This Sunday, the Mac Power Users will publish a workflow show with Ben Carter (website) (Twitter). Ben started a law firm and is now doing a short run podcast on it called, “Let’s Start a Law Firm”. It’s a great little show and useful to a lot of people running small service-based businesses. Ben was telling me about some of his favorite apps so I decided to make it official.

What are some of favorite apps?

My three favorite apps that your readers may not be using are:

1) Deli Radio allows users to create custom playlists of musicians that are performing in or near a specific geographical area within a specific date horizon. For example, I have a playlist that plays indie rock bands that are playing within 50 miles of Louisville, Kentucky in the next month. It’s a great way to discover new music and support live music. Also, one of my best friends is their general counsel. It is also a web app, so you can listen at your desk.

2) Songza offers users pre-made playlists that may be appropriate for certain activities at specific times of the day and week. It tells you: “It’s Wednesday morning. Do you want music for: a) waking up happy, b) waking up with energy, c) rolling over and hitting snooze, etc. etc.? It will then present you with six or so genres of music. After choosing a genre, you get to pick one of three playlists. I’ve found some great songs on Songza and love all of the new ways we have to listen to music. In another life—if I do this one well—I hope to come back as a musician. Songza also has a web app for at-work listening, but I mostly use Spotify at my desk to explore some of the bands I’ve found using Deli Radio and Songza on my phone. I pay the 99 cents a week for the ad-free version of Songza. Worth it.

3) Avocado is a really fun app that I use with my girlfriend. Designed as a kind of social network for two people, Avocado is basically a beefed-up text messaging app with a few awesome twists. When I started dating my girlfriend, she was living in Manhattan and I was in Louisville, so a lot of our relationship was in text messages. Very early in the relationship it occurred to me how much of the inside jokes and meaning-making was evolving in text messages that were trapped on our phones, so I began to look for an alternative that might allow me to export our text-exchanges and found Avocado. It allows you to use your photos to set custom emojis for certain emotions (I have a fist bump, a look of dismay, and a high-five emoji), create and update shared lists, and share, caption, and draw on photos. It’s a really fun app that (again), has a web component. So while I’m at my desk, I can text her on her phone using my computer keyboard, which is really nice.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Facebook. I wish I didn’t like it so much, but I do.

What is the app you are still missing?

I don’t really feel like I’m missing apps so much as I feel like I’m missing some functionality in the apps I already use. I use Sparrow as an email client even though I know I’m living on borrowed time following its acquisition by Google because it has a “Send and Archive” feature. I love “Send and Archive”. More email clients should offer it.

Also, I wish Songza made it possible to save songs to playlists that I could create rather than only offering me their playlists. Instead, I’m snapping screenshots of good songs and adding them to Spotify playlists.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

I run my law practice through my phone. My iPhone is my office phone. I use Soulver to calculate mileage, balance my books, and double-check the math that loan servicers have performed when offering or denying my clients loan modifications. I track my time when I’m on the run using Rocket Matter’s iPhone app. I navigate to rural Kentucky’s courthouses using Google Maps and listen to Roderick on the Line on my way there using Downcast. Even when I’m standing at my desk, I’m just as likely to log on to check my bank balances on my phone as on my computer.

So, is “constantly” an answer?

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

IT IS A COMPUTER. IN MY POCKET. I feel really lucky to be old enough to remember computing in the mid–80s and hope I never stop feeling grateful for the nerds that make this all possible.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I practice consumer law, which basically means that I’m representing people who have been duped, defrauded, or otherwise misled/screwed by a business. I wish there were an easier way to export text message exchanges. In a surprising number of my cases, text messages are going to be evidence in a trial. Screenshots? Come on.

Anything else you’d like to share?

If you’re a guitar player, I really recommend the ultimate-guitar.com app for iPad. I use it on my Mini and it really makes finding, storing, and playing music easy and fun.

Thanks Ben.

This week I’m featuring my kind and patient podcast partner Katie Floyd (website) (Twitter). Katie and I have been partners on the Mac Power Users podcast for four years now and she still (usually) answers her phone when I call. That makes Katie special.

What are some of favorite apps?

Since the update to version 2, OmniFocus on iPhone has become my favorite place to interact with OmniFocus throughout the day. When I’m entering or organizing a long list of new tasks I’ll still use the Mac App, but the new forecast view allowing me to see at-a-glance everything I need to get done today has been a game changer.

