Google Music - I'm Sold

I recently received my invite to the new Google Music Beta.  There has been a great deal of press surrounding the release of this service.  Especially of note was the inability of Google to receive agreements with major music labels prior to going live. This didn't seem like a big deal to me but I can see that it will be a big detractor in the future it they don't get it solved.  One other note, I haven't used Amazon's cloud service either, I'm pretty much an iTunes guy.

So iTunes became the biggest issue for me in considering Google Music Beta.  All of my current music is stored within iTunes.  Reading through the release notes Google said there would be no issues with importing my music into their cloud from iTunes.  So I decided to give it a try.

BLUF:  I'm a big fan of Google Music Beta.  Their seamless integration with Android and the cloud where my music is copied is a perfect combination.

After I receive the invitation to try our Google Music I downloaded their application from the log in page. It is called Music Manger (See below).

As you can see I selected the iTunes player, hit OK and 1950 songs were automatically copied to Google's Music cloud.  Actually it was that easy.  It did take over an hour for all the music to appear and be available to play.  Also all of my playlists were copied over intact with links automatically set up for playing.  Artwork was also associated correctly and I was offered free music to get started.  See below for a screen snapshot after the sync.

One question that I had with this process was whether or not I would run into any licensing issues with my music.  I've ran into this with Apple all the time, especially when I change computers.  Basically there were no issues with licensing with Google Music that I found.

So onto the most important question.  So how does this work with my Android phone?  Basically I already had Google Music on my Nexus S already.  As I opened up the application all the music I had loaded up to Google Music cloud was there and ready to play.  I was about as seamless as you can get.  No more fussing with iTunes and my android phone.  Music Manger now keeps my iTunes library in sync with my Google Music cloud and my Android.  I was basically sold from that point forward.

I've used Google Music Beta now for over two weeks and have traveled with it across the country.  Basically all the 1950 songs are not automatically downloaded to my Droid, they are playable over the internet.  As I play them they are then downloaded and available whether I'm connected into the internet or not.  This is only a problem when seating on a plan when you are disconnected.  Basically in that situation you can see and play the songs you've listened to before, but the songs that you havn't listened to are not available for playing.  That seems like the only drawback that I can find.

If Google can figure out how to solve the partnerships issues with the major record labels I can see using Google Music exclusively for management of my music as well as purchasing of tracks.  From what I've read this may not be a quick offering by Google.

Switching back to the iPad

So it has been a while since I left the iPad and switched over to the Samsung Galaxy tablet; see my post on 7 days with the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  I have to say that I really like the Galaxy Tab but the size feature provided by the iPad was the deciding factor.

It has been hard leaving the Galaxy Tab for two main reasons:
1) The integration with Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Reader, etc is far better on the Galaxy Tab
2) Typing on the Galaxy Tab is better with 2 finger blackberry style input.

That said I really missed the iPad.  Especially on travel.  Reading on the device was far better and I missed a few apps such as Pen Ultimate which had no comparable app on Android.

So at this point I using my MacBook Air and iPad when mobile, with exception of Android my Nexus S, and using my PC when at the office.

Now I have to decide on upgrading to the iPad 2 or a Honeycomb device such as the Xoom for my next purchase.

The Cool Kid Syndrome

In the early nineties I was a heavy Mac user working as an electrical engineer for the Dept. Of the Navy. Somewhere in the mid nineties I was convinced to switch over to the PC.   The primary motive was the cost delta and the lack of available SW for the Mac platform. I did not go willingly but over time it made sense and I became very comfortable in the PC ecosystem.

Fast forward to 2010 and it seems like every few months now people are talking to me about switching back to a Mac. The head of my IT group is a big Apple fan.  And of course I'm resisting the change back just as much as I did switching to the PC in the first place.  That said I was handed a new 13" MacBook Air before Christmas and begged to try it out - who turns that down.  

Bottom Line:  I really like the MacBook Air HW but my reservations still lie with the OS and applications.

The form factor, the instant boot up, the weight of the notebook, battery life, and the touch pad are great to use.  I have basically left my Sony VAIO at home now for over the last month.  I'm fully using the MacBook Air when I travel and work remotely.  But in the office and at home it's all PC.  The reason why is the OS and the SW apps.  As an example MS Office just isn't the same on the MAC and features of the OS are just different and confusing.  All of this causes me to fight the computer rather than be productive.  Forget about networking the device to a NAS - nothing natural in that process.

