Programming My Life

In my previous post on Evernote, I discussed it’s value for simple note taking.

Since that post, Evernote has released a comprehensive update of their mobile application which is significantly improved.  The new interface changes it from a simple note taking app to a mobile version of the full app.  Admittedly, I am not a power user of this software, but I haven’t found anything that I can’t do on the mobile version that I do on the desktop. For taking, searching, and viewing your notes, the mobile app is now just as good for me as the full version.  In fact, for note taking at the Unite conference , I took notes on my phone for almost every session simply so I didn’t have to fire up my laptop each time.

One of the best functions of the mobile app is the ability to snap pictures with a smart phone and keeping it as a note (whole or part).  I like to write notes when I’m listening to a talk, but some slides just have too much code that I’d rather just see as a whole later.  Evernote’s mobile version has a button explicitly for this purpose.  I can take the picture, place it right in line with  the notes, and get right back to taking notes.

In addition to note taking, I have begun using Evernote for lists as well.  The two that I reference the most often are a list of games I want to play (AKA my backlog), as well as a list of links I want to read on various subjects.  The latter is incredibly helpful to me.  Without it, I tend to end up with a ridiculous number of tabs open and end up not reading some of the more in depth articles.  Now, I have a go to list of articles to read if I’m waiting around somewhere or if I actually make it through the open tabs on my computer at the time.

Additionally, I’ve been using Evernote to keep my notes on CS106B (update coming soon) all in one place.  I like this far more than a physical notebook as I just need to click through the notes, and I am able to add more notes (for example, the code on the website for that lecture) and reorganize after I’ve written them.

Finally, I plan to start using it to track my major electronics purchases so I don’t need to worry about where i placed receipts. I can simply take a picture of the receipt and search for it later.

If you haven’t started using it yet, you can find the desktop client here or use the QR code for the mobile app:

Any ways you’re using Evernote that I’m not?

Recently, the Droid Incredible finally got the newest revision of the Android OS, 2.2, codename Froyo.  I couldn’t wait to receive the auto update from Verizon, so I found the update file on the web and manually ran the install.  I didn’t really like hearing about the update months ago and having little idea on when I would receive it even up to a couple weeks ago.

I can say now that it was worth the wait.

Google did an excellent job with added features like Chrome2phone (see below), and HTC took the opportunity to improve some of the features in its Sense overlay for Android.

Overall, my phone just feels faster now.  From swiping between home screens to web browsing, it seems like every action has been sped up.  I use Dolphin Browser HD for viewing websites and opening new tabs has been sped up so much that I didn’t realize they were opening at first.  I literally opened the same tab several times thinking something was wrong before noticing I had five identical tabs.  I was expecting opening a new tab to slow down my browser as it did before the update.  Now that there is no pause, I wasn’t sure if the tab had actually opened.  One of the biggest improvements in speed I have noticed is trying to ‘share’ a website.  Previously, when I would touch the ‘share this website’ button, I would have to wait anywhere from 2-5 seconds. Now, though, I am almost instantaneously allowed to choose how to share the article.  Combined with Android2Cloud*, I can send a site to my computer in about 2 seconds.  Previously, I would have to wait for the share graphic to load then type in my email address to send it to myself, which took about 10 seconds.

In addition to the improvements in speed, both HTC and Google have provided a significant number of new features.  Google’s Chrome2phone allows users to send websites from their desktop or laptop to their Android device.  I have noticed that to save the link, you have to open the link when it gets sent to the device.  It would be nice if the C2P app on my phone saved the last 5 or 10 links sent.  Another great feature Google has added is the ability to update all apps at once and the ability to auto-update applications.  One of the most publicized additions to Froyo is Flash.  After the initial novelty wore off, I was unable to find any great uses for Flash on my phone.  My first stop was Robot Unicorn Attack, but I was unable to find a way to bring up the keyboard to use solely for the game.  I haven’t found any pressing uses for flash in the few weeks I’ve had the update.

One improvement I’ve noticed from HTC is for the keyboard as well as other apps that have a landscape mode:  they can be in landscape in either direction on the phone.  Previously, landscape only worked when the phone was tilted toward the volume controls.  Now it works when tilted away from the volume controls as well.

In addition to flash, animated GIF images run now as well.  Before the update, I could see an image of the first frame of a GIF, but the animation would not run.

HTC fixed their photo album app as well.  Before the update, it would require me to select the album I wanted to display every time I took a picture.  Now, it seems to update by itself to the latest photo I’ve taken, which is great.  Kudos to HTC for taking the update opportunity to fix some of their bugs.

