April 2011
Lithium Apr 29, 2011
My thanks to Lithium for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote their SNMP monitoring software. Lithium is built for Mac and iOS users in need of professional-grade monitoring of their server, network, and storage. It is feature rich, … (More)
If Being on the Last Episode Wasn’t Enough Apr 29, 2011
Yours truly is also a guest on episode 29 of the Minimal Mac Podcast.
Holy Crap! Mint Plugin Apr 26, 2011
Same idea as Greg Reinacker’s aforelinked plugin, except Tyler Hall’s will notify you based on certain domains showing up in your referral’s list (such as Digg, Slashdot, and Daring Fireball): Why the name Holy Crap!? Because that’s generally the first … (More)
Traffic Threshold Pepper Apr 26, 2011
This is a great idea for a plugin from Greg Reinacker. You set a minimum threshold for how many pageviews per minute would be “big” for you, and then if your site exceeds that threshold you get an email. It’s … (More)
That’s Enough, Shawn Apr 26, 2011
Yours truly is a guest on the latest episode of the Enough, the Minimal Mac Podcast. It was a blast recording this show (mostly because Patrick and Myke seem to catch all my dry, cheesy jokes).
[Sponsor] Lithium Apr 26, 2011
Lithium is an SNMP monitoring app for IT professionals with a Mac or iPad who want to be sure their servers, network and storage are always performing at their best.
The Mac vs. PC Stereotypes May Be True Apr 22, 2011
Over the past two years Hunch.com has collected info from about 700,000 users. Yesterday they posted this infographic analysis of how of the Mac vs. PC crowds differentiate based on 80 Million answered questions. And waddayaknow? I actually do have … (More)
Flux Apr 22, 2011
Many thanks to The Escapers for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote Flux, their Mac web-design app. Flux is both a text editor and WYSIWYG editor for building and designing web sites. A few other apps by The … (More)
The B&B Podcast, Episode 9: Glass Half Empty Apr 22, 2011
Ben and I talk about News.me and related topics. This isn’t as fast-paced of an episode as we usually record, but it’s a very interesting one. We discuss a lot of thoughts on the topics of news publishing, personal curating, … (More)
News.me and Its Close Relatives Apr 21, 2011
Marco Arment on News.me: The best part, to me — except the Instapaper integration in all of these, of course — is that this is a brand new market, created entirely by the iPad, that significantly benefits everyone involved: readers … (More)
The Background of the News.me iPad App Apr 21, 2011
John Borthwick on the development of the News.me iPad app, including the the “see what your friends are reading, too” feature: For the first version we wanted to simply take your Twitter stream, filter it using a bitly-based algorithm (bit-rank) … (More)
Hello, I Like Espresso Apr 20, 2011
This is what you get when one of those posters that shows you the breakdown of all the different types of espresso drinks and their ingredients and ratios is turned into a short and cute animated video.
How to Use Randomly-Selected Snippets in TextExpander Apr 20, 2011
Brett Kelly wrote a script that solves the aforementioned request for use of random snippets in TextExpander. Works like a charm.
“Just Enough Distraction” Apr 20, 2011
I’ve thought about packing up the laptop and heading over to the local coffee shop to work for a while, but it seems so cliché. I’m hesitant to put myself into such a stereotypical scenario: being the dude at the … (More)
TextExpander 3.3 Apr 20, 2011
If you work at your computer, and your work involves typing at all, TextExpander is a must-have utility. Today’s update to this fine app includes AppleScript support and more. (Side note about TextExpander: I was chatting with Patrick Rhone yesterday … (More)
Successful fundraising with Kickstarter & the (re)making of Art Space Tokyo Apr 19, 2011
Fascinating and extremely detailed analysis from Craig Mod about his Kickstarter project for re-publishing Art Space Tokyo: A mere five years ago it would have been unthinkable to use social media to drum up $24,000 for the republication of a … (More)
Everything Requires Maintenance Apr 19, 2011
Kevin Kelly: Everything, without exception, requires additional energy and order to maintain itself. Not just living things, but the most inanimate things we know of: stone gravemarkers, iron columns, copper pipes, gravel roads, a piece of paper. None will last … (More)
Frank Chimero Uses This Apr 18, 2011
Frank Chimero’s setup: For writing, I use TextMate or TextEdit. No frills: just give me a blinking cursor. I’ve tried things that create a “distraction-free” writing environment, but I found that switching and fiddling just became another distraction for me.
