Introduction

In general, most people choose one of two types of cameras: Simple point & shoot cameras (P&S) that are extremely small, but don’t offer manual adjustment options – or complex & large DSLRs, which offer full control over nearly every aspect of your image. But the size and bulk of traditional DSLR cameras can make them unsuitable for certain occasions and events, where you might not want to lug a large camera bag and equipment around with you. Digital SLRs can also be intimidating for casual users, who worry about making the jump from their tried and trusted P&S.

The Olympus E-P1 ‘PEN’, based on the original Olympus PEN, has essentially created a new category for itself that sits in-between DSLRs such as Olympus’ own E-520 and other “enthusiast” compacts, such as the Panasonic Lumix LX-3 or the Canon G10. Unlike traditional DSLRs, this camera looks similar to most compacts, albeit slightly larger.

But the interchangeable lenses and much larger sensor it DSLR-like capabilities, making the E-P1 a compelling for photography enthusiasts and “prosumers”.

Camera hardware

The E-P1 is extremely well put together: The aluminum housing gives the cameras a very sturdy, solid feel that reminds me of Apple’s Unibody MacBook design. Like the new MacBooks, there’s not a creak or wobble to be found in this case. Other elements such as the doors that cover battery compartment and USB connector feel very reassuringly solid as well. As it is made of aluminum and fairly large, the camera does have a considerable heft to it, but it’s “the good kind of heavy”, that makes you confident it won’t fall apart the first time you accidently bump it against something.

Whilst I didn’t have the camera long enough to conduct real battery life tests, I took around 350 pictures and shot 20 minutes or so of video with just one brief recharge in the 4 days I took it out with me. Swapping batteries is really easy as well, so battery life shouldn’t be an issue.

Handling & controls

As the E-P1 is styled like an oversized compact, it fits nicely into your hands and can even be used with just one-hand quite comfortably. The control layout on the back of the camera is well thought out and quite easy to reach whilst shooting. The obligatory mode dial on the top of the camera is nice and grippy, so you won’t have any issues quickly switching between modes. One minor gripe I do have is the clickwheel, which can be a bit too sensitive at times. Something with slightly more tactile feedback would make navigating menus easier. As any optical zoom capability is built-in to your lenses, you grip and twist the barrel to zoom in or out and the live view LCD displays a precise preview without any noticeable lag.

Menus

The menu system on the E-P1 is extremely comprehensive, to say the least. You can tweak nearly every button setting and mode to your heart’s content. But Olympus have also made the basic functionality very easy to discover, so that even an Olympus novice like myself can change settings, modes and options after a few minutes of playing with the camera. Having said that, I did find myself resorting to the manual at one point to figure out to manually move the point of focus.

Features & Functionality

Automatic & Scene modes

The E-P1 has a nice mix of professional and consumer-orientated features. Put the camera in iAuto mode and the E-P1 will figure out which settings to use, switching between macro, scenery, portrait and other non-specific scene modes as needed. Spin the dial to the SCN settting and you can pick from more precise scene settings, including Candlelight, Night portrait, Kids and all the other scenes types you’ll find on most consumer cameras. Unlike some recent cameras, the number of scene modes isn’t overwhelming though, so finding an appropriate setting is easy.

The only issue you may notice with one of the automatic shooting modes is occasional focusing issues. Usually the camera locks on to focus points quite reliably (although sometimes the focus can be a little bit slow) but every so often it seemed to struggle a bit.

Art mode

The Art mode is interesting and quite indicative of the type of audience Olympus seems to be going after with the E-P1: Instead of the usual Sepia, B&W and other effects you see on most cameras, the Art filters attempt to recreate the types of images normally seen in photographic artworks. Whilst you can easily recreate similar effects using most image editors, being able to preview shots with an art filter enabled did help this amateur photographer to take a few ‘arty’ pictures I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. The only drawback to using Art mode is the decreased framerate of the live preview on the LCD and the increased save times. If you have set the camera to record a RAW copy of your images, you can also apply the art effects later using the Olympus software. Art mode is also available whilst shooting movies, but the frame rate is severely limited there as well, limiting its usefulness.

Manual controls

As previously mentioned, the E-P1 offers full P, A, S, and M modes, allowing the photographer full control over the image settings the camera offers. When using the manual focus ring on the front of a lens, the LCD viewfinder will display a 7x or 10x magnification of the area in focus – very handy for making sure your subject is in focus. The AF+M mode is particularly useful for beginners, as you can have the camera auto-focus first and then tweak the focus manually before taking your shot. The camera also offers a dedicated Exposure lock button, bracketing options and the ability to tweak pretty much everything else a photography enthusiast might look for.