On the downside, my battery seems to drain a bit faster.  I would like to note that I don’t browse many (if any) flash heavy sites.  I also have flash set to only load when I touch the flash frame, so I don’t think flash is the cause.  My battery still lasts through the day, and I could be wrong, but after some consideration, it seems to drain a bit faster on average.  If anything, I definitely don’t notice an increase in battery life, which I was hoping for with the new software.

Finally, Google updated the Google Voice app shortly after Froyo released.  I thought this would speed up the app and fix some problems I’ve had with it.  Notably, it keeps a stack of every text you respond to.  If you are responding to multiple friends and enter the program from the notifications bar, you can end up with a stack of many texts so that when you try to use the ‘back’ button to get out of the app, you end up tracing through that entire stack.  I was hoping the update would alleviate this problem.  Not only did the update not fix this problem, the application now seems less responsive overall.  Several times I’ve tried to access the app, it has taken several seconds to load, which I haven’t noticed with any other app.

Overall, I am incredibly happy with the Froyo update.  The minor problems I’ve had are more than made up for by the improvements and additions.  Now I just can’t wait to here about Gingerbread.

*Android2Cloud is a new app that is the reverse of Google’s Cloud to Device messaging API.  While the official Chrome2phone app sends sites from the web to your Android device, Android2Cloud performs the opposite task.  I find myself sending long articles to my PC far more often than I find myself sending websites to my phone.

Last week, I decided to jump on board the Android bus and bought the HTC Droid Incredible. I haven’t had it long enough to give a full review, but I’d like to give a review of my first experiences with my own smart phone (I have played with other smart phones, but having one all the time for a few days is a different experience than playing with one even for an extended period).

Technically, my first smart phone was the LG Vu. I returned it within the 30 day return period because 1. I couldn’t justify the extra expense of the data plan 2. The internet and phone in general were sluggish and 3. The apps that currently make smart phones much more enticing were nearly nonexistent. The Vu was mostly just a touchscreen version of the LG Shine (which is the phone I ended up going with).

The Incredible’s 1 GHz Snapdragon processor along with the relative maturity of the Android App Marketplace take care of the latter two concerns. I have not yet felt as though the phone was slow to do anything. Snapping through the home screens and getting into apps are a breeze thanks to the processor. So far, most of the apps seem interesting, but I haven’t had reasons to use them naturally. I’ve opened them up and looked around, but I haven’t wanted movie times because I was going to a movie or looked for a specific youtube video using the app for example. I’ll get around to discussing those things when I’ve had a better chance to interact with those apps organically.

What I have had much more interaction with thus far are the widgets. These alone have nearly justified my purchase. The home screen widget from HTC gives me a large display of the time and the weather, which I would hardly ever check before I had this phone. I also have a habit of not checking my Google Calendar nearly as much as I’d like to remember important dates and events. I have been checking it more often now that it is more easily accessible, and I think I will be using my it more often now that I don’t have to go out of my way to see it.

The Scoreboard widget has also helped me out already. Friday night I had a bit of time to kill before leaving to meet some friends, and the widget reminded me that a hockey game was on that I wanted to see. Without that, I would have likely forgot and done something else. It is a quick and convenient place to check when my favorite teams are playing next.  It also send notifications for score updates for my favorite teams.

Also, during dinner Friday night I was able to use the internet to come up with some trivia my friends and I were debating (did you know John Milius directed Conan?).

The Facebook widget hasn’t really done much to change how I view Facebook. It scrolls through some of the most recent status updates, but if I really want to check Facebook, I will always open the full app to scroll faster.  The same goes for Twitter.

Another big upside to having a smart phone with a data plan is being able to take advantage of Google Voice.  One way to justify the extra expense of the data plan is using Google Voice to manage text messages.  While you can’t send to multiple recipients or send MMS messages, all regular texts are free and get sent to the Google Voice app.  The only difference between checking a regular text and one through Google Voice is which button you click to open the message.  Depending how much you pay for texts each month, this alone could justify the price of the data plan.  Additionally, I can’t stand that carriers see fit to charge for texts with a data plan.  There is nothing special about the data in a text.  It is simply a packet of data of predefined size that your wireless carrier charges you a special rate for because they can.  There are other advantages to Google Voice, but sticking it to the man is the one that matters most to me.

So while I am still getting used to having a phone capable of all this (as well as getting used to a touchscreen keyboard), I can’t see myself going back to a ‘dumbphone’.  I’ll get into any problems I run into with the phone in a post in the near future, but for now, I can’t come up with anything negative about this phone: it’s just too incredible.