April, a passionate Pedia user and HTML wizard has completed her new DVDpedia export template. It’s based on the Gamepedia template so it has al the same great features, including reordering and live searching. If you are into HTML yourself the template code is worth a look at. It’s well commented and has some handy open source Javascript classes that could be used in your own projects. Without further delay the important information is that you can download both of them from our extras page and if you have any feedback, leave her a post on this forum thread.

Even more exciting is that their great indie spotlight idea is not limited to the physical expo. They have also orchestrated a virtual indie spotlight this year. For the next three days (February 11-13) developers are providing their wares at a 20% discount. So if you have been eyeing a Pedia but where hesitant about spending $18 dollars be sure to take advantage of this opportunity and snag one at the low price of $14.40. The Macworld 20% coupon is MACWORLD2010, but be sure to visit the indie developer spotlight list for other great value software.

1 – HTML export

Use one of the iPhone optimized templates such as “iPhone” or “iPhone Grouped” from the HTML export feature to export your collection from the Pedias. Upload the export to a server and access your collection through Safari on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

These iPhone export templates have an index, for quick searches, and are optimized for the smaller screen. You can find another iPhone-optimized export template on our Extras page for download as well or if you have some HTML experience, write your own. Take a look at the Help file under ‘Export > Customizing HTML templates’ for more information.

2 – PDF sync

Use the Print or export feature in the Pedias and then create a PDF of that print or export.
For the Print feature, press the ‘Print’ button on the first dialogue and then press ‘PDF’ on the second window. Save the preview as PDF.
For the Export feature, export the collection and when the preview opens in your preferred browser, choose ‘Print’ and save as PDF as described above.
Then use a free program such as Evernote to sync the PDF over to your iPhone.

SmallCovers print template, in PDF format viewed in Evernote on the iPhone

ListThick print template, in PDF format viewed in Evernote on the iPhone

Of course, if all you want is a list of your titles as a quick reference then a simple text export from the Pedias will suffice. Just use any free notes app for the iPhone/iPod touch to import the text file and you’ll be good to go.

In order to put Pocketpedia2 back up we would have to block all information from Amazon. Entries would need to appear as “?” or not at all on the iPhone. This would not only cause a terrible confusion but also make Pocketpedia2 useless for most users. Since the Pedias do have a number of data sources we understand that Pocketpedia2 would still work for users who gather their information elsewhere or enter it manually. However, given the popularity of Amazon as a search and the support issues we would encounter with users unaware of the restrictions we have chosen to keep Pocketpedia2 off the App Store until the time when we can produce, without limits, an iPhone app we can be proud of. So for those of you that were able to acquire a copy of Pocketpedia2 during its short life at the App Store, be sure to keep it safe.

As expected, the reasoning behind the exclusion could not be discussed. The likelihood of a change in the terms that would allow Pocketpedia2 to exist could also not be discussed.

Tomorrow is an exciting day for Apple followers and likely all computer enthusiast. We have no doubt that tomorrow’s announcement will also be classified as a mobile device by Amazon. The devices of the future are being built by Apple and Amazon doesn’t want to be the provider of data for those devices. All we’re lacking now is an open, rich and international data service.

But what’s even worse is that they obviously haven’t bothered looking at Pocketpedia2: there ARE no links to Amazon anywhere in the application. It’s impossible to access the site through the program. And as for content, we have explained that the Pedias block any Amazon data from being synched over save for the cover image, title and director/artist/author/platform (so it wouldn’t seem like your Amazon added items just went missing). We’ve offered that we’d pull this information as well if that would allow us to keep Pocketpedia2 going but don’t hold your breath…

Of course we have also asked for an explanation or reasoning once again on why mobile apps specifically are singled out under the Associates Operating agreement. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe this time we’ll receive a response. This is starting to feel a bit like talking to the Queen of Hearts.

We know that many of you wrote to Amazon last time Pocketpedia had to be pulled from the App Store. We’re very grateful for your support. We know that Amazon is not our only input method to catalog your collection (we are routinely impressed with the number of people that painstakingly enter all the details manually). This was the main reason we released Pocketpedia2, an Amazon-stripped version of the original Pocketpedia. However, while we get a dialog going with Amazon we have no choice but to pull Pocketpedia2 from the App Store for the time being.

Stay tuned. Hopefully, there will be a solution to our problems through communication with Amazon or at least some answers from “earth’s most customer centric company”.

In conjunction with the death of Pocketpedia2, Amazon once again killed our access keys and we’ve had to apply for new ones. These are part of the latest version release so make sure you download version 4.5.5 of the Pedias for your searches to continue without trouble.

So while we wait for the expected event let me, under the guise of an internet historian, dust the archives from yesteryear. I propose the possibility of an onscreen keyboard a la iPhone but one where the keys are also felt. The keyboard appears on the iPhone when needed in a number of configurations. Why not have the texture that delimits the keys also appear to match. It would eliminate the need to look down since users could feel the placement of the fingers, even include the dashes on the “F” and “J”. Knowing Apple it would probably feel natural. It still leaves the issue of having to put down the tablet when typing fast and a painfully hard surface. But it’s a small price to pay for a keyboard that physically appears and vanishes as if by magic. Given that this is the only other method I can think of that Dan Moren hasn’t already mentioned, I only have a single horse. Odds: 1 to 1.

It’s a technology one wishes one had thought of but aren’t most Apple products.

If you know someone who’s interested in the Pedias or you’re looking for a gift for that special Mac user in your life, this is the perfect time to head over to our holiday page and get a bundle of joy!

Happy holidays to all and best wishes for the coming year, Conor & Nora

You can click on any of the column headers to sort the template.

The details view that appears when you click on the title link.

Wish the page had an anchor and I could send you directly to the Bruji discount sections, but here is a link to One Finger Discount and look for number 88. Plus there is more great software on there, so take a look around as you scroll.

Pocketpedia2 is free but to avoid the fate of the previous Pocketpedia there have been some changes to the functionality and features. There is no more Amazon search but the sync is now two-way so you can manage your collections on the iPhone and have it all sync up when you get back to your Mac.

Please note that you need the latest version of the Pedia programs, version 4.5.4, to sync your data to Pocketpedia2.
From now on, this is our official iPhone app. The old Pocketpedia will keep working on your iPhone but it will not sync with the latest version of the Pedias, 4.5.4.

Now that the program is out once more we’ll start work on adding more features from the long list of ideas we have. Thanks to everyone for their patience and to all our beta testers for their great work. We hope you enjoy Pocketpedia2!