So I guess this is a training issue.  People tell me the Mac is so very intuitive and flows better than Windows/Office.  This isn't the case for me.  I find myself hunting around to do the simplest things.  And why is MS Office on the Mac different from the Windows version.  The menus are completely different and the features are all rearranged.  An an example of another change for the Office app is to add a new slide on a PC just type ; on the Mac it is .  This whole key instead of the key drives me nuts - not just with Office.  Lastly why is everything opposite on the Mac:  files download to the desktop on the right side; PPT full screen projection is on the left side - all opposite from the PC.  All of this make no sense and drives me crazy.  

I have a friend that works for a different firm that has gone through a complete changeover from PC to Mac.  We talk regularly about her experience in this change over.  She is a complete convert to Apple.  She said the funniest thing the other day when I was discussing my frustrations with networking and the Mac.  She said that yes she has given up capabilities from the switchover from PC to Mac but feels she is better for it.  I found that the oddest comment.  Why would a loss of productivity be better in any way?  In discussing this further I have determined that is the COOL effect that is drawing us to Apple.  Not reason.

I'm sure most people will disagree with this but when you're in a meeting and everyone has their Dell Latitudes deployed on the table and you whip out your cool Mac with the glowing apple on the back everyone takes note.  It makes you feel like a cool kid on the cutting edge of technology and productivity. Who doesn't like to talk about how great Apple is anyway.  We all have a lingering bias against windows going back to the late nineties and early 2000s.  Who can forget the Vista debacle.  Remember Windows ME.  Enough said.

So to close this out, I guess I'm a victim of the Cool Kid Syndrome.  I'm going to continue to use my MacBook Air and incorporate it into the work day and re-address this decision in 6 mo or so.  If I'm still struggling with the training aspect of it by then I'll probably give it up and move back to the PC or maybe install Win7 on the MacBook Air.  That just seems wrong is so many ways but I do like the HW form-factor.

7 Days Using the Samsung Galaxy Instead of the iPad

This is an update to my previous post on the Samsung Galaxy Tab where I was using it exclusively over my iPad for a week in my normal work day.  Now I'm not a professional gadget reviewer, but I'm a heavy user of technology and a developer of knowledge enterprise solutions for my clients. So being on top of technologies that help in my normal workday as well as ones that can be utilized in enterprise offerings is essential.


Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):  The Galaxy Tab performed extremely well for me and I noticed no real loss of productivity when switching from the iPad.  Actually in some cases I preferred the Galaxy Tab over the iPad (portability, Google integration, typing blackberry style, double camera, and of course flash).  I will give my iPad its due when it comes to the screen size (reading and drawing/writing on the screen). So I’m now switching over completely for the next month to see how it goes.  I’ll report back in Feb.


One of the first things that I noticed was the size of the device.  It is small compared to the iPad.  Smaller than I thought it would be.  But I have to say that the portability of the device was a major plus throughout my day.  I can actually fit in my jacket pocket without any issue and it is large enough to use effectively.  The most surprising feature of the Galaxy Tab was the virtual keyboard which gets a benefit from the size of the Tablet.  The Blackberry is the gold standard as to how I rate keyboard use on a mobile device. The size of the Galaxy Tab affords the user a two handed thumb input like I use on the Blackberry.  It is truly more efficient to use than the iPad for typing – just shy of Blackberry efficiency.


One of the first challenges I faced with the Galaxy Tab was applications.  I’m very comfortable with my lineup of apps for the iPad (see my latest post on productivity apps).  Within minutes I was cooking with gas downloading some of my favorite apps like Evernote, ZumoDrive, DocsToGo, Yammer, Newsy, Pulse, Twitter, Dropbox, Movies, and Pandora as well as setting up apps that came with the Galaxy such as Gmail, Calendar, Voice, and YouTube to name a few.  Now I admit I’m a heavy Google user so the Android on the Galaxy Tab is just a natural fit and its integration on the device is much smoother than on the iPad.  One of the concerns I had for the Galaxy Tab was integration with pod casts.  iTunes and the iPad just work well with my media.  Google Listen fixed all those pod cast concerns.


