My yearly rumor round up based on no scientific application what-so-eva!

100%:

• Snow Leopard
• Steve Jobs will pop up at the last minute, and join Phil in the following…

90%:

• New iLife, iWork
• New Mac Mini

75%:

• Cinema Displays
• 17 inch MacBook Pro

25%:

• New Intel chips in the computers

10%:

• iPhone Nano
• New iPhone OS
• Mac Netbook

0%:

• iPhone for Verizon

The hype machine has been a little quiet. Probably a good thing.

@jaggedpen: *reading twitter post from bugfrog contain the word jaggedpen* You forgot the @.

@bugfrog: So.

@jaggedpen: How am I suppose to find it without the @?

@bugfrog: You just read it.

@jaggedpen: Yeah, but my name doesn’t have the @ next to it. How am I suppose to see it?

@bugfrog: You just saw it.

@jaggedpen: …

I did it. I totally voided the warranty and jailbroke my iPhone. This means I can download and install applications that aren’t authorized by Apple. Why would I do this?

Backgrounder - When you start a program on the iPhone, you are pretty much stuck with that program until you are done with it. Once you press the home key, it”ll stop the program and reset the session. Backgrounder lets the program run in the background, so you can switch between programs without losing their sessions.

WinterBoard - This program allows you to tweak the look in feel of the iPhone. Change the look of the icons, the background, and also the sound. Give the iPhone a little personal touch.

Cycoder - This application changes the still camera of the iPhone into a video camera. It captures the video and sound on to the iPhone so that it can be downloaded for YouTube upload.

Qik - Qik does the same to the iPhone camera, but instead of saving the video on the iPhone, the video is streamed live to the Qik website. There, other’s can see your live event. Life casting here we come. Rumor has it this will be released legally to the App Store soon.

Openssh - Openssh puts a Secure Shell client and server on you iPhone. What? Well, for those that don’t know secure shell, it’s a way to connect, command and copy assets (files) to/from the iPhone over a encrypted channel. I.e., copy those files to you computer made by Cycorder. Making the iPhone an accessible storage drive.

Now, how does one jailbreak the iPhone? Go here. This is the tool I use.

When I was younger I had a book that instructed me on how to draw cars in 3D. I’m horrible at drawing, so it didn’t help.

The last section of the book talked about the cars of the future. How at the turn of the millennium, our cars would have the power of flight.

The world’s skies would be full of cars powered by jet engines, and the roads would be just landing strips to the destination. The picture in the book showed floating traffic lights, floating traffic signs and happy motorists riding in floating cars like this:

Ugly, but freaking cool!

Cars that owned the road at the time looked more like this:

So, here it is 2008, almost 2009, and I have been waiting over three decades for a flying car. At this point, I expect to look up and have the sunlight interrupted by undercarriages involved in sky-ly traffic jams.

Instead, I see these vehicles rule the sky road:

Google, you know I’m pro-G. If you made clothes, I’d wear your gear. Why tease and provide  some features in the basic site, but not apps? You don’t have what I would consider vital to Google production.

Here they are:

5. Contact syncing for Google with Windows Mobile

- I know I have a meeting, but with who? Come on, I need my peeps!

4. iGoogle for apps.

- iGoogle looks so nice with all those widgets. My custom start page for chunk-o-cheese.com is so dry.

3. Themes on Gmail for Google Apps

- Have you seen the new Gmail themes? Again, why no love for the app people who have embraced Google?

2. Reader for Google Apps

- I use my apps to centralize my life. Reading content online is part of that. Be nice to not have two logins to achieve that task.

1. Editable Docs on Google Docs

- Now you can add one doc and edit it with the mobile device, but proper collaboration with documentation still needs the desktop. Go ahead, bind me to that damn machine!

Dear Google,

I’ve been there from day one. From the two page search (even when one of them was goggle.com) to the search citadel you are now. You’ve never asked for my love, but now you are going to need to earn your right to control what is dearest to me, my domain.

XOXOXO,

JaggedPen

There is this little social tool we all know and love called Twitter. Call it a microblog, call it a communication tool, call it oxygen, hey call it what you want. Everyone is tweeting. From the average Joe to a mythical bird on Mars, Twitter is a way of life for most. If you haven’t jumped on the Twitter band wagon please visit a friend of mine who has an awesome Twitter 101 to get anyone started.

