Prowl

This App does basically nothing for you (at least not "out of the box"), and it is still one of the best ideas for an App I have seen so far. If you don't know Growl for Mac OS X or you don't use Growl, this is not for you. If you do use Growl and are a power user, the possibilities are endless.

Prowl [Appstore link] requires to install a prefpane add-on for Growl on your desktop Mac. It defines a new "display style" called Prowl. This display style is not like the others: it does not change or define the way how Growl displays messages on the screen - it rather allows you to define one of the other styles, for example the style you used to have, for on screen messages. But it sniffs the growl messages and sends them through the Prowl server (yes, you need a free account!) as a push notification to your iPhone. The prefpane add-on is quite flexible: push notifications can be limited to certain levels of importance, to certain applications and/or application specific messages, and also to "send only when inactive for n minutes". The setup procedure is very well described on the Prowl website.

Using AppleScript, for example in folder actions, you may now receive push notifications on your iPhone when new files are added to a folder. With "growlotify", a terminal add-on, you can send push notifications through Growl and Prowl to your iPhone. Applescripts in Mail rules may inform you about certain Emails you received on your home computer. There are endless possibilities, but only for hackers.

Prowl on the iPhone simply works - not much to say. It keeps a list of messages and the "read status" of these messages. The list can be emtied at any time. Push notifications may show as messages, may play a sound if activated and may add a badge. The time it takes from the Growl message appearing on the screen of the desktop computer to the pushed message appearing on your iPhone is typically abiout 2 seconds only!

Great stuff!

WiFi Remote

WifiRemote [Appstore link] requires a small but free server application to be running on the desktop computer it should be paired to.
Pairing is easy, and Wifi remote is easy to use. It comes with several fix button layouts, an app launcher, a trackpad with buttons, a virtual mouse with three buttons and mouse pointer control by tilting (accelerometer controlled) and one (unfortunately ONLY ONE) screen that can be configured by the user. Up to 18 buttons can be configured with three different colors, text, and a keyboard shortcut. The set-up of the key is easy and straightforward. And, luckily, it is the only solution discussed here in this block which I could configure to work really great with Power Point 2004 on a Mac - other solutions work only with Office 2008, or the Windows version, or only support navigation in presentation mode, but not starting and finishing presentations, or switch to the "sort slides" view in power point. The screenshot with the red, green and blue buttons and button text in German has been set up by me and does NOT come with Wifi remote.

Wifi remote does not show a live screen, and is maybe a bit short of eye candy, but it works. Feature requests for the next version are

(1) on the user screen do not show buttons that have no keyboard shortcut associated, i.e. are not used.

(2) more user screens, please

(3) larger buttons as an option on a user screen, or mixing large and small buttons as needed

(4) web based user screen layout exchange

(5) use fotos from foto roll for user screens. The user could then define "hot" areas (buttons) and finally associate keyboard shortcuts with these hot areas.

A lite version is also available, with limited features.

AirMote

One of AirMote's [Appstore link]nicest features is that it pairs with a desktop computer without the need for a special server program to be downloaded, installed and running. It uses the VNC protocol, which worked fine in my case. I wish the other remote apps could do this as well in future releases.

Airmote does not show a live screen of the paired desktop computer, but is limited to buttons which are reasonably large to be tapped safely even during presentations when the concentration should be with the audience and the matter one tries to get across. An unlimited number of such button sets can be created, and several sets are already pre-configured. However I found some of these sets not very useful and not well thought out.

The really nice thing is that the user (you!) can define as many additional sets as you like, with a layout which is specialised for one purpose only.

The really bad thing, however, starts then: before you can place buttons on your button set, you have to define the key or key combination that should be sent to the desktop computer. Some standard keys are already defined, but many are not. And to make it worse, it is not possible to select the keys from a list or even a keyboard, which I think would be straightforward, but must be coded with special, kryptic codes, e.g. \xFF3C (or similar) for the shift key... The required codes are listed in a special help screen which is part of the app. One might then first think about a nice layout for the new button set, then identify the required keyboard shortcuts on the desktop, next look up the required control codes in the Airmote help screen, write them on a piece of paper (or use the new OS 3 copy&paste), and define a button. Once you have defined all the buttons you need, you can place them on your button set.... sounds archaic. Not Apple-like and not iPhone-like at all. Any Linux users here? You may have found what you were looking for...

