iPhone applications I've installed
Here is a quick review of the iPhone applications I've installed on my phone:
Productivity:
Wordpress - Post to your Wordpress blog. Very well done application allows for basic blog management and posting.
Evernote - Allows recording of text and voice notes that sync over the cloud to your Evernote account. Your notes created with the desktop application and via your web browser are also available via your phone. If you upload a photo with text Evernote will OCR it and make the text searchable from all platforms. If I could get the iPhone camera to take a clear picture of a business card, that functionality alone would be a great reason to use Evernote.
Jott - Record voicenotes or text notes. Voice notes you record are translated to text and sent to you via email or other preferred delivery platform. I have the Jott toll-free number stored on my phone as well which can be used to call in notes that get sent to people on my contact list as email messages. Alternatively, I can tell Jott to send the text of the message to my To Do list at Rememberthemilk.com
30+ more applications after the jump - Read more
One phone to rule them all...
As expected, I got my hands on an iPhone 3G last week. After one week of use, I thought I offer up some first reactions:
First off, this is a beautifully engineered device. The form factor is very similar to the 1st generation iPhone, but they've added a bit of polish with the glossy backing. While it is plastic, it really has a ceramic feel to it and doesn't feel cheap. Even after one year, the imitators of this technology aren't even close to achieving the perfection of form factor and user interface that Apple has achieved here.
There are three key features for me that resulted in the upgrade being worthwhile.
1) 3G - browsing at high speeds is nice and thus far the 3G network has been up to the task. Web pages load quickly and streaming media is possible, even when on the move. For example, tonight I was streaming Pandora in my car during my commute home with no pauses or skips.
2) Simultaneous voice and data - one of the most annoying experiences on my old iPhone was when I would be browsing the Internet and when finished exit to find that I had a new voicemail. The 3G iPhone is able to handle the receipt of the phone call while you are using the data connection and it is about time.
3) GPS - this wasn't really a killer component for me, but I was very curious to explore all the location aware utilities that would pop-up now that GPS was available on the iPhone. I've found the GPS to be very quick to acquire signal and very accurate. GPS combined with the application store has resulted in what will be some very disruptive technologies.
The other key feature which is available to all iPhone/iPod Touch users is the 2.0 software upgrade with third party applications. The third party apps are the single greatest game changer on these devices.
There are a few things I dislike about the phone:
1) No cut and paste. Come on Apple, this is a low priority only for you. Every review of the iPhone I've seen laments the lack of cut and paste. Please don't let this be the one button mouse of the iPhone world. We all know how stubborn you can be, but this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
2) No background applications. I understand why Apple wants to control the sandbox the Apps are in, but it would be nice to have a few trusted applications that can run in background mode. Namely, I'd like to see IM run in background mode and perhaps a few of the location aware apps as well.
3) MobileMe is a big disappointment. Yes, I can use it to keep my calendar in sync in real-time and that is great, but I see no way to apply granularity to contacts. I have 1000 contacts on my desktop. I only want over the air syncing for my "cellsync" category which are the ones I need on my phone. The others are just for occasional reference and Christmas cards.
Overall, I think this is an outstanding piece of technology and it is clear Apple has hit another home run. I can't wait to see what new applications are released in the coming weeks. I'll post my own wishlist soon.
BTW, I bought the white version. White is the new black where this device is concerned.
Don't forget to check out my CTU Jack Bauer ring-tone. It has been downloaded thousands of time a week since I posted it last December.
Wordpress iphone application
Has been released and works great. Not sure how useful it is without cut and paste though.
TEW article concerns
I don't know the details of this story, but I do know the players involved on the TEW side and it is guys like John Sullivan and Larry Richards that advanced concepts of information sharing at the state and local level and efforts like theirs are what stand between us and the next attack. I've worked with the folks at the TEW for almost a decade and never have I met a group of local responders so dedicated to addressing the threats their jurisdiction faced and helping counter them with old fashion analysis and information sharing.
One can't condone the unauthorized sharing classified information, but what we should really be focusing on is why this information was not getting to the folks that needed it in the first place. If one accepts the notion that all terrorism is local, then we fail when we don't get counterterrorism intel to the folks at the local level that are in a position to exploit it. The LA TEW has been put to bed and we have a criminal information sharing center in its stead as we slowly watch all the pre-9/11 walls get built back up. We'll be referencing this story and scratching our heads after the next attack.
I hear you G.I. (emphasis is mine)
To Marine Reserves Colonel G.I. Wilson -- a leading theorist of unconventional conflict, and a long-time TEW participant -- this case "is a huge indictment of the stove-piped systems we're continue to propagate after wasting billions of dollars. It kind matters you wonder who the real bad guys are in this," he tells DANGER ROOM.
iPhone 2.0 software is a game changer
I took the risk and loaded the unofficial version of the iPhone 2.0 software on my 1st Gen iPhone. Installation went off without a hitch. There are a few glitches, like iTunes backing up the whole device every time I sync and a few crashed (in the iTunes remote app). Regardless, this software will firmly establish Apple as the dominant cell phone manufacturer for years to come.
In just a few short hours I was able to:
- Play some great games which were controlled via the iPhones motion detectors
- Chat on AIM
- Listen to AOL radio
- Listen to ShoutCast radio stations including my own.
- Record notes and voicenotes and autosync over the cloud to EverNote.
- View stocks in the Bloomberg app
- Use Jott to record voice notes which are translated to text and emailed to me.
- Used Pandora to listen to some great music.
- Use the Apple Remote to control my iTunes in the house including telling iTunes to play over the airport express connected to the living room stereo. No need to go sit at a computer to start a playlist and ability to instantly pause if the phone rings.
- Use Smugmug to take photos from the iPhone and upload it automatically to my account.
- Posted to Twitter
- Checked the local weather including radar photos (via Weatherbug) and view local cameras.
- Play Tic-tac-toe with my daughter
There are also several features to find other users near by, but I haven't been able to test that yet. Apple has created a mobile computing platform that really gives a sci-fi quality of applications and capability at your fingertips.
Interesting predictions
It is interesting to watch a predictive market that is comprised of international security analysts:
[Link--->]
Funniest thing I've read all week...
"China denied accusations by two U.S. lawmakers that it hacked into congressional computers, saying Thursday that as a developing country it wasn't capable of sophisticated cybercrime." [Link--->]
Wargames and the start of the hacker era
Neat little essay snagged via Slashdot. Wargames and Sneakers still stand as two of my favorite films about computer security.
I thought that WarGames also merited mentioning (in addition to it being a terrific film) because of the reaction that it engendered upon its release. With its depiction of teens hacking into school systems to change their own grades, and then breaking into military-grade mainframes and coming a hair's-breadth from nuking the whole planet, WarGames initiated unusual paranoia in the mainstream press about the power of computers. I remember one CBS Evening News report at the time that seriously questioned whether parents should allow their children to access the outside world via their personal computers at home. A magazine article suggested that computer modems be "locked up" just like firearms, to keep them out of the reach of teenagers. I even heard one pundit proclaim that there was no need for regular people to be able to log in to a remote system: that if you need to access your bank account, a friendly teller was just a short drive away. [Link--->]