John August is an impressive guy. He writes movies, develops apps, and podcasts all with an eye to attention and detail that is to be admired. This week we interviewed John on the Mac Power Users to find out what tools he uses to be so productive.
Mac Power Users Live, May 3 at 10am PST
Things have been nuts for me lately on several fronts. I spent some time this afternoon feeling sorry for myself until I realized I have the perfect cure in a live podcast about spectacularly geeky things planned for tomorrow. That’s right. The Mac Power Users monthly live show is set to go tomorrow at 10am PST/1pm EST. If you’ve got nothing better to do on Saturday, why don’t you stop by at the appointed hour.
Scrivener Half Off Today at MacUpdate
Scrivener is my favorite app for serious writing projects. I’ve written nearly all my books in it and today I’m writing a complicated legal brief in it. We did a Mac Power Users episode on it a long time ago (that probably needs updating). Today only it is half off at MacUpdate. Scrivener is a lot of App for just $22.50.
Launch Center Pro Tutorial
I keep trying to get into using Launch Center Pro on my iPhone and iPad. I took to Drafts like a duck to water but for some reason LCP just isn’t sticking. Today Alex Guyot published the mother of all Launch Center Pro tutorials over at MacStories. If after I read this, I can’t incorporate Launch Center Pro, then Launch Center Pro just isn’t for me.
MPU 189: The Server Show
Jazz Friday: Clifford Brown’s Joy Spring
I was working in the garden a few days ago listening to Clifford Brown’s Joy Spring which seems appropriate for this time of year. Clifford Brown isn’t as well known as some of the other jazz legends of the bebop era because he died so young. “Brownie” had a great sound and was an accomplished composer. Joy Spring is one of my favorite jazz tunes.
In 1955, Clifford Brown and Max Roach combined for this album, considered one of the iconic albums of the hard bop movement. The band included Clifford, co-leader and drummer Max Roach, Harold Land on tenor sax, Richie Powell (the younger brother of Bud Powell) and bassist George Morrow. If you are just going to buy one track, get Joy Spring, but you can get the entire album for $6.
Clifford was a straight-living trumpeter during a period when so many jazz players were heroin addicts. Unfortunately he died at just 25 years old in a car accident. Tragic. (Wikipedia) For years afterward, jazz musicians paid tribute to Clifford Brown including Benny Golson’s I Remember Clifford which, coincidentally, is not one of my favorite jazz tunes.
Here are both Max Roach and Clifford Brown looking much cooler than I could ever look.
Home Screens: Josh Centers
This year at Macworld, I made a new friend in Josh Centers (website)(Twitter). Josh is one of those guys that you immediately like upon meeting. He currently writes for TidBITS and recently published a book about the AppleTV. So Josh, show us your home screen.
What are some of your favorite apps?
I’ve been a Gmail user since it was in beta, and despite my qualms about Google, it’s just too useful to move away from. After a long battle with Apple’s Mail apps, I took your advice and started using the Web interface and official iOS app, and I haven’t looked back. Gmail offers a ton of features that Apple Mail doesn’t, like inbox tabs, push notifications, and showing my own replies in message threads.
Internet security is horribly broken, so it’s essential to have unique, complex passwords for every site I use. I’ve tried KeePass and LastPass, but 1Password integrates best with Apple’s stuff.
Just as essential is two-factor authentication, and Authy takes a lot of the stress out of it. Unlike Google Authenticator, Authy backs up my keys in the cloud and allows me to sync keys between devices.
I tried OmniFocus long ago, and liked it, but I was too cheap to buy it on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. I tried just about every alternative, but when I started becoming overwhelmed with TidBITS and Take Control projects, speaking engagements, and the baby, I caved. Nothing does a better job of organizing tasks and keeping me sane. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer collaboration features, but I have a couple of supplemental apps for that.
We use the free Trello service to manage TidBITS and Take Control tasks, and the iOS apps are great. Trello lets you set up boards for each project, then inside each board you can create multiple lists full of task cards. At TidBITS, we use Trello to jot down article ideas, track what’s ready to edit, and decide which articles will be in the next issue.
