a g i r i l e y . c o m

I found that I cannot really read PDFs on my iPhone when I just put them on, thought AirSharing did turn out to be a really useful tool to put files on the iPhone/iPod Touch, that the iPhone/iPod Touch can read. Unfortunately, it’s not free anymore ($6.99). Still, I have to magnify them, move them around; it’s quite a slow process to even read a page. So, I was very pleased when I found Stanza. Stanza is an ebook reader that now you can read PDF files with on your iPhone/iPod Touch (as well as a a vast amount of downloadable titles). Here’s how you can do it (if you’re on a Mac):

1. Download and install Stanza for your iPhone/iPod Touch
2. Download and install Stanza for your Mac
3. Open a PDF with Stanza on your Mac
4. Check /Tools/Enable Sharing on your file that you just opened
5. Open Stanza on your iPhone/iPod Touch
6. Go to Shared Books then find your file to download. Now, this file will be named “Unknown”, which you can rename on the iPhone, once you actually downloaded it:

1. Tap the screen
2. Click the little “i” icon in the upper right corner
3. Type over “unknown” for title and author

This is great for studying on the iPhone/iPod Touch. I started looking for a way to read PDFs so I can read the FileMaker Training Series on my iPhone. Now I have no excuse anymore.

AirSharing, iPod Touch, stanza

This is exactly how I envisioned my application over a year ago, when I started working on it with some developer friends, except one or two EXTRA features, which I am not going to elaborate on.

Evernote, however is an excellent application for collecting notes from the web or your head and then syncing them automatically to different platforms, such as your iPhone. I have already made a nice FileMaker-related section on my Mac desktop app from different sources. The information can be tagged and is searchable, as well as you can email notes as PDFs automtically. Two thumbs up, Evernote!

One of my friends just showed me he figured out a way of stying logged in on Google Talk on the iPhone. True, it does not give you notifications, since it’s a web-based solutions, but it beats the native apps, that re-log you every time you open them up after having to close them. So, here’s how you can stay online and receive messages: Log into GoogleTalk  whether through Safari or the saved shortcut on your home screen. Then close the Safari window. Your friends will still see yuo online and are able to send you messages. When you open the Safari window, again, you will receive the message. It does not work if you go back through the home screen shortcut, since it logs you out to log you back in.

Enjoy!