Bear, the stylish note-taking app, appears on first sight to be superfluous to most people's needs.
It’s available only for iOS and Mac, which come pre-installed with their own perfectly efficient equivalent, Notes. Plus, Evernote has already cornered the market for those who need more organisational features than Notes can handle.
Once you try it, though, it’s hard not to fall in love with the app’s intuitive design. Its developer Shiny Frog has really committed to optimising every detail, its team members are active in answering questions about the product online and even its social media feeds are snappily written.
Rather than using folders, like Notes, Bear organises users’ writing with hashtags, meaning each note can be sorted into multiple categories. Checkboxes, bullet points and ticks can be added to list items on the iPhone app simply by typing a hyphen, asterisk or plus sign at the beginning of the line, and it’s also very easy to add hyperlinks, format text in a range of styles and even link notes to other notes, as if you were building a wiki.
The app is targeted at all kinds of users, but it may be most appealing to those who write frequently for blogs or busy social media accounts, especially those who switch devices often during their day. While it functions well for jotting memos to oneself, it can also be used to compose complicated content, with images and links embedded. You can also attach almost any type of file to a note, including .zip archives and videos. There are word counts, character counts and an estimated reading time for the text, as well as a focus mode for banishing distractions.
Bear isn’t flawless. Playing a video can make it crash, individual notes can’t be locked behind a password or Touch ID, links don’t automatically turn into “rich previews” with a thumbnail image and description, and you can’t (yet) allow friends to collaborate on notes. But it’s a powerful free app that’s still evolving, and most persuasively of all, it’s a pleasure to use.
q&a both useful and intuitive
Jessica Holland expands on what the app Bear has to offer:
Who’s behind Bear?
Shiny Frog is a small, young team based in Parma, Italy, who’ve been designing pretty iOS and Mac apps since 2005. They launched the public beta version of Bear in Jun 2016.
What’s the feedback been like?
Glowing. Apple chose Bear as its top Mac app of 2016, and it’s been described by one tester as “like a moleskine for the computer age”.
How do users format notes?
Bear uses an intuitive markup language based on CommonMark: an asterisk or a slash either side of a word, for example, will make it bold or italic.
Can I add notes that I’ve stored elsewhere?
Yes, you can import an Evernote archive or text files into Bear, although you may have to tweak some of the compatibility settings to preserve the formatting.
Is there a premium service?
Yes, while the free service is great, there’s also an affordable premium option. For US$1.49 monthly or $14.99 per year, you can unlock advanced features, including automatic syncing across all devices, application themes and the ability to export finished pieces as HTML, PDF, DOCX, JPEG and other file types.
How does it do on privacy?
The company says it doesn’t sell on personal information.
Where can I find it?
Download from the Apple App Store or go to bear-writer.com.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
Brief scores:
Manchester City 2
Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'
Crystal Palace 3
Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)
Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
57%20Seconds
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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