Home Screens: Greg Pierce


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While there are a lot of app developers, there aren’t many that created an entire genre of applications. Greg Pierce (Twitter) from Agile Tortoise, who dreamed up and created Drafts, the App that holds the right-most position in my dock. Katie and I spent a lot of time talking about Drafts in our iOS Automation show. Okay Greg, show us your homescreen.


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What are some of your favorite apps?

Obviously, I’m a heavy user of my own apps – I capture all sorts of things in Drafts (iPhone) (iPad), and use Terminology as the starting point for all my searching, not just for words, but for general information as well.

The day-to-day apps that I use most on my phone are the ones that are entry points to communication: Mail, Messages, Tweetbot (iPhone) (iPad), Riposte andFacebook. Not all of these are necessarily my “favorite” apps, they are the ones that provide me the most utility and all of them are very good.

I love Fantastical. I almost never bothered to enter calendar events using my phone prior to Fantastical, but it made it so easy that I use it all the time now. The natural language text processing is top notch.

Probably my most useful app (across devices) is 1Password, however. It’s my password tool, but also my mobile wallet where I keep all sorts of other important personal information that I need to reference from time to time but don’t want to carry around on paper. Bank accounts, insurance policy info, server configurations, etc. It allows me to be absent minded without worry, and that’s worth so much.

I have two more categories of apps I use a lot: Media and Reading.

I have an A/V folder on my home screen with a few apps that get a ton of use around the house. Rdio, the AppleTV Remote, the remote app for my AirPlay Pioneer receiver, Downcast for Podcasts. All things I use almost daily to control and consume media.

And while I don’t read a ton on the iPhone – it’s always handy to have InstapaperReeder and the Kindle app around to kill some time in a waiting room. These are primary use apps on the iPad, however.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Not sure I have one. I have a whole page of casual games on both my iPhone and my iPad which provide me a great deal of pleasure, but I can’t say I feel guilty about any of them. I’ve got a significant hours logged Candy CrushKingdom RushRidiculous Fishing – but it’s good to relax and not worry about being productive.

I like to get in Minecraft with the kids and build things as well.

What is the app you are still missing?

If I knew that, I would probably be working on building it. Drafts was that missing app for me before I built it. I’m glad it’s filled similar needs for others.

It’s hard, however, to see those gaps. The great apps come along and not only fill gaps, but fill gaps you didn’t realize were there.

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

If I never stop using them, does that count as just once? Sadly, that’s only sort of a joke.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

The magic. I’ve had an iPhone since shortly after the first one came out, and I still am in awe of the amount of power and utility that I carry around in my pocket…still doesn’t seem real.

Handy flashlight, too.

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

As a consumer, I think Apple does a spectacular job across the board with hardware and software.

As a developer, I have some issues with the App Store marketplace and the development process that I would like to see change – but the beefs are relatively minor ones that are not worth airing here and largely come down to improving communication channels with those of us outside of Apple who participate in the App Store economy.

Thanks Greg. And thanks for Drafts. A lot.

 

1Password Version 4

Today marks the release of 1Password, version 4. Agilebits has been hard at work on this update for some time. I jumped on board in the middle of the beta and have been using it on a daily every since. If you’re already a 1Password user, you are really going like this update. If you’re not a 1Password user, shame on you and go get it now.

This update includes over 90 new features aimed at reducing the distance between security and convenience with password management on your Mac. You can get a full description of the updated features at the Agilebits website. There are couple, however, that I already find indispensable.

1Password mini

Before I could only access my 1Password data through the Safari plug-in or the full on application. Now they have a nice little menubar application that lets me get this data. You can trigger it with a keyboard shortcut and if you’re like me, you’ll be using it quite often.

iCloud Sync

This only works with the Mac App Store version but if that’s how you roll, you’re going to really like this new feature. Now I can attach my 1Password data to the device without my Dropbox password. I’ve been using iCloud sync now for two weeks without any issues.

Shared Items

I can now share entries (or entire 1Password vaults) with my wife. No longer do I have to struggle through what to do when she asks me to email her the password for banking website.

There are a lot more features than this. If you bought version 3 from the Mac App Store, this upgrade is free. That’s how I would recommend buying this application if you’re jumping on with version 4. It has allowed me to share the application with everyone in my household and enables iCloud sync to my iOS devices. If you want to get it directly from the developer, you can do it here. Either way, this is a really nice upgrade to an already fantastic application. Make sure to check it out.

 

Marked 2 Now Available

I’m a little late to this party but last week Brett Terpstra released version 2 of his Marked application. Marked is the last word in markdown preview on the Mac. I’ve already purchased mine and am using it.

Marked 2 tracks your file changes and updates the preview as you go, even automatically scrolling to the point in the file where you’re currently working. The new version is faster and more accurate. I know there is a lot of work behind that speed improvement.

The application also supports MultiMarkdown 4.2 (including footnotes), better search, Fountain support, MarsEdit and system clipboard previews. You can also export to DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, RTFD, and paginated PDF. This is just a taste. Brett’s gone crazy with great features. If you routinely write in Markdown, you’ll have use for Marked 2. Get it from Brett directly.

 

EverDock Kickstarter Project

I’ve been a lot more skeptical about Kickstarter projects lately but this EverDock Duo solves a problem for me. I charge my iPad and iPhone on my bedside table and this looks perfect. Moreover, there are no included electronics so I’m betting they are much more likely to ship on time. I ordered one.

More From Apple This Fall

Macworld’s Dan Frakes and Dan Moren give a nice rundown of what Apple may still have up its sleeve this fall. If we are to get new iPads in October (which seems likely), it is pretty impressive that nobody really knows whether the new iPad mini will be retina or not.

One item the article left out is a retina-like cinema display. With Apple about to sell Mac Pros that can drive multiple high-density monitors, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started selling those too. Such a product would also be a nice add-on for the new retina MacBook Pros.

Sponsor: Timeline 3D

This week I’d like to welcome a new sponsor to MacSparky.com,  BEEDOCS Timeline 3D. I’ve been using Timeline 3D for years as my timeline application. BEEDOCS is an artisan software company in Seattle focused on developing useful and elegant products. 

I love the way Timeline 3D presents data cinematically. I can spend just a few minutes building a Timeline and then show off something that looks like it should have taken hours (or days) to build. Attorneys, students, educators, genealogists, and anyone else that wants to elegantly present chronological data should add Timeline 3D to their tool belt. There are versions for the Mac and for iOS. Go check it out.