Did you know NASA has been posting an astronomy picture every day since June 16, 1995? Prepare to spend some time here. Like here, and here, and here. Oh, and here. (Via Coudal.)
Byword for Keyboard Nerds →
You learn something new (from Brett Terpstra) every day.
Coping with Email Overload →
Peter Bregman’s approach to email is very similar to the new routine I established for myself about 2 weeks ago. And I’ll say this: after 14 days it seems to be working very well.
Federico Viticci’s Dropbox Writing Workflow →
The whole article is an ultra-geeky rundown of all the various apps and services he uses for writing. Personally, I can’t get enough from this stuff. Since I too write for a living, I learn something new every time I read about other people’s setups.
What I especially liked was Viticci’s concluding paragraph:
In thinking about a proper conclusion for this post, it occurred to me that the best way to sum up the possibilities offered by Dropbox to writers and note-takers is this: with just a folder, you can fine-tune your workflow using the apps you prefer. It’s a liberating effect: the text is there, and it will be there no matter how many apps you try or how much you tinker.
As detailed and geeky as the Dropbox-connected-writing-apps discussion may get, it’s still just plain text files saved in a folder.
A Reproduction of the 1960s IBM Wall Clock →
Reminds me of my high school math class.
Paul Miller Is Leaving the Internet for a Year →
Nothing internet-related at all, starting today:
In my wild fantasies, leaving the internet will make me better with my time, vastly more creative, a better friend, a better son and brother… a better Paul. In reality, I’ll still be the same person, just with a huge professional and personal handicap.
It sounds fun and challenging. I love his reasoning behind the trek:
Now I want to see the internet at a distance. By separating myself from the constant connectivity, I can see which aspects are truly valuable, which are distractions for me, and which parts are corrupting my very soul. What I worry is that I’m so “adept” at the internet that I’ve found ways to fill every crevice of my life with it, and I’m pretty sure the internet has invaded some places where it doesn’t belong.
Growing up, my best friend’s family and my family would do what we called “Pilgrim Month” every November. For 30 days we used electricity as little as possible (considering we lived in a suburban home). We kept the refrigerator plugged in, but otherwise we used no lights, no microwave, no stereo, no television, no computer, etc. It took only a few days to adapt, and the month was filled with much reading and playing of board games by candlelight.
There is no way I could get by without the internet for a year because my entire career is tied to the Web. Giving up the Internet would mean quitting my job.
If, however, that were not the case, the challenge and change of pace to give up the Internet for a year, or even just a month, sounds fun. It would be a lot like giving up electricity.
Sponsor: Flux 4 – Incredible Web Design →
My thanks to The Escapers for sponsoring the RSS feed this week.
Flux 4 is the latest release of the amazing web design app by The Escapers. Users and reviewers have called it “the DreamWeaver killer” and “the designer’s holy grail.”
Version 4 introduces FreeCode which allows total code freedom, while preserving the WYSIWYG control Flux users will expect.
Full Screen support in Lion works great with the Embedded Inspector and integrated Site Manager.
Version 4 also brings support for CSS gradients, image maps, and rock solid FTP/SFTP mirroring. Flux is available direct from The Escapers or the Mac App Store.
Hands on With Dropbox’s New Sharing Features →
Glenn Fleishman gives an overview of a fantastic new feature addition to Dropbox that rolled out last week:
New features rolled out Monday extend Dropbox’s reach substantially by making it possible to create a public, revokable link to any file or folder in a Dropbox sync folder. Previously, only items in a special Public folder could be shared, and the links couldn’t be canceled; the item had to be moved out of the folder.
Origami Workstation for iPad →
A lot of people are asking me what keyboard rig I use with my iPad. The answer is this Origami Workstation from Incase with the Apple Bluetooth keyboard. I want a keyboard rig that doesn’t convert my iPad into a full-time laptop, but yet allows me to use it easily with a Bluetooth keyboard. This Origami Workstation is perfect.
My dilemma has been in finding a small, high-quality, good-looking, affordable bag that is just big enough to hold the iPad and the Origami along with a few white cables.
Kickstarter Project: Bowden + Sheffield iPad Cases →
Perhaps the most difficult thing to using the iPad as a laptop is finding a case. These guys describe exactly my same situation and frustration in trying to find a case for my iPad. They’ve designed their own case which they are now kickstarting. Me? I’m still Googling for something and complaining about it on my blog.
Tweetbot 2.3 →
Lots of great new features, but: Droplr support! Woohoo!
Feed Sponsorship Opening for Next Week →
A last-minute opportunity to sponsor this site’s RSS feed just became available. The sponsorship is for shawnblanc.net only, not The Syndicate, and is for this coming week, the week of April 30 – May 6.
If you’ve got a product, company, or service you want to promote to a bunch of coffee-loving, professional Mac nerds then please do email me.
More details about the sponsorship are here.
Why the iPad Is My New Laptop
My Mac setup used to consist of a Mac Pro and a MacBook Pro. When I realized that the laptop was plenty powerful to serve as my only computer I sold the Mac Pro on Craigslist, shedding a tear as I said goodbye to her jaw-dropping speeds, and have been a one-machine Mac user since.
That is, until recently.
I once again find myself using two computers. Except this time it’s my MacBook Air that serves as my “desktop” while my iPad is now my “laptop.” 1
And I’m not the only one. Within my circle of friends, I know several people who are also using their iPad as their portable computer. I even have a handful friends who have an iPad as their only computer.
It is not a sacrifice to use the iPad as a primary device. I wanted to take a look at some of the most compelling reasons to use an iPad as your portable, if not your only, computer.
- Battery life: When I bought my original iPad back in 2010, people often asked me what the best thing about it was. My answer was always the battery.
