I'm a huge fan of Evernote. It ranks right up there with Gmail in terms of applications I live my life in. When people sit down with it for a while and begin to use it, or have someone explain all the interesting ways it can enhance their productivity, it doesn't surprise me that they become as hooked to it as I am. I first became exposed to it when I got an iPhone 3G in 2008. It had existed as a platform a couple years before that and was popular with the Windows Mobile & Tablet PC crowd, but wasn't really on my radar. At the time, I dismissed it as nothing more than a note taking app for the iPhone. The only reason I started using it was because I wanted something that would sync the notes on my iPhone to another system, since iTunes didn't do it at the time. Not really something I'd adjust my workflow around. Sure I'd used it off and on, but it hasn't been until the last few months that I've come to realize all the ways it can be used. It's more than just a simple mobile app, it exists on nearly every platform and helps sync your documents, notes, images and throughts between computers and between mobile devices. Their cloud keeps all your clients linked together and helps put the data and knowledge you keep in their service ready for use at any time. I've decided to share some of the exciting ways I use (or have seen it used) to make myself more organized, more productive and less scatter brained. Evernote has begun to replace my normal Windows file system for keeping track of data. Now obviously, when I say everything I don't mean put your iTunes library in Evernote, or your Adobe Lightroom catalog. No, I'm talking about all your text files, PDFs and screenshots. The stuff that the normal system administrator has scattered all around their hard drives, but would greatly benefit from a centralize repository.

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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YbmK3Zu0Os Note to Apple: This is how you can do a Mac vs PC ad, but in a less aggressive way. You can be cute, funny, point out the deficiencies in the other product (like the fact Steve Jobs hates Blu-Ray) but still all be friends in the end.

We've covered this before: the need for Mac users to secure their systems with a proper antivirus. But unlike the Windows space, there are not many/any really good, small footprint AV clients that are free. Until now. Sophos has released a free client for Mac, based on their popular business product, which you can download from their website.

"While most businesses recognise the importance of protecting their Mac computers from malware threats, most home users do not," said Chris Kraft, product management vice president at Sophos. "By offering free industrial-strength security to home users, we aim to protect Mac users against today's and tomorrow's Mac threats. Everyone knows that Macs are beautiful computers - Sophos wants to lend a hand to keep them that way."

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04jsncsgrjo You know what, the weekends don't have a monopoly on funny technology videos. Enjoy. Thanks @foodgeekery

Microsoft today released Office for Mac 2011 to the public. What is being lauded by both critics and Microsoft as the best version of Office for Mac ever, it's probably the first version of Office for Mac in a long time that is at near feature match with the Windows version, although it doesn't include all of the features. It also replaces the much hated Entourage email client for the less hated Outlook email client. You can pickup a copy now from the Microsoft store for $149 for Home and Student, or $279 for Business. The business version is the only package that includes Microsoft Outlook, and includes 1 year of free technical support from Microsoft. The home version only includes Word, PowerPoint and Excel and 90 days of support. MSDN & Technet users can download either from through their respective product sites and generate up to 5 keys. Office for Mac 2011 requires at least OS X 10.5.8 Leopard with an Intel processor.

Are your feet cold? Mine are, I think it's because hell just froze over. 9to5Mac has the goods:

A little tidbit from the Microsoft gathering this evening.  While demonstrating Outlook for Mac and the HTML rendering engine, Microsoft employees revealed that instead of using the Word HTML rendering that previous versions of Mac Office used (and the PC version as well), Microsoft has moved over to Apple’s Webkit rendering engine to render HTML mails.  Outlook 2011 also uses WebKit to create HTML mail.

Coupled with the recent announcement that they were moving Windows Live Spaces to Wordpress, I think Microsoft has managed to surprise me twice in one month. The fact that Microsoft is actually using open source code in products is a great start, one can only hope they're contributing back. Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac will be released tomorrow.

Microsoft has delivered on a promise to allow Mac OS X users to sync their Windows Phone 7 devices today by releasing the beta of the Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac. This software will sync your WP7 device with your iTunes and iPhoto library, using Apple's public APIs. According to Tom Warren at Winrumors, Microsoft did not need to consult with Apple in order to implement the connector. Here's to hoping Apple doesn't find a way to break it just because. Hopefully Microsoft will deliver a full blown Zune client for Mac users in the future. The connector requires at least OS X 10.5. You can download the beta, weighing in at a light 1.5MB, directly from Microsoft's website. via winrumors.com

• First it was Eric Iles and his abandonment of Palm WebOS.
• Then it was Shane Pitman to quit his crack addiction and give up the Blackberry.
• Next came Frank Owen and his betrayal of his longtime Windows Mobile.
• And now, it's my turn. I'm giving up my long time lust for the iPhone platform and making the migration to Android.

