For anyone who missed the review, Zite trawls through hundreds of thousands of news sites and blogs, looking for stories that it thinks you will find interesting. As Zite themselves, say “Your Zite magazine is compiled using automated algorithms that find and deliver articles that have buzz: that is, they’re being discussed on websites, blogs, and popular social media services. Your content isn’t chosen by a person”.

Just like paper-based magazines and newspapers, the app contains “Sections”. Tap the Customize tab to display a list of Sections which includes Sports, Tech News, Film and TV, Cooking, Business, World News. Tapping the name of a Section in this list adds it to “your” magazine. Typing a keyword into the “Enter your own” box offers up more Sections which allows you to further customize Zite.

Although Zite uses complex algorithms to decide what stories and articles to deliver, it also uses activity on your Twitter, Google Reader. Delicious and Read It Later accounts to help it to figure out what topics you’re interested in (this bit is optional – if you don’t use any of these services you can still use Zite). It also analyzes your use of the app over time to fine-tune its story selections. For example, if you tap the “thumbs up” icon in the Sidebar next to an article or you share an article on Twitter, Facebook or via email, Zite will, in the future, provide you with more articles of a similar nature.

In my case, I entered only my Twitter name into the Configuration settings and Zite generated a list of Sections that included Mac News, Social Media, Technology and iPad – pretty accurate I’d say! I manually added Food & Cooking and Manchester United.

Each Section consists of several pages with each page containing several stories. To navigate through the pages, simply swipe your finger across the iPad screen. To load a story (you only see the first paragraph or two of each story plus an image) just tap on it.

To select a different Section, tap on its name from the Sections from the list on the right hand side. If you want to amend your Sections or add/remove a “service” (Twitter, Google Reader, etc), click the Customize button.

Profiles

Do you have Zite on multiple devices? Does more than 1 person use Zite on your iPad? If so you should take advantage of the Profiles functionality now offered by Zite. Profiles allow you to 1) sync your preferences (selected Sections, Twitter and other Service accounts and even the intelligent ‘learning’) across devices and 2) allow multiple people to use Zite on a single device where each person can have the app configured independently so it really is YOUR content.

If you have Zite on an iPad, tap the Save Profile button at the top left and then click Save. To create a Profile, enter your name, email address and create a password. The current configuration is saved to this Profile. The Save Profile button is now replaced with a button containing the ‘Name’ that was entered when the Profile was created.

To create another Profile, tap the Profile button, tap New Profile and repeat the steps above. At this point you are logged in as ‘user2′, so define your Sections, Twitter account etc.

To login as another user (where the Profile has already been created), tap the Profile button and select from a list of Profiles (these are Profiles that are stored on the device) or tap the Log In button and enter another username and password.

If you don’t have an iPad or you haven’t created a Profile on the iPad but want to use Zite on the iPhone, the first time you run Zite on the iPhone, you are asked if you have already set up Zite on another device. Click No, then set up your Content preferences (i.e. choose your Sections and optionally configure your Twitter account).

You can create a Profile at any time on the iPhone, however, note that the iPhone doesn’t support multiple Profiles because, according to Zite Support, “not many people share iPhones”.

When I ran the app for the first time on the iPhone, I answered Yes to the question “Have you already set up Zite on another device” because in my mind, I had set up Zite on another device. I was using it on my iPad but I didn’t actually have a Zite profile as they didn’t exist when I first installed Zite on the iPad. I was presented with a sign-in screen to sign in using my Profile. As I’d not created a Profile I had to tap Cancel, then tap No.

Later on, I created my Profile on the iPad (because I was on the iPad at the time I thought about creating a Profile). The problem I then faced was that when I wanted to login to my Profile on the iPhone (to sync content and settings across devices), there was no way to do this. The only option on the iPhone is to create a Profile – there is no way to login with an existing Profile.

I contacted Zite Support who advised that I uninstall and re-install Zite and when I run it, it will act as if it’s a ‘first run’ and ask if I have Zite set up on another device. I should tap Yes and then enter the username and password that I setup on the iPad.

Not really a satisfactory way of working, that you can’t log in to your Profile on the iPhone unless you do it the first time that you run the app. If I get any further with Support, I’ll report back.

All in all, an excellent pair of apps which are both available for free from the App Store.

Whether your interests lie in tech, business, travel, general news, sports, entertainment or style, there’ll be something for you in this app. By linking FlipBoard to services such as Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Google Reader and Flickr, the app will display whatever content and stories your friends and followers are sharing.

To move from page to page, you swipe your finger across the iPad screen and FlipBoard turns the page with an “animated flip” (hence the name of the app). The iPhone app works in a similar way, except that you swipe up and down rather than left and right.

