It's been a great year for Techinch.com, and after being online for 15 months, it is time for some changes. Reading Seth Godin's excellent Poke the Box eBook inspired me to work harder than ever on Techinch and start new projects that will broaden the scope of the site while keeping it focused on Making Tech Simpler. I'd already been planning on updating the site, and have been tweaking a theme refresh for a while, but couldn't take the leap and go ahead and try the new theme.
First Year Update
Techinch started out as a WordPress.com-powered blog that I created for a class project in early 2009. I was dumbfounded that one post I wrote on adding a network printer to a Windows 7 x64 computer quickly rose to the top of Google for several related searches, and got around 100 views per day. I'd never considered doing tech writing as a job before that, but my writing professor pushed me to put my best work into my online writing, since you never knew what might come from it. Later that summer, I started writing at Labnol.org, and am very grateful to Amit Angarwal for giving me a chance and helping me get started writing on a larger scale.
Then, in January 2010, I moved my WordPress.com site to a self-hosted WordPress site and rebranded it as Techinch.com. I started out with a dark, smooth theme from ElegantThemes, and set to work getting more helpful content written than ever before. I started out adding AdSense, but quickly saw that the ads were seldom relevant to the content, cluttered the pages, and didn't even pay out that much. That's why I was so excited to be able to join the Yoggrt Ads network once the traffic had built up, and have been constantly pleased with the quality and content of the ads they serve.
[caption id="attachment_2938" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Techinch.com 1.0 with a stock ElegantThemes theme"][/caption]Over the past year, Techinch's content has been featured on a wide number of websites, from Lifehacker to Techcrunch's Crunchgear blog, and my recent article about the iPad being like a microwave of computing was on the front page of Hacker News and Reddit's Apple section for hours, and even mentioned on the 5by5 podcast and MacStories. Edit: And, in the past 2 days, it's been featured on Wired.com and CNN, too! It's been exciting and humbling to see my writing linked across the web, and has motivated me to keep writing quality articles and building Techinch.
Techinch.com 2.0 Beta
That brings us to today. The original theme for Techinch has served us well, but the default fonts and layout made it somewhat difficult to read. Hey, I even used Instapaper sometimes to clean up my own articles. That's bad. Last winter, I'd invested in WooThemes Canvas theme with the intent of switching the site to a cleaner theme. Months later, I've finally bitten the bullet and switched to my own tweaked version of Canvas. Of all things, I chose an actual canvas-looking background, and then used Google Fonts to add character. So, the new theme you see is all new just for Techinch, and I think it really goes good with the site's goals of making tech simpler. After all, if articles are difficult to read, it can't be much simpler!
[caption id="attachment_2939" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Techinch 2.0 beta - WooThemes Canvas powered, typography centric theme"][/caption]At the same time, I've made several other changes to the site over recent months. I added WPtouch Pro late last year, and the recent update brought iPad support as well, so Techinch should look great on any device. Now I've just got to port the new design to the mobile theme! Additionally, I was able to consolidate many of the plugins I use on Techinch with Automattic's new Jetpack, and also started backing up the site with Automattic's new VaultPress service (more on both soon). So, between WordPress and Automattic's services, WooThemes, WPtouch, and DreamHost, the site's in good hands and now I should be able to just focus on writing!
The Job is Never Finished
There's still a lot that needs changed, but I personally think it's heading in the right direction. Over the next days and weeks, I'll be tweaking the theme and site more, especially:
A new logo. Techinch really needs a new logo. If you're a logo designer and would like to design it, I'd be excited to talk!
Cleaning up the sidebar. I think it'd look better narrower, with less bright icons and smaller fonts. Thoughts?
Fix the menus. They look awful right now. Please, don't hover over them yet ... it'll hurt your eyes.
Adding a search box. Just noticed that's missing.
Adding a Featured Post slider; for some reason, it's not working in the theme right now. I'll need to investigate that.
Switching over most of the icons and theme images to the Pictos Font, since I'm using it with CSS @font-face on Techinch now.
Making sure the typography is standardized throughout the theme. Right now, there's still some Arial/Helvetica sticking out, especially in widgets.
