These are fantastic. (Via Jason Santa Maria.)
Month: November 2013
The Sweet Setup: Coming Very Soon →
For the past 3 months I’ve secretly been working on a new website.1 It is now nearly done and is on track to launch next week.
To stay abreast of the launch, and to stay up to date with the site once it goes live, you really should follow The Sweet Setup on Twitter.
Now, long-time readers of shawnblanc.net will be familiar with the awesome series of Sweet Mac Setup interviews I’ve conducted over the past several years. I’ve often thought that it would be cool to chart out all the apps and gadgets listed in those Sweet Mac Setup interviews and have some sort of site that listed what was the most popular.2
That’s not quite how the site has landed, but it was the start.
The purpose of The Sweet Setup is to research, test, compare, and find the very best apps for the iPhone and Mac. And, of course, the setup interviews I’ve been doing here over the years will now continue at the new site.
As readers of shawnblanc.net, you are no doubt familiar with my affinity for fine software — there are just so many fantastic apps out there. That is a huge reason for why I built this site. It’ll be a place that floats evergreen content, recommending the best apps for whatever the task and listing those recommendations and reviews in an easy-to-discover layout rather than a reverse-chronological posting format.
Needless to say, I’m incredibly excited to be launching this new site.
- Not entirely in secret. Members who listen to ‘Shawn Today’ have known about the project since September 26th, getting to hear the ups and downs of its development. ↵
- A bit of trivia: this new site was originally called “The Sweet Mac Setup”, but I changed it (thanks to the advice of several friends) so as not to pigeonhole the perception of the site only being about Macs. ↵
iPad Mini and iPad Air First Impressions: Both Favorites
These two new iPads are marvels.
It’s already amazing that there exists gadgets made of aluminum and glass which weigh less than a pound and have screens that rival the resolution of a printed magazine. Now add to that the fact these devices have touch screens so true-to-life and so responsive that it feels as if you’re literally manipulating the pixels with your fingers.
And it doesn’t end there.
Pacing around the coffee table in my office, thinking about the new iPads while contemplating the big picture of things like personal computers that fit in our pockets and purses, it’s easy to get swept away in just what an incredible day and age we live in.
These devices are also connected to the world wide web — allowing me to communicate with friends, family, members, and strangers alike. A photo I took of my son using my phone has magically appeared on my iPad, and I can email it to my parents with ease; I can write words and publish them to a place where anyone in the world can come to read; I can download music and books; and so, so much more.
But then, returning to Earth, what are the brass tacks here? I’ve been sending emails for over half my life; I’ve never owned a cell phone that couldn’t send a text message; I’ve been making my living publishing to the web for nearly three years; and this isn’t my first iPad.
But yet, in a way, this is my first iPad.
The iPad Air is, hands down, the most amazing iPad I’ve ever owned. And I’ve owned several.
I bought an original iPad on launch day; I bought the iPad 2 on its launch day; and I bought the iPad 3 on its launch day. Each of those successive devices got better and better and better.
Keeping with tradition, I bought the iPad Air on launch day, too. Thirteen days later I can say, unequivocally, that it is the greatest iPad ever. The change in size and weight and speed when compared to the iPad 3 is something that must be experienced and not read about. Trying to describe the difference in usability between the iPad Air and its predecessors is an exercise which puts my wordsmithing skills to the test.
My iPads have always received quite a bit of use from me. Even from the very first generation iPad, I have toted these things with me to meetings, coffee shops, vacations to the Rocky Mountains, “business” trips to WWDC, my living room, and everywhere in between.
Moreover, I am quite comfortable using the iPad as my “laptop”. My work is such that I’m fortunate enough to be able to do pretty much everything I need from the iPad. Nearly all of my daily tasks and routines related to work or play are things I can do on iOS.
Every design and engineering progression with the iPad has been a nice, incremental, and welcomed step. Thinner and lighter, then Retina, then faster. But the iPad Air is a leap and not a step. It feels impossibly thin and impossibly light while also being extremely fast and responsive. It is quintessential.
And then, yesterday, the iPad mini with Retina display appeared. And, well, it is also the best iPad I’ve ever owned.
Here is a device that will fit inside my wife’s purse or the pocket of my peacoat. And it’s ideal for all the most common personal computing tasks of doing email, surfing the Internet, and checking Facebook and Twitter. And we all know the iPad can do so much more — there’s no reason why the iPad mini couldn’t be someone’s only computer.
And that fascinates me. Who knew that one day our uncompromising personal computers would cost a few hundred dollars and would comfortably fit inside a woman’s purse?
I’ve been using the Retina mini for just a day now, but I am confident that I could use it for all the tasks which I’ve been using my full-sized iPad for all these years. The question is not about the capabilities of the mini; the question is about my own preferences. And, at the moment, I don’t have an answer.
It’s different than deciding between an 11- or 13-inch MacBook Air, or between a 13- or 15-inch MacBook Pro. For laptops you mostly use them while they are placed on top of a desk or table (or perhaps your lap) while you sit in front of them. You mostly pick which laptop you need based on your computing tasks and needs, size plays a role in terms of portability, but once the laptop is out and on the desk it mostly doesn’t matter what size it is (unless you’re sitting in coach).
But with the iPad Air and iPad mini, computing usage is not the only factor. There’s also a tangible, kinesthetic-centric factor at play here. Because the iPad is something you hold and touch while using.
Which is better: an iPad Air that has a bigger screen and which is thin and light enough? Or an iPad mini that is very thin and light and which has a screen that is big enough? I just don’t think you can pit these two devices against one another. They are not competing — they are two of a kind.
