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I’ve been using IMAP over Gmail since the kind folks at Google enabled it for all of us.  This is exactly what I wanted in a Gmail IMAP interface.  Here’s how it works.

There is a special folder called [Gmail] that has the following subfolders: All Mail, Sent Mail, Spam, Starred, Trash.

These map directly to the folders as you see them on gmail.com.   To mark something as spam from my iPhone, I just have to move it to the Spam folder.  To add a star to an item, you just flag it.  Brilliant.

Along with those special folders, you also have a Drafts folder and a folder per label.  I use many labels to stay organized so this is great.  You can copy an item to multiple folders to apply multiple labels or if you move an item from your inbox to a label it has the same effect as labeling it and archiving it on the website.

When configuring the account for the iPhone, here are a couple things you should do in the advanced settings for your account:

1. Your Drafts Mailbox should be the Drafts mailbox on the server.  This way, all your draft messages are synced in every mail client.
2. Your Sent Mailbox should be on your iPhone.  When you send a message using Gmail’s SMTP server (smtp.gmail.com) it will auto-magically create a copy of the message in your special [Gmail]\Sent Mail folder.
3. Your Deleted Mailbox should be on your iPhone.  Since deleting a message from the inbox archives it when you’re using IMAP, you probably don’t want to do without that feature.  To actually move a message to the Trash on your gmail account, go ahead and move it to the [Gmail]\Trash folder.  To archive, just tap delete.

My Mail.app setup is very similar except I don’t use Gmail’s Drafts folder for my drafts.  There is some kind of Mail.app/Gmail bug where the auto-saved drafts that are created as you type each create a new message on Gmail.  This is super annoying… if you type a longer message you may have a dozen messages on the server by the time you’re done.

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After a few months of no official stance on an iPhone SDK and trying to convince us that web applications were enough of a SDK, Apple has announced that they will release an official SDK for native iPhone/iPod Touch applications by February ‘08.

Here’s the statement from Apple:

Third Party Applications on the iPhone

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.

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I just got my new MacBook Pro and needed to figure out how to tether my phone to it so I can get on the internet when I travel this weekend. I ran across this article, appropriately titled “How do I use my Blackberry Pearl as a bluetooth modem with a Mac?”.

Everything is pretty simple, you just need to download the BlackBerry 8100 modem script and then setup the device as your Bluetooth modem.

Using it from the office I downloaded files in excess of 300kbps, which isn’t too shabby for a makeshift internet connection. It sure beats the hell out of dialup.

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I just read about Boot Camp and I don’t know what to think. After having a PowerBook for a couple years I can certainly understand why you’d want to run OS X on a PC, but Windows running on a Mac? Maybe a pseudo-emulator like Wine for OS X that would let you run most programs natively would make sense. But to allow you to install Windows XP and have it run natively on the machine?

I’m not surprised that such a thing is possible, just that Apple themselves would release the software necessary to do it. This move doesn’t seem like something Apple (especially with Jobs at the helm) would do, even with the idea that you could lure more switchers this way.

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So I switch back to T-Mobile, after seeing that through Amazon, you can get the phone for -$150.

The phone itself is pretty nice, but it’s a little annoying to not have dedicated send and end buttons. I’ve already called two people on accident because of the push clicking center joystick thingy. It has been a whole year now that I’ve had a flip phone from Verizon, so I’m still forgetting to set the keyguard on this phone before I throw it in my pocket.

Anyways, one of the big features that I haven’t played in a cell phone yet was Bluetooth. I’m again impressed by the compatibility between Apple’s OS X and Bluetooth. I quickly paired the Powerbook and the phone, then set it up to sync contacts, my calendar, and then looked into using it as a GPRS modem of sorts.

The first page I found was appropriately titled How To Use Your GSM Cell Phone as a Bluetooth Modem on Mac OS X and it explained just that. After reading the page and then going out and visiting this page full of scripts, I was ready to set up the phone as a modem. Also note that Mr. Barkman maintains a page full of GPRS information for many carriers worldwide.

I setup a new location profile in my Powerbook for the T-Mobile GPRS network and switched off my Airport Express card to test it at my house. The speeds were decent, even though I don’t get fully signal strength on my phone from my home. I tested it out a bit by syncing my IMAP mailboxes and it was certianly acceptable. This will be a much easier way to get online when I’m traveling — completely wirelessly :)

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It looks like Apple has released the COM API for the Windows version of iTunes. Now we can finally interact with it just like you can in AppleScript.

As I was playing around a bit with this, I whipped up a mIRC script that demonstrates how easy it is now to figure out what is currently playing in iTunes. And here I was going to write my own iTunes Visualizer Plugin to figure out this information… ;)

Oh and for any of you iTunes fans out there, be sure to check out AudioScrobbler. I use it for curiosity’s sake.

And for anybody that missed Apple’s news today, they’re releasing a little gadget they’re calling the Airport Express which can be used to stream music to your stereo (with a new iTunes feature called AirTunes), provide network printing services, or even function as a WiFi bridge. Cool stuff.

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