Smarterware

Note Taker Turns Your iPhone into an Endless Notepad

VisiCalc creator Dan Bricklin--you know, the guy who invented the spreadsheet--has delved into mobile development and released his first iPhone/iPod touch application, Note Taker. Rather than use keyboard, in Note Taker you jot notes using the tip of your finger on your touchscreen as if it were a pen on an index card. (See my bad handwriting in Note Taker in the screenshot here.) Note Taker looks and sounds more awkward than it actually is: the application employs some nifty interface mechanisms that make it easy to write long sentences across your screen. For example, it scrolls right while you jot without requiring swiping, and it shrinks your words to a legible version for reading while you write. Note Taker doesn't do text recognition, but you can transcribe jotted notes using the keyboard. (Update: You could also just email your Note Taker image to Evernote to do the recognition for you.) This app isn't for folks who are comfortable typing on the iPhone keyboard and have terrible handwriting, but it is for folks who like to sketch, mind-map, or list without fat-fingering small keys. You just write the way you normally would on a notepad.

My favorite part about this app is the fact that it comes from a giant in personal computing, who, after 30+ years in the business, is still motivated enough to pick up a book, learn a new platform, and release software. Bricklin explains:

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Gmail Label Improvements Reduce Need for Folders (and Sub-folders)

Google's rolling out some improvements to Gmail labels today, including drag-and-drop labeling, smart hiding of labels you use less often, and a location promotion to right below your inbox. Gmail product manager Todd Jackson told me that about 29% of users actually try out labels in Gmail at all, and these tweaks aim to increase that number.

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Better GReader’s Inline Preview Back in Action

Uploaded a new version of the Better GReader Firefox extension late last week, with a long overdue bug fix on one of its most useful features: inline article preview.

While you're using Google Reader to peruse your feeds, with Inline Preview (click) enabled, you can click the article headline to load it within the Google Reader frame, no new tab required. This is especially useful for news articles that don't include the full text inside their feed items. Thanks to scripter Bryan Tsai, this new version also lets you Ctrl+Click a headline if you do want to open it in a new tab. See it and a few other Better GReader features in action in the video below. Or just download Better GReader here, or ask questions on the mailing list here.

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