I keep Reminders on my home screen because I use it for different things. Reminders has become my default App for lists. I keep shopping and related lists in Reminders. I like Dr. Drang’s recent tip to create reminders to look at the shopping based on location. I also have my default Reminders list dump into OmniFocus so if I need to enter a quick series of task to process later, I’ll usually enter them in Reminders, or possibly Drafts and export to Reminders. With background processing OmniFocus will now regularly pick them up and move them to the OmniFocus inbox.

Downcast is probably my most used App after Mail. I made the switch to Downcast a couple months ago after their Mac app was released. I was just so fed up with the state of the Apple Podcasts app and syncing. I caved in and bought an armband for use at the gym and I hate it, but I really like having a great podcast app. Of course, now I hear the Apple Podcast app has been updated and actually syncs so maybe it’s time to look at it again.

Evernote is where I store “everything else” and it got a really nice update with iOS 7.

Drafts is the App that I use to start notes, ideas or other ramblings, then shoot them off to the respective apps for storage or to finish later.

What’s changed on your home screen since iOS 7?

Like David, I’m using Twitteriffic now on iOS. I really like the Twitteriffic interface with iOS 7.Tweetbot is my preferred application from a feature and functionality perspective, but since it hasn’t been updated yet (I hear an update is coming soon) I was finding it a pain point to use. I hope to be able to go back one day. (You’ll notice I still keep Tweetbot on my 2nd screen).

I also got rid of Pastebot and Calcbot. Pastebot never quite worked properly for me in iOS 7 and hasn’t been updated in years and was time to go. CalcBot was obsolete in part because I have quick access to the calculator through Control Center. In fact, features like Control Center and Siri have allowed me to move a number of apps off my home screen (Calculator, Clock, etc.) and I think the next time I’m looking for space on the home screen for an app, the Camera app may be the next to go since I have easy access to it already via the lock screen or Control Center.

What is the app you are still missing?

A great calendar app. Fantastical is the best so far but it hasn’t been updated for iOS 7. I hear Fantastical 2 is due out soon. I’m hoping that fits the bill.

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My home screen is setup mostly with folders, with a few one-off Apps that are more frequently used. I like that since iOS 7 I’ve been able to add more items to folders which means I now only have one “Productivity” and one “Utility” folder. For years, I’ve always tried to keep my iPhone down to two screens, my iPad I have down to one.

What feature would you add?

I use Siri all the time and I have bluetooth built in my car. However the microphone in my car isn’t as good as the microphone in the iPhone and as a result Siri isn’t nearly as accurate. There’s an option to toggle Siri to use either the car bluetooth or the iPhone, but you can’t mix and match. When Siri’s connected to the car, she doesn’t understand me as well, but gives great feedback (because she reads everything on screen for eyes-free mode). I wish there was a way to use the iPhone’s microphone for better recognition but the car’s speakers for better feedback.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Overall, I’m really enjoying iOS 7. Great update.

Thanks Katie. 

I thought it would be fun to post my home screen again, since it has changed quite a bit with iOS 7

My Home Screen Apps

Apple Mail

I’ve been working with a lot of third party mail apps lately. I really like Dispatch but I keep coming back to Apple Mail, which got some nice improvements with iOS7

Camera App

The Camera App’s new features with iOS 7 and the iPhone 5s make it my default camera application.

Logacal

I’ve been tessting Logacal out as a quick way to get lists of appointments. I’m not sure yet whether this one will stay but there is a lot to like about it’s simple layout. I do wish it was smarter about scrolling the list more. As it stands, it defaults to the today view with the first morning appointment even when I’m opening it in the evening.

Byword

Byword (iOS App Store) (Mac App Store) remains my most used text editor. I love the way it displays markdown text with syntax highlighting and I love the way the iCloud sync works. I keep about ten active text files in it at all time and peck away at them on my Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Notesy

Notesy is what I use to sync my Dropbox text folder. These are the same files that sync to nvALTon my Mac. I keep switching between WriteRoom and Notesy for this purpose. It feels like WriteRoom syncs faster but Notesy looks really great in iOS 7.

Twitterific

I’m currently using Twitterific on iOS and Tweetbot on my Mac. There are some features I prefer on Tweetbot but I really like the way Twitterific displays tweets on my phone. This one is a running battle for me right now.

