After about half an hour of trying, I accidentally discovered how to add a non-iTunes podcast to the stock iOS app. For once, Google was most definitely not my friend. Yes, there were instructions on the web about how to do this, but they all seemed to relate to an earlier (2012) version of the app. The only search option now seems to be to search the "store". In desperation I entered the url into Safari. Well blow me if that didn't then open the Podcasts app and ask me if I wanted to subscribe. So there you have it. Easy, when you know how.
To ensure I can remember this, I added a note to Onenote. Yes, I know there is Evernote (and I am writing this in Evernote, in my "drafts" folder, ready to move it to my "posts" folder and have it sync to 10 Centuries). But Evernote is so, well, green. I do use it, but I find myself using Onenote a lot more. It's purple. I like purple. But, more seriously, it's just nice-looking and powerful enough for me. Other apps are starting to offer integration with it too, though obviously Evernote is far better supported. Neither of them has useful mobile clipping options, though both work well on the desktop. Ironically, it was considering a premium subscription to Evernote that made me look at Onenote. I discovered that, for not a lot more money (thanks to an Amazon offer), I could purchase the 5-user version of Office 365. Bargain! Full Office suite as well. I have used Open Office for years and been reasonably happy with it. Less so recently, particularly when
I had to test, and create a presentation for, some public-facing software for work. Our lockdowns meant the site didn't render properly on any work machine, so I was testing and taking screenshots on my own desktop. Manipulating those to create a presentation proved frustrating. So I weakened and opted for Office 365. I don't use all 5 licences, but it does mean my Dad gets Excel back in his life.
Onenote is impressive. The iPad app is also mighty impressive: the Android one less so. The last update for the iPad allows for organising of pages and creating sub-pages, something which annoyed me, as I had to do that on the desktop before. And I do like the pages within my subjects to be in alphabetical order. Ditto my subjects, apart from one, which stays on the left-hand side.
Word and Excel for iPad got updated too (Powerpoint also possibly, I don't currently have that on the iPad). Now I can send a file as a PDF right from the iPad. PDF export was the main reason I stuck with Open Office for so very long, as I use it extensively for creating craft instructions and also sheet music copies.
And don't get me started on cloud storage. I have bits here and there - basic Dropbox, some in Copy, some iCloud (I believe, never used it), some Google Drive. But Onedrive has just given me over 1TB of storage! I am impressed, although even that wouldn't be enough for a friend, who has that much in just his photos - long-time, seriously good photographer. For me, it's superb. I am now, slowly, copying files into the cloud. This will be a useful addition to my backup approach, which is to have 2 or 3 copies of important files on removable drives, one of which is only attached to my machine for the purpose of backups. Although some movies I have can't go up to Onedrive as I believe there is a limit on file size. Hey, nothing in life is perfect…
OK, it seems that a post about iOS has segued into an Office fan-girl one. But then that's me. I'm very much a cross-platform user (I have an android phone and tablet too).