Jaadu VNC

Jaadu VNC [Appstore link] does not quite fit into the competitor's field of this series of reviews: it is not a typical remote control with buttons, meant to control one or the other application on the desktop computer while sitting in front of it. It is rather a VNC or Apple  Remote client which can connect to a correctly configured computer by WIFI as well as over 3G - no need to have both iPhone and desktop in the same WLAN. Setting up the desktop is reasonably easy, and the company's website explains all steps very well and detailed. Jaadu VNC  keeps a list of servers with their special setup, and is able to detect servers in the local WLAN.

Once a connection is established, a live screen of the desktop is sent to Jaadu. It can switch automatically between landscape and portrait, but this behaviour can also be switched of on a per-server-basis. The refresh rate and the resolution is superior to RemoteTap or Remote Jr., and sufficient to make use of it. The screen can be zoomed by pinching. A keyboard, a few sets of dedicated smaller key sets and the "special" keys cmd, ctrl, option and shift can be invoked and overlay the screen while needed. The movement of the mouse or screen is - when first used - surprising and counter-intuitive, because the finger does not move the mouse cursor but rather the screen below the mouse pointer. This may sound odd, but feels perfectly right after 10 seconds, and has the advantage that the finger does not block the view of the screen portion below the mouse: this is essential when mouse clicks should be safely placed where intended. This behaviour can be switched off as well, but I like it a lot and works much better for me because of the reasons just mentioned.

 Jaadu also supports scrolling with two fingers, and a right-click to invoke local menu by tapping with both fingers - just as with the normal trackpad on a Macbook.
I have been using Jaadu VNC very often since it was released, and never had a single issue to complain about. The price is high compared to the usual "fart engines" and "tip splitters", but still less than a decent pizza with a beer.

Jaadu is NOT well suited for an efficient, safe on-the-fly control of a particular application, e.g. PowerPoint or FrontRow. For these purposes, I recommend one of the other apps mentioned in this blog, especially Wifi Remote.

Remote Jr.

Remote Jr. (version 2.0) [Appstore link] is a native iPhone App and falls somewhere between categories b) and c) as defined below. A free desktop based server program must be installed and running in order to pair with the iPhone counterpart.

Remote Jr. runs in portrait and landscape modes. In portrait the screen looks very much like an Apple IR remote and has one menu button, 4 cursor buttons and a play/stop/enter button in the center. The currently running program on the desktop can be controlled with this rather small and limited set of buttons. This works fine with typical media programs like Quicktime, Frontrow or iTunes, but does not work with Powerpoint, for example. In particular, it is not possible to switch PowerPoint from and to presentation mode, navigate to certain slides etc.

There is also a task switcher, a dock icon display and an applauncher which is supposed to search the Applications folder on the desktop. While the first two worked at least to some extent as advertised (switch to or launch selected application), only a few icons in the dock are found, and the app launcher does not work and finds no applications at all. This may be an issue on non-english OS versions (e.g. in German the Applications folder is called "Programme"), but I am speculating here.

In landscape mode Remote Jr. shows a live view of the desktop's screen. The view can be panned and zoomed, and mouse clicks can be triggered by a tap. It is also possible to overlay the screen with a semi-transparent remote similar to that from the portrait mode. A keyboard and special keys like option, shift and command can be activated in order to send keystrokes to the desktop. The screen refresh rate is low, and the resolution is intermediate (a lot worse than Jaadu but better then Remote Tap). No mouse pointer is shown, which makes it very difficult to tap at the right location in order to click a button or menu on the desktop.

I had lots of problems in landscape navigation mode: the app seems to block or deactivate the desktop's keyboard and mouse: no input from desktop possible until the screen is tapped again. Pinching often does not work: though two fingers are used, the screen image is only moved around.

