Dropbox announced today that they now have a free dedicated iPhone App to allow you to access your files at Dropbox directly instead of requiring you to go through the web interface. I’ve only recently started to use Dropbox, but this is definitely one feature that will make the service a whole lot more useful for me.

Instant access to my important files from anywhere is very cool. Of course there are already several other ways to use the iPod Touch or iPhone as a filing cabinet for key documents, but none of them are very convenient to access or to update. Because of that I simply haven’t used it for that purpose. But now I will!

If you’re not familiar with Dropbox, here’s a brief introduction:

Dropbox is software that syncs your files online and across your computers.
Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they’ll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you’ve installed Dropbox on (Windows, Mac, and Linux too!) Because a copy of your files are stored on Dropbox’s secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile device using the Dropbox website.

With Dropbox, your files are always in sync.
Let’s say you’re editing a document at home. As soon as you click ‘Save’, Dropbox will sync this same file to all your other computers (and now your iPhone!) instantly and automatically. It’s as if you saved the document to all of your computers. This gives you the freedom to work on any of your computers and always have the files you need.

Dropbox lets you share files easily.
You can easily share entire folders or photo albums with Dropbox. Simply put the folders you want to share in your Dropbox, and invite people to them. You can also send people links to specific files within your Dropbox. This makes Dropbox perfect for team projects.

With Dropbox, online backup is automatic.
Every time you put a file in your Dropbox folder it is automatically backed up to our secure servers. If your computer has a melt-down your files are safe on Dropbox and can be restored at any time. Our free 2GB account is perfect for backing up your documents. We offer larger accounts (up to 100GB) for backing up your music and video collections.

Dropbox lets you go back in time to undelete or undo changes to files.
Every time you save a file in Dropbox, Dropbox syncs it to our secure servers. Dropbox keeps a history of every change made so that you can undo any mistakes and even undelete files. By default, we keep the last 30 days of undo history for all your files. We also have an unlimited undo option called “Pack-rat”.

Every Dropbox user automatically gets 2 GB of storage for free. You can pay for extra storage, but you can also earn credits to increase your free allotment by referring other new users (up to a max of 3 GB). In fact if you use the following link, you can help me increase my free space… Thanks!

https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTI4MjQ1MzI5

I’ve wanted this for a long time, but all the hype around the new iPhone 3GS with its bigger, better, and badder camera (that also now does video) has really got me thinking about it.  One of the greatest things about the camera in the iPhone is that it is fully accessible by the applications in the gadget.  Programmers have created a slew of apps that allow the user to control the camera however she wants.  From interval timers, panoramic stitchers, exposure bracketing, or special effects “filters” that allow you to change the entire look and feel of the resulting image right in the camera (errr, phone).  If you have an iPhone then you should check out “Camera Bag“, “Pro Camera“, and “Pano“ for some very cool add-ons to the native camera functionality in the iPhone.  (While you’re at it you can also read “5 Tips for Making Great iPhone Photos” from professional photographer Chase Jarvis for some great tips on making better images with your iPhone.) 

Sure you can do many of these effects in post-processing afterwards using software like Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, the Gimp, but the ability to do them in camera is very appealing to many people (not to mention that you can quickly and easily add your final image to an email or upload it to Flickr without ever having to take it over to your computer first).  And besides, there are many effects that you simply can’t do in post, such as change the shutter speed, so to be able to do them in the camera is very important.

Since I don’t have an iPhone (I have an iPod Touch but inexplicably it doesn’t include a camera), I really want to have some of this programmable functionality in my Canon 40D.  The 40D is a fantastic camera, and Canon has gone a long way in providing user control over the camera.  But as the iPhone proves, there is so much more that can be done, and I really want to be able to control my camera how I want to control it.  The camera already has a very powerful computer built in, so this should be a no-brainer. 

