Techbax - Technical gubbins, ramblings, and opinions...

March 3, 2010

A quick Android twitter client review.

For the past 9 months I have been looking for the perfect Twitter client for Android phones (specifically my HTC Magic)... and while I am still yet to find it, I have come pretty close! I thought I'd share a brief outline of my findings to help anyone in the same situation. I am not a Twitter power user, but I do like to keep up with what's happing and interact with followers/friends. On my PC I use (and love) Tweetdeck but sadly their Android app is still in the pipeline - I look forward to testing it when it arrives!

These are my top priorities that are crucial for me in any Android twitter app:

Speed (especially when loading and scrolling through the time-line)
Ability to remember last viewed tweet in the time-line.
Ability to update tweets in background (but not notify of new ones), so I don't have to wait for a refresh if I just want a quick glance

The following are nice-to-haves:

Slick UI
Multiple accounts
Colour labels for different people I'm following.

Twidroid:

This was the first Twitter client I used, and until recently was the one I always returned to.

Pros:

Straightforward.
Feature packed.
Fast.

Cons:

For me, the major problem I have is scrolling through the time-line, especially when it is being refreshed. It is very jumpy and suddenly you will find that you are back down to where you started from!
UI is looking dated compared to the newer clients.

Seesmic:

I really liked Seesmic when I first tried it, and I know people who think it's the best Android Twitter app. However it's lack of background updating of the time-line (I want it to do this without notifying me of new tweets) meant I returned to Twidroid.

Pros:

Fast.
Nice looking UI.

Cons:

No background time-line updating without notification.
Tabs are a bit on the large size - would prefer more room to view tweets.

Twicca

This is a nice looking app, comparable to Seesmic. I found it a bit more unstable than the others - but it is in Beta. Like Seesmic it didn't do the background update, but the real problem I had was with the non-standard UI. For instance you have to confirm changes you make to the settings by touching a tick/check box - which was a bit 'Windows' for my liking!

Pros:

Looks really good.
Fast.
Coloured code tweets.

Cons:

Non-standard UI.
No background time-line updating without notification.
Slightly less stable.

Tweetcaster

This is a lovely looking app, but it was sooooo slow to load that I couldn't cope with it!

Swift

I did install Swift early on. It was fast, but I didn't get on with the UI so I went back to Twidroid.

...and now for my current favourite:

Touiteur:

When I first installed Touiteur, my initial thought was that it was similar to Seesmic with a nicer interface, but missing some of my priority features. I also found that the remember position in the time-line feature didn't appear to work, and the number of tweets in the time-line was limited (unless I upgraded to the pro version). I nearly uninstalled it (and would have done if the UI hadn't been so nice!) , but the next day an update appeared that fixed the problems with the time-line and unlocked the number of tweets function. I have been using it for as my primary Twitter app for a couple of weeks now and it is definitely my favourite app. For a video of Touiteur in action, have a look at : http://levelupstudio.com/touiteur

Pros:

Fast
Beautiful UI with nice animations and clever menus.
Colour coded tweets
Background refresh that works!

Cons:

No multiple accounts unless you upgrade to the pro version.
Couple of force close errors - which disappeared with a re-install.

Conclusion:

There are lots of twitter apps to choose from and more appearing everyday (Hootsuite released theirs yesterday). The quality and speed of development of these apps is amazing, so please don't take the above as a definitive guide, as the features are changing almost on a daily basis! I will try to update this review when I get a chance - but for now Touiteur gets my award for best Twitter android app!

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Filed under // Android Review twitter

Posted by C Somers

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February 2, 2010

How to start Chrome with pinned tabs

Useful tip for Chrome users:

You can change the Chrome shortcut so that when the browser starts, it automatically loads with specific 'pinned' tabs. For example, I like to have Google Reader, and GMail loaded as pinned tabs (i.e. small tabs that are always on the right) whenever I open Chrome.

To do this, add the following to the target field in your your Chrome shortcut properties: --pinned-tab-count=2 <URL1> <URL2>

e.g. C:\Users\test\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe --pinned-tab-count=2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news http://www.google.com/reader/view/

Note: Change the --pinned-tab-count= to the number of URLs you are listing.

UPDATE (26 Feb 2010): The latest developer version of Chrome has removed pinned tabs. Hopefully they'll be re-introduced in a later build!