They are both great. Both favorites.
Over the next several weeks and months I plan to use both iPads for the same tasks. It’ll be interesting to see how the dust settles and if I’ll naturally be drawn more to the smaller device or the larger one, and why.
The home screens of 37signals →
Actually a bit surprised to see how many folks keep their bottom row clear of icons. That’s how I’ve been doing it since forever (and I also prefer just three icons in my iPhone’s dock) because I like the extra breathing space it gives. But I always thought I was the minority. Perhaps more folks do this than I thought. It is, after all, how the original iPhone’s Home screen looked.
Andrew Kim’s iPad Air Review →
As usual, a fantastic and concise review with gorgeous photography.
How Ben Bajarin Uses the iPad Air →
Ben Bajarin:
For my work flow, the iPad Air and a MacBook Air is kept in sync through iCloud and is the ideal multi-screen mobile computing solution for me. Originally, my belief was that the iPad Mini would be more of a second screen companion to a heavy notebook user like myself. But the larger screen of the iPad Air and now its new thin and light form factor, favor me using it as a replacement for my notebook when I am highly mobile. For me, this has become a real revelation.
This also has been my setup for a few years now. My MacBook Air usually at my desk and hooked up to my external monitor and keyboard, while my iPad is what I grab when I’m heading out of the house. I’ve also taken several trips (business and personal vacations) where I left the MacBook Air at home and took only the iPad.
It’s actually quite fun and even liberating to work from just the iPad when out and about. The currently-looming question for me is if the iPad mini with Retina display could usurp the full-sized iPad as my laptop replacement.
Jason Snell’s First Look at the iPad mini with Retina display →
Jason Snell:
Speaking of heating and overheating, I’ve heard from a lot of iPad users who seem really concerned that the iPad mini with Retina display is going to get too hot. Is this a reaction to all those stories about the iPad 3 running hot, way back when? Maybe. Anyway, I tried a bunch of stuff on the Retina iPad mini and the hottest it ever got was slightly warm. This doesn’t seem to be an issue, but I’ll keep checking.
Yesterday, as I was setting my iPad mini up for the first time and all my apps were downloading because I was restoring from the iCloud backup of my iPad Air, the bottom-third of the Retina mini was noticeably warm. But not hot.
Federico Viticci’s First Impressions of the Retina iPad mini →
I think he likes it:
I’m glad that I didn’t buy an iPad Air. My first impression of the iPad Air was right and not buying it was a wise decision. The Retina iPad mini is the iPad I was waiting for, and the next months will provide the necessary opportunities to test its advantages (and changes) over the old model in real life scenarios.
I can create and consume content on the iPad mini because its smaller form factor and lightness allow me to use it all the time in any situation without needing to rest my hands. The iPad mini can be my primary computer because I want to carry it, hold it with one hand, thumb-type on it, and put it in my girlfriend’s purse — which wouldn’t be possible with the iPad Air.
The Great Discontent Interview with Merlin Mann →
Just fantastic.
Sponsor: Lootback →
Your client deadline is in the morning and you really need some web design resources to finish out the project. A dollar here and a dollar there, often stock items add up quickly.
Just because you’re using stock doesn’t mean you have to jack up your prices. There is a better way to stay competitive.
Lootback, the newest addition to your design toolbelt, pays you to make your purchase from the big stock retailers like Envato, iStock, Shutterstock, DepositPhotos, and ThinkStock.
With Lootback you can search all the marketplaces in one spot. Once you find that perfect item, create an account with Lootback, then head over to the other marketplace and buy it. Lootback will track your purchase and get paid a commission for generating the sale. Then they split that commission with you and credit your account to lower your overall costs.
It’s a pretty unique idea that I’ve never seen before. Lootback will save you time and money, so be sure to give it a try.
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My thanks to Lootback for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. Sponsorship by The Syndicate.
Tweetbot 3.1 →
I had two small quibbles with Tweetbot 3.0: (1) I wanted app-specific control of text size rather than Tweetbot using the system text sizing; and (2) I missed being able to set a list as my main timeline.
Both of those (along with a few more cool things) were added in yesterday’s update to Tweetbot. Nice.
iPad mini With Retina display Now Shipping →
So the Apple online store went down for a few hours last night, and when it came back on, lo and behold, the iPad mini with Retina display is now available to buy online.
I ordered a Space Gray, 32GB model with Verizon cellular about an hour ago and my order says the iPad will be available to ship within “5-10 business days” and thus is expected to arrive between Nov 26 and Dec 5.
If you’re ordering one of the 16 or 32GB models, they’ll be available to ship within 1-3 business days (which also means some Retina minis will probably be in stores sometime this week).
That’s what the shipping range was when the iPad minis first went on sale early this morning, and it looks like that’s what the shipping times still are at the moment.
The Desktop-Class iPad →
Fraser Speirs:
The major story about the iPad Air is not the reduction in size and weight but the increase in performance. It is, to put it simply, an utter delight to use.
Agreed. And I’d add that the two dynamics of the new iPad — speed and size/weight — go hand in hand to increasing both usability and delight of use. The lighter form factor make the iPad easier to use more frequently, the significantly better processor make the iPad more enjoyable to use when you are using it.
David Smith: Five Years Developing iOS Apps →
Two points that stuck out to me: (1) David’s first app was built and submitted before he even owned an iPhone(!); and (2) he’s shipped around 80 unique app concepts over the last five years.