One feature that is unique to the iPhone version (it’s coming to the iPad soon) is Cover Stories, which displays stories that Flipboard’s algorithms determine are most relevant to you. The feature, “learns” with use, very much like Zite.

FlipBoard is free and is available from the App Store.

Connected to my MacBook Pro I have an Elgato EyeTV DTT, a USB TV tuner/recorder. I usually have the app’s window sized to about 6 inches, though if there’s something exciting on I might hit the “Enter Full Screen” key!

In addition to allowing me to watch and record live TV, it comes with software that converts the proprietary .eyetv files (generated when you record a programme) to various formats including M4V – which means that I can watch the recording on an iPhone or iPad.

There is also an EyeTV app for the iPhone and iPad which allows you to, amongst other things, stream live TV to your device.

As long as your iPad/iPhone is connected to the same WiFi network as your Mac(s), when you run the app it displays a list of all Macs on your network that have the EyeTV software installed. Tap the name of the Mac whose TV you want to stream. If the EyeTV software is not running on the Mac that you select, it asks if you want to start the EyeTV running.

From the menu on the left, you can choose whether to watch live TV, watch a programme that you have previously recorded, display a list of future programmes that are scheduled for recording on the Mac (you can cancel recordings from here too) and view the channel guide (where you can also set a programme to be recorded) on the eyeTV on the Mac.

To watch live TV, simply tap the channel that you want to watch. If you have the EyeTV running on your Mac, the Mac will be tuned to the selected channel (so be careful if someone else is watching on the Mac!).

If you want to watch an EyeTV recording on your iPad/iPhone, it has to be “prepared”. This is done by right-clicking on the recording in the Mac version of the EyeTV app and selecting “Prepare for iPhone access”. This process doesn’t convert the file to an M4V. It remains an .eyetv file but is now playable (as a streaming file from the Mac) on an iPhone and iPad (although the command is “Prepare for iPhone”, it plays full screen on an iPad, not at 2x)*.

A small issue that I had recently was a problem with the audio. The volume was set to maximum on the iPad itself (using the volume switch on the side).

However, when I double-clicked the Home button to bring up the list of currently running apps and swiped my finger to the right to display the volume controls, I found the mute was turned on.

Simply tapping the volume icon turned off the mute and restored the sound.

The EyeTV app is available from the iTunes Store and costs £2.99 / $4.99

*Thanks to Elaine Giles for this tip…the .eyetv file that is created when a recording is created is actually a package. If you right-click on the file in Finder and select Show Package Contents, you will see a number of files including a .mpg. This is the actual video file. When you prepare an EyeTV recording for iPhone access, an extra file is added to the Package. This file is an M4V. As well as this being the file that is streamed to your iPhone/iPad, courtesy of the EyeTV app, you can play it directly on your Mac or copy it to your iPhone and play it with an appropriate app such as VLC.

The apps in question are TuneIn Radio and Stereolizer.

TuneIn Radio

TuneIn Radio, which is available for both devices (as well as Blackberry, Android and several other mobile platforms) has a free version and a Pro version which costs 69p.

The Pro version is ad-free and includes a recorder so you can record your favourite radio show and play it back at any time.

The app boasts a whole range of features including free access to around 50,000 radio stations worldwide, access to on-demand radio programmes and quick access to your favourite stations, programmes and songs via presets.

It has a SKY+ like “pause” feature (which kicks in automatically should your phone ring), can act as a radio-alarm clock, waking you up to your favourite radio station and has a timer facility so that you can record your favourite programme. It also supports “multi-tasking” so that you can leave it playing in the background whilst you use your iPhone/iPad to check Twitter and Facebook and play Angry Birds. These are just a few of the features – there are many many more.

Stereolizer

Stereolizer provides access to around 10,000 streaming stations and provides 3 preset buttons that can store 10 stations each. It supports multi-tasking but lacks several of the features that TuneIn Radio has (such as pausing the stream and a timer facility).

However, as you can see from the screenshot, the interface is really really cool. OK, some of the features are there for show, such as the VU needles and the treble and bass switches, but the volume switch works as does the manual tuner, which provides authentic “interference” as you work your way through the tuning scale.

The piece de resistance however is the 1980′s style cassette-deck. Simply tune into a station and click the Record button and watch the cassette reels move round as the station’s audio is recorded. Clicking the Stop button will “eject” the tape and display the iPad’s on-screen keyboard so that you can label the tape. To play back a recording simply press the cassette-deck’s Play button. You can even (and I’ve not tried it), attach a microphone to the iPad and record from it (great for Karaoke apparently!)

Have fun!

