- Huh. @Instapaper has a 250 article limit. I ran smack into it. Doing some pruning now. Got to lay off the longform.org crack pipe. #
- Oh, man. I should have downloaded my @Instapaper reads as an ePub before I archived and nuked a whole bunch of them. #
- @lunarobverse you can also save from @Instapaper as Kindle format, as well as printable, CSV, and HTML exports of your reading list. in reply to lunarobverse #
- @instapaper Yay! Good news about bumping the article limit in the app to 500 soon. Glad to hear it. I need to read more, capture less.
in reply to instapaper # - Just got my first "the information on this page is outdated/error 5002" in iTunes 10. *sigh* /cc @ejacqui @chartier #
- Welp, at some point over the weekend, I surpassed the "1000 iOS Apps" mark. 1009, according to iTunes (only half live on my devices). #
- @dougholland I can't wait to try a WP7 phone. Hook a brother up?
I'm open to being convinced. in reply to dougholland # - @dougholland I will be broadcasting @isntv from the Intel AppUp Center booth Mon and Tue at IDF. Stop by and say Hi! in reply to dougholland #
- RT @ahockley: Wondering how I got onto the Social Media Club's email spa^H^H^H newsletter list… #
- @jezlyn I haven't found a good way to list all the apps I'm using. AppsFire wasn't quite there. I need to do a writeup soon. in reply to jezlyn #
- Learning Markdown. I blame @danfrakes for mentioning Posterous, @Justin/@secondgear for making MarkdownMail, and of course, @gruber. #
- @verso I found that I was mostly writing Markdown already, I just didn't know it. Have a look for yourself: http://j.mp/dw25pk in reply to verso #
- @ebohling I'm planning on using @secondgear's MarkdownMail iPhone app to generate the HTML for Posterous. in reply to ebohling #
- I've gone Markdown crazy. The most useful thing I've learned in years. What took me so long? http://j.mp/9JxVe2 #
- Now I wish Twitter, Facebook, and Gmail (and all the other web tools) supported Markdown. Which ones do? Share! #
- @Durf I guess the link Markdown syntax is the only one t makes sense in Twitter. But it would rock in Gmail and Facebook. in reply to Durf #
- @chartier I saw that. I keep looking for an excuse to start a Tumblog again, because it's so sweet. in reply to chartier #
- @LanceWeber curse you. Now I'm diving down the github rabbit hole, and thinking of all the cool things I could do with it. in reply to LanceWeber #
Author Archive for Josh Bancroft
I’ve gone a bit Markdown crazy today. It’s an easy way to write for the web. As someone who writes for the web a lot, it’s the most useful thing I’ve learned in ages. What took me so long?
First, I grabbed the MarkdownMail iPhone app, started testing it with my Posterous, then enabled it here on TinyScreenfuls.com with the WordPress plugin. Now I’m looking for ways to use it other places – Mail.app on my Mac, on my iOS devices, etc. Share any cool tricks or tools you know, please.
You probably already write at least partly in Markdown, and just don’t know it. I did.
Update: I’ve switched to Steven Frank’s branch of Notational Velocity that supports the Markdown preview pane. I also discovered that Tumblr and MarsEdit support Markdown natively. I added Markdown and SmartyPants as Unix Filter to TextWrangler using these instructions. I also added Markdown and SmartyPants as Mac OS X system Services using Automator, so I can use them anywhere on my Mac (in TextEdit, etc.). I’m also going to install the Markdown Syntax MediaWiki extension on Intelpedia, our big internal wiki at work.
See? Markdown crazy.
- Bejeweled Blitz on my phone is my grill timer. I cook not by minutes, but by how many rounds of Blitz I play. #
- @MikePerry @shanselman Portland Family mag has all their issues online as PDFs. I'm not sure which month it was. http://bit.ly/aAW8XD in reply to MikePerry #
- @MikePerry @shanselman Oh wait, I found a link under Features: http://portlandfamily.com/team-hanselman-and-its-fight-against-diabetes/ in reply to MikePerry #
- @StevenWalling @samgrover HDR gets abused. I'll cop to that. But it does let you make some amazing shots if you know what you're doing. in reply to StevenWalling #
- @bryanrhoads yay! Been following the latest on Holland on Facebook. Take care! in reply to bryanrhoads #
- We had a fire drill at work yesterday during the Apple event broadcast. Here's how we fanboys dealt with it. http://bit.ly/bPBlxh #
- @JohnMetta NPR podcasts is mostly what I listen to in my car, but time time, Steve took precedence. in reply to JohnMetta #
- Gabe's birthday party! W00t! (@ Out Of This World Pizza and Play) http://4sq.com/4RQY1I #
- Nice writeup (and cute family pic!) of @shanselman's crusade against diabetes in Portland Family Magazine: http://gdzl.la/8xAtzN #
- @shanselman we found this issue of Portland Family Monthly at Out of THis World. It might sneak home with us and into your mailbox. in reply to shanselman #
- Pro HDR iPhone shot of my fancy aluminum Yomega Maverick Yo-Yo http://post.ly/vIyQ #
- TrueHDR iPhone 4 Sunset HDR Shot http://flic.kr/p/8xGBCG #
- @kegill I use Pro HDR and True HDR. Both give different results in diff conditions. Can't wait to try Apple's HDR in 4.1. in reply to kegill #
As usual, my Apple nerd friends and I gathered around one of the big TVs in the “living room” area at work, so we could watch the Apple event and announcements live. Usually, it’s me flipping through all the liveblogs, seeing what tidbits we can glean as they dribble out. This time, since there was a live video stream for the first time since 2002, we were sitting pretty – we were watching and listening to Steve Jobs live on the TV. It was great.
