Home Screens – Todd Olthoff

This week’s home screen features my pal Todd Olthoff (Twitter)(Website)(YouTube). Todd is a pastor by day and OS X Server guru by night. Todd has a really great YouTube channel with many Mac tutorials, including an excellent series on Mac OS X Server. Most recently Todd agreed to guest on the Mac Power Users and tell us all about it. Okay Todd, show us your home screen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

Some of my favorite apps are replacements for the built in Apple Apps. For calendar I use the incredible Fantastical. Fantastical is one of those applications that simplifies my life not only on my iOS devices but across my Mac devices as well. Nothing like using natural language to set up appointments. Another app I use often is Cobook for my address book. The way Cobook pulls in all of my contacts from not only my address book but from social media as well and puts everything in one place is incredible. I also like the ability to see what my friends have been tweeting about lately just by looking at their contact in Cobook instead of having to go out into another application. It will be interesting to see what happens with Cobook now that it has merged with FullContact.

For social media and keeping up on tech news I use Tweetbot for twitter, Reeder for RSS feeds, Pocket for my read later content, and Downcast for all of my favorite podcasts (like Mac Power Users, of course). I also have a general social folder for all of the other social media sites I touch base with like Google Plus and Facebook.

Being a true Mac geek I love being as productive as possible on whatever device I am working on so I use tools like Drafts to quickly get text based items into my system for later action. I use Launch Center Pro as my starting point for my daily review and other tasks. Putting all of the items I normal check with various swipes and taps in one place has really helped me cut down some of the time it takes for me to get things done. I would also have to add 1Password into my attempt to stay productive and secure on my iOS devices. I just can’t put a value on being able to access all of my passwords in one place to quickly login to websites in a secure manner.

As far as dealing with writing and information, I am a huge fan of Day One for my daily journaling and capturing life events or thoughts on the run. For more serious writing I use Daedelous Touch. It’s combination with Ulysses on my Mac make it a killer app for me now that I am writing in Markdown (thanks to you David!). For storage and archive I am a big fan of Devonthink Pro Office and I use their companion app to take files and documents with me on the go for easy access when I need them.

And of course, being a Pastor for my day job, I love being able to carry the whole Bible in one little app in my pocket. For this I use the YouVersion App (Which I think is still smaller than one MacSparky Field Guide Book).

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Being a guy who likes to play around with OS X Server, one of the apps I have found a guilty pleasure is Server Admin Remote. This app let’s me access my server’s vitals from my iPhone. I can check to see how my network is behaving, power usage, storage and what services are running. I can also start and stop services remotely and view log files from my server. Though it hasn’t been officially updated for the most current Server OS, I have found it still works for me under 10.9. A great app if you need to keep up with your OS X Server.

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

Honestly I use my iPhone more times than I would like to count. It serves as my time piece so I am always pulling it out to check to see what time it is. I also use it to stay in touch with co-workers & family. The iPad I am trying to work into my workflow and find I use it mostly for media consumption, taking notes in places where using a laptop is not convenient, or when I want to travel light. I still heavily rely on and love my 13 inch Retina Macbook Pro! So overall, I am constantly using my iPhone and occasionally use my iPad for tasks needing a bigger screen.

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

If I was in charge at Apple I would like to see more cross app collaboration so developers could tie into each other’s apps a little easier. We see with what Readdle has been trying to do with their suite of applications and how they communicate with one another, what can happen when you allow this kind of integration. I know it goes against the current rules, but it really would make the experience of an iOS device more seamless in my opinion.

What’s your wallpaper and whys?

My wallpaper usually changes over time depending on my mood. I have a wallpaper application called Wallpapers 2 that uploads some nice stuff. I usually browse through there from time to time when I get bored of the wallpaper I am currently using.

Anything Else You’d Like to Share?

Thanks so much for the opportunity to share my home screen David!

Thanks Todd.

Inconceivable

I was reading Steven Frank’s excellent piece (via Daring Fireball) about growing up and playing Dragon’s Lair and there was one passage that struck me where he wrote about ordering a strategy guide from some guy who’s name he found in the back of a magazine.

“I begged my parents. Weeks later, my strategy guide arrived (a few black and white photocopied sheets of paper stapled together), and I began studying.”

I made the same observation last month when my 12-year-old daughter got a Rubik’s cube. I was “of age” when Rubik’s cubes were a big deal and I had one. (Although mine was a smaller knock-off attached to a keychain.)

Learning to solve the Rubik’s cube was a spirit quest for me. I spent hours spinning that thing, learned tips from friends, and kept little notecards with spinning recipes. (Yes. Notecards.) Even then, I didn’t know anyone that could solve the later stages. I felt I may never solve it and then I heard of The Guide. The Guide was talked about in hushed whispers at Vina Danks Junior High. Most of us believed it existed but none of us saw it. Its existence was an article of faith.

Then Jamie’s older brother got his hands on The Guide and a meeting was arranged. The Guide was a piece of paper that had been passed through more hands then the map Indiana Jones uses at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It bore smudges and dirt and stains and what I thought was blood but, in hindsight, was much more likely ketchup. It was beautiful. After a two month journey, The Guide helped me finally solve the Rubik’s cube. More notecards were made.

My daughter solved her Rubik’s cube in 2 days. The only reason it took so long is because she was too busy to go on YouTube the first day. To 1980 me, the idea of the Internet and the ability to find solutions to the Rubik’s cube on my telephone was inconceivable. I wonder what will exist in 35 years that is inconceivable to my twelve-year-old today.