Twitter is all about the development of social media. Many of the ideas that Twitter rolled into their production site came from the users that love it. The developers at Twitter have created an API just to ignite that creativity to the next level.

Here are some examples of Twitter API use and just how amazing the power of open creativity is:

Twitter Peeps:

Who are these people that tweet?

Twitterholic.com — Find the people who make Twitter, Twitter
Twubble — Find out who they follow
TwitterLocal — Find someone near you

Twitter Hotness:

Now that I’m on Twitter, what do I read?

Twitscoop — Find the hot topics on Twitter
Tweet Scan — Search Twitter for topics
Twitter Search — Twitter owned search tool
Tweetmeme — Follow a discussion on Twitter

Twitter Alt-Read:

There is so much, how do I get only stuff I want sent to me?

Twitter Alerts - TweetBeep.com — Email Tweet Alerts
Feed My Inbox ~ RSS to Email ~ Feed to Email — RSS to Email

Twitter Phone:

How about twitter for my phone?

Twitter — Mobile Twitter Interface
Hahlo 3.1 — Another Mobile Interface

Twitter Apps:

Are there apps for Twitter, like desktop apps?

twhirl | the social software client — Small, full functionality
TweetDeck — My Personal Fav.
Twidget - Twitter.com Dashboard Widget — Mac OSX
TwitBin - twitter your browser - twitbin.com — For the Firefox browser

Twitter Voice:

I don’t like typing.

twitsay | Give your Twitter Account a Voice — Call in a tweet

Twitter Non-Text:

Can I put other things on Twitter? Pictures, vids, or other web content?

TwitPic / Share photos on Twitter — Post a picture
twittergram — Flickr + Twitter
TwitThis – Connect Blogs and Twitter
Twitturly - Real-time Link Tracking on Twitter — See the sites people are Tweeting

Twitter Fans:

This is awesome, how do I get involved?

Twitter Fan Wiki / FrontPage

–

So, what can you do with the API?

I’d like to mention this whole other life I have, besides the blog, and work, and food, and wait where was I?

Yes. I decided to start this other blog called 20 Of Noon. Here I am listing little projects and ideas I have. I blog the status of those projects and release them to the public when ready.

Currently in the mix is:

Traffic Cams On Demand

This a way for people on the road to use their mobile phones and SMS to see how the traffic load is for major intersections. It is operated out of a service from TextMarks, and this was just more of me playing around with the CDOT cameras around the Denver Metro Area.

You can find more info here.

LinkChop.com

Link Chop is a link shorten-er for use with text submission applications with character limits. SMS, Twitter, Digg, and Tumblr are just some of the services that LinkChop can be used with. The trail was just to see if I could do it, but based on response I’m going to keep the application going and perfect it, of course.

You can find more info here.

This weekend warrior really gets my creative juices going, so expect more ideas and solutions from The Other Blog. Also, if you have ideas for me to think through and turn into an app, or would just like to know my take on it. Email me as james [at] 20ofnoon [dot] com

Poor Dog…

The 3G iPhone is finally here, and I’ve been reading all the reviews, blogs and tweets about how not as happy people should be with the third attempt. (Third attempt woah woah woah!!! Don’t woah woah woah me. Did you forget about the 2G iPhone 16GB?) Battery life seems to be the biggest complaint. I’ll review that later. Let me start out with me list of loves, likes and dislikes with the new Apple product.

Note: Some of these are software features, and I’ll note them as I go through them. I want to cover the “royal we” of features for the individuals that are new to the iPhone, and are deciding on whether to buy one.

Loves: (s = software, h = hardware)

Exchange, Mobile Me (s): My work uses Microsoft Exchange, bless them. With the addition of a true Exchange client, instead of the fake IMAP-like one they had before, my contacts, calendar events and mail will be stored on the server. If I modify or add anything, it is updated in seconds. If my iPhone goes south, I just reset the account info and BAM! all information is back on the phone.

A-GPS (h): There is a GPS chip in the new iPhone that uses satellite signals assisted with cellular signals to pinpoint and track your lacation. The previous GPS-like software was a hit or miss in some areas. So far, the new GPS is amazingly accurate.

Speaker (h): I can hear!!! When someone calls me, I can hear!!!!!

