It’s been 90 days since OmniOutliner (a.k.a. OO) for iPad was released. You can find my initial impressions here. One thing about “initial impressions” posts is that they only scratch the surface of a complex app. My post was as much about my expectations as my actual usage. But I would argue that any “review” that is posted within a couple of days of the product release has the same slant.
There’s been a couple of new note apps 1 since my real-world review. Most of them still can not compete with Simplenote and Omnioutlner. However, I have found three very good alternatives. Notely, WriteRoom and Notability.
All three of these apps started out simple enough but they have evolved and matured into top of class text editors.
Notely; $1.99 Notely started out as a relatively barebones text editors. It had some rudimentary Dropbox syncing that required a manual sync.
If you want to see an industry willingly and eagerly destroy it’s self
New York Post website now blocking Safari access on Apple’s iPad
Try it from an iPad and see for yourself.
That’s not the only publication that I’ve stumbled on. Macworld has been doing this ever since their iOS app was released. There’s a difference between embracing a new technology and tying it around your ankles and jumping in a lake.
I’m always interested in Macworld’s iPad accessory reviews. I don’t always agree with their take, but they do a wonderful job rounding up what’s available. Their recent update on iPad 2 cases was no exception.
I was intrigued by the Speck SmartShell and decided to drop the $35 to try it myself. I was not disappointed.
The Good It works with the Smart Cover. There is a cutout that fits the Smart Cover hinge.
Remember when I mentioned Dan Bricklin? Well, here's your chance to learn more. There's a great episode of the Triangulation podcast with Dan. He talks all about his iPad app NoteTaker HD, which I thought was very good, if not the most intuitive app. It's worth a listen.
iThoughts HD for the iPad was just updated with some minor bug fixes and one big feature (from my perspective). iThoughts now allows a mind map to be sent instantly to another app that supports OPML Guess what new iPad app also supports OPML? Yes, OmniOutliner.
I can now shuttle easily from a mind map to an outline without ever knowing anything about where or how the file is stored.
Listen: I have become stuck in time. Unseen forces have conspired against me to spend an inordinate amount of time watching clocks and calendars. My work is now measured by hours. Yes, billable time is now part of my workflow.
Now that I am required to capture my work load by measures of time I need some new methodology. At my job, we are required to input our “timesheet” into Microsoft Project (Enterprise Ultra Premium Edition with nuts).
The OS file system has a limited future. This will not be a new idea to anyone accustom to using an iPad. A novice computer user can pick up an iOS device open an app, save a new document and easily open it again later. There’s no need to remember where it was saved. The file system is abstracted away from the user and the app is their view into their documents.
I recently attended a four day conference. The subject isn’t all that important (generally, the interface of science and IT). What is important is that I decided to take the opportunity to test a number of iPad apps that I had only noodled around with previously. The experiment was really about testing the idea that the iPad can replace both a laptop and a pad of paper for taking notes. I’ll always be a pen-geek and a notebook snob.
I’ve been enjoying Dr. Drang’s tales of file format lock-in and his crusade against closed formats for his data. His stories always feel eerily familiar.
I bounce back and forth between Macs and Windows machines in my daily life. My OS polytheism goes way back. I started with an old custom built 386 PC in high school. In undergraduate, I took advantage of the steep Apple student discount and acquired a Mac IIci.
