In the past I’ve mentioned how I tried MobileMe (and before that, .Mac), but ended canceling it at the end of the free trial due to that the services offered always had alternatives offered for free or a much lesser price combined. Basically, what sets MobileMe apart is its iPhone OS push service with your email, calendar, and contacts — then there’s the web photo albums, iDisk web storage, the Find my iPhone feature, and web browser bookmark syncing. Recently, a reader asked me (thanks for the idea, Mark!) about what combination of services I settled on, and the result is this post outlining which services I chose as time passed.
Introducing DeskAgent
Ever since I got my own iPad I’ve been unable to put it down; I basically grab it and take it with me… I’m not chained to my desk anymore. The ergonomics of a notebook computer don’t allow me to work while I’m on the move, but the iPad is different. But what about when I’m actually on my desk working on the computer, and my iPad only gets an occasional glance? That’s where the idea for DeskAgent hit.
Instead of just letting my iPad rest, why not give it something to do until its battery cries out for more juice? (Not that I leave my iPad unplugged when I’m on my desk — actually, the iPad dock is extremely useful for DeskAgent.)
But just what is DeskAgent? I envisioned it as a tiny window on your desk. In a few words, it’s a fancy clock. Yes, its main part is a digital clock, but it also shows the date, the current song playing on the iPad, and has a music controller.
Also, it has a “night” mode, which dims the image to better suit the eyes in the darkness. Let me just note quickly that it doesn’t actually lower the iPad’s backlight… it just darkens the image simulating such effect since backlight controlling is part of Apple’s private APIs. But it’s the closest thing to it, and works quite well in removing some eye strain in the darkness.
And tucked away in a corner is a percentage indicator which shows an approximation of how much battery life is left (tap on it for more info!), since I made the decision of removing the top indicator bar for this app. There was no sense in showing the same information twice (the time), or make the user squint to look at the information when the iPad is a bit farther away when used on a large desk.
I initially did not plan in supporting portrait mode, but my acquisition of an iPad dock made me change my mind. (And my close encounter with the iPad HIG defenders at Apple!)
Right now, I’m working on adding a real-time weather widget on a future update to complement on the “window on my desk” idea. Also, come iPhone OS 4.0, I’m interested in adding some of the new stuff there.
So as time passes, I am expecting for DeskAgent to become something bigger than what it is today.
It is now available for $1.99 in the App Store, and I hope those who download it get to enjoy it. You can view the app’s homepage here.
By the way, look for a future post detailing the entire story of how DeskAgent started and evolved — having some close encounters with Apple’s representatives — because it’s an interesting one!
Introducing TipAgent for iPad
As you may know, I initially said no to an iPad version of TipAgent. Well, since I thought it’d be nice to have all apps take advantage of such a large screen, I caved in to providing an iPad version of TipAgent… and here it is.
Since version 2.0 of TipAgent recently came out for the iPhone, it was mainly a task of modifying the interface to suit the iPad. The question that I asked myself was, “How would the current version of TipAgent look if I could expand the view?” The answer was obvious to me.
So if you have an iPad, go ahead and download TipAgent for the iPad. Unlike the iPhone version, it will cost 99 cents, but I’m giving it away for free during its first week in the App Store as a gift to whoever frequents MacRecon. Enjoy!
