed app, as is its Mac cousin, but Sparrow’s not for everyone. Read my Sparrow post before you decide.

Safari – self explanatory.

Launch – so not self-explanatory. Launch is kind of like an app launcher, but it does a little more. You can set up shortcuts to tasks, like “call home” or to turn on the flashlight. It is also a good place to park Safari bookmarks and save yourself a couple clicks. But it also launches apps. And if you can parse the URL structure of your app you can launch into a particular part of an app. For example, instead of just launching Instagram, you can set it up to launch into the Instagram camera. (Hat tip to Jon Mitchell and his excellent The Dock Podcast for that one. If you have read this far into this post, I can safely say you will love that podcast. Please go subscribe to it and catch up.) As for Launch, I recommend it, but it will take a little work on your part to set it up to your liking.

Well, that is it for this month. Like these apps? Am I missing the boat on something? Let me know in the comments. And if you are so inclined, tweet me a screenshot of your iPhone home screen, I am @gbussmann

If you haven’t been in thae situation, I think it will still be an interesting read.

Either way, if you are interestied in the why of CSS as much as the how, Everything You Never Knew About CSS Floats by Joshua Johson on the Design Shack is a blog post you are going to want to read, and probably bookmark for later reference.

What do floats really do anyway? How do they affect the box model of the elements involved? How do floated elements differ from inline elements? What are the specific rules governing the position of floated elements? How does the clear property work and what is it for?

Floats can trip up even experienced developers and understanding their behavior can really set you free from many of the woes that you face with CSS. Even if you think you already know all about floats, we’ll dive deep enough that you just might learn something new!

Enjoy the read.

To stand out on the internet these days, your website has to look great. The font you use is a huge part of the overall look of your site, and while your site may not look bad with a standard font, it’s not going to pop off the screen, either.

Luckily it is pretty easy these days to rise above the old standard, go-to fonts (Think Arial, Georgia, Verdana). There are numerous repositories of fonts at your disposal that take you beyond all those old standards.

Google Web Fonts is an open-source (free) collection of fonts you can use. There are some good ones in there, and they are easy to test and implement on your site. (This site takes advantage of Google Web Fonts)

The serious font geeks, though, use Typekit, a web font subscription service now owned by Adobe. There are free and paid plans that give you varying amounts of access to their enormous library of fonts. All the fonts on Typekit are designed for use on the web (web fonts), so you know that at least from a technical standpoint, whichever font you go with will look good on any screen.

Choosing the right font for your website is the tricky part. There are tons of them. Now, though, Typekit is now offering some assistance. For those who can’t decide, Typekit is offering curated lists of web fonts that help you narrow down your choices:

Lists have been created by Typekit staff and feature an editorialized means of browsing. Each list features fonts organized by theme (sci-fi or typewriter fonts), intended use (good for longform, alternatives to Helvetica), or defining characteristic (rounded fonts, fat faces). Think of them as a good place to start when you aren’t quite sure what font you’re after.

Check them out! There are so many cool fonts out there, good luck finding the perfect one for you.

p.s. You may also want to check out this: Lifehacker did a typically great post about understanding typefaces called: A Non-Designer’s Guide to Typefaces and Layout.

Intel just announced new solid-state drives with storage of up to 800GB, which is a new high in capacity for the company’s SSD products.

The SSD 910 series solid-state drives are the fastest and most durable SSDs offered by Intel yet, the company said. The SSDs come in capacities of 400GB and 800GB and are targeted at data centers that need high-performance storage and caching, the company said.

The highest capacity SSD storage offered by Intel until now was 600GB, which was in the SSD 320 series for PCs.

That said, a lot of business happens on LinkedIn, and you if you’re profile there gets a little neglected like mine, there’s a free webinar next week that is aiming to show you how to give your LinkedIn profile a boost and land more business in the process. And it’s free. (There are only a few spots left, though, so don’t wait too long.)

My friend Will Hanke is putting it on. He’s a St. Louis guy that owns an SEO company called Where is My Business? If you own a small business in St. Louis (or anywhere, actually) you probably want to follow along with what he is doing on his site. He’s a great SEO resource, especially when it comes to being found locally, and he shares, for free, a ton of useful SEO knowledge.

If you need more assistance than that, I’m sure he will be happy to work out an arrangement with you, but there is a lot to be gained just from grabbing his RSS feed and following along with his blog.