Add WooTumblog support, and then I'll start sharing more links and small tips about tech right here on Techinch.
Add a MailChimp powered newsletter to Techinch so you can read without visiting the site.
And more!
Let's Talk!
So, this is your chance to give your opinion about Techinch.com. Do you like the new theme, or was the old one better in your opinion? What social sharing, read later, and bookmarking tools do you use regularly and want integrated? Evernote, Instapaper, Facebook, Twitter, or others? Do you think the fonts are easy to read now? If not, what would look better?
At any rate, it's exciting to be pushing Techinch.com to the next level, and with the new theme design, I hope I can make more gradual changes and keep Techinch.com working great for years to come. Everything here is written to help you understand tech better and integrate it into your life without having to spend years learning it. If there's every anything you'd like to see explained or reviewed, please let me know in the comments below or on the contact form. Thanks for reading, and here's to many more years of tech tutorials, reviews, and more on Techinch.com!
This week, there's an amazing deal from our friends at Valio: the Valio Bundle. For $49, you can get a bundle of Mac apps and design tools that individually would cost $438! It seems like there's always a new bundle coming out nowadays, filled with Mac or web design products at way less than the standard retail price. Usually, though, most bundle deals include a ton of products you'd be very unlikely to purchase otherwise, but the Valio Bundle is filled with popular products you've likely wished you had. This bundle is an especially good deal for web developers and Mac users, and between Billings, Hypersaces, the Design Then Code tutorials, beautiful Tumblr themes from UpThemes, and the amazing Pictos font, there's likely something you already want in the bundle.
Best of all, the bundle is from Valio, which is the company behind the Yoggrt ads that helps sponsor Techinch.com. I've been very impressed with the quality of their service, and the Valio Bundle is yet another proof of that. The entire checkout process is handled by Valio's Quixly digital delivery service, and once you've purchased the bundle, you'll get an email with a link to download all of the products at once along with another email listing all of your product keys. As a nice touch, the final checkout email looks like a cute receipt replicated in your browser!
As a PC (and iOS) user, the Valio bundle didn't include as many products that I could use, but even still, the themes, icons, Design then Code tutorials, and Pictos font can be of use to all designers and web developers. But if you're a Mac user, and especially if you don't already have Billings and Hyperspaces, the Valio bundle is a no-brainer. Now, some of the included tools are basically extended trials: the Virb and Livestats accounts included, for example, are only for 3 months and so if you're not really planning on using those service, that won't be very valuable. But there's plenty in the bundle to make it a good deal for most designers and developers. For once, it's a bundle that I can promote without hesitation!
In 1967, American consumers were introduced to the new, must have item for their kitchens: the microwave oven. This device, manufactured mainly by defense contractors such as Raytheon due to their expertise with the magnetron, the device that generates microwaves in a radar system or microwave oven, was now supposed to be a fixture in every home, restaurant, and more. It could heat food faster, use less energy, and be less likely to burn your house down than a traditional oven. And it cost just under $500. What more could you ask?
Actually, there was a lot customers could ask. First, why in the world do you need yet another way to heat food? Kitchens already have an oven and range, plus perhaps a toaster, waffle iron, or a grill on the back porch. And the coffee pot can keep coffee hot anyhow. Do you really need another oven? Plus, surely it won't work quite like an oven, or quite like a stove. It's like something in the middle. How could we need that?
Looking just at the specs, a microwave didn't make sense to many. So manufacturers bundled them with cookbooks that detailed the many things you could cook in a microwave. Look, you can make this great Chinese dish in a microwave! Our microwave lets you bake a cake! Need a hot cup of this complicated spiced cider? It'll only take 15 steps in our microwave! They thought the microwave needed to be a full oven, and more.
But, wonder of all wonders, people started buying microwaves and using them regularly. In the store, a microwave didn't seem like a must-have item to many, but once you incorporated it into your daily life, it was irreplaceable. How in the world did we used to heat up leftovers? Sure, people tried out the crazy, complicated recipes, but for the most part, they found new uses for microwaves. The microwave didn't have to be a regular oven or stove; it was a wholly new category of cooking device that made cooking accessible to even the least talented guy on earth. Who would have ever put an oven in a hotel room, but it makes perfect sense to put a microwave in one.
