December 2012
28 posts
Another Idea For The Coming Year...
Only hold on to things you love.
Next Year…
Only hold on to things you not only still love but love even more.
(Thanks to my friend Garrick for the inspiration)
Buy Apple Refurb
Many of you I’m sure are long hip to this. That said, for some of you it will be a cost saving revelation. I have given this exact same recommendation to my clients for years and it is one I follow myself. Here goes…
If you are in the market for a Apple product, keep your eye out here:
Refurbished and Clearance iPod, iPad & Mac Products - Apple Store (U.S.)
This is the...
Airendipity →
Airendipity began with an idea: what if I could take a secret, confession, or thought and send it anonymously around the world? With Airendipity you can fold the text you want to share into a paper airplane and flick it into flight. Then you can follow your airplane as it makes its way around the globe. You can use Airendipity to get inspired by thoughts and secrets from around the world and...
Marked holiday sale! - Brett Terpstra →
I’m taking part in AppyFridays this week. Due to the fact that changes to pricing and app updates will be unavailable from the 21st through the 28th (everyone deserves a vacation), Marked is going to be on sale all the way through Christmas. For just 99¢, you can get the Markdown love you deserve this holiday.
Great app. If you write in Markdown on your Mac you need this.
The Basement | cabel.me →
Somewhere in Portland, there’s a very old building, and that very old building has a very, very old basement. An incredible basement, a video-game-level basement, a set-decorator’s dream basement.
And that’s how it begins. This is well worth the click and reading through for the payoff.
Patronify ¢ Indie media producers in search of... →
I’ve been kicking around an idea I have to set up a patronage fund to support some select independent online writer directly. As part of that general discussion, someone asked if anyone had built a directory of independent online creators who have membership, paid newsletters, or other patronage programs. Tully Hansen picked up the the ball and ran with it. It’s really well done.
As...
Jumpcut: Minimalist Clipboard Buffering for OS X →
Something that should have been on my 2012 Better Computing list but I spaced it despite using it dozens of times a day because, well, it should be built in and I forget that it isn’t.
Do Nothing For Two Minutes →
Needed.
(h/t Little Warrior)
software i install on getting a new mac » Leo... →
I share this list with the hope that it will be useful to a few people who get new Macs.
Tis’ the season to share software…
Some Tools That Made My Computing Life Better In...
(That I Was Happy To Pay For)
Here are some tools that made my computing life measurably better this year. This is not a full account but just the things that pop immediately to mind. I believe in supporting the things I use. The developers of these things work hard and have families to support. I’ve noted the where’s and hows of my support for each one. If you use these, or any other such tool...
dbuntinx: # The Ultimate E-mail Lifehack →
dbuntinx:
Once you start reading a message in this Smart Unread Inbox, it’s actually not part of it anymore. It’s in this sort of Schrödinger state, which only exists as long as you keep the e-mail open. So you have to act upon it, otherwise it will disappear forever into the mists that are the cloud.
Nifty idea.
typerighter.com holiday thank you →
I’ve mentioned Typerighter before and I still continue to use it every day. It is my favorite online writing tool (and one of my favorite writing tools, period). If you have used it too, you just received a free upgrade to the Pro subscription level for the next year. That said, you should still give some money to Garrick. Independent developers need our support.
Daring Fireball Linked List: Dropbox: The Linchpin →
The scary part though, is that one recurrent theme I see in nearly every single “how I write on the iPad” story is Dropbox. It’s the linchpin in the workflow. Scary, because Dropbox is outside Apple’s control. Scary, because if not for Dropbox, many of these people would be using their iPads as much as they are. Scary, because Apple’s iCloud falls short of Dropbox.
As one of those who wrote a...
FastScripts →
Powerful script management utility. Instant access to your scripts, by keyboard shortcut or menubar.
I use this daily. Great utility.
How to Use the iOS Reminders App as a Task Manager →
I was reminded yesterday that I had not linked to the excellent write-up by Mr. Vardy about how to set up Reminders for optimal and effective use. Consider this a correction of err.
Reflection
Here’s what I want you to do. Take out your iPhone or iPad but don’t turn it on. If you have a modern glass-screened Mac this will work for you as well.
Now, with it still off, look directly into the screen and notice what you see. If you are looking correctly the most prominent thing you should notice is your reflection. Not a perfect one, mind you. The screen is not a mirror. That...
Seth's Blog: Bigger vs. better →
Like most choices, this one usually works better if you make it on purpose.
OCDock Review by Julio Ojeda-Zapata
I don’t take a lot of guest posts. That said, when the product is right and it is from Julio Ojeda-Zapata — one of the top tech reporters in the US — well, how could I say no? Take it away Julio…
I abhor desk clutter and aspire to a radically minimalist workspace.
I made this point in an August 2010 essay on this site. In the post, titled “At Home in the Cube,” I describe how I drastically...
70Decibels - Enough - Ep 180 - Areas Of... →
I don’t do a whole lot of promotion of my Podcast here. Only when I feel a particular episode is especially important — either to the topic of the site or the importance of the ideas covered.
This one covers both of those bases. Highly recommended.
On the pleasure of using a ‘dumb’ phone →
What I discovered is that I just don’t need the level of connectivity I used to assume was a now indispensable part of daily life. If people e-mail me, they have to wait until I check e-mail. If people need to get a hold of me, they can, but it better be damned important.
Tim Cook's Freshman Year: The Apple CEO Speaks -... →
The first thing to realize is that all the things that have made Apple so special are the same as they have always been. That doesn’t mean that Apple is the same. Apple has changed every day since I have been here. But the DNA of the company, the thing that makes our heart beat, is a maniacal focus on making the best products in the world. Not good products, or a lot of products, but the...
Phone Stack restaurant game prevents meal-time... →
Called Phone Stack (though initially named ‘Don’t Be A Di*k During Meals With Friends’), at the start of the meal diners place their mobile device face down in a pile on the table. The first person to grab their phone, for whatever reason, loses the game and has to pay for everyone’s meal. If everyone resists the temptation for the duration of the dinner, then the check is split.
I can think...
Saying Goodbye to Now: How Do iPhone Photos Impact... →
It’s an era of controlled deprivations and detoxification, of fasts and cleanses. Perhaps everyone should make a weekly ritual of twenty-four hours of undocumented life. Periods of time in which memory must do all the heavy lifting, or none of it, as it chooses, the consequences being what they may be. No phone, no eclipse glasses to mitigate the intensity of what lies before you. The only...
Thank You
Time is the most precious of resources so I don’t think it can be overly stated how deeply in gratitude I am that you would deem my work worthy of yours. I don’t think those of us who write online take enough time to say this. A single post now and again that lets you, the reader, know that I appreciate each and every one of you.
Thank you to everyone who comes to the site. No matter if it is...
In conversation with David Karp, CEO & Founder of... →
I am over laptops and the posture that comes with them. I am coding a lot less, so I use my computers a lot less. I still want to simplify even further and carry just one device. So, I want to try the iPad Mini with cellular antenna as my only device and as a phone replacement, and use Skype and/or Google Voice instead.
What we believe in.
Actually, to further expand on my point, one of the...
