Over the past two weeks I've been watching the coverage of the Amazon Kindle with disbelief. "The Kindle is here" according to headlines. In some press quarters, the advent of the Kindle is about to turn the British ebook market on its head. Publishers are quaking in their deep-pile carpets. But it's a strangely doctored version of the Kindle that UK consumers are now, by the grace of Amazon, allowed to purchase. 

This version has to be imported individually from the USA, attracting extra VAT and import duties. The books you buy have to come from the US Amazon store with prices converted from dollars to pounds. Once you've overcome all these hurdles you can't use one of the Kindle's major Unique Selling Points–the 3G access and ability to download books while away from a wifi network.

As a seasoned ebook fan, with my Sony Touch Edition, I really cannot see what all the fuss is about. I've looked at the Kindle but don't like the design or the reading experience. That big keyboard takes up such a chunk of the face of the device and is about as sensible as a physical keyboard on a smartphone. The Sony has a virtual keyboard which is just about adequate for the slow refresh rate of today's eInk technology. You're not going to be writing a novel on the Amazon keyboard either,  so why is it so prominent? Surely the screen should occupy the maximum space on the front. These days you don't buy a television set with thirty percent of the front occupied by buttons and tuning knobs.

The Sony, by contrast, strikes me as a paragon of good design. Most of the time you are reading books, not fiddling around on the internet or choosing new titles. Browsing the net on an eInk screen is likely to be an underwhelming experience.  Better choose an iPhone for this. The Sony offers a simple, attractive user interface that makes reading books a pleasure. Also, it must be said, the Sony accepts the new ePub standard book format that means your books are portable. Amazon is currently a closed system. Once an Amazon, always and Amazon. For once, Sony is ahead of the game, even though they insist on putting a legacy memory stick slot on the top of the device. 

I haven't had wifi connection on the Sony and I'm not really so sure that I would want it. Sure, I can see benefits in downloading newspapers and magazines but I prefer to browse a larger Mac monitor for my ebook purchases. However, rumour has it that Sony will have a wifi-enabled reader within a few months; it is already available in the States.

Amazon, famously, do not release sales statistics for the Kindle–a point made by Apple recently. We are therefore unlikely to hear just how many of the devices they will sell in the UK. When I see my first one in the wild I will post a comment. I certainly have no brand loyalty and will be off as soon as I find a better hole to go to. I doubt, though, that hole will be Amazon's unless they buck up their ideas.

By Michael Evans

Welcome news last week that my favourite "to do" application, Omni Focus, has teamed up with GTD-guru David Allen. I've been using OF for a couple of years now and am a student of Allen's GTD methodology for tackling scheduling of tasks and project management. OF, which can be as simple or as complex as you wish, is ideally suited to the GTD system. This isn't the place to go into the detail of GTD, but a common feature of all such systems is the concept of contexts. Contexts group tasks into logical workplaces. For instance you can create contexts such as @home, @phone, @mac and so forth. Thus you can easily filter the tasks that you can or cannot do at a particular time or in a particular location.

When you find yourself with a few minutes to spare and have a phone handy, you can instantly find those little tasks that can be completed by means of a quick call. Or if you are at home, you group the tasks that can be done only at home. @errands is also an important part of the system. I group all my errands under this heading but also have sub-contexts for specific places such as @tech stores, @supermarket, @pharmacy, @bank. This is just a flavour of GTD and how OF can integrate.

To mark the new association between OmniFocus and David Allen, OF have produced an excellent "white paper" which takes you through the main tenets of Getting Things Done and its implementation within OF. I would strongly recommend downloading the document from the Omni site.

OF, incidentally, is a prime example of the current trend to universal availability via cloud computing. Your Omni database can be synchronised via a cloud such as MobileMe or Dropbox. Although I'm an avid Dropboxer, I do use MobileMe for OF and it works well. The excellent OF iPhone application also sychronises via the cloud so you can work on your projects while away from the computer. And, of course, you can call up your shopping list when in the supermarket. What more could you wish for?

MacOldie (the blog, that is) is one year old and interest and support is now coming from all over the world. It's a tough task blogging every day and there are both prolific and fallow periods. Contributions from readers are always welcome; just email them to me (address at the top of the left-hand column). I reserve the right to edit stories but will preserve your style. And, if you wish, you can use your own by-line.

Michael

Tell me if I'm odd one out, but I've never really taken to iDisk. I love MobileMe and appreciate the seamless syncing of calendars and contacts among all my Macs and my iPhone. And I love the way it keeps all my OmniFocus data in sync between Macs and iPhone. But I've never really warmed to iDisk. It mounts, it unmounts, it leaves a copy here there and everywhere. It's never quite ready when you want it. In short, I find it a nuisance.

