So, with that in mind, here’s a regular post. I’m writing this using the latest version of the WordPress app on my iPad 2. Since my blog is self-hosted, it’s nice that WP gives away a free editor when they could easily restrict it to only those blogs hosted by WordPress.com. One of the “big” new features of the new app is the formatting toolbar located just above the keyboard which appears when you’re writing a post. In theory this is a good idea—no more typing in HMTL markup directly. And maybe on an iPhone where I type with two thumbs that makes sense. But on the iPad, I’m a landscape-oriented 10-finger touch typist. And, as I’m sure is apparent, touch typing when there’s nothing to actually touch is more an exercise in trust (that autocorrect will work) than pure skill. That’s where the placement of the formatting bar comes in. I’m sure it’s placed near the keyboard for convenience but it is certainly not convenient to invoke a blockquote when I’m going for an “e” or a hyperlink when I’m typing a “w”.

I hate complaining without offering a solution. Here’s my solution: put the formatting bar at the top of the editing pane. Let’s face it, an iPad screen is not so big that this placement would greatly affect usability or convenience. And it would eliminate the possibility of inadvertently invoking formatting commands. At the very least make this a user-selectable option.

Download now or watch on posterous

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Switchcast Feed Test [128 kbps MP3, 11.45 MB, 12:24]

Tim and I had originally settled on a weekly Friday evening recording schedule but we’ve already missed our first Friday so I’m not sure what will happen at this point. Maybe tomorrow we’ll get around to recording Episode 001. The hardest part about a regular show—as I’m sure veteran podcasters can attest to—is finding enough stuff to talk about. I’m trying to come up with a set of “features” that we’ll have every episode. Borrowing from Leo Laporte, I’d like to have a “tip of the week” for both the Mac and Windows listeners. i’d also like to highlight something each of us has found useful in the past week, whether that’s a new app, a web service, or some sort of gadget. I’m entertaining ideas for other segments so if there are any suggestions out there please send them to switchcast@gmail.com.

Finally, if there’s anybody out there who would like to get in on the debate, I’d love to have guests on from time to time. The only requirements are Skype and a decent microphone (I’d recommend a Logitech ClearChat Pro USB Headset). I’ll take anyone but it’d help if you had some strong pro-Apple or pro-Microsoft feelings. Let the debate ensue!

On to purchases, I’ve been debating what to buy. I have $200 in Amazon gift certificates coming my way and I’ve had my eye on a Panasonic HD video camera for a long time. Specifically, Amazon is selling the HDC-SD9 which has a couple of things going for it: it records to SD cards (much more preferable to me over tapes, discs, and hard drives), has 10x optical zoom, and some fancy 5.1 sound recording, plus a 2.1 megapixel still camera. That’s great and it’s on sale for $675 which means I’d need to come up with $475. Oh wait, I’ll probably want an 8 or 16 gig SDHC card. And a tripod. So… probably way more than $675. Maybe I need to be more economical…

I’ve been hearing a lot about the Flip Video Ultra camcorder. It’s cheap (currently $139.99), records 60 minutes of video, and plugs in via USB. It’s not HD, heck it’s barely SD, but it’s simple and easy to use. Do I really need HD videos of my cat? Do I really want to go through the hassle of importing, editing, encoding, and uploading HD video? Or would a dedicated video device serve my needs? And… do I really want to spend all that money? Decisions decisions…

The best thing about getting the Flip over the Panasonic is that I’d still have some money left over. That means I can finally get that awesome coffee maker I’ve been lusting after…

As for the quote below, while I don’t disagree with what Mr. Altman is saying, I haven’t noticed any serious problems with using Gmail’s IMAP implementation with Apple Mail for Tiger. I’m assuming Apple Mail for Leopard will work similarly well. I haven’t ever tried using IMAP with Opera’s M2 mail client although I did use it in the past as my primary POP e-mail program.

Tim Altman, QA lead for Opera Mail, on Gmail’s IMAP support:

Gmail’s labeling system could integrate marvelously with IMAP clients if only it used IMAP keywords. Instead, IMAP mailboxes are used to represent labels. All messages (sent and received) are always available in the “Gmail/[All Mail]” mailbox, so any time a message is labeled, a duplicate message is added to the label’s IMAP mailbox. IMAP clients then receive several copies of the same message, none of which integrate with the client-side labeling system. If Gmail had instead used IMAP keywords, only one message would be needed and integration would be seamless.

? [From Gmail’s Buggy IMAP Implementation]

Podcasting has come a long way since it was first mentioned on our blog in 2004. Instead of a separate podcasting app, we’ve worked to improve Audio Hijack Pro, making it the premier tool for recording podcasts. There are now hundreds of podcasts being recorded with help from Audio Hijack Pro and Skype.

Now, Doug Kaye and Paul Figgiani have posted a fantastic tutorial on recording Skype from Audio Hijack Pro.

This tutorial goes into great depth, providing step-by-step instructions for checking your net connection, configuring Skype and setting up Audio Hijack Pro. If you’ve been looking to get into podcasting, or just need to record Skype conversations for any reason, check out this tutorial then grab Audio Hijack Pro to get started.

[From How To: Record Skype Calls With Audio Hijack Pro]

In other news, the most excellent Brett Terpstra is now a blogger on TUAW. Way to go, Brett!

Ok, not sure how long Viddler takes to make an upload available but it’s too long for me. I’ll leave the embed there if it ever shows up, but here’s a Google Video embed just in case it doesn’t.