The microwave isn't easier for every cooking task, and perhaps it takes longer to prepare a complicated meal in a microwave. Perhaps no award winning meal will be created in one, unless it's a special contest for microwave cooking. But it simplified simple cooking, and consumers around the world saw it as a necessary piece of equipment within in years of it becoming popular. It didn't need to be an oven, and didn't need to be better than an oven. It just needed to be the best for some certain cooking scenarios, and that was enough to win the hearts and minds of people around the world.
Last year, Apple introduced the iPad, a computing device many have struggled to classify. It's bigger than a smartphone or iPod, smaller than a computer, but can do some things you'd otherwise do on both of these. You can type a document in Pages or find your way with GPS and Google Maps. So what makes it so special? From a specs perspective, tablets don't make sense. It cost just under $500, but if you've already invested in a computer and a smartphone, it's just another expense. Plus, netbooks only cost $300, right?
Everyone thought the iPad needed traditional computer programs to be successful. After all, if you can't use Office, what's it good for? And so Apple made the iWork apps for iPad, and amazingly managed to capture the best of office productivity with the best of touch screens. Then VNC apps were all the rage, and tabbed browsers, and everything else you could think of that made the iPad like a PC.
And then customers bought them, took them home, and something special happened. They realized that reading eBooks or browsing the internet from their couch was nice on a tablet. They found things they would have never thought to do on a computer were fun and simple. Apps that never made sense on computers with keyboards and mice, like GarageBand and finger paint apps and eReaders, suddenly found life on a 9.7" slate of glass and metal. Flipboard would have never become as popular on a desktop, and who would have thought of Twitter for iPad's interface without an iPad? People that would have never touched a computer suddenly found ways a computing device could help their lives, and techies that spent 10+ hours a day in front of their glaring monitors could now break away from their hefty PCs easier. Not doing the same old stuff, but new, innovative things that you would have never thought of on a traditional PC with a screen, keyboard, and mouse on a desk. As Marco Arment said, it's time to move on from office productivity apps; the iPad opens the window for all types of creative, interactive, personal programs. Finally, the term Personal Computer actually makes sense.
The world has discovered that the iPad doesn't have to be a full computer to be successful. It's a new form factor that makes computing more accessible to more people than ever. Sure, you might not create a new app on it, and there's still not Photoshop on iOS. You can't bake a medium-rare roast in a microwave, either. But now instead of waiting for your computer to boot, you can read the news, type a short document, and get on with your day all in the time your aging desktop takes to boot. And for millions, it'll be their primary computing device; there's simply no reason they need email to be more complicated than a couple taps and a device that runs days of normal usage on one charge.
Come to think of it, sounds like preheating your oven versus taping Quick-On 2 on your microwave to warm up your food...
If you're serious about blogging, you'll likely end up writing posts from almost anywhere. I've personally published posts from hospital waiting rooms, a home improvement store, numerous coffee shops and restaurants, and from the back of the car while traveling down deserted roads in the middle of nowhere (thanks to ubiquitous EDGE). Today, WordPress for iOS is a big part of that as I now use my iPad almost as much as my computer. The WordPress iPad app has traditionally been fairly frustrating to use, but today the WordPress for iOS team released the new 2.7 version of the app that fixes many of the problems and makes it much nicer to use, especially on iPad.
The new WordPress for iOS uses Core Data to store your post info, and seems to be much more stable. Then, the post editor is fully revamped on iPad as you can see in the shot above. Now, when you start a new post, an editor pane will open above the app, much like the Mail app on iPad. Add categories and more with native selector panes, and even upload images right from the editor without switching back and forth between different screens. New pictures are automatically added to the end of your post without any extra taps, either. For this post, I took screenshots, rotated and resized them with OneEdit, then uploaded them directly with the new WordPress for iPad.
