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The moment so many Flipboard readers have asked for is here: Now you can get Flipboard for iPhone. It’s got everything you know and love about Flipboard, but now designed especially for the way you use your iPhone.

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I’m not a Mac user because I want to look cool in coffee shops. I’m a Mac user because I believe in straightforward computing.

My sentiments exactly. Unlike Jonathan Poritsky, I was fortunate enough to sway my parents into upgrading to an all-Mac household. Tech support has never been easier.

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In our modern society, the advent of “the internet” punched holes in our primitive routines. Somewhere along the line, we were encouraged to keep constant tabs on the mail – although this time, the mail in question was email.

Electronic checks and bills are not very hard to imagine, and we will always be able to recognize “junk”. Letters, on the other hand, are not what they used to be. Today we recognize different ways of contacting one another: email, Twitter DMs, FaceBook Messages, IM, SMS, etc. Each “way” encourages a different type of response. I’d like to think the letter evolved into email.

In primary school, we were taught to write letters. I will never forget how the teachers encouraged us to focus on the format of the letter; at the time, it seemed more important than what we were writing. After entering secondary school this changed, but I don’t think any of us could say, “I forgot how to write a proper letter.” Email, on the other hand, was a completely different beast. At first, we were told to write emails like we would a formal letter. Some listened, while others found it “easier” to forgo the formatting and “small talk” nature of the traditional letter. These renegade students adopted instant messaging as their primary form of communication, which encouraged sloppy formatting when it was time to send an email.

Somewhere along the way, we broke the system; ancient formatting does not have a place in the modern world. And, to say “no care” is put into our day-to-day conversations would be an understatement. Here is an example of what I consider an awesome email. It also happens to be how I try to write *every email* that leaves my inbox.

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Remember: potential consumers are voicing their opinions – dictating what they want – not what Amazon intends to provide.

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• “Linked posts” should read more like a statement, than an opinion.

• Blockquotes have been downplayed; old-fashioned quotes are utilized more frequently.

• If it’s blue, then it’s a link.

• “Linked posts” are indented (about 40px) on the home page.

• More relevant links within “linked posts” themselves. Here is a good example.

• Capitalization and “word emphasis” play a more important role.

• Finally, how a post looks (visually) is just as important as the (written) content itself.

Update: MacRumors has received new information, describing iTunes Match as being able to both download, and stream previously ‘matched’ (and uploaded) music.

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I chose to title this website, “Let’s Talk Apple”, in an effort to share my thoughts and opinions on my favorite company. I wanted to write reviews, post links, and most importantly — write my own ’long form’ articles. After one year of curating this website, I can safely say, “writing about Apple is not my cup of tea”.

As I write this, I have more than one-hundred (yes, 100+) articles, written today, sitting in my RSS feed. They all pertain to one thing — Apple. This obsession has to stop somewhere. If you have found my little home on the web, then I am also sure you have visited some of the greats — meaning, losing my little site, won’t matter in the great scheme of things.

What is it you want to do exactly?

I want to share some of my favorite articles, writers, and authors with the people of the internet. Just as Ben Brooks redesigned his website to focus on articles, I want to (not redesign, but) emphasize the linked list on Let’s Talk Apple.

This is not goodbye, but more of a friendly, “Hello!” If you are new, welcome. As for my current readers, you shouldn’t notice a thing.

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Tap to zoom: Double-tap the trackpad with two fingers to magnify part of a web page. Tap again to return to the original size.

Hands down, this is my favorite – Safari-specific – feature.

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• The app must be available on the Mac App Store.

• I must launch (and use) the app on a regular basis.

Prefer to trust me? Here is a list of the apps mentioned, without their descriptions…

The Obvious Choices

To start, I wanted to share some of the more obvious options on the App Store – most of which, you should already own.

