Brad Ruggles » Apple

iPhone Essentials: Photography

Brad Ruggles — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:17:24 +0000

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve shared another iPhone Essentials. This is the one I’ve really been looking forward to sharing with you because there are some GREAT apps out there to turn your iPhone into a portable photo lab cranking out pictures that will leave your jaw on the floor. Here are the photography apps that I personally use and recommend:

Camera+ ($1.99)

Out of all the photography apps out there, the Camera+ app from TapTapTap is one of my favorites because of its ease of use and great photo effects. Who would have thought you could achieve photos like this with an iPhone?

Camera+ allows you to take photos right from within the apps interface or import them for processing from your camera roll. After you have the image you want to work with the real fun begins. You can apply beautiful post-processing effects like Magic Hour, Redscale, Grunge, So Emo, Hipster and many more. It even does a rather impressive job of HDR depending on the source image. The user interface was very intuitively designed and easy to use.

Out of all my photo apps on my iPhone, this one gets used at least 80% of the time. Even with the great photo quality of the iPhone 4 untouched, I can’t resist the urge to apply a little post-processing magic. This app is a must-own for all iPhone owners who want to take their photos from drab to fab.

Note: Camera+ got pulled from the app store (full story here). Keep an eye open for when it re-appears.

Hipstamatic ($1.99 + Lens/Film)

The tagline on the Hipstamatic web site says it all: “Digital Photography Never Looked So Analog.” The Hipstamatic app is by far the artsiest photography app out there (and also #2 on the top Photography apps) with the ability to achieve gorgeous vintage effects that will leave people exclaiming, “That was shot on your iPhone!?!?”

The Hipstamatic app comes with a couple of virtual “lenses,” flashes and film with the ability to purchase more for $.99 each (once you start playing around you’ll want to buy all four). You can mix and match different lens with film or flash to achieve an amazing variety of beautiful vintage and lo-fi looks. I love using this app to capture unique photographs. The only qualm I have with Hipstamatic is that it’s pretty slow, especially when you’re shooting at the best quality. The onboard processing time to achieve the different looks can take between 10-25 seconds per picture so this isn’t the app you’ll want to use to snap quick shots of the kids. The user interface, while pretty to look at, is a bit slow and clunky as well requiring you to make multiple taps and swipes just to perform simple tasks. That being said, I still love this app and highly recommend you check it out.

view this app in iTunes

Pro HDR ($1.99)

This app more of a novelty app that I’ve only used a couple of times. It takes High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos the real way by shooting 3 photos at different exposure and then merging them. The on-board HDR processing engine gives you some control over the final image similar to what you would see if you were editing a HDR photo on your computer.

Since the app takes 3 separate images and then merges them together, you’ll achieve the best final shot if you have some type of stable surface to shoot from or, if you’re lucky, an actual iPhone tripod.

This app isn’t for everyone but it’s worth a look for those photographer iPhone owners who just love tinkering with images on their phone.

view this app in iTunes

Photoshop Express (Free)

I’ve used Photoshop on my Mac since 1995 so when I heard that Adobe was making a mobile version of Photoshop for the iPhone I was as excited as a nerd at Comic-Con. What Adobe released however, fell far short of my expectations. You would think the geniuses over at Adobe would be able to whip up an app that does more than basic image adjustments and cropping.

I still recommend and use it on some of my pics (heck, you can’t beat free) but I’m really hoping that this app is just a teaser to hold us over while they work on the real thing. Perhaps they might adopt the “freemium” model of having a free app and a premium paid app available with more higher end features. *fingers crossed*

That being said, it’s free and it’s a quick and easy way to make some fine-tune color adjustments when the lighting or saturation needs a little more work.

view this app in iTunes

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Here is a sampling of some of the photos I’ve taken on my iPhone over the last month or so:

“Sunset” taken with Camera+ using the HDR setting

“Morning Retreat” taken with Camera+ using the HDR and Miniturize setting

“Traveling Easy” taken with Hipstamatic using the “John S” lens and “Ina’s 1969″ film

“Condos In Sunset” taken with Camera+ using the HDR setting

“Garden Fresh” taken with Hipstamatic using the “John S” lens and “Ina’s 1969″ film

“Going Fishin” taken with Hipstamatic using “John S” lens and “Alfred Infared” film