Ready to schedule your post? You can still schedule your post or upload it as a draft. This has been changed slightly in the latest version, and now you'll need to tap the gear button on the bottom of the editor to change the publish settings. This isn's a problem though, as now it's much easier to schedule posts as you want with the native menus. Plus, uploading draft posts still works great!
As before, you can edit existing posts and pages from WordPress for iPad, as well as manage comments on all of your sites. This works the same as before, but everything feels much faster and more stable in the new version. WordPress for iOS is still not perfect; I'd love to see either a WYSIWYG editor or an extended code editing keyboard, as right now, adding links or HTML formatting to posts is very frustrating. Also, I'd love to see support for the new WordPress post formats, as well as direct integration with WordPress.com Stats, VaultPress, and more. But, the new changes are encouraging, and they show that the Automattic team isn't wasting time in trying to get their apps improved. The changes in this version set the stage for more features in future versions, and it finally works good enough that I'll definitely be using it more. If you're using WordPress on your iOS device, make sure to update or download WordPress for iOS today!
Over the past several months, I've shifted all of my long-form online reading to Instapaper. I keep the bookmarklet in my bookmarks bar on Chrome, where it's always a quick Ctrl+Shift+B away. Whenever I come across an article I'd like to read but would take more than a minute or two, I'll add it to my Instapaper queue to read later. That way, I can get rid of all the distractions and just sit down and read on Instapaper, whether in the browser or on the iOS app.
There's only one thing I haven't been able to switch to Instapaper: email newsletters. Now, most email newsletters I get go straight in the trash, but some are definately worth reading. From Smashing Magazine's email newsletter to Om Malik's Om Says, I get plenty of high quality writing in my inbox that I'd like to take time to read. I just don't want to have to read it in Gmail. But, if you try the page to Instapaper, you'll get an error message in your reading log instead of the newsletter you wanted to read.
But, there's a solution...
After several tries, I finally hit on a way to get email newsletters into Instapaper: the old Print trick. Many articles online are broken into multiple pages, so the best way to get them into Instapaper is to click the Print button in the page and then add it to Instapaper. And guess what? This works in Gmail too. Just click the Print All button to the right of your email, and it'll open in a plain HTML page in a new tab.
Close the print window that opens, then just click your Instapaper bookmarklet or browser addon in the new tab. Check your Instapaper list, and you should see your newsletter or longer email in Instapaper, ready to read with all of your favorite text settings in your browser, iPhone, or iPad.
If you're a dedicated Instapaper fan, or have just been looking for an easy way to make it easier to read long emails, this little tip can save you some time and frustration. I've personally found it much more productive to add longer reading items to Instapaper and read them later, and now that can include everything from long emails from friends, newsletters, and great long-form articles. Online reading's never been so nice before!
Computers are supposed to help us be more productive. That's how we justify huge investments into computers, office software, desks, and more. Yet all too often we find ourselves frittering time away, checking the latest RSS feeds, social network updates, Google Analytics stats ... oh, and someone just popped up on IM to say Hi.
That's not exactly a productive environment.
OmmWriter is an app that seeks to bring concentration back to computing, or at least to writing on a computer. It's been a popular app on Macs for the past year, and now it's finally been released for Windows 7. PC users can now write in one of the few distraction free writing apps available on Windows.
In the tradition of WriteRoom and the many plain text editors on iOS such as iA Writer, OmmWriter offers a full-screen, distraction free environment to help you concentrate on your writing. Unlike these other writing apps, however, OmmWriter also includes calm background wallpapers, soundtracks, and typing sounds to accompany your writing. As its splash-screen says, OmmWriter is best enjoyed with headphones.
For the most part, OmmWriter doesn't have a traditional program interface. There are some tools on the side, and an iOS style scroll bar on the right. You can change the font, chosing from a serif, sans-serif, script, or monospaced font, as well as choose from 3 font sizes. On the bottom, you'll be able to save your file in plain text format or open a new document.
The main thing is the rectangle where you can type in text. As you start typing, the rectangle itself will fade away, leaving you only with your text, the background you've selected, and the soundtrack keeping you motivated in your headphones. Elegance, meet writing. Move your mouse, and the box and tools reappear, along with a word count on the bottom. Again, simple and easy; all you need to think about is your text.