Sonos

Yes. All of those emails, tweets, and comments got to me. I’ve now joined the Sonos cult. I’m not in too deep yet but I can see where this is going.

Instacast

I switched back to Instacast when they released the Mac app. I listen to podcasts as much when I’m doing busy work on my Mac as I do when driving around so this was a good move for me. I know for some, the choice of podcatcher is a holy war. Instacast is working for me. For now.

Audible

I’ve been an audible subscriber for three years and have a nice collection of primarily fiction that are great doing errands. I treat that entire third row as my audio stuff. My fifth row is for remotes.

Hue

I’ve got a set of Hue lightbulbs that are a lot of fun. My kids and I rotate the light colors. The neighbors think we’re weirdos. I can definitely see a future where these things get cheaper and way more common.

WeMo

We also have a few WeMo switches. One of my favorite uses is a lamp in our front room. When we come home at night, we turn on the lights in the house before entering. WeMo has added a lot more devices including additional lights and wall switches. I haven’t tried those yet.

Reeder 2

I’ve been a huge fan of Reeder since it first released. Version 2 is great. My only complaint is the way it puts Feed Wrangler smart collections at the bottom of the screen instead of the top.

Remote

The Apple TV is used more than ever in our house and I spend so much time with the Remote app, that I finally decided to just put it on my home screen.

The Dock

My dock holds some of my most beloved apps, including OmniFocus and Drafts, that I’ve been writing about here for years. I’m sticking with the Apple Calendar app for now because the way it displays today’s date. I’ve been noticing, however, that I don’t actually look at it for the date often so I’m in the process of going through my calendar apps again (I’ve bought ~10 of them over the years) to pick a new one.

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Another nice thing about iOS 7 is that folders have multiple pages so I am able to put all the rest of my apps neatly an alphabetized set of folders. Yes. I’m that guy.

What Feature Would I Add?

I do a lot of dictation. I’d really like the iPhone to display my words as it interprets them rather than making me dictate everything before showing me any words. This is one feature where Android is ahead of Apple

How About That Background?

It is a simple blue gradient I created with Grad.

While there are a lot of app developers, there aren’t many that created an entire genre of applications. Greg Pierce (Twitter) from Agile Tortoise, who dreamed up and created Drafts, the App that holds the right-most position in my dock. Katie and I spent a lot of time talking about Drafts in our iOS Automation show. Okay Greg, show us your homescreen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

Obviously, I’m a heavy user of my own apps – I capture all sorts of things in Drafts (iPhone) (iPad), and use Terminology as the starting point for all my searching, not just for words, but for general information as well.

The day-to-day apps that I use most on my phone are the ones that are entry points to communication: Mail, Messages, Tweetbot (iPhone) (iPad), Riposte andFacebook. Not all of these are necessarily my “favorite” apps, they are the ones that provide me the most utility and all of them are very good.

I love Fantastical. I almost never bothered to enter calendar events using my phone prior to Fantastical, but it made it so easy that I use it all the time now. The natural language text processing is top notch.

Probably my most useful app (across devices) is 1Password, however. It’s my password tool, but also my mobile wallet where I keep all sorts of other important personal information that I need to reference from time to time but don’t want to carry around on paper. Bank accounts, insurance policy info, server configurations, etc. It allows me to be absent minded without worry, and that’s worth so much.

I have two more categories of apps I use a lot: Media and Reading.

I have an A/V folder on my home screen with a few apps that get a ton of use around the house. Rdio, the AppleTV Remote, the remote app for my AirPlay Pioneer receiver, Downcast for Podcasts. All things I use almost daily to control and consume media.

And while I don’t read a ton on the iPhone – it’s always handy to have Instapaper, Reeder and the Kindle app around to kill some time in a waiting room. These are primary use apps on the iPad, however.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Not sure I have one. I have a whole page of casual games on both my iPhone and my iPad which provide me a great deal of pleasure, but I can’t say I feel guilty about any of them. I’ve got a significant hours logged Candy Crush, Kingdom Rush, Ridiculous Fishing – but it’s good to relax and not worry about being productive.

I like to get in Minecraft with the kids and build things as well.

What is the app you are still missing?

If I knew that, I would probably be working on building it. Drafts was that missing app for me before I built it. I’m glad it’s filled similar needs for others.