In two cases I was not able to get the same app that I use on the iPad.  Those are Reeder and Instapaper.  But with both, there was a quick solution.  For Reeder I just downloaded Google Reader (which is my go to desktop RSS application) and InstaFetch which integrates seamlessly with my Instapaper account.  So with all the hype about there being more and better apps from the iTunes store it really turned out to me a non-issue for me.  I do have to say that I miss Flipboard on the iPad, but I can live with Pulse on the Android instead.


There were a couple new apps that I discovered that added to the usefulness of the Galaxy Tab (Fring, Chrome to Phone).  Fring is basically a VTC capability for the Galaxy Tab utilizing the forward facing camera.  You can get it for the iPhone but it doesn’t do much good on the cameraless iPad.  I’ve used it between other Android devices, the iPhone and between other Galaxy tab devices.  It works pretty well but requires a lot bandwidth to be effective. 


Another area where the Galaxy Tab really shines was with Flash integration.  No more web sites that don’t work.  Also this is a picture of me watching the Tuesday night NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings on the Galaxy Tab for free.  I couldn’t get that to work on my iPad.  Enough said.


One last comment on the comparison, reading on the iPad is far better than on the Galaxy Tab.  The screen size is far better for this function.  Magazines, articles, and even drawing on the iPad are more comfortable and natural.  I also haven’t found a comparable app to Penultimate on the Galaxy either. 


With a good initial experience on the Galaxy Tab, I'm switching over to the Galaxy Tab from the iPad to really kick the tires on it over the next month.  I've really seen no loss in productivity using it instead of my iPad and have found some benefits.  I'll report back in February on how it goes.  Probably just in time to be getting the new iPad..

My 2010 Productivity App Lineup for the iPad

This is an update to my post back in May when I had my iPad for only a month.  Now I’ve got over 8 months of time working with the iPad in my daily work life.  I have come to use it exclusively over my laptop.  As you know I’m also experimenting with the Samsung Galaxy Tab as well; more to follow on that later.  Here is an update to the list of Productivity Apps that I currently use the most.  I’ll be updating the other categories of apps in a later post.

This is my essential workhorse throughout the day.  It allows you to type a text note, clip a web page, grab a screenshot, organize into notebooks, search, and synchronize it all across the cloud with all of my computers and mobile devices.  This is the number one app that I use in every meeting.  www.evernote.com

GoodReader.  This is really my local file management system for the iPad.  It allows me to open .doc. .ppt .xls, and PDFs, download them into folders and have them available even when offline. http://www.goodreader.net/goodreader.html

Penultimate.  When you need to draw a picture or collaborate with someone on an idea this is my go to app.  It works with a stylus or finger stroke and is very accurate and easy to get started quickly.  One thing to note is that drawings can be shared directly into Evernote via email as a multiple page PDF document for later access. http://www.cocoabox.com/

DocsToGo.  As much as I try to use Google Docs these days, you just can’t get away from Microsoft completely.  DocsToGo is my go to app for creating and editing .doc, .xls, and .ppt on the iPad.  The editing of .ppt is really limited and I rarely use it but it does do some simple stuff.  It has a feature to allow you to save to Dropbox which I’ve linked to my ZumoDrive – which I’m a heavy user of these days.  There are two versions of this app; I’ve selected to us the premium one costing a whopping $14 when I bought it making it my most expensive app to date.  It does make you wonder why everything having to do with Microsoft is so expensive. http://goo.gl/1lgd

I’ve made a complete move into the Cloud and ZumoDrive is my go to storage location. ZumoDrive keeps me synced up across all my different devices thereby eliminating the fragmentation problems of yesteryear when I had files stored on multiple hard drives.  Today, I can access files on my iPad, Macbook Air, Dell Precision at work, Samsung Galaxy, etc… On the iPad I find the file I need on the ZumoDrive app and open it into GoodReader or DocsToGo without any issues.  No more fragmentation. http://www.zumodrive.com/

We’ve recently rolled out Yammer into our enterprise at work and it has taken off.  Yammer is an enterprise microblogging capability meant to make organization more productive through the exchange of short frequent answers and discussions.  It is really Twitter for the enterprise.  I’ll post later on our experiences using Yammer at work. www.yammer.com

I started using Google Voice back prior to the Nexus One being release.  A single telephone number that I own really appealed to me, especially when I usually change cell phones once a year or more.  GV is a go to app for me to help manage my voice mails.  It allows me to triage the inbox as well as listen to them on any one of my mobile devices or computers.  Their transcription lacks a lot to be desired but you can get the jest from it most of the time. http://goo.gl/1LLSg

When you travel as much as I do you need options when the unexpected arrives.  Kayak has a great user interface allowing me to play “what if” scenarios when traveling. http://goo.gl/OX7vv

Two other apps that I get a lot of use out of and should be in the productivity category for me are Reeder and Instaper.  Both of these are used throughout my day but are really classified as News within the iTunes store.

