Reading nirvana: The mating of the Kindle and the iPhone

I unabashedly love my Kindle and I’m gaga over my iPhone. Yes, I know neither is perfect. Improvements should be made. It doesn’t matter. Give me these two devices, an Internet connection and a source of electricity and you can take away all my other computers, gadgets and gizmos. I shall be content.*

So when Amazon followed up its release of the Kindle 2 (more on that soon) with its Kindle app for the iPhone, I felt like an adult in a cheese store. (Fellow cheeseaholics will understand.)

Synchronised reading

A major part of the Kindle’s appeal is Whispernet, the freebie wireless connection that lets you download a book at any hour of the day or grab the latest edition of a newspaper or magazine.

With the launch of Kindle 2 comes Whispersync. Whispersync lets you synchronise your content and reading across multiple devices. That sounded pretty good even when all it meant was you could  sync two or more Kindles. But with Kindle for iPhone, Whispersync is transformed into something so much more.

Now, not only can you store your library on your Kindle(s) and your iPhone, you can also synchronise your reading across those devices.

Here’s what that means. You start reading A Brief History of Nearly Everything on your Kindle one night but fall asleep before you reach the end of chapter three. The next morning, you switch your Kindle’s wireless on for a minute so it can communicate with the Amazon mothership. You then head out with your trusty iPhone in your pocket and, when you find yourself stuck in a long line at the supermarket or waiting an hour for the doctor to see you, you whip out your iPhone, load up the Kindle app and, voila!, it opens to the exact spot where you fell asleep the night before. Instant reading gratification.

Ebooks for the Kindle-less

The Kindle app is not just for those of us blessed with Kindles. You can now buy any Kindle book from the Amazon store and read it on your iPhone, no Kindle required. Just like that, your iPhone reading choices have expanded by almost a quarter of a million.

The iPhone reading experience

Being of a certain age, I’m not sure I’d want my only reading device to be an iPhone. Although the text is crisp, flicking through mini-pages is not a particularly relaxing way to read. Still, the ability to resize the font makes reading on the small screen comfortable for short periods. And some things simply look better on the iPhone than they do on the Kindle, such as the library list. With its coloured book covers and much, much faster navigation, choosing a book from your library is a lot more satisfying on the iPhone than on the Kindle.

Like the Kindle and the iPhone, the Kindle app could do with some improvements. Amazon could take a few pointers from apps like Stanza and Classics about prettying up the formatting. It’d be nice to be able to add highlights and annotations and not just view them on the iPhone. It would also be handy to be able to buy Kindle books directly from the iPhone. You can’t do that - yet - nor can you do it using Amazon’s other iPhone app. It’s bound to come.

These are quibbles. This is a smooth little app that marries two great inventions.

* Okay, so perhaps I’m being a tad disingenuous.

Automate email handling with Gmail's filters

The Gmail team has been adding features to Google’s web-based email program at a gallop. A quick click of Gmail’s Settings link unveils an impressive array. By clicking the Labs tab and enabling some of Gmail’s experimental features, you’ll find yourself with even more options.

There’s plenty worth exploring in the Gmail Labs, but some of Gmail’s most attractive features are its oldest. Take filters, for example.

Gmail’s filters let you automate the processing of incoming email. Attach a label, bypass the inbox, forward the email or simply delete it without having to lift a finger. Filters let you perform automated actions on any email which matches criteria you specify.

TIP: The easiest way to create a filter is to filter by example. Say you receive an email and think “Aha, I never want to see email from this person again”, place a checkmark beside the email and from the More Actions box select Filter Messages Like These. Gmail will display the filter options box with the From box filled in for you.

Creating filters

To create a filter you first specify the criteria for the filter and then choose one or more actions to apply:

1. Click the Settings link near the top right of the Gmail window, then click the Filters tab.
2. Click the Create A New Filter link. The filter options box appears at the top of the page.
3. Build your criteria by entering information in the From, To, Subject, Has The Words and Doesn’t Have boxes. For example:

From: ourmob.com.au

Has the words: anniversary

will select mail with the word ‘anniversary’ in its text, sent to you by anyone with an ourmob.com.au address.

From: big@boss.com OR boss@big.com

To: myworkmail@gmail.com

will select all email to you at your myworkmail address from either big@boss.com or boss@big.com. Check the attachment box to filter only those emails which contain attachments.

If you already have matching email in your Gmail archive, you can get a quick idea of whether your filter criteria will catch the email you want by clicking the Test Search button; Gmail displays a list of all matching email in your archive.

4. Click the Next Step button and select one or more actions to apply to the selected mail. You can skip the inbox, mark an email as read, star or label the email, forward it to another email address or delete it. The Never Send It To Spam option is useful when you subscribe to an online newsletter and want to ensure Gmail’s very vigilant spam filter doesn’t block the email.
5. If you want to apply your new filter to mail you’ve already received, check the Also Apply Filter To x Conversations Below button. Then click Create Filter to put your filter to work.

You can edit or delete an existing filter by clicking Settings -> Filters, scrolling through the filter list and clicking Edit or Delete.

TIP: Gmail’s filters recognise Boolean search operators such as AND, OR and NOT. Use AND to limit results to those which match all criteria; OR to expand results to emails matching any one or more of a series of criteria; use NOT to exclude particular emails from the results. Note that instead of typing AND, OR or NOT, you can use their shorthand symbols: type a space for AND; type | for OR; type - (the minus sign) for NOT.

A filtered to-do list

By combining filters, labels and Gmail’s nifty ‘plus addresses’, you can build yourself a handy to-do list.

