Blogsy: Blogging Beautified

Blogsy App Icon

What's missing from blogging platforms? Visual appeal. What's missing on the iPad? An app for bloggers.

Well not anymore. Blogsy is an iPad application for bloggers that fills a very useful (not to mention empty) niche in the App Store.

What you can do with Blogsy

Blogsy Photo Upload Screen

To the average user, this may not seem like a great application in terms of functionality, but to an avid blogger this is a potential gold mine. After months of searching for a good blogging application that is both visually appealing and capable of catering to my blogging needs, I found that Blogsy is pretty much the only app that fits the bill.

Unlike many other apps in this genre, Blogsy is a great app that is capable of doing everything I need it to be capable of doing. It allows me to browse the web while I write. It let's me choose photos from my iPad or my Picasa / Flickr account. And it can post to multiple blogging platforms, so if I ever need to change mine, I don't have to give up Blogsy.

Aside from this, here are some of the best features of Blogsy:

• Multiple Platforms - Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr, you name it, Blogsy has it.
• In-App web-browsing (while writing). Particularly convenient for those who want to research a little while blogging.
• In-App email. Aside from the more obvious use of this feature, it is also useful in that it enable you to email to post to services that are not blogsy supported.
• Picture Gallery - Browse through your iPad's photo albums or scroll through your picasa / flickr albums.
• Youtube Support
• Formatting options - Edit and format your text through Blogsy's inbuilt menubar formatting options that could give word processors a run for their money. Blogsy's formatting bar is particularly impressive, with options for text editing, colors, highlighting, the works.
• Markup Editing - If you prefer to edit the HTML on your blog rather than the Rich Text, Blogsy isn't one to stop you.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Naturally, this is not to mention the more obvious provisions that Blogsy has for the keen blogger such as adding images, videos, etc.


The Interface

Blogsy has a beatiful interface that makes it the right mix of easy-to-use simplicity and amazing productivity.

This is one area, where Blogsy Realy excels. It has a clean layout that's easy to get used to and yet displays all it's different features on the screen for quick access. On the right hand side, in a narrow column, it has icons for web browsing, photos, mail, Picasa, flickr, YouTube, etc which, on the whole, contribute towards a nice look for the app. Any user will immediately recognize each icon's specific function. A tap on the icon will reveal a sidebar-like extension suited for its specific function. For instance, tapping the browser icon results in a larger pop-out suited for browsing the web, in contrast to the narrow one revealed when skimming through photo albums.

The majority of the screen's real estate is dominated by a white typing space for your blog posts. Thank god for that. With an app like Blogsy, it's easy to forget what the app's originally intended for, above which are nice looking buttons which blend in with the app quite well. These buttons allow you to edit the attributes of your post, add a new post, change the publishing date of your post, etc. Tapping the title of the post allows you to edit that.

Above this mass of text is a neat clean formatting bar which can slide to the left / right to reveal more extensive formatting options.

Blogsy also has a set of two button at the bottom of the aforementioned right hand column which allow you to edit the markup of your post (through HTML tags) and Chang the settings of your blog or add new blogs to the app and edit other general settings.

Shortcomings

With an App like Blogsy, this is the one section where I post where I am, and always will be, dumbstruck. Few words of criticism come to my mind with such an app. And the shortcoming that I do find are more related to the iOS platform than to the app. But if I must succumb to looking for a drawback simply for the sake of it, I'd have to say that the photo uploading process is a tad too tedious.

Summary

Blogsy is an app that fills a unique and underdeveloped niche in the App Store. Although there may be fewer people (in quantitative terms) who would appreciate such an app, it is undeniable that this is the best app they will ever come across fr the purpose. In fact, some might even go so far as to say that blogging apps aren't going to get any better than this.

Rating

It is when I find an app like Blogsy, which makes it harder for me to find flaws in than to understand the app itself that I allow myself the pleasure of rating the app:

9/10.

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Subler: Media Utopia

Subler's Application Icon

"Style is an option but cleanliness is not"

If you're one of those people who loves to classify and organize their non-iTunes movies and Media, then you're in for a treat.

Subler is a neat little application which helps you to organize your media library and keep it... Well, neat and clean. Unlike the majority of applications in this niche, Subler is a no-nonsense application and doesn't require any particular expertise to use.

