MacNoob

It isn’t often I come across an app that I find completely indispensable after only a couple of week’s use. I downloaded Evernote based on a recommendation from one of the TWiT podcasts and it has become one of a handful of applications I can’t live without. I find myself using it several times per day and it has become such a part of my workflow I can’t imagine how I functioned without it.
Evernote is for keeping track of notes (of course), but it does so much more I find it hard to decide where to begin with my description. First, it is a client app that resides on a Mac or PC that includes several tools for collecting and organizing random data. This can be text, pasted from any document, audio, pictures, links or entire web pages just to name a few. Second, it is a web service that continually synchronizes your notes and provides almost all the functionality the desktop application does for adding, modifying and organizing your data. Third, it is a mobile application for Windows Mobile or iPhone 2.0 devices with a neatly tailored UI for small screens that stays completely synchronized as well. I haven’t tried the Windows Mobile version, but the iPhone application lets you record audio notes, picture notes with OCR (from a saved photo or new snapshot) and regular text. The OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is especially cool. I can take a snapshot of a receipt, for instance, Evernote recognizes the text and I’ve got a record of my transaction I can search, cut and paste to my expense report or do anything I would do with any normal picture! Great for keeping track of expenses.
One of the most powerful features Evernote offers is the ability to organize. You can attach any number of tags to a note, name it anything you wish and Evernote automatically saves notes with meta data like location, time and date. All your notes become instantly searchable by any of these criteria as well as by their content. This video provides a nice introduction.

Being an IT guy, I use Evernote to store product keys, installation notes and procedures, all the static IP addresses on my network and much more. The really great part is I don’t have to carry it with me. Any computer with an internet connection enables me to see, search and manipulate all my notes using any browser. I can also modify existing or add new notes as well. Like I said, I’m having a hard time imagining how I did my job without it. I’m sure I did it quite a bit slower.
The most amazing thing about Evernote?…..IT’S ABSOLUTELY FREE! ALL VERSIONS! FULLY FUNCTIONAL! There is a paid version, but all it adds is the amount of monthly bandwidth you’re allowed and phone support. Unless you’re a complete freak (like me) you probably won’t need it though.
Needless to say, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERNOTE. As a matter of fact, you need to be really creative to dream up an excuse NOT to use it!  Get it here.

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Just a quick post to let everyone know that MacNoob.net now has iPhone formatting.  If you view MacNoob with an iPhone or iPod Touch you’ll see something completely different now.  Thanks to the folks at bravenewcode.com I was able to install their wpTouch theme into WordPress that senses the browser type and formats MacNoob accordingly.  You can even add MacNoob to your iPhone’s home screen!  All you iUsers out there give it a try!

I’ve spent the last several weeks pouring over the iPhone SDK.  It’s been great dipping my toe into the programming pond again.  I’ve been an IT manager far too long.  Spending my days managing a department, fighting budgets, crafting enterprise security strategy and disaster recovery has taken me away from my first love, programming.  I don’t claim to be a great developer.  Maybe not even a good one, but writing code is how I got started in this business some twenty plus years ago and getting involved with the Mac and iPhone SDK has re-invigorated me.

When I bought my Mac last October one of the biggest surprises was discovering the developer tools that ship with OS X.  I’ve been a Microsoft Developer Network Universal subscriber for over ten years and quite used to shelling out several hundred dollars per year for access to Visual Studio and Microsoft’s SDKs.  Granted, the MSDN subscription included several operating systems, all the Office versions and servers and a host of other tools plus an extensive linked documentation library.  After all, it is Microsoft we’re talking about.  Even if you did only want a version of Visual Studio comparable to the XCode suite that ships with Leopard, you’re going to have to fork over three or four Ben Franklins to Mr. Softie for the privilege of writing Win32 code.

Since enrolling in the iPhone SDK beta program I’ve realized just how much of my programming skills have fallen by the wayside.  The “use it or lose it” truism absolutely applies in my case.  As I said, I’ve been an IT manager way too long.  I’ve had to go back to my bookshelves and dig up all my old C and C++ books because even though I’ve written twenty to thirty thousand lines of code in my life, some of even the most basic syntax escapes me.  One book in particular, Herbert Schildt’s “Teach Yourself C” was instrumental in shaping my professional life.  Working through the first edition of that title is how I learned to program.  Opening it again after fifteen years was like shaking hands with an old friend and it was very refreshing to see the XCode environment still supports even the most rudimentary terminal application building.  It didn’t take long for me to realize how much standards had changed, so I went to Amazon and bought the latest edition.  You see, I absolutely believe in the “crawl before you walk” theory and would never try to take on Objective C (the programming language of the iPhone) without a sound refresher in ANSI C fundamentals.  I think there are way too many developers out there that code things without really knowing the full extent and implications of their actions…but maybe I’m just old-fashioned.

I know I’m rambling, but it’s important to understand the context of this post.  I see the iPhone SDK as the third rail of platforms.  Windows, Mac then iPhone in that order.  With Microsoft’s utter failure to entrench Windows Mobile as a viable platform they have left the door wide open for Apple to establish an ipso facto standard in the mobile space.  With the release of the iPhone SDK early next month they’ve done that in spades.  For those of you Gen X folks out there, think back just ten years ago about the computer hardware running on your desktop.  Never mind, I’ll do it for you.  A really good PC sported a 300 MHz P3 processor, 128 MB of RAM and 4 to 8 gigs of storage.  Now consider the iPhone.  It beats all those specs quite handily and the very near future promises a doubling of that capability.  Also consider Apple’s uncanny ability to deliver devices that define their own niche.  In other words, products and software that create market where none [or very little] existed before by virtue of their well-designed and beautifully engineered user experience.  The iPod + iTunes comes to mind of course, but this goes all the way back to the Macintosh and arguably the Apple IIc.

Giving away the development environment and SDK is absolutely the right approach.  Other players in this market are already behind the proverbial 8-ball.  One thing they can never match is the near rabbidly enthusiastic developer base that Cupertino enjoys.  If Apple can get someone like me excited about developing again, just imagine the impact it will have on seasoned OS X code monkeys!  Given the richness of the iPhone SDK, it won’t take long for these many thousands of talented developers [who have already registered] to create magic beyond anything we can imagine today.  I feel the iPhone and iPod Touch are just the beginning and the mobile space is now Apple’s to lose.

Let this be a lesson for fanboys everywhere.  Mr. Jobs is gonna pork you every chance he gets!  With the announcement of the new 3G iPhone today at WWDC 08, everyone who bought the EDGE models had to get a sick feeling in the pit of their stomachs. The new iPhone is twice the bang at half the bucks.  Now, 95% of my iPhone wish list can be checked off.  The biggies being 3G (of course), GPS, third-party apps and last but certainly not least, a reasonable $299 price tag for the 16GB model.  My arm is hurting from patting myself on the back in congratulations for avoiding the temptation and not buying the 3G’s predecessor for $499 or even worse, $599 when first released.  In the interest of full disclosure, I’m an Apple shareholder.  It pleases me to see Mr. Jobs maximize profits at the expense of die-hard Mac cultists.  I bought AAPL at $68 and haven’t looked back.  I sit in amazement as Steve Jobs casts his spells on millions of loyal followers.  It’s as if he could direct them to sit up and bark, like a hypnotist performing a Vegas lounge act.  Instead of barking, though, he has them reaching for their wallets.

Oh well, I guess its my turn to contribute to the Jobs Retirement Fund.  I’ve been anxious for this model and hope AT&T can live up to their end of the bargain.  For those of you still on the fence: Just wait a few weeks.  Whenever I buy something from Apple, a new model or a significant price drop is iminent!