Federico Viticci

10804 posts on MacStories since April 2009

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, iPad, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, Unwind, a fun exploration of media and more, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about portable gaming and the handheld revolution.
@viticci@macstories.net
@viticci.macstories.net
viticci@macstories.net

Elements: Dropbox Based Text Editor for iPad and iPhone

Ever since I bought my iPad I’ve wanted to be able to actually work with it. To write articles with it. First came Evernote, but I ditched for Simplenote. I was an avid Simplenote user on the iPhone, and when the iPad version came out I immediately made the switch. Simplenote is a very popular app, and it’s no surprise to see it used by many professionals out there. It’s simple, reliable and fast.

Then there’s Dropbox, the cloud-based storage solution everyone loves and would like to see implemented by default on Mac OS X. Dropbox allows you store and edit files no matter what device you’re on, so what’s stopping developers from creating note-taking applications based on it? That’s exactly what Second Gear are doing with their new iPad and iPhone app, Elements.

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Infinifolders: Unlimited Apps in iOS 4 Folders

Available in Cydia at $1.99, Infinifolders is a great tweak by chpwn (developer of Infinidock and Infiniboard) that allows you to bypass Apple’s limitations of 12 apps in a single iOS 4 folder. With Infinifolders you’ll be able to put inside a folder as many apps as you want, choose the color of the scroll bar and even paginate the folder.

It’s a very useful tweak, recommended to jailbreakers.

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iPhone 4 Ultrasn0w Unlock Available

Last night the Dev-Team finally flipped the switch on ultrasn0w for iPhone, the unlock tool that enables you to use different SIMs on locked devices. It’s a pretty big deal for US users.To install the tool, you have to add the repo666.ultrasn0w.com repository in Cydia - of course you have to be on a jailbroken device first.

Version 1.0-1 of ultrasn0w works for:

iPhone4 baseband 01.59

3G/3GS basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01 and 05.13.04

Check out the how-to video after the break.

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Apple Rejects Mosspuppet’s App Because of “References to Walt Mossberg”

Apple has a history for rejecting parody applications, or satirical ones. Remember the Mark Fiore fiasco? They eventually accepted the app in the Store. And the “Me So Holy” rejection? Your call.

What we have here today, though, is quite a thing. If you happen to know Mosspuppet, then you must know that it’s some sort of…parody of Walt Mossberg, well known WSJ tech columnist. I mean, just go watch a video on mosspuppet.com and get the idea. Now, the guys behind this amazing meme / parody / MG Siegler hater built an iPhone app called “Mossboard” that contains Mosspuppet’s typical “sound effects”. Check out the video after the break to see the app in action.

Apple rejected the app because of “references to the well-known third party Walt Mossberg.” Really? What about this? And remember, we’re talking about the official app of a parody here. I hope that this is just a mistake, and that the app will be approved upon a re-submission - even if I have the feeling that because Steve Jobs is close friends with Walt, the app review team decided to reject Mossboard. We’ll see.

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iTunes Cloud Syncing Coming to iPhone and iPad with Wi-Fi Sync 2.0

Wi-Fi Sync is a great tweak available in Cydia that allows iPad and older iPhone users to sync with iTunes without the need of plugging the USB cable in. Just make sure that you’re on the same local network and you’re all set.

Developer Greg Hughes has just confirmed with a tweet that the 2.0 version is in the works and that, together with proper iPad and iPhone 4 support, it’ll bring app synchronization over 3G and VPN. Think about it: you’ll be able to sync apps no matter where you are, as long as you have an active internet connection. I don’t know how the developer will let us remotely connect to our desktop computers (Google account authentication? Something like Here, File File?) but this will be one of the most useful things ever happened to jailbreakers.

iTunes cloud-syncing is one of the most anticipated features among iPad and iPhone users, and much has been said about Apple willing to implement it by 2011 - when the massive NC data center will open its doors to Apple engineers. We’ll see. In the meantime, just wait for Wi-Fi Sync 2.0.

Check out the demo video below, in case you missed it.

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Nozbe: Web-based GTD on iPad and iPhone. Reviewed.

Talking about GTD apps and online tools is difficult, and you know why? Because my method of Getting Things Done will always be different from yours, so will the apps I use, so will the fact that I used to constantly switch between different softwares. More on this tomorrow, though.

Discussing GTD is like talking about favorite foods: at an extent, it’s pointless. I can’t come up here and say “Hey, you should work this way - don’t organize tasks like that”. That’s why when Cody and I reviewed Basecamp and Backpack we decided to talk about our experience, rather than giving away some pretentious advices to wanna-be entrepreneurs and the like.

GTD is personal. A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a Nozbe account and downloaded the iPhone and iPad apps. I was intrigued by the whole “Do in the web, find it again on mobile apps” concept, and I was fascinated by the terrific amount of integration with 3rd party online services the developers advertised.

So, Nozbe. I’ll just throw this out there: if you’re not an OmniFocus user and feel the need of having more than just tasks in your GTD application, Nozbe is the best you can have right now. With real OTA sync. With real Evernote integration. Oh, and with team-management capabilities.

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