Subler in Action

When you've downloaded and installed this particularly useful free application, all you have to do is drag and drop your media file (Movie / TV Show) into the subler icon in your Dock and it loads right up.

As opposed to what one would expect from this application, Subler doesn't have tiny little slots or text fields for you to fill in metadata and information about the Movie (or TV Show). Instead, you simply click on a Search button on the top-righthand corner and almost always, Subler finds the right information for you. Subler then asks you to choose from a variety of DVD Covers (Artwork) for your file, all of which are the perfect dimensions. If however you prefer to have stills of the video instead of artwork, you need only click the "Load More Artwork" button enough times. 

Once you're done, click Okay and save your file (Command-S). In addition to its vast storehouse of features, Subler also allows you to choose what format you'd like to save your app in (MP4 and the likes). I usually drag the saved file straight into iTunes after that for its visual appeal and organizational abilities. That's pretty much everything there is to know about how Subler works. Nifty, huh ?

Why it's so useful

Subler is an app which gives truth to the statement "it's the little things that count." Aside from being able to perform the aforementioned tasks of organizing, beautifying and adding information to your files, Subler is also particularly adept at:

• Incorporating Subtitle Files into the Media File without needing additional subtitle files.
• Finding Movies and TV Shows and their information to add to your Media File.
• Adding Chapter Marks to your file.
• Exporting Chapter marks and subtitles back to separate .txt and .srt files.
• Adding Artwork to your files. (Amazing!)
• Classifying your file as a Movie, TV Show, Podcast, etc.
• Classifying your file as 1080p, 720p, etc.

The Shortcomings

I'd be hard-pressed to find any drawbacks in Subler but for it's lack of batch-processing capabilities. Still, it's not a deal breaker for me.

Cost, Rating and Alternatives

Cost: Don't take out your wallets just yet. Subler is a completely free application for Mac OS X Lion with no catch to it, although they do appreciate donations.

Alternatives: A great alternative to Subler is Plex (Media Server and Media Center). However it never really worked for me, since it downloaded the artwork, metadata and background images only within the application and didn't save the data to my Media files.

Rating: 9/10 With an app like this, there's really no chance of it getting anything less.

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WWDC '12 Brings Even More to OS X Mountain Lion

Aside from the prominent announcements of iOS 6 and the new Macbook lineup, Apple also revealed some plans they have for the latest version of Mac OS X: Mountain Lion (10.8)

Mountain Lion, which is scheduled to ship in July (via the App Store for around $20) already included some of the features announced yesterday (Messages, Reminders, Airplay Mirroring, etc). However, Apple did announce some new features that were released with Mountain Lion DP4 which many people do not know about. Among these features are Power Nap and Dictation which I've already written about, but there are some of these I forgot to mention:

Safari 

Mountain Lion comes with a new version of Safari which apparently has the fastest javascript engine among all known browsers. It also includes a unified URL and Google Search bar similar to that of Google Chrome. Apple has once again declared this bar "smart". ML's Safari is also far better looking than it's antecedent and has new tabs that are smooth and visually appealing. Apparently, you can also scroll through tabs while seeing what's on them. (as shown above)


Facebook Integration



Facebook will be integrated throughout the OS, similar to how Twitter was on ML and very similar to how facebook integration will be on iOS 6. You can now post to Facebook from almost any inbuilt application on Mac OS X, view you Facebook notifications in notification center and even post directly to Facebook from notification center.

New notification center icon

Another noticeable difference (although very minor) is that the menubar icon for notification center has changed from a tiny circular blob (in the old DP) to a few protruding bars (in the new DP)

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What's in iOS 6 ? (WWDC '12)

As announced in the WWDC yesterday, iOS 6 has officially been launched as Apple's newest upgrade to their famous platform. Apple also announced and discussed several of the key features that have been integrated into the OS. Here they are:

Apple Maps 

Apple has incorporated several essential features into it's Maps application including turn by turn navigation (right), 3D Mapping (center) and Traffic data (not shown)

Through "a coordinated worldwide effort", Apple has set up its own Maps application, getting rid of Google's Maps application which was previously the standard on iOS. Apple's maps application sounds thoroughly promising with turn by turn navigation, Siri-integration, alternative routes, 3D Mapping, anonymous, real time traffic, etc. Read the full article.

