This is a clever trick (via Patrick Welker) for setting up a Calendar-alarm automation so you can set predetermined times for when Notification Center is enabled and disabled on your Mac. Just like how Do Not Disturb mode works on your iPhone.

I set it up and it works like a charm. But soon after, I realized that I don’t need an automated time when “Do Not Disturb” mode is active for me. Rather I just need to fiddle with my Notification Center preferences and remove a few apps so their alerts don’t interrupt me. Primarily: Mail.

The other notifications which like to distract me when at my Mac are DMs from Tweetbot, new instant messages, calendar alerts, and software update alerts. The first two are easily handled by simply not having those apps running during times when I don’t want to be disturbed by them. Calendar alerts are important and wanted. It’s the App Store update alerts which drive me nuts — I wish I could remove them as they’re the primary reason I mute Notification Center in the first place.

But when I have Notification Center set to not showing any notifications at all, I also lose notifications from Hazel, MarsEdit, and Transmit — three apps I use quite a bit and for which I want to see notifications from, letting me know of a successful file upload or blog post.

So, if there were a “Do Not Disturb” trick that applied only to the App Store update notifications, well, that would be wonderful.

Today, App.net opened up a free-but-invite-only tier. So, if you know someone with an App.net invite (not me) then you can join and use the network for free.

The limits imposed on free users strike me as extremely generous. For example, users at the free tier can follow a maximum of 40 people. I currently follow 73, and it wouldn’t be too painful for me to unfollow a few folks and land myself into the free tier by the time my paid membership expires. (Though I don’t intend to do that because I’m a fan of paying for the products and services I use.)

Anyway, I think this is a smart move by Dalton and his team, and I hope it brings some more of you cool kids over to the network. I’ve been on App.net since the beginning, and I really enjoy it.

My ADN client of choice is Riposte. I’ve been using it since it launched a month ago, and just recently it went free.

And, side note, shawnblanc.net is now on ADN.

Today I crossed something off my bucket list. David Sparks and Katie Floyd were kind enough to have me on their infamous Mac Power Users podcast. We talked about all the nerdy benefits and tips (as is the norm for an episode of MPU) for setting up a Mac as a home media server.

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My thanks to Almond+ for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. Sponsorship by The Syndicate.

Nathan Edwards for the Wirecutter:

Google just announced its first premium Chromebook, the Chromebook Pixel. It’s gorgeous. Unfortunately, it’s so expensive that I can’t think of a single person who should get one.

Jeff Jarvis ordered one.

Muffling. Brilliant.

John Gruber, regarding the “simplicity” of iOS:

The utter simplicity and obviousness of the iOS “system”, from a user’s standpoint, is arguably the primary reason iPhones and iPads are so popular. Is such simplicity for everyone? No. Is it suitable for all computers? No. But it is both comforting and comfortable for everyone who’s spent the last two decades more confused than not by their computers.

The utter simplicity of the iOS home screen is Apple’s innovation. It’s the simplest, most obvious “system” ever designed. It is a false and foolish but widespread misconception that “innovation” goes only in the direction of additional complexity.

Rene Ritchie:

From Apple II to Mac to iPad to Siri or whatever’s next, Apple has relentlessly pushed form factor and interface towards the mainstream.

Charlie Kindel, with some additional thoughts to Horace Dediu’s aforelinked article:

[Apple] only focuses on one customer: The Consumer.

In my experience, the behaviors and culture of an organization (large or small) that focuses on the Consumer as a customer is diametrically incompatible with the behaviors and culture of an organization that focuses on Business as a customer.

And, by extension, Mac and iOS 3rd-party developers have the same mindset. Thus the whole ecosystem is one which focuses on the consumer.

Great conversation between Ben Brooks and Marco Arment:

BB: To your point about a fresh take always having a shot, how do you plan on keeping The Magazine fresh — is that solely done through the content, or through exploring more publishing styles and avenues?

MA: I think it’ll be done primarily through content. Content is enough if it’s good.

If you’ve still got some stray websites which use the same few usernames and/or passwords as others, here’s a nice tip for using 1Password smart folders to help you find all those sites so you can work your way through and update them all with unique passwords.