Reeder.  Over the last few months I’ve tried NewsRack, Pulse, and Flipboard for linking into my RSS feeds.  I’m a heavy user of Google Reader on the desktop and having that synced with all my mobile devices is a must.  Although I like Flipboard’s interface on the iPad a great deal, Reeder has become my go to app for reading my feeds.  Its offline capability is a must when sitting on an airplane and it syncs well with my Google Reader account. http://goo.gl/VuQW

Instapaper.  How many times do you start reading an article on the web and don’t really have the time to finish it.  Instapaper is the solution.  When you find something of interest and don’t have much time to read it, just send it to into your Instapaper que.  Instapaper has a bookmarklet available for your desktop browser and syncs great when on the go with you iPad.  Also the ability to read when disconnected on an airplane is a key as well. http://goo.gl/lSYH4

So there you have my line up of key productivity apps for my iPad.  I’m sure there will be more to come in the next year.

24 Hours with the Galaxy Tab

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):  I'm really liking the device with its seamless integration of the critical apps that I use, as well as the form factor size.  It is really more convenient to carry around and use.  That said, it is easier to read long articles on the iPad 10" screen.

Most people would say that I'm a huge fan of my Apple iPad.  I've fully integrated into my work life using it at every meeting to help with productivity and keeping me organized.  It is the first item removed from my briefcase before taking a seat on an airplane and the last item I put down before turning out the lights. My MacAir Laptop isn't getting much use these days.

I would have to say that I was a little skeptical about a 7" pad; but I'm a heavy user of Google products such as GMAIL, Calendar, Docs, Reader, etc.  An Android device can make a lot of sense in my world, so I pick up a Samsung Galaxy Tab from Verizon 24 hours ago to check it out.

Taking it out of the box and getting the configurations setup were a piece of cake.  No more than 5 min before I was using it with key apps such as GMAIL , Contacts, Calendar, Talk, Reader and of course Google Voice.  Then came the next level of apps:  Evernote, ZumoDrive, Yammer, Twitter and Pandora.  All key to my day.  There was no difference in the performance of the apps on the Galaxy Tab vs the iPad.  All worked perfectly from the start, and BTW I'm liking the Verizon connection and performance.

I've read that there were issues with the resolution of the screen and that apps were not ready for a 7" form factor on Andriod.  From what I've experienced I cannot see any issues with their use.  The only drawback that I can see is the reading of articles such as the Economist magazine or PDF papers that just seem more practical on a larger 10" screen. 

My plan is to substitute the Galaxy Tab into my work routine over the next week and really kick the tires.  I'll be back with an update on how it performs.

Going Paperless in my Daily Work Day

I have worked over the last several months on using the iPad as a productivity device at work.  Two key apps that I'm using, Evernote and Penultimate, get the most use throughout my daily routine. 

Penultimate is the best handwriting app that I've tired.  It is fast and easy to begin taking notes and has become my go-to app for quickly jotting things down.  The notebook option works well but it takes time to organize your meetings along the notebooks you have set up.  Invariably you end up with notes from one project in another's notebook.  A key that I've found is utilizing a stylus with the app.  Using your finger just doesn't get the writing as small and legible as one would like.  My next app that I will be trying that is similar to Penultimate is Notability.

Evernote is one of my most utilized apps.  Its desktop and mobile clients work extremely well together across both PC and MAC platforms.  The use of tags really supports searching for notes from past meetings across each of the notebooks.  It also supports adding in key Penultimate notes via direct email. The only issue that I have with utilizing Evernote exclusively is the time that it takes to type vs using the stylus in Penultimate. 

Together these apps work well together throughout my meeting filled day and helps to keep me on track with the topics and actions without using paper.