Ever since the iPhone supported Exchange, I've been a huge supporter. I've spent two good years on the iOS with my iPhone 3G. My job bought it for me back in 2008 and I got it shortly after launch. It was a solid phone with a lot of good things to say about it.

I evangelized to everyone I knew about how they should get an iPhone, how it's the best smartphone around. I got a 3GS for my wife, I've told countless other family members to get one. In most ways, when it was introduced, it was the best thing around. But things have changed. When the iPhone 4 was announced, I followed the WWDC keynote with great anticipation. I ooh'd and aah'd at all the advances in design and software. When pre-orders started, our company bought 11 to start, and we waited until last week when they finally arrived (early) from AT&T. I rushed across campus to rip open the box and activate my new toy (err) tool. There it was, the iPhone 4, before most anyone else on the planet had their hands on one. I took pictures, I tweeted about how amazing it looked, how the screen was fantastic (it is) and how fast it was compared to my 3G.

Taking it home that night, I started to notice something was a little off with my phone. In Kansas City, AT&T really is the top carrier, and with my 3G, reception was never an issue. I can think of only one place in the city where coverage is any type of issue, and it's not an area I frequent. So with the iPhone 4, the fact that I was only holding 4 bars at maximum, and typically 3, seemed a bit odd. Later, I realized I was on EDGE service with hardly a bar to see, for most of my time before I jumped on my home wireless.

As I started reading the news on various gadget blogs, I quickly realized I was suffering from the antenna problems that were plaguing almost ever other early adopter. I dropped a few calls that weekend, including one to my father who seem'd to have lost my mother, but I could make due. The view from most of the people within the Apple world was that it was firmware related, and would be quickly fixed. Then Steve Jobs opened his mouth. "You're holding it wrong." ... or something to that affect. Excuse me?

Beyond that, one of my co-workers (our telecom manager, of all people) got an iPhone with a totally non-functional home button. The only way she could close apps, is to reboot the phone. Since the Apple stores and AT&T were slammed that week, and the SIM cards are a totally different size, she was stuck with a broken phone until today when she was able to get a new one. I've also seen issues with the new camera, taking pictures of solid color backgrounds (especially in florescent lighting), where a green ghost appears in the middle of the image.

Many I've talked to online (although non of my co-workers) cannot sync their iOS 4 devices to Exchange. My bosses phone started making a horrible clicking noise (what inside this thing moves?) yesterday although it seemed to be a one time event. I could go on and on, but just read Engadget, Gizmodo, or any other gadget blog for the daily iPhone/iOS bug. Not to mention, simply holding the device in my hands for a couple days already allowed my wedding ring to put a scratch in the back glass so deep you can feel it with your finger.

My point is. Any one of these single events, may be something small and not worth getting upset about. Combine them together, and you have a product that is far from 4th generation and an operating system that already is flawed. Now, I've been around IT long enough to know major software releases have bugs, and that major hardware refreshes require driver and firmware updates to correct issues. But maybe I'd come to expect more from Apple, with their integrated platform, to expect something that would be near flawless by version 4. While I don't expect perfection in anything man-made, I found myself deeply disappointed in the device and the operating system. Enough so that I've made the switch to Android.

Yesterday I announced on Twitter and Facebook that I'd be leaving the job I've been at for over 4 years now. As a result, I'm turning in my iPhone 4 and going rouge. My new weapon of choice? Nexus One Ordered it from Google this morning, unlocked and out of contract, for AT&T bands. It has shipped, and arrives tomorrow. While I know there are other more interesting phones out there, and some like the Droid X soon to come, I will reserve my explanation for choosing the Nexus One for my next update ... after I've made the switch and fully integrated later this week. But this decision has some ramifications.

Up until last week, I was all set to pull the trigger on the purchase of a Apple computer, something I'd never done before. I had a bright and shiny new iMac all picked out, and was waiting for some news on the job front to come through before giving Apple my credit card info for my own iPhone 4 and that iMac. But now, given my recent burn by Mr. Jobs, I believe I will be rethinking that decision.

Maybe one of those new AMD 6-core processors or a Intel i7, running something other than Mac OS X, is in my future as a home desktop replacement?