Will also does a monthly SEO class that you might find beneficial as well. Every month he takes on an SEO topic in-depth. The next one is called How to Outrank Your Competition and I guarantee it will be the most knowledge you ever got on that subject for $10.

Anyway, I have learned a lot from Will, and I just wanted to pass along the information. Thanks for reading.

ITEN to Host Monthly Networking Event for Startup Tech Companies in St. Louis

The IT Entrepreneur Network (ITEN), is sponsoring a monthly educational and networking event for all local technology startup companies. “ITEN 2nd Thursdays” is an event series designed to connect fledgling entrepreneurs and anyone interested in startup technology businesses with successful emerging companies and veteran business leaders.

This month’s event will be held April 12, from 4pm – 6pm at the Tavern of Fine Arts (313 Belt Ave St. Louis 63112). 2nd Thursdays are part of a larger offering of programs that ITEN offers to encourage, educate, mentor and develop technology entrepreneurs and startup companies in the Greater St. Louis region.

IABC April Social Media Seminar

The tools and techniques of social media open up powerful new possibilities to professional communicators. Whether you’re a social media novice, a pioneer, or somewhere in-between, join IABC St. Louis on April 19th for Be Social, a half-day seminar that will inspire and equip you to excel in leveraging interactive online communities.

This engaging, fast-paced event will feature an eclectic mix of expert presenters sharing a range of compelling topics – from big-picture strategies, to practical applications, to best-in-class case studies.

ReadWriteWeb Meetup at Mercury Labs

Join ReadWriteWeb and Mercury Labs for a little Tech Love on Thursday, May 3, 2012. Relax with other enthusiasts and have a chance to talk tech with experts and hopefuls alike. Enjoy free drinks and appetizers!

The goal of these meetups is to empower you to go out there and meet the other technology enthusiasts in your area. We’ll help you in any way we can. Follow the conversation on Twitter: #ReadWriteMeetup.

Business Marketing Association – Cannes Fest

If YouTube has taught us anything, it’s that commercials aren’t just for television any more. For the first time in history, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity judged 142 entries from 33 countries in a new category, offering insight into which spots actually worked in the marketplace, and where. The Winners may surprise you. The Strategies will inspire you. Not to mention how much fun you’ll have watching Jay-Z’s 13-city scavenger hunt; Google’s “Chrome Speed Tests”; and Pamela Anderson selling potato chips on a magnificent big screen at the Sheldon Concert Hall on May 2.

That just about cleans out my inbox…hope to see you at one of these. If you know of a good event I missed, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email to the address above.

For the nuts and bolts of the deal, Mashable has good coverage; for some of the best tweets about it, please read on:

(I will add more as I find them, and feel free to add yours as well.)

A little over a year ago, Instagram was worth $20 million http://t.co/JIiTbP4A

April 9, 2012 5:36 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@RizzoTees

Chris Reimer

BREAKING: Facebook also set to acquire Your Mom.

April 9, 2012 5:36 pm via Tweetbot for iOSReplyRetweetFavorite

@itsjuststarla

Starla Mint

So you’re saying my life is now going to be filled with faux-sepia photos? Bah-humbug.

April 9, 2012 6:21 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@ddocket

Derrick Docket

The price of adding a crappy 70′s filter to every Facebook Timeline photo? $1 billion.

April 9, 2012 6:15 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@JavaSTL

Brad Hogenmiller

That awkward moment when you hear that Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars, when they could’ve just downloaded it for free.

April 9, 2012 5:48 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@SoVeryAwkward

That Awkward Moment

Remember this day. 551-day-old Instagram is worth $1 billion. 116-year-old New York Times Co.: $967 million.

April 9, 2012 5:27 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@dkberman

Dennis K. Berman

I might install @instagram now that all the whiny hipsters are leaving…

April 9, 2012 7:26 pm via FacebookReplyRetweetFavorite

@commagere

Blake Commagere

I have no idea what instagram is but like everyone else, I am furious about something to do with it.

April 9, 2012 7:24 pm via TwitterrificReplyRetweetFavorite

@iainlee

Iain Lee

Instagram is now in a relationship and it’s complicated

April 9, 2012 7:21 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@HmSeb

Seb

At least you can look forward to your mother being on Instagram soon.

April 9, 2012 7:19 pm via Tweetbot for iOSReplyRetweetFavorite

@benjaminjackson

Ben Jackson

I dug through the couch cushions for loose change and ended up with enough to buy an Instagram.

