You may have heard of Jeff Carlson before. He’s written several technology books and is a true gentleman. (Jeff even did a home screen post.) Jeff is also an accomplished photographer and just released the second edition of his iPad for Photographers book. The book, which is beautiful, includes some great tips for using your iPad to get great photos. Jeff’s going to be a future guest on the Mac Power Users but, in the meantime, you should bone up and check out Jeff’s book.
Well … sort of. Today’s Reeder for iPhone update supports Feed Wrangler. It does not, however, support Feed Wrangler’s Smart Streams feature so for now you just get one big master unread list. I understand that drawback is temporary. Even with this limitation, it’s nice to have Reeder available again.
This week Chris Breen joined the Mac Power Users. Chris is a professional musician and writes for Macworld. During this episode, Chris talks about the way he handles project management on a day-to-day basis, some great writing workflows, and music.
If you haven’t already exported your Google Reader subscription, today is the day. Google is pulling the plug on Monday. If you are still flummoxed as to how to export your Google Reader feed list, Katie Floyd made an excellent tutorial (using MPU sponsor Clarify) to show you the way.
I was a bit coy in the MPU RSS show about exactly what I’m doing about RSS as the big change is upon us. Here it is, plain and simple.
Feed Wrangler is innovative and exactly what I was looking for with this change, something to move the ball forward. I’m not sure if I’ll still be using Feed Wrangler in a year but I suspect I will. Creating Smart Streams that serve me up posts I’m particularly interested in is great. Letting me create filters to automatically mark posts including words like patent, lawsuit, and Ballmer as read so I never see them is magical. (If you are trying to wrap your head around Smart Streams and Filters,Shawn Blanc explains further.) Feed Wrangler’s developer explains they are going to put even more logic into these features so I can create filters that contain Boolean logic terms (e.g., Filter: Samsung AND commercial). There are other tempting services out there but for me, Feed Wrangler scratches the itch.
I most often check RSS on my iPad. I took a few cheap shots at Mr. Reader’s icon yesterday on Twitter and received a mixture of scolding and agreement. I can’t help it. Those RSS eyes creep me out. Once you open, Mr. Reader though, it is a really nice experience. I’m using it for now. When Reeder lands on the iPad with Feed Wrangler support (which is promissed), I’ll switch back to my precious Reeder unless Mr. Reader wins my heart in the interim, which isn’t out of the question.
I know Reeder is coming but have yet to find an attractive app for the iPhone. The free Wrangler App is not a long term solution. I suspect a lot of good RSS app developers are consuming vast quantities of coffee right now.
The Feed Wrangler website isn’t bad. It has keyboard shortcuts, runs fast, and is in your browser so you can quickly open articles in additional tabs for sending to your read later service. Again, I’m not convinced this is a long term solution. I just bought ReadKit and am playing with it as a possible replacement. I also expect we’ll get back Reeder for Mac when they add Feed Wrangler support.
As you can see, this is still a bit of a work in progress but even with the juggling I’m doing on the client side, the Feed Wrangler Smart Streams and Filters have me feeling really great about Google’s decision to pull the plug. Innovation in RSS is back.
I recently discovered nvALT’s ability to link notes by simply including the name of another nvALT note with double brackets [[like this]]. As a result, I’ve started creating links between notes and I’m loving it. For instance, I’ve got links between notes that have related legal text and forms. I’ve also got another note listing every case I have set for trial and the trial date. This gives me a quick way to make sure I don’t double book myself when the lady in the black robe is bearing down on me. Now these lists are linked to the notes with all the details related to the particular cases.
For instance: [[Donald v. Daffy]] – October 1–15, 2013
I’m just starting to wrap my head around this trick which I discovered here via a link by my pal Brett Terpstra.
Yesterday I was a guest on the Maccast and had the pleasure of talking with Adam Christianson and Ken Ray about several Apple-related topics including memory upgrades, the future of television, and the deification of Steve Jobs. It was a lot of fun and you can download it now.
Just in case you are part of the vast majority of my RSS subscribers that use Google Reader, you’ll want to move this feed to your new reader before Google pulls the plug on July 1.
Click here for the MacSparky RSS feed.
Also, if you are having trouble deciding where to go with your RSS feeds, this week’s Mac Power Uses episode will set you straight.
Over the weekend, Dan Benjamin and Haddie Cooke were in Los Angeles. I finally got to meet Dan in person and we attended a 5by5 meet up in Santa Monica. Every time I meet MPU listeners, I’m amazed by how smart and charming they are. This time was no different. Moreover, Tim Bennett was there with his micro four-thirds camera and this amazing lens with a .95 aperture. These pictures were taken by candlelight and look amazing.
In Mac Power Users episode 143, Katie and I survey the existing options for RSS following the demise of Google Reader. The good news is now that there isn’t a Google monopoly, developers are coming up with some innovative (and better) solutions. Check out this episode to find out what works best for you.
