Speaking of cloud-centric computing, Technology Review has a great interview with Dropbox CEO, Drew Houston:
What we’re really trying to build is the Internet’s file system.
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Augmented Paper →
A very articulate and interesting article by Matt Legend Gemmell on what he constitutes as an “enticing interface”:
The interface and UX style I most enjoy, particularly on iPad, is something I think of as augmented paper. […]
For me, software experiences that feel like Augmented Paper are those that second-guess our (developers’) natural tendency to put functionality first, or to think of our apps as software. Apps are only incidentally software; software is an implementation detail. Instead, apps are experiences.
Elliot Jay Stocks’ Tips for a Cloud-Centric Mac Set-Up →
Eight months ago Elliot Jay Stocks switched from a single-powerhouse-laptop setup to an iMac-plus-MacBook Air setup. Here he shares the pros, cons, and tips for keeping two machines in sync.
His previous setup was similar to what mine currently is: A MacBook Pro as the only computer and then a big Cinema Display to connect it to when at the desk. Ever since I realized that, for me, having a Mac Pro and MacBook Pro was superfluous, this has been my setup for several years (though last summer I replaced the MBP with an Air).
However, in a way, I once again have the same setup as Elliot. But for me it’s on a different scale.
My MacBook Air is now my “desktop” and my iPad is now my “laptop”. I’ve spent the past month using and testing different apps so that my iPad can function as a work device when I’m away from my desk. This is, primarily, so that I can travel without the MacBook Air. As light and thin as the Air is, it still doesn’t match the iPad.
It’s fun to look back at how the trend of computer setups over the past decade has ebbed and flowed as the costs of computers have gone down, the performance of laptops has gone up, and the ease of cloud-centric computing has increased, and as new devices have stepped onto the playing field.
Cheat Sheet for 53’s Paper →
The (Big) Numbers Of The App Store Platform →
Federico Viticci compiled a list of the App Stores’ noteworthy milestones reached by developers over the past few years. And here’s a table cataloging the growth of the app store in terms of number of apps available and total apps downloaded.
Q&A With iA Writer’s Oliver Reichenstein →
Oliver Reichenstein, in an interview with Dylan Love on Business Insider:
Better writing tools won’t make you a better writer, but they will make working more fun. They help you get into the flow if they are simple enough to not make you think about how to use them but for what to use them for.
Check Your Mac’s Software Updates →
Apple just released a Java update to remove the Flashback Malware.
Retina-Sized iPad GUI PSD →
23,039,200 pixels. And it was built with, and thus requires, the Photoshop CS6 beta.
Tilt-Shifted Lemonade →
This turned out to be a great episode of The B&B Podcast. Ben’s a new dad and so we talked shop about diapers, etc. for a while, and then we discussed the Pebble smart watch, and Facebook’s purchase of Instagram and some of Ben’s general dislike for Facebook.
Kindle Touch Software Update →
Brings landscape reading mode and more. You have to download the update from Amazon’s website and then transfer the software onto your Kindle via USB. I haven’t done something like that since the last time I installed a Kindle Touch software update. Seriously though, I’m actually quite thankful that Amazon has been improving the Kindle Touch software. It’s a great device and now with greater software.
Sponsor: Byword →
Editor’s note: my thanks to Byword for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. This is a great app which I’ve been using since it launched a year ago. I even wrote a review about it a bit ago.
Byword is a Mac and iOS app for modern writers.
Modern writers don’t just sit at a desk and write. Sometimes it’s great to be able to write, edit or proofread when and where inspiration strikes and not be restrained by a single device or location. Byword makes this kind of workflow easy by integrating iCloud and Dropbox synchronization.
The flexibility of Byword: An article idea came to your mind last night on the couch and you began working on it on your iPad. This morning, at the office, you picked up where you left off by opening Byword on you MacBook Air — and finding the article was there just as you left it on the iPad. After lunch, on your way to the coffee shop, you pull out your iPhone to proofread and finish the draft.
Byword is available on the Mac App Store for $9.99, and for iOS on the App Store at the introductory price of $2.99. Check it out.
The Future of WordPress →
Matt Mullenweg, in his comments on the aforelinked WordPress stats, shares about the future of WordPress and their focus on better mobile usability:
WordPress’ biggest challenge over the next two years, and where we’re focusing core development, will be around evolving our dashboard to be faster and more accessible, especially on touch devices. Many of our founding assumptions about how, where, and why people publish are shifting, […]
Agreed. I’ve been using WordPress since 2006. It’s a great CMS and it has come a long way. But publishing via my iPhone and/or iPad is a poor experience. In fact, it has been one of the biggest points of friction in my job. Though, thanks to 3rd-party plugins and apps, that friction is decreasing.
WordPress Dominates Among Technorati’s Top 100 Blogs →
Pingdom takes a look at the Technorati’s top 100 blogs and what CMS they are rolling on. Turns out that 49 of them are on WordPress.
Technorati determines ranking using what they call Technorati Authority:
Authority is calculated based on a site’s linking behavior, categorization and other associated data over a short, finite period of time. A site’s authority may rapidly rise and fall depending on what the blogosphere is discussing at the moment, and how often a site produces content being referenced by other sites.
iMessage and Instant Messages Deserve Different Apps →
This article by Macworld Senior Editor, Dan Moren, is absolutely spot on with some of the awkwardness and friction that the Mac Messages app has brought with it. It is great to be able to have iMessage conversations regardless of what device I’m on. But Messages on the Mac has crossed a line between a text message on my phone (something personal) and an instant message conversation (something casual) — the two types of “messages” are not the same. I couldn’t have said what Dan says any better.