myPhoneDesktop controls and sends information to your iPhone or iPad
Filed under: iPhone Sometimes an app is more than an app — it’s about being excited about the underlying technology and why it makes it easier for users to get done what they want to get done, without extra steps that stand in the way. myPhoneDesktop [US$1.99] is that kind of app. It transforms the way you move data from a Mac to an iPhone, simplifying the process along the way. I tested it on an iPhone 3GS and a Mac. Imagine you are sitting at your Mac, looking at: a URL Directions on Google Maps a YouTube video of a cat vs. a lobster (well, crawfish) a phone number of someone you need to call an app in the App Store on iTunes that you want to download a picture you want on your iPhone Most of the time when I am faced with that situation I send myself an email to my “@txt.att.net” address, but that’s fairly inelegant: launch mail program, copy information, type address, click send.
Get your current weather from Outside
Filed under: Software , Odds and ends , iPhone , App Review Outside [ iTunes link ] is a new, personal weather app for the iPhone/iPod touch that provides a visual forecast with some paid options for push notifications. I like the idea of the app; it has some nice graphics and a fresh approach to weather information. The GUI is based on a metaphor of looking out a window: you can get the current conditions or a five-day forecast, if you want to glance into the future. For the relevant stats, like humidity, cloud cover and winds, you just flick up the screen, and it’ll tell you everything you need to know. The app also features an interesting pay model: when you buy the U.S $2.99 app, you get 30 days of push notifications for free. Then it’s $0.99 for the notifications every three months. Notifications include letting you know if rain is in the forecast, the UV index when it goes above a set level, a warning if the temperature goes below your preference, and a notification that the weather is OK to wear a T-shirt
360iDev Denver: iLime building the infrastructure for push, in-app purchase
Filed under: Other Events , Developer , iPhone , SDK One sign that the iPhone development world is starting to mature is that companies are beginning to build the infrastructure necessary for devs to enable push notification and in-app purchasing. Usually these functions require a developer to make a significant investment in server hardware and labor to set up and operate the push and/or purchase servers, as well as to write code to integrate those services into their apps. I met with Tim Courtney and Chris Grove of KeyLimeTie yesterday at 360iDev in downtown Denver. Their company’s new service, iLime , is a scalable solution consisting of highly reliable server infrastructure and a set of iPhone Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that make it possible for iPhone developers to integrate Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) and in-app purchase easily. iLime is making it very easy for small, independent developers to test the waters of push notification by making their APIs and server prowess available for free for up to the first 25,000 push messages each month. After that point, the service is charged on a per-push basis on a tiered pricing structure that makes higher volume more attractive
The mighty mini, take two: DIY video baby monitor
Filed under: Video , Cool tools , How-tos , Mac mini , iPhone What do you get when you combine a new parent on maternity leave with a love of gadgets and Apple products? Why, you get “baby monitor overkill!” In response to Dave Caolo ‘s recent ode to the Mac mini , I figured it was time to step up. I had two things gathering dust: my old standalone iSight , a gorgeous example of Apple design sadly idle since the advent of built-in iSights, and a lovely new Intel Mac Mini that was recently scored on sale at MicroCenter with plans to set it up for my older two kids once I could get my hands on a small LCD monitor. I figured in the meantime it would serve nicely as a baby monitor, since I couldn’t find a matching transmitter/receiver pair among the various baby monitors I had accumulated over the years. My idea was that it would live discreetly, headless and tailless (monitor, keyboard, and mouse-free) in the baby’s room, and broadcast both locally on my network and also wide-area so grandparents could tune in remotely. For the initial setup, I needed a monitor, but fortunately my TV has a PC (VGA) port, which I used to configure the mini