Likes: (s = software, h = hardware)

Apps (s): This is the best thing about the most recent iPhone software upgrade. The doors have been opened to freely make applications on the iPhone, and already there is quite the selection in the App Store with more being added daily. My favorites include: Pandora, Last.fm, Twitterific, Jott, and Super Monkey Ball.

Casing (h): The back is now this glossy curved number. Man, does it feel natural in my hand.

Buttons (h): Previously, the buttons were tiny and easy to press. When a case was used the buttons were pressed by accident, or the case would end up obstructing the buttons in some way to prevent access. The new buttons are a little harder to press, but they stick out a little more making access very easy.

Airplane Mode vs. Wi-Fi (s): The 2G network has a lot of interference with speakers to car and home sound systems. It seems like the new iPhone is worse. The other day I was in a meeting and my iPhone was making that alien chatter across the conference room computer. I was forced to put the phone in airplane mode, and that also means no twittering during the boring parts of the meeting. I completely forgot about the airplane mode and went to the twitter homepage. An alert came up and told me to turn off airplane mode, or to use Wi-Fi. I went to the settings and WOW!!!!! I can twitter to my heart’s desire, and I won’t bother the computer speakers.

Dislikes: (s = software, h = hardware)

Battery (h): Still battery reliance is not what it should be. The hope was that the battery would be upgraded along with the 3G chip set, but from what I’ve experienced it hasn’t improved at all. My first full charge lasted about a half a day with normal use on the 3G network. So, this leads to a little update to a previous post I made about adjusting the iPhone configuration to prolong daily battery life.

How To Extend The Daily Battery Life Of Your NEW iPhone 3G:

1. Auto-Brightness — Turn off the Auto-Brightness detection. If this feature is turned on, it will constantly check the brightness level of your environment. If you set it to manual, the power to do the continuous detection will be saved.

Steps: Setting icon –> Brightness –> Auto-Brightness –> Turn To Off Position

2. Brightness — Your display brightness setting is a factor of the battery life. Set your brightness towards the left/lower side to gain that power back. I have mine set to the ‘g’ in “Auto-Brightness” below the brightness slider.

Steps: Setting icon –> Brightness –> Slider right above Auto-Brightness –> Slide To The Left

3. War Driving — In the Wi-Fi department there is a setting that will constantly scan for an open Wi-Fi connection, and then it’ll ask if you’d like to connect. I’ve never been to an area where looking for an open Wi-Fi was a must, plus around here Wi-Fi areas aren’t dense enough. Well, at least not with open Wi-Fi signals.

Steps: Setting icon –> Wi-Fi –> Ask to Join Networks –> Turn To Off Position

4. Enable 3G, When Needed — The 3G pulls more power than 2G (Edge). If you use the Edge instead of 3G, your battery will last longer. Also, due to the lack of speed on the Edge network you will most likely use it less. If there is any way for you to use another resource for Internet access, by all means, do it! This 3G/2G difference includes talking. The benchmark shows five hours of talk time on the 3G, but ten hours of talk time on the 2G! That’s double the talk pleasure! So, use the 3G only when needed.

Steps: Setting icon –> General –> Network –> Enable 3G –> Turn To Off Position

5. Mobile Web — Use the mobile version of the websites you visit. Sure, the iPhone can handle the standard website format, but most mobile versions look pretty sharp on the iPhone. Plus, they are faster on the Edge you just dedicated yourself to using on a constant basis.

6. Text Messaging — If you follow Twitter or BrightKite, instead of text alerts use the web interface. They both have mobile ports and are fast on the Edge. (See how I work it around here? Combining these tips like a pro.) Besides Twitter is getting worse and worse at spitting out those texts in a usable fashion. It would be better to web based tools like Summize to get your track on.

7. Bluetooth — If you aren’t using bluetooth for headset or connection to your computer (for no reason). Turn it off.

Steps: Setting icon –> General –> Bluetooth –> Bluetooth –> Turn To Off Position

8. Vibrate — The other day my co-worker shut off the vibrate mode on his ringer. He noticed a difference in the battery life. He put two and two together and realized the vibrate feature drained the battery. So, don’t take my word for it.

Steps: Setting icon –> General –> Sounds –> Both “Vibrate” under ring and silent –> Turn To Off Position

9. Email Auto Check/Push — Unless you are expecting an important message, why have auto email check on? When you check it manually it’s pretty speedy, and anticipation is sometimes better than the actual event. This also goes for the new feature for Exchange and Mobile Me. The “Push” feature sends a message to your phone when a new message or a new calender event is created on the server. Set this feature off, and check all of your mail manually to save energy.

