Hawaii Web Consulting » mac

Handy iPhone Apps For Staying Connected

Mark — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:07:02 +0000

If you are like me, you’ve got to live in a mixed OS environment, at home is Mac and at work is Windows. And, you’ve got an iPhone or iPad which works great with Mac, but doesn’t play quite so nice in a corporate environment. Here are some great apps for your iPhone that will help you bridge the gap between those worlds.

DropBox: FREE — sync files — with this iPhone app, you have access to your files on the go. And since the storage is cloud-based, and dropbox works on both Mac/Win you can have your files synced effortlessly. See my previous Dropbox article about the software versions and how to download and install on both platforms with FREE 2GB + 250MB of storage.

Evernote: FREE — sync notes — while the iPhone app isn’t as robust as some other Note applications, it will sync with their incredibly handy Mac and Windows application. So, if you’ve made notes or clipped screenshots at home for your big presentation at work, you can edit it on the way with the app, and then have it synced and ready on your work PC. See my previous Evernote articles for more details.

LastPass: FREE (requires $12/year subscription) — sync passwords — there you are visiting a favorite website at home or on your iPhone, but you can’t remember what password you used. Not any more with LastPass. LastPass works as a browser add-on that will store and sync your login information. Plus, anywhere you travel, you can log into the LastPass.com site to find those passwords. Find out more about LastPass with my previous article on it.

Skype: FREE — cheap talk — sure iChat is great on the Mac, but it’s limited to the Mac. Skype works on both platforms and even on your iPhone. With Skype, if you subscribe to one of their unlimited talk plans (US = $3, Japan = $6), you can not only talk all you want at home, at work, and on your phone. (NOTE: Skype currently requires you to use WiFi to make calls on your iPhone. To get around this limitation, you can use the FREE Fring application, which allows you to make Skype Out calls over the 3G network.)

Pandora: FREE — cheap music — if you love music, this is one app you need to have. Set up “stations” of your favorite music and let Pandora stream that music to you via this iPhone app. Pandora.com works great in Firefox and Safari also, so you can listen to those stations at work or home too.

Toodledo: ($3) — sync to-do’s — with this iPhone app you can edit/add/delete your To-dos. Toodledo’s website offers links to sync your account with both Mac and Windows, so those changes you made will be reflected wherever you go.

Photo apps: — see your photos — there are several good apps to show and upload your photos to a photo site, including Shutterfly (FREE), Flickr (FREE), Eye-fi (FREE), and Picasafoto ($.99, for Picasa) . If you take a lot of photos and want to see them on the road, these apps will help you stay connected to those images.

Yelp: FREE — great tips — Yelp’s iPhone app can help you find local businesses quickly. The “bookmark” feature is really great for keeping your favorite places’ phone numbers handy. So, you can order your favorite Thai dish in advance for quick pickup. User reviews can also give you tips what to order or avoid.

MAC ONLY:

AirMouse: ($2) — control your Mac with your iPhone. This app will work with your local WiFi network to become a trackpad to control your Mac wirelessly. Much more robust than Apple’s free Remote app, and cheaper than a Magic Mouse.

Prowl: ($3) — get PUSH notification on your iPhone from any Growl messages on your Mac. If you have Growl installed to display notifications on your Mac, Prowl allows you to send those notifications to your iPhone. You can be notified of things like disk errors, completed downloads, or whatever you want.

Well, I hope that’s helped you with some cool apps for you iPhone.

[Note: originally published on HMAUS.org ]

Two Great Web Apps Together: LastPass Acquired Xmarks

Mark — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:58:55 +0000

If you are looking for two really great ways to stay synced across multiple computers and platforms, Lastpass and Xmarks are at the top. So, I was very happy to hear that LastPass was the company who acquired Xmarks.
As a web developer, I found LastPass (reviewed here) amazing for keeping all my passwords synced across all the various computers I use. I can’t tell you how many “test” sites I build, review, checkout — sometimes I go back, sometimes I don’t. Either way, LastPass keeps those records safe and sound.
And Xmarks works just as well for bookmarks — keeping your “cool sites” ready at hand, on Mac, PC, Safari, Firefox, and other browsers, plus a mobile version for iPhone.
There are premium editions of both that offer greater mobility and features with a lost cost for both, making the two a terrific deal for people on the go.

Geek Day 2010: This Saturday!

Mark — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:42:40 +0000

This Saturday, October 23rd – HMAUS (Hawaii Macintosh & Apple Users Society) and Leeward Community College partner again to present Geek Day 2010. Last year was packed and this year should be even better! Geek Day will be full of FREE demos and hands-on workshops introducing iPhoto, Mac 101, iMovie, Illustrator, Maya, Mobile Technologies, Social Media and Garage Band. If you just got your iPhone, are an Apple Fanboy, or just want to make new geeky friends, it will be a great day of fun.
Get all the details:
Geek Day 2010 Saturday, October 23, 2010
8:30am-2:30 pm • FREE • LCC

Mac Software Deals On Now

Mark — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:28:54 +0000

There’s several deals on some great Mac software:

MacBuzzer is giving away a free copy of the archival app, Rucksack, for the price of one of your Twitter tweets. Click that MacBuzzer “Get It Now” button and tweet away.

