Google and Duck Duck Go are just fine on iOS. I’m a big fan of Bang On for iOS for highly specific searches. But for general, “what the hell am I looking for”, searches I really like TipToe for iOS.
Tip Toe is fast and clean. There are no sponsored links, just good search results. The result list shows just enough information to pick through the results too. It also claims to not track searches although I don’t know if this can be verified.
Doug Engelbart made this review possible and probably made the personal computer a viable market.
The mouse has been around since the 60’s and I’ve used one since the 80’s. The mouse changed the way we interacted with computers and is still one of the strangest yet natural ways to interact with a GUI.1 I still prefer a good mouse to a track pad.
The Ground Rules Like a keyboard, mouse quality is subjective.
This is part three in a multi-part series.
Part one: Newsblur
Part two: Feedbin
Feedly is the only “free” service I’ve examined in this series. It is at least partially ad supported. The ads aren’t particularly obtrusive, but I would still prefer to pay for the service and not worry about how they are mucking with my reading. In this way, it’s very reminiscent of Google Reader.
As with other Google Reader alternatives, there is an explosion of development and advancement happening with Feedly.
This is part II in a series. Previously I covered Newsblur.
Feedbin is a $2 per month replacement for Google Reader. It provides most of the basic controls and similar API of Google Reader, but with a muted aesthetic. That means apps like Reeder for iPad and Mr. Reader on iOS can support it in the future. But, right now only Reeder for iPhone supports Feedbin as a sync service.
My current setup is a Retina Macbook Pro with 27" Thunderbolt display. While I love the extra headspace the Thrunderbolt display offers, the available ports on the back are kind of pathetic. There’s one FireWire 800 port and zero USB3 ports.
That’s why I jumped at the $300 Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock when it was introduced. I’ve now lived with mine for about 3 weeks so I feel comfortable writing a review.
Introduction Google Reader is essentially dead. Its passed on. This reader is no more. It has ceased to be. Kicked the bucket. Shuffled off its mortal coil.
I’ll miss the syncing service, but I was never really thrilled with the interface so it’s a minor loss.
Rather than throw out a bunch of alternatives that I’ve never used more than five minutes, I’ll give you my opinions from the ground up.
I live on the outskirts of the boonies. We lose power more than I care to recall so I’ve become familiar with finding my way through the house in near darkness. We’re clever enough to stash cheap flashlights around the house but I decided I wanted an “upgrade” to something that could be used to direct ships off shore.
I picked up my first Nitecore flashlight which are compact, incredibly bright and well regarded amongst photon lovers.
“Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
What’s that sound? It’s the sound of thousands of text-nerds squealing with delight as they open their freshly updated Drafts app for iOS.1 In case you are one of the uninitiated, Drafts is a sausage grinder of text. Words go in and beautiful processed products come out the other end. Ok, this metaphor is falling apart. Let’s move on.
So what’s the big deal about this update? Drafts made it to my home screen long ago.
Evernote is constantly improving and it is one of the first things I recommend to anyone looking for a general capture tool. I use it enough that I’m always interested in making it do more. Here are some apps that add some unique features to the mix.
EverClip does one job: It runs in the background and grabs anything put on the pasteboard and uploads it to Evernote. Given that Evernote is available everywhere, EverClip actually makes a pretty good multi-platform clipboard tool.
As someone who organizes email by folders, the default mail app for iOS is awkward at best. Typically, I only read incoming and send outgoing message on iOS. I do all of my filing back on my Mac.
Enter eMailGanizer.1
I’ve been using eMailGanizer for about a month and it is a perfect companion to the dumbed down default iOS Mail app. It’s not an all-in-one replacement for the Mail app, but it fills in a lot of the gaps and it’s a powerhouse for message processing.