It’s hard, however, to see those gaps. The great apps come along and not only fill gaps, but fill gaps you didn’t realize were there.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

If I never stop using them, does that count as just once? Sadly, that’s only sort of a joke.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

The magic. I’ve had an iPhone since shortly after the first one came out, and I still am in awe of the amount of power and utility that I carry around in my pocket…still doesn’t seem real.

Handy flashlight, too.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

As a consumer, I think Apple does a spectacular job across the board with hardware and software.

As a developer, I have some issues with the App Store marketplace and the development process that I would like to see change – but the beefs are relatively minor ones that are not worth airing here and largely come down to improving communication channels with those of us outside of Apple who participate in the App Store economy.

Thanks Greg. And thanks for Drafts. A lot.

There are some really friendly, geeky lawyers out there. One such gent is Victor Medina (website) (Twitter) from New Jersey. Victor and I have presented together at the annual ABA TechShow on the Mac Track. As a labor of love, Victor runs the only tech-conference for Mac attorneys called MILOfest, which is held at DisneyWorld every fall.

This year, the conference is being held on October 24–26, 2013 and has my fellow MPU co-host Katie Floyd as one of the presenters. This is a great place to meet other Mac Savvy legal professionals and sharpen up your skills. As a bonus, Victor has agreed to open back up the Early Bird pricing for MacSparky readers.

Okay, Victor, show us your home screen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

DockWorthy

Daylite

I run a law firm with 7 employees. I need a program that lets me work from the road, help manage other team members, and track the cases. Although I think there are some great solutions out there, the one that works best for me is Daylite. There are too many features to list, but I like that I can quickly check my calendar, or the pipeline status of any project, or even start a phone call that I can turn into a billing event right from the app.

Mail

I try not to live and die by email. But I fail, miserably.

OmniFocus

I think everyone should have a program on their phone that reminds them how they don’t measure up to their own expectations in life. OmniFocus is that program for me. I declare OF bankruptcy like I get a doggy treat for it. Seriously, I wouldn’t be able to get half the stuff I done that I do without GTD.

Messages

I figured I was aged out of joining the “I only message people as my primary means of communication” club. I was gloriously wrong. Thankfully, I’ve convinced most of my family and friends to use iPhones and iPads, so I can use Messages – which syncs (most of the time) between my iOS devices and my computers.

Front & Center Apps

A lot of the apps on my home screen have been featured in other Home Screen posts, and those that avoid the folder (and are therefor on my Home Screen) are apps I use every day.

Feedly

This is my default RSS reader, which I moved to after Google Reader shut down. I like its simple, clean interface and the fact that it syncs between the iPad & iPhone versions. I don’t read feeds on my computer, so I like this really well-designed iOS solution.

iCatcher

I haven’t tried many podcast-catching apps, but I like iCatcher because it can download new episodes automatically, and will sync across iOS devices. I can also throw video podcasts at it, which will also sync.

UP & Couch-to–5k

These are fitness apps that I use regularly. I’ve written about them before , but what I like about the apps are that they are beautiful. I don’t like ugly apps.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

I have two guilty pleasure apps: NextDraft and PuzzleRetreat

NextDraft

Remember how I said I don’t like ugly apps? This has the ugliest icon and makes me wince whenever I look at it too long. However, the content inside is fantastic. Recommended to me by a good friend, NextDraft is a news app curated by Dave Pell. He is the algorithm. The articles are great, and the interface of the app is easy and fun to use. NextDraft is my night-reading.

PuzzleRetreat

I had to relocate this app to my second page, because I beat all the levels and it was sitting there mocking me with no new worlds to conquer. But,for about a month, I spent hours sliding virtual iceblocks across a virtual puzzleboard. I can’t wait for some more new levels.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone?

Honestly, it’s attached to me all day. I probably interact with my iPhone and iPad 5 or 6 times an hour. To be fair, though, everyone else I know has the same addiction. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

I’m not breaking new ground with this concept, but I enjoy how good the hardware feels in my hand. It drives me nuts to see how many people wrap these beautiful things in ugly cases. I followMacSparky’s advice on using a case, which lets me hold and use these devices as Jobs intended.