Etude is giving away a license to their Mac music app, SimpleChord for one of your tweets. Learn more here.

MacUpdate Sofware Bundle

MacUpdate has another great Bundle right now: 11 Mac Apps valued at over $425 for $49.99. Apps include Parallels 5 (run Windows while running Mac), MacScan (A/V), Hydra (HDR imaging), MacDVDRipper Pro, and Timeline 3D. First 10,000 buyers also get DVDRemaster Pro. Sale ends March 31st!

If you missed the excellent MacHeist Bundle that just ended, be sure to sign up to be an “agent” for their mailing list — you’ll get tips on discount bundles, new releases, and fun games to play for free Mac software.

Amazon has Snow Leopard and Windows 7 for pre-order

Mark — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:16:18 +0000

Amazon has Snow Leopard Mac OS X version 10.6 (the upgrade to Leopard) available for pre-order on its site for $29. Their Free-Shipping option works even to Hawaii!
Amazon also has Windows 7 available for pre-order. Prices start at $119.99 for the Home Premium Upgrade, or $199.99 for the Professional Upgrade. The difference depends on the features you need, see this chart for more information.

Note however, if you are thinking of upgrading directly from XP, head the warning from Walt Mossberg:

Happy upgrading!

HMAUS presents Mac Springfest: May 23rd

Mark — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:34:02 +0000

A full day of learning and fun is planned at the upcoming Hawaii Macintosh & Apple Users’ Society (HMAUS) Mac Springfest. JAIMS (6660 Hawaii Kai Drive) will be the site for all the Mac Fanboy Love you can spread around. Topics include:

Mac 101 for beginners,
Adobe’s Lightroom,
Social Networks and Livefeeds,
and Time Management with Apple products

If you’ve been thinking of switching to a Mac, or, been using one for years, it should be a great day with prizes, food, and all the Mac experts’ help you could ever need!

Learn more at HMAUS

LastPass: Free password syncing for PC/Mac

Mark — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:04:34 +0000

If you visit lots of websites, you’ve probably started to accumulate a LOT of passwords for each site. For security reason, you should have SEPARATE passwords for each site. (Else, if someone learns that one password of yours, they could access any other site you visit. Not secure.) Also, these [...]

Evernote: Syncing Your Notes (and Files) Wherever

Mark — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:00:24 +0000

Man, I like this product! Evernote is like Yojimbo with tentacles, “Tako Yojimbo”. Let me explain. Evernote is like a journal that you can type in, paste in, add screen shots, even drop files into, and it will sync those across multiple platforms. Evernote is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Windows Mobile. Plus you can log into their site and add/edit/delete notes there. Or, send an email to your Evernote account and that will get synced.

In other words, you can write up your ideas from work, edit them in the car, tweak it some on your friend’s browser, and have it complete to print out when you get home! You can tag your ideas, like Yojimbo, to make it easy to organize and find. Evernote will even search within your PHOTOS for text to add as tags!

So, let’s say you want to write a journal of your life and work on it wherever you go. Or, a blog article (yep, this one was an Evernote). Or, you find a cool product on the web — take a screen shot and save it for later. Or, for researchers, it’s perfect for keeping track of those “finds”!

Sounds good so far, right?! Well for FREE, it is good! But for $5/month you can also sync any type of FILE, not just photos, pdfs, and text with the free account. Wow! You could even skip Dropbox if you upgrade!

Evernote is a great way to keep your thoughts in sync: a notepad in the clouds…

[Note: originally published on HMAUS.org]

MacHeist Releases Latest Mac App Bundle

Mark — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:49:28 +0000

MacHeist has released their latest collection of Mac applications today. The 12 titles that are included are worth over $500 according to MacHeist, who have the bundle on sale for $39. The applications range from help with eBay to web development to photo enhancement programs. The titles include: iSale, Picturesque, SousChef, World of [...]

drop.io: Simple, fast, free file sharing

Mark — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:22:03 +0000

drop.io has to be one of the simplest sites I’ve ever seen. It’s gotten more bells and whistles over time, but still, it’s dead simple to set up a place on the Internet to share your files. And it’s FREE! Here’s how it works: Visit their site Either accept the random drop site name they [...]

Hawaii Web Consulting » mac

Handy iPhone Apps For Staying Connected

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Two Great Web Apps Together: LastPass Acquired Xmarks

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Geek Day 2010: This Saturday!

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Mac Software Deals On Now

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Amazon has Snow Leopard and Windows 7 for pre-order

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HMAUS presents Mac Springfest: May 23rd

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LastPass: Free password syncing for PC/Mac

Evernote: Syncing Your Notes (and Files) Wherever

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MacHeist Releases Latest Mac App Bundle

drop.io: Simple, fast, free file sharing