Google Apps is easy. If you use IMAP on your iPhone then you just need to turn on Notes. Go to Settings, “Mail, Contacts, Calendars,” select your account, and flip the switch on Notes (see the screenshot below).

Unfortunately, Google Sync users have a couple of extra (counter-intuitive) steps. You already have an Exchange account on your iPhone where you can switch on and off Mail, Contacts, and Calendars. Notes is not an option. You must set up a new IMAP account with your Google Sync credentials and GMail’s IMAP settings:

Incoming Mail Server: imap.gmail.com

Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.gmail.com

Turn off Mail since you already have email set up with Exchange. Turn on Notes (see the screenshot below).

Now, when you use the Notes app to create a note on your iPhone it will appear in your GMail account with the label “Notes.” To access it you must search for “label:notes” or click on your Notes label in the sidebar. Unfortunately, you cannot create notes from your computer by sending yourself an email and then labeling it with “Notes” which makes this a one-way solution. I recommend using Google Tasks or Simplenote if you want the ability to create and edit notes from multiple devices.

After a week of testing the iPad it became clear that the iPad has the Delete key in the correct place and the iPhone doesn’t. In fact, the iPad’s placement feels so natural that now when I try to type text messages on the iPhone, I constantly accidentally send texts early while attempting to delete a character. The iPhone is the only device in my routine that has a confusing Delete key location. Check out the screenshots below to see what I mean.

What do you think? Has your experience been similar?

iPad

Wireless keyboard

iPhone

Developers have flown in from Argentina, China, Germany, Sweden, England and Canada. The goal is to meet new people on Friday night and by Sunday, have an awesome app. A hackathon. The best apps receive various prizes, from iPads to keyboards to cases.

In addition to being heads down for several days, focused on this exciting new platform, there are talks about marketing your apps, integrating PayPal, placing advertisements, Objective-C lessons and other presentations from well-known players in Silicon Valley.

Developers and Their Apps

I sat down with Dan Grover, the creator of ShoveBox, to discuss his latest project: Etude. It’s a sheet music app that looks beautiful on the iPad (although it’s only available for the iPhone right now). Imagine propping up your iPad on your piano and playing along with famous compositions. Below is an example piece of music.

I also discussed Audiotorium with Michael Emmons, a former Symbian developer who recently left that platform for iPhone OS. Audiotorium is both a recording and note-taking app that is perfect for college students and working professionals. Instead of carrying around a laptop that’s arguably overkill for lectures and meetings, you use an iPad to make sure you capture everything.

Music Creation

Now this is cool. Rana Sobhany uses two iPads as a DJ setup. Her blog about the experience and its progress is called Destroy the Silence.

The Results

Here’s a list of many of the apps presented Sunday afternoon after a rough two nights. Somehow these magicians were able to produce functioning apps that appear to be ready for App Store submission. However, many are still in the development phase on Github, or are now open source for anyone to download and try.

Relay — This app will be truly amazing when completed. The demo received a huge applause. Users can drag web sites, text, and music to and from the iPad and computer. Music seamlessly stops playing on one device and continues on the other. Web sites you’re currently reading instantly load on the other device. This app won the “Most Useful” award.

PAD — Personal Armour Defense — A mobile security system. Users set up wireless sensors (smoke, motion, etc.) in a hotel room, campsite,- or home to ensure protection. The system can be armed or disarmed using RFID. PAD received the “Most Alarming” award.

iPad Slot Machine — Another huge applause generator. One person throws an iPhone as the slot machine’s lever, and three iPads show the spinning objects. iPad Slot Machine received the “Coolest App” award and is pictured below.

iuiPad — Extending the iUI web development framework to support the iPad. This won the “Best Web App” award.

Shopkeep — Mine your email to find online purchases and track packages.

Melena21 — Finally an app looking towards helping people with special needs. Children can touch large images to indicate what they need or want. This app won the “Accessibility App” award.

Airhawk — Air Hockey on the iPad. This app won the “Most Monetizable” award because of its in-app purchases and use of ads.

iPad Boombox — A full screen MP3 player that looks and behaves like an old-school boombox. This won the “Retro” award.