Full view, not in focus

Turning the focus ring on the lens switches the camera to a close-up ‘focus-assist’ view

The silver barrel wheel lets you zoom in even closer to focus

Software

As this was a review unit, the camera didn’t come with any software, so I decided to fire up iPhoto before installing Olympus’ own application. iPhoto recognized the camera right away and was able to import JPEG images and movies just fine. RAW images aren’t supported yet, but since this camera has just come to market, that was expected. But Apple frequently updates the RAW import capabilities built-in to OS X, so I’d expect to see native OS X support for the E-P1’s RAW files soon.

Olympus’ own application, Olympus Master 2, is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it does offer a variety of editing options, including the same Art filters built-in to the camera as well as the ability to import and edit the E-P1 RAW files. I was also pleasantly surprised to see basic video editing and YouTube upload support built-in as well (although the YouTube feature is currently limited to files under 100MB as it hasn’t yet been updated to reflect YouTube’s new 1GB limit). On the other hand, the application does feel a bit sluggish at times and has quite a ‘non-native’ look & feel to it. But kudos to Olympus for providing full functionality to OS X users.

Image quality

Overall I was very impressed by the unedited images out of the camera. Image detail is superb, skin tones are very natural and noise levels are quite acceptable, even at higher ISO levels 640 and above. The built-in image stabilization does a good job in most settings and can even be tweaked to adjust primarily for vertical or horizontal movement. But for shots with longer exposure times you’ll still want to use a tripod. The camera surprisingly lacks an onboard flash, so you’ll need to pick up the optional flash accessory if you plan on taking a lot of pictures in the evening or at night. Low-level performance without a tripod was okay, but not good enough to take acceptable pictures without the flash. I’d imagine the E-P1 would take good enough images of buildings or objects that were sufficiently well lit-up if you had a tripod though.

Here are a few sample shots – there are more in the gallery below (click an image to see a larger version).

Okay, so the E-P1 didn’t magically turn me into Annie Leibovitz – but, there’s no doubt the the level of image quality it produces places it firmly in entry-level DSLR territory. It handily beat images take with the older Canon D350 I had brief access to and are no comparison to the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 compact I own.

Other reviews will have all the precise details of the luminance curves and pixel-level crops the E-P1 produces, so I’ll just leave it with this: your photos will look great.

Lenses

Experienced photographers will tell you the quality of an image is dictated as much by the lens you use as the camera. The review unit I received came with a 17mm ‘pancake‘ lens as well as the 14-42mm kit lens. The pancake lens has the advantage of making the camera quite compact and as a prime lens also picks up more light, offering better image quality in certain situations. The bulkier zoom does have greater flexibility though for everyday use though and if I had to choose, I’d probably start out with the zoom. Both lenses produce very crisp and clear images and can also produce nice bokeh effect in images, given the right settings. In addition to micro four thirds lenses, E-P1 can also use other lens types via adapters. As the image-stabilization feature is built-in to the camera (and not the lens like on Canon’s DSLRs), it will work regardless of which lens you use.

Switching lenses is quick and easy to do, but won’t want to take too long as the large image sensor is directly exposed once a lens is removed. The E-P1 does have Olympus’ highly-praised anti-dust system, but even so I’d recommend avoiding leaving the sensor exposed too long.

Movie mode

A Video mode on cameras seems to be the “must-have” feature of 2008/2009, with the Canon D500, iPhone 3GS and Nikon D5000 all touting movie modes as one of their major new features. The E-P1 is no exception and can record 720p (1280×720) movies at 30fps. The videos look excellent, very fluid and crisp. Unlike other DSLRs with video modes, the E-P1 doesn’t seem to suffer much (if at all) from the ‘jelly effect’ that causes image distortions during movement. If you’ve selected ‘continual focus’, the camera will keep your image in focus, even whilst you move around. However, in movie mode, the occasional delay in focusing the camera seems to have becomes quite obvious: Whilst you move around, the camera will often need a few attempts to hunt for the ideal focus setting. But even in video mode, you can also choose to use the camera’s manual image controls and adjust the image to your liking. So experienced photographers might want to bypass the continuous focus option and focus manually instead.

