OneNote for iPad: Goodbye 2x, hello tabbed interface & expanded language support.

The market is flooded with note-taking applications, but OneNote consistently ranks at the top (see Lifehacker’s recent list). That’s because the PC version is free with MS Office, which most corporate employees use anyway, and syncing is a cinch with a SkyDrive account, which is also free. Other plusses include automatic save (for those of us who forget to hit CTRL+S regularly), sharing capabilities, and the ability to view and take notes on mobile phones.

Keep in mind that with the free iPad version, you will only be able to create a total of 500 notes. If you want to create more, you will need to pay $14.99 (compared to $4.99 for the iPhone version). Features new to the iPad version include a tabbed interface and expanded language support.

Here’s how to use it:

• Open the OneNote for iPad app.
• Sign in with your Windows Live ID (Hotmail, MSN, Xbox Live, Zune pass, Windows Live Messenger, etc.).

To create a note:

• On the navigation bar at the top right of the screen, click the icon that looks like a document with a plus sign.
• A new note appears, into which you can add text, images, checkboxes and bulleted lists.

OneNote for iPad will automatically sync your notes to your Windows Live SkyDrive account, but you can also manually sync notes. Here is how:

• On the home screen of OneNote for iPad, tap Settings (in the upper left area of screen).
• Tap Sync Now.
 When the sync is completed, you will see a time stamp with last updated date and time.
• You can also email a note from your iPad. Just click the envelope icon in the upper right corner of an open note.

To view your synced notes on your PC:

• Open a web browser and go to http://skydrive.live.com.
• Sign in with your Windows Live account.
• Click on My Files on the left side.
• Click to open a folder, and double-click to open a OneNote file.
• With a Note open, click on the Home tab, and choose “Open in OneNote.”
• Any changes you make will automatically be synchronized.
• If you want to save a copy to your PC, go to File, select Save As, and choose a file type and location.

Note: Any notebooks you create on your mobile device will be automatically synced to your SkyDrive, but not files you create on your PC. To share a PC-created notebook, open it, go to File and choose Share, then select the notebook you want to share, where you want to share it, sign in and click Share Notebook to complete the process. It will sync automatically once this step is completed. Also, if you save your notebooks on a network drive rather than locally, you may encounter syncing problems.

Note to Apple OS users: Microsoft has not created OneNote for Mac.

By Joe Puckett, director of recruiting and training at PC Helps

The Rave:
The convenience and intuitiveness of the multi-touch gestures that helped fuel the skyrocket of iOS device sales just got a lot better with iOS 5. Four-finger up/down swipes to show/hide the multitasking bar and four finger left/right swipes to move among open apps make multitasking much faster and easier. A five-finger pinch sends the current application to the multitasking bar so you can get to the current home screen.

The Rant:
Still no widgets or a way to have the same app in multiple places? How will I know where I am without the weather widget on the home screen of my phone listing my location without me having to open anything? Most people’s digital life is not so neat that having mail in only one place is convenient. I’ve seen many Android phones with the mail application in four or more places. Being able to put the same app in multiple places enables people to group things by business function rather than computer function.

The Conclusion:
The convenience of having everything in one place is one of the primary forces driving the use of personal devices in business. The new multitasking gestures in iOS 5 make it much easier to move among all the things on an iOS device. Widgets and duplicate app icons would still be nice, but being able to leave a lot of things open and move between them so quickly is a good way to accomplish the same purpose.

***

Read Part 1: iOS 5 Rants & Raves for End-Users: Part 1

About the author: Joe Puckett is PC Helps’ director of recruiting and training. He grooms the talent here, and creates our internal and client-facing corporate training courses. A 15-year PC Helps veteran, Puckett is the one to ask if you ever have a software question.

This week, PC Helps Blog is featuring Puckett’s series of “iOS 5 Rants & Raves” geared to end-users. Last week’s posts were geared to  IT leaders and professionals. He has been researching and testing the new operating system as part of his ongoing efforts to build new iPad training modules for PC Helps productivity consultants.

In one study, 70 percent of respondents said they would give up alcohol to keep their iPhone.

In a blog post on GigaOm, Erica Ogg draws our attention Thursday’s announcement that PC giant HP is looking to sell its personal computing business, plus its tablet and smartphone operations. Ogg says it signals the end of the PC era, and she makes a compelling argument.