CaféTimer App Apr 18, 2011
CaféTimer is the quintessential example of an app that does just one thing well. It’s a coffee timer for people who make French Press. That’s it. You launch CaféTimer and it immediately starts counting down from 4 minutes.
The B&B Podcast Episode 8: Are you just depressed all day? Apr 18, 2011
Ben and I talk about Tweetbot. Also we talk about Seattle and how it is, in a way, not unlike Narnia was during the days when the White Witch had her way.
Elliot Jay Stocks’ Blog Apr 18, 2011
Just wanted to say that Elliot has been killing it on his blog the past several weeks. Recent examples include his article about allowing yourself a sick day — a good reminder for those of us who work for ourselves, … (More)
A Change in Mail Settings to Save Hard Drive Space Apr 18, 2011
In short, go to Mail → Preferences → Accounts → Advanced → “Keep copies of messages for offline viewing” and select: “Don’t keep copies of any messages”. I just freed up 15 GB of storage by changing this one setting. … (More)
[Sponsor] Flux: An Awesome Mac Web-Design App From the Escapers Apr 18, 2011
Flux is the awesome Mac web-design app from The Escapers. Total design freedom, this isn’t a template app, it’s pure HTML and CSS design, no limitations, you can even drag in jQuery-based widgets. Flux doesn’t use a proprietary file format, … (More)
Macminicolo.net Apr 15, 2011
Many, many thanks to Macminicolo.net for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. Macminicolo.net is the industry leader in providing world-class hosting and data center services exclusively for your Mac mini server. They host over 750 Macs minis, they’re located at … (More)
Nick Schaden on iOS App Design Apr 14, 2011
I agree with Nick in that many of my most-used and most-beloved iPhone and iPad apps are the ones which look and feel like they were made by Apple. A good rule of thumb is, when in doubt, use the … (More)
Making the Jump Apr 13, 2011
Eric Floehr on taking his part-time side job, ForecastWatch, full time: Once you have the time to focus on something, the opportunities that you hadn’t had time to notice before suddenly open up. Just the act of making something your … (More)
Quotebook Apr 13, 2011
Speaking of iPhone apps, Quotebook is also new and also lovely. I have always stored quotes in Yojimbo, but this little iPhone app is just great.
Take Five on the Mac Apr 13, 2011
A very cool iPhone app that I never used (simply because I rarely listen to music on my iPhone) is now a very cool Mac app that I actually do use.
Jeffrey Zeldman’s Awesome Internet Design Panel from SXSW Interactive 2011 Apr 13, 2011
Some great discussion on web publishing.
Three Writers, Three Ways Apr 12, 2011
The SXSW panel where Jim Coudal, Michael Lopp, and John Gruber talk about writing: Three different writers will walk through the same set of slides and explain their approaches to getting started, editing ideas, figuring out how to get unstuck, … (More)
Addicted to Media Apr 12, 2011
Liz Dwyer, writing for Good: Researchers asked 1,000 students at a dozen universities in ten countries on five continents to abstain from any kind of media consumption—no TV, no smartphone games, no Twitter or Facebook, and no instant messaging—for 24 … (More)
Independent Writing vs Newspapers Apr 12, 2011
Shawn, who publishes The Carton, has some great points on the growing shift towards the indie writer. Not just in regards to writers going indie, but also in regards to us, the reader, tracking with individual writers over the larger … (More)
Examples of the Kindle’s Screen Saver Ads Apr 12, 2011
Some of the special offers seem pretty nice. $10 for a $20 Amazon.com gift card for example is great if you regularly shop on Amazon.com. But some of these are just plain old 3rd-party ads. (Via Josh Puetz.)
