This week MacSparky is sponsored by inShort (website) (Mac App Store) (iOS App Store). inShort is an iPhone/iPad/Mac application that lets you plan projects and processes graphically across all of your Apple devices. This brings a new paradigm to process and project planning and is absolutely worth checking out. 

One of the more clever features is the way it allows you to embed processes and drill down to the level of detail you need at the moment. I like to think of this as “nested” flowcharts and I think it’s really smart. inShort is a great tool to sort out a process in your own mind and then explain it to others when you’re done. 

inShort is actually kind of hard to describe until you lay hands on it. The developer has most recently published a very quick guide to inShort that helps explain it better. The apps continue to get regular updates taking advantage of the newest iOS and Mac OS technologies. The new versions look great on iOS 8 and Yosemite. Want to learn more? Read the developer’s PDF. 

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This week, I’m pleased to welcome back, curbi as a MacSparky.com sponsor. While the Internet can be scary for most people, it is terrifying for parents. Letting our kids enjoy the good parts of the Internet while protecting them from the nefarious parts isn’t easy. Not only can kids get into trouble over your local WiFi network, they can also get into trouble through a cellular connection or at a friend’s house. curbi solves this problem, giving you amazing parental controls for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. You can easily block specific types of content or add a specific site list. curbi tracks (and can block) websites through Safari or any other iOS app that has a web browser. Perhaps even more importantly, the curbi blocks will work no matter how they access the Internet, even using their Pal’s home WiFi on the other side of town.

curbi also lets you set boundaries. For example, you could block social networks from 3pm to 6pm and the entire Internet from 9pm to 8am. For just $6.99 a month, you can protect all of the iOS devices in your home. curbi is the only service I’ve ever seen that can protect your kids, no matter where they are. Learn more here.

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This week MacSparky.com is sponsored by OmniFocus. The Omni Group has been hard at work since last year taking all of the their iPad applications universal, so they work on both the iPad and iPhone. Version 2.1 of OmniFocus for the iPad is now officially universal and works on the iPhone.

This new version looks fantastic on the larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens. The new version works in landscape mode with a Sidebar on the iPhone 6 Plus, lets you use the Review perspective on your phone, create perspectives (with the Pro version) and view perspectives with project hierarchy (again with the Pro version). This single development has me thinking I may have to get the bigger iPhone the next time I upgrade. 

There are also some really nice new features for both the iPad and iPhone including:

• Home screen customization. You can now tile your favorite perspectives within easy reach.
• Display a custom perspective in the Today extension. I’ve got it currently showing my hotlist of items nearly due or flagged items and it’s super-useful. (Pro version only.)

If you’ve already bought the iPad version, go ahead and install it on your phone. If you’ve already bought it on your iPhone, the Omni Group has a plan for you too. Go learn more from the Omni Group and thank you OmniFocus for supporting MacSparky.com

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This week MacSparky is sponsored by OmniGraffle 2.1, the newly released version of The Omni Group’s diagramming, wire framing, draw-anything power tool. This version ups the game in a lot of ways:

1. Universal!

Did you buy one of those big new iPhones and now wish you could run OmniGraffle on your phone? Your wish has been granted. The application not only looks good on the iPhone, The Omni Group’s designers figured out how to make it usable on the smaller screen as well.

2. New Tools

There is a new set of tools for editing the points on a shape. You can drag existing points and add (or remove) points from an object. As a result it’s easier than ever to take a pre-existing shape and bend it to your will. 

3. A Loupe

Touch the screen and your edit points magnify. This innovation makes it a lot easier to do detailed work on an iPhone and iPad screen.

4. Fill Effects and Filters

You know all those great new filters and fill effects on the Mac version of OmniGraffle? They are also now on iOS.

There’s a lot more so head over to The Omni Group and check it out for yourself. Thanks to OmniGraffle, you can do advanced diagramming and graphics work on the iPad and iPhone.

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This week MacSparky is sponsored by the Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock. This new dock from Elgato enables you to connect everything to your MacBook or Ultrabook at once. With two Thunderbolt 2 ports, connect your computer with only one cable and simultaneously enjoy the extended versatility of Thunderbolt.

A built-in HDMI port can drive up to a 4K resolution, and three additional USB 3.0 ports assure that all of your devices are connected when you need them, at full speed and with up to 1.5A of power. Tap into the full performance of wired network connections with the built-in Gigabit Ethernet port, and enjoy crystal-clear conference calls through the separate microphone input and amplified audio output. An added benefit is stand-alone USB charging even when your computer is not connected. Learn more right here. 

If you’ve got a desk full of equipment, this dock greatly simplifies (and improves) the experience.