The 44Khz audio on the recordings is very clear and audible and the built-in microphone does a great job of picking things up. The E-P1 does lack and external microphone jack though, which is a shame. If you have continuous focus enabled, you’ll be treated to the sound of the very audible autofocus motor every few seconds, which can be a bit distracting. A mic jack would have gone a long way in mitigating that.

Accessories

Olympus included the optical viewfinder, leather camera case and strap accessories with the review unit, so I’ll briefly cover those as well:

Viewfinder

A lot has been made of the fact that the E-P1 lacks a real optical viewfinder. However, as most my photography has only ever been done without one, I can’t say I particularly missed it. The optical viewfinder accessory seems to be designed primarily so salespeople can reassure traditionalists that the E-P1 does have a viewfinder option. Once you clip it into the hot shoe, you basically have a square box through which you can squint at part of your image. Unlike the viewfinder built-in to other DSLRs, it doesn’t actually show you the image coming through the lens, so you might as well just make a circle with your fingers and look through that. Don’t get me wrong: I can see why an eye-level viewfinder with focus and exposure information would be useful, but this isn’t it.

Leather case & strap

The half-case covers the bottom half of the camera and is made of very nice leather. However if I was after a case, I would be tempted to wait for something that covers more of the camera body than this. The matching leather strap (sold separately) is very nice though and feels quite a bit more secure than the bundled nylon strap.

Conclusion

I’m not a photography expert by any means. But for a while now I have been looking into cameras that offer more control over images and produce better overall results than your average point & shoot. The E-P1 Pen does a great job of bridging the gap between traditional DSLRs and compact cameras, offering very respectable image quality and control in an acceptably compact package. The E-P1 is fun to use, compact enough to take with you to most events and performs really well across the board. Occasional focusing issues and the noisy auto-focus in video mode are minor blemishes on an otherwise superb camera.

Overall: Highly recommended.

Olympus E-P1 with 14-42mm Zuiko zoom lens

Olympus E-P1 with 17mm Pancake lens

Sample gallery

No related posts.

Let’s be honest, it’s hard to make a mouse that will appeal to everybody.  We all have different sized hands, like different kinds of features and put our mice through varying amounts of torture.  So although Apple’s wireless Mighty Mouse does an admirable job, at one point or another most Mac users have probably thought of straying to another vendor for a better electronic rodent.

If you’re a notebook user, you’re probably aware that all modern Mac notebooks support Bluetooth – and that’s a good thing since Apple has never been known to supply a plethora of ports to connect peripherals.  Unfortunately, the Bluetooth mouse market tends to be small, with most mice being tiny and short of features.  Enter the Logitech m555b, Logitech’s newest entry into the emerging Bluetooth mouse market.  The m555b boasts a a fairly robust set of features, including a laser-driven optical sensor for 1000dpi resolution, efficient power management with an on/off switch, and Logitech’s wonderful multifunction, frictionless scroll wheel (referred to on the product packaging as “Hyper-fast scrolling”).

Up until I purchased the m555b, I was using a Logitech V270, which was an excellent, if basic Bluetooth mouse.  The V270 was a perfect fit for my big hands, despite the fact that it was roughly 3/4 the size of a standard mouse.  Although I liked the V270, it started to show its age when the power switch stopped working reliably (many times it was turned on even though the switch was in the off position).  Even though Logitech has long offered RF notebook mice, I really wanted to keep my USB ports open since I only have 2 on my 15″ MacBook Pro.  Up until the m555b, Logitech’s only offering in this space was the V470, which I found to be cheesy in its construction and uncomfortable in my hands.  I had also purchased a Kensington Slimblade Presenter and while sleek and tiny, it just wasn’t as comfortable as my trusty old V270 and didn’t track nearly as well.

I ordered the m555b directly from Logitech for $59 + $6.15 shipping.  It arrived just a few days later.  Included in the package was the mouse itself, a fresh set of Duracell batteries, quick setup guide and a disc with Logitech’s Control Center v2.7 for Mac OS X.  Set up was simple – install the batteries, press the “Connect” button on the bottom of the mouse (this makes it discoverable via Bluetooth) and set up a new device in Bluetooth Preferences.  Although I normally use Steermouse, a third-party mouse driver, I did give Logitech’s own driver a test drive.

As I’ve come to expect from Logitech software on Windows, it is just as clunky on the Mac.  Although you can adjust the button assignments, scroll wheel behavior and tracking speed, I found the latter to be lacking.  Even turning it up to the highest speed, yielded very slow tracking – not nearly fast enough to get around a 1440×900 screen.  Fortunately, removal was painless and only required running an Uninstall script which was conveniently placed in the Utilities folder.  Fortunately, Steermouse picked right back up again and the tracking was much improved.