Tank or Die — Use iPhones to control tanks on an iPad. This won the “Best Game” award.

iConessionStand — Users can order food and drinks at a sporting event right from their seats. This won the “Best Use of PayPal API” award.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a hot topic in the app stores these days. So, what’s AR? It’s multiple technologies being used simultaneously to provide you with data relevant to your location. This includes your phone’s compass to determine the direction you are facing, GPS to determine your exact location, an Internet connection to gather information about your surroundings, a camera to capture your reality and the screen to augment it with extremely specific data.

The app that gets the most free publicity is Layar for its on-again off-again relationship with Apple’s App Store. Whether or not this app should be allowed in the App Store is the issue people have been harping on for several months now. I think there is a much more urgent AR issue.

You look completely ridiculous when you use it.

Seriously. People take pictures all the time with their mobile phones. It’s a simple, quick task. But using an AR app is confusing and time-consuming. You have to maintain the phone’s direction and camera angle otherwise you lose the details on your screen. Your face is glued to your screen for a longer-than-appropriate time period. We have quickly grown accustomed to people looking down at their phones while walking around town (although some would argue that this is aggravating and dangerous). AR users have taken this awkward behavior to a new high since their phones are at eye level with people walking by.

Below is Layar showing the Drink layer. Note the confusing interface that requires thorough focus to decipher while you are standing on a sidewalk holding your phone in the air.

Here’s Yelp’s easier-to-comprehend (although it can quickly become cluttered) “Monacle” feature. Note: To activate this feature you must shake your phone when on the Nearby tab.

And finally, an innocent AR user begging to be mugged while trying to learn more about his location.

We can all agree that AR is extremely cool. Hopefully it will soon be a useful way to understand your surroundings. But for now these apps feel more like usability and HCI research experiments.

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Augmented Reality: Lots of Promise, Lots of Hurdles

Now there’s a solution for the Mac: Rapportive. It takes over the advertisements area in Gmail, and provides basic information about your email correspondents: occupation, Twitter/Flickr/LinkedIn links, age, location and custom notes. Yes, it supports Google Apps accounts, and the preview version of Mailplane now has an option to view Rapportive data. The experience definitely feels like a beta, with occasional inaccurate or missing information, but it’s great having so much additional context inside my email.

The problem? Rapportive so far only works in Google Chrome and Firefox as an extension. Safari is missing out since it doesn’t support simple extension development. Now that Chrome has overtaken Safari in market share, Apple needs to step up its game in terms of features. Both Safari and Mail.app need extension support to integrate all of these new social products. I am aware that some important extensions like Evernote and 1Password exist for Safari, but there is no official Apple documentation or support on how to build extensions. This needs to change. Unfortunately for Apple, Google and Mozilla already have thousands of extensions available.

I was thrilled to hear that current apps will be compatible with the iPad, but I’m more excited for apps that haven’t been written yet. Apps for the iPhone and iPod touch are designed for use while being held. There’s an exciting new use case that comes with the iPad — when it’s sitting in the dock. Owners not only have a new device to read news while on the couch, but they also have the perfect peripheral display.

What’s a peripheral display? Something that provides basic information without distracting you from your primary task. It runs silently in the background and it’s there when you need to retrieve some glanceable information. You already use plenty of them every day: clocks, stock tickers, weather icons, unread email icons, etc. I currently use one app on my iPhone as a peripheral display: Flip Clock. I think we are soon going to see a lot more apps like this.

My perfect peripheral display app would come with a few basic widgets like a clock, calendar, stocks, weather, and access to photos on the iPad. The app could then offer upgrades (perhaps $2.99 each) for access to services like Flickr, Picasa, Twitter, Facebook, CNN (and other news sites), etc. The app could be free with the requirement that one of the widgets shows advertisements. A quick paid upgrade (perhaps $9.99) would remove the ads and offer a spot for another widget.

I’ve taken the liberty of mocking up in Photoshop what this app may look like using the iPad GUI. Below you can see a few basic widgets, a tweet that changes every few minutes, and a photo slideshow powered by Flickr. The tweet includes a link which when tapped should close this app and launch Safari. This applies to the other widgets too; tapping them should launch their corresponding apps. Interactivity makes this app better than any digital picture frame available.