This post is sponsored by Syndicate Ads.

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This week MacSparky.com is sponsored by The Omni Group, one of the premiere productivity software companies for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. If you are looking for serious solutions for serious problems, look no further. The Omni Group’s applications include:

OmniFocus

My beloved task manager that lets me practice law and publish books and videos without completely losing my mind.

OmniOutliner

This is simply the best outlining application for the Mac and iOS. When I need to organize ideas, I break out OmniOutliner. 

OmniGraffle

This diagramming and graphics tool lets me build stunning graphics in a few minutes.

OmniPlan

If project management is your game, look no further.

The Omni Group has its own sync solution, OmniPresence, to keep all of these tools working between your Mac and iPad and, most recently, they’ve announced they are putting all of these productivity apps on the iPhone as well.

Check out the Omni Group and let them know you heard about them from MacSparky.com.

This week, I’m pleased to welcome a new sponsor, curbi. Letting our kids enjoy the good parts of the Internet while protecting them from the nefarious parts isn’t easy. Not only can kids get into trouble over your local WiFi network, they can also get into trouble through a cellular connection or at a friend’s house. curbi solves this problem, giving you amazing parental controls for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. You can easily block specific types of content or add a specific site list. curbi tracks (and can block) websites through Safari or any other iOS app that has a web browser. 

curbi also lets you set boundaries. For example, you could block social networks from 3pm to 6pm and the entire Internet from 9pm to 8am. For just $6.99 a month, you can protect all of your children’s iOS devices everywhere. The Internet can be a scary place and curbi is the only service I’ve ever seen that can protect your kids, no matter where they are. Learn more here.

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This week MacSparky is sponsored by JustSend. It is easy open your iOS email client only to get sucked into the vortex of your inbox. JustSend gives you a simple way to send off email messages without ever seeing your inbox. The app is free through the month of January, starting today. There is zero setup. It works immediately with the built-in email accounts on your phone. A lot of people look at the new year as an opportunity to get rid of distractions and JustSend can help you along that path.

This week MacSparky is again sponsored by Dropzone, the Mac menubar app that makes opening and sorting files wicked easy. Simply drag a file onto the Dropzone menubar icon and a menu slides down with several landing targets. For example, I’ve got a folder I use as a clearing house for work related documents. Using Dropzone, I just drag the file up to the icon and drop them on the folder’s link. Drop zone, then moves the file to that location lickity-split. I’ve also set up an application opening action so when I drag a PDF on PDFpen, it opens the file in the application. If you just need to hold a file temporarily, use the Drop Bar.

Dropzone is a great little utility that you’ll find yourself using all day. You can get it now in the App Store and learn more at the website. Thanks Dropzone for supporting MacSparky.com.

This week I’m welcoming a new sponsor to MacSparky.com, Dropzone 3. Dropzone is a productivity tool that enhances drag and drop on your Mac. Drag files onto the menu item and a beautifully designed and animated grid of all your actions opens. Share with services such as AirDrop, Imgur, FTP, Amazon S3, Facebook, Twitter and many others. Move and copy files, launch applications and even develop your own actions using the powerful Ruby based scripting API.

Dropzone 3 is a huge update to the app that takes Dropzone to a whole new level. You can now add actions to your grid faster thanks to the new quick add menu or by dropping folders or apps onto the ‘Add to Grid’ area. Quickly reorganise your actions using drag and drop and delete them by holding the option key. The new in-grid progress bars let you keep track of task progress. Also see how tasks are progressing at a glance in the new animated menu item.

Drop Bar is another great new feature – Drag files you know you’ll need later onto the Drop Bar area of the grid to stash them tempororily. Drag stacks on top of each other to combine them. You can even drag a stack onto another Dropzone action.

In Dropzone 3, the developer API has undergone a major overhaul. You can now duplicate existing actions and tweak them to your liking. A new bundle system lets you distribute needed libraries or tools along with your action. Actions can now be auto-updated as they are improved. With a little Ruby knowledge you’ll be thinking of your own uses in no time – check out the developer documentation here.

A major update for Dropzone 3 has just been released that brings full support for OS X Yosemite and adds new features such as the ability to activate Dropzone by dragging files directly to the top of the screen and the ability to upload videos to YouTube. There are also many bug fixes and improvements, such as completely rewritten and improved Amazon S3 uploading and an enhanced developer API.

I’ve been using Dropzone for awhile. I’ve got actions to move files to specified folders and AirDrop to my other devices. Also, as a frequent full-screen user on my laptop, I use the DropBar all the time. Since I’m already reliant on this application, when the developer contacted me about sponsoring the site, I jumped at it. Learn more here.

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