The iPhone 5 is like a jeweled watch. The iPad mini is perfect in my small, meaty hands. Honestly, only the iPad Grande seems unwieldy and I don’t see myself ever getting one again.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I would make it much easier to add an app to a folder that’s located in a corner or at the edge of page. As it is, I pick the app, drag it over and try this about a dozen times until I can perfectly line it up with the folder. This only happens with folders in a corner or on the edge. It’s like “catching” the folder is its own game. Am I alone here? Utterly frustrating. I would set it up so that I can tap the app to select it, and then tap the folder to drop it in.

Oh, and I would totally make an iPad mini with Retina Display. That’s a device that I’d wake up at midnight to order. I’m hoping it’ll be announced on September 10th.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Appearing on a Home Screen post at MacSparky is a Bucket List item for me. I can die now. Thanks David.

Umm … Thanks Victor. Attending MILOFest one of these years is on my bucket list so we’re even.

I’ve read one book on my vacation, Shawn Blanc’s Delight is in the Details and it was an excellent choice. In addition to being an author, blogger, and all-around swell guy, Shawn (Website) (Twitter) loves his iPhone and agreed to share it here.

What are your most interesting home screen apps?

• VSCO Cam has become my favorite iPhone photo editing app. They’ve got quite a few filter presets, and several fine-tune-ability tweaks as well. When posting a cool photo to Instagram, I usually edit it first in VSCO Cam and then send it to Instagram.
• The new Safari is my favorite iOS 7 app. There are quite a few design changes and improvements that make it leaps and bounds easier and more enjoyable to use than its predecessor.
• Scratch is a great quick-capture app. I keep it in my Dock because it launches lickety-split with a blank text entry field. From there I can quickly jot down a fleeting note, a task, or whatever. And if I need to hang on to that note or do something with it, I can toss it from Scratch right into OmniFocus or Simplenote, or send it as an email or text message if I need to.

What is your favorite app?

I don’t know if I could pick a favorite. But…

If I had to pare my iPhone down to just one app, it’d probably be Simplenote. I share a lot of text between my iPhone, iPad and Mac. In the form of lists, ideas, notes, and articles-in-process. Right now those are split up into apps that do one thing well. So: OmniFocus for lists, Simplenote for ideas and notes, Byword (on Mac and iPhone) and Editorial on iPad for articles-in-process. But if I had to, I could consolidate those things into one app — Simplenote — and survive.

From a more personal context, Day One is also a favorite. Not only is the app itself well-designed and fun to use, but it’s become the place where I keep track of small and big life events.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Dots. A simple, whimsical game that seems so easy yet actually takes quite a bit of skill to excel in.

What is the app you are still missing?

A really great RSS reader that works tightly with Feed Wrangler.

When Google Reader shut down, I moved my RSS subscriptions over to Feed Wrangler. Reeder has long been my favorite RSS reading app, and though it works with Feed Wrangler, it doesn’t fully support all of its APIs (such as Feed Wrangler’s smart streams and filters). I’d love for Reeder to get tighter integration with Feed Wrangler, or else have another really great iPhone RSS app come along.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone?

Two less than the legal limit.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone?

Hardware-wise, it’s still the Retina display. Though LTE speeds are very nice, and the day-long battery life is great, the screen is the “window” into the soul of the iPhone.

Anything Else You’d Like to Share?

San Dimas High School Football rules.

Thanks Shawn.

This week’s Home Screen features author Michelle Muto (Website) (Twitter). Michelle write urban fantasy and paranormal books. She’s also a geek and loves her iPhone. Okay Michelle, show us your home screen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

Evernote

It’s one of the best places for me to jot down notes about story ideas & research. It’s also helpful when I need to remember room dimensions, vet or doctor records, and auto service records.

Grocery IQ

It syncs between the iPad and iPhones, scans items by barcode, keyboard, and voice, and does what we need it to do. It’s a favorite because it does the job needed for our weekly shopping.

1Password

I don’t know how anyone with a mobile device, computer, or tablet gets by without it.

PayPal Here

It comes in handy during book signings. Easy to use.

Harmony Remote

We just bought a Harmony remote and it is dead simple. No more looking for various other remotes or trying to figure out how to use them.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Bejewled. I try not to play it much though.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

Dozens. At least. It’s sad. I have a 27″ iMac and at any given time, someone could walk into my office to see my iPhone on my desk, and the iPad propped up with something on it, too.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

Siri – There are times when it is more conveinent to listen to or reply to emails and texts using Siri. It also looks up words for me, and is helpful when I need to research topics. I want Siri for the Mac.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I’d make it easier for people to upgrade their iMacs and MacBook Pros. I’d create a way to run rules on sub folders within emails. Hazel for email! Oh, and Siri for the Mac.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’m mad for a shortcut or a way to make things simple – as in grass roots simple. Everything you must have owns you, right?