Read Ogg’s article here.

Over at CIO, writer Tom Kaneshige is talking about Apple’s contribution to the downfall of society, which he calls the “iPocalypse.” That is, how iDevices (iPad, iPhone) are dramatically changing our lives.

Kaneshige cites two studies in his article. In the first, conducted by Sybase-SAP, 71 percent of more than 500 workers said they would give up a workplace benefit such as free coffee, free food, or office supplies, if in exchange they were allowed to use their own device, such as an iPad. In the other survey, by TeleNav, 70 percent of respondents said they would give up alcohol to keep their iPhone.

What would you give up to use your iPhone or iPad at work? Tell us in comments.

Read Kaneshige’s piece here.

The BlackBerry 850

How does a company fall from grace so quickly?

Jonathan S. Geller of Boy Genius Report (www.bgr.com) has an idea. In a recent article titled “Inside RIM: An exclusive look at the rise and fall of the company that made smartphones smart,” Geller takes a look at RIM’s history, including its personas and politics.

It’s an interesting inside look at how the iconic company evolved — and didn’t evolve when it missed product features and device trends like adding MP3 players and cameras to its phones.

Read the full article here.

Below is a collection of our favorite posts from the past year. Some offer handy tips for getting things done (including iPhone, Excel charting and spelling tips), some offer advice to IT departments on preparing for upgrades and migrations (Windows 7, Office 2007 & 2010), and others look at the future of IT support (“Preparing for the Multiplatform Workplace,” October 2010). And then there’s the unclassifiable evergreen post that reminds you not to pen your e-mails in all caps, unless of course you intend to shout at recipients.

Enjoy the re-read, and happy new year. If you got an iPad in your stocking, we know your 2011 will be happy.

1. What’s in a Name (1-12-2010)
2. Stop Shouting and Other E-Mail Etiquette Tips (2-8-2010)
3. The Workplace Today: On Fake Happiness & Forced Morale-Boosting (3-30-2010)
4. Windows 7: What IT and End-Users Need to Know (4-22-2010)
5. 4 Spelling Tips Every Manager Should Know (5-27-2010)
6. 7 Productivity Boosting iPhone Tips (6-15-2010)
7. 3 Excel Tips that Promise Charting Greatness (8-4-2010)
8. Preparing for the Multiplatform Workplace (10-8-2010)
9. iPad & iPhone in the Enterprise: What’s Your Plan (11-15-2010)
10. Teaching People Tech (12-17-2010)

A similar pattern seems to be unfolding for Apple with the iPad, and at a more accelerated rate. It has been on the market just under nine months and already it’s being hailed as revolutionary for business. Apple says more than 65 percent of the Fortune 500 already are testing or deploying the device.

Stats aside, it definitely is a hot topic of discussion. Here are some of the headlines from the past few weeks about the iPad: “Enterprises ‘Jazzed’ About iPad, Says Analyst” (Computerworld); “The iPad in Business” (ZD Net); “Tablets Get Down to Business” (CFO Magazine); “Gartner Warns Business Leaders Not to Ignore iPad” (ZD Net UK); “Gartner Urges Enterprises to Climb Aboard the iPad Train” (9To5Mac); “CEOs to CIOs: We Need the iPad!” (CIO.com); “CEOs Should Stay Away From iPad, Wait For Android” (Katonda).

Here’s why we in the IT community should care:

It’s not a netbook, nor PC replacement; it’s a companion device, one that gives workers a new level of freedom and a positive outlook to mobility.  For users in the sales field, for example, the iPad is perfect for on-the-go presentations and contract execution. In health care, it means instant patient records. In automotive, it means selling a car and signing the contract literally on the lot.

And whether you have come up with a plan or not, iPads and other new tablets are likely to  find their way into your office. They’re super-efficient. They’re fun.  They’re pleasing to the eye. And they’re in high demand. They still lack important security features, but Apple, other device manufacturers,and IT departments are working to find a solution.

For now, Gartner recommends that IT organizations provide at least some iPad support for a limited number of key users, and prepare a budgeted plan for widespread support of the iPad by mid 2011.

In a recent press release, the VP of Gartner, Stephen Prentice, said: “While there are no certainties, the iPad looks set to become a market-disrupting device, like the iPod before it. Even if you think it is just a passing fad, the cost of early action is low, while the price of delay may well be extremely high,” he added.

