First Look: FileMagnet [ iPhone ]

FileMagnet (mentioned briefly by Dave in his iPhone apps I actually use post yesterday) is a low-cost wireless file transfer tool for iPhone and iPod Touch. It requires you to install a companion desktop application, also called FileMagnet, which acts as the conduit for file transfer.

Usage is simple enough: drag files you wish to copy into the desktop app's window. Then open FileMagnet on the iPhone, and as long as the two machines are on the same WiFi network, they will find each other over Bonjour, and wirelessly connect. Then your files are smoothly and wirelessly transferred over. Transfer will also happen every time you sync the device, if the desktop app happens to be running.

FileMagnet is a handy place for reference materials, such as Word docs, spreadsheets, PDFs and images, that you're likely to need to carry at all times. It handles entire folders full of files, too.

There are a few problems right now, all of which are addressed on the official FileMagnet FAQ, mostly with a promise that they'll be fixed soon:

• FileMagnet cannot display iWork files (yet)
• The desktop app requires Leopard (but a Tiger version is on the way)
• You can't email files, or indeed do anything with them except view them (an email feature is coming)

Like a lot of iPhone and iPod touch apps, it's in its early days. Some features are lacking, or not as perfectly functional as you might like. But the developers are aware of the limitations and working on fixes and new features, and personally I think it's a decent value application with bright prospects for future development. I'll be watching out for updates with interest.

FileMagnet is $4.99, and available through the App Store.

UPDATE: Joshua Keay from Magnetism Studios has been in touch to say that that FileMagnet supports Tiger right now. He added that support for rotation and more file types is on the way in the next build, which will be a free update.

Mac based utility catches iPhone files

To make my life easier, I decided to stop focusing on phone-to-phone file transfer and write a utility for the Mac to catch those files I've been tossing into the ether. File Catcher is the result. This Universal Binary application sits on your desktop and automatically downloads files to the desktop.

To make this happen, I've been working hard on putting together a new protocol that defines the name of the file being sent and other useful information. I've written and uploaded entirely new versions of my catch and throw utilities and SendFile application to conform to this new protocol.

My favorite little utility though is a new one tonight, called snapngo. Just run it at the command line and give it one argument, a name. e.g. snapngo mypic. The application takes a screen snapshot and shares it using the name you specified. If you're running File Catcher on your Mac, the file mypic.png automatically appears on your Desktop.

wiDock - wireless iPod dock from Silex announced

Rumors of a wireless, syncing iPod have existed almost as long as the iPod itself, but next week Silex Technology is poised to introduce the next best thing: the wiDock. This wireless iPod dock will fulfill the much-requested feature of wirelessly syncing media with a Mac or Windows PC, all while remaining connected with audio and video output to your entertainment center and charging the iPod's battery for the ultimate in do-it-all connectivity. The wiDock uses 802.11b/g to work its wireless magic, and to top things off, it plays well with the Apple Remote.

We don't have a word on price yet, but the wiDock should be arriving in retail stores soon in time for the holidays.

Optimize your router for a stable wireless connection

HOUSE OF SCREAMING RADIOS

Say you're approaching the end of a large download, and in the middle of a Skype call to clients in China, without warning, your Wi-Fi connection drops, leaving your download and VoIP call in limbo. You retry the wireless connection, but your router, though blinking contentedly in your den, seems to be off the air. Two hours later, for no apparent reason, your Wi-Fi connection miraculously resurfaces.

Wireless networking can be a blessing and a curse: great when it works and a mind-numbing frustration when it doesn't. A common complaint among many who have moved to Wi-Fi is that their wireless connection mysteriously fades in and out.

These steps will help you create a stable, always-on wireless connection.

1. Change channels.
Interference is a likely cause of intermittent connections, such as the one described above. All 802.11b and 802.11g networks operate at 2.4GHz, in a small swath of spectrum once used primarily by ham-radio hobbyists. Today, these radios, plus other Wi-Fi gear, Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, microwave ovens, baby monitors, and wireless surveillance equipment, all crowd the spectrum. When these devices compete for the same airspace, they interfere with each other, potentially blocking each other's signals. Luckily, there are ways to sidestep and minimize interference in many situations. In the United States, 802.11b and 802.11g devices can be configured to operate at any one of 11 channels. Unfortunately, these channels overlap with adjacent channels, so you have only 3 nonoverlapping channels at your disposal: channels 1, 6, and 11. If you and your neighbor both have a wireless network, both of which are set to channel 6, you may experience interference. You can remedy the problem by resetting your wireless router to a different, preferably nonoverlapping, channel, in this case, either 1 or 11.

2. Replace your cordless phone.
Cordless phones are among the worst sources of interference for wireless networks. They tend to transmit at a higher power output than Wi-Fi gear, making them louder and therefore harder to talk over, and they tend to transmit frequently, especially when the handset and base station are separated. Some 2.4GHz cordless phones let you select a channel, in which case you can try separating the phone's frequency from the frequency of your wireless network. For example, set your phone to channel 1 and your wireless router to channel 11. If your phone doesn't let you select a channel, try putting some distance between your phone and your router. Generally, it's not a good idea to place a cordless phone next to a Wi-Fi router. If this doesn't help, consider replacing your 2.4GHz phone with a 5GHz phone. This way, your phone and network won't be sharing the same airspace and won't interfere with each other.

3. Expand your wireless network.
The farther you are from your wireless router, the greater the potential for interference to block or to slow your connection. For example, you may be able to connect just fine in your house, but on your patio, you may have an intermittent connection that disappears whenever your neighbor is using her cordless phone. The signal on your patio may be too weak to cope with the interference coming from the house next door. You can strengthen the connection with antennas or repeaters, as discussed in Monday's nightmare, or you can use a power-line bridge to import the connection from your router to your patio and feed it into a power-line access point. Instead of the weak signal from your distant router, you now have a strong signal from an access point placed right where you want to buttress your coverage area.