Month: August 2011

Macchiato [Sponsor]  →

My thanks to Kenneth Ballenegger for sponsoring the RSS feed this week to promote his Mac writing application, Macchiato.

Macchiato is a Lion-friendly, Markdown-loving, text editor with a caffeinated name.

I do all my writing in Markdown. It is writer friendly (keeping your prose free from HTML gibberish), and it is human friendly as well. I write my emails in Markdown even if I know the recipient isn’t privy to the syntax simply because it is easy enough to grasp even if you’re unfamiliar with it.

And so, as someone who does a lot of writing throughout my day, having a text editor that supports and stylizes my Markdown syntax is like gold. Macchiato is such an app. It’s not the only one of its kind, but it is one of the best.

There are 4 Markdown elements I use most often in my own writing: italics, links, headings, and bullet points. Assuming you are a plain text junkie like me, and if you write in TextEdit, then you have to manually type your Markdown as you are writing. Bullet points and headings are natural to type, and I have a global Keyboard Maestro Macro for creating Markdown links in any application.

Macchiato supports Plain Text and Markdown files. But it is more than just a plain text editor. For one, it has shortcuts for basic Markdown styling. Which means that hitting CMD+I in Macchiato will give you dual asterisks to wrap your text in. Or, if you’ve already selected some text, hitting CMD+I will add the asterisks to the front and back end of your selected text.

Moreover, Macchiato will stylize your text so that not only is it italicized in Markdown, it looks italic as well. As you can see in the below screenshot of the app:

Macchiato

In addition to italics, Macchiato has built-in stylization for bold, code, headings, and blockquotes. All while preserving the actual Markdown syntax that is in your prose. Which means you can write in Macchiato and then take your text to any other application and the Markdown is preserved as it should be. And this is how I work because I use this Markdown plugin for WordPress, I publish all my articles in Markdown, and they get parsed into HTML on the server side.

Macchiato comes with full OS X Lion support, and therefore has native full-screen mode (something TextEdit doesn’t even have!) and it has version control and auto-saving. Also it has a little word-counter up in the very top, right-hand corner.

I have become very fond of writing in full-screen mode. On my Air, apps that are built for full-screen look great. And even when writing long-form articles in front of my 23-inch cinema display, having a full-screen writing app has become a necessity for me.

There is a significant update to Macchiato in the pipe that will add preferences for typography style and color schemes. And this week only, Macchiato is 25% off in the Mac App Store.

Macchiato [Sponsor]

Latest But Not Greatest  →

Dan Frommer on the report that the iPhone 4 and 3G S were the two best-selling smartphones in the 2nd quarter of 2011. Or, put another way, a phone that came out in the summer of 2009 sold better than every single phone that came out in the spring of 2011.

The proof is in the pudding: to succeed in this market you don’t have to be first to do something, nor do you have to unveil the newest technology, you simply have to be the best.

As I’ve said before, good marketing may get people in the door the first time, but it takes a good product to get them in the door the second time, the third time, and so on.

Latest But Not Greatest

A Simple Explanation for Why HP Abandoned Palm and Is Getting Out of the PC Business  →

John Gruber:

Palm wasn’t Apotheker’s acquisition. It was Hurd’s. And the PC business wasn’t why Apotheker took the job. […]

I suppose Apotheker gave the Palm/WebOS guys a chance, and let them get the TouchPad on the market. But apparently their chance was a one-strike-and-you’re-out opportunity to gain traction in the market immediately.

A Simple Explanation for Why HP Abandoned Palm and Is Getting Out of the PC Business

If Not HP, Then Who?  →

Kyle Baxter:

Who else can compete with Apple on integrated, functional products? RIM had the potential, but has proven inept; Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, while well done, is plagued with subpar hardware; and the Android OEMs aren’t anywhere close.

Let’s consider what Apple’s done. They have the best hardware, the best software, and their prices are lower than competing, lower-quality products, due to Apple’s supply chain strategy, all while their margins are larger. That’s difficult to compete with, and HP has effectively pulled out their white flag.

If Not HP, Then Who?

