This is a bit of a work in progress ... but check out The Complete Mac, which provides an easily browsable summary of all the products and accessories I recommend for Mac, iPhone and iPad users. Enjoy!
Although a bit spendy $49 plus tax and shipping, I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of Waterfield Design's Keyboard Travel Case. Now I have one compact (not small), well designed bag to carry all my bluetooth keyboard, and MacBook and iPad accessories. (If it was smaller, it wouldn't carry everything I want it to.)
Waterfield's brochures proudly proclaim "No mass production or overseas workforce. WaterField bags are designed and made in San Francisco, where rent is high, labor is expensive and competition is intense. We wouldn’t go anywhere else!" Kudos to them! Made in America is quite rare these days and we can kiss the American middle class goodbye if we don't restore our domestic manufacturing/job base. They also sign each invoice with a personal note - a nice touch.
While I am very happy with my be.ez La Robe MacBook Pro sleeve, I'm kind of sad I didn't decide to spend more and get the Waterfield Sleeve Case. Ditto for my neoprene iPad sleeve.
I've written earlier about how useful 1Password is - now it's available for iPad. I continue to highly recommend it to friends and colleagues. 1Password helps you quickly manage many web site accounts without re-using passwords. It also memorizes and fills in credit card numbers and software license codes.
If you're a Mac OS X user, 1Password is very easy to use. It integrates with Safari and Firefox to make saving and automating logins and generating new strong passwords super easy.
The iPad version makes it easy to manage many account passwords securely without having to repeatedly type in your password.
You can also synchronize 1Password across multiple Macs, iPhones and iPad with the help of DropBox. Here's the readme for integrating DropBox with 1Password.
The iPhone application sync via WiFi and is helpful for storing secure notes, credit card info and Web application logins - though I find I use it less than on my desktop Mac.
Give it a try. There is a 100% money back guarantee if you're not satisfied.
They also have great technical support. There have been a couple of minor glitches with their iPad release, but the company support folks responded very quickly with steps to work around the problem until the next application update (which came the next day).
Disclaimer: I do receive a share of 1Password sales through referrals on this site.
Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like ByLine will have an iPad application up very soon. Their support contact answered very quickly but the news isn't encouraging:
"We will be working on a version of the app for iPad, however we are currently working on the final touches of Byline 3.0 and will commence work after it's release.
Absolutely understandable. Unfortunately I have no ETA. Sorry I dislike giving such vague responses, however we have not looked at the iPad specifically re: software development as yet, given our focus is on the release of Byline 3.0. It is therefore difficult to give an ETA as we are not certain at this stage just how much work (and time) will be involved in developing an adapted version of Byline for iPad."
Based on this, I'm considering NetNewswire although early reports say that application is quite buggy as well.
You can use Byline in iPhone mode.
See my earlier roundup: iPad News Reader Applications with Google Reader Support
Update: Byline doesn't seem to have an iPad version coming anytime soon.
While Safari Web browsing, Mail and iBooks may be top killer apps on the iPad, News Readers are going to be awesome on the iPad. While they work pretty well on the iPhone today, they're going to be even better with the larger iPad screen and the new user interface controls. I'm making the assumption that all three of these applications will be upgraded for the iPad and get even better with time.
The most powerful news readers I've seen use and sync to Google Reader, rather than their own proprietary data store.
1) I've been using Phantom Fish's Byline (@phfish) for awhile now on my iPhone, so I'm a bit biased. But, after carefully reviewing the competition again - I still think it's the most powerful and intuitive choice. Byline, $3.99, does the basics well. It's relatively good at syncing while accepting input and its user interface is streamlined around common features. Yes, there's a handful of features I'd like them to add, but the lack of these extras doesn't take away from it being the most useful app of this field. Namely, ByLine only offers basic sharing and note taking features. It's missing Post to Twitter, Copy URL and Post to Instapaper, a handy mobile reader.
The Blog Herald calls Byline, The iPhone App For Google Reader Freaks. Thanks to Chuck Taylor (@_chuck_taylor_) for turning me on to Bylines.
2) What ByLines is missing, Newsrack, formerly Newsstand offers for $4.99 - more sharing options. But, its interface is slightly more cluttered, slower and less intuitive. In an attempt to create some extra gee whiz user interface (like an actual news stand browsing mode), it loses its utility and simplicity. In fairness though, some people will possibly like this application better than ByLine. It runs a very close second.
Wired Magazine loves Newsrack:
"Newsstand solves this by incorporating pop-up exporting to almost anywhere. You can email full articles (including pictures) from within the application (no quitting to go to the mail app) or add to Instapaper, Delicious, Twitter, ReadItLater or just copy the URL, all from a pop-up screen. Better, this option persists when you browse out to websites, meaning you can navigate to a linked article and send it to Instapaper to read, say, in a bar later."
NewsRack App Demo from Ole Zorn on Vimeo.
Wired also says Newsrack syncs better than Bylines. I was confused by the additional navigation options and found the application in general less responsive.
3) Finally, NetNewswire, by NewsGator, which offers a free ad supported version ($4.99 with no ads) is the third selection.
Overall, I wasn't too impressed with NetNewswire compared the ByLine and Newsrack. On the iPhone, it felt like it had too much space between items - and wasn't as usable. Some people may find this cleaner. On the iPad, perhaps with some improvement, the spacious aesthetics of this application may win out in the end.
A few last thoughts: With Apple Insider reporting that the New York Times is struggling how to price The Times iPad application - these applications create downward pricing pressure as many readers may be happy to use a universal feed reader and their Web browser as a primary news reading application. I still have some fears that sites like The Times may go too far and block web site browsing via iPad browsers via user agent strings.
I think it's important Google offer an oAuth interface since the company synchronized its logins such that most users are sharing their email passwords to use these phone applications. Not very secure. I think each of these applications should use oAuth with Twitter and Delicious, as they use Facebook Connect nicely. When the iPad and iPhone OS add multitasking, hopefully, these applications will make better user of Safari.
Quality news readers are going to make the iPad much more effective than the Kindle (which charges for RSS feeds because of its carrier relationship with Spring) and the lack of a working Web browser.
Update: 1Password is now available for iPad
After reading about 1Password for Mac OS X and iPhone in the New York Times, I decided to give it a try. I am highly recommending it to friends and colleagues. 1Password has helped me get out of the habit of re-using passwords and I no longer need to memorize my credit card numbers.
If you're a Mac OS X user, 1Password is very easy to use. It integrates with Safari and Firefox to make saving and automating logins and generating new strong passwords super easy.
I use it across multiple Macs with the help of DropBox. Here's the readme for integrating DropBox with 1Password.
The iPhone application sync via WiFi and is helpful for storing secure notes, credit card info and Web application logins - though I find I use it less than on my desktop Mac.
Give it a try. There is a 100% money back guarantee if you're not satisfied.
Disclaimer: I do receive a share of 1Password sales through referrals on this site.
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