Overall the app looks very nice but its functionality is rather limited (e.g. no support for programs or program functions that can not be triggered by the 6-button apple remote layout, unless you want to use the full keyboard plus option/control/command and you perfectly remember all those keyboard shortcuts). Seeing and controlling a live screen from the desktop is a nice feature, but only, if it works reasonably fast, reasonably well resolved, and with an intuitive and precise mouse motion. Jaadu (review will follow soon) is an excellent example that this is possible with the iPhone.

Furthermore, there are still a few issues to be solved and bugs to be eliminated. Therefore, I find Remote Jr. currently not very useful for me. Once the bugs are ironed out, it may become a nice and well thought out app, though: a place to watch.

RemoteTap

RemoteTap [Appstore link] is, similar to Remote Jr., a native iPhone App and falls somewhere between categories b) and c) as defined above. A free desktop based server program must be installed and running in order to pair with the iPhone counterpart. The server is a preferences prefpane which I find nice. Establishing a connection may, if configured such, require to enter a password, which is quite useful. Remote Tap can not only connect via WIFI but also over 3G, though I did not manage to get this working because the available desktops where behind a DSL router with dynamic IP.

It shares a lot of similarities with Remote Jr.:

It runs in portrait and landscape mode - however the functionality is the same in both orientations. It shows a live screen from the paired desktop, however more fluently but also mire blurry compared to Remote Jr. In mouse mode it is possible to switch between two different behaviours: move around and zoom the screen, or move the mouse and click. I found it difficult to click at the right position because the mouse pointer remains under the clicking finger. This is much better solved in Jaadu.

RemoteTap can also display a full keyboard, a red "laser pointer" in presentations, additional special buttons, a spotlight search bar, several button sets with special buttons such as a numerical keypad, navigation keys, window manipulation keys etc. The app can also list all running programs, all programs in the dock and all installed programs, and does this, in contrast to Remote Jr., correctly.

I tested RemoteTap with two Apple computers and had problems with one which is configured for Apple Remote Access, which excludes VNC. Compared to Remote Jr. it appears a lot more mature and powerful. However, it can not compete with Jaadu when VNC features are considered, and for a simple remote control of Powerpoint or a media-centered application there are other specialised apps which do the job better (however with less eye candy). If Jaadu is too expensive or if you are looking for a one-app-does-it-all, you might want to go for RemoteTap.

Remote Control Apps

In the next couple of days I plan to post a few reviews about remote control apps for the iPhone. I will leave out Apple's own Remote because I assume that it is installed on almost every iPhone anyway. No doubt that it is a great app, but it is also limited to control iTunes or the Apple TV. The remote control apps I consider do more than that.
There are different categories of remote control apps:

From a technical point of view:

1) AJAX based (WebApps, can be saved as bookmark to springboard). EyeTV and the Mac OS remote control application "Remote buddy" make use of this technique.

2) Native

From a purpose point of view:

a) Media control remotes: show buttons for fast forward, play/pause, volume etc.

b) Like a) but extended to more programs such as PowerPoint or Keynote. Dedicated interfaces for different programs.

c) VNC like full desktop control: connect to the desktop via VNC, Apple Remote Server or a dedicated server and proprietary protocol. Show the desktop's screen (over WIFI and 3G), allow mouse and keyboard input.

Some of such apps will be reviewed in the next few days. Stay tuned!

More clipboard managing apps...: CopySend

As already evident in my last post, apps that support the new OS 3.0 copy&paste feature are becoming popular (and may, in fact, soon be more abundant than fart engines and tip calculators). One of the recently published apps is CopySend [Appstore link]. However, it does not maintain a growing list of clips on the iPhone that could later be used, as ClipShare and Stickum (see below) do, but is limited to a direct exchange with the desktop computer. A small server program can be downloaded for free from the author's website, and runs in the background. A small symbol in the menu bar indicated whether it is paired (green light) or not. If paired, text and images that can be copied to the clipboard on either device can be pasted on the other device. The app has three buttons only: one for a transfer from the iPhone to the desktop, one for the reverse exchange, and one with a special and sometimes quite useful function: it allows you to take a snapshot with the iPhone camera, which is then sent to the clipboard on the desktop (in fact the photo of the server icon in the menubar in this blog post was made like that).