The mouse itself is a good looking design, with varying shades of gray and black, complimented by a chrome Logitech logo and ring on the wheel.  Aside from the standard left and right buttons, the mouse features a multifunction scroll wheel and a middle button just below it.  That middle button works in place of the typical clickable scroll wheel.  This is needed because clicking the scroll wheel varies between frictionless scrolling and the typical notched scrolling found on most mice.  That frictionless scrolling is a really neat feature, especially if you work with big spreadsheets and need to scroll through many pages of data.  And of course, if you don’t like it, you can simply press the wheel in once again to toggle it off.  In addition to scrolling vertically, the wheel also tilts left and right to scroll horizontally.

I use the middle button to do auto-scroll, although it can be set to activate Expose or any number of other functions.  Aside from that, there are no other buttons on the top of the mouse.  On the bottom, there is an on-off switch and a connect button.  At the rear is a release for the battery compartment.  The surface of the mouse is entirely plastic, glossy materials are used on top and matte finish around the sides and bottom.  Comfort-wise, the design is pretty good for a notebook mouse.  It’s just slightly smaller than the V270, but falls more naturally in hand than the Slimblade Presenter that I mentioned previously.  There is ample space to grip the mouse at the sides, even for my large hands.

One of the nice features of this mouse is the power management.  Of course, you can turn the mouse off when it’s not in use, but it also goes to sleep on its own to conserve power.  Additionally, there is an indicator on top of the mouse that flashes when the mouse is in discover mode.  This same indicator will flash red when the batteries are ready to be changed, so there are no surprises.

In summary, this is a solid offering from Logitech, particularly when paired with Steermouse.  Although power users may long for a larger formfactor with more buttons, it is well sized for casual use and travel.

No related posts.

What is a KVM Switch?

Have you ever wished for an easy way to control 2 computers from a single keyboard/mouse/monitor?  If so, you’ll need a KVM switch.  Short for Keyboard-Video-Mouse, KVMs have long been used by technicians and ordinary users alike who need access to multiple machines from a single “console”.

In recent years, the proliferation of USB mice and keyboards has all but eliminated the older style PS/2 connections that we were so accustomed to on PCs.  In turn, KVM switches have recently changed focus to support USB devices a lot better, particularly since USB is not a direct, dedicated connection for these kinds of devices.  What this means is that most USB KVM switches are somewhat dumbed-down in the way they go about switching.  While PS/2 KVM switches typically work immediately after switching between computers, USB KVMs usually make you wait a few seconds while they tell computer 1 “I’m unplugging this keyboard and mouse”, and subsequently tell computer 2 “I’m plugging this keyboard and mouse into you”.

Not only is this annoying, but it can result in some pretty unpredictable behavior, especially if you need to be in the BIOS settings page of a PC, in the Windows Recovery Console, or heaven forbid, in DOS.  While most Mac users probably wouldn’t care about this since OS X is pretty quick about recognizing a USB device, I’d wager that many people using a Mac with a KVM do so because they have another PC they need to control with it.

Do I need one?

In my case, I use KVMs quite a bit.  Both at work and at home, I have a workstation where I need to connect to PCs to either prep them for deployment or do repair work on them.  I need an easy way to share my monitor/keyboard and mouse between my main machine and customer machines.  As such, I’ve had the displeasure of going through quite a few KVM switches trying to find one that is usable.  I’ve been through high-end Belkin Omniview, low-end Belkin Flip models, Hawking and Tripp Lite switches, all with limited success.  But just recently a friend recommended that I take a look at offerings from a company called IOGEAR.

USB Emulation – a feature every USB KVM should have.

IOGEAR is building quite a reputation for well-made, well-engineered products, and its KVMs are no exception.  One of the things IOGEAR has going for them is that they have a patent on “USB emulation” technology.  This technology basically puts an end to the constant disconnect/reconnect of USB peripherals when switching.  Instead, it tells both machines that the devices are still connected, and just redirects output between the two machines upon switching.

That technology was the major selling point for this particular unit, which is otherwise an also-ran in terms of functionality.  The GCS632U is a relatively low-end 2-port KVM otherwise, with a price to match (I paid about $30 for it on NewEgg.com).  It features built-in 6’ long cables, support for a USB keyboard, mouse, 15-pin VGA connector and speakers (provided that they use the standard 1/8” audio jack).  Operation couldn’t be easier.  You simple attach the cables from your mouse, keyboard and monitor to the KVM (DVI is supported via an adapter, purchased separately), then connect your two computers to the cables that extend from the unit.  Switching is done via hot key, so you’ll never have to physically touch the switch (it can be left on the floor, or placed in a convenient, if unaccessible, location).