Siri 

Siri, after being heavily beefed up, has made it's way to the iPad too with Rotten Tomatoes, Open Tablem, Sports Information and Yelp integrated.

The new and improved Siri has now made its way to iPad. With yelp and open table integration, Siri is better than ever and it's now on the iPad 2 and also on The New iPad. Another great addition to Siri (For iPhone and iPad) is the new "Eyes-Free" capability. Essentially this is just a 'Siri button' on the Steering Wheel of car manufactured by several major car companies that plan to add it within 12 months. Car manufacturers include BMW, GM, Audi, Land Rover, Jaguar, Toyota, Honda and Mercedes.

Siri has also been beefed up with its integration with Yelp, OpenTable, RottenTomatoes and Sports information. It can now also launch applications and post to Facebook. Lastly, Siri's finally gone international!



Passbook 

Passbook scans and organizes your Gift Cards, Admission Tickets, Boarding Passes.

A new stock application in iOS 6 which allows you to scan your gift cards, admission tickets, boarding passes and more onto your iPhone and then simply whip out your iPhone whenever you need them. Several major flight companies are apparently agreeing to this. Passbook also seems to be very efficient considering that it alerts you (push notification) to things such as a gate or terminal change. Also it appears to group multiple tickets together. So if you're boarding a train with two other people you needn't search your iPhone for all of your tickets, merely for one.

iPhone: Do Not Disturb

Reply with a text, Get reminded, Switch on do not disturb mode and screen your calls. It couldn't get any better

Everyone's been in a situation where they can't answer someone's call but can't simply hang up either for fear of offending the person. For such situations, Apple has provided a solution. There's now a new option on the incoming call to swipe up and you have the option of:

• Sending a preset text message such as "Can't talk right now... I'll call you later" or type a custom one.
• You can tell your iPhone to remind you to call the person back - in one hours, when you leave, when you get home or when you get to work.

If all else fails and you need a solution, simply go to your settings and enable "Do Not Disturb". Calls and Text Message will still be received but they won't light up your phone and neither will they make it ring or vibrate.

Another great addition to this is that you can screen your calls. So important calls such as from your boss will still come through but the more trivial ones will not. Also you'll have the ability to allow a call to come through it the person has called more than twice in three minutes. Apple couldn't have made this any better.

Facebook Integration

Facebook has been integrated throughout the OS adding some amazing functionality too.

Just as Twitter was last year, Facebook has been integrated into iOS this year. Facebook - Integration on iOS 6 allows you to do everything you can with twitter-integration: Post updates, Share links, photos, emails, notes, etc. But it also includes some amazing new features such as: Contact and Calendar integration (Including contact info, pictures, email and birthday alerts) and also the ability to 'like' (Facebook like) Apps and Songs on the App Store and iTunes Store. You can even see which apps and songs your friends have liked.

Accessibility

Accessibility and Guided Access will greatly help the the disabled

After a lot of heartwarming stories of how the iPad has helped the disabled, Apple revealed their new Guided Access feature for iOS 6 which allows better access for the disabled. Parents of autistic children who have been greatly helped by the advent of the iPad can now disable certain inputs such as hardware buttons so that the child doesn't accidentally exit the application.

Other Features




Of the '200+' new features on iOS 6, here are some others that we currently know of:

• Safari gets upgraded with iCloud tabs, offline reading list and full-screen landscape view.
• The Stores get a makeover to bring 'a new kind of shopping experience'
• Mail too has a few new features such as VIP contacts (important) and the ability to add photos and videos to an email straight from the app.
• Find my iPhone and Find my Friends have too been upgraded presumably with Apple Maps.
• The iPad seems to have gained a clock application but so far, no Weather' or 'Stocks' applications on iPad.
• FaceTime now works over cellular. (Pretty cool)
• Shared Photo Stream - You can now share your photo stream with whoever you choose, over the cloud.

The Shortcomings

I've already listed most of the shortcomings of the WWDC 2012 but one of the major disappointments in relation to iOS 6 is it's incompatibility with the original iPad. Original iPad owners are now forced to make a choice: Buy "The New iPad" or stick with iOS 5.

Overall

Summing up, the WWDC '12 had some major announcements for Mac and iOS Users as well as for Prospective buyers. iOS 6 was a major part of the event, and aside from the obvious disappointments, it seems to be quite promising.

