CDJ’er project retired.

CDJ’er was a site I started in 2010 to help DJs print track lists for their CD booklets. Each CD usually contained about 10 songs, and making a list for each disc was time consuming.

The site allowed DJs to automatically print labels using iTunes playlists or albums and saved a lot of time. I used it, and it was great!

Nowadays, I don’t really DJ for fun anymore … and also, most DJs have moved to using USB memory sticks with their Pioneer CDJ decks. So, I figured 2012 was a good time to retire the product. :)

So long, CDJ’er!

How to import Tasks/To-Do items into iOS’ Reminders List via iCloud

The Reminders list on iOS is actually pretty good. I’d been using Wunderlist but the service was really unstable (multiple extended downtimes) and their site wasn’t even secured by HTTPS! Unacceptable.

The easiest way to import tasks into the Reminders App is through iCal on your Mac. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, getting tasks from one to the other isn’t exactly automated unless you use an AppleScript (which I’ve put together and provided below) — but, it does the job. However, once you get setup in Reminders with your data, it’s pushed seamlessly between your devices and it feels great!

Apple’s Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8, coming this summer) will have a built-in Reminders App much like the iPhone and iPad. This is what I’m personally holding out for. In the meantime, managing tasks via the iPhone, iPad, and also iCal on the Mac is a more than acceptable solution compared to what I was dealing with before.

To get started, I’m assuming you’ve already created the Reminders lists you want to import tasks into on your iPhone or iPad, and enabled Reminders sync to iCloud on your device(s) and also Calendar sync on your Mac through the iCloud panel in System Preferences. If this is the case, you should see the same Reminders lists on each screen (iPhone/iPad/Mac) when enabling the Reminders column in iCal under the “View” menu. (as mentioned, Mountain Lion will have its own Reminders App)

Now, there is one final preparation for getting your tasks into Reminders: Getting the data out of your existing tasks App! — This may be tricky. However, most Apps offers some method of making this happen. For example, Wunderlist enables you to email an entire task list to someone, so I simply did this but instead of sending it I just copied it into a plain-text file using TextEdit. The key is that it must be a plain text file (you can make it one using the option within the “Format” menu and you must have only 1 task per line with no skipped lines! If you fail to do either, you’ll end up with additional blank or jibberish tasks in your list and that is not helpful!

Also, one fine caveat with this script is that it does not seem to support Unicode characters. This means that anything too outside of the ordinary alphanumeric characterset (such as special punctuation, or Japanese/Chinese/Korean/etc. characters) will not render properly and you’ll have to manually fix them. Keep this in mind, but you’re probably 99% OK as long as you use mostly standard English words and punctuation.

Here is the AppleScript. Open the AppleScript editor within your Utilities folder if you’re not familiar!

set theFileContents to (read file “Users:benguild:Downloads:Reminders.txt”) —Change this to the path to your downloaded text file with your tasks in it! (Note the : instead of a / between folders) Or, just name them Reminders.txt and put them in your downloads folder
set theLines to paragraphs of theFileContents

repeat with eachLine in theLines
tell application “iCal”
tell calendar “Reminders” — Change this to your Reminders list name
make new todo at end with properties {summary:eachLine}
end tell
end tell
end repeat

Run this script while modifying each of the paths and task list names as necessary, and the data will be added to the appropriate lists in iCal and automatically synced to iCloud and your devices if setup properly.

Google is the only thing saving the software business.

A while ago I posted about how Apple does nothing to protect developers from people cloning their application’s name, functionality, and often even their intellectual property. This has been a widespread topic since Apps became popular, and the overall response has been “tough luck” as the distributors (Apple, Google) mostly care about the platform boost in having a strong App Store and their own revenues from it … not ‘developer-to-developer’ relations.

Something interesting to consider is that, in the past, Google has always factored the blogosphere and external links as a way of building reputation for websites and helping established developers remain protected against shameless competition, much of which stems from third-world countries. These developers produce cheap copies of another developer’s work, hoping to gain even a small sliver of the market.

Unfortunately, the App Stores place everyone on the same level when selling, throwing any sort of online reputation out the window. It’s a question of application ratings, easily manipulated keywords, and overall download count (driven both externally from web-based links and internally from ‘in store’ discoveries) … to maintain your sales and rankings. Often these rankings themselves are easily manipulated, or suffer a spike or sudden downturn. Due to history not being a factor, it can be seriously difficult to recover from a downturn, even for an established developer.

The great thing about placing everyone on the same level is that it helps smaller developers get a head start, but it also significantly reduces the barriers to entry for scam artists trying to make a quick buck. There are companies literally in business of duplicating Apps, and not innovating. Eventually, the parasites will run out of hosts.