Until, five minutes into the thing, the building sirens go off, and security comes over the PA and announces that the building is being evacuated. It was just a scheduled drill, but it was SO HARD to drag myself away from the new and exciting announcements we were just starting to hear!
As we filed out of the building, I brought up the stream on my iPhone (which worked beautifully – as a video streaming guy, I appreciate how difficult it is to get this right on such a large scale). We marched to the evacuation area in the parking lot, and by luck, my car was parked nearby. So I had an idea.
We all piled into my car (which also got us out of the rain), stuck my iPhone and the Apple stream into my car dock, and we continued to watch and listen to the event in my car during the fire drill evacuation. It was a nerd drive-in movie! Never underestimate the ingenuity of an unabashed fanboy.
- With the Apple event this morning, I'll be in full on fanboy mode. You've been warned. Feel free to ignore/argue as you see fit. #
- Watching the live stream of the Apple event on the big TV in the JF1 living room. http://gdzl.la/8xgtZr #
- Argh!!! Who schedules a fire drill during an Apple event!?!!
# - Streaming the Apple keynote on my iPhone on my car stereo during the dang fire drill. It's like a drive in nerd movie out here. #
- HDR photos built in to iOS 4.1? Awesome! #
- I love making HDR photos on my iPhone. Will be I treating to see how Apple's implementation compares to ProHDR and TrueHDR. #
- We're watching the keynote back inside now. #
- The new iPod nano is my new watch. #
- For the record, the streaming quality over 3G when we were on my iPhone in my car during the fire drill was impeccable. #
- That $99 Apple TV is killer. So glad it has Netflix. I may never boot my PS3 again. #
- So, a new Nano for my watch, iPod Touches for the kids, and the new Apple TV for the living room. I'm happy. #
- The iPhone 4 is the best pocket camera I've ever used. The photo apps are amazing. Happy to see that come to the iPod touch. #
- @adamd Disappointment comes from unmet expectations, and I try to set my expectations correctly for Apple events. in reply to adamd #
- For those getting ready to call me a fanboy, go read my bio line. On Twitter, my blog, everywhere else. "Unabashed". #
- @rogoway It's at the bottom of this page: "Either camera on iPod touch can capture stills" (and in the screenshots) http://bit.ly/d182ZE in reply to rogoway #
- I can't get iTunes 10 to download. Most of the download page loads, except the little part that actually starts the download. #
- @samgrover Feh. You're right. "iTunes 10 Coming Soon. Download iTunes 9 Now." #impatient in reply to samgrover #
- Epic Citadel, a demo of the iOS game shown onstage today, is available for free (and universal): http://bit.ly/cQ0Rb8 #
- Since @adamd asked, things that disappointed me from Apple today: No video on Nano. No BT remote for AppleTV. $.99 for TV rentals too high. #
- I hope that today's live stream of the Apple event performed well enough for them to continue doing it. #
- Fire drill during an Apple event? Stream it on the car stereo in the parking lot! Nerd Drive-in! http://post.ly/v3T3 #
- The camera on the new iPod touch doesn't have an LED light/flash. But it does gain a built in mic. A boon for audio apps (and VoIP). #
- At $0.99 rental per episode, it would cost me $2-3 every time I sit down and plow through a few TV episodes. Good thing it has Netflix. #
- And it would have cost $31 to watch all of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, like @rachelbancroft and I recently did. Yeesh. #
- If I had to pay $0.99 every time my kids re-watched an episode of Avatar, I'd owe more to Apple than I do on my house. #
- @rodfather Got a concrete reference for the still photo resolution of the rear iPod touch camera? in reply to rodfather #
- Oh, *THERE'S* the big disappointment. The iPod touch's rear camera only takes 960×720 stills (but video is HD). Boo! http://bit.ly/UHzOn #
- We're watching the keynote back inside now. #
- Being attacked by loud, explosive hiccups. Apologies to those within earshot. #
- Oops. That update about "back inside watching the keynote" must've been trapped in Twitter on my iPhone. It was from this morning. #
- Just pre-ordered my ?TV using the Apple Store iPhone app. Only took a few seconds, easy as pie. Love it. #
- I wonder what that USB port on the back of the new ?TV (under the HDMI port) is for? #
- Apple's ?TV Tech Specs page says the (micro) USB port is for "service and support" (read: hacking . http://bit.ly/aparPn #
- iTunes 10 is quickly running out of "today"… #
- @mikearmstrong99 Not sure. There's HDMI and optical audio out. I'm wondering how I'm going to integrate it into my old receiver setup. in reply to mikearmstrong99 #