If you’re the sort of person who can’t bear the thought of not being connected to the web when you’re out and about then mobile broadband is an essential way of ensuring you stay online at all times.

Thanks to increasingly efficient technology, mobile networks are becoming a lot more widespread and they work better too. However, deciding on the right bit of kit to ensure that you stay connected is rather more difficult to decide on, as there are so many different ways of doing it.

What to buy?

For the last few years it has been pretty much the norm to buy a laptop and a mobile broadband deal that allows you to connect to a network of your choice. That’s all well and good and the mobile broadband laptop is still a great way to
go, although there are of course netbooks that do much the much the same job but in a smaller and more lightweight fashion.

However, traditional laptops often make a good choice for business professionals who need a little bit more computing power than the specification that often comes tucked inside a netbook. Either way, there are plenty of deals that offer mobile broadband packages to go with netbooks and laptops. In fact, some networks will offer you a free laptop in return for signing up for a contract, although this is often over a period of two years or so.

More choice

While the deals on laptops and netbooks have never been better, it’s still a good idea to shop around if you already have a machine and simply want the dongle device to make your mobile broadband connection complete. These are the small USB sticks that plug into an available port on your computer in order to allow you to connect to the web. There are plenty of these around, both in Pay as you Go and Contract variants.

PAYG is a good option for casual broadband users or people who want the ultimate in flexibility as there is no contract and you simply pay for what you use. However, contract dongle deals will often allow you better connection services, including larger data limits meaning that you’ll be able to upload and download more digital content if you need to.

Another angle

There are other newer options to consider if you want to stay connected to the web while you’re out and about. The tablet device is one such gadget that has been growing in popularity ever since Apple released its iPad nearly two years ago. These things are light, portable and easy to use but also offer powerful computing possibilities and 3G mobile broadband connectivity, alongside Wi-Fi.

You’ll find a whole host of other tablet devices on the market now too, so if you’re put off by the relatively high price of an Apple tablet then there are all manner of variations on the theme. This also means that you can pick from a selection of computer operating systems too, so if you prefer Windows or Google Android then you’ll find a wealth of models that run those systems instead.

The same goes for today’s smartphones. These amazing little handsets make the old mobile phone look redundant by comparison. While they have smaller screens and keyboards, they’re perfect for keeping a connection to the web no matter what your location. Shop around and you’ll find that there are plenty of deals and offers on these devices too. So, there’s no question that staying online no matter what your location is certainly cheaper and easier than ever.

About the author: Rob Clymo writes on behalf of Broadband Genie and Mobile Phone Genie, the independent comparison websites for broadband and mobile phones.

It has a faster processor but the storage capacities remain the same (16GB, 32GB and 64GB), it has 2 cameras (one on the front and one on the back), both of which are capable of taking still photos and video (especially useful for video conferencing), although the quality of the output from the cameras is poor compared to the iPhone 4 and the reflective screen is still too shiny use when sitting outside in the sunshine (not a problem in the UK).

So why, when I already own a 64GB iPad did I drive 80 miles on a cold Spring day and queue up for 7 hours outside the Apple Store in Liverpool (with little food and one toilet break) in order to ensure that I got my hands on one on “Launch Day” in the UK?

The killer feature for me, as a Trainer and Presenter, is the ability to display the iPad’s output onto an external monitor or projector, either via VGA or HDMI. To do this requires an appropriate cable. One end connects to the iPad’s Dock Connector and the other end connects to the monitor/projector. This functionality is available on iPad 1 but is dependent upon individual apps supporting it and also there is no HDMI support in iPad 1.

The original iPad was only available in black but this time around, Apple gave us a choice of black or white. I’d planned to purchase a 32GB in white, my reason being that in 10 months I’d filled less than 50% of the available space. However, it was pointed out to me that the 64GB version was only £80 more expensive than the 32GB so on a per-gigagbyte basis it was more cost-effective to buy the higher spec model. Somebody in the queue made a point that the white one looks like a gaming console and would not be taken seriously in meetings, a point that I agreed with so in the end I bought a 64GB black one for £559.

In addition to the iPad, I bought a Camera Connection Kit which allows you to connect a USB device, such as pen drive or external hard drive, or an iPhone to the iPad in order to transfer photos and videos.

I also bought a red leather “Smart Cover” screen protector that magnetically attaches to the front of the iPad 2. The cover has three folds which allows it to convert into a stand, which is also held together by magnets. When the Smart Cover is “closed” – ie covering the iPad screen, the iPad is automatically put into sleep mode and when you “open the cover”, it automatically wakes the iPad up – this must be why it’s called a Smart Cover! For more information about Smart Covers, see this page on the Apple website: http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/smart-cover/

Once I was back home, I plugged my iPad 1 into my Mac and backed it up via iTunes. I then connected my iPad 2 to my Mac and ran the Restore command. This was the quickest way to get my iPad 2 up and running with all my existing apps and settings.