But wait ... wouldn't the background sounds make it distracting? Actually, I've personally always found that I write the best with an instrumental soundtrack playing in the background. OmmWriter's soundtracks are great background music to write with, and the keyboard sounds help keep you focused on writing. It's the best possible combination in my opinion, but if you're not a fan, you can always turn them off or select another sound combination that suites your tastes best on the side options that appear when you move your mouse. And, the included backgrounds range from a paper-like texture to plain white, so you can choose one that works best for your writing style, too.
Of all things, OmmWriter does actually still include a file menu, though you'll almost never need to use it. If you'd like to reset the interface to the defaults, or export your document as a PDF, just hover over the top right edge of the program and the file menu will appear. Alternately, all standard keyboard shortcuts work as normal; press Ctrl+S to save the file, Ctrl+N to start a new document, etc.
Best of all, OmmWriter is yet another new Mac app that's now available for Windows, joining the ranks of CloudApp, 1Password, Droplr, Backblaze, and more. It can be frustrating as a PC user to see most of the innovative and creative new apps coming out only on Macs, and is very refreshing to see some coming now to Windows. OmmWriter Dana is available in 2 editions for Windows and Mac: a free version with 3 backgrounds and soundtracks, or a paid version with 8 backgrounds and 7 soundtracks. I'd suggest trying the free version, and if you like it, strongly consider buying the pro version to let the developers know you appreciate their effort. The app starts at $4.11, though you can pay more if you'd like. Once you've purchased a pro copy, you'll need to uninstall your free version and install the new OmmWriter Dana II and activate it with your key.
OmmWriter is a truly impressive and immersive app. Its my new favorite writing app on Windows, and I'm sure many of my upcoming essays, articles, and book chapters will be typed in it. It's forcing me to concentrate on what I'm writing, and only what I'm writing, and that's a refreshing experience. The only thing I need now is a way to disable Alt-Tab so I don't switch away to other programs!
After all, the world won't end if you miss that next tweet.
Written in OmmWriter Dana II for Windows with background #3, soundtrack #4, and keyboard sound #1.
One of the most celebrated texts for writers is William Strunk, Jr.'s The Elements of Style. If you've ever taken a writing class or done any extra studying about writing, you've likely seen this short book quoted or listed as recommended reading. Written initially as a short handbook for his students in 1918, Strunk's work has remained a standard handbook of English writing ever since. It's a brief book, but includes some of the best advice on correct English rules of usage, commonly misused and misspelled words, and
In the years since its original publishing, The Elements of Style has been updated numerous times, and in 1935 E. B. White contributed to the updating, causing the book to generally be known as Strunk and White. You can still purchase the most up-to-date version as a paper book from Amazon today, though oddly enough the latest editions are not available as eBooks. Both the Kindle Store and iBooks include copies of The Elements of Style, but they're actually just reformatted copies of the original edition from others.
Since the original was published in 1918, though, the original Elements of Style is out of copyright in the US and most other countries. Thanks to that, the book was published fully on Wikisource, Wikipedia's site for public domain books. You can read it online there, and since the chapters are quite short, it's a great reference to keep bookmarked so you can check whenever you're writing. Alternately, you can also download The Elements of Style in nicely formatted PDF, mobi, or ePub files from Feedbooks for free. These copies are great to save to your eBook library so you can read the whole book from your computer, iPhone/iPad, Kindle, or other device anytime you want.
The Elements of Style is definitely still a useful handbook for English writing, and I just read through the first section this afternoon as part of my required reading for my current technology communications class. Interestingly, it's also a great companion book to the new book from A List Apart, The Elements of Content Strategy, which is written to help writers craft online content that's as high quality as is demanded of traditional writers.
It's amazing how timeless the advice in The Elements of Style is for it to still be relevant all these years later. Whether you're a full-time writer or just need a few pointers to make your writing flow better, it's a great guide that's quick and easy to read. For free!