For further reading:

6 Key Considerations for IT in a Mixed Mobile Environment

Gartner to CEOs: Seize the iPad Opportunity Now

Gartner Says Worldwide Media Tablet Sales on Pace to Reach 19.5 Million Units in 2010

iPad review from Life as a Health Care CIO

If IT continues to let fear get in the way of change, it will face obstacles.

But It Looks Cool

As early as February of this year, the CBS Interactive Business Network (BNET.com) posed the question of whether iPads would be next in the bring-your-own-technology-to-work trend. The iPad was about a month away from release to the US market.

In the piece “iPads Next? Office Workers Bring Own Technology to Work,” writer Sean Silverthorne discusses a yet-to-be published book by Forrester Research’s Ted Schadler and Josh Bernoff that looks at the phenomena of “self-provisioning” and “technology populism.” In the book, which is set to be called “Groundswell Heroes,” Schadler and Bernoff trace the history of bring-your-own-tech trends and offer opinions about why they took off in business, despite IT’s resistance.

Although Silverthorne takes issue with the iPad as a legitimate business tool (“I don’t see how a device that lacks Office, has no ability to multitask and can’t run Flash becomes a serious productivity tool,” he writes), he nevertheless offers reasons why he thinks mobile professionals will embrace it:

• Messaging and collaboration.
• Full Web experience on a big screen.
• Business media.
• Full-size document and presentation tools.
• The beginnings of anytime-anyplace secure wireless connectivity.
• It looks cool.

Read Silverthorne’s article here.

Read Schadler and Bernoff’s blog here.

An Era of Transformative Change

In a piece published on Sept. 1, Fortune magazine makes a salient point: If IT continues to let fear get in the way of change, it will face two huge obstacles: “First, the consumerization of IT means that new innovations hit the consumer sphere first before entering the enterprise. Second is the emergence of mobile-centric enterprises that are adopting rather than preventing these new ways of working.”

In “Bring Your Own Device to Work is Finally Here,” writer Gary Kovacs scolds companies that resist change. He writes: “Embracing a ‘bring your own’ policy can help accelerate the process of IT transforming itself from ‘The Cost Center That Says No’ to ‘The Business Partner That Helps Drive New Revenue.’”

Read the piece here.

Bye Bye BlackBerry?

On Sept. 10, Bloomberg News reported that JP Morgan, the second-largest bank in the U.S., may soon let employees use iPhones for corporate e-mail. JP Morgan will be running security tests and will make a final decision late this year, the article stated.

Interestingly, the bank will not be purchasing iPhones or Android phones for its workers as it did with BlackBerrys; rather, employees will purchase the new devices themselves.

Expect this trend to grow.

Read the piece here.

With every new gadget that hits the market, it becomes increasingly clear that your IT department needs a plan of action for handling mobile devices.

In an article published on October 7 in InfoWorld.com, Galen Gruman writes that the aforementioned platforms are quickly gaining share in business, according to a report published by the enterprise mobility company Good Technology.

According to Good, less than two months after its late June launch, the Apple iPhone 4 became the most frequently activated device among Good’s enterprise customers. Additionally, the Apple iPad climbed into the top five and Android continued to grow rapidly as more new devices come to market, with the Droid X by Motorola ranked as the most frequently activated Android device in September.

With every new gadget that hits the market, it becomes increasingly clear that your IT department needs a plan of action for handling mobile devices. If you don’t already have one in place, now is the time to formulate it. Need a little more convincing? Here are three reasons to keep your mobile landscape in check:

1.    Help desk headaches vs. deployment training

If security and protecting your IT infrastructure from random downloads, viruses and outside software are concerns, shouldn’t they run parallel with end-users and their mobile devices? Almost half of all mobile devices purchased in the United States are bought by individuals rather than corporations and millions of those devices are brought into the workplace for use. Requiring users to take basic training prior to using their device within your IT infrastructure can eliminate help desk headaches and boost productivity for the user.

2.    Downtime vs. support

Downtime is of paramount concern when it comes to mobile device use in the enterprise. Because the majority of users are high-profile employees, such as senior and middle managers, the downtime has greater effect on an organization’s bottom line. Additionally, mobile devices are often relied upon in time-sensitive situations. As a result, providing users with an immediate and knowledgeable outlet for support makes sense from an investment, efficiency and business-critical standpoint.