It’s fascinating that these App Stores are powered by the internet, but in some ways seem to completely neglect it and instead expect to survive within their own ecosystem. However, these systems need Google’s rankings as a basis or they will become an absolute, unregulated disaster. With more and more people discovering Apps within the stores themselves, less and less are discovering them via Google and the blogosphere. Ironically, the one thing separating many major Apps from their smaller competitors is a web presence, and the downloads or reputation generated by it. This may be acceptable now, but in the future as the web becomes less of a distribution focus for applications it may become a major issue in separating brands.

Furthermore, being that the systems for ranking applications and driving sales are easily manipulated and gamed, many developers choose to release duplicate Apps with the same functionality to target different keyword combinations and categories. We’ve suffered from this with my business, and so have may others. This further dilutes the system under which everyone receives the same marketing presence, and makes things tremendously more complicated for everyone to manage … including customers who are simply trying to download through the only platform from which they are able.

It is almost disgraceful the state that the App Stores are in based on how many duplicate Apps have turned up both from other developers and even the original developers themselves trying to protect their turf. Honest sellers are almost being penalized for attempting to be ethical and play by the rules, and there’s nothing that they can do considering that it is the only App Store. — Antitrust, anyone?

How to get Tethered Internet on your iPhone for free without Jailbreaking

OK, so it’s not exactly free. And it’s not exactly the same as paying for it either. — But, it does give you tethered internet (“tethering”), and it works on iOS 3, 4, and even iOS 5.0!

First off, you have to be a developer. Being an iOS developer (costs $99/year) lets you run unapproved Apps on your iPhone … such as iProxy, which lets you setup a proxy server for your laptop for free web surfing on-the-go.

If you don’t know what a proxy server is, and you don’t know how to compile Apps for your iPhone, I suggest you don’t bother with this. :)

Steps to get this awesome, open-source, Free App working:

1. Compile iProxy with XCode (you’ll need to reset the “Code Signing” settings first)
2. Go to the Project Menu, and click “Archive”. Follow the steps to install via iTunes.
3. DONE. Configure it for your laptop — https://github.com/tcurdt/iProxy/wiki/Configuring-iProxy 

Occasionally, there’s an App that sneaks into the App Store with this code/feature hidden within it, but it’s pretty rare at this point. This approach is way better.

What’s even more ironic, is the $99/year to Apple is cheaper than tethering with AT&T, and it’s a better value if you’re a geek and you like to mess with stuff like this.

The main reason I like this: I don’t actually need tethering, but, it’s handy when I do. I don’t use very much bandwidth, and I’m not willing to sacrifice my unlimited data with AT&T and pay more for tethering on top of that. This is perfect for me. It gives me access to a feature I almost never use.

I just wish it were easier, but if it were, everyone would do it! — Action shot below:

Enjoy, as usual. If you like this, be sure to donate to the guys that built the App.

The reason I finally cancelled Netflix.

A few days ago, I made the decision to cancel Netflix, before my account renewed on the 12th … meaning I now have to mail my two remaining movies back within the next 7 days and then, receive no more.

Why would I do this?

The main reason is: movie fatigue. I’m generally pretty busy, and do a lot of different things at once. Whenever Netflix gets setup for me, I’m always excited to start watching the movies. Yet, when the same amount of movies appear on a regular basis, I find myself less excited about finishing them and generally postpone watching.

This also coincides with movies that I’m less excited about watching appearing lower in my queue. After I watch the movies that I really want to see, I wait longer to watch the others. Sometimes for weeks at a time.

Overall, the service is still great, but it’s just not a good value unless you’re constantly refreshing and cleaning your queue of discs you don’t actually want to watch. There are shipping delays, and yet … the streaming service doesn’t have most of the material I’d want to watch in the first place. It’s a lose-lose for me, especially at a fixed monthly-fee.

Why now? When Netflix started, there were no streaming services available. In the future, I’m looking forward to renting movies on iTunes or Amazon for less, and when I actually want them.

I’ve just built a Google Reader (OPML/RSS) to Twitter Migration Tool!

If you’re like me, you completely ignore all of your RSS feeds (yet still continue to add more)  … and, religiously follow Twitter on a day-to-day basis.

…Why can’t everything just be on Twitter?

This simple tool I’ve built will help you migrate from Google Reader, to a “Twitter-only” setup … by analyzing your feed collection’s exported OPML file, and allowing you to “choose Twitter feeds and follow them in one simple step.” — Cut the fluff!

I’m exhausted after coding this, so hopefully there are no bugs. Check it out!

UPDATE (2011/11/02): Feed folders are now supported! Thanks @nfm.

“Will Dropouts Save America?”

“If start-up activity is the true engine of job creation in America, one thing is clear: our current educational system is acting as the brakes. Simply put, from kindergarten through undergraduate and grad school, you learn very few skills or attitudes that would ever help you start a business. Skills like sales, networking, creativity and comfort with failure.”

Read more at the New York Times.

eBay vs. Amazon Trade-in: Duel!

So, recently I traded a few things into GameStop (mostly old cables and accessories) and used the rewards to buy L.A. Noire for PlayStation 3, which was just under $40 USD and a phenomenal value to the casual gamer. I applaud both Rockstar and Bondi for this title.

I’d planned on trading it into Amazon Trade-In for $15 (they buy used books and video games), but figured I’d try my luck at eBay, one last time. I’d posted about eBay’s new, outrageous fee-struture (~9%) before, and vowed to not use the service anymore unless absolutely necessary. — But, after all, the game was selling for at least $20 on eBay! My copy ended up selling for $21, plus $4 shipping and handling. Great, right?

Well, it didn’t actually end up being much better. Between all of the extra time I had to spend creating my listing, photographing the item, walking to the post office and mailing/addressing the package, chance of a buyer not paying or filing a claim, (etc.) … I only netted an extra $2 from a $21 sale versus a $15 sale. 

How is this possible? Amazon pays shipping and insures the package for $100, because all UPS shipments are automatically insured for that much. You print a label, and all you need otherwise is an old Amazon box, and some tape.

By comparison, the eBay auction ended up like this: $21 sale price + $4 shipping = $25.00 net income, - $1.03 in PayPal fees, - $2.25 in eBay Fees, - $2.22 in Shipping (USPS, Slowest speed), - $0.80 Delivery confirmation (required), - $1.80 Insurance (optional, but recommended) … = $16.90 total.

So, after all the extra hassle, I made an extra $2 using eBay. eBay/PayPal made $3, or so. And, instead of the package getting to Amazon next day, it’ll get to the buyer in just under a week. — The choice is yours. Good luck, all! I hope you’ll consider the new fees before selling.

Attack of the iTunes App Store “name-squatters”!

A new spam-tactic is being used on the iTunes Store to score downloads sourced from your competitor’s predating traffic. That tactic (which is against Apple’s Terms of Service, but extremely difficult to enforce) … is adding trailing punctuation.

It seems the rules only apply specifically to exclamation marks or spacing at this point, but I’m expecting that to change very soon.

Explanation and example: I run a site called Mobile17 (as many of you know), and although we were later to the game than some of our competitors in the App Store, we’ve been in the ringtone making business since 2005. Our Apps were released under the brand “Ringtone Maker” in 2010, and we’ve seen success ever since by utilizing our existing web traffic and also the organic traffic from the iTunes App Store and subsequent press.

Recently, a slew of competition has prompted confusion in the App Store, as our competitors have released similar Apps under similar names using what’s called the “punctuation trick”. Generally, a developer adds a period, plus sign, or even a fake trademark symbol to bypass iTunes’ own algorithm for checking and assuring the App’s name is not already taken. This is why you don’t see 10 “Facebook” Apps on the App Store, aside from trademark issues.

Unfortunately, my complaints to the App Store, so far, have gone like this:

Thank you for contacting iTunes Connect.  You cannot use an app name that is substantially similar to an existing app name by adding or removing spaces, exclamation points or other characters. If you see this happening you can use this link to report the issue:

http://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wa/jumpTo?page=contactUs&contactfaq=rightsinfringement 

Of course, I’d asked if this behavior was acceptable. However, being that legal only handles copyright and trademark disputes, I was told that I could only file a DMCA complaint and that was it.

Meanwhile, during the process of trying to sort this out, yet another competitor has released Apps using the trademark sign and other punctuation as a differentiator:

Is Apple about to face a viral outbreak of third-party developers, squatting traffic and App names? Will this soon be a headache for more developers? — I truly hope that they will step in and clean up this trailing punctuation, before it’s too late.

eBay is no longer a viable way to flip old stuff for a reasonable return.

Recently, I’ve tried selling things I don’t need on eBay. I’ve done this off-and-on for the past 10 years, without much change. However, in the past two weeks, selling $800 worth of merchandise has generated a whopping $85 in fees. “How is this possible?”

Turns out— In the past year, eBay has secretly increased their “final value” fees to a whopping…
… 9.0% of the selling price! (link)

Does it stop there? No. There are PayPal fees (additional 3% or more), picture/listing/auction fees, Buy It Now fees, shipping costs, and occasional issues with fraud and non-paying bidders. All this doesn’t even include the time and hassle of selling everything yourself and typing out listings.

I recently tweeted that eBay still charges 15/cents for each picture, as well. 

…Is eBay even worth it anymore? Lots of people make their living on eBay, but for the casual seller … I don’t think that anybody can willingly afford this. To put this fee increase into perspective: Using the old fee schedule (from March 2010), I would have only had to pay approximately $35 to sell the same items. The new fees account to at least ~200% more in hidden costs.

“Expect to see fewer people using auction style listings since there is no way to cover the increase in selling fees. More fixed price (immediate purchase) listings will be used and prices will be raised moderately to cover the increased final value fees. New users who don’t notice the hidden final value fees will be shocked when they are billed $35.00 for selling their Playstation 3 (or whatever), have to pay $25.00 in shipping, and another $9.00 in PayPal fees. Suddenly that $300 they got from their sale has dropped down to around $225.” (source)