Terminology for iPad and iPhone  →

Terminology is a dictionary and thesaurus app on steroids, and I’m thankful to Agile Tortoise for sponsoring the RSS feed this week in order to promote Terminilogy and its Back to School Sale.

It’s an app for iPad or iPhone and is the most feature-rich, thought-through, well-built dictionary and thesaurus app I have used. The iPad app I keep on my Home screen.

I have used other dictionary apps and Terminology is one of the best. Primarily thanks to the information it draws and the way that information is displayed. Once you’ve used Terminology for a little while you’ll instantly realize what a great tool it is — especially for writers.

In fact, this is precisely how Terminology bills itself: “The perfect tool for anyone interested in honing their language. From writers working on the next great novel, to marketers craving the perfect tagline.”

You see, in addition to being shown the definition of the word, you’re also given synonyms, antonyms, and similar suggestions for other words. The raw information found in Terminology is not new, but the way that information is presented is done so in an extremely helpful manner which is a big part of what makes this app so fine.

Moreover, Terminology hooks in with certain apps you may already own, such as Articles, Twitter, and Instapaper. You can add one-tap access to additional online resources such as Google, Wikipedia, and Urban Dictionary. Marco Arment even likes Terminology so much that he added support for it right in to Instapaper. If you have the former installed then the latter will use it when you look up the definition of a word.

Terminology is like a friend who is incredibly well versed in the English language — not just knowing definitions and meanings, but also educated in usage and suggestions as well. Using Terminology is like having that friend’s undivided attention as they help you find just the right word or turn of phrase that you’re looking for.

If you’re going to snag a copy, you should do so soon because Terminology is currently on sale, but only until Sunday.

Terminology for iPad and iPhone

Thomas Brand’s Sweet Newton Setup

Who are you, what do you do, etc…?

My name is Thomas Brand, and I am technology enthusiast from Boston, Massachusetts. Before starting a career at Children’s Hospital I spent time behind the Genius Bar as a lead Mac Genius. These days I am known for my website Egg Freckles, which I write using an Apple Newton MessagePad. When I am not working or writing you can find me taking digital photographs, or preparing for the Boston Marathon.

What is your current setup?

Thomas Brand's Sweet Newton Setup

Thomas Brand's Sweet Newton Setup

Thomas Brand's Sweet Newton Setup

I own a handful of Newtons, but the one I like the best is my MessagePad 130. I prefer its streamlined form factor over other MessagePads, and its capabilities fall somewhere in between the mint condition OMP I am scared to touch, and the two 2×00 series MessagePads I leave at home.

My MessagePad 130 has a 20MHz ARM processor, 2.5MBs of RAM, a telescoping stylus, and a 320×240 pressure-sensitive monochrome display with electroluminescence backlight. On its own, my MessagePad 130 weighs one pound, but for most writing assignments it is accompanied by a Newton Keyboard that attaches via the 130’s sole serial port.

I carry my MessagePad and keyboard separated in two large jacket pockets, or sandwiched together in the Newton keyboard case. When I am writing I position my MessagePad in a landscape orientation with the keyboard in front, and my wallet underneath to give my Newton the desired viewing angle. My MessagePad can only display ten lines of text at a time so I tend to write in small paragraphs correcting my prose with the stylus as I go.

When I am finished writing I return home and transfer the notes from my MessagePad 130 to a MessagePad 2100 via infrared. I use a 802.11b wireless card to email what I have written from the 2100 to whatever modern Mac I am using at the time.

Why this rig?

My MessagePad keeps me portable and on target the way no modern computer can. I can’t browse the internet with my MessagePad, I can’t use Twitter, IM, or iTunes. There are no preferences to get in the way of my writing. With my MessagePad I don’t need to be sitting at a desk to be productive. If a thought compels me I can pull out my MessagePad and jot down the idea for later. I have written whole blog posts while standing on the subway with my MessagePad.

What software do you use and for what do you use it?

On my Newton I use very little additional software. Most of my articles are written in the included notes application. When I feel I need more structure there is always Newton Works, an extensible word processing application. On my MessagePad 2100 I use SimpleMail to email finished articles, and Screen Shooter to capture screen shots. Just like on my Mac I like to keep the working environment on my Newton as simple as possible. You will not find any any replacement dashboard or backdrop applications on my MessagePad.