Here are a few of the things that I want control over:

1. Multiple Exposure Bracketing – natively I can only create a 3 image bracket.  When shooting HDR images I typically use 5 to 7 images over a 5 to 9 stop exposure range and I want to be able to set that up easily in my camera. As it is now I have to shoot multiple 3-stop brackets to creat a set with the entire range of exposures that I might want to use.
2. Interval Timer – currently I would have to buy a very expensive Remote Shutter release in order to fire my camera at regular intervals (eg. to create time lapse sequences).  Many inexpensive point and shoot cameras have this built in, so it should be included in every high end SLR as well.
3. Auto ISO – Canon provides a crude Auto ISO feature where it will automatically ramp the ISO up or down based on the exposure, but it doesnt’ work very well. Really it simply sets the camera at the default ISO (400 on my 40D) and only raises or lowers it if it absolutely must (eg. if the camera is maxed out on Shutter speed then it will drop the ISO from 400 down to 200).  But it could be so much better.  I want to be able to set a minimum shutter speed (eg. 1000) which would then force the ISO up as high as the camera requires in order to get the desired exposure.  I also want to be able to set a minimum and maximum ISO based on my shooting conditions and the intended use of the image.  If I’m using my tripod to shoot landscapes then I want the cleanest image possible and I generally don’t care how long the shutter speed is, so let me choose ISO 50. or 25.  But if I’m handholding the camera while shooting sports, then I don’t want the shutter to go below about 1/1500th and I want the largest aperture possible, so I want ISO 1600.  There are all kinds of personalized situations like these that have their own scenarios.  Let me have the control!
4. AF Microadjustment – all the newest cameras have functions built in to allow them to adjust the focus system to correct for front and back focus, without having to send your camera / lens combination in to the manufacturer for mechanical adjustment.  I want that!

There is so much more that I want to be able to control in my camera that I could write on and on.  I guess what I really want is something similar to the CHDK to be made available for DSLR’s, and I want it to be officially supported via an API from Canon.  I want it to be open sourced, or at least open to outside developers to write Apps or Scripts for the camera.  And I want it now!  I don’t think this is too much to ask. 

Apple got it right with the iPhone camera, and now it’s time for Canon, Nikon, Sony, and all the other camera manufacturers to follow suit!

Up until now I’ve been using Goosync to manage my Calendar on my iPod Touch.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was the only way I could find to sync my iPod with my Google Calendar, which I use for everything.  In fact I just recently wrote about using GooSync as one of my favorite iPod Apps.

Well that all changed today when I downloaded the iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update.  Sadly this is a free update for the iPhone, but it costs $10 for the iPod Touch.  I looked carefully at the updated features (there are over 100) and decided that it had enough for me to justify the outlay.  The best update as far as I’m concerned is to enable direct syncing with external calendar services using CalDAV or iCal.  Although Google really hasn’t made it easy to figure out how to do it, they released support for CalDAV almost a year ago.  They have some detailed instructions on how to sync Google Calendar with Apple iCal on the web at Google Help.  Although these instructions didn’t provide an exact step by step for how to sync with my iPod, it was enough to get me going.

Here’s how to do it on the iPod Touch (and I assume it is the same or very similar on the iPhone):

1. Click on the Settings icon on your iPod
2. Open “Mail, Contacts, Calendars“
3. Click “Add Account…“
4. Choose “Other“
5. Choose “Add CalDAV Account“
6. Enter the following information:
   • Server: www.google.com
   • User Name: your Google Account username
   • Password: your Google Account password
   • Description: anything you like, I like “Google Calendar” myself
7. Hit Next, and it will verify your account details, then return you to the Accounts screen
8. Scroll all the way down to the “Calendars” panel and click on “Default Calendar“
9. Choose the CalDAV Calendar that you just entered

Your iPod calendar will now automatically sync with your Google Calendar at the frequency you have selected in the “Fetch New Data” panel.  Set it to Push to have it go automatically (drains the battery faster) or choose a Fetch frequency.

This is an awesome addition to the iPod Touch and I’m look forward to using it!

I am definitely a gadget guy. I have some pretty cool electronic stuff that makes my life easier and more fun. I have a programmable Harmony Remote to to control my home entertainment system. I have some seriously cool photography gadgets (such as a wireless remote to fire the camera itself and a whole set of Alienbees remotes to fire flashes off camera). I have a GPS datalogger that I can use to create tracklogs to show where I’ve been, and also to Geoencode my photos.

