Intuit – Apple Ties

AppleInsider did a piece about how Intuit Chairman (and Apple Board of Directors member) Bill Campbell is cutting ties to Google. I guess that is all fine and dandy but I can’t stop thinking about the fact that if Intuit’s Chairman is on the Apple Board of Directors, why does Quicken and QuickBooks on the Mac suck so badly in comparison to the Windows versions?

Scrivener 2.0 Update

Scrivener 2.0 is finally in the wild and a lot of people are talking about what I’ve always known, Scrivener is brilliant. There is no point in me reviewing Scrivener since I’ve been wetting myself over this app for years now. I’ve started an extended post explaining how I use Scrivener 2.0 and will be posting it in the not too distant future. In the meantime, check out John’s great piece (where you get to learn a new word: logophiliac) and Don’s screencast.

Saying Goodbye

My 81 year old sweet mother, Jeannie Sparks, passed away this week and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on just how amazing she was. She started life when cars were still novelties and yet was the generation that powered the moon shot.

During the depression, she lived in a cabin where my grandfather fed his children by trapping fox in the Massachusetts backwoods and selling their pelts. Throughout her life, my mother took a practical “whatever it takes” attitude toward any challenge she faced, even when she had to stay up hours on end teaching her dense son to read.

Mom lived through the greatest technological revolution in history (from the radio to the internet) and nothing phased her. Even as she laid in intensive care, she smiled as she flipped through family pictures on the iPad. My mother was an amazing woman who taught me, not by lectures and scoldings, but instead by example and she will always live in my heart.

Refreshing the MacBook Air

As a former MacBook Air owner, it looks like Apple solved the two most vexing problems with the original.

Memory

Two gigabytes wasn’t enough. Not then and certainly not now. If you are lining up to get yourself a new MacBook Air, pay the extra $100 for 4GB Ram. Forego Starbucks for a few months or sell blood. You won’t regret it.

4200 RPM

The original MacBook Air had a 4200 RPM hard drive. This was a remarkably slow hard drive. Sometimes I just wanted to reach in and start spinning it with my finger to speed it up. By making everything SSD, the new machine will feel like a screamer despite its lackluster CPU. My Apple spies are already telling me this is the case.

In addition to solving the above problems, the long life battery, instant on, and increased screen resolution don’t hurt either. It will be interesting to see who buys the 11” versus 13” models and how they get used. Regardless, those who thought an Apple sub-notebook was beyond hope (especially after the release of the iPad) can now rejoice (and go to their nearest Apple store). If I was in the market for a new MacBook, I’d be looking long and hard at those new MacBook Airs.

Home Screens – Dave Caolo

I’ve always enjoyed Dave Caolo’s (Twitter) writing at TUAW. When Dave started his own site, 52Tiger, it immediately went in my RSS feed. I particularly like the way Dave puts out the occasional long form piece. In addition to writing about the Mac, Dave loves his iPad and agreed to share his home screen here.

What are your most interesting home screen apps?

Among those shown above, I find Flipboard and NPR to be the most interesting. The idea of a customized digital magazine is compelling and perfect for the iPad. In fact, Flipboard has become my preferred way to interact with Facebook. With just a few clicks, the content I’m interested in looks like it’s been published in a high-end design magazine. It has become one of the apps I use to show off the iPad.

NPR is a cross between an app for reading and an app for listening. Scroll vertically across three categories — news, music and arts & life — to find a sotry you’re interested it. From there you can read the story, listen to the NPR interview, create a custom playlist and share the article with friends via Twitter, Facebook or email. It’s easy to browse the other stories within a category as well. It’s so well done that it’s become a part of my evening routine.

I should note that those apps — the ones I’ve deemed “most interesting” — aren’t the apps I use most often. That list would be Instapaper, Twitterrific, Flipboard, Colloquy and OmniFocus.

What is your favorite app?

My answer to this question changes often. Lately I’ve been enjoying Netflix for streaming movies and Gourmet Live for reading. I’m very interested in the development of Gourmet Live, as its unique among Condé Nast titles: the only title that exists as an iOS app only. I know that the team behind it is totally dedicated and I’ve loved every update issued so far. The idea to let readers “unlock” certain content by reading is a lot of fun and something I haven’t seen outside of games.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Angry Birds, of course, and Yahtzee HD. My entire extended family are rabid Yahtzee fans and I use the iPad app to “stay sharp” for our next get-together. Plus the game’s adventure mode is fun.

How many screens have you filled?

I’m at four screens with 6 apps in the dock.

What is the app you are still missing?

Carcassonne! This was easily my unofficial iOS app of summer, 2010. I just can’t stop playing it and while it doesn’t look too bad when pixel-doubled on the iPad, I’m more than ready for an optimized version.

How many times a day do you use your iPad?

Honestly I couldn’t count. Both have become important parts of my workday. I use Colloquy all day to say in touch with my co-workers at TUAW. OmniFocus keeps me on top of things. Twitterrific lets me chat with colleagues and friends. The iPhone makes all of this incredibly convenient buy putting all of these apps and services in my pocket.

The iPad is simply my favorite computer. In fact, I’m composing this post with it. I can accomplish nearly anything I want with this thin, comfortable slab of metal and glass. I still marvel at how futuristic it seems; it’s like something out of a Ray Bradbury novel.

What is your favorite feature of the iPad?

The App Store. With a few clicks and a few bucks, the iPhone and iPad can become whatever I want them to be. Weather station, GPS receiver, magazine, cookbook, novel, game…anything. The iPhone and iPad’s killer app is the potential. Apple has handed a clean slate to thousands of gifted developers and said, “Here. Make something awesome.” That have and continue to do so. Their work is inspiring, satisfying and a huge part of the device’s incredible bottom line.

If you were Steve Jobs, what would you add to the iPhone?

That’s so difficult to answer because I don’t believe anyone else thinks like Steve. I can tell you that I’d add more RAM to the iPad in a second, but I’m not sure how I’d alter the iPhone if I were Steve. Part of the fun of using Apple’s products is being delighted by unforeseen niceties.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to complete this interview. I appreciate it tremendously, and hope your readers found something here interesting.

Thanks Dave!