There are tons of apps that provide basic information, but now they can be combined to take advantage of the larger screen.

Now that I’ve filled your head with ideas, go build it! Just think of me when you publish the app to the store. Also, let me know if you think this is a good idea.

The first guest during Guy Kawasaki’s feature presentation at Macworld was Jack Dorsey, who has recently changed his focus from Twitter to his new startup, Square.

Square’s goal is to allow anyone to easily accept credit card payments on their iPhone or iPod touch using a tiny dongle that fits into the device’s audio input. Imagine how easy it will be to buy or sell items through Craigslist using a credit card. What if your friend owes you money but he doesn’t have any cash? Plug in the dongle, which Dorsey claims will be initially free (although I can’t imagine that strategy lasting forever), launch the Square app, swipe your friend’s credit card, and you’re done.

Dorsey and Square are trying to improve the experience around credit card transactions. Instead of paper receipts, Square users can receive receipts via email. The image below is an example of one from when I visited Sightclass Coffee, a coffee shop in San Francisco that Dorsey often visits and was even mentioned during Kawasaki’s presentation (their coffee is delicious but the shop is still under construction so there’s nowhere to sit!).

Have you ever seen such a gorgeous receipt? It was immediately emailed to me after I signed using my finger on the iPod touch’s screen. Innovation at its finest. The merchant’s logo, email address, Twitter account, and location are included. Note: $7.00 for two lattes…

Before today I had several questions about the service. Fortunately I received some answers:

Is Square getting around traditional credit card security?
Square is actually working closely with banks and is in full compliance with all credit card security regulations.

Is the iPhone/iPod touch the only device that can be used with Square?
The dongle is designed to work with any device that has an audio input jack. That means a lack of software is the problem for now. Dorsey mentioned Android, Blackberry, and even the Mac as devices that will accept payments in the future.

How difficult is it to sign up for Square?
Go to the website. 10 second process. We’re just waiting for the dongle to become available to those who aren’t lucky enough to be in the beta program.

Below is a picture of Square in action at Sightglass.

Note: The iPod touch’s audio input jack is on the bottom of the device, so the Square dongle is covered by the employee’s fingers.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to pursue more DIY projects. This includes things like putting Jolicloud on my Hackintosh netbook, swapping out the hard drive on my iMac, and, most importantly, doing something with my old Apple hardware.

I currently own a Powerbook G4 and a Blue and White G3 Tower. They are sitting in a closet collecting dust. I would love to find something truly unique to do with the computers. The easiest answer is “turn them into servers.” In fact, we published an article a few years ago with similar suggestions — music servers, file servers, etc. My goal is to do something creative with the hardware and put them on display. Leaving them in the closet is boring.

Here’s my favorite project for the Powerbook: the WallMac. Basically, I would reverse the Powerbook’s monitor and then put the laptop inside a thick frame. A wireless keyboard and mouse would control everything.

As for the Blue and White Tower, my favorite DIY project idea is the BlueIce. The case was converted to become transparent, and some neon cold-cathode light tubes and LEDs were inserted into the case.

What do you think? Are there any other projects I should know about? What do you do with your old Apple products?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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For the purposes of this article, I’m assuming you are using a Macbook or Macbook Pro, but the process works with desktop Macs, too, just make sure you know what kind of port your computer has. Your goal is to get both the audio and video from your computer into your TV. Unfortunately, Macs don’t have HDMI (audio and video combined) yet so we have to use two cables. Your new TV definitely has HDMI so we’ll use an adapter to make the connection.

Hardware

HDMI cables are very affordable on Monoprice: High Speed HDMI 1.3a Category 2 Certified Cable 28AWG – 6ft w/Ferrite Cores. You definitely need one of these.

First you must figure out if you have Mini DVI or Mini DisplayPort. If you have a unibody Macbook or Macbook Pro then you have Mini DisplaypPrt. If you have an aluminum Macbook or Macbook Pro then you have Mini DVI. If you’re not sure then take a look at these pictures.

