OmniFocus Talks Back

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It wasn’t so long ago that there were no task management applications on the Mac worth a damn. What a difference a few years make! Now there are multiple quality applications from the lightweight Do It! to the 800 pound gorilla, OmniFocus. There are also several web based solutions, like Remember the Milk. I’ve made no mystery of my appreciation of OmniFocus (reviewed here). I know, however, that this Omni love is not universal.
A lot of users feel OmniFocus is just too much for them. Not quite intuitive enough and too ponderous to figure out. The word “bloat” hasn’t been used, but implied. I can appreciate these comments but having used OmniFocus since the alpha, I can’t help but think a lot of these complaints are a result of a lack of familiarity with the program which is, once you figure it out, very scaleable.
One of my favorite Mac writers is TidBITS’ Matt Neuburg who reviewed OmniFocus with several compliments and complaints. Matt has also done a few screencasts explaining his heartburn. This has prompted a response from OmniKing, Ken Case on the Omni blog. While I understand Matt’s criticisms, I think Ken’s response is spot on. OmniFocus just works for me. It is as much a part of my day as green tea and cranky lawyers (not me of course). The idea of OmniFocus Touch in a few weeks has me giddy as a sugar-saturated schoolgirl backstage with Hannah Montana.
I think that Omni’s challenge with OmniFocus is largely getting new users over the initial hump. Omni has a few screencasts but that is not enough. They need to go deeper so new users have an easy way to get running. I realize some users simply don’t need a task management system with the depth of OmniFocus, but for those who do, Omni needs to show the way. After all, reading the manual is so 90’s.

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Time Capsule Recovery … 34 Gigs … Check!

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I’ve had a few readers email me following up about my over-air time capsule recovery of my cratered Aperture library (all 34 gigs of it). These emails fall into two general categories:
1. Friendly questions about whether you can actually recover a 34 gigabyte file over the air, and;
2. Indignant outrage at why on earth I would do such a thing. These emails also include questions about whether I have a lick of common sense.
So just to keep the answers simple …
To group #1: Yes, you can. On an “N” network it takes about a day.
To group #2: You are probably right. I could have done it over ethernet cable but I just wanted to see if it was possible without it. Call it, “taking one for the team.”
Everything came back fine and things are happily backed up again not only on the Time Capsule but the SuperDuper external drive too.

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MacSparky on the Typical Mac User

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I know things have been quiet here the last few days. The day job has been keeping me on my toes. I did appear, however, on this week’s Typical Mac User podcast. I recorded a small bit for Victor following my attendance at a PC software seminar where I got swamped with questions about my shiny Mac. It is a funny couple of minutes (at least it tries to be). If you are interested, head over to the Typical Mac User podcast and check it out.

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Time Capsule Restoration of Large Files

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Somehow I managed to corrupt my Aperture database today. The bad news is I did about 3 hours of photo touch up and rating since my last SuperDuper backup yesterday. The good news is Time Capsule had my back.
Time Capsule is great for recovering typical files like word processing documents or preference files. I had never tried to recover something like a 34Gb Aperture library but there is a first time for everything. Well I can tell you it is not exactly snappy.

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That is right … 21 hours. An hour later the estimate was down to 16 hours so maybe it is not as bad as it seems. I could instead connect it directly via ethernet cable but I’ve decided to just let it ride and see how it pans out. If everything goes according to plan it should be restored tomorrow and THEN I’ll make a new SuperDuper backup. So while it is not exactly snappy, large Time Capsule recoveries are possible.

