January 2011
Ken Case Interview on Ars Technica Jan 31, 2011
You know that free over-the-air syncing server that Omni Group offers its users? It’s running on a Mac Mini and is doing just fine.
Ian Hines on OmniFocus Aid Jan 31, 2011
Ian Hines, the man with the original idea for OmniFocus Aid, talks briefly about the business model of the whole idea: The obvious concern from OmniGroup’s perspective is that offering a “lite” version would hurt overall OmniFocus for Mac sales. … (More)
A Real Life Example of why OmniFocus Aid for Windows Would be Useful Jan 31, 2011
Regarding the usefulness of “OmniFocus Aid” for windows users, Michael Doan shares his workflow for how he gets by without OmniFocus at his work computer.
[Sponsor] HiTask Jan 31, 2011
HiTask is a friendly and easy-to-use task management tool that anyone can start using right away. HiTask combines simplicity with powerful enterprise features such as task sharing, assignment, reporting, and time tracking. You can organize tasks by project, then share … (More)
Due Jan 28, 2011
This week’s RSS feed was brought to you by Due, a fantastic timer and reminder app for the iPhone. You can set reminders for yourself for things which need to be done at a certain time, and you can save … (More)
“Blogging is Largely About Siezing Opportunities” Jan 28, 2011
Pulizer Prize winning novelist Michael Chabon reflects about blogging after week of doing it for the Atlantic: Blogging, I think, is largely about seizing opportunities, about pouncing, about grabbing hold of hours, events, days and nights as they are happening, … (More)
Apple TV Surpasses iPad in Netflix Streaming Popularity Jan 26, 2011
So at first this sounds like, well duh more people are watching Netflix on their Apple TV than on their iPad. I mean, it’s obvious that people will prefer to watch a movie on their big screen than on their … (More)
CMD Comma Jan 26, 2011
Screenshots of people’s app preferences setup (hence the name “CMD Comma”) with an accompanying description of why the prefs are set like that. I’ve submitted a few of preference screenshots of my own and have already learned something new.
Read & Trust Jan 25, 2011
Introducing Read & Trust: a small band of top-notch writers who endorse one another’s work. Plus one scruffy looking nerf herder.
Adding the Ability to Edit a Page Title in My Yojimbo Bookmark Script Jan 25, 2011
A clever addition by Chris Bowler.
The 2011 State of the Union Jan 24, 2011
And speaking of the State of the Union speech, President Obama will giving his Address tomorrow night at 9:00 pm EST. If you don’t have a TV, you can watch the live stream on the White House website or iPhone … (More)
Writing the State Of The Union Speech Jan 24, 2011
If you think design by committee is hard, imagine writing by committee. And then imagine that the committee is the government.
[Sponsor] Due — super fast reminders, reusable timers Jan 24, 2011
Jot down a task and set up a reminder alert really, really fast? A companion to your GTD manager where all your mundane but important reminders can go? Now you have it.
Pear Note Jan 21, 2011
Many thanks to Useful Fruit software for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote Pear Note. Pear Note is a note-taking utility app with a bucket full of useful and well-thought-out features. It’ll recored audio and/or video while you … (More)
David Pogue’s Two Favorite PR Pitches from 2010 Jan 21, 2011
The whole PR pitch scene is a disaster. You either don’t know what the PR is even talking about, or you can tell they don’t really care if you’re interested or not; they’re just spamming you because you have a … (More)
TestFlight Jan 21, 2011
This is the way beta testing for iOS devices should be. At any given time I am helping beta test a handful of apps. A few of the developers have been using TestFlight while it was still in private beta. … (More)
That’s Enough Jan 21, 2011
Enough is the brand new Minimal Mac podcast, with Patrick Rhone and his co-host Myke Hurley. Congratulations to both of them for kicking this off. I’m subscribed; I have no doubt that it will be fantastic.
