Lots of Monkeys

Evernote is a service that I didn’t realize I wanted I gave it a shot.

It is, at the simplest level, a note taking service.  Now I call it a service because it’s not just an application.  There are multiple clients, but they all sync to a central server.  Meaning that I can use Evernote on my phone, on my Mac, on my PC at home, and on my computer at work, and access all the same notes.

It’s great.  I’ve been using it for grocery lists, to do items, things I find on the internet and basically anything that I think I will come back to at a later date.  Even if I don’t ever come back to it, I know that it’s accessible to me via search and tagging features.

And I haven’t even started to use the OCR capabilities of the site.  Basically, I can take a picture using my camera phone, say of a DVD and then Evernote’s servers will scan that picture for any text.  Then I can search for that text and find that picture.

So far, the service works very well, and I am hoping for a dedicated client for my phone sooner rather than later.

So the WWDC came and went and I’m disappointed, as usual.  Still nothing compelling enough for me to buy into the iPhone as a service.  It’s like cable for me, I guess.  This monthly fee is in addition to the apps that I would have to pay money for anyway.

Gaming on the platform is right out of the question for me.  I just can’t do it.  I’ll see how things change once I upgrade to an iPod touch when I purchase the iMac later on this year.  I’ve given up on the 15″ MacBook Pro as my “go to” machine for browsing as it’s simply too hot and heavy (that’s what she said!) to do any reading or writing on a long term basis.

I’m thinking a netbook, since Apple didn’t announce a tablet of any sort.  Which is strange because they’re usually better at creating a need, and then filling it with a conveniently announced product.

iPhone.  Apple TV.  Time Capsule.

I’m imagining something Kindle sized with the multi touch and gestures found on the iPhone, iPod Touch and the multi touch trackpad. Wi-Fi, with an option for a data plan with AT&T.

Crap.  I didn’t know I needed it either until just now.

Motion controllers.

Motion controllers seem to be the big deal, what with Microsoft pushing Natal and SONY with their tech demo.  Nintendo has the Wii Motion Plus add on for the Wii remotes.  All three seem to think that immersion is the next big thing.  It may be, but I want compelling games that use that motion control accurately.  Otherwise it will just be a huge exercise in frustration for everyone involved.

While interesting, I didn’t see anything from the news coverage that was really exciting.  Oh well.

I guess it’s time to look forward to the WWDC for interesting news from Apple.

Since it’s summer, that means that Apple’s gearing up to gear up students.

So that means a free iPod Touch with any qualifying Mac.  This is convenient because I’m considering the purchase of a qualifying Mac before September.  I’m thinking a 24″ iMac for the photo editing and video editing that I’ve always been meaning to do, but never really got around to because of how hot(*) the MacBook Pro gets. Plus, Apple hardware for a decent price to performance ratio.  Not exactly on par with what I could build myself, but until Apple lets the OS be installed anywhere, it’s probably the best bet.  And it saves my laptop from an early firey doom.

Also convenient is the fact that the WWDC is in a week or so and I can bide my time to see what’s coming down the pike from Apple.  Hopefully something interesting.

And not too expensive.

(*) For those of you playing the home game, the answer is: VERY HOT.

Mobile blogging. Not just pico blogging or sending email to a secret address in wordpress. No, I’ve really wanted a solution for a while.

Getting a phone with a qwerty keyboard, while a start, isn’t exactly the most ideal way of writing a long piece.

The more I play with the e71, however, the more I find that I’m really enjoying the unlocked aspect of it.

Take this post, for example.

I’m using an Alphasmart NEO, which is essentially a word processor. It’s got an IR port on it. I’m going to send this text via infrared to the phone where it will be saved as a note.

From the note, I’ll select all (ctrl-A) then copy and paste (ctrl-C, and ctrl-V, respectively) into the wordpress mobile dashboard in the phone’s web browser.

If you’re reading this, then it worked.

How awesome is that?