That said, thanks for all the tips, tricks, and thought provoking topics both on your blog and Mac Power Users. I’m also addicted to your videos. Precise, short, fun.

Thanks Michelle.

Recently I attended a 5by5 meetup in Santa Monica where I met several Mac Power Users listeners, including Ian Byrd (Website) (Twitter). Ian is an experienced gifted-student teacher that got inspired to try something else. He did just that with his website, Byrdseed.com, where he writes about gifted education and develops videos to help teachers and parents of gifted children. Ian is also a big Mac nerd. So Ian, show us your home screen.

What are some favorite apps?

I love Reeder. I use it as inspiration for lesson ideas as well as for pure entertainment. It’s fast, syncs with my iPad, and connects beautifully to Twitter and Pocket.

Instagram has become my favorite way of seeing what friends and family are up to. But, since I’m not too comfortable with it as an archive, I use a couple IFTTT recipes to grab photos I post or that I like and store them in my Flickr account for safe keeping. Mint is a seriously fantastic tool for tracking family spending, and I use Outright to stay on top of my business’ finances.

Moves is awesome for passively tracking walking, running, or cycling.  Much simpler than starting and stopping a dedicated exercise app. Plus, I love getting the weekly summary notifications.

I keep a folder of web shortcuts to my Byrdseed sites, stats pages, and a related app I am perpetually developing.

Finally, I’m a Downcast man for podcasts. 

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Definitely Foursquare. While I’m not too interested in competing for points or becoming a mayor, I do love tracking where I’ve been, especially when I travel. And I always look forward to landing at a new airport and unlocking the next Jetsetter badge! 

What is the app you are still missing?

My websites run on WordPress installations that I’ve tricked out quite a bit, but I can’t really access all of that power from my iPhone. The official WordPress app has improved a lot for writing posts, but lacks the level of control I need for organizing and managing everything. I always end up using MarsEdit on my Mac because of its great custom field support or simply logging into the web’s admin panel. I’d love a more flexible WordPress app that lets me control my sites on the go. 

What Is Your Favorite Feature of the iPhone/iPad?

I’ve accepted that my memory’s best days are behind me, so I love whenever my phone can act as a second brain. I set timers for everything. I have a Reminders list for library books I want to check out. I use Things to capture tasks on the go. I take photos of my parking spots, hotel room numbers, and receipts when I travel. And I’m hoping Siri continues to improve, because she makes it so easy to get the mundane into my phone.

Anything Else You’d Like to Share?

Just happy to contribute to MacSparky! Love everything you do for the community, David. Thank you!

Thanks Ian

This week’s home screen post features Chris Sauvé. (Website) (Twitter)When Chris isn’t creating brilliant scripts (like that OmniFocus Template script I gushed about a few weeks ago), he’s busy finishing up computer science and business degrees. So Chris, show us your home screen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

Looking at my home screen, I realize that there are few apps that I really love, but the ones I do are absolutely vital to my ability to continue to operate as a functional human being. There’s a group of five apps without which I would be particularly lost:

Transit: finds nearby bus routes and gives the next few arrival times for each, all updated in real-time with the buses’ location data. Since I don’t care for owning a car, I rely on the bus (and, by extension, this app) to get everywhere. I just wish it would prevent me from waiting until 2 minutes before the bus arrives to start getting ready but, alas, the solutions to some problems lay outside the realm of technology.

Instacast: I need my podcast-y goodness to get through those aforementioned bus rides, and Instacast delivers better than any other app I’ve used.

Scratch: I like the multitude of options in Drafts, but Scratch wins the spot on my dock precisely because of its more limited feature set. I love how quick and painless it makes my key text-related activities: appending text to a file in Dropbox and sending OmniFocus items via the Mail Drop service.

1Password: even if I weren’t relying on 1Password to generate and store strong and unique passwords, I would need it just to compensate for my pathetic ability to remember such mundane information. Passwords suck, but 1Password makes them bearable.