Dropbox, a free alternative, is what iDisk should have been. It is a folder, linked to the Dropbox cloud, and can be placed on the desktop (which is my choice for easy access) or anywhere else in the home folder. All the contents of the Dropbox folder are synced immediately between any number of Macs or PCs and, newly, with the iPhone. It's really quick.

It's not just a matter of having your data backed up offline. I now use Dropbox for all my current data files, except the biggies like music and photos, so I always have the latest versions with me, whether at the desk or on the train with my MacBook Air. And for those apps that mainly use one data file (such as my Moneydance accounts), Dropbox offers an ideal solution. I can update my data on the desktop before leaving home and be sure than the file will be current when I open my accounts data on the Air later in the day.

Take a typical use for Dropbox: The keychain for 1Password can be stored on Dropbox and it means that all your Macs have the same information whenever you try to long on to a web site or want to check your bank account details. When you open 1Password on any of your Macs you are connecting to the same data file. (Note that this does not extend to the iPhone version of 1Password which must be synced via a common wifi network).

Most people these days have more than one Mac, probably at least one desktop and a laptop, and an application like Dropbox ensures that everything is up to date. There's never a suspicion that you've left that important file at home. 

Security, too, is exemplary. Data is encrypted on upload and download, so the files on the cloud are not accessible to third parties. But since the data is held in local files you end up with effective backups of all your data on your other Macs and on the Dropbox cloud; even on your iPhone. If the worst happened and Dropbox lost all your data (unlikely, but look what happened this week to Microsoft and the T-Mobile Sidekick) you still have your stuff on all your devices.

Dropbox keeps copies of your deleted or amended files so you can go back and restore something you thought you'd lost. It's like a portable version of Time Machine, available wherever you are. This data retention is time limited in the free version but extended if you take a subscription.

You get 2GB of storage for free, and that's quite a lot when you think about it. I upgraded to 50GB for $9.99 a month but so far have not even exceeded the original 2GB. I paid mainly because I think so highly of this product that I felt I would like to contribute to the development: A rare sentiment these days.

Every so often along comes an iPhone app that is really superbly useful and you wonder how you managed without it. Such an app is Red Laser. The concept is simple but brilliant. 

Out shopping, you often see products you'd like to buy but decide to go home and research prices before getting out the credit card. Well, Red Laser does this for you in seconds, even before you've replaced the box on the shelf. All you do is open the app and point the iPhone camera at the barcode. you don't even need to press the shutter because Red Laser senses when it has done a successful scan. 

Immediately, Red Laser searches Amazon and Google and produces a list of competitive prices. Here in the UK it sticks to British suppliers, as you'd wish. I tried it today at the Apple Store. A Kensington mini-USB hub was £9.95. Red Laser found it on the web for £8.81. So, taking into account the shipping costs, it made sense to buy from Apple. 

This is altogether brilliant and certainly makes shopping more fun and more productive. Apart from the chance to compare prices, it is a quick way of noting possible purchases and then researching comparative data on the internet later. Red Laser currently costs £1.19: a guinea well spent.

When I had my Mac conversion some five years ago I couldn't find suitable Mac apps to replace several vital Windows programs. In particular, at the time, there was no suitable accounts package and this was a daily irritation.  Now, I have MoneyDance which is an excellent cross-platform (Mac, Windows, Linux) app. It's not the prettiest, but it works well.

During the early days I struggled with Microsoft's dreadful Virtual PC. I tried and rejected BootCamp but eventually settled on Parallels Desktop for Mac. Over the last couple of years, though, my need for Windows apps has shrunken to almost nothing. The "almost nothing", however, is important: the annual tax return. I have used Acorah Software Products' excellent TaxCalc package for many years to prepare to submit my return. Sadly, there isn't a Mac version.

TaxCalc is a specialised piece of software, where detailed tax knowledge vital. As far as I know, there isn't Mac application that can tackle a British tax return, so I have to fire up Parallels several times a year just for this one application. I suppose there's something fitting in the fact that it's the tax return that doesn't work on Mac. 

However, with the new-found strength of the Mac userbase, it is remarkable that someone hasn't turned their hand to a tax calculation application.  Today, however, I got news from Acorah that they are developing a Mac version of TaxCalc. I hope this will be the final nail in the coffin of Windows on my computers. 