Easy switching via hotkey

By default, the GCS632U uses the Scroll Lock key on your keyboard to switch between machines, but since Mac keyboards don’t have a Scroll Lock key, you can easily remap that hot key to another.  Tap the Scroll Lock key twice and the GCS632U will instantly switch to the opposite machine, with no wait.  If you happen to be in a low-level OS on one of the other machines (like BIOS or DOS), you don’t need to worry about losing your keyboard control just because you switched.  While the IOGEAR claims compatibility specifically with Mac, Windows, Linux and even Solaris, the GCS632U should work with just about any OS that supports USB.

In my testing, I’ve found the device to be very stable and error free, providing it’s set up correctly.   I make mention of the set up, because I did suffer from a moment of stupidity when I accidentally plugged the keyboard into the mouse port on the KVM and the mouse into the keyboard port.  Fortunately, tech support at IOGEAR is very quick to answer (no wait!) and had me sorted out in about 30 seconds (even if they did get a chuckle at my expense).

So, in short, if you’re looking for an easy way to control 2 computers from the same console, you can’t go wrong with this unit.  At the bargain price of just $30, it blows away its competition with the patented USB emulation scheme it uses.  Highly recommended.

No related posts.

Design

The first thing you’ll notice is the design Belkin has chosen for this hub: Its rectangular shape means it’ll take up less space on your desk than previous versions, while retaining the two top ports – useful for USB memory sticks and similar devices. The top ports are also spaced out a bit, so you should be able to connect larger USB devices without any problem as well. The device features an attractive white & blue color scheme – quite a departure from the usual gray, black and silver. Belkin also offer a brown edition of the hub, if white’s not your thing.

Cable Management

At the end of the device Belkin have included a cable loop made out of firm but rubbery plastic The loop can be adjusted slightly, making it easier to cram all your cables inside. The loop allows you to reduce cable clutter, makes for a tidier look and is useful if you need to route one or two of your USB cables to the front of your desk (e.g. for your keyboard). I’m forever losing the business end of my camera’s USB cable behind my desk, so this feature should prove to be very useful.

Build quality

As expected of a device with this price tag, the build quality is great: the materials feel very solid and smooth and even the power brick feels less cheap than other generic power adapters. The cable loop material is thick enough to be reass The only slight issue I encountered: The top USB ports were a little ’stiff’ at first, making it quite difficult to plug in a regular Apple USB cable. After a few times it did become significantly easier though.

Performance

USB 2.0 obviously has performance rates and limits imposed by the standard itself, so you ask whether performance is an issue at all. Often though, you’ll see reduced throughput if you connect a lot of high-speed devices to a single hub. The 7-port Hub Plus performed tremendously though, even with 2 external harddrives, iPhone, digital camera, Logitech wireless mouse, iMic audio interface and printer connected.

The hub also comes with a power supply. Whilst you can use the hub without power, you’ll need it to use (and charge) devices such as iPhones, iPods or USB-powered harddrives.

Support & Warranty

Belkin offer a lifetime warranty of this device and I was pleased to find a single folded piece of paper with all their technical support numbers in the box. Whilst this may seem like a given, a lot of manufacturers will bury that kind of information of their websites. I don’t expect needing a lot of support with a hub, but it’s still nice to know it’s available.

Conclusion

The hub performs very well and will also help you to reduce some of the cable clutter on your desk. If you have a MacBook, it’s great to be able to just plug in a single USB plug and have access to all of your devices. Whilst more expensive than generic hubs on the market, it’s thought-out form, design and functionality are well worth it.

Recommended

The Belkin 7-port USB 2.0 Plus Hub: RRP $49.95

Belkin 7-port USB Hub Plus at Amazon. (Brown edition)

No related posts.

Stubbornly reluctant to produce machines at certain market segments, Apple has been able to maintain its high-end image, partly by always selling high-end hardware.  This behavior has emboldened some entrepreneurs to risk legal entanglements by starting up would-be cloning operations.  Clearly if Apple doesn’t “…know how to build a sub-$500 machine that isn’t a piece of crap…”, others do.  And surely in this economy there is a vast, untapped market for such machines.