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SugarSync Review

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I am fortunate enough to have two Macs. I keep one at home and the other follows me around. To make matters even more confusing, there is a PC box on my desk at the office. My challenge was to figure a way to keep the files synced between these various computers without becoming a slave to a thumb drive. These are the kind of problems that make my little geek heart go pitter-patter, obsessing over making sure everything is in sync rather than doing any actual work.
I tried a variety of ways to solve this problem ranging from thumb drives to iDisk and I wasn’t particularly happy with any of them. My biggest problem with these solutions is the way they add steps to my workflow. I don’t want to have to think about copying and synchronizing files every time I move from one computer to the next. I just want it done. Like Picard in his dome-headed glory, I just want to look at my Mac and say “Make it So.”
So in this quest for syncing Nirvana, I came across SugarSync. SugarSync gives you a local client (either PC or Mac) in which you plug in your account information and tell it what data gets synched. I’ve got big chunks of my documents folder going up along with my OmniFocus datafile, Bento database, and several other items I want to have everywhere that are buried on my hard drive. You then log in on the other computers and tell them what parts you want synched locally (you can also leave them in the cloud). Once that is done, you are good to go. If I make a change to that little text file that keeps my grocery list, it goes up to SugarSync and then back down to my other Synched computers lickity split. This is really convenient when you are busy trying to figure out world peace but can’t stop thinking about making ‘smores.
The multi-platform support does not stop with the Mac and PC. They also support the new “third” platform. The iPhone. SugarSync has an excellent iPhone web site that allows you to access all and view most of your files. So when I’m sitting in the market I can pull up the grocery text list. Graham crackers, marshmallows, hershey bars … Check! You can also forward the documents from your iPhone as an email attachments. SugarSync already has Windows Mobile and Blackberry clients and I’m going to assume they’ll prepare a native application for the iPhone but its web interface is already pretty good.
SugarSync also has a photosharing component that will work with your cell phone. I confirmed this does work but I haven’t used it extensively.
Unfortunately, all this syncing goodness comes with a pricetag. There is a monthly fee. The limited number of files I sync easily fit in the 10 GB limit which results in a monthly charge of $2.49. SugarSync has more expensive varieties that scale up to 250 GB for $25 a month. There is also a price in clock cycles. As I sit here writing on my MacBook with 5 applications open, SugarSync is using .3%. Earlier it was at 7% and when it is actually syncing it ramps up higher. I also don’t like the way its icon insists on staying in my dock. This is the kind of application that should stay in the menubar only. Another pestering problem is the inability to remove a machine from your SugarSync list. I had some problems with one of my Macs recently that resulted in it getting several logic boards and eventually replaced. SugarSync treated each of those logic boards as a separate machine and, as a result, I have 3 machines on my SugarSync account that no longer exist. The developer agrees this is a problem and promises to take care of this with an upcoming client. Lets hope that is soon. Another problem with SugarSync is that it doesn’t always play nice with packages like sparse bundles.
You also have to consider the fact your data is going out into the cloud. The developer explains that the transmissions are all done on a secure connection and the data is also kept secure on the SugarSync servers. In terms of stability, I’ve been using it a few months now and not experienced any problems or loss of data. Be warned however there are reports on the web of people losing data. Don’t forget that syncing data through any system without first having a reliable backup is something like parachuting without a parachute.
While SugarSync is doing the job, I think there are going to be several credible competitors in the near future. MobileMe may get it done for its subscribers and I’m currently in the beta for Dropbox which looks very promising and will probably get its own review when it comes out of beta. Dropbox already appears faster than SugaSync although it does not have such a friendly iPhone interface and, in the current form, does not sync folders all over my hard drive. Instead it has its own dedicated folder in which you must keep files. Taking all of this into consideration, I’d recommend the monthly, and not the yearly, SugarSync subscription.
SugarSync has a free 45 day trial and if you are looking for multi-platform syncing bliss, give it a try.

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Pining Away for MobileMe

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Am I the only one that thinks about MobileMe every time I have to sync my iPhone to add an appointment? It is funny how this works. I’ve been wire syncing contacts and appointments for a year now without really complaining much. However, since Apple demonstrated the MobileMe service last week, I get peeved every time I have to stop and sync by wire. My appointments are constantly in flux and the wireless immediate syncing I saw last week will be very useful. It is like smelling a delicious pizza only to have the box slammed on your finger and you’re told you can’t eat it for another month. Ugg. While Apple said this will release “early July”, I think that means July 11 but I sure hope I’m wrong. The sooner the better. Am I alone on this?
***Adendum
I thought about this more. If MobileMe requires the iPhone 2.0 software to do its sync magic, doesn’t that mean there is no way on God’s green earth this will come out before July 11?

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How is Your Backup?

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A few weeks ago I was at the Apple Store and witnessed this young woman in tears. She had all of her high school and college pictures on her aging Mac and the drive failed. She didn’t have a backup and while the Apple gang was doing their best to recover it, they weren’t getting very far. I felt terrible for her.
Then just a few days ago the external drive holding our 200 gigs of iTunes music and movies died. The drive (LaCie) was just 18 months old and gave me no warning. Fortunately, I had backed it up just a few weeks ago so we didn’t lose much but these events reminded me just how important it is to make copies of your data. I wrote about my backup plan a while back and the regimen hasn’t changed much. How are you doing on your back ups?