When I got my first iPhone I really missed the physical keyboard of the Palm Treo. For a long time I remained envious of BlackBerry fans with their much-admired physical keyboard. Now, however, I'm sold on Apple's virtual keyboard and I've built up my speed and accuracy through diligent use. When the landscape option arrived in OS 3.0 I thought this would be icing on the cake; but I find the larger landscape keyboard less accurate than the smaller, standard portrait version. Maybe it's just me, but I now seldom turn the phone on its side to enjoy landscape composition. What I do especially like is the intelligence of the iPhone/Touch keyboard software, its ability to anticipate a word and offer it for acceptance (by a logical press of the spacebar). There are quirks, of course. When I type the word "reading" my iPhone diligently checks my contacts list and finds the town of Reading, so insists on capitalising reading. I can live with this; at least it's thinking.

It comes as little surprise therefore that some industry pundits are forecasting the end of physical keyboards. See this TechCrunch article for more background. Virtual keyboards are getting more intelligent by the day; and it is becoming possible to build in tactile feedback to simulate the buttons of an old-fashioned mechanical keyboard. I now see little virtue in the traditional smartphone split face–half screen, half keyboard. The screen compromise is so great as to negate any perceived advantage of having a "proper" keyboard. The iPhone interface, with the full screen, intelligent virtual keyboard and finger-sized options, is just so right that it floors the competition.

All of this brings me to the soon-to-be-announced Apple tablet. This fabled device is so near production (in the "next decade" which starts on January 1) that it's now down to guessing the specification rather than the existence of the device. The more recent rumours centre on a 10in screen (anything from 9.6 to 10.6in) and a modified iPhone operating system. This is a bit disappointing for me, since I'd rather hoped for a version of OS X in order to use Mac apps. But I can see the logic in using the iPhone interface because it is designed for podgy digits rather than mouses and keyboards. I'm not a developer, but I wonder how much work there is in modifying iPhone apps to the larger screen. It's probably not insurmountable and will open up a new income stream to make it more than worthwhile.

If our imaginings of a single flat-screen tablet are accurate, I don't see it being any more useful than the iPhone for productivity applications because of the conflict between ideal viewing angle and ideal typing angle. You hold the iPhone to type, you can't do that with a tablet and would have to lay it on the table and that's difficult for viewing the screen. I can see the advantages for video apps and games, of course. As TechCrunch point out, the clamshell design of the modern laptop is probably the ideal compromise between viewable screen and typeable keyboard. They raise the interesting possibility of a future laptop (or tablet device) with two screens–one doubling as a virtual keyboard. Now I find this concept very attractive and could well imagine it being successful. With the flat screen used for keyboard and functions, customisable according to application, and the angled screen used for viewing, we would have a compelling product. Maybe the days of the physical keyboard are indeed numbered. 

Sad, in a way, since I've always been a keyboard person and learned my craft on ancient mechanical typewriters. I have a degree in the use of carbon paper and Tippex, but in many ways I'm ready for the change to virtuality. In all this, though, it's remarkable that the well-tried QWERTY layout has survived, despite so many efforts to think of a better way. From the Remingtons of the 19th century through to the iPhones of the 21st, all share this common layout. Having tried various ABC-layout virtual keyboards, I conclude that QWERTY has more logic for word composition, particularly in English, and we are probably stuck with it. Perhaps the ABC will soon become become the QWE.

By Michael Evans

AT&T's decision to allow VOIP applications such as Skype to operate on the 3G network (as opposed to wifi only, as at present) is a very welcome step. It is potentially very important for travellers since Skype-to-landline or mobile calls are much cheaper than native cellphone calls. Will this precedent be followed in other countries? Europe is often a leader in cellphone innovation and I would be surprised if we don't see VOIP calls allowed over here pretty soon. What is O2's policy on Skype?

While we are waiting for this, I am making full use of the MiFi portable wi-fi hotspot to make Skype calls. Because the SIM card in the MiFi offers full HSUPA bandwidth (through Vodafone) I can Skype at will from my iPhone 3GS provided the MiFi is switched on. 

In the course of a year I reckon I'll save enough on international call charges to pay for the cost of the MiFi unit.

By Michael Evans

I'm not a great fan of loyalty cards because of the bulge they make in my wallet. I am continually being asked if I have such-and-such a card when making a purchase and have to admit that I do indeed have one, but not with me. In most cases the loyalty cards are credit-card format with an embossed number and swipe strip; or, in some cases, they have a bar code.

Here's a wonderful opportunity for some enterprising iPhone app developer. Wouldn't it be great to store all your loyalty card information in an iPhone app? All you would need to do would be open the app and have the retailer read the barcode or whatever from the phone. The technology exists and would be welcomed by all shoppers. I wouldn't mind a percentage of the proceeds for contributing the idea.