There's so many to-do list apps today for all of the major computing platforms that you can quickly get overwhelmed trying to choose one. Most to-do list apps on Windows are old and clunky, while many iOS to-do list apps are an island to themselves and don't let you sync or share tasks. It's enough sometimes to make you just want to go back to just using a pad of paper. But wait: that surely can't be the best solution. It's the 21st century; can't we have our tasks on any platform, synced, and shared with anyone we need? Can it really be that hard?
Enter Wunderlist. Wunderlist is an awesome new to-do list app that's beautiful, feature filled, and amazingly, free! Actually, it's is as much of a platform as it is an individual app. With to-do list apps for Windows, OS X, Android, iPad, iPhone, Android, and the web, you can keep up with everything you need to do no matter where you are or what device you're using. While there are many beautiful and functional to-do list apps on OS X and iOS, Windows typically hasn't had many modern to-do list apps that are both easy to use and stylish. Wunderlist's Windows app alone makes it a winner, but add in the apps for other platforms, and it's even better.
It contains all the features you'll need to keep up with your tasks. You can add lists to organize to-dos, add a star to prioritize them, add a date to make sure you don't forget when your task is due, and add notes to remember more about the task. Need to rearrange tasks? Simply drag and drop them to get them in the correct order. Then, find your tasks with the integrated search box, or reorder them based on priority or due date from the bottom buttons. You can even customize the app with a number of high quality background images. Best of all, you can share lists with others so your family, team, or business can stay connected in a simple Wunderlist to-do list. I've used this to share ideas with coworkers and editors over the past month, and it's worked amazingly flawlessly.
Wunderlist works almost the exact same on every platform, but contains the small touches it takes to integrate great with particular platforms as well. On Windows, it uses a standard window and tray icon; on iPad, you'll see iOS style pop-overs and inertia scrolling. You can enter tasks with keyboard shortcuts in Windows, OS X, and the webapp, while the mobile apps let you swipe to delete tasks and pull down to refresh a page. The same great features are there in each of the apps, though: contact syncing, sharing, organization, and a beautiful, easy to use experience. Best of all, if you've signed in with the same account on all of your devices, your tasks will automatically stay in sync. No more manually syncing or copying tasks between apps; you'll just stay connected to what you need to do.
And, now, Wunderlist is equally at home in your browser! The newly released Wunderlist webapp brings all of Wunderlist's features to any browser, so now you can use it from your Ubuntu computer or Chrome netbook. Or, if you don't want to install a new program without knowing if you'll like it, you could just give it a try in your browser. If you like it, then install it on your Mac, PC, or mobile device. Everything works almost the same as it does in Wunderlist's Mac and PC apps; you can create new lists, drag and drop tasks to rearrange them, search across all of your tasks, and more. You can even change the background just like you can in any of the other apps. Whether on the web, an iOS device, your PC, or almost any other device, the Wunderlist experience is the same. This is easily one of the best cross-platform apps we've seen that merges your mobile device, PC, and browser experience.
But, hey, we could talk all day about getting organized with awesome to-do list apps, but that doesn't help us get everything we need to do, done. Usually it's a tough decision whether or not you should spend money on yet another productivity app. You have to decide if you need your tasks on your smartphone, PC, or online, and whether you can live without everything in sync or not. Today, Wunderlist has made these decisions obsolete. Wunderlist gives you synced, shared, and scheduled to-dos on almost any platform, for free. The only problem I've had is that the Wunderlist apps are somewhat slower than fully native apps that are built specifically for one platform. That said, recent updates have really improved the performance, and the iOS app now runs just as fast as Things or other similar apps. Plus, it lets me share and sync tasks, something few other apps even offered. There's no reason not to give it a try on your browser, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet today. So go download it today, quit saying you're going to find the perfect to-do list app, and just give it a try.
Apple has set a high bar for iOS apps with their own iPad apps. The bundled apps, including Calendar and Contacts, are nicely designed, but their iWork apps really set the bar with full-featured office programs that are easier to use than most desktop apps but offer much of the same power. The new GarageBand and iMovie apps for iPad 2 take this even further and bring features you’d be hard pressed to replicate on a traditional computer.