The iPad is like the Kindle in that two of its greatest features are its absurd battery life and its crisp display. The iPad gets 9 or more hours of battery life without breaking a sweat. And that’s with the display around 60% brightness while using LTE data.
Thanks to its battery life, the iPad can pretty much work or play for as long as you can. How many times have you taken your laptop to work only to plug it in as soon as you got there? Or, when you go to a coffee shop, do you not look for a table near an outlet? I used to own two power adapters for my MacBook Pro — one for home and one for my office — so that I wouldn’t have to carry one with me during my commutes to and from work.
The iPad’s battery obviates the need to think about when and where you can next plug your device in. You unplug it when you start your day, you (maybe) plug it back in when you go to bed, and you don’t have to think about it in between.
- Size and weight: Akin to its great battery life, another fine feature of the iPad is how small and lightweight it is. You can easily slip the iPad into your bag, or carry it in a case, with virtually no regard. Even a MacBook Air is not so easily portable. And, the iPad is more rugged than a laptop. I don’t mind tossing my iPad over onto a couch cushion, or into the back seat of my car.
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You don’t have to pull it out at airports: This advantage speaks for itself.
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LTE: Having a device which is connected to the Internet no matter where you are is a huge advantage. It seems that nearly everything we do with our computers today needs an internet connection. Even when I’m doing something as simple as writing, I am working with files that are stored in the cloud, and so I need access to Dropbox and Simplenote to get at my current documents and to save whatever new work I’ve just written.
Remember when the iPad was first introduced and everyone quipped that it was just a giant iPod touch? In some ways, an iPad with a cellular data connection is like a giant iPhone. In that it has instant access to services and information that you must have a data connection in order to get. I’ve been taking my iPad with me for errands when I’m driving around town. Times when I need maps or directions I can get faster data on a larger screen using the iPad. And, if I’m waiting somewhere, the iPad makes for a better reading or writing device than my iPhone.
- Cost of device: The entry price for an iPad is $399 (a base-model, iPad 2). The entry price for a Mac is $999 (a base-model MacBook Air).
Though I don’t have any data to support this assumption, but my guess is that most people who buy a Mac, buy just the Mac. Whereas those who buy an iPad also buy a Smart Cover and also (for those who intend to use the iPad as their portable (if not only) device) a Bluetooth keyboard and perhaps some sort of keyboard stand.
Of course the pricing and configuration options are virtually endless. And, at the end of the day, a well-equipped iPad is not significantly less expensive than a basic MacBook Air. But, if anything, the perceived cost of an iPad is lower. And, for those who need only the bare necessities, an iPad truly is much cheaper than a laptop.
Another advantage to the low cost of the iPad is the replacement cost. Once you own all the extras that go with your iPad, you only have to replace the device itself if yours breaks or when you upgrade.
- Cost of apps: As of this writing, the average price of the top 100 paid iPad apps is $3.12. The average price of the top 100 paid Mac apps is $18.56.
It’s not an exact apples-to-apples comparison to pit iPad apps against Mac apps. The latter are, generally, far more robust and feature rich. But there is something enticing about being able to buy a note-taking app or a game or a blogging app for a fraction of the price when buying it for you iPad. Especially when you may not need the robustness and additional features that the Mac versions have.
- iCloud backup and restore: One of the greatest and yet most-unsung features of iCloud and iOS are the automatic, nightly backups of your data.
If my iPad were to get catastrophically damaged right now, I wouldn’t lose a sliver of data. I could go to the Apple store, buy a new device, log in with my iCloud username, and restore from backup. Within a matter of hours I’d be right where I left off.
- Utility and variety: The iPad, at its base functionality, is little more than a screen. Whatever you are using the device for — reading, writing, watching a movie — that is what the sort of device the iPad turns into. The oft-mentioned sentiment that the iPad becomes the app you have opened is true. And I think it is a feature of the device and of iOS.
My computer is where I do so many different tasks. Many are personal, many are work related. I pay bills, I write, I work, I do research, I have work email and personal email, I organize and edit family pictures, and more. When I sit down at my computer, all of these tasks want to present themselves to me at the same time — I find that, for me, it takes a rigorous schedule and self-discipline to stay focused on only one task.
The iPad, however, comes with a natural anti-distraction software: iOS itself. The iPad makes a great multi-use device because it doesn’t distract or beckon away from the task at hand.
There are, of course, many things which you cannot do on an iPad.
Two prime examples for me are my use of QuickBooks and InDesign. And then there are the things which can be done on an iPad or a laptop, but which are done more efficiently on the latter. Another personal example: email. I am much better at processing email with my laptop because of the many AppleScripts and keyboard shortcuts I use in order to file and act on my messages.
Which is why I could not get by with an iPad only. But I am comfortable traveling without my MacBook Air, and there are often times when I prefer to work from the smaller device rather than at the comfort of my Mac. The iPad is a compelling computer, and it is quickly maturing right before our eyes.
- People have asked me why I don’t replace my MacBook Air with an iMac. While it’s true that my Air spends most of its time docked to my Cinema Display, I don’t want it to be forever anchored at my desk. When I leave the house I usually take only the iPad. However, I don’t want that to be a requirement — I want to be able to take my MacBook Air with me whenever I want or need to. ↵
Screenshot Journal →
Neven Mrgan’s review of a new iOS app that scans for and automatically imports all the screenshots on your device and then gives you a whole host of options to reference and work with them.
The way iOS handles screenshots is pathetic. One of my favorite things about webOS on the HP TouchPad was how it handled screenshots. Not only did they get their own photo gallery, but they were intelligently named using the application name and date for which the screenshot was taken.