April 9, 2012 7:17 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@notzuckerberg

Not Mark Zuckerberg

The sad part is, that instagram guy probably would’ve just traded the app for tickets to Coachella.

April 9, 2012 6:46 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@hipstermermaid

braden graeber

Whoever created Instagram made $1 Billion off of a free app. That’s a genius for you.

April 9, 2012 6:43 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@RaisedByKings

Life + Times ®

Have any more to add? What do you think of the deal?

Image credit

Yesterday was an unprecedented day for Apple, but probably not for the reason you are thinking. (I am guessing their stock price came to your mind) As incredible as that is, I am referring to something probably far fewer people noticed.

For the first time, Apple approved a third-party, custom email client that uses Apple’s proprietary email engine. I am talking about Sparrow for iPhone. The makers of the popular Mac email app won approval for the iOS version of their software, and as such, Sparrow for iPhone is sitting in the app store waiting for you to come download it.

Sparrow for iPhone is an incredible app. The Verge agrees, in an extensive review that you should definitely go read. You could certainly nitpick a few small things, and one big thing – it’s lack of push notifications will be a deal-breaker for some – but if you are the kind of person that appreciates good design as much as superior functionality, this app will probably be in your phone’s dock sooner rather than later.

I believe the shortcomings are likely to be improved upon in future updates. The push notifications are a trickier issue, however, and not the developer’s fault.

There are 2 ways to deliver notifications on an iOS application, through the app’s servers, or directly from your email provider.

So Sparrow could use their servers to provide push and not run afoul of Apple, but they would have to store your account’s credentials on their servers, and Sparrow was not comfortable taking on the responsibility that goes with storing people’s personal information.

The other way to do it, and the way Sparrow for Mac handles it, is on the mail provider side. Here your credentials are secure because is communicating with your provider via SSL

This works on a Mac because Sparrow can be ‘awake’ all the time. iOS automatically suspends an apps activity after 10 minutes maximum, which renders push impossible.

Apple does have an API that allows an app to be woken up in case of a network event, and VoIP apps (Skype) take advantage of this specific API, allowing you to receive calls even when the app isn’t opened.

Long story short, Sparrow attempted to take advantage of this same API, but Apple rejecterd it. So push was pulled (wordplay!) and version 1.0 of the app was released without it. The developers of Sparrow are petitioning Apple to rethink this stance, and have are asking for you to add your name to the effort.

I personally don’t miss it, but that is just me. What do you think? Have you tried the app yet? Like it? What are your thoughts.

Sparrow is available now in the App Store.

Here’s a video review from the aforementioned Verge review:

What brought this on was a lengthy New York Times piece called How Companies Learn Your Secrets. It’s a fascinating read about the science of the collection of consumer data. Retailers know an incredible amount of information about you, and they use it to try and send you targeted ads and coupons, among other things, in order to sell you more of their goods. Whether you are amazed at their capabilities or creeped out by them, or a little of both, there is some amazing technology going on in this area.

What Colbert picks up on is one of my favorite passages in the article:

A man walked into a Target outside Minneapolis and demanded to see the manager. He was clutching coupons that had been sent to his daughter, and he was angry, according to an employee who participated in the conversation.

“My daughter got this in the mail!” he said. “She’s still in high school, and you’re sending her coupons for baby clothes and cribs? Are you trying to encourage her to get pregnant?”

The manager didn’t have any idea what the man was talking about. He looked at the mailer. Sure enough, it was addressed to the man’s daughter and contained advertisements for maternity clothing, nursery furniture and pictures of smiling infants. The manager apologized and then called a few days later to apologize again.

On the phone, though, the father was somewhat abashed. “I had a talk with my daughter,” he said. “It turns out there’s been some activities in my house I haven’t been completely aware of. She’s due in August. I owe you an apology.”

Lets be careful out there.

If you are running a WordPress blog, one of the plugins you should be running is WordPress SEO by Joost de Valk. This post is not about the plugin, so I won’t go into why I think it is so awesome (you can find all about it at the previous link), but I will tell you why I use it over all the myriad other SEO plugins available for WordPress.

I use it because I have yet to find someone that displays the mastery of not only SEO, but also WordPress, that Joost does. He simply knows what he is talking about. And I want people like that working for me. In this case, working for me via his awesome plugin.

Anyway, recently Joost did a webinar with SEO Braintrust in which he talked for over an hour about WordPress SEO. It is long, but so worth your time to check out at the previous link.