Hacking The Onion

I found this article about the Syrian Electronic Army hacking The Onion fascinating. They pulled it off with phishing. In particular, they embedded malicious links in friendly sounding email. Once they got a few people to bite, they used those compromised email accounts to double down and phish more employees using their friends’ emails. This really makes me question the use of embedded links in email. They are so convenient but also so easy to abuse.

There are some tools in Apple mail to expose a link before opening it. Regardless, be careful out there. (Link found via John Gruber).

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MPU 137: Workflows with Aisha Tyler

This week’s MPU episode is up and ready for download. In it we interview Aisha Tyler, a television and movie actress, self-made director, geek, and all around “Art Shark”. This is a really fun episode. Make sure to check it out.

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Automated Icon Extractor

Ben Waldie, who is, in my opinion, probably the most savvy AppleScript author not actually working for Apple recently published a script on TUAW that automatically extracts an icon from an application. I created a similar service using scripts I learned from Sal Saghoian’s AppleScript 1-2-3 book a few years ago but Ben’s solution is much better. I’ve added it to my script menu and if you ever have need of app icons, you should too.

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1Password for iOS 4.2

Agile just released 1Password 4.2 for iOS and it is a really nice update:

Better Browser
Go & Fill Bookmarks are now in 1Browser on iPad. (The iPhone is coming.) Also, if 1Password sees a URL in the clipboard, it’ll prompt you to open it in the 1Password browser.

Better Sharing
You can share 1Password vault items (encrypted) with others. This will make things much easier between myself and MrsMacSparky.

Better Search
Search in iOS 1Password now searches all fields.

Learn more on the Agile Blog.

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Mac Power Users Site Update

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The Mac Power Users website just got a long overdue overhaul. John Chandler is the brains behind the re-design and Katie and I are both really happy with the way it came out. You can now search for old shows easier than ever.

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Lego Mac

I recently got this awesome Classic Mac lego set from Chris McVeigh. There is a standing joke in my house. The kids get Lego, dad begs to help, dad gets denied. Not this time. The kit even includes a clever Lego logic board. I love having this on my desk

The Productivityist Workbook

Mike Vardy has some really nice resources at the Productivityist website. Most recently Mike has pre-released his Productivityist Workbook. The idea is simple solutions to make you more efficient. I’ve read Mike’s work before and I’m sure it is going to be great.

My Little Geek

There is no question that MacSparky readers and Mac Power Users listeners are all amazing. I received further proof of this recently when Andrew & Sarah Spear sent me their children’s book, My Little Geek (all the way from New Zealand). It’s a wonderful little book beautifully illustrated. I’ve been reading it with my two year old nephew and it is way too much fun. I just wish this book had existed when my girls were small.

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OmniFocus Task Creation via QR Code

I recently received an email from reader Jonas Bergenudd with a really clever workflow. Jonas has things in his life that occasionally require replenishment, like batteries. So Jonas created stickers with QR codes on them using OmniFocus’s URL scheme to add a new task to his OmniFocus list.

For example, scanning this QR code takes your phone to the following URL – omnifocus:///add?name=buy%20aa-batteries.

Go ahead, hit it with RedLaser. You know you want to.

OmniFocus captures that URL and creates a new task, “buy aa-batteries”.

You could create a series of these stickers and place them on things around your house and then zap them when they start getting low. Is it faster than stopping and typing an entry in OmniFocus directly? I guess it depends on how often you need batteries. Is it geekier and cooler knowing you can zap a QR code with your phone and add a task. Most definitely yes.

If you are looking for an app to generate QR codes, there are several in the Mac App store.

Home Screen: Sam Spurlin

Lately, I’ve been reading Sam Spurlin’s blog. (Website) (Twitter) Sam has some great content and I like his voice. Sam’s also got an iPhone and some definite thoughts about his home screen. So Sam, show us your home screen.

What are some of favorite apps?

My hands down favorite app right now (and has been for a long time) is Instapaper. I’m a Ph.D student so I spend a ton of time reading things for class and research which means I don’t have a lot of time to sit down and read other, fun, things. Instapaper is almost single handedly responsible for keeping me a semi-rounded individual. I’m very good about throwing interesting articles I see into the app and I love that I can use weird snippets of time to work through a personal reading list. I’ve also really been enjoying Circa for kind of the same reason, actually. I like how well summarized and broken down the articles are. You can tell there is some serious thought and care taken to do that well. The app is also just really well-designed and fun to use. (D-Nice find)

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Probably Facebook at this point. It seems to be one of the main ways my classmates like to communicate so I’m obligated to keep it around to some degree. It’s also a good way to stay in touch with my family on the other side of the country. It has become much more bearable ever since I unfollowed almost everybody who I wasn’t “real” friends with. Now my News Feed is (mostly) filled with updates from people I actually care about. I suppose my other one is the NHL’s video streaming app, NHL GameCenter. I’m a huge hockey fan and it’s nice to be able to catch a Red Wing’s game if I’m stuck in a lecture…I mean, not near my computer for a completely legitimate reason 🙂

What is the app you are still missing?

This is where I make a corny joke about an app that will write research papers or do my homework, right? While I love Mendeley for PDF storage/citation management on my Mac, the iPhone app is pretty terrible — to the point where it’s basically missing. I eventually plan on getting an iPad or iPad mini and at that point I’m going to have to figure out an app or system of apps to keep the PDFs I read and annotate/highlight on my computer automatically synced with my iOS devices. I’m sure there is something out there that will work great but I haven’t spent the time to figure it out, yet.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

I have an iPhone 5 and I love how thin it is. I upgraded from a 3GS so the difference between the two was striking. My phone is the hub of much of my productive life (Fantastical, Things, and Evernote being the main trifecta) as well as much of my leisure time (Instapaper, Reeder, Twitter, Comixology, Letterpress, etc.). Being able to always have it in my pocket and not feel oppressed by its size or weight is important to the way I use it.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I don’t remember where I originally read this or if it was some kind of original thought, but I try to use my home screen as inspiration. I look at my phone many, many times every day and I decided that I want the apps that help me be a better person or create something new in the world to be what I see most often. That’s why I keep WriteRoom, Drafts, and Ink where I do. Instead of turning on my phone and being greeted by a bunch of games or mindless social networks I wanted to see apps that require me to engage with them on a little bit more intellectual level. Even if I’m not turning to my phone to draft an article or sketch a picture, keeping those apps front and center help me keep my mind on the fact that this phone can be a powerful tool if I decide to engage with it properly. I’m obviously getting away from this somewhat (see Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard, etc.), but it’s something I try to be mindful of.

Thanks Sam