So was it worth the 80 mile round trip and 7 hours standing in the cold? Well, put it like this, when a friend who had been contemplating purchasing one rang several Apple Stores on Saturday morning, he found that there wasn’t one to be had anywhere in the North West and nor would there be until next week when limited supplies will dictate that the queue merry-go-round will start again.

Not all note apps are the same, however. Penultimate, which I reviewed on episode 46 of MacBites and Notes Plus, which I’ve recently started to use and will review in a future episode, are more of a notebook than a notepad. I use these apps for tasks such as note-taking and creating drawings or sketches when I’m in a meeting. I’m no artist so by sketches, I mean a rough sketch of a dialog box or a sketch of data flow in an application I’m building. Also Penultimate and Notes Plus are only available for the iPad.

What I’ve been looking for is an app that allows me to create simple notes, primarily on the iPhone. For example, I’m out walking the dog and I get an idea about something for MacBites or I’m at work and I’m going to a meeting and I need a note of the room number or I’m going to meet someone and they say “call me when you get to reception” and I need a note of their extension number. In the days of analogue notes (i.e. pen and paper), I’d carry a pocket-sized notepad and I want to replace that functionality with the digital equivalent on the iPhone.

There’s a few free apps that spring to mind like Droptext and Plaintext which sync with Dropbox and even the built in Notes app, however, I have other requirements that these apps can’t handle.

I’d like to be able to have separate folders for different things – for example, a work folder, a MacBites folder, a shopping folder.

A nice, friendly interface is also important, as is the ability to backup notes and get them off the phone.

I have (and in fact still do) used Evernote, which satisfies all these criteria (and has the added advantage that I can add notes via a web browser), however the Evernote iPhone app still needs some improvement. For example, I have several notebooks in my Evernote account but the iPhone can’t display notes just for a single notebook. <--Update - this feature has now been added - I wrote this blog post the day before Evernote 4.0 for the iPhone was released!

So after much thought I’ve decided to give Awesome Note a try. I’ve had it on the iPhone for a while and they’ve recently released an iPad app, which I bought at the weekend. I’ve not had chance to delve into it any any great depth so for now I’m going to focus on configuring it. In a future post I’ll look in more detail at using it’s many features. <-update - unless I stick with Evernote!

Awesome Note is not just a notes app, it also supports ToDo notes and provides ToDo management features such as a calendar view, due dates, alarms, priority setting and the ability to mark tasks as complete.

It synchronises to both Evernote and Google Docs so 1) I’ve got a backup of my notes in the Cloud and 2) I can use one or both of these services as a conduit to sync notes between the iPhone and iPad versions of the app.

Unlike many note apps, Awesome Note works in landscape mode on the iPhone as well as portrait, so you get a wider area to type into. You switch modes by simply tapping a button on the screen. This toggles between “auto-rotation” and “lock rotation”, although if the iPhone is locked in portrait mode via the main lock button, it remains locked even if you set Awesome Note to auto-rotation.

So what of the app?

When you launch it, there is a default set of folders already set up. These include work, travel, shopping, to do and more. I decided to start from scratch so I deleted all these folders and set up my own. This is done by clicking the Folder Settings button at the bottom of the screen. As well as being the place to create and rename folders, the Folder Settings section is used to configure folders.

Each folder can have a colour assigned to it and can also have an icon, which you select from a palette. When you look at the app’s home page, you see the folders listed, each represented by a coloured tab with the folder name and the icon sitting on top of the tab. The Folder Settings section is also used to password protect folders – individual folders can be password-protected by setting a 4-digit code and to set the sync options – syncing can be enabled or disabled for individual folders.

Finally, in the Folder Settings, you can set the default font and note background theme – there’s about 15 backgrounds ranging from grey slate, to yellow lined paper and there’s even a pink one!

To create a note, from the app’s home page, tap on the folder that the note will be stored in, click the ‘Plus’ icon at the top right of the screen and start typing. As well as text, notes can store photos, either existing ones from the camera roll or new ones taken with the iPhone’s camera and can even include the location courtesy of the iPhone’s geo-location capabilities.

The ability to store photos was actually one of the reasons that I was attracted to the app as I planned to use it as a shopping app, although now I’ve found a dedicated shopping app that supports photos.