Mini DisplayPort:

The adapter you need for is available here: Mini DisplayPort to HDMI. Connect the adapter to your computer and the HDMI cable, then connect the HDMI cable to an available input on your TV.

Mini DVI:

The adapter you need for Mini DVI is available here: Mini DVI to HDMI.

As for audio, you can use a basic stereo audio cable: 3.5mm Stereo Plug/Plug M/M Cable – 6ft. Connect it to your computer’s headphone port and your TV’s audio input. If your TV has an optical audio input then you can use this cable: Toslink to Mini M/M OD:5.0mm, Molded Type – 3ft. Your Macbook or Macbook Pro has a very unique audio output that offers both stereo and optical connections. Optical audio is not necessary, but if you can go digital then you should. (I was surprised to see my new TV only offers optical output and not input.)

One thing to note is on many TVs the one audio input is next to its corresponding video input.

As you can see, I purchased my HDMI cables from Amazon Basics.

Also, you are not required to use HDMI for video. You can also use DVI if your TV supports it. In that case you would need a DVI cable, and either a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter or Mini DVI to DVI adapter.

If you want to get fancy and combine both audio and video into one simple solution then you should get this: Mini DisplayPort Male and USB Male Audio to HDMI Female Converting Adapter. It uses USB audio instead of the audio port. It’s more expensive but it’s definitely cleaner since you only need one cable going into your TV.

Software

Netflix instant streaming requires a subscription. If you have one, you can use your web browser to start streaming a movie, click Full Screen, and you’re done.

Hulu Desktop is a free application you can use to access Hulu content. It’s designed to be controlled by the 6 button Apple remote which may take some time to figure out.

I recommend turning on Mirroring in Display’s System Preferences. Then you can dim the Macbook/Macbook Pro’s screen and focus on the TV.

There’s an amazing app for the iPhone (one that requires an entire review on this site) called TouchPad ($3.99, iTunes link). It replaces the need for a separate wireless keyboard and mouse. The app controls your computer over WiFi. Setup instructions are quick and are available inside the app itself, so you don’t have to go looking through an online support page.

I hope these products and services help you get the most of your Mac and your new TV. I know they’ve completely changed the way I consume media in my own home.

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Ever since I began my quest for the ultimate minimalist Mac experience, I have failed to find an elegant and stable way to control iTunes without using the built-in controller. I thought the solution was in Bowtie, but, unfortunately, that app only provides elegance. After some time it becomes unresponsive. An update will supposedly be released soon, but my patience ran out.

Thankfully, I discovered SizzlingKeys, a simple, free way to use hotkeys to control iTunes. Although it isn’t as customizable as Bowtie.app, it still gets the job done without stealing any scarce real estate or eating up the processor. When you use a command, a tiny floating window appears to show you the currently playing song along with its album art.

As you can see in the screenshot below, I chose to use the Command and Option keys to initiate each basic control. If iTunes isn’t running when you use a command, SizzlingKeys can open it automatically.

The screenshot below is from the floating window options. Each time you control iTunes using SizzlingKeys, a lightweight window appears for a few seconds to show what song is playing before fading away.

Here you can see what my floating window looks like against a dark desktop background. You also get a tiny icon indicating what command was triggered. In this example, I paused the music.

There is a $5 pro version with additional features, but they are not necessary for casually listening to music.

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When we made the switch, my first thought was “I wonder if there are any iPhone apps for Basecamp!” A quick search in the Store reveals 17 Basecamp related apps ranging in price from free to $12.99. As a potential buyer, how can I possibly decide which one is the best value?

One of my issues with the app store is that ratings are very inconsistent. A few complaints over accidental crashes can definitely skew a score, and screenshots really don’t help me understand the app’s look and feel. I need to click around and play a little before I decide the fate of an app’s life on my iPhone.

My question is: why won’t Apple allow me to try an app before I buy it? The availability countdown works great for content rented from the store like movies. I can play all I want for 24 hours, and then it’s deactivated. That would be ideal for apps too. I download it, see how it works, and after some time the app prompts me to purchase when launched. The prompt has a link to the app’s page in the store and I can make my decision. This is often how it’s done on the desktop. Why not the iPhone?