First, a word on ‘plus addresses’. Gmail ignores anything you type after a + symbol inserted into the first half of a Gmail address. So if your email address is boffinbob@gmail.com, you can receive email sent to boffinbob+betty@gmail.com, boffinbob+photinos@gmail.com, boffinbob+quarks@gmail.com, and so on. Gmail strips out the extraneous characters and delivers the email to your inbox. This is very handy for creating disposable email addresses and for figuring out who has sold your email address to spammers.

It’s also handy for creating things such as to-do lists. Here’s how:

1. Create a new label by clicking Settings -> Labels -> ‘Create a new label’, typing To Do and clicking Create.
2. Create a new filter. In the To box type your Gmail address with +todo inserted before the @ symbol. For example, boffinbob would type boffinbob+todo@gmail.com in the To box. In the filter actions, tick ‘Apply the label’ and select To Do from the list of labels. Click Create Filter to finish.

Now, whenever you want to set yourself a task, send yourself an email at your +todo Gmail address. Stick the task in the subject line of the email, add details to the body. You’ll then be able to log into your Gmail account at any time, click To Do in the Labels box and see at a glance all your tasks. To add urgency to a task, create another filter for mail sent to youraddress+todo1st@gmail.com then, as well as labelling this email with To Do, check Star It.

Removing clutter from a new computer

Computer manufacturers love to load up new systems with “helpful” utilities and features. Of course, what they regard as helpful, you may regard as rubbish.

Uninstall unwanted programs via the Control Panel.

Whenever I set up a new computer for myself or someone else, I go through a routine to eliminate vendor-generated clutter and bias. This checklist is something you might find useful or be able to adapt to your own use:

• Uninstall unnecessary and unwanted programs. If you’re not sure what’s necessary, here are some guidelines:
  • Uninstall trial versions of software you already own. For example, if you already have a copy of Microsoft Office you want to install, go ahead and uninstall the 60-day free trial often included with new computers.
  • Uninstall trial versions of software you know you don’t want. I always remove AOL and all the other “free ISP trials”, as I already have my own ISP. (Well, I remove all traces of AOL because I pretty much regard it as I would a virus infestation.)
  • Uninstall trials of security software suites if you already own another suite or you don’t like the suite provided. Often when you order a computer, a vendor lets you specify whether you want a particular security suite installed; sometimes they give you no option and install their chosen suite anyway or a 30-day trial of a suite. If you’re not happy with their choice, uninstall it. Some security suites are so bloated and have such an adverse effect on your computer’s performance, you really need to be discerning in which one you use. I’m a fan of the minimalist-but-adequate Eset NOD 32. Note, by the way, that uninstalling security software usually involves rebooting your computer to complete the process.
  • Keep any utilities, tools, product manuals and so on specific to your computer.
  • If you’re unsure what a particular program does, keep it. You can always search for the program on Google later on to see what it’s used for.
• Change the properties of the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin is set up to prompt you for confirmation each time you delete a file. This is usually unnecessary – if you accidentally delete a file you can always open the Recycle Bin immediately and retrieve it. To turn this time-wasting confirmation prompt off:
  • Right-click the Recycle Bin and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
  • Uncheck Display Delete Confirmation Dialog.
  • While you’re in the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, you may also wish to change the size of the bin. Vista tends to use a lot of space for the Recycle Bin; I usually set the size manually to around 1 – 2 gigabytes (1024 – 2048MB).
• Delete the desktop icons for programs you may use but don’t want cluttering your desktop. You can run these programs from the Start menu instead. This includes utilities and product manuals specific to your computer.

Note the difference between deleting a desktop shortcut and uninstalling a program. Deleting a desktop shortcut simply removes the icon from your desktop but leaves the program installed on your system. You can still run that program by selecting it via the Start Menu.

Uninstalling a program removes the program from your computer entirely. To uninstall a program, click Start -> Control Panel -> Uninstall A Program.

By uninstalling an unwanted program, not only do you free up the space it occupies on your hard drive, you also reduce the complexity of your system, which can lead to faster start-up times and smoother operation.

• Install programs you own, such as Microsoft Office and a security suite. Beware though: don’t install a security suite if there’s already one installed on the system; doing so will cause all sorts of problems.
• Install the Firefox browser if it’s not already on the system. Firefox is generally more secure than Internet Explorer – the browser included with Vista – and it has better features. Personally, I loathe Internet Explorer’s interface; yet another reason to dump it.
• Run Firefox and, when prompted, set it as your default browser. Then visit Adobe to install the Adobe Flash Player and the latest version of Adobe Reader. These programs are almost indispensable for viewing animated content and documents on the web.
• Disable auto-alignment of desktop icons, if it’s currently enabled:
  • Right-click in an empty spot on the desktop.
  • Select View from the pop-up menu.
  • If it’s checked, click Auto Arrange to uncheck the option.

Auto-aligned icons may look neat, but I prefer to organize my icons logically by sticking folder icons down the side of the desktop, program icons along the top, and so on. Turning off auto-arrange lets you choose how to organize your desktop.

• Make sure the Quick Launch bar is displayed. The Quick Launch bar is immediately to the right of the Start orb and it displays shortcuts to your most frequently used programs. If you can’t see the Quick Launch bar:
  • Right-click an empty space on the Taskbar and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
  • Check Show Quick Launch and click OK.
• You can now add shortcuts to your favorite programs to the Quick Launch bar; to delete any pre-installed programs, right-click the program’s icon and choose Delete from the pop-up menu. If you can’t see the entire contents of the Quick Launch bar, here’s how to resize it:
  • Right-click the Taskbar and choose Lock The Taskbar from the pop-up menu. You’ll see a ridged ‘handle’ at the right end of the Quick Launch bar.
  • Click and drag the handle to resize the Quick Launch bar.