CopySend is nice, fast, stable and useful, but it does not replace either Stickum or CopySend. A combination of these features together with a hierarchical clip management would be ideal.

I am sure we just have to wait a while...

Stickum and Clipshare: apps for the clipboard

Stickum:
[Appstore link]



ClipShare:
[Appstore link]

With the finally implemented support for copy and paste a new type of application became possible:

Apps that accept the contents of the clipboard and save it for later use. Thus a collection of text bits and fragments can be build up, ready to be copied back to the clipboard once it will be used in another app. This us especially useful for email adresses or HTML code fragments.

The first two such apps are Stickum and ClipShare. Both work quite well, but there are differences and room for improvement, too.

ClipShare is easier to understand and has the slicker user interface. Furthermore, ClipShare can even access the clipboard on a Mac, when the free server application is installed and paired via WIFI to the iPhone. This makes it extremely convenient to populate the app's list on the iPhone.

What is missing is an option to group clips in folders in order to keep the list well organized and short.

I could not get the ClipShare server application running on one of my Macs, but it worked fine on another Mac and in a different WLAN. The support by the author reacted within minutes and tried to fix it. I can highly recommend both apps, which are really cheap and useful. I prefer ClipShare because of its support for exchange to a paired Mac, though.



















—Posted from iPhone using blogpress

Sugarsync special offer: 10 GByte for free

Sugarsync is an excellent cloud-based service with these key features:

• continuously backups you data in the background
• syncs selected folders between as many computers as you like
• automatically create albums of your photos. Publish, share on facebook
• stream audio and video
• clients for Windows, Mac OS and the iPhone [Appstore link]
• access to all your backup-ed files with a web interface or the clients
• share folders
• send huge files by Email (even from iPhone)
• and much more

I am using Sugarsync since 10 month now and it is the best investment I've ever made. Really, it is great. Search the web to read many reviews to be convinced.

Sugarsync offers a 2 GByte free of charge account and paid accounts from 30 GByte up.

Currently, Sugarsync offers additional 10 GByte for free if you join for a paid account and use a special referral code, or 500 MByte additional space if you wish to stay with the free account. [Find out more]

Please register and use this referral code (if you don't use it, we both will not get any free extra space!): 

 https://www.sugarsync.com/referral?rf=d99w6293rsi68

TapTunes

Yesterday TapTunes was released: a music app that makes use of one of the new APIs in OS 3 (access to the iTunes library for 3rd party apps. TapTunes loads some random covers from your library and shows the
like a random pile of CDs on your desk. Covers can be dragged around and brought to front. The songs on a selected album can then be played. Once started the album keeps being played even when TapTunes is left.


Sounds sweet, looks nice. There is something annoying, however: the load times of album art are too long for my taste to be acceptable for an app that is supposed to be used frequently and efficiently.

I gave it *** and deleted it again.

—Posted from iPhone using blogpress

Find my iPhone

...is already fully functional:




After the message had been displayed on the iphone, which will be reported back to the mobileMe server, an email like this one will be sent to the user/owner:

Die folgende Nachricht wurde um 00:28 am 18. Juni 2009 gesendet und um 00:28 am 18. Juni 2009 auf Karsten’s iPhone angezeigt:  If thief hands off else please call me!

—Posted from iPhone using blogpress

Today is the day...

Today: new firmware.








Apple will release its new firmware for the iPhone just today.

One of the new features is support of calendar subscriptions in caldav format (e.g. Google calendars). It is, however, not straightforward to subscribe on the iPhone. The iCal app has no such option. The settings for the calendar in the settings app are also not the place to look for. One option is to set up a new mail(!) account in settings and enter the details by hand. Much easier, however, is to send the URL of the caldav calendar by mail from your computer and then just tap on that link on the iPhone. Job done!

—Posted from iPhone