A Pretty Good Script for Creating a Yojimbo Bookmark From Safari Jan 21, 2011
Considering all the bookmarking going on yesterday, it seems like a ripe time to point out this AppleScript I wrote in 2009 based on some others by Jim DeVona and John Gruber. Here’s what it does: When invoked, the script … (More)
A Shared Instapaper Folder for all the #pastblast Links Jan 20, 2011
Anthony Morelli wrote a python scrip that is grabbing all the links from the #pastblast Twitter hashtags and tossing them into a shared folder on Instapaper. This way you can easily pull in all these articles to your own Instapaper … (More)
The Top Idea in Your Mind Jan 20, 2011
Paul Graham: I realized recently that what one thinks about in the shower in the morning is more important than I’d thought. I knew it was a good time to have ideas. Now I’d go further: now I’d say it’s … (More)
Write When Inspired Jan 20, 2011
Another one from Jeffery Zeldman, this time on writing or really just doing any sort of work: In writing four books and an unknown quantity of articles and blog posts, I’ve discovered the simple secret to maintaining quality. I share … (More)
Daring Fireball: Full Metal Jacket Jan 20, 2011
John Gruber’s review of the 15-inch PowerBook, and perhaps my favorite DF article of all time. (This link is for “Blast from the Past Day”.)
Flying the SR-71 Blackbird Jan 20, 2011
Stories about flying the SR-71 Blackbird, one of the fastest spy planes in the world between the 1960s to the 1990s. (This link is for “Blast from the Past Day”.)
Rands In Repose: The Nerd Handbook Jan 20, 2011
Michael Lopp: A nerd needs a project because a nerd builds stuff. All the time. Those lulls in the conversation over dinner? That’s the nerd working on his project in his head. (This link is for “Blast from the Past … (More)
Seth Godin: The victim Jan 20, 2011
“Does your job happen to you?” (This link is for “Blast from the Past Day”.)
A Journey Into Dave Barry’s Colon Jan 20, 2011
Hilarious, hilarious story by comedian Dave Barry about getting a colonoscopy. I yield to nobody in the field of being a pathetic weenie medical coward. I become faint and nauseous during even very minor medical procedures, such as making an … (More)
Jeffrey Zeldman: Past Blast Jan 20, 2011
Though the point of today’s link-share is to promote and dig up great, older articles, this post from Jeffery Zeldman, which I think about often, has a different take on “blasts from the past”. If your old work doesn’t shame … (More)
Your’s Truly on the WorkAwesome Podcast Jan 19, 2011
Mike Vardy was kind enough to have me as a guest on the WorkAwesome Podcast. We talk about how I balance work and home life, using digital GTD tools like OmniFocus, and, of course, coffee. What we didn’t talk about, … (More)
DesignScene Jan 18, 2011
The first iPad app from Lunar/Theory that’s just hitting the App store today. What really intrigues me about this iPad app is its philosophy. It’s basically a well-built front end for delivering content from almost 100 pre-selected sources. Or, put … (More)
Sales Numbers and Analytics for ‘Dive into HTML5′ Jan 17, 2011
Mark Pilgrim shares about how his latest book, Dive into HTML5, has sold. (a) Congratulations to Mark on a successful launch; and (b) this is fascinating info for anyone else working on a non-fiction book targeted to the designer/developer community.
“What’s the deal with those Amazon tweets?” Jan 17, 2011
And speaking of Amazon, I enjoyed reading Roger Ebert’s response to reporter Christopher Heine’s awkward questions about his Amazon affiliate tweets: Have I made a fortune from Amazon? No. Have I made some? Yes. Am I happy to have it? … (More)
Amazon Wants to Decide the Price for Android Apps Jan 17, 2011
Jason Kincaid on TechChrunch: The biggest departure from the mobile app stores we’ve grown accustomed to involves pricing. Unlike Apple’s App Store and Android Market, where developers can set their price to whatever they’d like, Amazon retains full control over … (More)
Apps vs. Songs Jan 17, 2011
Horace Dediu’s fascinating reports on the total number of apps downloaded from the iOS App Store compared to the total number of songs downloaded from iTunes. In short? Apps are taking off like crazy. It took the App Store half … (More)
[Sponsor] Pear Note for Mac Jan 17, 2011
Pear Note helps you create more complete, understandable notes on your Mac. Typed notes are blended with recorded audio, video, and slides to create notes that make more sense when you need them most. Think of it as augmented note-taking, … (More)
Guts Jan 15, 2011
Seth Godin: The real victories come when you have the guts to launch the untestable.