For kitchen and grocery management, nothing else compares. My wife and I use Paprika to share a grocery list and store recipes.
Twitter is a distraction, but it’s also brought me new friends and opportunities. Before Tweetbot, I never used Twitter much, and now any other client feels clumsy. I can’t wait for the iPad update.
Chrome is my preferred browser on the Mac, so I also use it on iOS to access open tabs on all of my devices.
Which app is your guilty pleasure?
Alien Blue for Reddit. I waste entirely too much time on there, but I always keep coming back. But some of the smaller, more focused subreddits can be a treasure trove of information.
What is the app you are still missing?
Our TidBITS Publishing System is built around the Subversion version control system, so I’d love a customizable text editor like Nebulous Notes with Subversion support. Unfortunately, no such thing exists, which limits my ability to write and edit TidBITS content while I’m away from my desk.
How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?
I use my iPhone constantly throughout the day. My iPad is usually restricted to my bedside, where I use it to read comics on Marvel Unlimited or ComiXology, and play games. However, when I’m on the road, my iPad Air paired with the Belkin QODE Ultimate Keyboard Case makes a convenient writing machine.
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?
AirPlay. The capability to take any bit of media and beam it to my Apple TV is huge.
If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?
I would overhaul the way Apple handles music and photos. iTunes and iPhoto on the desktop are dreadfully slow, and I get tired of messing with storage space and metadata. I’ve already switched from iTunes to Rdio for my music needs for that reason, and I use Dropbox (for now) to sync photos and videos instead of Photo Stream. I would have iTunes and iPhoto rewritten from scratch, to be introduced alongside cloud-based music and photo services to make these things easier for users.
I would also have iOS inter-app sharing improved. This is one thing Android does right. For instance, let’s say you want to add a Web page to Evernote. On Android, that’s easily accomplished from the browser in a few taps. On iOS, it requires a kludgy bookmarklet that’s both awkward to install and to use.
What’s your wallpaper and why?
On all of my devices, I use the system defaults. They look nice, and it’s one less thing I have to think about.
The Future of the Aqua User Interface
As WWDC approaches, I’m increasingly interested in the future “look” of the Mac’s operating system. Stephen Hacket posted an excellent historical summary of the Mac user interface and speculates about its future at 512pixels. This is the best thing I read on the Internet today.
The Next Thing and Low Hanging Fruit
I read this Wall Street Journal article where Tim Cook explained that Apple is approaching releasing a product in a new category. There is one line in the story that explains “Cook knows that’s the biggest question hanging over the company: whether it can repeat the innovative success with a new product category – as it did with the iPhone in 2007 and iPad in 2010.” Somehow it’s become a thing that if Apple can’t release something equivalent to the iPhone and iPad, it’s doomed. Oddly (or perhaps sanely), nobody says that about any other company.
I’m sure Apple does have some new product categories up its sleeve but I also seriously doubt any of them will be as successful as the iPhone. Everybody needs a phone. Not everyone needs a watch, fitness tracker, or iJockstrap. The iPhone represents an expensive and frequently replaced bit of technology that we all need to get around. There isn’t anything else like that. Nevertheless, Apple will start expanding into these lesser categories and people will look at the numbers and say, “See … Apple is doomed without Steve.”
It seems to me that with phones and tablets, Apple has already taken the low hanging fruit. I don’t think there is another category of personal electronics at this stage of the game that everyone will want or need. I’m sure Apple’s new products will be great and will enhance the overall experience but I’d be shocked if they were iPhone/iPad levels of success. I don’t think it matters whether Tim Cook or Steve Jobs were in charge, I just don’t think such a product category exists right now.
App Camp Video and Seattle Session
App Camp for Girls was a big success at Macworld this year. Below is a video my daughter, Samantha, produced. I think the video is great. Samantha thinks it’s terrible. (She didn’t have media badge and had to ditch her tripod to avoid getting booted out.) Also, did you know App Camp for Girls is doing a second session this year in Seattle? It sounds like a great opportunity if you are in the area.