I’m not sure why, but I love iOS weather apps. They are a playground for data visualization plus the weather in NE fluctuates between unlivable and moderately nice so it’s important to know how many jackets to wear.
The latest two weather apps to catch my attention are Fresh Air and WeatherNerd. Both are packed full of information, don’t require subscriptions and have surprisingly useful hooks.
UpdateSmall update about WeatherNerd. The IAP is actually an annual subscription to the service, similar to the Weather Underground app.
First up, there’s a pretty good rundown of Mind Mapping applications. I don’t disagree with their assessment, but I also reserve the right to prefer iThoughts as my primary tool of choice. You pretty much can’t go wrong today with one of these options.
I’ll also add MindMeister as a really great multi-platform tool that also has solid collaboration features. I use it when I’m on Windows or if I need to share with someone else.
This is very important.
I’ve been really impressed with the development of 2Do for Mac and iOS. While I don’t use it on a daily basis, It has a lot of clever interactions and it’s clear the developers use it themselves. It may be one of the best new task managers on the market.
Now you can get either version for 30% off the regular price.
2Do for Mac | $35 (on Sale)
2Do for iOS | $10 (on Sale)
iThoughts, one of my favorite concept mapping applications, is out with a nice update for the Mac version. It’s been awhile since I linked to it but there’s a lot of great new stuff in the Mac application.
Presentation Mode The big new feature is presentation mode. This lets you walk through a large map and create “slides” as you jump around, expanding and collapsing nodes. You can then play the presentation with some beautiful effects.
Launcher has dramatically increased my use of the iOS Today screen. I already had a particular affinity for the quick access it provides to information, even when the screen was locked. Launcher makes it a bit more than informational.1
New Note in Editorial This one is getting pretty heavy use on my Today screen. It’s a shortcut that opens Editorial and prompts for a note title. It then creates the new note named with the input in Title Case and a timestamp, like “My Awesome Note 2015-05-02_143204.
BitTorrent Sync, Dropbox, Amazon Cloud, Google Drive — There’s no shortage of ways I can store files on the Internet. I’ve been a dedicated Dropbox user for many years and continue to pay for their “Pro” consumer product. The announcement of a new Amazon unlimited storage option is compelling but the lack of options for access as well as limited app support will likely keep me using Dropbox.
But, I find myself using my own hosted Cloud Station on my Synology NAS more often as my way of getting files moved between devices.
It’s a pretty good month for nerdy iOS apps so let’s get the ball rolling with the return of Launcher for iOS.
The updated version was just approved for sale last night and I’m already pretty enamored with it. Launcher exists purely for the Today widget it provides. It allows you to launch other apps directly from the iOS Today screen. That sounds much more boring than it is. Launcher adds URL shortcuts to the Today screen.
Blink is a nice little app that’s really only useful if you have an affiliate account with Apple. It’s a way to search for Apple media and quickly create an affiliate link.
Let me start by saying that even if you don’t have a blog, you should create an affiliate account and generate affiliate links. You’ll make some money back on your purchases you make with it. You will also make a few cents when you share it on Twitter and people buy something with the link.
This is another example of using Workflow.app to turn tedium into simplicity (see this recent post for other examples). It also demonstrates the Workflow.app control flow actions.
Here’s the user story: I like to send photo messages to people but I really don’t need (or want) to use group messaging if they don’t know each other. Being forced to compose the same message multiple times usually means I leave some people out.