OmniFocus for Mac, Version 2

Today the Omni Group released OmniFocus for Mac, version 2. I’ve already bought my upgrade license for the pro version. I’m going to write up why and how I use this app in greater detail in the near future but for now you can read this piece I did on the OmniFocus website.

NosillaCast on Cooking Ideas

Speaking of podcasts, this past weekend I joined Allison Sheridan’s NosillaCast to talk about one of my favorite topics, cooking ideas. Allison did a great job with the interview.

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Mac Power Users 193 with James Floyd Kelly

In episode 193, writer of many books James Floyd Kelly talks about how he gets it all done and shares some excellent geek dad tips, including how to build your very own wireless Atari 2600 emulator including controller. Check it out.

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GOkey

About every six months I buy something dumb on KickStarter or Indiegogo. A few days ago, I got sucked in on the GOkey. It is a keychain dongle that includes a small battery for a brief charge, a Lightening cable for connecting your iPhone to a Mac or PC, a flash drive, and a Bluetooth radio that connects to your iPhone. There’s an accompanying app that allows you to push a button on the GoKey and make your iPhone beep or, alternatively, push a button on your iPhone and make the GoKey beep. The device itself is a little bigger than I would prefer but it feels like a nerdtacular Swiss Army knife. I’m in.

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Beats Music

A few months ago I sat in the speaker room at MacWorld Expo talked at length with Chris Breen about music streaming services. Chris is a musician and firm believer in streaming your music instead of buying it. I explained how I tried a few of the services and none of them stuck with me. Chris told me to try Beats Music.

Coincidentally, the very next day I received an email from AT&T explaining that I could get a free three month trial on the Beats family plan. If I stick with it, the subscription will be $15 a month and everybody in my family can run Beats at the same time playing different music. The service is already built into the Sonos app for my speakers and I can now easily stream just about anything I can think of throughout my house.

The big reason Chris told me to try Beats was because they have human curated playlists. I’m now halfway through the experiment and a lot more excited about streaming services than I was the last time I tried. I like the music exploration element of it but I also would like the idea of spending $15 a month buying a new album that I could own for the rest of my life. I think it really comes down to the question of how adventurous you are about your music tastes and how badly you want to own your music. Ironically, this experiment with Beats has led me to buy more music than usual through iTunes as a result of discovery new tracks. I’m probably doing this wrong.

The browser experience on the Mac doesn’t work without Flash, so I can only run it in Chrome. I think they could stand to have a stand alone Mac app but I’m sure that is not as high a priority as iOS. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I have to start paying but I suspect I’ll subscribe, at least for awhile longer. I have no idea if this proposed Apple purchase is an actual thing or a marketing gimmick. I can say, however, the Beats experiment is the first time I’ve taken to a streaming service. Josh Centers over at TidBITS did a nice write up explaining what distinguishes Beats from some of its competitor services. I thought the music sounded better than my last streaming experiment and Josh explains they are using higher bitrates.

Jazz Friday: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Cannonball Adderley (Wikipedia) is one of best alto saxophonists from the hard bop era. As a sideman, he played with Miles Davis including the Kind of Blue album. After he left Miles Davis, Cannonball started his own successful quintet. Cannonball viewed himself as a jazz educator, always trying to teach people about jazz and bringing younger players in his band.

One of those young players was Joe Zawinul (Wikipedia), who later headed one of the greatest fusion bands ever, Weather Report. While in Cannonball’s band, Joe wrote Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.

The song is more cross-over than traditional bebop but it sure is a fun listen. My favorite recording is the live one on Cannonball’s aptly named album, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Live at “The Club“. In it, Cannonball gives this fantastic introduction that makes me smile every time I listen to it, especially when faced adversity for which I am not prepared. Finally, I can’t introduce you to this song without at least pointing to my second favorite recording of it, done by the Buddy Rich Big Band in 1968.

Home Screens: Tom Merritt

This week’s home screen features Tom Merritt (Twitter) (Website). Tom is one of the premier tech broadcasters. Tom currently produces The Daily Tech News Show. I also enjoy Tom’s Sword & Laser podcast where he and Veronica Belmont covers fantasy and science fiction books. So Tom, show us your home screen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

I’m a big fan of Downcast on iOS. It does exactly what I want in
managing podcasts. I also rely on Feedly quite a bit for keeping up on news. And Tripit is indispensable to me when traveling. Finally Waze. I never go anywhere without it.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Heyday. It looks through your photos and reminds you of what you were doing on this day say, 5 years ago. A fun trip down memory lane.

What is the app you are still missing?

I think if I knew, I would have downloaded it, lol. Actually, I’ll say the new Tweetbot. I still just use the old one.

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

A dozen? Hard to say since I use it for podcasting, checking feeds, listening to audiobooks etc. My phone is on my pretty much at all times.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

Do not disturb.

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

LET ME SIDELOAD APPS APPLE. I’M A GROWNUP.

What’s your wallpaper and why?

My dogs. Because dogs.

Anything else you’d like to share?

When the first iPhone came out it was a marvel. When the app store came out it was like entering a new world. When the iPad came out it was like being able to expand that world into new vistas. Since then the phone has become just a phone to me. It’s a commodity. And you
know what, that’s OK. My computer is a commodity too. Devices don’t have to have that special feeling of amazement if they help you out and do what you need them to do.

Thanks Tom.