Is the time right for Apple to start licensing OS X?  Many diehard Apple fans would say “never”, but I have to disagree.  Granted, back in the mid-nineties, Apple was in the business of licensing Mac OS to a limited number of vendors – and as a direct result, sales of Apple-branded hardware declined steeply.  But in this day and age, the rules have changed.  Apple is now building some of the best hardware on the market – and that high-end hardware, tempered by beautiful design, but underpinned by commodity x86 chipsets, will surely continue to appeal to the masses of Apple fans.

Those x86 underpinnings have attracted a whole new contingent of OS X users, many of them running cracked versions of OS X on non-Apple hardware and dealing with the technical issues surrounding that activity.  Apple doesn’t profit from these installations at all – and I’d wager that the majority of these folks would happily pay for the OS pre-installed on hardware that Apple earns a royalty from, if they just had a little more choice of hardware platforms and price points.

The next argument from the Apple fans is that one way Apple maintains a quality edge on Windows is that they have complete control over the hardware platform.  While that’s true, there’s nothing saying that Apple couldn’t specify particular chipsets in licensing OS X to others.  OS X already runs on a huge variety of hardware, none of which is actually designed by Apple.  Apple engineers build drivers for these existing hardware platforms and design the system boards, but under this thin veneer, those chipsets are very much the same as those installed under the hoods of sometimes much cheaper machines.

I envision a world where Apple picks and chooses a handful of the better PC manufacturers – Dell, HP, Lenovo, maybe even Acer/Gateway, to name a few.  Apple defines a hardware spec and the platform types that the vendor(s) are allowed to install OS X upon.  For every machine that vendor sells, Apple earns a royalty on OS X.  In this way, everyone wins – Apple can continue to make machines that appeal to the high-end market and only for those segments they wish to compete in, while still earning a tidy profit.  The vendor wins by being able to sell a non-Windows-running alternative that doesn’t require a lot of support (unlike Linux).  And of course, the customer wins by having a much greater choice of form-factors and price points.  In the end, everyone is happy – and of course by maintaining a strict set of requirements for the vendors, should they find that genuine Mac sales start to falter, they can always pull the plug.

Although Apple has been known to say that they are not looking for dominant market share, the fact is that OS X is known to be one of the best operating systems out there.  There is a lot of potential in that perception, both for Apple shareholders and the Mac fans out there.  As Apple’s market share grows, more and more third parties that have thus far ignored the OS X platform, will begin to develop for it.  The only thing limiting greater OS X adoption right now is the relatively lean selection of hardware to run it on.

Even if Apple continues on its current path, I tend to believe that eventually its hand will be forced.  With the availability of EFI emulation dongles out there and cloners springing up all over the place, it’s only a matter of time before OS X is set free.  One could argue that eventually Apple will close the gap with some kind of hardware lockdown, but I believe that effort to be utterly futile.  Apple has already tried to protect OS X with protection mechanisms in EFI, if hackers can break that, it’s only a matter of time before they break other forms of DRM protection.  Don’t believe me?  Take a look at the endless cat and mouse game that happens with Blu-Ray protection mechanisms.

In the end, Apple can choose to constantly put out fires through both legal and technical means, or it can choose to profit from them.  I’d like to think that eventually they’ll opt for the latter.

No related posts.

UI & Design

Cultured Code really nailed the visual presentation of Things: The UI is very “mac-like” and looks very nice. Features are easy to discover and UI elements are easily identified.

The list view Things uses to display your tasks feels as though it is very iPhone-inspired does a good job of displaying your tasks and metadata without clutter. Cultured Code make a point of not using the typical column-based layout you see in other apps, and only show the information you’ve entered – not empty columns.

You won’t find any revolutionary UI innovations in Things, but the UI works and is well thought out – far more important in this type of application.

Ease of use

One issue I’ve had with other todo managers in the past has been the barrier of entry: Managing todos is something you can easily do with a pen & paper, so a dedicated application needs to offer functionality beyond that. However: if entering todos is too convoluted and time-consuming, you may question whether it’s worth the effort – particularly if the task isn’t that important, time-consuming or complicated. Task managers can only help you avoid “I’ll get to it in a minute”-syndrome if entering tasks doesn’t become its own chore.

Extremely stripped down managers tend to be too simple – preventing you from adding supplementary information or tags to your tasks. At the other end of the spectrum you have todo managers that are too complicated, overwhelming you with sub-categories and scheduling features – so you end up spending more time managing your tasks than completing them.

