Logan Leger — Technologist

Introduction

In the spirit of putting a close to 2009 and the coronation of a new decade, I’d like to present my list of top applications of 2009. I spend a vast majority of my time on the computer: my job, my education and my hobbies are all computer-based. There are a lot of applications I use both on the computer and in the cloud that are absolutely indispensable to me. It’s interesting to see how this list hasn’t really changed much since 2008. Some notable exceptions are my transition from Gmail to Mail.app, indie paid apps replacing free open-source alternatives and few new comers. Also, iPhone apps are a new medium I’m tracking as my iPhone has become absolutely necessary to everyday life. (Note that I’m tracking non-Apple apps. The standard apps will always take up a majority of the top 10 so that’s fairly useless, although I’d like to mention that my top 3 are SMS, Mail and Phone respectively.) I’d like to know what your top apps were—fire away in the comments. But, without further ado let me present my list.

Top 10 Computer-Based Applications

1. Safari 4.0—by far my most used app.
2. Adium
3. Mail
4. Dropbox—client app is as important as its cloud counterpart
5. Textmate—hands down the best text editor ever
6. Transmit—simply the best FTP client
7. Sequel Pro—wonderful mysql interface; I simply couldn’t work without it
8. Skype—useful for long-distance relationships
9. Terminal
10. iTunes

Honorable mentions: Things, Newsfire, Photoshop

Top 10 Cloud-based Applications

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Dropbox
4. 2schedule
5. Github
6. Whatthemovie
7. Google Wave
8. Wordpress
9. Are My Sites Up?
10. Newstwit

Honorable mention: LinkedIn, Basecamp, Last.fm, LittleSnapper/Droplr/TinyGrab/Skitch

Top 10 iPhone Apps

1. Facebook
2. Tweetie
3. Words with Friends
4. Ego
5. UrbanSpoon
6. Chase (bank app)
7. Tunnel
8. Shazam
9. Dropbox
10. MetaSquares

Honorable mention: NYTimes, iDisk, AMSU Lite, LyricSift, NotAParkingSpot, RampChamp, Monopoly, Tumblr

Conclusion

There are a few interesting trends here. I’m curious to see if after tracking for additional years I’ll be able to extrapolate any useful information. In any case, what were your top apps of 2009? Do you have any that match me? Let me know in the comments.

Introduction

While I was sad as anyone when Apple dealt the cult a double whammy—the absence of Steve Jobs and their hereafter corporate absence, I did follow the Philnote (is it blasphemy to say this?) with just as much excitement as any other fan boy—well, almost as much.  Overall, I was quite intrigued by the new products.  Yes, I didn’t see everything I would’ve liked, but it’s glad to see Apple is still doing what it does best: innovation.