Sparrow: Sparrow is a re-imagination of what a traditional mail client should look like. Though I do waiver between Sparrow and Apple’s Mail.app, I always seem to find my way back to Sparrow. Writing and responding to email is never fun, but Sparrow makes the process less daunting. Features like “Send & Archive” and “Quick Reply” became exemplary staples in a very short amount of time. [Download, $9.99]

Reeder: I have been a fan of Reeder since its debut on the iPhone a few years back. It’s fast, supports almost every social network & sharing service imaginable, and does not break the bank. I cannot think of a single, more robust, Google Reader (or RSS) client available. [Download, $9.99]

Things: Let me start by saying, everyone has their preference of to-do apps. When looking through the “best-of” articles, you’d find it hard to miss raging war between both Things and OmniFocus. Making a choice between the two, was much easier than you might think; I was not looking at the amount of features, but the integration of these features alongside the app’s design. Things had (and still has) OmniFocus beat — without question. Cultured Code, has two “major” complaints from its customers: (1) no syncing solution, and (2) the team is slow to add features to the app. Neither of these are actual problems; their syncing solution is undergoing beta testing, and I do not want/need superfluous features crowding my to-do list. In fact, Cultured Code reminds me a lot of my favorite company. [Download, $49.99]

Cloud: If you use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or even Email to share images, videos, links, or documents — you should be using Cloud. The app features a minimal design, and lives in your menubar; the team insists they have created the simplest way of sharing files across the web. There are plans available with different pricing tiers. That said, if I am able to ‘mingle socially’ without one, you should be fine without one as well. [Download, Free]

Pixelmator: If you plan on editing *any* image on your Mac – even if you already own (and use) Photoshop – you should be using Pixelmator. Every time I launch Photoshop, it feels as if Parallels opened – forcing me to use a non-native app. Pixelmator, on the other hand, feels right at home on my desktop. The team is dedicated to OS X, and have already updated Pixelmator to support Lion. Great software, with fast & reliable updates, at a great price – it just can’t be beat. [Download, $29.99]

The Gems of the App Store

They may not look useful, but they are absolutely invaluable.

Alfred: Shawn Blanc teased the listeners of his daily podcast, “Shawn Today”, with his Launchbar Review. For some time, he would waiver between his recommendation for Launchbar and Alfred; he claimed it was difficult to choose between the two. After a few episodes, I couldn’t help but try them both. Shawn uses Launchbar, while my recommendation lies with Alfred. There is something about pressing “alt-space”, and seeing Alfred’s white box (which is customizable) appearing in the middle of the screen (also customizable) that seems right to me. On my 27” iMac, Launchbar was too small for my tastes – though, it does look the most Mac-like. While I use Alfred mainly for launching apps, Alfred can do much more with the Powerpack [Purchase, $19.79]. I did purchase the Powerpack, but I would recommend trying the free version on the Mac App Store first. [Download, Free]

Byword: The best text editor, with support for markdown, on the Mac – period. [Download, $9.99]

Divvy: Before Divvy, I always dreamed of the OS X team stealing this feature from Windows 7. Divvy is easily the best window management app for the Mac. It relies on keyboard shortcuts (in lieu of hot corners or sides), to “divvy-up” the apps on your desktop into proper (and useful) spaces. [Download, $13.99]

Moom: A great companion to Divvy. If you are looking for a cheaper or mouse-friendly option – Moom may be the right choice (or addition) for you. [Download, $4.99]

Hex Color Picker: If you do any sort of design work, you *need* to download HexColor. HexColor “puts an extra tab in the system-wide color panel”, providing access to a color’s hexadecimal color code. Think, web design. [Download, Free]

Notable Contenders

These are good, but not “absolutely necessary” to my workflow.

CalendarBar: To be honest, I rarely open/use this app. That is not the fault of the developer, but the way I use my Mac; I much prefer iCal’s week view. The applet lives in the menu bar, providing quick access to your iCal, Google Calendar and Facebook events. [Download, $4.99]

Todolicious: A simple to-do app for your Mac. If you do not want/need the complexities available in Things or OmniFocus, I would highly recommend Todolicious. Alas, I want/need these complexities, and use Things on a daily basis. [Download, $9.99]

Mental Case: The best app for college students. Ever. For some reason, I have never seen Mental Case featured in any collection of college-specific apps. It may be the price, but I find this app absolutely indispensable for my studies. There are versions for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Get them all, and you will not be sorry. [Download, $19.99]

Mars Edit: I love this app. If you write any content online, you need this app. I just finished the 30-day trial, and am absolutely blown-away. Try it, and (if you can afford it) buy it. My purchase is definitely, “coming soon”. [Download, $39.99]

The Incident: If you have played the iPhone or iPad version of the game, you know what you are getting yourself into. This is the *only* game I play on my Mac, and there is a good reason why. [Download, $2.99]

We live in Miami. We understand what Hurricanes can do. Backup your Mac! We will take off 99% for 3 months. Just please protect your data!

