The latest TaskFlo.ws post is all about HelTweetica: a rather simple, yet nicely made Twitter app for the iPad.

At first, this free application may look like it hasn’t got much to offer compared to many of the other apps available –but I find it excels in its simplicity and reliability. This is unless, of course, I am the only one that suffers from most other Twitter iPad apps crashing every now and then… (*cough* TweetDeck).

I put it to the test one day during a World Cup match and it performed very well.

You can read more about it in TaskFlo.ws:

HelTweetica: Twitter + iPad made simple

(This post was written whilst enjoying great tunes by Isis and Mastodon)

If you need to ask me something, you might:

• Ask me in person (of course)
• Give me a ring
• Send me an SMS
• Use the “Social Media” avenue
• Send me an Email (if the previous step is not yet doing it for you)

Or you could use Formspring, a web site dedicated to questions and answers.

Just as the Internet continues to fill with “sharing/social-type” web sites, anyone thinking of launching a new service must make it stand out in some particular way –or it will succumb to the social powerhouses of today: Facebook and Twitter.

A question/answer web site might look “simple” at first, but I find Formspring engaging and fun. The service is very well designed. Whether it’s other people asking you questions (or Formspring itself), I find this to be a great (new) way to connect with others.

Maybe it’s because it’s inherently direct and upfront, but my feeling is that the experience with Formspring does not quite compete with that of Facebook or Twitter (even if Facebook chooses to get into the “questions business”). In fact, it even embraces them by allowing you to post answers to the questions you are being asked to either of them.

Much like other services, you can “follow” people and people can “follow” you. It may now be revolutionary in terms of sharing, but it’s a great way to get to see how your friends answer direct questions.

If you haven’t tried it, give it a go –and as you do, go ahead and ask me whatever you want.

I’m sure I can be of assistance with anything along the lines of “music festival survival skills“, “awesome music almost no one knows about” “Priceless backpacking tips” and “How do I say ________ in Spanish/French/Italian” –among other select topics.

I *really* like Reeder.

This is an iPhone application for reading the RSS feeds in your Google Reader that truly takes aesthetics, user experience and interaction design to a new level. It made it desirable for me to read blog posts in a small screen.

Not too long, the Swiss developers behind this excellent application released “Reeder for iPad”. The result? Another sleek product that is truly rewarding to use.

I like it so much that I’ve dedicated the latest Taskflo.ws post to it –with photos and a video to go along!

You can read all about exactly why I like it (besides its great looks and joyful interaction) in this post I have appropriately titled: Reeder: “Single-handedly” the best Google Reader iPad app.”

Here’s a collection of some of the best photos I took during the show:

I also attempted to take some video of this amazing audio-visual experience. Unfortunately, it was rather difficult to record full song, since the venue’s security was being rather vigilant preventing people from doing this. So, besides the first song of the show (and the only one I was able to record in it’s entirety) I decided to make a “video-collage” of various moments throughout the concert. Here it is:

As you can hear see, being so close to take great photos also has its disadvantages. Not only my Sony point-&-shoot doesn’t register great audio (despite the excellent HD quality of the video), but being so close to the stage clearly makes this even worse.

Nevertheless, I hope you can see why this is one of the best live shows in existence today. If you can catch Massive Attack live anywhere near (or not so near) you, I suggest you go see them.

And if you don’t know Massive Attack’s music, please do yourself a favour and give them a thorough listen.

I had read nothing but great reviews about Tumblr before. From the engaging flow of the sign up process to how easy it was to share just about anything. I knew about it for a while, but never really bothered to try it out.

Some time ago, when I created TaskFlo.ws I was set on the idea of using WordPress –much in the same way I use it to write what you are reading here. Taskflo.ws is intended to be a blog that is updated somewhat regularly, unlike this one. Unfortunately, with WordPress: more post = more spam. There are ways to prevent the industrial amounts of spam that fill my email inbox just about every day, but I simply can’t be bothered looking for more filters and plugins to add.

Then, one day I read a what seems to be John Mayer‘s last Twitter update, in which he explains that he was quitting Twitter and joining Tumblr –mainly because he reckons “Twitter’s dying” and sees value in being able to write his “thoughtful” thoughts in more than 140 characters.

I thought it was interesting, even though I don’t agree entirely (I don’t think Twitter’s time is up –quite the contrary). But going through his “cleverly named” One Forty Plus Tumblr page I realize (for the first time) that Tumblr uses the “Follow” functionality (à la Twitter, ironically) which is so useful inside a web-based community. In fact, many sites with a social component to them have now started offering the ability to “follow” others –even Google Profiles.

Then I started exploring other Tumblr sites and all of them simply looked clean, great and were a joy to interact with. I started exploring the different themes available, the different sites that people have created, and shortly after I was convinced. I knew I had to transfer my blog to Tumblr.

To top things off, the integration with the “Taskflo.ws” domain name was painless! It looks as if TaskFlo.ws had been made to look and behave like it does all along. Amazing.

The only thing that I didn’t like about Tumblr was the inability for other non-Tumblr members to comment on posts…

Enter Disqus to the rescue!

Not only Disqus allows all of my Tumblr post to host comments by non-Tumblr members, but it appears as if I will not have to deal with the endless amount of spam comments that were annoying me so much whilst hosting my blog with WordPress.

The entire ecosystem of Tumblr is fantastic. I predict Taskflo.ws being updated more often just because Tumblr is that much fun to interact with.

Oh yeah, and they have a great iPhone app to go along as well.

If you haven’t given Tumblr a go for your blogging needs, I highly recommend you do –and if you are already using Tumblr, you may follow TaskFlo.ws there too

[You can even "ask TaskFlo.ws" questions --so go ahead, ask away!]

You can watch all the rest of our (not-as-windy-as-the-one-above) videos after the jump.

Obrigado.

For as long as it has been out and available, I’ve wanted a Nokia N900. See for yourself why.

After nearly 2 months with it, I have gathered enough conclusions related to why I got it in the first place, what I liked about it, what I didn’t –and yes, why I decided to part ways with it.

You can read it all in the latest TaskFlo.ws post.

(Well done, Nokia: I still can’t wait for your next state-of-the-art mobile device.)

Coimbra is a city we decided to visit on our way back to Lisboa from Porto. It’s a beautiful place that hosts one of the best universities in Europe, which happens to be on the highest hill of the city. In the set, you can see various photos of the university, as well as some of the Mondego river at dusk.

We didn’t stay in Coimbra as long as we did in Lisboa or Porto, but it was a pleasant surprise to get to see this place. With limited time in Portugal it’s good to keep it just to the two main cities, as they have so much of what this country has to offer. Nonetheless, if you find yourself with enough time to stop here for a day or two, it’s highly recommended.

Next up, is the latest set from Bogotá this past January. That one is going to take a while (there are industrial amounts of photos to sort through for that one).

Obrigado.

Yes, indeed –I’ve gone deeper inside the Cult of Mac. I know have my hands on a brand new Apple iPad.

Over the weekend, I’ve played with it enough to come up with a series of first impressions (good and bad)

You can read all about my experience leading up to the purchase, and of course: everything else after the unboxing. It’s all ready for your reading pleasure on TaskFlo.ws.

(…and no, I’m still not keen on “iPad” as the name. It’s still confusing when people say it, and I’m sure it’s not because English is not my native language).

The process of bringing each and every single one of these photos to you (all) is indeed time-consuming, but in the end it’s worth it.

I hope you enjoy the second photo set of my adventures with Willie Morris last December in the second biggest city in Portugal.