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Filed under // Chrome Google Technical

Posted by C Somers

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December 29, 2009

Sony eReader Touch Edition PRS-600 Review

As an avid reader of ebooks on my Android based phone (I'd been using FBReader - which I highly recommend), I'd often considered buying an e-ink based reader. However the lack of standards, and the cost of the devices had stopped me from taking the plunge. Then my boss came to talk to me about a client who was considering providing e-readers to staff for reading large documents, and he suggested that we get a company one for me to play with and give him an overview... It would need to be touch sensitive as the client wanted to be able to annotate documents by hand, and support PDF and EPub files. After a bit of research it appeared the the Sony Reader Touch Edition would fit the bill, although it didn't have any wireless networking built in which would have made it perfect.

So a couple of weeks ago I took delivery of a Sony PRS-600 ereader with a 6" touch sensitive, e-ink screen. First impressions were good - the size of the device is perfect for holding comfortably in your hand (though I think for reading lots of A4/Letter sized business documents you would probably want a larger screen), the case is metallic with a soft feel back and the weight is enough to make it feel like a premium device, without being too heavy for prolonged reading. It was my first experience of an e-ink based device and I was immediately blown away by the amazing contrast and clarity of the screen. In good lighting conditions the screen looks just like ink on paper, under a piece of glass - perfect for doing serious reading! Battery life is also staggeringly good - I'm so used to smartphones/laptops having to be recharged daily, that having a battery that lasts over a week (this was only reading and not playing MP3s, which I'm sure would eat up the battery) was a pleasant surprise!

On the negative side of things, I quickly realised that the screen was best viewed in daylight (or good indirect light) and not under the glare of direct overhead lights or low light conditions. The touch functionality was useful, but after using the capacitive screen on my HTC Magic it was a bit hard to get used to pressing the resistive screen rather than just touching it. I also found that while making annotations with the stylus was useful, there was a lag between drawing/writing on the screen and it actually getting displayed - it wasn't unusable, just a bit awkward. There is also a slight lag with every page turn - but not enough to annoy, or detract from the flow of a book.

Another negative is the lack of wireless connectivity. Not so much for the the ability to upload files, but to allow access to full RSS web feeds and on-line content. Wireless would make it a much more useful and interesting device, especially if I could also synchronise my book reading across multiple devices (e.g. on my phone) like the Kindle does with its iPhone app.

I tested the MP3 functionality briefly, it works as a very basic MP3 player and you wouldn't want to use it as a primary music device. The dictionary function is also useful, double tapping on a word brings up the definition.

So would I recommend buying an e-ink based reader? If you're an avid reader then yes. They are a brilliant way to consume books, are easy on the eye, and incredibly convenient. Would I recommend the PRS-600? If you need touch annotation then you don't have much choice at the moment. While the PRS-600 is a wonderful machine (and has given me hours of reading pleasure), I can't help feeling that if it had wireless functionality it would have been a lot more useful. With all the new Android based e-readers promising even greater functionality on the horizon, I think I'd recommend waiting a while longer before buying one!

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Filed under // ebooks eReader PRS-600 Review Sony

Posted by C Somers

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December 11, 2009

A Google Apps recommendation...

For many years I used a combination of Outlook for business emails and Yahoo for personal emails. I was pretty happy with the combination, and it fulfilled most of my email needs, especially when the Yahoo web interface get an overhaul and became more like Outlook with AJAX drag and drop functionality etc.

However about 9 months ago I decided to look into setting up an email system that could be used by the whole of my family (rather than use the disparate ISP/Web accounts we were all using). After doing some investigation I discovered that I could register a domain name and use Google Apps (i.e. GMail) to host it for free. This seemed an easy solution especially since I had my eye on an Android based phone that would automatically sync with Google Apps.

Setting up the Google Apps account couldn't have been easier - I registered a domain name, created a Google Apps Standard account (Note: It is a bit hard to find as Google try to persuade you to buy the premier version rather than the free standard version) and then followed the instructions to configure the DNS settings in the domain's control panel. I then configured accounts for all family members, and away we went... For existing mail, I configured Apps to connect via POP and download automatically.

9 months on and I couldn't be happier... the GMail interface isn't as slick as Yahoo's, but the threaded conversations and labelling system make it a pleasure to use. The shared calendars are good for family organisation, but the revelation has been Google Docs. This web based Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation package, doesn't have all the frills of a desktop app (though new features are being introduced rapidly), but it is fast, accessible from anywhere and it is incredibly easy to share documents. It has started to wean us off Microsoft Office!

If you have a need for multiple/shared email accounts or collaboration tools then I highly recommend Google Apps. I would also recommend it for any small businesses - though I would suggest you check out the premier edition with its better support options and enhanced features.

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Filed under // Email Google Apps Review

Posted by C Somers

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December 2, 2009

Solving the personal backup nightmare!

