Episode 36 - Writing Apps

On this episode of Total iPad, episdoe 36 I invited Bojan to come back and join me for a discussion on writing apps and using Drafts with those applications to create workflows via our iOS devices and our OS X machines. We did overlap a little bit of our converstation from the week before but we stayed more focused on this one topic whereas the week before we kinda bounced from topic to topic. Overall I think we had a terrific discussion and invite you listen in as well get down to the nitty gritty of how we use our iOS devices in conjunction with our daily workflows.

If you have a question or comment about anything we discussed on this podcast please feel free to send me a message on Twitter @iCrizzo.

You can subscribe to the Total iPad podcast in iTunes:

Some of the Applications we discussed:

iOS

• Drafts


• Byword


• OmniFocus


• Blogsy


• Poster

OS X

• MarsEdit


• Byword


• iA Writer

Some of the topics we discussed that we have wrote about on our blogs:

• Blogging from the iPad


• iPad Writing Tips


• Text Expander review


• Drafts + Poster


• Writing Apps fighting for attention


• The Word Factory

GoodReader - Passcode Lock Folders

This is just a quick tip for GoodReader showing the differences between the different pass code lock settings. If you are using GoodReader to store important files or documents you may want to adjust your pass code settings within the app. GoodReader has quite a few security settings, each of them offering more protection.

Within the GoodReader app you have 2 different settings for pass code locking a folder. If you have really sensitive data stored in a folder you might want to set it up to require a pass code immediately any time the application is opened. This will not require a pass code if you stay in the application only if you leave the application and come back to it. With require pass code immediately turned off you are only required to enter the pass code if the application is completely closed and re-opened.

There are also some encryption settings within GoodReader but they are not encrypted within iCloud. Make sure you read about the syncing through iCloud, you will find the dialog info below the setting to turn encryption on. As always, keeping important information local is always safer than syncing via the cloud.

You can find all my GoodReader tips and tricks here: http://totalipad.com/allaboutgoodreader/

You can download GoodReader for iPad in the App Store for only $4.99: http://goo.gl/l1UK1

Pythonista YouTube Downloader

Here is just a quick demo video showing what Pythonista is capable of. I first read about this app on MacStories.net and it got me really interested in trying things with this app to see how nerdy I could get.

The video above is just a sample to show you that it really does work. Of course this video is just for educational purposes and you shouldn't download videos that are copyrighted. Download your own videos or check Vimeo for videos that you are allowed to download. Or course this will not work with Vimeo, but you get the idea of what I am getting at.

Source: http://omz-software.com/pythonista/forums/discussion/180/youtube-downloader
Github: https://gist.github.com/crizzo/5074896


Create this bookmarklet in mobile Safari :
[box]
javascript:window.location='pythonista://YoutubeDL?action=run&argv='+encodeURIComponent(document.location.href);
[/box]



Pythonista is $6.99 in the App Store:
Pythonista - omz:software

iDownloads is free in the App Store:
iDownloads PLUS - Download Manager! - Amad Marwat

More awesome Pythonista stuff: http://www.macstories.net/tag/pythonista/

GoodReader USB

I previously uploaded a GoodReader USB video about 1 and 1/2 - 2 years ago. The video was uploaded to my old YouTube account so I no longer had access to that video. Anyway, GoodReader USB is a free tool and I find it to be very useful for file management on my iPad.

The one benefit to using GoodReader for files and documents is that your files are local, unlike services like like Dropbox where they are uploaded to the 'cloud' so they can sync between devices. Sure the cloud makes things easier to manage but do you really want to upload important files to a service and trust that your info is kept safe/private? Not that I don't trust Dropbox but somethings are best if kept local only.

Also with GoodReader you can setup passwords for each folder you have in GoodReader that way if someone has access to your iPad then they will not have access to your important files/documents.

GoodReader USB works with your iPad connected to your computer via USB cable or you can also set it up to work over your network and add files wirelessly using the browser on your desktop and your local IP-address. I personally prefer using the USB cable and that is how I use it so that is how I demo GoodReader USB in the video above.

Download GoodReader USB free for both OS X and Windows: http://www.goodreader.com/usb/
More GoodReader: http://totalipad.com/allaboutgoodreader/

If you do not own GoodReader then you can purchase it for your iPad in the App Store for only $4.99:


Did you find this video helpful? Do you have a question or comment? Contact me on Twitter @iCrizzo.

Netbot for iPad

I recently got an invite to come try out App.net as part of their freemium model. My buddy Bojan who is a paid member of App.net sent me an invite to try it out. While my account is limited it is open enough for me to enjoy what App.net has to offer. Enter Netbot.