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Dictation and Power Mac Come to the Mac (Without Siri)

Dictation on Mac

Alas, Siri didn't make it to Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Still, they had to leave something for next time, didn't they ? Dictation, however, did manage to crawl it's way up to OS X.

Dictation is fundamentally what the name suggests: It allows you to speak what you want your Mac to type. And the best part is, it works throughout your Mac through a simple keyboard combination (Possibly command-command). Press it, and it allows you to speak anywhere you can type. Particularly useful for longer emails, word documents, etc. Only time will tell how useful and efficient it really is. You can punctuate with voice commands too and according to the Apple website, (screenshot above), it gets "smarter" the more you use it, learning voice characteristics and names. An omnipresent feature in the new iPad, Dictation seemed to be quite efficient on iOS.

Power Nap

Power Nap periodically updates your iCloud account with Notes, Mail, Contacts, Reminders, Photo Stream, Calendar, Find My Mac and Documents even when your Mac is asleep.

It also updates your software and backs up you Mac with Time Machine when connected to a power source, all done in utmost silence. You may not even know what's going on. So when you switch your Mac back on, it's already updated and ready.Seems fairly useful.


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To Apple: Think Up Better Names, Please ?

For a company that spends millions on Research and Development (and produces results too) and for a company that has a team of the best computer and technical engineers in the world, you'd think there'd be at least one guy who could pitch in a good name for Apple's new products. Something that's perhaps a tad bit more creative or catchy than "The New iPad"or "The Next-Generation Macbook Pro / Macbook Pro with Retina Display". Its about as innovative as naming it "unnamed" or "untitled". And for the products their selling, they need better names!

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WWDC '12: The Shortcoming and the Disappointments

Apple's WWDC '12 Presentation just got over a few minutes back and although there was a great deal announced, which was, for the most part, very impressive, Apple still left a lot to be asked for.

• Despite what rumors suggested, the entire Mac lineup did NOT get an upgrade. The notebook lineup, however, got a significant improvement as well as a new member: The Next-Generation Macbook Pro: 15.4 Inch, Retina Display)
• iOS 6, albeit amazing, will NOT be supported on: The Original iPad, iPhone 3G or below, iPod Touch 3rd Generation or Below; Heartbreaking for owners of said devices but potentially very lucrative for Apple.
• Mountain Lion starts shipping in July, not before that. Not a free update either. However, it's still cheaper than Lion's update was.
• iOS 6 will not release till fall and only added one new application.
• No Apple TV SDK as opposed to rumors which were widely thought to be confirmed.
• No Siri on Mountain Lion, although Dictation was there
• Mountain Lion's Unified Safari Bar didn't make it to iOS 6.
• No new iTunes interface on Mac. Really need that!
• Nothing groundbreaking. Nothing Apple.

Apparently, not everyone's since the original iPad doesn't get support for iOS 6

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Apple Maps on iOS 6

Maps on iOS 6. Stunning and a great improvement on its predecessor.

As the WWDC goes on live right now, Apple has made some pretty major announcements here, one of which, as I wrote about a few days back is their new Maps application.
Visually, a significant improvement on what was earlier "powered by google". Here's a few things that Apple has added to it's own maps application:

- Stunning visual display
- 3D Mapping
- Turn by Turn Navigation (Looks great!)
-  Lockscreen Functionality. (Works and displays on your lock screen)
- Notification enabled ("There is a faster route available. Due to traffic, rerouting can save you ten minutes on your journey". Amazing!)
- Siri Integration (For example - "You: Are we there yet ? Siri: Relax and enjoy the drive. We'll be there in 14 minutes", Also "Where can we get gas?", etc'

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WWDC: Apple TV SDK - Apple Apps on Television!

The Apple TVs interface, even the more recently updated colorful one, has always been a little bland, especially in comparison to iOS. So why is that ? The first reason that popped into your head was probably correct. Apps ! The Apple TV lacks the myriad of applications that is available for iOS Devices, much like the original iOS. But not anymore. At least, I hope not.

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iOS 6 Rumors: The Confirmed, The Possible and The Unlikely

With the much-anticipated WWDC 2012 (Worldwide Developer's Conference) right around the corner (11th June to 15th June), everyone has high hopes for the future of iOS, the release of OS X Mountain Lion, the new Mac lineup, the next generation iPhone and the new Apple TV OS. This article is a roundup of all the rumors related to the launch of iOS 6.