Dropbox: I use this app constantly. When you have everything scanned and stored in Dropbox, you can create some real “wow” moments for your coworkers by quickly pulling up some document you needed in the moment. If I remember to put things in Dropbox, I don’t have to remember anything else, which is exactly the kind of help I need from my phone.

One key app missing from that list: OmniFocus. I love OmniFocus and have dedicated a substantial portion of mydevelopment and writing to helping people use it better, but the iPhone app is, in my opinion, the weakest of the three versions by a long shot. I love getting notifications when out-and-about or when something becomes overdue, but I think there is still a lot of design and feature potential to be squeezed out of the iPhone version.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

I don’t know that I feel particularly guilty about it, but I love opening up Reeder and seeing what’s new from my nerd family around the interwebs. It’s tough to find folks with similar interests to mine, so I really lean on those relationships, real or imagined, we can create with those online.

I’m Canadian, so the NHL GameCenter is most certainly a guilty pleasure (particularly now, in playoff season). Finally,Twitterrific gives me my Twitter fix more times per day than I care to admit.

What is the app you are still missing?

I do a lot of visual design projects and have a pile of images of websites, apps, and print work that help get the wheels turning when I need inspiration. On my Mac, I use Pixa to manage these images, which lets you sort by color and automatically adds the unmodified images to Dropbox folders. Something similar on iOS would be fantastic. I’d also love a text editor with similar features to Folding Text on the Mac, and a better way to manage and explore code snippets (to learn about a new language, for example) would be a welcome addition to my iPhone.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

I love how restricted to core iOS experience is. The Mac is a playground to which I venture far too often when I am frustrated with, or afraid of, tackling the problems with the next thing I’m trying to build. I can (and have) spent hours fiddling with the unending customizability of OS X. iOS, on the other hand, forces you to get to work: there’s only so many times you can change your wallpaper or rearrange your app icons, and that’s an incredibly good thing when you’ve got a mind with a penchant for getting dangerously off track.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

Everyone enjoys voicing their pet peeves/ hopes and dreams for Apple, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t share in that pastime. However, if I were in charge at Apple, the only thing I would do is make sure that the company stays true to what makes so many of us love it. I’d make sure the company continued to sweat the little things, even if that means pushing out fewer announcements than competitors. I’d make sure that they continue to shame their peers in making their products accessible those traditionally marginalized by technology: the young and the old, the visually and hearing impaired users, and so on. I’d make sure that every bit of hardware and software stays opinionated and true to itself.

The best thing about Apple is that they are strongly idealistic: I believe that they let out the doors of Cupertino only those things that they consider beautiful, that they would be proud to use themselves, that they believe
, deeply and honestly, make the lives of their users better. The worst thing about Apple is that, in the end, it’s just another company. So if I were in charge of Apple, I would try to make sure that the business junk stays in the background where it belongs, and that the creators continue to be empowered to built more beautiful things.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Thank you, David, for all that you have given back to the Apple community. I wish everyone were as passionate and dedicated as you to building amazing things.

Thanks Chris.

There are a lot of geeks doing some great work in education. One such person is Mike Rogers (Twitter) (website), a school principal that started a blog about technology and education, Techedvance.com. Mike is in the trenches and has some interesting perspective. So Mike, show us your home screen.

Tweetbot

I went through a few Twitter apps before shelling out for Tweetbot and haven’t looked back since. I like how well it syncs my timeline between devices and it is just very well designed and a pleasure to use. I maintain the Twitter account for my school (@pbvmschool) and a personal/professional account (@techedvance) and Tweetbot handles multiple accounts very well.

Forecast

Lately I have been switching between this and Yahoo Weather. Both are very good and I like the design of each, even though they are very different. The simple animations that both of them have are nice little touches that add to the user experience.

Evernote

I use Evernote for storage of reference materials. Usually these are things that I find online that pertain to my work. I also store notes for my graduate school studies here. I frequently link text in one note to another (explained here) which is helpful when studying and writing. The best part of Evernote is that everything is searchable. I am intrigued by the reminders that were just added to Evernote last week but haven’t used them much yet.

Downcast

I tried Apple’s podcast app when it was released and again when it received a major update but wasn’t satisfied. Downcast is great and allows me to easily manage the large number of podcasts that I listen to. I keep audio podcasts on my phone and video podcasts on my iPad.

