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gravity posts

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity

Tags takes organization to a new level

The idea of tagging files as an organization and project management method has been around for some time now, and we've mentioned applications in the past (FileSpot, TagBot, Punakea ... ) which touched on some useful applications for the tagging method. A truly seamless, system-wide implementation, however, has been hard to find. Back at WWDC, Gravity applications gave me a taste of a new application which takes the concept to a new level. Tags, finally released yesterday, provides a hotkey-triggered HUD which allows tagging and searching from a wide range of applications, including:

  • Finder and Path Finder
  • Mail
  • Address Book
  • iPhoto
  • Safari
  • Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.)
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Xcode
  • Rapidweaver
  • Omnioutliner
  • Pages and Keynote
  • Quicktime
The list goes on. Basically, any application which can tell AppleScript what the current context is will work with Tags. Those that don't can also have their items tagged from Finder, which is especially easy if they have a "Reveal in Finder" shortcut.

Tags uses Spotlight metadata instead of the old Spotlight comments method. Files tagged with Tags are immediately indexed in Spotlight, allowing for searches and Smart Folders outside of Tags, as well as integration with other Spotlight-enabled applications. Its keyword storage method is directly compatible with Ironic Software's Deep, and the same method is planned for use in Leap, eventually. Ironic has actually just announced OpenMeta, an open source library for accessing and modifying this kind of metadata (more on that coming soon).

Read on for more on the concepts behind Tags.

Continue readingTags takes organization to a new level

Filed under: Software, iPhone

Searchlight goes native on the iPhone

Gravity Applications has released a native iPhone application to complement Searchlight, their remote search application based on Spotlight. Searchlight previously sported an iPhone-optimized web interface, and the native app builds on that. Some noteworthy benefits of the native app include storing logins for multiple servers, Bonjour discovery, and a speedier interface than Safari had provided. It also integrates a new feature found on the Searchlight server: the ability to send the files you locate to yourself or a third party via email.

The iPhone app is basic, but it provides a solid foundation for building a richer feature set as it develops, according to developer Niclas Bahn. We discussed some cool features already existing in some of the iPhone file management apps like FileMagnet and Briefcase (iTunes links), and he was excited about implementing some innovations of his own. It will be fun to watch it develop.

The Searchlight iPhone application is free, but requires Searchlight to be running on the computer you'd like search access to. Current users will want to upgrade their Searchlight server to the 2.1 release (the upgrade is free). If you weren't one of the lucky ten readers who got a free copy of Searchlight last time we mentioned it, and the $99 price tag was a bit too high, there's some good news: the price has dropped to $49USD. It may be a temporary price-drop, but it should last long enough for new users to take the demo for a spin and make an informed decision. Get it at Gravity's website, and happy searching!

Filed under: WWDC, Interviews, Developer

WWDC '08: Gravity Applications

We gave Niclas and Martin from Gravity Applications a chance to talk about their latest (finished) project: Searchlight. It's an exciting application that provides a web interface to your system-wide Spotlight database, allowing any web browser on any platform (including your iPhone) to search, preview and download files from your computer. The chat was fun, but it got even more interesting after the camera stopped rolling and Niclas showed me their next project. I can't reveal it yet, but I can tell you that I've been excited about it ever since and -- because that's a terrible teaser -- I'll tell you that it's quite likely to be a huge step forward in solving some of my most perplexing organization conundrums. I promise to cover it thoroughly when it's released. In the meantime, here's the Gravity team elaborating on Searchlight and their first time at WWDC. Video after the jump.

Continue readingWWDC '08: Gravity Applications

Filed under: Flickr Find, iPhone

iPhone vs. gravity is no contest



Apple's MagSafe power cords have probably saved thousands of laptops from untimely impacts -- too bad there's no such insurance policy for the iPhone. Brett Peters' phone had an unfortunate encounter with his young son and moments later, with the floor, and the result is as you see above. While the screen glass is shattered, Brett was able to lay a piece of clear packing tape on top of the phone and keep all the shards in place. You can see all the photos on Brett's blog and here on Flickr.

Believe it or not, the phone is still functional; more surprisingly, except for the most seriously damaged spots, the touchscreen still works. Brett is considering a screen replacement via this procedure, but in the meantime I'm sure he's having a heart-to-heart with his son about the facts of physics. 9.8m/s^2 -- it's not just a good idea, it's the law.

[via Twitter]

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