Things manages to strike a nice balance between those extremes. You can use it as a simple notepad to scribble down a list of things you need to get done, but you can also set up projects, repeating tasks and areas of responsibility, if you’re so inclined.

Quick Entry

To allow for even quicker task entry, Things offers a Quick Entry hud-panel, that can be activated via a system-wide keyboard shortcut. Tasks added via the panel will be discreetly added to your Inbox, allowing you to continue working on whatever you happen to be doing.

Tagging

Things offers powerful tagging features, offering some features that cause clutter in other task management apps: You can of course just assign regular keywords, but Cultured Code also suggests assigning your tasks time estimates, difficulty ratings and priority levels. Using tags to add that sort of metadata is a very clever way of hiding complexity: Users that don’t need that kind of detail won’t be distracted by those fields cluttering up the task entry interface, but power users still get the features they need.

Adding tags to your tasks is also nicely supported: In addition to iPhone-esque tag autocompletion, Things also intelligently assigns each tag a keyboard shortcut. Just select a task and hit the corresponding letter on your keyboard to tag it. Shortcuts can be edited later on, but by automatically assigning keyboard shortcuts, Things removes another step on your path to productivity.

Syncing

Under preferences, you’ll find syncing options for iCal and a companion iPhone application, which I’ll be reviewing separately soon. Those two options make it simple to get your tasks onto your mobile device, but there’s no built-in support for Mac-to-Mac syncing. But Things does support selecting your own library location, so you can easily set up syncing using a free Dropbox account.

Suitability for students

Students will appreciate the flexibility Things offers: You can choose to create Projects for some more involved courses, or just add your assignments and reading requirements to a semester-specific project or area of responsibility.

For team projects, the ability to delegate certain tasks to teammates is also very useful, helping you to keep track of jobs and follow-up with collaborators if necessary. On campus the iPhone application has proven invaluable, as it allows me to quickly make a note of something I can later follow up with when I sync up with my MacBook.

(And if you think Things is a bit expensive on a student’s budget, be sure to check out Cultured Code’s generous educational pricing offer!)

Hidden gems

While preparing this review, I found myself frequently coming across little points of detail in the application, that just go to show how much attention to detail was paid by the development team, including the ability to print lists with several formatting options, support for teammates, including iChat status indicators and Address Book integration, automatic regular database backups and the Things wiki, which is full of useful tips and scripts, such as a useful ‘Mail to Things inbox’ script

Conclusion

Things has definitely helped me get organized and plan out my university assignments, work to-dos, personal projects and other errands. It’s easy to pick up the habit of adding even mundane tasks to your Things inbox and there’s nothing more satisfying than crossing off something you’ve completed.

The intuitive interface makes it easy to enter to dos, but also allows you to focus on certain tasks and plan out your day – something more basic task managers usually don’t offer.

But most important of all: Things stays out of your way and allows you to focus on your tasks and not on managing them, allowing you to get things done.

Things is available for $49.95 or $34.95 after educational discount. Be sure to check out the free demo!

Posted by Aptmunich

No related posts.

Just some of the things we hope to write about here:

• Tips and how-tos
• Product reviews
• General commentary on Apple ecosystem

We won’t be blogging straight out Apple news, there are already many great sites that do that, but we hope to bring you a little Mac-Forums insight into the world of Apple and its products. We also hope to be a resource for switchers and veterans alike by providing tips and reviews you can trust.

And as we ramp up the blog over the next few months, we hope to involve more of our members to help provide content. Look for more information soon on how you can help if you’d like to volunteer for the blog.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show reading.

No related posts.

What seems to happen though, is the file is moved from iTunes to the device, rather than just copying it over. When I got home and wanted to watch the end of the movie on my computer (rats…because Apple TV hasn’t been updated yet to support rentals…), I saw that my iPhone sync was copying the 1.8 GB file from the iPhone back to iTunes.

Presumably, in the future, when you want to finish watching it on an Apple TV or other device, you’d have to copy it over yet one more time. I don’t understand why Apple doesn’t just keep the master rental file in iTunes for the full rental time, and copy it out to devices (rather than move), and retrieve the state (watched/complete, or semi-watched) and timestamp of where the viewer left off.

Okay…reading back the above is confusing myself.

Of course, there are really only two likely normal use cases of iTunes Rentals. 1) You rent the movie in iTunes and watch it on your computer completely or sync it to a device and watch it completely. 2) You rent it on your Apple TV and watch it completely there.

Still the use case I’m describing (that just happened to me) can’t be too uncommon: You rent a movie in iTunes and sync to a iPhone/iPod and partially watch it. You get home and want to finish watching it on your Apple TV.

