I recently joined Dave Stachowiak on his Coaching for Leaders podcast where we talked about the pitfalls of presentation day. It is an interesting interview and just 30 minutes long. Perfect for your next long drive.
Tricking Out Your iPhone LCARS Style
I admit that in 1976, eight-year-old me bonded to Star Wars like a baby duck to its mama but I also have a certain affection for Star Trek. (TNG got me through law school.) If you’re a Trekie, check out these awesome LCARS wallpapers from Gedeon Maheux at IconFactory. They are beautiful.
Full Access Keyboards
There is, understandably, a lot of concern about that full access warning dialog in iOS 8 when you enable a new keyboard. The biggest fear is that apps will log your keystrokes in hopes of delivering better service but at the same time collecting every word you type. Add a database of all your keystrokes to a company searching to be acquired and suddenly things get really uncomfortable. Getting full disclosure from app developers of how much data they collect and what they do with it is going to be essential for me in determining which third party keyboards make the cut.
I published a screencast last week of the TextExpander keyboard. Smile, its developer, has already explained how they use data and it is, thankfully, very responsible. No keystroke data is transmitted to any servers. They keep a small cache of keystrokes only long enough to determine if you’ve triggered a snippet and then they dump it. You can learn more from Smile’s blogpost on the subject. I hope other keyboard developers follow Smile’s example.
MPU 215: iOS 8
In the latest installment of the Mac Power Users, Katie and I cover our favorite features in the latest version of iOS. There is a lot to cover here and I think we did a pretty good job of it. As an aside, I’ve got several posts going up this week about iOS 8. I’m really digging it and it is already changing my game.
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https://www.macsparky.com/blog/mpu215
Sponsor: Middle Davids Candles
This week I’m pleased to welcome back Middle Davids Artisan Candles. Dan Catlin and his team at Middle Davids understand the use of rituals to help with productivity. We all like our good coffee (or tea!), our clicky keyboards, and our clean work surfaces, but what about scent?
I burn candles while I write and I always feel that the ritual of lighting the candle is a way to tell myself “it is on” and get to work. After I’ve worked a few hours, I blow out the candle and take a break. You’ll be surprised how well this works. My favorite this month is Carribean Teakwood.
Dan, the proprietor, is a candle geek and obsesses on candles like I do productivity apps. The candles are 100% botanical soy wax, not paraffin (which is a petrochemical) and the wicks are cotton woven (no metals).
MacSparky readers are already loving their Middle Davids Candles including graphic designer Cody Jones, who explained, “Making Light helps me to define a time to lock into my creative and productive zone. Lighting that candle is one of the best parts of my workday.”
Middle Davids has a subscription plan that gets you two candles a month with 40 hours of burn time. That’s two hours of focus a day. You also get a box of wooden matches, and a sample of the next month’s scent. Give it a try. You’ll surprise yourself. Use the code “MacSparky9” (or “macsparky9”) for 20% off.
Productivityist Podcast
Recently, I joined Mike Vardy on his https://productivityist.simplecast.fm/4. During the show we chatted about task management and habit tracking. Mike has that unique combination of smarts and humor that make this worth listening.
Free Stuff: The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite fantasy/science fiction writers. A few years ago, he started a new series, The Stormlight Archive. He’s now published two books in the series and I’ve read them both. The first one, The Way of Kings, is currently free through an iTunes promotion. If you’ve got any interest in this sort of thing, go get it now.
Rocket Matter iPad App
Sometimes sponsor of the site, Rocket Matter, just released an iPad app for their cloud-based law practice management solution. A few years ago there was a raging debate as to whether cloud-based services needed to be browser-based or app-based. Rocket Matter has taken the position that its service should be both in the browser and in an app. I think they nailed it and other cloud-based service providers could take a lesson.
Jason Snell’s Six Colors
No longer part of IDG, Jason Snell is now an indie writer and podcaster from his new home at sixcolors.com. I think having Jason spend less time being an administrator and more time writing is a huge win for all of us. I subscribed immediately. Good luck Jason!
Home Screens: Bradley Chambers
This week’s home screen features Bradley Chambers (Twitter)(Website). In addition to his guest appearances on the Mac Power Users, Bradley also co-hosts the Out of School podcast with Fraser Speirs (Home screen). Bradley is a wicked smart geek. Bradley is also the first person (of many) to share a six row iPhone 6 home screen. So Bradley, show us your home screen.
What are some of your favorite apps?
My favorite app is probably Evernote. It’s my external brain. I struggled for years on what to use Evernote for, but Fraser Speirs finally showed me the light. A perfect example of something I store in Evernote are photos of crafts that my oldest son makes at school. I don’t really want to store the hard copy of everything that he makes forever, but I would like to have a record of it.
Omnifocus is really well done on the iPhone. I tried to move away from the ecosystem last year (for simplicity), but when Omnifocus 2 was released on the Mac, I came back. Where Evernote is my “hard drive”, Omnifocus is my “RAM”. It allows me to only focus on what I need to focus on at any given time. If it’s not in Omnifocus, it won’t get done.
1Password is also one of those apps that I couldn’t live without. Everything from password logins, secure notes, and credit card information is stored in it. With iOS 8 extensions, 1Password on iOS will become much more powerful.
Which app is your guilty pleasure?
It’s definitely Overcast. I’ve been a podcast fan since the first Revenge of the Screen Savers episode was released. I’ve used just about every podcast app on the market, and Overcast is fantastic. I also really like Castro, but the audio smart speed and voice boost features keep me using Overcast.
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?
It’s the camera. The very fact that I can capture almost anything that happens with a device that fits in my pocket is just incredible. I’ll be able to go back and look at so many more memories of my kids lives than any other generation before.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’m really looking forward to seeing how developers take advantage of extensions to give me less of a reason to use my Mac. I’m a big “iOS first” proponent and want to continue to see the platform develop into a first class productivity machine.
Thanks Bradley.