My go to favourites include Writing Kit when doing long form research papers, Byword for general purpose writing with markdown formatting that eventually gets exported as HTML documents, and Simplenote for short notes in my personal text database. One of the great things are that these apps work on both iPad and iPhone (universal), sync with documents on my Macs and are less than $5 each to own. You can’t beat that as a deal if you are at all interested in beautiful mobile writing tools.

With the low price of apps and music, $10,000 is a lot of downloads.

Also published is a list of the top 25 paid and free apps for iPhone and the same for iPad.

All time top app listings

Most of the top apps are games which shows how popular the iPhone and iPad are as gaming platforms. Interesting that Touch Hockey is in the top 25 given that hockey isn’t exactly the most popular sport in the US.

This American life broadcasts some really interesting, educational, and revealing episodes that dig beneath the headlines to change how you think about what is happening in the world.

A recent compelling episode #454 Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory is about the expose that was done by Mike Daisey about conditions in Chinese factories and in particular the factories where Apple products are built. Use your Apple product to download the audio (either from the web site or iTunes podcast) that includes part of a masterful monologue, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, that is performed onstage in New York City. As a public speaker I have to compliment Mike on his delivery of this story that is riveting even with just the audio excerpt.

I think it is best for you to come to your own conclusions regarding the cons and pros that are presented but the story makes me feel very grateful that we live in a society where this information can be reported and public opinion can hopefully improve things. Some improvements are already starting to be made such as Apple’s being the first electronics manufacturer to join an fair labour association dedicated to improving working conditions around the world. It is progress but so much more needs to be done.

No excuses should be made for Apple but it probably does need to be said that in the larger context we expect a higher standard from them than we generally do from other (electronics) manufacturers who are doing similar or worse practices. There are many other references in books about China that lay part of the blame for working and environmental conditions there (and other parts of the mostly underdeveloped world) on western society. Huge societal and individual impacts, particularly in countries overseas, are driven by rampant consumerism and relentless demand for reduced prices (and consequently lower business costs). Something to think about the next time you are shopping for the least priced item at Walmart.

If you like This American Life episode #454, a very interesting counterpoint is episode #403 which does a detailed analysis of the opposite extreme of General Motors plants in the US where union members had such entitlement that they abused their jobs and didn’t allow GM to stay competitive with Toyota. Toyota, in a joint venture, actually provided them with all their efficient manufacturing techniques but mostly this did not work in GM due to cultural differences. (This American Life can also be subscribed to for free as a podcast on iTunes).

Taken together, these two episodes don’t paint a rosy picture about prospects for north american business competitiveness especially in the short term. Innovation and disclosure of business practices that are inconsistent with progressive values are going to have to play an important role in improving living conditions around the world.

MacDrifter explains why the simplicity, power, and environment of compatible apps makes Simplenote worthy of Love.

Don’t get me wrong, Dropbox is fantastic for syncing all types of files between your computers and mobile devices and there are many apps that can use its capabilities (including Simplenote) but for simple to setup and use unlimited text syncing Simplenote is hard to beat. You can use both, if you want to get geeky, since one of the beauties of text editors is that they all can process with their own interface and features the common compatible format of text. More on that soon.

MakeTechEasier puts creating the ultimate multi-platform writing environment into historical context and provides step by step instructions for Simplenote. For Linux and web browser aficionados of Firefox (you know who you are), MakeTechEasier’s step 4 provides some tips for your environments.

MacSparky’s book, iPad at Work, explains in detail how to get more value from your iPad. If you were wondering whether the iPad, the product that reinvented the tablet, is really worth it, this book will give you plenty of reasons why it is. It describes with clear straightforward explanations how you can do more with your iPad and lays to rest the myth that iPads are only good for content consumption. There is plenty of creative generative content creation that can be done on an iPad.

I also recommend his excellent Mac at Work book that has lots of workflows using both Apple and third party Mac software.

David Sparks (aka MacSparky) is a lawyer who has all kinds of experience and good judgment/taste that is applied to using Macs and iPads more effectively.

He also has a Mac Power Users podcast with his sidekick Katie that I listen to regularly.

If that is not impressive enough, MacSparky also does some excellent screencasts on OmniFocus which is my favourite Getting Things Done (GTD) application (on Mac, iPad, and iPhone). The extreme power of OmniFocus can be life changing but that only happens if you learn how to include it in your regular workflow habits. Achieving its benefits is greatly enhanced by MacSparky’s free video training on how to use its features to full advantage. He provides his own proof of its effectiveness by getting so much done enriching the Mac and IOS community in addition to a full time job as a lawyer.

Limited syncing with Simplenote and Index Card on iPad are supported but what many users have been craving is full synchronization with an IOS version of Scrivener. Dreams do come true as an IOS version of Scrivener is being targeted for delivery in 2012. It will be a universal app for iPad and iPhone and it will be very interesting what features are provided on the different sized screens with touch interface.

One reference related to Apple and the Internet was how Apple has started shifting from the PC (Mac actually) as the digital hub to iCloud (Internet) as the hub.

There was also a bit at the end of the book about open vs closed ( or fragmented vs integrated as Steve Jobs would frame it). One reference for opponents of integrated was to the following book The Future of the Internet (read the book reviews which are interesting debate generators in themselves) another was Cory Doctorow who has written about the evils of closed systems on Boing Boing. Google’s Mark Pilgrim also was an “open” proponent lamenting for the good old days when systems could be hacked and programmed at a low level.

Personally I think there is a lot of misunderstanding on this topic because “open” sounds appealing at an emotional level but it is a lot more complicated with a lot of contradictions when some analysis is applied to what it really means and how it is implemented. When looking at the details and how it is actually delivered, Android for example, is not really “open” in many respects to end users. Carriers use Android to implement their own proprietary systems that never seem to be updated. This takes us back to the bad old days of handsets that are crippled by the service provider to suit their business model. Google has used “open” as a marketing technique and supposedly are big proponents of “open” but notice that in their primary business of search they are anything but “open”. In reality all the service providers have a mix of open and closed characteristics in their business models.

Anyway check out the above references for some arguments in favour of “open”.

BTW My son works at Mozilla so he provides me with lots of good examples of how open source can work well.

I am always on the lookout for the pros and cons of fragmented vs integrated as it is an important issue and product/service differentiator.

The important thing is that people have choices from competitive suppliers so they can choose which option in the spectrum of offerings they like most.

Notifications have been organized so you can access them just by dragging down from the top of the screen. Push the handle icon back up to hide them again.

To use the quick camera feature you need to know that you tap the home button twice when the ios device is sleeping to display the camera icon that takes you directly to the camera app. You can then use the volume up button to snap the picture.

iMessage, which is a free Apple to Apple device replacement for SMS text messaging offered by the telcos, has lots of promise to communicate with fellow iOS device users but how do you activate it on an iPad which doesn’t have the regular text messaging app? Instead of launching a messaging app you activate iMessage through your address book which has a messaging button for each contact. You need to select either the phone number or email that the person used to register their apple-id. For iMessage to work the person must have an idevice (iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad ) and have upgraded to IOS5.

Read more on Andy Baio’s Waxy.org blog.