The Productive Writer’s Bundle

If you prefer to write in plain text, you should probably check out the Productive Writer’s Bundle. It includes Texts, Word Counter, Brett Terpstra’s Marked, a coupon for iThoughts X, and a book about minimal writing on the Mac all for just $25. I’m told the bundle ends this weekend so don’t wait too long,

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Thumbs Up for Duet Display

I’m going to write more about my iPad Pro in the coming weeks but one thing that was worth sharing immediately was the way I’ve been using it as a spare monitor. There is a wonderful little application called Duet, made by some former Apple engineers, that lets you connect your iPad to your Mac and turn the iPad into a second screen. I’m now doing this often.

For example, while I record the Mac Power Users podcast, I have all of the recording applications running on the iPad through Duet. That way I can keep the main screen for the content as we record the show and still glance to the smaller screen to make sure all the pipes remain connected and the red light keeps blinking. With the iPad Pro and its additional screen size, this is pretty great. When I’m done and don’t need a second screen, I can disconnect the iPad and put it away and my desk is once again clear of a second monitor.

Duet gets even better on the road. I can connect it to my 12“ MacBook virtually anywhere and have a second screen. This is super useful when working with lots of data. The 13” iPad Pro more than doubles the screen space of my 12″ MacBook.

Setting up Duet is simple. You download the app from the iOS App store and then install a host application on your Mac. (There’s also a version for the Windows.) Using Duet I’m able to carry a second monitor with me that’s essentially the size of a piece of glass.

I’m not alone in loving this feature of the iPad Pro. In the past few days, I’ve spoken with several nerd friends that are also using their iPad Pro as a second monitor with Duet.

Checking in With Apple Watch

In a recent Mac Power Users episode, I recommended the Apple Watch as a year-end gift. This recommendation drew divided responses. Some wrote in agreement while others essentially asked me “is the Apple watch still a thing?”. Then out of the blue my wife asked me if she thought the Apple Watch was going to survive as a product. The question surprised me. My wife is, however, my window into the non-geek world and when she asked about the hypothetical Apple Watch demise, it made me wonder how many other people are thinking the same thing.

I think there is zero chance of Apple walking away from the watch. They view it as a key product moving toward the future and as technology gets better and smaller, the watch is going to improve dramatically.

Nevertheless, I’m generally bullish on my current Apple Watch. I wear it every day and use it to keep up with my fitness goals, set alarms and timers, check my calendar, listen to podcasts, turn on and off the lights, get directions, text my kids, and checkoff tasks. Oh yes … I also use it to tell time. This is the most useful watch I’ve ever owned. I put it on when I wake up in the morning and take it off when I go to bed. (That’s right, I even keep it on while I’m in my pajamas.)

Maybe it’s because there is this connection to the iPhone required to make it work or simply the fact that not many people wear watches and the Apple Watch was never going to be the big seller that the iPhone is, but there appears to be this perception that the product is flawed or not going to survive. I don’t think the product is perfect. The design, user interface, and software interaction can all use improvement. I expect there’s a group of people somewhere in Apple working on that right now.

I understand that some people did not take to their Apple Watch as I did. Maybe they wanted something more traditional or fashionable or maybe they just aren’t watch people. Nevertheless, having used one now since the Apple Watch was first released, I can’t imagine not having it. If something happened to my Apple watch, I would go buy another one.

MPU 291: Focussing on iPad

There have been several developments in the iPad world as of late so Katie and I spent some time talking about where the iPad fits, which one you should use, and some of our own personal workflows. I also spend some time discussing my new giganto-pad.

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Daylite 6 Ships

Marketcircle is definitely one of the “wise men” in Mac productivity circles. For a long time, Daylite was the application that just about everybody ran their Mac offices from. It supports multiple users, tasks, calendars, and all the other bits you need to get work done with a group of people.

Then the cloud become a “thing” and people started moving these types of shared data applications to the Internet. The trouble that I’ve always had with these solutions is they are limited to the browser and generally look like crap, are hard to figure out, difficult to train to your staff, and –when the Internet goes down – completely useless.

This cloud trend did not go unnoticed by the makers of Daylite and for a few years now they’ve been refining a solution that lets you have your cake and eat it too. Specifically, a native app with all that OS X goodness and years of development and UI experience combined with cloud sync. Today Daylite releases version 6, which is really something special.

I’m friends with some of the people at Marketcircle and I know how hard they’ve worked to make this happen. I’m impressed and if you are looking for something with the panache of Daylite combined with reliable cloud sync, you will be too. Learn more from Marketcircle.

Disneyland’s Season of the Force and Rebel Force Radio

Disneyland just did a bang-up job of turning Tomorrowland into Star Wars-land, at least temporarily. My wife posted some great photos and video. Also, I guested on a recent episode of Rebel Force Radio to give my report from the field. If you just want to hear the Disneyland part with me, it starts at 1:25:20.

The Nomad Wallet/iPhone Charger

It seems only appropriate that on Cyber Monday I review something that you use to hold your money. I must admit that I’ve always been a fan of the “something I always carry but now can also use to recharge my iPhone” category of devices. With that in mind, when Nomad announced the Wallet for iPhone, I was intrigued. Nomad sent me a review unit and for the last few weeks I’ve been carrying it around.

From the outside, the Wallet for iPhone looks like any other bi-fold wallet you may pick up. The trick is that they’ve sewn an ultra-high density 2400 mAh battery into the spine of the wallet. There’s even a clever little lightning cable tucked in. So anytime you’ve got your wallet in your pocket, you’ve also got a full recharge for your iPhone 6s. Clever.

Nomad makes great stuff and this is no exception. A lot of wallets have wasted space. This one does not. You can see that the design manages to keep the wallet as slim as possible despite the fact it has a battery in there. I guess my point is that the Wallet for iPhone does not feel cheep and I like carrying it in my pocket.

Even if you just used it for busy days when you expect you’d need an extra charge, like travel day or take-the-kids to theme park day, the Wallet is worth it. I’ve found it particularly nice on family trips to Disneyland. Now when my kids say, “Dad, do you have your wallet?”, it doesn’t always mean they want money. The Wallet for iPhone looks nice, is built to last, and doubles your iPhone battery life without having to carry one more thing.

Even better, as this post goes live, the Wallet for iPhone is 20% off.

DaisyDisk is Half Off

DaisyDisk is still my favorite disk storage management tool. I’ve been using it for years with zero problems. The application has the best user interface of any disk management tool I’ve ever used. Not only is it attractive with its concentric circles, it’s also the best way I’ve ever seen to convey disk storage information. Now that we all have SSDs in our Macs, this is a handy tool on your belt.

Recently the App got a rewrite that dramatically improved the scan speed and gave the user interface an El Capitan-friendly paint job. Best of all, it’s half off, just $4.99, now through Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

This year more than ever I have a lot to be thankful for. I quit my job, turned my life upside down, and I’m still paying the mortgage. You, friends, have played a huge role in all of this and for that I will be forever thankful. I hope your Turkey is delicious.