Drobo has released a new app for the network attached Drobos, like my Drobo 5N, that gives you access to your files from just about anywhere including mobile and the web. The data is encrypted end-to-end and each Drobo carries a unique SSL certificate. As I find myself turning into a remote iOS worker, this is great. I can now get access to my deep storage files on the iPad Pro.
Killing the Email Action Folder
For years now I’ve kept an “action” folder with all of my email accounts. This was particularly useful before I started deferring email with services like SaneBox. However, as of late, the “action” folder has turned into some sort of email purgatory for me. I haven’t been cleaning it out regularly and instead find myself letting things linger in there much too long.
A few weeks ago I was reminding myself to do a better job of clearing out the action folder when I got thinking about whether I even needed it any longer. My email is already filtered to put MacSparky “feedback” email into a particular folder and stuff that’s not quite as important into a “later” folder. Why do I need another place to put email?
Add to this the fact that I have pretty granular deferred email folders and it occurred to me that my new “action” folder is deferring email three hours or until tomorrow. In hindsight, that’s probably why I’ve been doing such a lousy job of cleaning out the action folder.
Anyway, as of a few weeks ago I removed all of the action folders from all of my email accounts. For the MacSparky email account, I’ve now got the following:
Inbox
This is the place were the most important stuff arrives every day. This is the one I check several times a day.
Later
This is a SaneBox automated folder. SaneBox puts email in there that it doesn’t think is as important as other email that is inbox worthy.
Feedback
This is another SaneBox automated folder that takes feedback from the podcast, books, and this blog. It’s spooky how good the service is at figuring this out.
News
This is another filtered SaneBox folder that yanks catalog sales and other marketing email out of my inbox.
Deferred Folders
I’ve got deferred folders for three hours, tomorrow, two days, and seven days.
Spam and Blackhole
I’ve got folders that capture spam and the SaneBox blackhole for spam that gets through.
Archive
The place or email goes to sleep, a long time.
The interesting thing about all of this is that except for the archive, none of my email folders are manually sorted. Email arrives and gets automatically sorted. While I may occasionally reclassify an email to a different folder or defer it, there is no longer a process where I must open the inbox and manually file email to different places.
It’s probably too early to tell if I have deleted my action folder for good but after two weeks I can tell you that I’m not missing it. It feels as if I’m doing better at keeping up and it’s nice having one less place to routinely clean. I’ll check back in on this in a month or two.
(I’ve made references to SaneBox, an occasional sponsor of this blog, in this post because that’s the service I use. There are others and even some apps that can also defer email.)
TextExpander Pricing Adjustments
Last week TextExpander announced its conversion to a subscription model and storage of snippets at TextExpander.com. I was actually okay with the new pricing. That isn’t because they paid me to produce their videos (they did) or that they sponsor the Mac Power Users (they do) or even that the developers are dear friends (they are). To me it was worth it because the application saves me so damn much time. When it comes to automation, however, I’ll be the first to admit I’m pretty far out there. A lot of users complained the pricing was too high and now Smile has lowered it.
You can read all the details at Smile’s blog but the short version is: $20/year for existing users and they’ll be keeping a separate build that does not sync through TextExpander.com for those who prefer to put their snippets in iCloud or Dropbox.
MyScript Stylus: Write Anywhere on iPad Pro
I found this cool little iOS keyboard, MyScript Stylus, that lets you use the Apple Pencil to write anywhere on your iPad Pro and convert it to text. It’s so slick that I made a screencast. (Thanks reader Eric for turning me on to this.)
On That Hypothetical Thinner Apple Watch…
Mac Rumors is reporting the next Apple Watch may be 20-40% thinner than the existing one. I like my Apple Watch and wear it every day. However, the biggest problem I have with it is that the processor is not fast enough to bring the power it needs for third-party apps. I need it faster, not thinner.
The Congressional End Run
Yesterday the text surfaced of proposed legislation that would allow the FBI in the future to demand companies like Apple break their own encryption. This feels like too much. I can’t help but wonder what the founders would have thought of a government that reads your mail and orders lock smiths to give them master keys.
Even though Congress appears broken, I could actually see them passing some form of this law if they throw the “terrorism” word around enough. As I’ve written before, this issue will never be resolved until the Supreme Court weighs in.
Home Screens: Daisy Sparks
This week’s home screen features my partner in crime, Daisy Sparks (website) (Twitter). My wife is pretty amazing. Not only is she coordinating the Orange County App Camp for Girls (want to help?), she also puts up with her befuddled, nerdy husband. So Daisy, show us your home screen.
What are some of your favorite apps?
Some of my favorite apps usually have to do with my photos. Instagram is a favorite so I can look at interesting photos that my friends or favorite brands share. I really enjoy WordSwag and Rhonna where I can edit, play and insert text to create images from photos. I’ve been playing around with Camera+ so I can enhance my photos for my blog and scrapbooking. It is easy to use and has lots of great features.
Which app is your guilty pleasure?
Disney Tsum Tsum is definitely my guilty pleasure. I don’t play any video games but this one just gets me. I’ve been playing for a year and I have 78 Tsums in my collection. It’s fun to play and takes up way too much of my time. I have friends who also love it so we enable our Tsum Tsum addiction.
What app makes you most productive?
Byword is one of those apps that I use daily. I can begin to write a blog post on any of my devices and have it all show up in one place at the end of the day.