As for Basecamp, I ended up sticking with the free version of Sherpa. It covers the basics and it doesn’t crash. I would prefer to try them all, but that’s impossible. For now…

So, what do you think? Should Apple implement a trial period on all for-pay apps? What do you think are the pros and cons?

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My first post on becoming a minimalist with your Mac had great feedback, so I’m back with another round of tips to keep your digital workspace as simple as possible.

Reduce Finder Window Clutter

Right click on the top of any finder window and select “Customize Toolbar…” Drag out any items you don’t need. For example, I have no idea what to do with that Action menu.

Another thing to try is to right-click on the top of the window again and select “Text Only.” This should simplify all of your Finder windows.

Browsers

Safari

Hide Tab bar. Hide Bookmarks bar. Customize your toolbar and remove all unnecessary buttons.

Firefox

Turn off “Always show the tab bar.” Hide Bookmarks bar. Customize your toolbar by only showing text.

Stainless

Stainless is an extremely simple to use web browser. Some might view its limitations as disappointing whereas I see them as a means to provide a non-distracting browsing experience. Tabs and a tiny bookmarking sidebar. That’s it. The company maintains a Twitter account to discuss development progress. Give it a download and let me know what you think. By the way, the above screenshot is the default appearance.

Really Clean Out Your Dock

Why do you still have such a full dock when all of your applications are only a few keystrokes away? Applications like Google Quick Search Box, Launchbar, Quicksilver and even Spotlight are available to help relieve your dock and still increase your productivity. I know some of you have tried these tools and just forgot to use them. That happened to me as well. It takes time to create the habit. Need to open Photoshop? Command + Space, “pho”, Enter. Now that I’m hooked on Quicksilver I can’t remember what it was like before.

Helvetica Takeover

Looking for a way to refresh your online applications? Do you like Helvetica? Even if you are unsure, you should check out the following Helvetica tweaks to your favorite online tools. Detailed installation instructions are available at each of the websites.

GMail: http://www.josefrichter.com/helvetimail

Google Reader: http://helvetireader.com

Google Calendar: http://www.iamadtaylor.com/helvetical

Twitter: http://www.josefrichter.com/helvetwitter

Full disclosure

In my first round of minimalism tips there was one part lacking further explanation. I had Tweetie open but there was no Tweetie window. Why? I use a Mimo Monitor. It is somewhat contradictory to recommend purchasing hardware and adding something to your work environment in a minimalism discussion. However, for $129 it is a simple way to move your task list, Twitter app, buddy list, or Adobe windows off screen. Below you can see a Mimo Monitor next to my 24″ iMac.

What are some of the ways you keep your Mac minimal?

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I have always been curious about what kind of tools people have used to liveblog events (especially those involving Apple). As many of you readers know, Apple recently held a media event on 9.9.09. I jumped on the opportunity to attend and represent TheAppleBlog. Naturally, one of my responsibilities was to liveblog everything.

Here’s the plan that was put together:

Hardware

• Macbook Pro
• iPhone
• Canon G10
• Eye-Fi Pro card

Software

• CoverItLive
• Text messaging
• Email
• Flickr
• Adium
• Eye-Fi Manager

Josh Pigford, TheAppleBlog’s editor, manned the computer to keep up a constant stream of updates on Twitter and  CoverItLive, an awesome liveblogging tool. Before I had access to a Wi-Fi network, I used my iPhone to send Josh text messages and email photos. I was warned by several other attendees that Wi-Fi never holds up during events. The proof? Everyone there appeared to have a 3G card for their laptops. I was extremely concerned, but at least I had my iPhone as a backup.

Once the press were allowed to check in and move closer to the building, I whipped out my Macbook Pro and jumped on the Wi-Fi network. I had to configure the Eye-Fi card so my Canon G10 would automatically upload photos as I took them. Configuring the card was quick and easy (thanks Eye-Fi!). The photos would be uploaded to Eye-Fi and then immediately sent to my Flickr account for Josh to grab.