So, the way iTunes handles rentals transfers, I will have moved my ~2 GB file 4 times. Once when you download it, another when you sync it, again when you re-sync it back to iTunes and finally synced out to your Apple TV.

Whew.

Am I over thinking this? Or does it seem that just leaving it in iTunes all the time to begin with fixes a little bit of the wait?

No related posts.

Ambrosia is soon to release a really great-looking game called Aquaria that was described as an “ethereal action/adventure underwater fantasy game.” A guy not employed by Ambrosia had logged so many hours on their demo this week that they let him show me the game. It looked gorgeous. You play as a mermaid trying to reunite her people, who are scattered across what looks like a vast system of underwater caves. Can’t wait to play this game. Ambrosia is also putting out Multiwinia, a sequel to Darwinia, later this year.

Feral is the London-based company that brought the totally awesome Lego Star Wars II over to the Mac. They’ve also just release Tomb Raider Anniversary, a Mac version of the original Tomb Raider game. They’ve got top secret titles coming out this year that are going to be quite huge, they assure me.

Freeverse was demoing their yet-to-be-released title Neon Tango, which is pretty much Geometry Wars but with a boundary wall around the field of play that you can use to smite your foes with some sweet ricochet action. They were also demoing Hordes of Orcs, a tower defense game that was recently updated (you can download the update for free if you already own the game). Both were really simple to play and a lot of fun.

Of course Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has been available on the Mac for quite some time. They showed up with a demo that I did not touch because I didn’t have 17 hours to spare.

And last but not least:

DanLabGames was demoing a really fun game called Wacky Mini Golf. The title says it all with this one. I especially liked the fact that you play as a picture frame with arms and legs, because you can use your iSight camera to snap a picture of yourself to put in the frame.

Judging by Macworld 08, there will be no shortage of fun games to play on the Mac in 2008.

No related posts.

Here’s a round-up of the things that I learned from attending Macworld this year:

- Macs really are more reliable. Everyone that I talked to confirmed that they felt their Mac notebook was more reliable than a PC. My PC gave out on me halfway through the week with virus problems that took about two hours to fix. Because I use my notebook as my main computer, I need reliability. That’s the number one reason that I’m making the switch.

- I can go light but I probably don’t want the MacBook Air. I’m totally interested in the new notebook but I’m not convinced it’s the one that I want to spend my money on. I think if I was in a position to have a travel laptop and a second one for home, then I’d probably consider it. But because I’ve got only one computer doing everything for me, this new one isn’t the one for me. Still, I do think it points to a great direction that Apple is going in.

- The John Lennon Tour Bus is totally cool. I don’t know how I didn’t know about this thing since it’s been around for a decade but I didn’t. It’s a cool project that provides some great education and is definitely something that I’m interested in supporting.

- There are more accessories than gadgets that I’m interested in. I love gadgets. I’m probably going to get an iPod Touch this coming week (although I’ve heard some great arguments as to why I should just go ahead and get an iPhone instead so even though I thought I was settled on this, I’m not one hundred percent sure yet.) Nevertheless, I try to keep the number of gadgets that I buy down to a mininum because I try to be thrifty with my money. As a result, I’ve gotten in the habit of being able to overlook most toys. But apparently accessories still catch my eye because I was totally drawn to the booths offering different laptop bags and sleeves.

- Technology is making multi-taskers out of all of us. This was a theme of nearly every presentation that I went to throughout the conference. It’s not Apple-specific but it was something that was really interesting to think about. I’ve always been a multi-tasker myself but many of the people I know aren’t so it’s fascinating to see that younger folks are heading this direction.

- Macs are good for gaming. This was one thing that was really new news to me and I think is fairly new to a lot of people. Macs just don’t seem to have the association with gaming that PCs have. However, after hanging out at the MacGames Pavilion and attending the presentation on how to make my own games for Mac, I’m fully convinced that I could have a well-rounded gaming experience with only a Mac computer.

All of these things were important to learn but the most important thing that I really came to realize this week was that there is truly a community built around Macs. Mac users are passionate about their choice. They’re interested in new technologies that are being released and they’re interested in sharing that passion with others. Everyone that I spoke with this week was more than happy to provide me with information and opinions about technology in general and Apple products in particular. This sense of community is something that I think is good for the industry … and it’s something that I want to be a bigger part of. So, it’s official, my immersion in the world of Mac led to a conversion.

No related posts.