That said, hundreds of 3rd party developers have taken the iPad as a canvas for their best work, and have created beautiful and useful apps for the most popular tablet computer today. Sorted for iPad is one such app. It brings iWork’s style to task management, and lets you easily create lists of the things you need to do and stay organized from your iPad. Simple to use with an elegant interface, it seems like it might be what Apple would have created if they’d made a todo list app for the iWork suite. Best of all, the latest version is a universal app that you can use from your iPhone or iPod Touch as well!
Get Your Tasks Sorted
Sorted is a simple and elegant to-do list app that makes it easy to keep up with everything you need to do. It uses a document based interface to organize tasks, unlike many apps that keep all of your tasks together. Its interface works like many apps including the iWork apps; your documents are listed on the main screen, and you can open one by tapping it from the home screen.
Sorted includes a default task list to help you get started, or you can go ahead and create a new list to organize your tasks. Just enter your list’s title, then double-tap on any line to enter a new task. This is much quicker than opening a New Task dialog like you have to do in many apps.
Your default tasks are just a plain text to-do, but Sorted lets you add much more info if you want. Just tap the blue arrow on the left of a task to add a due date, reminder, and select a color to prioritize your tasks. Swipe up to add a note to the task as well. Once you've added extra info, you'll see it in a smaller font under your task. If you're not fond of the default priority colors, you can change them from Sorted's main settings as well.
Sorted's interface is very easy to use. You can rearrange tasks just by dragging them by the three line handle on the right; no need to tap edit or change anything else. Once you've finished a task, you can swipe it with one finger to check it off as completed. Alternately, swipe with two fingers to delete a task.
You'll use the main List view by default, but Sorted can also display your tasks organized by priority or date. Alternately, select Completed to see all the tasks you've finished. If you accidentally swiped a task but aren't actually finished with it yet, just swipe it again here and it'll go back to your main list.
The nicest touch is the stamp on the top corner of the extra pages; it looks just like it was done with a real rubber stamp and ink. The little design touches such as the leather background behind the paper and the torn off paper edge at the top really make Sorted a pleasure to use. Combine that with fast operation and multitouch gestures, and Sorted definitely feels like it was built specifically for iPad much more than most other todo list apps.
Back on the main screen, you can add as many lists as you want to keep up with everything. Best of all, you can duplicate lists you’ve already created to make new lists. I really like this feature, since you can, for example, create a standard todo list for, say, a college class. Then, just duplicate it for each class, and add the info that’s important for that particular class. Once you’ve added a lot of tasks, it might be easy to lose them. Don’t worry, though; just tap the search button at the top to locate anything in your lists. Then, if you want to share your lists with others, you can email a plain text version right from Sorted. The developers plan to add the ability to sync your lists between devices in a future update; this will be especially nice if you have an iPhone and an iPad, since Sorted is already a universal app.
Conclusion
Sorted is a very simple todo list app that makes it quick and easy to keep up with everything you need to do. You can organize your tasks in separate lists, prioritize everything, and mark off the things you’ve done with multitouch gestures. It’s definitely a todo list app that feels like it’s been designed from the ground-up to work great on iPad. To me, it feels like a great addition to the iWork suite of apps! Best of all, it’s only $0.99, which is much cheaper than most iPad todo list apps. If you’ve used Sorted on your iPad, or on your iPhone since it’s now a universal app, let us know how it's worked out for you!
The iPad is often referred to as a consumption device, and it is great for reading and watching videos. But your iPad can be a serious productivity tool, too, and I use mine all the time for writing. We recently looked at iA Writer, which is still one of the best apps for writing plain text in a distraction free environment. Sometimes, though, you might want to be able to add more features to your text without having to resort to a full word processor like Pages.
Until recently, there were no rich text editors in the App Store that made it easy to just write rich text without a full Office program. The new Essay App cures this problem. It’s a rich text editor that’s already been featured by Apple in the App Store even though it’s only been out for little over a month. We were excited to get the chance to review Essay for iPad, so let’s take a look and see what’s so great about Essay to get this much attention!