Use Promo Code: irene99

Even though it is a (brilliant) promotion, I love it when companies do good by their users.

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The iPad is causing such disruption in the PC business that HP, a company fundamental to the creation of the personal computer itself, is getting out of the PC business. Wow. Just wow.

I do not agree with the whole article (most likely, the wording), but I do appreciate Patrick’s opinions on everything that transpired this past week. These companies need to stop playing “follow the leader” and start playing “leap-frog”. This entire situation is disappointing at best.

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Thanks to Google’s acquisition of Motorola and HP’s decision to get out of the PC and mobile industries, a lot has changed this week…

Undoubtedly the easiest to understand collection of links, regarding everything that happened last week.

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What’s truly striking about the conversation is that they earnestly believe they’re getting the equivalent of an iPad by buying the TouchPad. They don’t come right out and say it, but it’s made very plain by their praise for the TouchPad that they’re convinced this is an iPad-esque device at a ridiculously low price.

This is going to be an interesting series.

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Seriously, letting something auto-tweet to your followers? Didn’t we all agree that that’s an abuse, likely to get you unfollowed? Oh, but wait – since it mentions my Twitter username, I’ll see it even if I don’t follow you, in the Mentions tab, every day.

I am all for the unique and “consistent” user experience Twitter is thriving for, but something tells me  their “trust and safety efforts” are not as effective as they had hoped.

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In addition, HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

I stand by what I said yesterday,

Call it what you want – sad, true, harsh – I’d go with all three. The TouchPad has no momentum, no push with consumers; I would not be surprised to know that HP’s key customers (the non-geeks) did not know the tablet existed.

The reason Apple is succeeding, where others are failing, is fairly simple – they have a successful ecosystem. Name one other company that offers the plethora of multimedia options all of Apple’s products have at their disposal. Microsoft comes close, but not close enough. Killing-off a product line, before it has a chance to flourish (without even the minutia of promotion), is just dispiriting.

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But I think it’s silly to say that this move is solely in response to iMessage. AT&T has nearly 100 million wireless subscribers. And the total install base of American smartphone users are still outnumbered by non-smartphone users 2 to 1. Put another way: there are a lot of AT&T customers who don’t use an iPhone.

I will admit that my initial reaction was directly related to Apple’s announcement of iMessage. After reading Shawn’s piece, I would agree – my reaction was indeed, silly. The new plans haven’t changed, as much as one has been removed; that’s right, no more $10/month for 1,000 messages.

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First there was a $50 discount. Then there were spot discounts of $100 at outlets like Costco. Then the $100 discount became permanent. Adding insult to apparent injury, a deal on Woot for $120 off an entry-level 16 gigabyte TouchPad netted all of 612 takers.

I think most would agree that HP is not pushing the TouchPad with any gusto. These advertisements with Russel Brand provided us (the customers) with enough excitement to finish watching the commercial. They did not, however, give *anyone* the energy to actually purchase the device. Call it what you want – sad, true, harsh – I’d go with all three. The TouchPad has no momentum, no push with consumers; I would not be surprised to know that HP’s key customers (the non-geeks) did not know the tablet existed. Did I mention this little number?

Best Buy has taken delivery of 270,000 TouchPads and has so far managed to sell only 25,000, or less than 10 percent of the units in its inventory.

True story.

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No Gawker charges, 2 misdemeanors filed against ‘finders’.

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I’d say where by “anti-competitive” he means “competitive”. But I must say, I didn’t see this coming, and it’s a very clever solution to the mobile patent corner Google had painted itself into.

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In fact what I value most in a cell phone is the ability to make clear phone calls, send reliable text messages, and occasionally contribute to Twitter while on the go. The Lotus lets me do all three.

The fact that Thomas Brand is able to write this article, says a lot about our society. “A Month Without A Smartphone”, should not give the impression of being as audacious as the title suggests – but it does. I cannot help but wonder whether my reaction is pathetic, or simply natural evolution. I’d say it was a combination of the two.