The Special Offers Kindle Apr 12, 2011
Amazon is selling a version of the Kindle Wi-Fi for $25 off (18%), but it comes with “special offers”. The special offers only show up on the screensaver or as banner ads on the home screen — they do not … (More)
10,000 Hours to Pro Apr 12, 2011
Speaking of how it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert, this is a great article about Dan McLaughlin who is putting Malcolm Gladwell’s theory to the test. Dan quit his job in 2009 to learn golf and try to … (More)
Creativity Requires Significant Work Apr 12, 2011
Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, giving advice to writers: If you are a true creative, the work won’t scare you. Embrace it. There really aren’t any shortcuts, despite what you may hear. The only thing standing between you and … (More)
Fear and Desire for Omnifocus Apr 11, 2011
Aaron Isaacs’ honest thoughts as a new OmniFocus user: It just presents it in a way that is harder to ignore your tasks, and also lets you look at things in a way that doesn’t make tasks and projects look … (More)
“Nameless. Faceless.” Apr 11, 2011
A moving post from Jorge Quinteros. Now I know a little bit more about why I love his photography so much.
New Medium, Old Ways Apr 11, 2011
Noah Brier: …one of the product development things that bugs me most is building for a new medium in an old way.
[Sponsor] Macminicolo.net – The Original Mac mini hosting company Apr 11, 2011
Macminicolo.net offers a high-end data center to host your Mac mini. Low cost. High performance. It’s the perfect Mac server.
Dan Benjamin’s 2011 Podcasting Equipment Guide Apr 11, 2011
A great overview of what gear is and can be involved in producing a podcast. I use a Blue Yeti microphone and Wire Tap Studio for recording Shawn Today.
Improving Alfred’s Usage Report Apr 11, 2011
If you’ve been tracking with me on Twitter over the past week you already know I’ve been working on a review of LaunchBar that has now grown to include a serious look at Alfred as well. Last Tuesday I downloaded … (More)
ReadMore by Navel Labs Apr 8, 2011
Many thanks to Navel Labs for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote their iPhone app, ReadMore. It doesn’t matter if you read a lot or a little, ReadMore is a clever app that keeps track of your reading … (More)
The B&B Podcast Episode 7: Fab Five Apr 8, 2011
Ben and I talk about which apps we would choose if we could only pick 5 apps to have on our Mac (and the OS counts as 1). Sponsored by Notesy.
Profile of Coudal Partners Apr 8, 2011
For the latest of their Bootstrapped, Profitable, and Proud series, 37signals profiles Coudal Partners. It’s a great story of how Coudal went from doing primarily client work to instead selling their own products (Jewlboxing, The Deck, and Field Notes). I … (More)
“The iPhone Is the Most Useful Computer in the World” Apr 8, 2011
Speaking of the new definition of “portable”. (Via Patrick Rhone.)
Elliot Jay Stocks on Cloud-Centric Mac Setups Apr 8, 2011
It used to be that you’d have two computers because a laptop wasn’t powerful enough to be your main computer. But then, as the power of laptops grew and the price of them shrank, we began using laptops as our … (More)
Instatwitterbackgroundimage Apr 7, 2011
One of the new features of the site Inkstagram is that it’ll now generate a Twitter background for you based on your Instagram pictures. Very neat.