“Painting In The Clouds” taken with Hipstamatic using the “Lucifer VI” lens and “Ina’s 1969″ film

“Ready for School” taken with Camera+ using the Hipster setting and Polariod border

“Colts Fans” taken with Camera+ using the HDR setting

“Riding my bike” taken with Camera+ using the Redscale filter and the Vintage border

Have you tried any of these apps? Which photography apps do you use on your phone?

iPhone Essentials: Money Savers

Brad Ruggles — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:03:46 +0000

Last week I shared some essential iPhone apps for cycling. This go around I decided to highlight a few apps I’ve been using to save some change. So if you’re looking to lighten your wallet a bit, here are some apps worth checking out.

TextFree (Free)

Last week I wrote about how texting is quickly replacing phone calls as the communication medium of choice in our society. Most people already have a hefty texting package on their cell phone plan but I was looking for ways to cut down on my monthly text and get by with a smaller package. That’s when I discovered TextFree.

TextFree is a free texting app that allows you to send and receive text messages on your phone for free. What drew me to this app was the fact that you get your very own phone number in your area code to send and receive texts at. Get your top 8-10 high-text friends to add your new text number to their address book and you can eliminate quite a few texts in a month. It has a great interface (ad-supported) and taps into your existing address book for contacts.

view this app in iTunes

iCall / Skype (Free)

If you’re looking for ways to cut back on your minutes as well, you’ll want to check out a VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) application. There are plenty to choose from with the most popular being Skype. I love Skype and use it on both my laptop and iPhone. However, I found the iCall app to be more useful.

For starters, you do have to pay to make a Skype call using Skype Credits whereas the iCall app is free within the U.S. with an International flat rate of 6¢ per minute. I use VoIP apps like iCall when I know I’m going to be on a long call or if I want to save minutes.

Whether you use iCall, Skype or another app, a VoIP service is helpful to have on hand if you want to cut down on your minutes.

view this app in iTunes

Groupon (Free)

I am a HUGE fan of Groupon. We have gotten some sweet deals in our area that have saved us some serious change. So when I saw that Groupon had an iPhone app I was excited to see it.

I wasn’t disappointed. All of the features I would have wanted in a Groupon app were there and then some. With the well-designed Groupon app you can view and purchase the current Groupon deal in your city as well as access all of your current Groupons that you’ve already purchased. One feature that was especially cool was the ability to view all of your Groupons on a map so you could see which ones were closest to your current location.

I highly recommend this app. If you haven’t yet discovered or used Groupon, head over and sign up first (it’s free) and then check out the app.

view this app in iTunes

CardStar (Free)

This app is relatively new to me but I immediately recognized that it would prove to be one of my most used.

Nobody likes rummaging through all those membership and store loyalty cards that you get from stores. CardStar takes care of that problem by putting all your membership cards in one app. You can add all of your cards to the app and then simply pull up the barcode for the store you’re at to scan at the register. It even integrates with Foursquare allowing you to check in at the location once you’ve scanned your card.

view this app in iTunes

RedLaser (Free)

The RedLaser app (http://redlaser.com) is one of the most fun to play with. Using your camera you can quickly and easily scan barcodes to see a list of prices for local and online retailers. If you’re scanning a book you can also check to see if that book is available at your local library.

This is a great app to see whether that book, movie or gift you saw at the store is really a great price or if you can find it cheaper online. Even saving a buck here or there can add up over time.

view this app in iTunes

Have you tried any of these apps? Which money-saving apps do you use on your phone?

iPhone Essentials: Biking Apps

Brad Ruggles — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:32:39 +0000

I recently got the new iPhone 4 (if you knew how long I had to wait to get my iPhone you wouldn’t be hating on me for having it). One of my best-kept secrets over the last 2 years is that I was, in fact, one of the few blogger/social-media-enthusiasts in the world without an iPhone. So many people naturally assumed I owned one so I just let the rumors go. Last month I finally pre-ordered my new iPhone and now have joined the app-loving, Twitpickings, hold-it-right-so-you-don’t-drop-a-call masses.

Reception and death-grip aside, there are some pretty amazing things you can do with this phone. I’m going to share some of my favorite apps and accessories in a series of “iPhone Essentials” posts. Today’s list features some great apps for cycling.