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With the “Amazon Student” app, college students can perform instant price checks on textbooks and other items, keep lists of items they want to buy, and post used textbooks, games, movies, or gadgets for trade-in.

Let’s just say the “Amazon Student” app has replaced a frequently used app of mine, “Price Check by Amazon”.

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I love being able to swipe between a fullscreen app and my main workspace. I can keep my email or my music off to the side, to slide in when gestured or clicked and to be easily dismissed with another quick swipe. Swiping back and forth between fullscreen apps and different desktop spaces is elegant and effortless.

It’s true – though many don’t seem to like Lion’s new “Spaces” design – I am absolutely taken with fullscreen apps, the gestures, and the whole concept of Spaces. Fullscreen writing apps only came into fruition quite recently. These apps were not only designed for the fullscreen experience (UI), they were designed to help keep you focused on writing. With Lion, this metaphor has transferred to all of our window-based tasks.

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That kind of seamless integration is how you push through change, not with standalone apps. Facebook Messenger may succeed, but it’s not going to hurt iMessage.

Can iMessage be counted as the “winner” if it’s users don’t even know they are using it? Yep.

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Last week, I posted this link to an article by Stephen Hackett. A few moments later, I was offered a “solution” to my Launchpad dilemmas — a preference pane for Lion called, “Launchpad-Control”. The idea is really simple: allow users to choose which apps appear in their Launchpad. Prior to installing Lion, I created alias links to applications I use often, but not often enough to keep in the dock. The aliases were grouped in a folder, and placed in the dock. Doing this gave me quick access to these rarely used, but necessary apps.

Not Anymore

Launchpad-Control does not do Launchpad any justice. Having to launch the app from the dock, just does not fit into my workflow. To be honest, my first solution of filing aliases, was also rarely used. I resorted to using Alfred to open all the apps I placed in the alias folder — effectively named, “Apps”. As I said, Launchpad-Control does not do Launchpad any justice — on it’s own.

My solution really is simple, but for the non-tinkerer, somewhat non-obvious. I wanted Launchpad to be tied to a keyboard shortcut; any single-keyed keyboard shortcut would work. I chose F5. To assign a keyboard shortcut, head over to System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts. From there, all you need to do is find the option to “Show Launchpad” under Launchpad & Dock.

Download Launchpad-Control. Launch the preference pane, and choose which apps you want to appear in your Launchpad. That’s it!

I’ve been using this solution for a few days now, and it seems to be working well for me. I still have to actively remind myself to use the shortcut – something I should not have to do. That said, I would choose using a native feature (eg. Launchpad) vs. a hack (eg. alias duplicates) any day of the week.

You would be amazed at what better service you get when you put care into your outward appearance, even if you stop short of wearing a suit.

This is more important today, than it has ever been.

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Apple will be updating their iconic Cube structure at their midtown Manhattan retail location, replacing the current cube of 90 panes with just 15 massive, and I mean massive, pieces of glass (rendering at bottom). The slabs will be roughly 10 feet wide by a whopping 32 feet high, and held together using some sort of secret, proprietary connector that will reportedly be embedded within the glass itself, rather than being comprised of mere external clips.

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I’d love it if Skype, Adium, and Linkinus were Dashboard applications. They would be easily accessible, they wouldn’t clutter up my main work environment, and more importantly they would rid me from the distraction they cause when they accidentally catch my attention because I hit CMD+TAB one too many times.

Apple has solved these “problems” with Spaces. There is nothing stopping developers (not Apple) from creating dashboard-specific apps. Nothing. ¹

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Brow­sing the web using Safari on an Apple Cinema Dis­play, however, is an example where full screen should, but doesn’t, work very well.

Apple has hinted for designers, and app developers, to redesign their apps for Lion’s full-screen mode. The best example – to date – is iPhoto. Certain elements (such as the color scheme & layout) change as the app takes control of your desktop. Photo Booth is another great example.

These same app developers and designers don’t seem to the the hint. It is true, some apps do not need to be redesigned. It is also true that most apps do need to be redesigned. I would argue that apps which do not effectively make use of the full-screen (at any screen resolution), should not scale at all. Think Address Book.

As a quick mock-up, I like most of the ideas presented in the article. As a finished product, however, the mock-up would be lacking.

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