- RT @nevenmrgan: iPhone HDR test: http://bit.ly/c5pr7o Great for clarity, saturation and tone obviously suffer. #
- I wonder if iOS apps that use the camera (augmented reality, barcode scanners, etc.) will work with the iPod touch's low res camera? #
- @jasonmauer the iPod touch's rear camera shoots stills at 960×720. Less than 1MP. That's HD video res. Front cam is 640×480. in reply to jasonmauer #
- @ashokraj no wireless sync. in reply to ashokraj #
- @jasonmauer yeah, I'm guessing augmented reality apps will be OK. Barcode scanner apps may have a harder time at that res, though. in reply to jasonmauer #
- Got iTunes 10. Ping *does* connect with Facebook. Why on earth didn't they, you know, mention that? #
- The little "show the album art in place of the album name for more than 5 in a row" feature in iTunes 10 isn't working for me. Boo. #
- I'm on iTunes Ping and findable. Add me if you like. No making fun of my music – it doesn't have most of the indie stuff I listen to. #
- Twitter for iPad: Sharing content in Tweets http://j.mp/bmFje2 Woo hoo! It's here! #
- So, Twitter for iPad is in the app store. Sort of. It still installs the iPhone version for me. Release date is tomorrow 9/2). Weirdness. #
- Twitter for iPad review http://j.mp/cBcyzG I can't get it yet, but here's an early review by Engadget. #
- The iPad/iPhone syncing screen got a nice facelift in iTunes 10: http://twitpic.com/2kffet #
- In iTunes 10 device syncing for apps, you can now show only iPad apps. But search/filtering seems to be gone: http://twitpic.com/2kffvl #
- Finally got Twitter for iPad. Downloaded via iTunes, where I could easily refresh until I saw version 3.1 available. #
- @JustiPhoneBlog Universal. Version is 3.1. Release date is 9/2/10. Keep refreshing. in reply to JustiPhoneBlog #
- Ahh. Twitter for iPad is gorgeous. Thanks, @atebits/@lorenb and @bhaggs! http://gdzl.la/8xta57 #
- Hmm. Searching for nearby tweets seems to be missing from the new Twitter for iPad. I loved that radar animation. #
- Nevermind. Location search is there. Just have to start typing in the search field, then choose "nearby" as the scope. #
- @ahockley try "quote tweet". That's the new RT. in reply to ahockley #
- OH: "Sometimes you just have to draw the line, and say 'There will be no poo in my coffee.'" /cc @jmakare #
- ReadWriteHack: Our Latest Channel Launches http://j.mp/agqEP8 Sponsored by the Intel Atom Developer Program. Check it out. #
- We got @gabebancroft a semi-sentient version of RC the car from Toy Story for his birthday. It has ADD, but it's awesome. #
- Nothing like a rousing 4 player game of Mario Kart Wii to burn off the birthday cake high before bedtime. #
- QuickAdvice: Expand Your Daily Vocabulary With Terminology Ph http://j.mp/b6Skig Great for word nerds. Love it on the iPad. #
- Fullscreen and more! http://j.mp/aKvzJR Hit "f" in Google Reader. Nice for smaller screens. #
- Google Reader now shows your lifetime "read items" on the Trends page. Unless it's over 300,000. Like mine. #
- I posted some iPhone 4 photos from Seattle and Gnomedex 10 on my blog: http://j.mp/TSFG10 Let me know what you think! #
- Unboxing and First Impressions With the Parrot AR.Drone http://j.mp/ay8d4b WANT. Definitely on my wish list. #
- Hey @DODOSays. The rubbery corner pads on my DODOCase are coming unstuck. I think they're the new design. What should I do? Superglue? #
Posting some of the photos I took at Gnomedex 10 in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. Gnomedex is my favorite conference, and I look forward to it every August as a “family reunion” of my geek people. This year was bittersweet – it was likely the last Gnomedex ever. I took lots of notes, and intend to write up a few more meaty posts on some of the thoughts I had. But for now, I’m posting these, mainly to push down my lame “Site was hacked” post, which has been sitting here for too long.
All photos were taken with my iPhone 4 – I decided not to lug a “big boy” DSLR with me, and I have to say, the photo quality of the iPhone 4, coupled with the amazing apps I can use to manipulate the photos “in camera” (like Pro HDR, Autostitch, etc.) blew me away. This is now my “pocket carry” camera, and unless I really need a DSLR, probably the only one I’ll carry from now on.
Made this combination panorama and HDR shot on my iPhone 4 with Pro HDR and Autostitch, two of my favorite photo apps. Taken from the front steps of the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle, home to Gnomedex for the last five years.
Chris Pirillo
The End of Gnomedex
Seattle Waterfront Panorama. Using Autostitch, of course.
Seattle Waterfront, Unretouched from iPhone 4. Love the colors on this one.
TinyScreenfuls Feed (this blog)