Paste Interactive Jan 14, 2011
Many thanks to Paste for once again sponsoring this week’s RSS Feed to promote their suite of productivity and project management web apps. Paste is a company with a lot of personality and a huge commitment to excellence. If you … (More)
FlexTime, LaunchBar, Spaces and AppleScript. Oh my! Jan 13, 2011
Justin Blanton is awesome: As of late I’ve had a terrible time concentrating, on anything. So, I did what any self-respecting computer geek can’t help but do, and rationalized further procrastination by telling myself I was going to create a … (More)
A Visual Guide to Net Neutrality Jan 12, 2011
And, speaking of Net neutrality, if you’re a visual learner then this single-serving site created by Michael Ciarlo is another great high-level overview of what it is and why it’s important. (Via Sean Sperte.)
Randy Murray on Net Neutrality Jan 12, 2011
Last week Randy Murray began a great series of posts regarding Net Neutrality. If you’re still not exactly sure what this whole Net Neutrality topic is all about I suggest reading Randy’s first post, “A Turning Point For Freedom And … (More)
“Android’s Marketshare May Have Just Peaked.” Jan 12, 2011
Thoughtful (as always) article from Marco Arment on the “iPhone versus Android fight”. In short, Marco’s muse is that it hasn’t been iPhone versus Android, but actually iPhone versus Verizon. I know that in my circles all my friends — … (More)
Brilliant At The Basics of Business (PDF) Jan 11, 2011
One hundred great, great one-liners of advice and food for thought from Nicholas Bate. Numbers 15, 52, 59, 65, 67, 89, 91, 95, 96, and 99 all really struck a chord with me. But especially numbers 13, Stop wishing. Start … (More)
How Personal Hotspot Works On The Verizon iPhone Jan 11, 2011
It’s a top-level setting, and includes the Bluetooth and USB sharing options just like tethering works currently on AT&T, et al. The mobile hotspot won’t be Verizon exclusive for very long.
“Everywhere to Run, Everywhere to Hide.” Jan 11, 2011
Seth Godin: Some say that the problem of our age is that continuous partial attention, this never ending non-stop distraction, addles the brain and prevents us from being productive. Not quite. The danger is not distraction, the danger is the … (More)
“One Click. Books?” Jan 10, 2011
Great piece from Iain Broome on the simplicity of the Mac App Store, the bloat of the iTunes store, and the potential of iBookstore. I think we’re all agreed that iTunes is getting more bloated by the minute. But that’s … (More)
How People Find Applications Jan 10, 2011
Ian Mackay on discovering applications in the Mac App Store: I believe people have one of three things in mind when they are looking for an application to use. Suitability for a given task. For example: “I want to write … (More)
[Sponsor] Paste Interactive Jan 10, 2011
In the 1800′s the QWERTY keyboard was developed to make mechanical typewriters more reliable. By moving letters that commonly followed each other further apart, there was less chance of the swing-arm typebars colliding and jamming. In effect it slowed down … (More)
Get Access to Those Super Secret Twitter for Mac Preferences Jan 9, 2011
Tweaky is a GUI utility app for adjusting the super secret defaults preferences that are there in Twiter for Mac (Tweetie 2) but are only visible to those who bought that MacHeist bundle a while back. The only “super secret” … (More)
Apple Wants to Keep its iOS Developers in the Mac Ecosystem Jan 8, 2011
Ben Brooks has a fantastic addition to my Mac App Store piece, stating the store was launched not primarily for the users but for the current pool of iOS developers: My guess is that if they truly did this as … (More)
Cyberspace Jan 7, 2011
Many thanks to Cyberspace for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. Cyberspace is a Web browser for your iPad and iPhone/iPod touch that is jam packed with useful and thought-out features not found in Safari. It’s got Twitter, OmniFocus, and … (More)
OWC’s Replacemnt SSD for the MacBook Air Jan 7, 2011
They’re not cheap, but they are 22% faster and up to 3 times the capacity of the stock SSDs that ship with the Airs. I have an OWC Mercury Extreme SSD in my MacBook Pro and I love it. (Via … (More)
Postbox Voted Best New Mac App Of 2010 on Cult of Mac Jan 7, 2011
I have only ever heard fabulous things about Postbox from all its users. I just haven’t been able to get into it myself yet.