Eventually we were allowed to enter and take our seats.  The end result was a comical combination of high and low tech. While photos were uploading (over the surprisingly reliable Wi-Fi network) I typed out virtually everything said on stage to Josh over AOL Instant Messenger (Adium). It was his responsibility to interpret and publish my never-ending stream of consciousness writing style into something you could read through via CoverItLive. I was surprised to see how much he let through (including my comments about Phil Schiller dancing in his seat).

I hope you all enjoyed the coverage, and if you have any suggestions on how to improve for next time please leave a comment.

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My iPhone 3GS is amazing. It is fully integrated into my life. With its various apps I’m constantly on top of Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and RSS feeds. It would definitely be a challenge to switch. However, I’m also a gadget geek who always wants to switch to the latest and greatest. In my opinion that’s Android right now.

While bored and curious, I walked over to my local Palo Alto T-Mobile store to try out the myTouch 3G (a.k.a. HTC Magic and Google Ion). I have also been recently motivated by the compelling concept of porting my number to Google Voice, and letting that service control the phone aspect of the cell phone. While the phone appears sleek and definitely includes a vast improvement in hardware quality over the first major Android phone, the G1, I still don’t think it compares to the iPhone (specifically the 3GS).

Scrolling

The one problem I encounter on all touch screen smartphones is that scrolling just doesn’t feel right. Apple nailed this on the first try with the iPhone. With three years to catch up, other phones do not offer a natural scrolling experience. It’s either sluggish or it takes more pressing effort than it should to initiate the scroll. The myTouch definitely has this problem and for me that is a deal-breaker.

Multi-touch

Three words. Pinch to zoom.

The iPhone has it. The myTouch doesn’t. Being forced to use (+) and (-) magnifying glass icons to zoom in and out on a website is an enormous step back from Safari on the iPhone. Perhaps someday with a software update multi-touch will appear, but for now that is a deal-breaker.

Context

There are too many menus. Yes, two is one too many. Pressing a hard “Menu” button brings up an app specific menu from the bottom of the screen. Dragging the top of the screen down reveals an entirely different phone-specific menu. I suppose over time I could adjust to additional hard buttons and a poorly discoverable pull-down. As a first-time user, however, I constantly felt confused and lost.

The truth is Android is still not ready for the masses. Bloggers and tech reviewers may rejoice each time a new Android-supported phone is announced or released, but to me it still feels unintuitive and geeky. Yes, there exists a geek who thinks Android is too geeky. Maybe the HTC Hero will be ready with additional horsepower, multi-touch, and an easier to learn interface.

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Expose

Below is a screenshot of a new Expose feature in Snow Leopard. I opened six Safari windows and simply clicked on the Safari dock icon for a second. The dock icon lights up while the rest of the dock darkens. Very fast. Very slick.

Airport

Next is the new Airport menu. We finally have signal strength next to the network name. Before, a third-party tool was required for this.

Services

Honestly, I have never used the Services feature in the Finder. It’s cluttered and confusing. Now, it’s smart enough to know what I want to do and provide the correct options. A more thorough write up of the new Services feature is coming to TheAppleBlog shortly.

Leave a comment with links to screenshots of your favorite UI changes in Snow Leopard!

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Naturally, as a contributor to this blog, I purchased a Snow Leopard family pack the first possible day. Some people may have pre-ordered on Amazon, but they missed out on the in-store experience. My mother lives close to an Apple store, so I decided to stop by and upgrade my Macbook Pro while catching up with her.

Soon after arriving she asked, “Do I need that?”

Silence.

I honestly had no idea what to say. Sure it’s a cheap and quick upgrade, but does she really need Snow Leopard on the 20 inch iMac she bought last year? Her entire computer life at home revolves around Safari, Mail, and Microsoft Word. She networks, reads, and writes. I, however, consider myself an über power user: Netbeans, Adobe CS3, and tinkerer extraordinaire. I can’t refuse an OS upgrade.

Let’s take a look at Apple’s Snow Leopard page.

The only item I see here that is actually appealing to my mother is “faster.” One can never say no to speed in the computer world. The rest sounds like under the hood features. Fortunately, the UI changes in Snow Leopard are miniscule enough to not terrify the average Mac user. I guess it’s safe to upgrade her. After all, the Apple coolness factor always entertains.

What about all of you? Planning on upgrading your parents’ computers?

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