As a keen photographer, I have a treasure trove of data that I would be distraught to loose, so data backup is of prime importance - especially knowing how unreliable hard drives can be (even server grade drives). A couple of years ago I was getting fed up with having to back up to an external hard drive and to DVDs (to take off site), so I decided to look at an online solution.

After a lot of Googling and reading reviews and forums, I settled on a service called Mozy. I signed up for the free 2GB service and installed their client app. It took a little while to configure, as I wanted to tweak everything to my exact requirements, but once everything was in place Mozy sat quietly in my system tray backing up my files whenever my PC was not in use. I soon filled up my free storage, so it was a no-brainer to get out my credit card and sign up for the full service!

Since then I have had peace of mind,that whenever I upload photos and movies onto my PC, I know that the Mozy client will kick in and soon be backing up my encrypted data to their secure storage. I still backup to my external drive, and make the odd DVD, but I'm not constantly worrying that I'm not up to date with my backups. I have also installed Mozy on my father's PC, and so no longer have to worry about his lack of backups either!

So far Mozy has been extremely reliable, and I've never had any problems or network issues. Recently I had to move Mozy to a different PC (you pay per PC you install the client on) and the client app was clever enough to work out what data had already been uploaded, and so didn't upload it again. The client app allows you complete control over what you back up, how often it is backed up and the bandwidth/processing used.

If you require the kind of backup that allows you to recover a certain version of a document on a certain day, or recover a file you deleted a year ago (deleted files are kept for 30 day) - then Mozy is probably not for you. However for a disaster recovery situation it's spot on!

As an IT professional I've seen the misery that can be caused by data loss, so please, please go and do some research on online storage providers and sign up with the one that fits your needs best. I'd recommend Mozy as it's been robust, error free and unobtrusive, but there are lots of other services out there to choose from...

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Filed under // Backup Mozy Review

Posted by C Somers

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November 26, 2009

Subsidising Spotify

In an interesting article on Techradar (http://bit.ly/5PZSoc), Garry Marshall raises the idea of getting ISPs to subsidise Spotify subscriptions instead of having the expense of trying to implement the unworkable 'three strikes' system being proposed by the UK government. As a huge Spotify fan, part of me likes the idea of having my ISP pay for my Spotify service. However as an even bigger fan of competition and not being forced to pay for services I don't necessarily want, I'm not entirely comfortable with this proposal - though surely anything is better than the three strikes idea.

Spotify has been a game changer for me and I love being able to have such a huge catalogue of music available instantly. I can now read the album reviews in the Sunday paper (yes - I still like the old school ones made from trees) while listening to the album blasting out of my computer. What I would have given to have had this type of service 15 years ago as a music obsessed teenager on a very limited budget! I few months ago I heard the band "Sweet Billy Pilgrim" being interviewed on the radio and they came across really well, but I missed the end of the interview and didn't get to hear them play. When I got home later, I typed the name of the band into Spotify and within seconds I was listening to their album. 9 tracks later I had become a huge fan. Over the last few years I had kind of drifted away from music, I guess I'd stopped being a music fan (and I hardly bought any albums), but Spotify has managed to open my ears to music again. If Spotify were to stop it's free service, I would now seriously consider buying a subscription even if my ISP didn't buy one for me!

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Posted by C Somers

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November 25, 2009

Squeezebox Boom

Just noticed that Amazon are selling the Squeezebox Boom at a discount again: http://bit.ly/84csJ4 *

I love my Boom - the sound quality is absolutely amazing for such a small box. I can stream my music from my PC, or via the web... I can even control it via an app on my Android phone (I believe the same is true of the iPhone). It's not all perfect - controlling the settings via the small screen can be a bit tricky, but all-in-all a piece of tech joy!!

*=affiliate link.

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Filed under // Amazon Boom Review Squeezebox

Posted by C Somers

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November 24, 2009

Living with Android

6 months ago I decided to depart from my usual 'feature phone' upgrade path with Vodafone, and upgrade to a smartphone - in this case an HTC Magic running Google's Android OS. Having got to know my phone over the last half year, I though I'd write a quick review - not only of the phone itself, but about the impact of having a smartphone over a 'bog standard' feature phone.