One Million Apps Downloaded From the Mac App Store on the First Day Jan 7, 2011
Sounds like a hit. Evernote, for example, saw an 1,800% increase in their new-user sign-up rate. But I wonder what the category and pricing breakdown is for those 1,000,000 downloads? How many were free apps that people downloaded for fun … (More)
URL Design Jan 7, 2011
Great article by Kyle Neath on the importance of human-friendly URL design. He’s primarily talking about usability and longevity of the URL structure as it relates to web apps, his underlying point is relevant for all types of web sites. … (More)
Android Isn’t About Building a Mobile Platform Jan 7, 2011
Kyle Baxter’s clear and well-written analysis on Google and Android: Android isn’t an attempt to build the best mobile platform and sell it on its merits; it’s a play to control the vast majority of the mobile market, secure eyeballs … (More)
How To Fix Mac App Store “Error 100″ Jan 6, 2011
The Mac App Store gave me the same error this morning. But instead of logging out and logging back in I simply went out for a cup of coffee.
Build and Analyze Episode 7 Jan 6, 2011
Marco Arment and Dan Benjamin discussing the Mac App Store. Lots of insight and some really good questions raised.
Mac App Store by the numbers Jan 6, 2011
TUAW’s category and price breakdown of the 959 unique apps in the Mac App Store.
Apps You Already Own May Show Up as Installed in the Mac App Store Jan 6, 2011
From the desk of Cabel Sasser, regarding Transmit, Coda, and Unison in the Mac App Store: The Mac App Store may show software bought from us previously as “Installed”, even though they’re two different licenses. You will not get Mac … (More)
Daring Fireball: How Should Mac Apps Be Distributed? Jan 6, 2011
John Gruber, 16 months ago, musing on the Mac app installation problems facing the common user: The iPhone shows just how much simpler the concept of app installation — and just as importantly, un-installation — can be. Some worthwhile reading … (More)
The Mac App Store Launches Today Jan 6, 2011
Today is a big day for the Mac community. For one, 3rd-party developers are getting a huge open door to new markets they’ve never been able to reach before. Users will be getting a whole new window to discover software … (More)
Realmac Software’s Mac App Store Pricing Plan Jan 5, 2011
They’re lowering their prices to allow for faster moving of their apps, and so current users can “upgrade” to the App Store versions. RapidWeaver will be 50% less than it is now. Courier will be exclusive to the Mac App … (More)
Paying For Knowledge, Software, and Services Jan 5, 2011
Brett Kelly: When I pay for services, I’m paying for less friction than the free alternative. Which, far as I’m concerned, means more time doing actual work than stumping around with subpar tools. [...] Time spent using tools that could … (More)
The Brick Thief Jan 5, 2011
Who knew? All your missing Lego pieces were stolen by a guy with a mustache.
“My Blackberry Is Not Working!” Jan 5, 2011
Hilarious sketch from Ronnie Corbett’s BBC show. (Via Sperte.)
Randy Murray’s Simple Productivity Task Of The Day: Create A To-Do List For Others Jan 4, 2011
Today Randy delegated a to-do item to me: promote his article on delegation. But in all seriousness, this is a great article. My guess is that most of you are the sort of worker who knows that if you do … (More)
How Sergio Ruiz Uses His Levenger Notebook Jan 3, 2011
A neat look at how Sergio Ruiz, a newcomer to Levenger, has gotten hooked on the Circa notebook. I am a huge fan of Levenger — office supplies for the geekiest of geeks and pickiest of nitpickers.
‘There Really Isn’t Much of a “Tablet” Market’ Jan 3, 2011
Very astute essay by Marco Arment on the market which the iPad basically carved out for itself.
[Sponsor] Cyberspace Jan 3, 2011
Cyberspace is a web browser for the iPhone and iPad, optimized for discovering, reading and sharing. Enjoy a clutter-free experience with ad-blocker, one tap access to the Readability bookmarklet, and a dedicated Text mode. Add any links to the reading … (More)
Promote Your Product, Service, or Event Jan 1, 2011
If you’ve got plans ship something this year, what better way to promote it than by sponsoring the RSS feed. Booking a sponsorship will put your product or service directly in front of a mighty fine audience of more than … (More)
A Breakdown of Sweet Mac Setups Jan 1, 2011
Kev Rodgers went through the Sweet Mac Setups and tallied up all those who use laptops and an external display to see where the laptop is located and if it’s open or closed. I keep my MacBook Pro closed, on … (More)