DailyMile (Free)

Although technically not an iPhone app, I use this site all the time to track my cycling workouts and connect with other cyclists (you can find and follow me at www.dailymile.com/people/bradruggles).

DailyMile is a social media tool for runners, cyclists and swimmers. It’s been a great way for me to track and view my rides over time. They have pretty good mobile version of their site that you can pull up on your iPhone but some of the key functionality is missing. There is hopefully an iPhone app in the works (fingers crossed).

Even though this isn’t an app I just had to mention it since it has become the main tool I’ve used to track my cycling workouts and routes. Even if you don’t have an iPhone you can still take advantage of this great site.

Cyclemeter ($4.99)

I’ve tried several apps for tracking my cycling while I’m on the bike and this one has been the best I’ve used so far. Cyclemeter (www.cyclemeter.com) gives you the ability to track your workouts using GPS, visualize your routes and stats with helpful graphs, and share your workouts using popular social media sites. I’ve used Cyclemeter alongside my trip computer on my bike and have found it to be only marginally accurate. If you’re going for complete to-the-minute and to-the-mile precision you’ll want to invest in an actual trip computer. For the average user though this app isn’t bad. I really like the ability to see my routes as well as view my elevation and speed graphs.

view this app in iTunes

RunKeeper (free or $9.99)

I’ve tried RunKeeper a couple of times but the jury is still out. Despite the name, this app can be used to track both runs and bike rides. It has the standard GPS map tools along with a few extras like the ability to link specific iPod playlists with your workout and handy graphs while your activity is in progress. You can also take geo-tagged photos along your route if you want to remember a specific landmark. There is a very functional free version of the app and a fairly high-priced Pro version for $9.99 (I’ve only tried the free version so far). Like I said, I haven’t used this app enough to be hooked but I have heard pretty good things from people who use it all the time. It was also ranked #8 in TIME Magazine’s Top Ten iPhone Apps of 2009.

view this app in iTunes

iMapMyRide (free or $4.99)

I’m least familiar with this app out of the three I have listed but I know it’s been around for a while which means they have had plenty of time to improve each version. I also know that there is a pretty active membership-based online community at mapmyride.com. This app has most of the same standard features as the two above with the added ability to post and share specific routes via the MapMyRide web site. You can download the free ad-supported app or purchase iMapMyRIDE + for $4.99.

view this app in iTunes

Tigra iPhone Bike Mount ($44.95)

If you’re going to be using your iPhone to track your bike rides you’re going to need a decent case. I researched bike-mounted cases online and discovered the Tigra iPhone Weather Resistant Bike Mount for $45. The BikeConsole features a weather resistant housing that allows for touch screen operation. It fits any size handle bar and allows for a rotation of 360 degrees. It also features a shock resistant silicon lining that allows for rugged usage on mountain bikes, motorcycles and golf carts. As an added bonus, even though it is advertised as an iPhone 3G/3GS case it fits the iPhone 4 as well! I’ve used this particular case for about a week now and have been very happy with it.

Have you tried any of these apps? Which do you like best? Got any others cycling apps or tools you recommend?

Apple’s Revolutionary New Laptop

Brad Ruggles — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:03:40 +0000

Apple has done it again. They’ve released a product so revolutionary that it will completely change the way we think about portable computing. This amazing new laptop does away with the keyboard in a move that will send other computer manufacturers scrambling trying to catch up.

Introducing the MacBook Wheel…

I don’t know about you but when this comes out, I am so buying it.

Make Your Mac Sing A Silly Song

Brad Ruggles — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:18:41 +0000

Here’s a fun little trick to impress your friends. If you are on a Mac copy the below text, paste it in your “Terminal” window and hit enter.

If you don’t know where to find Terminal, search for it in spotlight (in the top right-hand corner of your screen).

say -v Cellos oh I love Brad Ruggles blog love his blog love his blog oh I love Brad Ruggles blog I read it all the time

The opportunities are endless with a fun little geek trick like this. Have fun.

UPDATE:
You can change the word “cellos” at the end to any of the built in mac voices. “bells” and “good news” have nice rings to them, then others like “deranged” are, well, deranged. (ht: abelara)

say -v Deranged Super cala fraj ee listick ex pee al a doashus

say -v Trinoids When the pimps in the crib. drop it like its hot. drop it like its hot. drop it like its hot(ht: Evan Courtney)

say -v "Good News" Brad is the coolest guy that I ever knew

Has The Dust Cleared?