Some of the applications I use to publish Egg Freckles on my Mac include:

  • BBEdit for text editing and web page authoring.
  • Transmit for FTP and folder synchronization.
  • Since converting to an Adobe free workflow I do all of my image editing in Pixelmator, and all my image dithering in HyperDither.
  • Twitterrific is the only bird I trust these days for tweeting.
  • TaskPaper generates a nice todo list that is compatible with my Newtons.

How does this setup help you do your best creative work?

My Newton not only keeps me on task and portable, it also inspires. Using a MessagePad as my primary writing machine more than ten years after its untimely demise keeps my thoughts about technology in perspective. While staring into its monochrome olive colored LCD I can’t help but take a step back from the technology I am reviewing and decide wether or not today’s story is really such a big deal. Technology platforms come and go, but it is how we use them that makes a difference. My Newton has certainly strengthened my belief in open formats like like plaintext and PNG.

How would your ideal setup look and function?

What I wouldn’t give for a modern carbon fiber encased Newton with a capacitive E Ink display, and even longer lasting battery. The iPhone can keep its multimedia capabilities, and all too-colorful app store. What I want is the modern equivalent to the reporter’s notepad. A true getting things done machine built for writers, planners, and creative people that is easy on the eyes and always connected to my greater body of work in the cloud. Then again, who am I kidding. I would settle for any Newton I could comfortably fit into my pants pocket.

More Sweet Setups

Thomas’ setup is just one in a series of sweet Mac Setups.

Thomas Brand’s Sweet Newton Setup

Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?  →

A generous piece by Marcelo Somers on HP’s announcement yesterday about killing its support for webOS devices:

The tech industry is complex to say the least, maybe that’s why it’s so interesting. To be a winner in the industry you have to overcome twin challenges – fast change and complex system interactions. In a nutshell, you have to be able to adapt quickly while dealing with technology that is very difficult to change.

Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?

WebOS Runs Better on an iPad  →

According to The Next Web’s sources, HP hacked an iPad to test how webOS ran. Low and behold, it ran much faster:

When webOS was loaded on to Apple’s iPad device and found to run the platform significantly faster than the device for which it was originally developed.

With a focus on web technologies, webOS could be deployed in the iPad’s Mobile Safari browser as a web-app; this produced similar results, with it running many times faster in the browser than it did on the TouchPad.

What else is new? Apple has been building hardware that runs its competitors’ operating systems faster for years.

WebOS Runs Better on an iPad

What to do With 245,000 TouchPads

Earlier this week we learned that Best Buy is sitting on 245,000 unsold TouchPads. Today, HP announced that it will be discontinuing the TouchPad.

And so what in the world is Best Buy going to do with all those unsold TouchPads? If HP doesn’t take them back, here are a few suggestions for Best Buy:

  • Printer promotion: buy an ink jet printer, get a free TouchPad.

  • Give TouchPads away as an incentive for anyone who purchases an extended warranty for a new home appliance.

  • Christmas bonuses to Best Buy employees.

  • New product idea: Full-Size, Touch-Screen Head Units for Car Stereos with Twitter and Facebook Integration!

  • Partner with Radiohead and use the TouchPads as the delivery channel for their next digital-only, pay-what-you-want album.

  • Give away a free TouchPad to all Black Friday shoppers this coming November.

  • Turn the boxes upside down, move them closer to the Apple section of the store, and hope nobody notices.

  • New product idea: Digital Photo Frame with Twitter and Facebook Integration!

  • Attach some TouchPads to the table that has the demo units of the TouchPads and use them as interactive guides for the TouchPad demo units and see if that does anything.

  • Sell the hardware dirt cheap to Whoever Android Tablet Maker of the Month has an upcoming product release.

  • Open up the boxes and sell the USB cables for $25/each.

  • Sell them to gazelle.com for $237/each.

  • New product idea: 16 GB Jump Drive with Twitter and Facebook Integration!

What to do With 245,000 TouchPads