RSS Sponsor: Minigroup

An Atlanta design firm uses Minigroup to work smarter and keep its clients happy

Braizen uses Minigroup to manage projects and collaborate and communicate with their clients.

A minigroup is a private, secure online space where members communicate with posts and comments, share large files, and manage projects.

Braizen uses one minigroup like an intranet, to discuss business and assign tasks. They also create separate minigroups for each client, where employees working on various accounts present comp designs and drafts.

“Telling potential clients that we use this tool, where we’ll keep in constant contact with them, definitely helps seal the deal,” says Tyrie, the copywriter at Braizen.

Watch the full interview with Braizen.

Minigroups start at just $3 per year for owners, with plans up to 100 minigroups and 100GB of storage. There are no user/member fees.

Find out more or try it free for 30 days.

Path Finder 6

With the recent release of Path Finder 6, I’ve rediscovered an app I used to use religiously. You can get $5 off the $40 price this week only. If you find yourself banging your forehead against the Finder’s limitations, go buy Path Finder. Also, expect an upcoming MPU episode about Finder alternatives an power tips.

Oracle v. Google

Oracle posted its opening statement in its infringement case against Google. I usually make a point of not commenting on legal stuff on this page but this link has me thinking two things:

  1. Oracle has some great evidence.
  2. I don’t care how much Oracle paid. With Keynote and a few days, I could have made a better deck.

Staying Connected to Your Apple TV

This may be obvious, but it wasn’t to me. If you are using an iPad at the office connected wirelessly to an Apple TV, go into the iPad’s Settings app and turn off Auto-Lock before the meeting begins. Otherwise, your iPad will fall asleep sending the AppleTV back to its default screen. Since you won’t be looking at the screen behind you, you won’t realize it. Then, when you are about to make a really important point, someone will raise their hand and ask if you could just shut up so they can watch Wall•E.

RSS Sponsor: World War Hack Graphic Novel

Inspired by true events, World War Hack is a graphic novel that tells the story of how the U.S. Government gathers top computer hackers from around the country, under the guise of a hacking competition, to unknowingly help solve a pressing national security crisis. Little does the government know that eighteen-year-old hacker, Wyatt Dyer, is both the cause and solution to their crisis.

As a special for the readers of MacSparky, you can preview the first full chapter online for free. Pre-order before May 6 and you’ll also receive free shipping.

I’m finally starting to get graphic novels and this is a good one.

Home Screens – Mike Vardy

Mike Vardy (Website) (Twitter) is humorist that writes and talks about productivity. I met Mike at Macworld this year and can report he is a pretty swell guy. So Mike, show us your home screen.

What are your most interesting home screen apps?

Buddha Machine, without a doubt. When I want some ambient music in the background while I’m either working on my book or doing any other type of writing, it hits just the right spot.

What is your favorite app?

My favorite app is Reeder – both on my iPhone and iPad – because it allows me to read, share, track and enjoy all of my RSS feeds in one fell swoop. It’s just really well-executed and a pleasure to use.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

I didn’t have one until recently, as I got rid of any games I’d installed. But then Paper by Fifty-Three came along for the iPad and I’ve been having a blast with it. I had no need for a stylus before it, but since I downloaded it (and subsequently bought the in-app writing/drawing instruments), I’ve got Studio Neat’s Cosmonaut headed my way.

What is the app you are still missing?

A proper mobile app for Asana, my task management app of choice. It’s not quite as robust as it needs to be, so I’m anxiously awaiting an update so that I can have a more full-featured Asana experience in my pocket.

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

I have both of them at the ready every day, several times a day. I shift gears to my iPad when my MacBook air battery runs low, and my iPhone is my work phone. I read all of my RSS feeds and my Instapaper queue on my iPad or iPhone, and podcasts on Instacast are synced between the two devices as well. And let’s not forget Tweetbot. Both my iPad and iPhone get used numerous times per day, and each of them has use cases they’re better suited for based on form factor.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

Both the iPhone and iPad give me the power to create and interact with others that are miles away regardless of where I might be. That kind of power and flexibility is something that I enjoy having at my disposal.

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

I’d make sure that the inability to delete native apps from iOS devices was no longer an issue. I mean, if iDevices are supposed to be so personal, surely I should be able to remove the apps that aren’t a factor in my life…right?

Anything else you’d like to share?

The best part about both the iPad and iPhone is that they can do so much and take up so little space. They can be used to consume or create. They can play music or they can make music. They can display words or they can allow you to take words and display them almost anywhere. They can play movies and they can make movies. When you think about all they can do, that’s pretty phenomenal.

Thanks Mike.

For more home screens, clicky here.

Happy BB-Birthday

Jason Snell writes about 20 years of BBEdit. That is a pretty amazing accomplishment for a text editor. Moreover, I love the way BareBones never stopped innovating and pushing the envelope with BBEdit. Congratulations to Rich Siegel and the BareBones team. In related news, BareBones’ free text editor, TextWrangler also got a recent update.

Bartending, Memoirs of an Apple Genius

Stephen Hackett just self-pubished a book, Bartending, Memoirs of an Apple Genius, sharing his experiences both behind and in front of the Genius Bar in Apple retail. If you’ve ever wondered what really goes on back there, this is the book for you. I routinely read Stephen’s 512 Pixels blog and that same friendly voice comes out loud and clear in this book. You can get it from Amazon or an iBooks friendly ePub version directly from Stephen.