Apple

Using Quickoffice Pro HD with Dropbox on the iPad

My colleague recently acquired an iPad and in setting up her iPad she ran into a problem that is quite common. While you can open a file from the Dropbox app into Quickoffice (or other apps) you cannot upload it to Dropbox from within QO until you add DB to QO. Once you have done that, the best practice IMHO is to open the file from DB in QO and edit it there. QO will then automatically save that document back to DB. A few screenshots should help clarify.

First you need to connect QO to DB. You do this from within QO:

Add a Dropbox, Evernote, GoogleDocs or other account

Once you have clicked the “+” symbol you will get this menu: (more…)

Two great apps for taking and sharing photos on the iPhone

Jun 5th, 2011

by Christian Brady.

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You have no doubt noticed lately on my blog that there have been posts with but a single picture and a few words accompanying the image. I am using the now widely used app Instagram, coupled with Posterous. The first allows you to run your image through a few funky filters and then post to various sharing sites (Facebook, twitter, and Posterous). Posterous, in turn, shares to just about everything. Posterous (which, I just found out, is pronounced pos-ter-us, not post-erous) is a free service that you can push your updates to with a simple email.

A twitter and PSU colleague, ScooterNSticks, reminded me of Camera+, an app with great effects that I had purchased ($2) some time ago. The special effects really are superb (see the barn image in a previous post) and it also provides far more control of the iPhone camera than the standard app allows. What I did not realize is that it too had sharing features.

So there you have two apps that are well worth having on your phone if you like to take and share pictures. Remember, the best camera you own is the one that is with you. Here is one more image, enhanced by Camera+ with the “Fashion” filter.

Some days are just like this.

Wallpaper – Rain on leaves

May 31st, 2011

by Christian Brady.

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I first posted this picture this weekend, but the full version makes such a nice wallpaper on my iOS devices and my Mac that I thought I would add the link to the full-size image on flickr. Click on the image below (which is a full 1936 x 1296) or here.

iPad use in research: Where am I now?

May 24th, 2011

by Christian Brady.

1 comment

This post is my first to the summer project Digital Research in the Liberal Arts. It summarizes some of my prior posts made on the subject of iPad use and research.

I have been fortunate enough to have had an iPad since they first came out. (As an aside, as much as folks label me an “Apple fanboy,” this is the first Apple product I have purchased in its first run. Usually I wait until the kinks are out.) It is rather amazing to consider just how far the it has come in just over a year. And that is not even considering the advances made in hardware. The first version of the iPad is still a powerful computer and is in fact more powerful today than a year ago. So I thought I would begin my participation in this project by reviewing some of my prior posts and thoughts about the iPad. You can find all my iPad tagged articles on my person blog by simply going here.

First Matters
When the iPad first came out there was a lot of discussion about just what the iPad was for, content consumption or creation? Thirteen months ago I wrote this article about how I was, in fact, using the iPad to create content. Just this January I wrote a more philosophical piece about content creation and operational definitions. This article asking, “What is ‘Content Creation,’” includes a discussion of rabbinic literature as well.

When I wrote the first article one of the real drawbacks for my work in ancient Hebrew and Jewish literature was the lack of Hebrew support. iOS 4.2.1 finally brought Hebrew input in a solid fashion. There are still quirks, the main desktop app I use is Nisus Writer Pro (just updated to v. 2) which saves to RTF. As discussed on the Facebook group, there are no real RTF solutions for the iPad yet. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Tools
In October of 2010 the iPad was already at a point where I could use it on the road as my only machine. In fact, other than one trip in last summer to a conference, where I needed a specific app that only ran in Mac OS (but now it is available on the iPad), I have not taken a notebook with me when traveling, just the iPad and my iPhone. So, as I was saying, in October I created this post outlining what apps I use for research and productivity. There are also various accessories and other apps that I have recommendedin the past as well.

One of the reasons I have been able to replace my notebook on the road has been the ability to wirelessly connect Apple’s BlueTooth keyboard to the iPad. It is not a perfect marriage, as I have noted, but it works surprisingly well. A very nice addition I recently made is the Incase Origami Workstation, as recommended by Andy Ihnatko on Mac Break Weekly. Caution: the little velcro tabs will come unglued the day you purchase it. One of our staff loaned me her nail glue (for gluing on fake nails) and it has worked a treat.

Finally, I have made much of Sente for the iPad. I have a fairly thorough review here. The desktop app is Mac only and it is not cheap. The collaborative features are also not as open as some other solutions that Chris Long has noted (link to be added…). That being said, it has been nothing short of revolutionary for my research and productivity. I am an administrator as well as an academic, but the former takes precedence over the latter and includes a LOT of travel. This year, thanks to the iPad and Sente, I have been able to read dozens of articles, annotate them, and collaborate with my research assistant. The result is that as I move into the summer when I will finally be able to actually do some writing and real research, I have a running start. For me, that makes all the difference in the world.

Bluetooth Keyboard and iOS

May 4th, 2011

by Christian Brady.

3 comments

I have written many times about how traveling has become a much lighter affair since I acquired an iPad a year ago. Now I travel with the 1.33lb device and Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard, for a total weight of something less than 2lbs. Most of the time I simply use the on screen iOS keyboard on the iPad, but when I have time in the hotel room to do some more serious typing I break out the keyboard and it works like a dream. Well, like a dream in the sense that some things work very well and others aren’t quite like you might expect them to be.

Some of the things that work so well are the special keys: brightness, volume, iPod player control (play/pause, forward, back), and the eject button reveals/hides the onscreen keyboard. Basic key commands work, like copy and paste and the tab key takes you between input fields. But there is definitely room for improvement. There are a number of things that I think should “just work” but are AWOL.¹

• CMD-Tab – This should switch between apps, just as in the MacOS.
• Arrow keys to select menu items – Once you starting typing into, say, the Google search field or an email address field you have to touch the screen to select the option you want. I should be able to use the arrow keys to select it.
• Mail – The basic Mail key commands should be supported: Reply, Reply All, Delete, etc.

I am sure I will think of some more, especially app specific commands (the Photos app could benefit from delete, for example). Do you have any to add?

BTW these are also reasons why a touch screen iMac, for example, wouldn’t work yet. Too often you would have to go up to the screen to perform an action. [↩]