My Dream App

When he isn't writing about himself in the third person Scott is invariably blogging about something. He's the lead blogger at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), and a compulsive blogger at his personal site Blankbaby. When not blogging you can usually find Scott reading blogs, thinking about blogs, or eating ice cream.

I love this idea. Any game that I won’t buy is something that is sure to be a hit. You see, I avoid programs that will distract me from my one true calling, blogging like a maniac. If I had Desktop Wars installed on my Mac I transform into Alexander the Great marching my hordes across desktop after desktop until eventually I died and then portrayed by Colin Farrell in a box office disappointment. This one’s a keeper.

Another way to turn my Mac into an ambient device, and I like it. I’m not sure if I would actually use this application (I’m a master of ‘Not Getting Things Done’) but the idea is very cool. I can imagine people getting into the idea of trying to make their blooms better than their co-workers because in the end it is all about being better than someone else.

Here’s the real secret about vlogging: it is a lot of work. You have to shot video, import it, manipulate it in something (iMovie, Quicktime, Final Cut), and then you have to encode it and push it out to your adoring fans. I’m tired just thinking about it. That being said, I can see iVlog being very popular for a certain kind of vlogger (I’m thinking the angsty teens out there that are smarter than everyone and know nothing but suffering in the suburbs) though I don’t think Ze Frank would suddenly start using it. The biggest problem with iVlog is that vlogging isn’t really mainstream yet. It is on the cusp of either being very popular, or being relegated to something that very few people do but a slightly larger number of people watch. I like the YouTube upload idea though, and perhaps something similar with that MySpace site the kids all like would work well.

I’m sure the name will need to be changed, but I love the mockups of this app. It is certainly the most polished of all the entries. Now, I must confess that I am a fat man who is trying to lose some weight (18 pound so far!). The key to success, for me, is planning and scheduling both meals and food shopping. CookBook would really let me stop worrying what I am eating and focus on working out. I’m a big fan of this app.

Anyone want to write an app that will exercise for me?

I’m sure Merlin will love this idea, but can I ask one favor of the internet? Enough with the Getting Things Done. This is a niche market that is pretty much brimming over with apps (Kinkless, Midnight Inbox, Omnifocus). I’ll never use this, nor will most Mac users. I think effort is better spent on some of the more innovative ideas (Am I turning into the Simon Cowell of My Dream App?).

I didn’t like this idea when I first saw it… in Windows Vista (Sidebar and Ground Control, separated at birth?) and I still don’t like it. I’m not a big fan of widgets and gadgets and geegaws, so this app leaves me cold.

I live in my RSS reader, if I didn’t it would be hard for me to visit the 700 sites that I keep track of on a day to day basis. I’m able to keep track of said sites precisely because my reader doesn’t force me into a newspaper metaphor. It just serves no purpose, if I wanted to read a paper I would buy one and be done with it. Give me a list of feeds in a linear format and I’m happy. I should note that I also hate HTML email. Plain text rules.

I suppose the iCal integration is clever, but once again I don’t want to be forced into an outmoded format to get my information. ‘I wonder what I’m up to today, let me print out my paper.’ Doesn’t work for me.

I love this idea. There, I said it, are you happy now? Keep in mind that I am something of a weather nut, and that I work in an underground bunker (in an undisclosed location). Couple this with another minor obsession of mine, ambient devices, and Atmosphere is a winner. The whole idea of ambient devices is that they convey vital information to you in a very natural and non-intrusive manner. The weather displayed using my desktop is pretty much the best way to turn my iMac into an ambient weather station.