Brad Ruggles — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:58:49 +0000

Just writing a quick post to see if everything has transferred over ok. If you’re reading this in your RSS reader or viewing it in your browser it must be working ok!

Sick iMacs & Answered Prayers

Brad Ruggles — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:14:17 +0000

Last night was pretty stressful for us. Lisa’s iMac wouldn’t boot up yesterday despite repeated attempts at troubleshooting the issue. Let me stop all the harassing comments before they start – while Macs are, in my opinion much better computers, they are still computers. Things go wrong.

Her computer has Quickbooks and all of my company’s accounting information on it so we needed it working so that she could invoice some customers. Fortunately there is an Apple store in Tampa about 45 minutes from us so I made a reservation at the Genius Bar to have them take a look.

Last night was also the night that Lisa’s Aunt was going to watch the kids so we could go out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary, which was a couple of days ago. We decided to drop the computer off at the Apple store and then go out for dinner.

Upon initial inspection of the computer they discovered that the hard drive appeared to have some corrupted sectors which kept it from booting completely. The lady told us to go have dinner while she ran some further recovery applications.

We had only been gone maybe 10 minutes and were just about to walk into the restaurant when I got a call that the hard drive was corrupted beyond repair and couldn’t be recovered. This completely ruined the mood of the evening because all of our accounting information was on this computer and it had not been backed up! Stupid, I know. But when I first started my business in October finances were tight and I used the only external backup drive I had bought for my laptop to back up my design files.

The wine we had ordered with our meal was now needed to dull the pain instead of setting a mood. As we sat there I grabbed Lisa’s hand and we both prayed that God would help them find a way to recover the data but Job 1:21 was floating in the back of my head (“the Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord”).

After dinner I went back into the store. The lady behind the counter confirmed that the drive was, in fact, corrupted beyond repair and needed to be replaced. I asked if she could try locating one specific folder to recover. After booting up to her external drive and mounting the iMac’s local drive she navigated until she found the found the Quickbooks folder. “Here goes nothing!” she said as she dragged the folder onto her backup drive. Wonder of wonders, it copied! I think she was a little surprised as well!

It was with a much lighter heart that we left the Apple store the second time, thanking God for answering our prayers. With any luck her iMac will have its new hard drive installed by next week and we’ll be good to go.

I’m thankful God answers prayers for sick iMacs.

Just Kidding! Bill is not my BFF!

Brad Ruggles — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:47:27 +0000

For those of you who missed my blog yesterday this is what it looked like.

Just to clear it up for those of you who may have been confused, that my friend was an April Fools Day prank.

I have not converted back to Windows nor will I anytime in the foreseeable future. I’m sure Bill Gates is a great guy but he is definitely not my BFF. Now on the other hand, if Steve Jobs were to extend the invitation…

Now that April Fools day is over I sort of feel sorry for my blog having to bear the humiliation of being covered in Windows so long. Last night I could have sworn I saw it cry little binary tears.

So it’s time to get back on track. Here are a few links to help those of you who still wander in darkness to see the light.

Apple.com – the mother ship
Mac & PC guy Ads – they just added 2 new ones!
If you’re thinking about switching to a Mac
The Unoffical Apple Weblog – one of my favorite Mac blogs
MacMall – a great place to buy your Mac
Macworld – the Mac Experts

But seriously, Steve, if you’re reading this…I wasn’t joking about the BFF thing. Email me.

How To Tell If You’re A Design Superfreak

Brad Ruggles — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:53:00 +0000

If you know me or have read my blog before you know that I’m a creative person at heart. I’ve been involved in media and graphic design since 1995. Back then I was designing with Photoshop 3.0 on a computer with 16MB of RAM and a 1GB Hard Drive!

Here’s some of the highlights of my life as a designer:

Ok all you creative people out there, time to ‘fess up.

Do any of those sound like you?

The Scary Apple Demo Guy

Brad Ruggles — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:33:34 +0000

Ok, am I the only one who thinks this guy is a little weird?

Couldn’t Apple find someone a little more natural to do their product demos?