Yours Truly on Episode 52 of The Bro Show Apr 7, 2011
Today is the one-year anniversary of The Bro Show and I had the privilege of being a guest on episode 52. Myke, Terry, and I finally get to talking about Android, Amazon, and iOS miscellany after I chatter on for … (More)
Success, and Farming vs. Mining Apr 6, 2011
I love Wil’s writing and his perspective. His analogy goes far beyond just software development. For example, it goes for writing and publishing a website as well… The mining equivalent in Wil’s analogy would be (ironically) an obnoxious content farm. … (More)
Sponsorship Opportunities for The B&B Podcast Apr 6, 2011
There are sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming episodes of the B&B Podcast. It’s a great way to promote your product or service to an audience of designers, developers, Mac nerds, and coffee nuts. Sponsoring an episode comes with quite a … (More)
How a Tiny Blog Landed Guy Kawasaki Apr 6, 2011
Danny Iny shares his story of how he landed an interview with Guy Kawasaki. It’s a pretty encouraging story and Danny gives some genuinely great advice at the end. I completely agree with what he says about being appreciative, cultivating … (More)
Coffee Joulies Apr 6, 2011
Kickstarter project to keep your coffee hotter for longer: Coffee Joulies work with your coffee to achieve two goals. First, they absorb extra thermal energy in your coffee when it’s served too hot, cooling it down to a drinkable temperature … (More)
On the News Apr 6, 2011
Mandy Brown writing (very well as always) about how and where we look for and read the news. There are so many fantastic lines in this article that quoting just one or two would be a disservice. Besides, they all … (More)
FaceTime Showing Random Images From iPhone 4 Camera Apr 6, 2011
An odd and creepy bug that will make you think twice before tweeting from the smallest room in the house: Some of the images that have been coming up on mine are from times and places when I know without … (More)
nvALT 2.0 Apr 5, 2011
A nice update to one of the more popular forked versions of Notational Velocity. If you’re running a previous version of Brett’s nvALT you won’t see this update in software updates; you have to download manually. If you’re not running … (More)
Tron: Legacy Reconfigured Soundtrack Apr 5, 2011
Speaking of Tron: Legacy, there’s a remix version of the original soundtrack and it just went on sale today. The original is, of course, fantastic (as Roger Ebert says, “It might not be safe to play this soundtrack in the … (More)
Designing the Terminal and More in ‘Tron: Legacy’ Apr 5, 2011
One of the visual effects artists who worked on Tron: Legacy: I take representing digital culture in film very seriously in lieu of having grown up in a world of very badly researched user interface greeble. I cringed during the … (More)
Great Interview with Joshua Blankenship on Method & Craft Apr 5, 2011
From CorelDRAW tyro to Design Director.
Where Technology is Secondary Apr 4, 2011
Kyle Baxter, talking about Apple’s new iPad advertisement: [Apple is] trying to build an entirely new type of device where, for the first time in the history of computers, technology is secondary to what it does.
The Daily ‘Shawn Today’ Episodes are Free to Everyone All This Week Apr 4, 2011
There is now a dedicated landing page for Shawn Today. This page serves two purposes: A lot of members want to tell their friends about Shawn Today but don’t know where to send them (since the RSS feed is private). … (More)
The B&B Podcast Episode 6: Wonderful People Apr 4, 2011
Ben and I talk about the Mac OS X desktop and all the personal preferences that go with it. Such as Dock placement, Menu Bar icons, and more. We also share the stats from a survey we had on Twitter … (More)
The Read & Trust Weekly Premium Newsletter Apr 4, 2011
The Read & Trust network is a small band of writers who read and endorse one another’s writings. And we’ve just launched a weekly newsletter. Each edition of the newsletter is a single, long-form piece written by one of the … (More)
[Sponsor] ReadMore by Navel Labs Apr 4, 2011
Do you have a stack of books to read, but can’t find the motivation? Or you want to dig into that classic novel you tell everyone you want to read but are afraid you won’t finish? Just as athletes or … (More)
‘Tron: Legacy’ Available on Tuesday Apr 3, 2011
On opening night for Tron: Legacy some friends and I watched the original, then went to the theatre and saw the midnight showing in IMAX 3D. It was stunning. This Tuesday it’ll be available, and right now you can pre-order … (More)
Create Flow with OmniFocus Apr 1, 2011
I’d like to take a minute to thank Kourosh Dini for sponsoring the RSS feed this week in order to promote his amazing ebook, Create Flow with OmniFocus. I switched to OmniFocus over six months ago, and though my natural … (More)
