The best TaskPaper app for iOS was updated several times this summer and continues to improve and squash bugs. For the unfamiliar, Taskmator came out shortly after the death of the official TaskPaper iOS app. It steadily fixed long-standing bugs in the original app but then expanded with features like saved queries. The big update (3.5) in July brought tag coloring, link detection, and a large variety of formatting options. Update 3.
When the iPad fits a task well, there’s no question for me that it’s superior to a laptop. It’s not better at everything, but in a few ways it beats the pants off of a Mac. The Apple Pencil is one aspect that keeps me coming back to my iPad Pro.
The Apple Pencil is so perfectly tuned as a stylus that I’d argue the best thing that Apple could do to increase sales of the higher end models is to include the Pencil 1.
I have no idea why it took me so long to create this action in Drafts. Often when I want to link to a YouTube video what I really want is in embedded video player to save people the effort of having to click through to see the video. So I lifted a bunch of stack exchange JavaScript to create this handy little Drafts action. Download the action from the Drafts directory.
I happen to agree with the good Dr. regarding Linea for iPad. It’s a very good app for drawing, especially with the Apple Pencil. But, I have much less of an urgent need for annotating images with the app. That’s because I mostly use PDF Expert for that sort of thing.
I start a new document in PDF Expert and then insert the image I want to mark up.
From there, I have a full toolkit available to make annotations, add text notes, and generally get my ideas down.
This blog post is a hand crafted artisanal production. well, its hand crafted at least. That’s because I wrote it by hand, long-form in the iPad app MyScript Nebo,
Nebo works with the Apple Pencil to convert hand writing into text. It’s one of the best digital handwriting experiences I’ve had anywhere. The ink performance on the new iPad Pro feels like real ink. It tracks the pencil perfectly. This is inno small part, to Apple, but N’ebo is taking advantage of the technology in ways no other app does.
EDIT: What a dumb mistake. Even the screenshot shows that the dictation button isn’t available in all apps with the virtual keyboard. This works in some apps like Drafts, but not others, like Apple Notes. UNLESS you open the number keyboard first. What a mess.
For whatever reason, Apple decided that when you have an iPad connected to a Smart Keyboard, you don’t need to dictate with Siri. There’s no button on the keyboard and there’s no keyboard shortcut to activate Siri either.
CARROT Weather is one of those cute weather apps that’s right on the edge of being too cute for my taste. But, when they added Weather Underground as a data provider for subscription customers I was all in. Dark Sky accuracy has been in the toilet for me and I avoid all Dark Sky apps.
With the Weather Underground integration, I’m pretty happy with the Today Widget on iOS and the overall Carrot Weather app.
How’s that for timing. Yesterday the iOS and Mac app Notability had a major update that added checklist support and GIFY search.
Notability is a mature app that’s been continuously updated for many years. It’s great to see that one of the best apps for capturing lecture notes continues to improve. The options for checklists puts it right up there in the group of apps most useful apps for making lists.
Requirements and User Stories This is the part where it gets personal. The way I use checklists is probably different than some users but that’s how it usually goes.
The app must have List templates for things I do over and over, like packing for a trip. Duplicating an existing list works fine. There must be a URL scheme on iOS so I can link a calendar or reminder to a list.
Old but new to me, this Apple support page is a nice overview of all the continuity services on iOS and Mac. This includes Handoff, Universal Clipboard, Instant Hotspot, Auot Unlock, Calls and SMS notifications.