Reeder

This has been my RSS reader of choice for several years now. I’ve tried others but always end up coming back. One thing that is frustrating is that the iPhone version seems to be in active development and utilizes some new UI elements that don’t exist on the iPad version yet. The iPad app also lacks some of the features of the iPhone version. For example, I would like to be able to subscribe to feeds on the iPad. I haven’t decided what I am going to do when Google Reader dies in a few weeks but it sounds like Reeder is planning to continue on with other RSS services.

Checkmark

I use Checkmark for location and time-based reminders. Apple’s reminders app is just too tedious for setting a time or location (I rarely use Siri for this type of thing). Checkmark is well designed and works flawlessly. It also has recurring reminders which I use to help me remember to do certain chores around the house weekly. I have tried to use OmniFocus for this but Checkmark does the job just fine. If it’s not in OmniFocus, it ends up here.

Notesy

I used Byword for quite a while but encountered a few bugs and the app hasn’t been updated in over a year so I started looking for something new. I settled on Notesy because it has full text search and still has all of the features of Byword that I need. I usually have about two or three dozen text files going at any one time. I use them as scratchpads for things that I am actively working on like agendas and notes from meetings. Everything is synced through Dropbox. I trust that if something goes wrong, Dropbox has all the different versions of my text files and I can go back and restore them if necessary. I use a PC at school but can edit my text files with a great free utility called ResophNotes. It’s no nvALT but it works.

OmniFocus

I started using OmniFocus in January and have written a bit about the experience on my blog. I do not use OmniFocus on the Mac, but might start once they release 2.0. This app has become essential for me because I wear many hats as the sole administrator at my school and there is a lot to keep track of – more than my brain alone can handle. OmniFocus allows me to look at everything quickly to determine what needs to be worked on next and helps me remember what I was doing before I was interrupted by all the things that come up during the school day. I’m getting to the point where I don’t remember what I did in previous years to keep track of things.

Fantastical

I moved Apple’s calendar app to the third page of my iPhone and put it in a folder along with all of the other apps I don’t use and never find myself opening. Fantastical is a more than adequate replacement. It’s a well designed app and just keeps getting better with each update. I wish it were available as a native iPad app.

Drafts

Drafts is an app that I never thought I would need, but is now essential. It sits in my dock and I open it right away anytime I have anything I need to write down. It is so nice to not have to think about what app to open when something pops into my head. I just open Drafts and jot down the item and then send it where it needs to go. I am particularly fond of the feature that lets me append and prepend text to files in Dropbox. This is very helpful for adding to the lists and meeting agendas that I keep in Dropbox. I also use Drafts to write down quick notes when I am doing classroom walkthroughs or adding tasks to OmniFocus.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

I don’t have any apps that I’m embarrassed or feel guilty about using. I will occasionally try a game but they usually don’t stay on my phone for more than a day or two. There are just too many other things I would rather be using my phone for and I’ve never been much of a gamer.

What is the app you are still missing?

That’s hard to say. I’m sure that there will be something that comes out someday tha
t I will wonder how I ever lived without. It will probably be an app like Drafts that I never even knew I needed until after it was on my phone.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone?

I would never even try to count this. It is always with me when I am at school, often in my hand as I’m walking through the hallways. No one even blinks an eye any more when I have it out at meetings, classrooms or while talking to a teacher in the hallway. I don’t have a very good memory but the iPhone makes people think that I remember everything.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone?

This might seem obvious but I like that I can do so much with a device that fits in the palm of my hand. I’ve had an iPhone for nearly two years now and still marvel from time to time that I can do so much with it. It’s also helpful to have such a good camera with me all the time. I will frequently take quick photos of student activities, special events, or a burned out light that needs to be replaced. There are fewer and fewer occasions where I feel I need a “real” camera.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

There are really only a few things that cross my mind on a regular basis. For instance, it would be nice if notifications would sync between devices. If I clear a notification on my phone I wish it would disappear from my iPad so that I don’t see it a second time. I would also add features to Mail for iOS. It would be great if it was more like Reeder and allowed the user to configure an action to take place with a left swipe, for example. Finally, I would fix some of the annoying aspects of Apple Configurator (the software used to configure large numbers of iPads at once) that Fraser Spiers and Bradley Chambers recently discussed on their podcast. I would also remove all skeuomorphism from iOS because it adds nothing to the experience. Hopefully we’ll see some of these changes unveiled on June 10th at WWDC.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Thanks for asking me to share!

Thanks Mike