Web Worker Daily

FreshBooks users with iPhones or iPod Touches can now manage their FreshBooks account while on the go with MiniBooks, an app from Groovy Squared. The app synchronizes with your FreshBook account, so you can access your data even if you lose your network connection.

MiniBooks comes with the following features:

• Clients: Search for clients and contact them with the iPhone’s phone and email applications.
• Invoices: Create, edit, search, view and email invoices from within the app. You can also view the status of the invoice and record payments.
• Timers: Start and stop timers that can track multiple activities on one screen. Active timers will keep running even if you close MiniBooks.
• Estimates: Create, edit and email estimates that you can turn into invoices. Read the rest of this entry »

I love my iPhone and am practically obsessed with downloading new apps every week. I gravitate toward communications and publishing applications, but if it helps me be more productive, access my work tools remotely, or connect to news and information, chances are I have it on my phone.

As a big fan of iPhone apps and a reviewer of applications of all kinds, I’m constantly trying to come up with a “big idea” that will be a runaway App Store sensation — and bring in some passive revenue on the side — and so have been pondering the question “What does it take to make an iPhone app?” Read the rest of this entry »

Almost exactly a year ago, Apple introduced its unibody aluminum MacBooks. “Unibody” means that the case is a single piece, with the battery being sealed inside. My immediate reaction, shared by many road warriors and web workers, was horror: “They can’t do that!” Not only did Apple do it, but soon after, the range was expanded to include the 17” MacBooks as well. As of today, the only MacBook available with a removable battery is the legacy white 13” MacBook, whose days are believed to be numbered by many analysts.

So what happened when legions of Apple fans were faced with being unable to change out the batteries on their beloved notebooks? Did angry mobs descend on Cupertino? Not exactly. After the initial shock wore off, we began to ask ourselves how important removable laptop batteries actually were.

There are good arguments for removable notebook batteries, especially if you compute on the go a lot. Power outlets are frequently unavailable in locations such as conference rooms, convention centers and aircraft. Power access is improving in newer facilities but it is still easy to find yourself without power. Having the security of the second battery in your bag makes the quest for power a little less panicked. Also, replacing a battery that has outlived its hardware life requires no downtime. Read the rest of this entry »

As I noted over at TheAppleBlog, Google has turned on push for Gmail on the iPhone. That means that your incoming messages will be pushed from the Google servers to your phone, instead of your phone having to call in periodically to check for new mail. It means you’ll be more up-to-date, and your phone will use a lot less of your battery’s power than if you use Apple’s Fetch alternative.

For Gmail users with an iPhone who work from home, this is great news. Often, those of us not plugged in to the corporate world miss out on the little niceties like Exchange information syncing. Google Sync, now that it includes Gmail, offers a great free alternative for those of us who’ve left our office working days behind. And it uses Microsoft Exchange technology to do it. Read the rest of this entry »

Over on TheAppleBlog, Charles wrote about some cunning laptop sleeves that are designed to foil would-be thieves by disguising your precious computer as an ordinary old newspaper. Both the mitemite sleeve (for MacBook Pros) and the ItaliaCraft Newsprint sleeve (for MacBook Airs) are designed to protect your computer from scratches and should do a reasonable job of fooling the bad guys, although I doubt they would stand up to a close inspection.

However, these sleeves are fairly expensive (around $86 for the mitemite sleeve, or $62 for the ItaliaCraft sleeve, not including international shipping). If you’re concerned about laptop theft, making your own version out of a padded envelope or even some old newspapers could be a cheaper — and more convincing — option.

Do you deter thieves by disguising your laptop while you’re out and about? How?

With Apple’s recent banning of the Google Voice App from its App Store, some technorati are ditching their iPhones. The reasons given for switching from the device tend to be more politically-charged than practical. While I think it is important for us to understand the corporate politics behind the companies whose products we use, I also believe that we choose our mobile devices for four main reasons — and politics isn’t one of them:

1. Access – what kind of coverage does the service get?
2. Availability -- what services are available in one’s area and what devices do they carry?
3. Pricing — what services offer the best pricing packages?
4. Features — what functionality does the devices they offer provide? Read the rest of this entry »

The iPhone OS 3.0 software update is now available for download. If you’re wondering about the benefits of updating, check out Darrell’s WWD post “Apple iPhone OS 3.0: A Web Working Perspective.” As Darrell’s an Apple Developer Program member, he had a chance to play the with the beta of this update before us regular mortals, and got hands-on with some of the nifty new web worker-friendly features in this update:

• Cut, Copy and Paste (at last!)
• Spotlight (system-wide search)
• Landscape keyboard in all default apps
• MMS

While these features are all great, and in the case of MMS and copy/paste have been a long time in coming, as Darrell rightly points out in this post over at TheAppleBlog, what’s really exciting is the possibilities for new apps. Thanks to the new APIs available for developers: device support, push notifications and in-app commerce will all bring exciting new apps and functionality to every web worker’s iPhone. Indeed, as Om notes, these new features and an upsurge in engrossing new apps could spur mobile data usage to greater heights.

What are you waiting for? Go download it and let us know your thoughts the update in the comments.

These days, when I leave my office — even if it’s just to go down the street to the grocery store — I know that I can grab my cell phone (a Treo 755p) and have my contacts, calendar, to-do list and passwords with me. They’ll even be up-to-date, if I’ve remembered to use Missing Sync to update my phone recently! And my email is always available, as I use IMAP with Google Apps.

Thanks to my smartphone, I don’t carry my laptop very much, unless I’m doing a presentation or going on an extended trip. But it’s nice to have my desktop sync with my laptop, so that it’s ready when I need it. And that’s where things start getting complicated. Read the rest of this entry »