Rich Text Editing Made Simple
Essay App serves a simple purpose: it makes it easy to create and edit rich text on your iPad. There are tons of plain text editing apps, and then there are Office apps like Pages and QuickOffice. Essay sits right in the middle; it gives you a way to create beautifully formatted text without creating a new Office document. Best of all, Essay is both simple and elegant. When you launch the app, the following splash screen appears for a moment.
The editor interface then slides in, and you’ll see a new Welcome document ready for you to read. As you can see, the document includes headings, italics, and bold text; this is just a sample of what you can do with the app. The left pane stores all the documents you create, while the middle is the main editor interface, and the right holds the editing tools. The interface is very smooth and delightful to use; the panes slide into position, and when you open a new file, it slides in on top of your previous file. It’s little touches like this that go a long ways towards making an otherwise boring task exciting.
All files you create are saved in HTML format, and can be printed or emailed directly from the app. You can also save them to your Dropbox account so you can access them from anywhere. Just press the settings gear icon and link your Dropbox folder. By default, your files will be synced to a /Essay folder on the top of your Dropbox, but you can change this if you wish. If you want an easy way to publish formatted basic HTML documents from your iPad, you could even set your Public folder as your linked folder. Then, just open the Dropbox app and copy the link, and you’ll have an essay ready to share with the world!
Writing in Essay
Writing a new document in Essay works just as you’d expect from many text editor apps. Press the plus button on the left to add a new file, then enter your title at the top. Then, just press Done or tap in the white editor area to start typing.
As you’re writing, you can maximize your editing space by pinching to zoom out. This closes the left and right panes, letting you edit in full screen mode. Alternately, swipe in from the right to open the editor pallet. Here you can choose to make your selected text bold, italicized, underlined, striked out, or highlighted with the ! button. If you have an external keyboard, you can also enter press Alt+Space and then use standard function keys such as b and I to change text to bold or italics just like you would on a PC. This is a nice touch that most apps don’t include.
Alternately, choose Section or Subsection for H1 or H2 headlines in Helvetica, or Paragraph for standard paragraph formatted Georgia text. You can also insert a blockquote that will be indented and italicized. This covers almost everything you’ll need to create beautifully formatted text, and you might even start writing your homework essays in Essay! Plus, the developer plans to add support for bulleted lists, links, and more in future updates.
If the fonts feel too small for you, just tap the A button under the printer to choose from three font sizes. The highlighted A shows the current size choice. The largest size makes Essay app a nice reading app, too!
As mentioned before, you can print or email your documents right from Essay App. Mail on iPad doesn’t include any text formatting options, so this is a great way to create more formatted emails than you could otherwise. And the included font choices look great in print, too.
Conclusion
After using plain text editors for so long, you can get used to living without rich formatting for standard note taking and writing on iPad. Essay proves how useful the basic formatting options can be, and brings them to iPad in an elegant yet simple interface. It’s no wonder Essay has already gotten so much recognition! Whether you need to write real essays on your iPad, are looking for a better way to jot your thought down and keep them formatted, or want to email fully formatted messages, Essay is a great app to cover all this and more. Plus, it’s just getting started; with future updates, it’ll be even more useful for writing rich text wherever you are!
[/caption]Over the past year, Techinch's content has been featured on a wide number of websites, from Lifehacker to Techcrunch's Crunchgear blog, and my recent article about the iPad being like a microwave of computing was on the front page of Hacker News and Reddit's Apple section for hours, and even mentioned on the 5by5 podcast and MacStories. Edit: And, in the past 2 days, it's been featured on Wired.com and CNN, too! It's been exciting and humbling to see my writing linked across the web, and has motivated me to keep writing quality articles and building Techinch.
[/caption]At the same time, I've made several other changes to the site over recent months. I added WPtouch Pro late last year, and the recent update brought iPad support as well, so Techinch should look great on any device. Now I've just got to port the new design to the mobile theme! Additionally, I was able to consolidate many of the plugins I use on Techinch with Automattic's new Jetpack, and also started backing up the site with Automattic's new VaultPress service (more on both soon). So, between WordPress and Automattic's services, WooThemes, WPtouch, and DreamHost, the site's in good hands and now I should be able to just focus on writing!
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