A few months ago I sold my original 3G iPhone, which was locked to O2, to a friend. He took out a new "Simplicity" monthly contract, which can be cancelled at any time, for £20. This gives him 600 minutes, 500 texts and unlimited data. Not a bad deal, really, considering that the standard monthly iPhone contract costs £35 and gives exactly the same level of coverage. The only things missing in Simplicity, apparently, are visual voice mail (yawn) and the free wifi through The Cloud and BT OpenZone (welcome but not worth £15 a month). So well and good.

My friend took the iPhone for an extended visit to family in Newcastle. On the first day up north he noticed that the iPhone was reporting he was not subscribed to a data service. I told him to take the phone into the nearest O2 shop to see what could be causing the problem. He went to two O2 shops in Newcastle and both gave him the runaround and blamed the phone, telling him to go to the nearest Apple Store (conveniently located 100 miles away in Manchester!)

As a result of this he was three weeks without data. I confidently expected to get the thing working and did a complete restore, checked all the settings and still there was no data service. So I went to the O2 store in Chiswick, west London. The guy there knew immediately what was wrong: the network settings had somehow been changed to the values used for the standard iPhone contract. The Simplicity contract uses non-iPhone data settings which are common to other mobile phones. In seconds he had adjusted this and the data was once more working.

The culprit? None other than MacOldie who updated the iPhone software immediately before the phone was borne off to Newcastle. It seems that the update changed the network APN settings (Settings/Network/Cellular Data), so they have to be returned to Simplicity settings. Easy when you know how. But this is really something that needs addressing by O2.

My worry is that two O2 stores in Newcastle failed to spot this simple problem. It must be very common, yet all they could do was blame Apple. My friend lost three weeks of data coverage as a result of Geordie O2's ineptitude. It's good that they seem to employ a better quality of staff in London. A note to O2's customer service brought an immediate apology and a credit of £14, which is full compensation for the outage time. Eight out of ten to O2.

By Michael Evans

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS of spending long periods abroad is the difficulty of watching home television. It is possible, with some fiddling, to have a British Sky dish and decoder in most European countries, but the further east you go the less likely are you to get the main British terrestrial channels operated by BBC and ITV. In Greece, for instance, it is all but impossible to receive these channels without a dish the size of a football pitch. 

During the last summer I experimented successfully with using a proxy server, which fools BBC and ITV web sites into thinking you are in Britain instead of 2,000 miles away. This works very well, but is mainly restricted to viewing the limited offerings of BBC iPlayer and ITV Player. It's a good and relatively cheap solution.

For more than a year, though,  I have been eyeing SlingMedia's Slingbox, a media streamer that allows you to watch television as it is received on your home set, plus giving access to a video recorder and other peripherals. It all sounded too good to be true, particularly after the bad experience I had had a few years ago with a similar Sony device. That one just didn't work reliably. Last month, though, I decided to buy a Slingbox Pro because the price has come down and I was able to get one for £150 from Carphone Warehouse.

The big surprise is just how well it does work. Set-up was a cinch and within just a few minutes I was streaming very good quality video around my home network. The Slingbox has an integral digital television tuner so it receives all the British Freeview channels. The neat trick is that you can connect a video recorder and, with the aid of a small infra-red sender, control the recorder from the remote Slingbox client. I was soon up and running and able to set up recordings, view existing recordings, delete, pause and fast-forward, just like at home.

Getting the Slingbox video to stream over the internet needed just a few more tweaks, involving setting up a port on my Airport Extreme. The Sling Media site has an excellent widget which notes all details of your router, your system and then tells you exactly what to change by the use of pictures and easy-to-understand tips. I can now view British television and all my recordings while abroad. I can set up the video to record and watch later–ideal when there is a significant time difference between home and away. The picture quality depends very much on the broadband connection, but I get acceptable quality even when using a Vodafone 3G card in my MiFi personal router. The Slingbox software optimises the picture for the speed of connection and manages to avoid pauses and breaks by reducing the qualify of the picture to compensate for bandwidth shortcomings. It certainly isn't HD quality, but it is more than acceptable as far as I am concerned. 

The Slingbox iPhone application works just as well, but is let down by the complexity of the control features. Whereas the Mac software includes a virtual remote control, there is a lot of fiddling on the iPhone to do simple tasks like viewing recordings, re-sorting the list of recordings or deleting programmes. I'm sure they will improve this with time, but it is certainly possible to sit in a cafe in Australia and watch live BBC news on the iPhone. 

So far I give this device a nine-out-of-ten rating. It does what it says on the tin.