These gadgets are cool, and very fun, but they all pale in comparison to my iPod Touch. This thing is seriously cool and I use it all the time. I use it to listen to my favorite music and to Podcasts every day during my drives to and from work. I use it to quickly check my email and my Twitter feeds when I have only a few minutes and can’t get to the computer. I check the current temperature and the weather forecast all the time! Occasionally, I even play games on it (and I’ve heard that it’s a better gaming maching than even the Nintendo DS), but I’m not much of a gamer so that’s not all that important to me.

One of the most amazing features of the iPod Touch and the iPhone is the ability to download and install applications from the App Store. There are Apps for almost anything you can imagine, and there are more being produced and released every day. While you have to pay for some of them, there are also a great many that are free. And just because they’re free doesn’t meant that they aren’t good either. Some of my favorite apps are free, or at least very cheap. Here are a few of them:

1. GooSync – This free App allows me to sync my Google Calendar to and from my iPod.  I use Google Calendar to manage all of my appointments and important events, so it was a no-brainer that I would want to be able to take that with me on my iPod.  I don’t understand why the native iPod calendar can’t sync with external services, so GooSync is a perfect alternative.  Note that there is a premium version of GooSync available for $14.99 hat has a lot more functionality, but I don’t need that so I stick with the free version.
   UPDATE (June 18, 2009) – I now sync my iPod Calendar directly to my Google Calendar.  Check out the tutorial on how I do it.
2. Byline – I also use Google Reader to manage all of my RSS feeds and wanted a simple way to sync those feeds to my iPod.  This is another feature that I would have expected the iPod to support natively, but until it does Byline works very well.  The one thing it can’t do that drives me crazy is to allow me to mark articles as “Unread”.  I like to quickly scroll through my feeds and have a quick look at all of them, and then mark those that I want to read in depth later as Unread.  This should be a simple change though and I have hopes that they will eventually make this improvement.  This App costs $4.99 and I had no problem paying that after trying several other apps for Google Reader.  Byline is by far the best of the bunch.
3. Sudoku – This is a free Sudoku App that helps me get a quick fix with the popular Sudoku numbers game when I’m bored or I need a diversion.  There are lots of other Sudoku apps, this was just a free one that I found.  It works well so I keep using it.
4. Sportacular – For any sports fan this app from Citizen Sports is the bomb!  It quickly and easily allows you to see the current scores and standings for all your favorite sports teams.  It has a huge list of sports and teams that you can follow, from pro to college, from mainstream to obscure, and it is always up to date with up to the minute news and results. And it’s free!  This app rocks!
5. iBird Explorer Plus – Any serious bird watcher (or photographer that shoots birds) must have this application.  It has an easy to use search function to help you find and identify the birds of North America.  The included range maps and photographs are essential for confirming the true identify of the birds you see, while the playable audio files are also extremely useful to help identify birds by their song.  This app is not free (and at $19.99 it is by far the most expensive app I have purchased) but it is a great example of why some apps are worth buying!

I listen to lots of podcasts on my iPod.  I’m geeky that way. I spend lots of time in my car while driving to and from work and I find that podcasts really eat up time way faster than music ever does.  And I get to learn something too, so that’s always good.

I also listen to music, but I usually just hit the shuffle button or create a quick Genius playlist, so this doesn’t really impact me there.  Back to podcasts…  When I listen to a podcast, or a playlist full of podcasts, I rarely get through all of one episode before arriving at my destination, and I basically never get through an entire playlist.  If I hit pause when I get out of the car, and then don’t use my iPod until I get back in the car then I can simply wake it up, hit play, and roll on.  But if I change to a different playlist, which of course I do because nobody else wants to listen to my podcasts, then I lose my place in my previous playlist.

Which brings me to my point.  Why doesn’t hitting pause while playing media from a playlist get treated as a “playlist pause” rather than as a “file pause”?  Essentially I want my iPod to remember exactly where I was in my playlist and just start up from there the next time I use that playlist.  Doesn’t seem like rocket science to me.  Maybe there’s an app for that?

Anyone have any good ideas to make this work?  Apple, are you listening?