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New Link – Photography and the Mac

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I’ve recently added a new link for a great photography themed blog called “Photography and the Mac“. This site is the brain child of LA Times staff photographer Robert Lachman. Robert has become an e-friend of mine as he helps out at the MacReview cast and my personal photography sensei. What makes Robert’s website particularly RSS worthy is the eclectic mix of articles. Robert seems to take great pictures on anything from the most high end equipment to something simple like a camera phone. He gives common sense photography advice that everyone can use. Head over and check it out.

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Get Help with “Back to My Mac”

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I’ve been using “Back to My Mac” successfully now for a few months. I find it really convenient when sitting at the office on my MacBook Air and need access to the home computer to grab a missing file or simply run a backup. Because I use an Apple Airport Extreme router, set up was as easy as flipping a switch. If you need “Back to My Mac” and are running into problems, listen to this week’s MacBreak Tech podcast where the gang digs deep and reveals all the secrets to making “Back to My Mac” work.

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Delicious Library 2 Review

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The last few years a term of art has been floating around the Mac community. You may have heard it. “The Delicious Generation” This phrase comes from a specific application called Delicious Library that released a few years ago and made a lot of people rethink Apple software design. Well recently the folks at Delicious Monster released Delicious Library 2 and it certainly lives up to the high standards set by its predecessor.
So what is this precedent setting software you ask? In essence, it is a home inventory system for your books, CD’s, video games, electronics, tools, toys, and other things precious. I know that doesn’t sound all that exciting but that is what makes Delicious Library 2 so impressive. It does home inventory with panache’.  So let me walk you through it.
Loading up Delicious Library 2 there is a little scanning button. With a click , Delicious activates your iSight camera. You can then take your toys (such as a DVD) and hold the UPC code up to your iSight camera. You hear a satisfying “beep” and then Delicious goes and fetches your title from the internet. It reads the name of your DVD and literally pours the contents on a virtual wooden shelf showing a copy of your DVD. It just doesn’t pull down an image and name though, Delicious grabs tons of metadata ranging from actors, dates, reviews, and even points you to other similar titles you may enjoy. That really is all there is to it. When I scanned in Star Wars it told me “I am your father.” I sat my six year old at the Mac with a stack of DVD’s taller than her and she had them all scanned into Delicious Library 2 in about 30 minutes. Child labor laws aside, getting your stuff in Delicious Library 2 is easy. It was no different loading up the video games and books. Before long, I had most of the family library recorded. You can purchase a separate bluetooth hand held scanner that would probably be a bit faster, but I found the iSight scanning to be very convenient.

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Not all of your stuff is going to have UPC codes however. For instance, some of my movies started out as DVD cases inside cardboard boxes with UPC codes on them. Well the cardboard boxes are long gone along with the UPC codes so I had nothing to show my iSight camera. Delicious Library has a text entry search that found all of them very quickly and added them into the library. It appears you can catalogue just about anything Amazon sells. Likewise, Delicious Library will grab all of your iTunes library. That is not just the music. It also gets movies, TV programs, and audiobooks.
My library currently only holds about 300 items without breaking a sweat. One of the changes made in Delicious Library 2 is the switch from XML to SQL which should make management of large libraries more efficient.
So by now you are wondering why bother with an application like Delicious Library? There are several practical reasons including things like insurance records and personal inventories but I have to admit I am hooked because it is just fun. I’ve set up smart libraries with different genres of books. I’ve also got them categorized by where they are located which is excellent for someone like me who is easily befuddled. You can manually fill your shelves or use the “Smart Shelves” feature which allows you to set up specific criteria very similar to smart playlists in iTunes.
Delicious also allows you to publish your library to the web or share it with friends. I am working on setting up a shared book library with several of my local friends so get our own informal library running. One of the export options is an iPhone or iPod optimized version so you can put it your library in your pocket. This could come in handy for trips to the bookstore if you have a large library. Another nice feature is you can drag a Delicious Library item on a contact in the OS X address book and it will add a note they they have borrowed an item and add an entry to your iCal. I really wish I had that when I loaned my Indiana Jones DVD collection out a few years ago. Delicious Library will also go onto the Interweb and figure out what all of your stuff is worth (in multiple currencies) and even, if configured, help you sell it through the Amazon store.
You can get a free trial at Delicious Monster. A new license will cost you $40 and an upgrade from version one will cost $20. Delicious Library 2 is one of those applications that I feel in my bones could never exist on a windows box. Even if you are not interested in creating an electronic inventory, download the trial so you can see for yourself how software looks when it is done right.

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