1Password is my other productive app. Does that count? I can’t function if I can’t get log onto a site or the cloud. 1Password helps me by saving time and having to remember important and multiple login credentials.
What app do you know you’re underutilizing?
OmniFocus. I have several big buckets of work that I am constantly working on. I know that OmniFocus could help me be more productive and organized but I haven’t dedicated the proper time to really learn how to use it. I heard that there is a really great screencast by some nerdy guy. I should probably watch it.
What is the app you are still missing?
A really good Disneyland app. While there are several Disneyland specific apps out there including an official Disneyland App, none can meet all my Disneyland park needs. The official app makes me leave the app to make dinner reservations. There is a separate Disney shopping app that is geared towards Walt Disney World. The non-Disney Apps are way better and up to date but they have ads. Why can’t it be a “small world after all”?
How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?
How many hours in a day am I awake? Even when I drive my iPhone is giving me directions, playing a podcast or music. I have teens so they prefer to text instead of calling me. I don’t use my iPad as frequently simply because I can’t put it in my pocket.
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?
I enjoy being able move around my icons and customizing them for my needs so I can access them quickly.
If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?
If I were in charge of Apple I would hold a weekend Open House once a year similar to the one that JPL hosts. They could give their hardworking teams a chance to show off what’s in progress (not what’s new) or possible and give the public a chance to see what the campus is like and expose people, especially young kids, to what they can create.
Do you have an Apple Watch?
Yes! My watch face is toe-tapping Mickey Mouse and he reminds me to make some magical moments everyday.
What’s your wallpaper and why?
I have lockscreen wallpaper and home screen. My lockscreen wallpaper is of Mickey’s Fun Wheel. With Live photo, my lockscreen wallpaper comes to life. My home screen wallpaper is of the koi pond at the Aulani. It makes viewing all my icons that more manageable.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I am really excited to bring App Camp for Girls to Southern California. It’s a great program rooted in gender equality and empowering girls. As a mother of two girls, I think we can’t have enough opportunities like this. If you’d like to help out, please let me me know.
Thanks Daisy.
Me Okay. Me Trooper.
Apparently someone at Apple left the camera rolling too long when Cookie Monster was on set for the latest Siri commercial. I love when Apple lets a little whimsey show.
Nesting Folders in Apple Notes
A few weeks ago, we published a Mac Power Users episode comparing the current status of notetaking applications. During the show, I went on at some length about the good and bad points with Apple’s notes application. One of my issues was the inability to nest folders. I was wrong about that. You can nest folders in Apple Notes on the Mac and then it will propagate down to iOS. It’s kind of weird that you have to do it on the Mac first but that’s where things stand at this point. (Thanks Ken Haynes for pointing this out.)
Once you know of the existence of this feature, it’s not difficult to implement. Open Apple Notes on your Mac and simply drag an existing folder on top of another. That adds a disclosure triangle to the folder and placed the moved folder inside the destination folder. Then open up the Apple Notes application on your iPhone or iPad and give it a second to synchronize and you’re good to go.
This does expose a further issue with Apple Notes. Despite the fact that the app was rebuilt just last year, the are still a lot of subtle differences between the Mac and iOS versions. I hope with the next iteration of the Mac OS and iOS 10, the applications get closer and add a few of the features I mentioned in the show, like the ability to sort alphabetically and, for the love of all that is holy, a better way to set the font size on the Mac.
Email Write Order
Recently I made an offhand comment on the podcast about how I write email backwards. This triggered a bunch of email questions so I thought I’d explain further with an excerpt from my Email Field Guide. Here you go.
Email Write Order
I’ve always had a gripe with email application developers concerning the way they want us to write emails. When you go to write an email, the tab order is all out of whack.
The default write order starts out with you selecting the recipient for your message, which makes enough sense, but then everything goes off the rails. Next, it wants you to type in the subject line for a message you haven’t written yet. Because you haven’t written the message, there is a bit of mental friction between us getting our thoughts together and making a cogent subject line at that time, so we skip it or just leave it with whatever the mail client added (e.g., “re: re: re: re: re: That Thing”).
Next, the application wants you to write the body of your message. Rarely does the application even prompt you to add an attachment, which means about half the time you’ll forget to add an attachment. Because the default write order is all out of whack, so are the messages we often send using it. It makes a lot more sense to add attachments next and then write the body of the message before filling out the subject line and sending. I’ve got an alternative write order that makes a lot more sense.
1. Add Attachments
Don’t you hate getting an email making reference to a nonexistent attachment? Don’t you hate even worse when you send an email making reference to an attachment you forgot to attach?
2. Compose the Message Body
The next thing you do is write the message. That’s the reason you started this whole process. I have some very specific ideas about how to write the message body with inline replies—and explain that later in this chapter—but for now get into the habit of writing the message body next. Also on the subject of the message body, try and keep it brief. Email is a problem for everyone and sending a 3,000-word screed when all you really want is to borrow the industrial plunger isn’t very nice.
3. Add a Sane Signature
Email signatures should be simple and smaller than the body of the message. There is more on this later in this chapter.
4. Write the Subject Line
Finally, after you’ve attached any necessary files and written everything else, make an intelligent subject line.
5. Enter the Message Recipient and Copies
Waiting until last to add the recipient assures you’ll never suffer from premature email sendation.
6. Proof and Send
Read the whole thing one last time and send it off into the world.
Want to learn more about email? Check out my Email Field Guide.