Another way to create a note is to click the “Quick Memo” icon which looks like a pad of Post-it notes. It actually gives you a pad of 8 notes – 4 of which can store typed text and 4 of which can be “scribbled on” with either your finger or a stylus. Notes created in this way are saved to the app’s Inbox and can be moved to another folder later. In fact, any note can be moved from one folder to another simply by selecting the name of the folder from a drop down list whilst you are inside the note to be moved.

As a notes app (and so far I’ve only used the Notes part of it), it’s excellent and by all accounts the ToDo features are rather powerful too.

For more information see http://www.bridworks.com/anote/en/main/index.php

The app is available from the iTunes Store and costs £2.39 (iPhone) and £2.99 (iPad)

There is a free version, Awesome Note Lite which is limited to a maximum of 10 notes and no syncing

There’s no protection for the front or rear glass of the iPhone, although the Bumper does add a few millimetres of depth to the device so that if the phone is lying flat (such as on a desk or table) the Bumper “lifts” the phone off the surface, avoiding scratching the glass.

To ensure that the iPhone doesn’t fall out, the Bumper has been designed to fit very tightly around the phone and this has caused a few issues for me…

I don’t like in-ear headphones and the headphones that I use with my iPhone have a short connector moulded into a wide piece of rubber. When I push the headphones into the socket on the iPhone, the combination of the short connector, the rubber and the fact that the Bumper adds a few extra millimetres to the height of the phone means that the headphone “jack” won’t push down far enough.

I have the same problem with an audio cable that I use to connect the iPhone to my car radio and, although I have an FM Transmitter (a device that plugs into the charging slot at the bottom of the phone and wirelessly transmits audio from the iPhone to my car radio), due to the width of the plastic casing at the bottom of the iPhone, it wouldn’t connect properly.

For the same reason, I was also unable to use certain chargers without removing the Bumper (Elaine Giles has written an excellent article about this on her blog)

So what does a £1.49 case do that a £25 case doesn’t?

Not only does my new silicone case have a back on it, to protect the glass, it is non-slip and waterproof and, most importantly, there is enough room around the headphone socket and charger socket to allow me to use my any charger, my headphones and my FM Transmitter device.

The case was purchased from 7DayShop – more details here

7DayShop also sell a very similar case with a “slightly different pattern.”tyre-mark” pattern. Details on the 7DayShop website

IT Support staff used the screen-sharing capabilities to take control of a user’s screen. Trainers used it to deliver 1:1 training sessions and demos and managers and others used it to deliver presentations to colleagues in far-away places.

I’m still at that company, now working for the IT Training team. The company has just finished a 6-month upgrade from Windows 2000/Office 2000 to Vista and Office 2007. Prior to the start of the rollout, our team delivered a number of pre-migration seminars, the purpose of which was to let users know about the rollout process and advise and educate them regarding new functionality on offer.

“Live Meeting and Office Communicator will be replacing Netmeeting”

They were OK with the Live Meeting bit – “Netmeeting on steroids” is how I explained it, but when it came to talking about Office Communicator, the instant messenger client, I would get comments such as

“I’m not using that”

“Can I turn it off?”

“I’ll never get any work done”

Yet, these same people are quite happy to use Yahoo IM, MSN and even SMS on their phone (during work time). Don’t they realise that Office Communicator is just another IM system?

Fast forward 6 months and guess what? Everyone loves OC! It’s being used in a responsible manner, users respect other user’s status setting (i.e. if you set your status to Do Not Disturb then chances are you won’t get disturbed unless it’s a dire emergency).

From a training and education point, one of the key areas is ensuring that users understand when to use email v when to use IM.

So what’s next? Well there’s a pilot running, which I’m part of, which will really bring us into the 21st century with webcams and VOIP.

Now where did I put my razor and hairbrush?

• The Ribbon is still there but can now be customized.
• The Office Button has been replaced by The File Tab and Backstage View.
• BackStage View provides quick access to your 50 most recently used documents.
• You can retrieve a file even after you have closed it WITHOUT saving.
• There’s an amazingly cool way to take screenshots and insert them into your document.
• You can now create Sparkline charts in Excel.
• Using Slicers, you can analyse Pivot Table data in new and exciting ways.
• Repetitive tasks in Outlook can be automated without programming.
• New tools in Outlook means a faster way to Inbox Zero.
• You can broadcast your PowerPoint presentation to the world without the need for additional software.
• PowerPoint now includes video editing tools and some image editing tools previously only available in dedicated image editing applications.

The recording of the presentation has been split into 7 videos which can be accessed via the links below (YouTube links):

• The Ribbon
• BackStage View
• Word 2010
• Excel 2010
• Outlook 2010
• PowerPoint 2010 – Part 1
• PowerPoint 2010 – Part 2