Steps: Setting icon –> General –> Fetch New Data –> Push –> Turn To Off Position

Steps: Setting icon –> General –> Fetch New Data –> Fetch –> Manually is checked.

10. Music Volume — It takes energy to deliver that music at bloodletting levels. Just like every other iPod the volume level will determine how long the battery will last. The higher the volume the more pull, so knock it down a couple of notches. You’d be surprised how much it’ll improve.

Bonus: Call Forwarding – If the phone is constantly talking to the cellular servers, it’s using power. If you are near another phone, try forwarding the calls to it. When you leave move it back to the iPhone.

Steps: Setting icon –> General –> Fetch New Data –> Call Forwarding –> Turn To On Position, Set the Forwarding To number.

Try a few of those options to see if the battery life improves.

Last Call: Is the iPhone 3G worth it? For newcomers to the iPhone world, yes! Go out and get one! To the old Edge-y owners, the free software upgrade to 2.0 alone is worth a hold out for a while longer.

The iPhone 3G is approaching, but here I am stuck with my old Edge’d iPhone. So, for me the new one can’t come any slower. Especially when my battery is receding faster than a slug in a salt mine.

To help your battery last long enough for the new iPhone, coming out July 11th. Here are a few tips to make the most out of your daily charge:

1. Hacking — First, don’t hack your iPhone. Yes, i know those apps and themes are sweet, but those themes take a little more display power. If you have a fancy theme with cool icons, you’ll notice the battery fluctuates a little more than normal. So, if you don’t hack your phone the standard software won’t cause erroneous readouts of your battery strength.

2. Auto-Brightness — Turn off the Auto-Brightness detection. If this feature is turned on, it will constantly check the brightness level of your environment. If you set it to manual, the power to do the continuous detection will be saved.

3. Brightness — Your display brightness setting is a factor of the battery life. Set your brightness towards the left/lower side to gain that power back. I have mine set to the ‘g’ in “Auto-Brightness” below the brightness slider.

4. Edge — The WiFi feature pulls more power than the Edge feature. If you use the Edge instead of WiFi, your battery will last longer. Also, due to the lack of speed on the Edge network you will most likely use it less. If there is any way for you to use another resource for Internet access, by all means, do it!

5. Mobile Web — Use the mobile version of the websites you visit. Sure, the iPhone can handle the standard website format, but most mobile versions look pretty sharp on the iPhone. Plus, they are faster on the Edge you just dedicated yourself to using on a constant basis.

6. Text Messaging — If you follow Twitter or BrightKite, instead of text alerts use the web interface. They both have mobile ports and are fast on the Edge. (See how I work it around here? Combining these tips like a pro.) Besides Twitter is getting worse and worse at spitting out those texts in a usable fashion. It would be better to web based tools like Summize to get your track on.

7. Bluetooth — If you aren’t using bluetooth for headset or connection to your computer (for no reason). Turn it off.

8. Vibrate — The other day my co-worker shut off the vibrate mode on his ringer. He noticed a difference in the battery life. He put two and two together and realized the vibrate feature drained the battery. So, don’t take my word for it.

9. Email Auto Check — Unless you are expecting an important message, why have auto email check on? When you check it manually it’s pretty speedy, and anticipation is sometimes better than the actual event.

10. Music Volume — It takes energy to deliver that music at bloodletting levels. Just like every other iPod the volume level will determine how long the battery will last. The higher the volume the more pull, so knock it down a couple of notches. You’d be surprised how much it’ll improve.

Bonus: War Driving — In the WiFi department there is a setting that will constantly scan for an open WiFi connection, and then it’ll ask if you’d like to connect. I’ve never been to an area where looking for an open WiFi was a must, plus around here WiFi areas aren’t dense enough. Well, at least not with open WiFi signals.

Bonus part deux: Call Forwarding – If the phone is constantly talking to the cellular servers, it’s using power. If you are near another phone, try forwarding the calls to it. When you leave move it back to the iPhone.

Well, I hope these tips help. With luck we can all survive the next few weeks for the new and improved iPhone. Then I’ll make a whole new list on saving battery juice on that beast.