Positive

1. iLife Updates.
   Not only did some of the iLife apps receive imperative updates, but all of them got some cool new features.  Frankly, some of these have just got me flabbergasted.   
   • iPhoto: Faces and Places are great, and will help expand the functionality of iPhoto.  Ryan of 37Signals is right: this is great for their domain as it enables people to view and act upon pictures, not just view.  Facial recognition has always stunned me and it looks like iPhoto’s is pretty accurate.  I’m looking forward to playing with this.  Places looks neat, but it means I need to add GPS to my camera or use the iPhone more.  Dr. Macenstein was right to place this under “meh”—I don’t really want to do either.  Direct Facebook integration is also great.  (I LOLed at the “Johnny Appleseed” profile.  Did they seriously make that for Apple?)  Do you know how long it takes to tag each individual photo?  Looks like those photos I owe my friends is going to be put off a little longer—sorry guys, just blame Apple.
   • iMovie: Precision editor, travel maps, video stabilization and full-screen library are the notable updates.  It’s amazing how bad iMovie ‘08 was—I’ve opted to use it infrequently because of this.  The precision editor fixes the problems I had with editing movies, because it gives me more control over editing my content.  The other three are just really cool.  I’m interested to see how well the video stabilization works.  Phil said it takes a while to render but that it’s well worth the wait—intriguing.
   • GarageBand: I don’t use GarageBand much, so I can’t comment on any personal utility I’d derive from these updates, but what sticks out is the lessons.  They’re both a great idea.  I looked at the tutorials on the product page and was quite impressed.  I’m not a music maven—although “Tim” seems to be, but I can see how these would be useful.  Hey, I might even try them out.  What I like about them is that they’re not all installed—saves space—and you can download more from the “Lesson Store”—Apple’s learning.  The other great idea is the Artist Lessons.  Sure, they’re $5, but they look worth it.  The samples on the product page are fantastic: high quality videos (HD for download), simple instruction and great teachers—holy crap, they have Sting.
   • iWeb: As with GarageBand, I don’t use iWeb—Coda and Textmate for me.  However, the updates, again, look nice.  RSS is ubiquitous so it’s nice to see that added.  Also, Facebook integration is a good idea because it saves users one more step.
2. iWork Updates.
   Overall, the iWork updates are very impressive.  As a frequent iWork user—I’ve replaced Office completely, I was very satisfied to see the updates.  In general, these updates do more to flesh out the applications; i.e., it makes them more full-featured and better able to compete with Office.  I’ve just finished looking through the updated product pages on Apple’s website and am particularly impressed with such features as: Pages—fullscreen; Keynote—iPhone app (that’s just cool), magic move, chart animations; Numbers—formulas, table categories.  Overall, I’m impressed with the new themes and theme chooser.
3. iWork.com
   I understand why people might raise contention with this, but I think it’s a great step forward to the future of technology—cloud computing.  While I’m rather dubious myself about whether I’ll pay for this service, I can see the potential use for it.  If it’s affordable, I might consider it.  I’m still rather confused why Apple isn’t using the Google strategy, though.
4. iLife and iWork bundle.
   What a great idea.  I wonder why it took them this long to release this.
5. iTunes DRM-Free.
   And all of the world rejoice.  I guess they finally gave in.  Certainly the $1.8 billion “tax” didn’t hurt.  As I pointed out on Twitter, Steve Jobs: 3—Music Industry: 0.  Now I just have to decide which songs I can afford to upgrade.
6. MacBook Pro 17-inch.
   The final installment of the MacBook Pros much needed upgrades.  As with the others, it looks to be a great computer.  Two caveats for me: I think the large spaces (where the speakers are) on the sides are unaesthetic; the trackpad didn’t grow linearly with the screen size.

Negative

1. No hardware line updates.
   It’s no secret: AppleTV, Mac Mini, and Apple Displays need updates.  They’re lagging behind the competition.  I’m surprised there were no updates here.  Perhaps they’re waiting for micro-events coming soon or, perhaps, a major release at WWDC with Snow Leopard and line updates.  That’d be major.  I think their absence also contributed to the AAPL decline.
2. Matte screen on MacBook Pro.
   Regarding the $50 surcharge: . . . what?
   Regarding its absence in the lower lines: . . . what?
   I.e., this doesn’t make any sense to me.
3. No Snow Leopard.
   Apple, it’s time.  According to the timeline, we’re due about now, at the latest at WWDC.  Don’t be like Microsoft and delay.
4. No iDVD upgrade.
   While it didn’t need a tuneup as bad as the other apps, an update would be nice.
5. iTunes DRM comes with a price.
   Is it a price I’d pay?  Yes, I will.  Is it one I think I should pay?  No, of course not.  I already own the music, why do I have to pay for it again—even a nominal fee?  Music industry (or Apple): that’s a cheap shot.
6. No Steve Jobs.
   Sorry, but he’s just one of my heroes.  We all miss him.

Conclusion

Personally, I rather enjoyed the keynote.  It’s good to see Apple is still Apple, despite the personal difficulties that Steve Jobs is going through.  While we don’t know the future of the company and Steve’s involvement therewith, this keynote did one more thing for me: It assured me that Apple can survive without Steve.  It seems almost heretical to say that, but it’s something we’ve all been pondering since his virtuoso return.  And Phil Schiller answered that today.  It’s been rumored that Steve has been preparing his surrogates to take over the company when he abdicates, and it’s now very clear that he has—and that they can.  Did we see any ridiculous monstrosities while Phil was on stage?  No.  It was a cool, charismatic presentation—uncannily Steve-like.  Even as invested as I am in this company, I feel like the ship would be safe in the skipper’s hands.  What do you think?  As pedestrians, are you concerned with the future of the company or do you feel similarly?  What do you make of the stock price fall?  I’m curious to know if this is unique to the community—it certainly seems so—or if there are others who align with this view.

One more thing: lulz, MacRumors Live.