3.    Downtime vs. continued training and support

Lack of resources for mobile device support and training contributes to increased downtime, but so does a misguided allocation of resources. The fact that your help desk isn’t receiving a steady stream of mobile support calls doesn’t mean issues and downtime don’t exist. It usually means just the opposite — that mobile device users are taking matters into their own hands in the following ways:
•    Seeking peer support, which increases downtime costs as you now have multiple employees trying to sync one employee’s calendar to his mobile.
•    Spending too much time with self-help menus and online resources, which commonly results in no solution or a partial solution.
•    Finding no solution or a “Band-Aid” solution, in which the end-user continues to use his mobile device without ever utilizing the tools, features or shortcuts that can increase productivity. (Jen Sweeney)

Who knew a gadget could have such power? Here are seven tips to make you even happier and more productive with your iPhone.

1. Easy punctuation. Period.
Inserting a period from the symbols box can become tedious. You want to send messages with proper punctuation, but deadlines get in the way. Here’s a quicker way: Double-tap the spacebar. Problem solved. Reputation saved.

2. Spring clean your screen.
Like corner offices, iPhone screens sometimes need rearranging. To do so, tap and hold one of the app icons, and when they begin to shake, drag them to rearrange. So quick, so easy.

Like corner offices, iPhone screens sometimes need rearranging.

3. Copy Web images in a snap.
Do you often come across images in your Web travels that you’d like to save for later use? Try this shortcut: Press and hold your finger on the photo and you’ll be prompted to “Save Image.” Now it’s in your Camera Roll.

4. Speed dial, Apple-style.
Nothing wastes time like wading through scads of contacts to find your intended text message recipient. Create favorites, already. Open up your contacts, select the contact you wish to tag, and tap the “Add Favorites” button at the bottom. Fewer steps, increased productivity.

5. Stay productive, even while flying.
Although every airline requires you to turn off your phone while in flight, there’s no restriction on using your iPhone to watch videos and listen to books and music – provided your phone is set to Airplane Mode. To do so, go to Settings and toggle on Airplane Mode. This will disable all incoming wireless calls and data connectivity. Make sure you turn off the device completely, however, during takeoff and landing.

6. Traveling across time zones + calendar appointments ≠ scheduling mayhem.
Sometimes technology’s intuitive functionality can get the better of you, especially when traveling across time zones. Case in point: the Time Zone Support feature, which shows event dates and times in the zone you selected for your calendar. For example, if you scheduled a 10 a.m. conference call while at the home office in Philadelphia, and you are currently visiting Los Angeles, your meeting will still show up as scheduled for 10 a.m. Turning off the Time Zone Support feature can make your schedule a little clearer by automatically adjusting your calendar to the time zone you are in. To do so, go to Settings | Mail | Contacts | Calendar and toggle off Time Zone Support.

7. Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.
Mobile devices are practical, yes, but not when it comes to screen size. Scrolling, in particular, can become tiresome on an iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter. Whichever screen you are on – your contacts, a Web site – you can quickly return to the top by tapping the status bar (at the very top of every iPhone screen). Efficiency is grand.

Got any can’t-live-without iPhone tricks or tips? Send them my way.

MORE INFO IN: Contact PC Helps

One of our consultants at work.

Our help desk handles many “how to” calls, which often have straightforward solutions. Sometimes, however, the requests that come in require a little more creativity from our consultants.

On a recent call, consultant Bradley Lyman found an ingenious way around a potential hurdle.

Lyman received a call from a customer asking for help copying a YouTube video for a presentation. There was one snag, however; the customer did not have rights to use the video. His presentation, which he was scheduled to show to an auditorium full of people, would be incomplete without a video of a juggler.

The presentation was due, and getting rights would have been a challenge.

Lyman wasted no time, and tapped fellow consultant Jorg Freiberg and team leader Ken Wilson for help. Lyman remembered seeing Freiberg juggling on his breaks and knew that Wilson had just bought a new iPhone with a video camera. The result was a copyright-free juggling video, which was produced and delivered to the customer in under an hour. File that under “Above and Beyond.” (Jen Darr)

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps