Book Recommendation: The Rook

On the heels of my last fiction recommendation, the Incomparable recently made another recommendation, The Rook, which I downloaded via Audible and (thanks to some fortunate traffic jams) I finished quickly. This is the story of an amnesiac, Myfanwy Thomas, who wakes up in a London park surrounded by dead people wearing latex gloves. It turns out she is part of a supernatural MI5 and from page one, the game is afoot. The book is quirky, funny, and by about halfway through, I couldn’t wait to see where it all went. If you’d like a fun read, check this one out. When you’re done, go download episode 128 of The Incomparable and listen to Jason, Scott, and Dan talk about it, but only after you’re done.

The Rook

Amazon Affilate Link

Audible

Nerdy Professionals iPad Basics Webinar in Two Days

Ernie Svenson and I are gearing up for our introduction to iPad webinar in just a few days. We’ve been working hard on this presentation and plan to make learning to use the iPad fun and instructional. This first session is all about the basics including things like Siri, the keyboard, settings, and security. Future sessions are going to go much deeper down the rabbit hole but for this first one we needed to get the foundations in. If you know any professionals that are considering an iPad or need help with their existing iPad, send them to us.

Also, tell them to use “macsparkyblog” as a discount code to get 10% off and you’ll look like a hero.

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Maccast on Apple’s Alleged Doom

Recently I joined Adam Christianson from the Maccast and Ken Ray from Mac OS Ken to talk about the often predicted but never seen Apple implosion. I explained recently in Macworld exactly why we, as users, should not be concerned but it was still fun talking with Adam and Ken.

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Calculating Dates with Siri

Maybe it’s a lawyer thing but I quite frequently need to calculate dates. For instance, I need to figure out what day is 30 days after I serve documents on somebody or how many days elapsed between date X and date Y.

I was thinking this would be really convenient if I could do it with Siri but the Siri documentation doesn’t say anything about calculating dates. After a little experimentation, however, I stumbled upon the necessary syntax:

“What is X days from Y date.”

For example, “What is 30 days from June 1, 2013.”

It also works in reverse.

“What is 30 days before June 1, 2013.”

Figuring out days between dates also requires a specific syntax.

“How many days between June 1, 2012 and July 1, 2013?”

As you can see, this search returns a Wolfram Alpha page, which isn’t as pretty but includes more details. Once you internalize the syntax, you’ll find there is no faster way to calculate dates than with Siri.

OmniFocus AppleScript Templates

Okay, so this is pushing all my nerd buttons. Chris Sauve made using AppleScript templates in OmniFocus easy and kind of pretty. There is even a 17 minute screencast to walk you through. Very nice work.

via Kourosh Dini

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Macworld Walkabout

Wally Cherwinski, the unofficial videographer of Macworld/iWorld, nails it, again.

MPU 126: The Home Server Show

In the latest Mac Power Users episode, Shawn Blanc joins us and we talk in detail about setting up your own Mac home server. This isn’t nearly as daunting as you may think it is. It just requires an extra Mac (not necessarily new) and a desire to spend a few hours now to save many hours later.

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Book Recommendation: Among Others

I am really happy about subscribing to Jason Snell’s Incomparable podcast. In addition to entertainment and information, Jason and his merry gang are also great sources for book, movie, television, and comic recommentations. On their recommendation I just listened to Jo Walton’s Among Others. The book is the diary of a 15-year-old girl during 6 months of her life as she deals with magic, science fiction, and (hardest of all) being a 15-year-old girl. The book won last year’s Hugo Award and I really enjoyed it. Now I’m trying to get my 16-year-old daughter to read it.

If you are an Audible subscriber (I am), I recommend listening to the Audible version. The primary character’s Welsh heritage is a big part of the book and having someone read it with a Welsh accent made it all the better.

Remotely Advancing iPad Keynote Slides

Update: January 2015
The Satechi remote does not work with iOS 8. This may no longer be the remote you are looking for.

The last few months I’ve been giving presentations with my iPad and using a remote to trigger slides. I’m not talking about Apple’s Keynote Remote, which feels fiddly to me, but an actual clicker. I push the button and the next slide or animation triggers. It even works with the iPad’s dock connector connected to a projector. This means I can now walk in a room with an iPad mini and a remote and give a presentation. When I spoke at the Omni Group event last month, I had several people asking me how I did it. The trick to all of this is the Satechi Bluetooth Smart Pointer Mobile Presenter (Amazon affiliate link).

I paid $45 for mine on Amazon. As a remote, it really isn’t anything special. It does have a power slider so you can turn it off and be assured it won’t run down the battery in your bag. However, it charges through USB so if it dies, you need to plug it in. (You can’t just replace the batteries with a few spare AAs.) The laser is red (I prefer the more visible green.) It is also not particularly ergonomic. The buttons are flush with the surface so you can’t always figure out exactly where your thumb is without looking down at the remote. My Kensington remote is better in almost every way except for one: It can’t advance iPad Keynote slides. Despite all of issues surrounding the Satechi’s design, it finally lets me remotely trigger Keynote slides on my iPad.

The Trick

To make this work, Satechi had to get creative. There is no easy way to tell Keynote via Bluetooth to trigger slides so instead they used the iPad’s accessibility features to pull it off. There are few steps:

1. Pair the Remote

It is a Bluetooth device and you need to hook it into your iPad. This works just like any other Bluetooth pairing. In this case, a code is entered from a set of numbered buttons found under the Satechi’s sliding face.

2. Enable VoiceOver

Next you need to enable VoiceOver in the iPad’s Accessibility settings. Set it to trigger on a triple click of the iPad’s home button but don’t enable it yet.

Once that is done, set the remote to “Accessibility Mode” on the slider on the back right side. The other modes are useful for multimedia or using the remote to present with your Mac. I keep it in my bag as a back up for these purposes but so far all I really use this remote for is to present with the iPad.

Now go find your presentation in Keynote on your iPad and open it up. Then triple-click the home button on the iPad to enable VoiceOver. You’ll want to turn down your iPad volume at this point.

That’s it. Now you can move forward and backward in your presentation with the remote. That has always been a major gripe for me and now it is fixed with this hacky (yet effective) solution.

Cooking Ideas

In the past week, I’ve received several notes complimenting this episode of Mac Power Users. I’m pretty proud of this episode where I explain how I use mind maps and outlines to make things happen.

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