I'd been considering upgrading to a smartphone for a couple of years, but as a deskbound IT developer/consultant/jack-of-all trades with no commute to speak of, it was hard to justify the cost when I was always near a PC. In addition the only real options had been to stick with Vodafone and go for a Windows Mobile based phone or move to O2 and buy an iPhone. The former did not fill me with joy, as my brief experiences with Windows Mobile had not been pleasant, and the few people I knew with a WM phone hated them! The latter was tempting, and while I lusted after an iPhone from a purely technical point of view - I really didn't want to be tied into the Apple ecosystem... in addition I have nothing but loathing for iTunes which has caused me all sorts of miseries when used with my wife's Nano.

In May this year Vodafone introduced the HTC Magic into their range, and after a brief read of the reviews I became convinced that this was the phone to push me over the smartphone edge. It looked good, it ran the new (and importantly open) Android OS from Google, it had capacitive touch screen (like the iPhone) and had close integration with Google Apps (which I use for private email).

From the moment the phone arrived I was hooked... Android was an good looking, slick, easy and fast OS and the integration of the Google apps were nothing short of brilliant. In addition I surfed the Android Marketplace and soon had 'Newsrob' syncing with Google Reader, 'Locale' changing my settings depending on my location, 'Twidroid' allowing me to watch my tweetstream and 'FBReader' loaded up with my favourite ebooks. During the last 6 months I have added a few more key apps (and played with many more), and been upgraded to the improved Android 1.6 (Donut)... and I still absolutely love this phone! It's not perfect - the web browser can be slow, the camera is poor and there is still the occasional lag when going back to the home screen after using a resource hungry app, but overall it is a wonderful piece of kit and a joy to use.

So would I feel the same about any smartphone? I'm not sure about Windows Mobile (or Blackberry) but I can safely say that I'd have loved having an iPhone too. But given the choice now, I'd rather have my Magic anyday... the iPhone has a marvellous UI and a wealth of good apps. But I prefer the smaller profile of my Magic, the freedom to install the software I want (without Apple having to approve it for me), the background services and the joy of not having to install iTunes on my PC!

As for going back to a smartphone... never! I love having the world in my pocket. I'll never get lost again, I can see where my Android toting friends are (thanks to Latitude), I track my running via GPS, I can fire off a quick email or message (I hated texting on my old Nokia) and best of all, I always have a good ebook on me so I'll never get bored!

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Filed under // Android HTC Magic iPhone Smartphones

Posted by C Somers

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November 20, 2009

ChromeOS should we be excited?

With all the hoopla regarding Google's new OS, you'd think it was the most amazing, exciting leap forward in OS design for years. Well, yes, I see the joy in having an OS boot in 7 seconds, and the security advantages with having sandboxed tabs. I also get that it is quick, simple and designed for working in the 'cloud'... however, I have a number of issues with it:

1. It is a glorified Web Browser. Nothing wrong with this as such - it just doesn't really take the desktop experience any further forward. Tabbed browsing and pop-up side panels don't really push the boundaries of interface design.

2. It's tied to certain hardware: This may change as the OS matures and more drivers appear, but the last thing I want is to be tied into specific hardware or specific manufacturers... that's too Apple like for me!

3. It's all tied to Google: Well, I am a Google fan (I can't get enough of Android, Gmail, Lattitude, Maps etc), but I like competition. Firefox was a real eye opener for me... it allowed me to replace IE6 with something 100 times better, and forced Microsoft to pay attention to the web again. I have since moved to Chrome (because it is so fast and I was having all sorts of problem with Firefox 3.5), but I am ready to move to back to Firefox if they give me a compelling reason (or maybe even IE9!). There's no way I can install Firefox (or any other browser) on ChromeOS! It reminds me slightly of IE4 (I think it was) and Windows, where Microsoft tried to tie the two together - not a pleasant memory.

Despite all this I do think that a lightweight browser OS would be great on a secondary laptop/PC, though I also think that a Android tablet might also fit the bill, and be more flexible with what I can do with it!

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Posted by C Somers

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November 18, 2009

Goodbye IE6

In my day job working for a small IT consultancy, I often come across corporate IT systems still using Internet Explorer 6 as the default browser.

When we recommend upgrading, we often get the response that some of their most used sites only work with IE6. These sites tend to be goverment departments (e.g the UK land registry was one), and so we shrug our sholders and move on.

Yesterday we had a request to our helpdesk from an IT department to assist in helping diagnose why a user was unable to access a particular government site (this time the UK gambling commission). After some quick diagnosis we discovered that the site did not work with IE6, but worked happily with IE7 and 8. HURRAY!! We now had a senior employee who needed a newer version of IE. A company upgrade plan is now being drawn up. Shame we couldn't get them to go for Firefox or Chrome.... but hopefully we are seeing the end of the hateful IE6!

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Filed under // ie6 internet explorer

Posted by C Somers

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