January Snapshots 2010

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from TheMacMommy

Brotherly Love

...because brotherly pestering just doesn't have quite the same ring to it

More Blogging Toys - Adding Audio

Right now, I'm using the Dragon iPhone app called Dictate to record my voice and transcribe it into text. (I tried this before, but it's since been updated) Next, I'm going to copy and paste that text into an e-mail that I'm going to compose using the Voice Memo app so that I can also attach an audio file to the text for this post.

The Dictate app did ok, but I had to come back and manually edit most of the text here on the iPhone to correct the grammar. I thought perhaps the update would be an improvement but it still stops recording every so often. In the time it took me to speak it and then edit it all, I believe I could have hammered it out on the iPhone keyboard faster and more efficiently.

Finally, I'm going to post this email to Posterous which will in turn, post to my Blogger blog, facebook, Twitter, friendfeed, etc.

What I'm most curious about is what will become of the audio recording I've attached. Last time it didn't work but that last post went FUBAR anyhow. Let's see if the audio file attaches this time.

  
Download now or listen on posterous

Testing an audio snipit.m4a (142 KB)

I also went into my facebook Notes application settings and tried removing my blogger rss feed. I didn't like the result. It seems that instead, I need to remove the Posterous autopost from facebook so that wall posts are not duplicated. If I just leave the blog feeding the notes and the notes feeding the wall, I think that might make the user experience more positive so they won't have to leave facebook to read my blog. Only problem with that is my blog traffic stats then take a hit -- which isn't a huge deal to me since I primarily use facebook to keep in touch with friends & family. It's just not something I'd recommend for a business or professional brand. I suppose it all depends on where you pull your stats from and which services you like best.

Play It Again, Sam
Now, let's also see if I did html formatting, tagging and signature removal correctly!

Posted via email from TheMacMommy

Edit: Live Mobile Blogging with Posterous

Now I'm testing out how to make edits to a post by forwarding the original email from my Sent folder. I'm guessing I could also use copy & paste.

I wonder who can see these emoji I'm using with the iPhone app?



In this test, I'm trying out the tagging feature. Hard to tell in the instructions if I need double (( )) or just single ( ). I suppose only one way to find out.

In the subject line should it be:

(tag: tinkering, random thoughts)

         OR

((tag: tinkering, random thoughts))

If this post shows up without tags then I'll know what I did wrong.

 Nope. I did it wrong I guess. Now I'm trying it with double (( )).

Can I use HTML code within the text to make a word <b>bold</b>? Let's see.

<b>Yay! It works!</b>

Here's another thing I'm tinkering with. Trying out different ways to add multiple photos to posts. I know there is the PicPosterous app, but what if I also want to edit the photo using the PS Mobile app? [Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photoshop-com-mobile/id331975235?mt=8 ]

Here is an example of a photo I snapped the other day using my iPhone. Within the iPhone's interface I can take this photo and edit it using the PS Mobile app, save it, then using copy & paste to post

BEFORE

and AFTER shots

How to get iTunes store links for apps to post like I did above? Use the "Tell a friend" feature in the App Store app like so:

Word to the wise: don't address the email until you're really ready to send it/post it. That send button is very sensitive. Lucian bumped my elbow while I was composing this and I accidentally pressed the send button. If you don't put anything in the address field then the send button is not yet active. You could press cancel by accident but at least then you have the opportunity to save a draft.

When it comes to editing though, I really wonder what is the best way to handle corrections, edits or retractions after you've pressed the send button. Since I currently have Posterous set  to autopost to my other online social services, the feeds get autoposted but changes made do not get reflected everywhere in an auto update fashion. Facebook is one example. If I make a change to my original blog or here in Posterous, it's tough noogies when it lands on facebook. Facebook won't pick up the change. At least not in my experience.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with this monkey wrench in an otherwise well-greased wheel?

I'm also trying to figure out how to manage the duplicates. I have my Blogger blog set to auto update my facebook and friendfeed feeds but Twitter is also hooked to FriendFeed so my posts are multiplied like an echo there. It almost feels like bad mic feedback.