Given Apple's past release schedule of iOS, it's hardly surprising that the computer giant is expected to come out with their latest version of iOS: iOS 6 (not to mention the myriad rumors floating around)

So what's expected in iOS 6 ? I once wrote about the hopes and expectations we all have of the next version of iOS, but that was far before any concrete evidence came up. 

Apple Maps

Goodbye Google Maps. Hello Apple Maps ?

Recent reports and rumors, (largely from 9to5mac) have suggested that Apple plans to incorporate in iOS 6 their very own Maps application with 3D mapping and possibly better satellite navigation features. While nothing about this is set in stone, it's widely know that Apple's recent acquisition of the mapping companies C3, Placebase and Poly9 is linked to their launch of the new Maps application for iOS 6. Rumor has it that Apple may also include the ability to download maps for offline navigation into its new Maps application.

Chances of inclusion: Almost definite.

What we can hope for: At this point, we're quite clueless about what Apple actually has planned for the application, so anything I say will be nothing but a stab in the dark.

Siri on iPad

Reports from 9to5Mac suggest that Siri on iPad will have complete functionality similar to its iPhone counterpart. (See 9to5Mac's mockup above)

Another sure shot feature of iOS 6 is the inclusion of Siri into the iPad. Previously, The New iPad (third generation) saw Voice Dictation, an omnipresent feature of its touchscreen keyboard, yet that came nowhere close to reaching anywhere close to achieving the level of efficiency or functionality that Siri already has. However, we expect this to change with iOS 6. Recent reports say that Siri will almost certainly be included in the iPad, with most the same features as its iPhone counterpart aside from the obvious phone call commands.

Chances of inclusion: Almost definite.

What we can hope for: That Siri (and iOS 6) be compatible with all iPads including the "antiquated" first generation iPad.

Facebook Integration

Based on ubiquitous reports all reporting with unanimity about the likelihood of Facebook being integrated into iOS much the same way as Twitter was in the previous major release (iOS 5)

Chances of inclusion: Almost definite.

What we can hope for: That Facebook Integration be a little bit more functional than its Twitter counterpart. 

OS X-ification

The release of OS X Mountain Lion (downloadable next week) was widely based on the idea of iOS-ification. In other words, Apple brought many of the most popular features of iOS to OS X Mountain Lion, including Notes, Reminders and Messages (iMessages).

OS X-ification (not the official term) is a highly anticipated and probable part of the new iOS 6 and will likely include Safari's new unified bar, a (slight) change in design and possible incorporation of several other attributes of OS X into iOS.

Chances of inclusion: Reasonable

What we can hope for: That iOS takes some new design features from OS X and Safari's unified Search and URL Bar.

Design and Appearance

Although it may take some aspects of its possible new design from OS X, iOS 6 is widely rumored to have some completely new design traits which may include a redesign of its Stores (iBookstore, iTunes Store and App Store). 

Chances of inclusion: A completely novel and redesigned OS is highly unlikely.

What we can hope for: Radical changes to break free of the monotony of iOS which has had, but slight changes since its original launch in 2007.

User Accounts on iPad

A feature that's been on my wish list since the launch of the iPad, User Accounts would be an extremely convenient as well as useful feature, especially on a Tablet like the iPad which is marketed as a Family device yet has a one-time Mail login system; a device which is typically designed for a single person's use yet has a design and functionality that encourages several users.

Chances of inclusion: Uncertain.

What we can hope for: That multiple user accounts with option for a Guest Account and Quick Account Switching.

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Black and White Mac (Video Tutorial)

Ever wanted to make your Mac black and white ? Even if not, it never hurts to know how. Short concise tutorial on how to make your Mac's screen B&W.

Either way, here's a step by step tutorial on how to do so. (Scroll down for the Video Tutorial)

Step by Step Tutorial (Text)


This tutorial is meant for users of Mac OS X Lion (10.7) but will work for users of older versions of Mac OS X too.
1. Open up System Preferences (Click on the Apple Button in the menubar on the top-left of your screen --> System Preferences)
2. Click on Universal Access (Under Personal)
3. In the Display panel, checkmark the box labeled 'Use grayscale'.
4. That's all there is to it! To turn your computer back to its usual bright and colorful state, simply uncheck the same box.

Step by Step Tutorial (Video)

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