UPDATED ON JANUARY 24, 2012
This AppleScript has been updated and moved into the Veritrope.com Code Library!
This AppleScript has been updated and moved into the Veritrope.com Code Library!
One fast way to get items into Evernote is simply to email them. Brett Kelly’s eBook, “Evernote Essentials” provides a solid guide to how this works (See the chapter called “Evernote, Email and You”) along with some other great email-related tips.1
If you’re moving a lot of emails at once (or just want more control while you move them), you can set up an Mail/Evernote AppleScript which allows you to archive items directly between the apps with a keystroke. Version 2.0 of the Apple Mail to Evernote AppleScript is now available: It includes support for HTML messages and also more configurable settings to customize it to your workflow. Click here to check it out!
You can drag-and drop a message into Evernote if you’re okay with it being an .eml attachment to your note and not the actual message text.
Apple’s iPhone 3.0 operating system unveils some much needed — and long overdue — changes to the platform. Now, I know that “cut and paste”, MMS, and turn-by-turn directions for the GPS were features greeted by sighs of relief from the user community (as was Apple’s approach to “push notification” and Stereo Bluetooth!).
But to me, the big story is that Apple has staked out a new future for the platform with a whole new level of software/hardware interoperability (and also with a change in the development payment model itself). My guess is that this will accelerate the number of “Whoa — that’s Awesome!” experiences for it’s users which, in the final analysis, is probably the best predictor for any gadget’s continued success.
Three elements in particular stand out: First, Apple announced an API upgrade, opening a thousand new “hooks” for programmers and developers to use within their applications. A hook is, simply put, something that allows programmers to “hook their program or device into” some deeper functionality. Hooks open up the inner workings of the iPhone to developers, enabling truly creative combinations of programs and usages that wring the most functionality out the device.
Apple has also enabled “peer-to-peer access” to these APIs, opening the door for software and hardware developers alike to tie into the iPhone. On the software side, Apple is pumping up the Gaming development community with multi-player capabilities that use this connection. Programmers are also being given new ways to monetize their content once the App has already been purchased (subscriptions, in-app purchases of additional features, etc.).
However, it’s the hardware side is where I expect the most interesting stuff to emerge in the months ahead. By allowing applications to control external hardware via the 30-pin connector, Bluetooth, or over an local network, you will be able to connect your iPhone to everything from a home stereo to an insulin testing kit. Put another way, you’ll be able to use the iPhone itself as a “dongle” to enable deeper functionality in a whole host of devices, seemingly limited only by a designer’s imagination and a company’s willingness to embed the iPhone control architecture. In essence, the iPhone/iPod touch will become a visual interface and wireless connector for many more electronic devices in the future, establishing itself as the premier mobile computing, content, and control platform.
Taken together, the API and the iPhone’s new openness add up to a sum greater than its parts. Apps will be able to share your shopping lists with family members at the touch of a button….or send Contact information to a colleague with a minimum of fuss. Fling your Last.FM favorites over to a friend’s iPhone when they ask you “What are you listening to these days?”.
What if I were a Developer who wanted to create a super “Virtual Coaching App” for runners? What kinds of stuff could be put in there?:
You get the idea!
Let’s face it — there’s nothing like new functionality tied to a big stack of money to get coders burning the midnight oil, right? Apple is now facing some heady competition in the Palm Pre, Windows Mobile, and the Google Android platforms (all developing “application stores”). By supercharging the Developer community, Apple has a chance to extend an existing lead over its rivals.
Apple was cagey in not discussing hardware, only the upgrades to the iPhone software. I expect that the OS announcement will function as the first in a “one-two punch”; the second would be some hardware announcements (iPhone 3.0, third-party devices, etc.) following sometime in June. If Apple can come up with compelling new hardware and applications to further take advantage of the interconnectivity, the future could be very bright indeed for the platform!
I guess the guys at WIRED magazine agree that it’s going to be all about the dongleware once the developers get going!