I know I need to do some feed gardening in the friendfeed settings and also for facebook. The question is which feed weeds to pull from which garden?

I still like my Blogger blog, but I also really like the clean look of my Posterous (and everyone elses for that matter).

I don't like the way text ends up formatted (or a complete lack thereof) on my Blogger site from Posterous.

Here is a crack at adding audio to my posts. I recorded a memo using the built in Voice Memos app. Next I pressed 'share' and then I copied and pasted it here:

Boy am I sure glad I waiting till after they added copy and paste to the iPhone before getting one. Now I can see why so many people were complaining about it!

Ok, this is funky!

Right now I'm editing this post on my MacBook Pro using Mail.app because after I pasted that audio file while on the iPhone, this is what the portrait and landscape keyboard looks like!!! Weird, huh?!

Not all the keys function at the moment on the iPhone while editing this post but I was able to copy and paste those screen shots in then save the draft while still on the iPhone then open the draft in Mail.app and add these sentences.

Right now I'm going to save this draft using Mail.app. Then I'm going to restart my iPhone and see if I can come back to this draft and edit it from the iPhone without the wonky keyboard issues above.

Now I'm back on the iPhone after restart but now the images are missing. Hmmm.

Going back to Mail.app to see what's up.

Back on the laptop in Mail.app now.

Crap. I lost all of the attachments. Now I'm wondering if it's because I tried to copy and paste an audio file or if it has something to do with an email cache that got too large for the iPhone to handle in composition mode and it just purged everything.

For my next trick I will attempt to go back to the iPhone and copy and paste the attachments back into the spots where I originally had them in this post. Right now all I see are little blue squares with question marks in them where the attachments used to be. I also wonder if I'm allowing enough time for the draft to save onto the Gmail server and then get retrieved on the iPhone before switching back. I know there is some kind of autosaving going on, but I'm not certain how it works.

Ok, back on the iPhone now. Going to attempt to put the attachments back using copy and paste. First I'll do the pics and then the audio last and see if I can post the final version from the iPhone. Here goes!!

Well, anyhow, these are my thoughts on blogging (for free) from the iPhone using apps and services in a turnkey manner.

Also testing how to remove the signature. Not certain if I need the single quotes or not. Let's see.

Yep, it works. No single quotes needed.

Has anyone tried the Glue app for the iPhone? I may try that one next. Let me know your thoughts.

Posted via email from TheMacMommy

Mobile Blogging with Posterous (tag: tinkering, random thoughts)

In this test, I'm trying out the tagging feature. Hard to tell in the instructions if I need double (( )) or just single ( ). I suppose only one way to find out.

In the subject line should it be:
(tag: tinkering, random thoughts)
OR
((tag: tinkering, random thoughts))

If this post shows up without tags then I'll know what I did wrong.

Can I use HTML code within the text to make a word bold? Let's see.

Here's another thing I'm tinkering with. Trying out different ways to add multiple photos to posts. I know there is the PicPosterous app, but what if I also want to edit the photo using the PS Mobile app? [Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photoshop-com-mobile/id331975235?mt=8 ]

Here is an example of a photo I snapped the other day using my iPhone. Within the iPhone's interface I can take this photo and edit it using the PS Mobile app, save it, then using copy & paste to post

BEFORE

and AFTER shots

How to get iTunes store links for apps to post like I did above? Use the "Tell a friend" feature in the App Store app like so:

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Also testing how to remove the signature. Not certain if I need the single quotes or not. Let's see.

Posted via email from TheMacMommy

If Batman Used Twitter

If Batman used Twitter, I bet he would really dig this "Nearby Tweets" feature in TwitBird Pro. [iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitbird-pro/id317777108?mt=8 ]

I love how the tracking beam circles around an epicenter each time you recenter the map. It's just fun to watch the tweeps pop up.

Hey, look, there's someone I actually recognize. Cool!

Actually, I checked and twitter.com/batman IS on Twitter so I suppose if I were looking at a Google map of Gotham, I would probably see the bat signal.

Now I wonder if there even is a Google map of Gotham?

Melissa Davis
TheMacMommy
Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from TheMacMommy