PDFConvert.Me – PDF Conversion Service

While I really enjoy working on my iPad, occasionally I run into roadblocks on it. One such roadblock is my desire to save an email as a PDF file. I’m not talking about a PDF attachment to an email file but the actual email itself. For instance, if I buy something on Amazon and I want to keep the receipt for future reference, Amazon sends me an email telling me about my purchase. I want to print that email to PDF and save it to a folder. This is really easy on the Mac. It is not so easy on the iPad or iPhone. There is no Print to PDF command on iOS. So I usually stick these types of emails in my Action Folder and deal with it when I’m sitting at my Mac later. However, the fact that I can’t deal with it on my iOS device does make me a little crazy. I bemoaned this on a recent episode of Mac Power Users and, of course, one of our clever listeners answered the call.

Brian Almeida has just released a Web service at PDFConvert.me that solves this problem. You can forward any email to the service and it will convert the email to PDF and reply to you with the newly minted PDF as an email attachment. Of course you are sending an email to a third party so this isn’t appropriate for confidential email but I could do this for my Amazon receipts all day long.

At this point, it’s a beta service and he’s trying to figure out the business model. Either way, I think there is a demand for the service and I’m already using it. If you’ve also wanted the ability to turn email into a PDF effortlessly from an iOS device, go check this out. Brian has also been adding features. For instance, if you send a Microsoft Word document to your magic PDFConvert.me email address, it’ll spit back a PDF of that file to you as well.

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My Sony Dictation Recorder

I once mentioned on a MPU episode that I use a small digital recorder with Dragon Dictate. Since then I’ve had a lot people asking which recorder I use. It’s this one (Amazon Affiliate Link). I picked this up at an office supply store and didn’t do a lot of comparison shopping. There are a few things I really like about it though. The USB port folds into the device so I don’t need to find a cord when I want to download. The battery life is great and it is light in my pocket (plastic). It saves audio files to MP3, and my voice sounds great even when I record while walking down the street.

Why don’t I just record onto the iPhone? The physical buttons make a real difference for me. I start and stop between just about every sentence. I also can turn it on and record virtually anywhere without looking at it. As an example, I’ll often take a walk after eating my lunch and record into the Sony for later transcription. It’s also great for diary entries.

MPU 150: Listener Workflows

On Saturday, Katie and I recorded episode 150 of the Mac Power Users. It was so much fun having a live audience and talking to listeners about their kick-ass workflows. Make sure to catch this week’s episode. Also, we had some downtime during the recording so I explained my fail-proof method for cooking Bratwurst and we answered chatroom questions, all of which ended up in an After Dark episode.

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Air Turn for iPad Sheet Music

I’ve digitized all my sheet music and I display it on my iPad via forScore. I only have two complaints. The music is a little smaller on the iPad so I have to pay a little bit closer attention when reading it. I recently purchased a pair of reading glasses (I know) and that seems to be solving this problem. The second complaint is turning pages. The app has an easy enough gesture to reach up and flip the page but because it is not tactile like sheet music and because computers aren’t perfect, sometimes it doesn’t go just right and I end up turning two pages.

Today Macworld did a video review of the Air Turn device that solves this problem with a Bluetooth foot pedal. Tap it with your foot, and the page turns. This seems like a no-brainer for a professional musician. Maybe it’s a Christmas list item for me.

Voice Dream for Instapaper and Pocket Text to Speech

On the heels of our recent Read it Later show, I received an email from listener David Ianni concerning an app I’d never heard of before, Voic Dream ($10). If you’ve ever wanted to have your iPhone read out loud entries from your Instapaper or Pocket lists, Voice Dream is exactly what you’re looking for. It grabs any selected article and reads it to you out loud. I’ve always got more stuff I want to read than time to read it. I’ve also got a 30 minute commute each way every day. Using Voice Dream, I’ve started listening to the long form articles that I feel like I never have time to read. It comes with an American female voice but if that doesn’t float your boat, you can buy a variety of other male and female voices for three dollars each. I bought Rachel, a British female voice, because that’s just how I roll. Voice Dream can also read from your Evernote and even Dropbox folders. There is a crippled free version if you want to see how it works before buying.

In addition to reading you the words, it also displays them. I could see this being useful for someone trying to learn English as a second language. You can also set the reading speed. I’ve got mine set to 80 words per minute and it works just fine. Voice Dream is one of those apps that I’ve always wanted but never really articulated. It solves a problem in my life and it may for you too.

Helping Alice Verpoorten

Tim Verpoorten was the first person that ever put me “on the air” and a helluva nice guy. We all knew Tim was sick but his sudden death threw us all, including his wife Alice. Tim left a lot of Apple gear and Allison and Steve Sheridan have cataloged and put it all up on sale at Amazon. If you need some slightly used but well-loved tech gear and want to help out one of our geek family, go check out the details at MacRoundtable.com. They also have a donation link.

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So Three Nerds Walk into a Bar …

At least that is what it felt like last night when I sat down to talk to Adam Christianson and Ken Ray for today’s MacCast episode. We talked about Apple, Google, the baffling world of book sales, and I lifted my self-imposed ban to vent my spleen on patent litigation.

Delight is in the Details

Shawn Blanc is a tech blogger but also much more. Shawn frequently inspires me with his posts about motivation and finishing a project. Shawn just released a new book, Delight is in the Details. As Shawn explains, the subject of the book is how to create substantive work that delights and excites your audience. The book is in multiple formats and includes interviews with many people I respect including Marco Arment, Michael Simmons, Jory Raphael, and Federico Viticci. The ebook is $20 or the full bundle (with the ebook, an audiobook, and interviews) for $29. I’ve just downloaded my copy and I’m looking forward to reading it on vacation.

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Mac Power Users Show 150 Live this Saturday

Can you believe the Mac Power Users are about to record show 150? Katie and I will be broadcasting live this Saturday at 10am PST in a very special Mac Power Users where I confront my growing Sonos addition and some of our smartest listeners join in with some workflows that will knock you out of your socks.

Mark you calendars for Saturday, August 10, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern/10:00 a.m. Pacific. We’ll streaming live on 5by5 so you can join us in the 5by5 chatroom or listen on the 5by5 apps for iOS and Mac. I’ll see you there.

MPU 149: Read it Later

In episode 149 of the Mac Power Users, Katie and I tackle the growing list of read it later services covering what we like (and dislike) about each of them along with a discussion of unconventional alternatives for all of you rebels out there.

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