Netbot is an iOS application that allows you view and manage your App.net account from an iPad or iPhone. Netbot is from the brilliant creators of Tweetbot my favorite way to browse Twitter on my iPad. Oddly I have never demo'd or reviewed Tweetbot for iPad. So I wanted to make sure I did a brief review of Netbot, well more like a demo.

Netbot is free to download in the iOS App Store. Netbot works on all iOS devices including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch that are at least running iOS 5.0 or later. Netbot is almost identical to Tweetbot in every way and there is nothing wrong with that because if you use Tweetbot or have tried it then you will feel right at home with Netbot. There are a few differences like the color of the icon and the fact that App.net is a different services so things like list are not in Netbot. That is not Netbot though, that is just the way App.net was built, with no list to manage or create.

Some of the key features of Netbot:

Composing

• Drafts


• Auto URL Shortening


• Photo & Video Uploads


• Post from Another Account


• Cross-post to Twitter

Services

• URL Shortening via bit.ly Pro, CloudApp, Droplr


• Upload Images via CloudApp, Mobypicture, and Droplr


• Upload Videos via CloudApp, Mobypicture, and Droplr


• Read Later via Instapaper, Pinboard, Readability, Pocket


• Translate Posts


• Web Mobilizer via Google, Instapaper, and Readability

(For a full demo of what Netbot has to offer please view the video above.)

 

I have not upgraded my App.net account as I plan on using it for a month or two to get a better feel for the service and to decide if this is something that I want to invest in. App.net is a paid service and I don't mind paying for a great service I just want to make sure I am going to use it and make it money well spent. If you know someone with a paid account try talking to them and asking them to send you an invite. I have enjoyed using App.net these last few days and Netbot was a huge reason why. I mostly do my social network stuff from my iPad and a great app like Netbot always makes that experience better!



You can download Netbot for free:



Feel fee to follow me on App.net @crizzo

Save money on Google Drive storage on an iPad

A couple of weeks ago I was looking into purchasing more storage for my Google Drive account but the only option was to pay by the month if I wanted to do so. First, I recently purchased a Nexus 4 so that is the main reason I wanted to up my Drive storage. Looking at the "Buy Storage for Drive" you will notice as I mentioned above your only option is to purchase monthly, it is not expensive as it starts out at $2.49 a month which is really cheap if you compare that to the pricing of say Dropbox per month cost. I decided to ask on Google+ if there was a way to pay for a year of Drive storage. Sadly the answer was no. After investigating further I discovered that while $2.49 is cheap, it is also much more expensive than the old pricing of Drive.

Enter Steve Ruge on Google+, he kindly pointed out that in the Google Drive app on the iPad you could still purchase more Drive storage and pay for it for the year via an In-App purchase. Not only could you pay for the year but it will end up saving you $4.98 which is 2 months free if you used the $2.49 a month for 1 year of 25GB storage that is found on the Drive page to purchase more storage.



The odd thing is you cannot do this on an android device. I tried to purchase more via the Drive app on my android phone and it kicks me out the browser and opens the same Drive upgrade page as linked above. Clearly this is a move to get iOS users using Drive on their devices, saving $5 or getting 2 months free is a good start in my opinion. I only wished I could purchase more than 25GB though. It would have been nice to see the 100GB for $50 available as an In-App purchase. I guess Google doesn't like having to give Apple that 30% cut. Another thing to remember is you will not have to add a credit card to Google Wallet by purchasing in the iPad. This is an IAP and the money comes from your Apple account so if you want to try Drive but don't want to give Google your credit card info then there is that!

To access the upgrade in Drive:

1. Tap the settings gear on the lower left of Drive (next to your email address)


2. Tap Storage


3. Upgrade Your Storage

If you found this helpful then let me know on Twitter or send me a shout out on Google+

Real Racing 3 (exploit)

Real Racing 3 which launched last night in the United States has an exploit where you do not have to wait for repair times if you turn on Airplane mode then adjust the Time and Date settings and set your clock however many hours ahead that the repair time is needed. This exploit will work on all iOS devices. You can also turn WiFi off if you choose but I find turning Airplane mode on to be faster. The video above will explain how it works and how to accomplish this exploit. EA may decide to update the game but currently this works on this current version of Real Racing 3.

Real Racing 3 is free to download in the iOS App Store: http://j.mp/Y1FVF8

Have a question or comment about this? Try me on Twitter @iCrizzo.