Tag Archives: applications

GitHub for Mac is a big deal

June 22nd, 2011

Many command line elitists may not be all that excited about GitHub for Mac, an application for managing your local and GitHub-hosted Git repositories by the GitHub team, but I’m sure they’ll respect what I feel is its ambitious goal.

You see, with one application GitHub has just expanded its potential customer base many times larger than it already is. GitHub isn’t just for command line elitists anymore. Now just about anyone that can use a Mac application, and understand what it is to commit a new version of their work here and there, can use Git and GitHub to help control their source.

Before today GitHub’s potential customer base, or target-market if you will, has been those that fully grok Git, the command line, and source control. Or, people willing to put in the work to go through the tutorials to become one of these people. Their website was simply icing on the cake for people already using that workflow. In fact, their service was so compelling that many have switched from other source control platforms to Git just to take advantage of GitHub. However, now for all of the designers, copywriters, hobbyists and even solo development shoppes that didn’t seen the need to learn and fully understand source control – Git just got easy and GitHub made it happen. And that is many, many, many people.

Some, including myself, would argue that this could breed a bunch of people that understand GitHub for Mac more than they understand Git. And I think it is fairly obvious that understanding Git, for any professional, is more valuable than understanding GitHub for Mac. However, now that I’ve thought it over for these last few hours I’m beginning to see this application as an extension of GitHub’s many other offerings to make Git easier. You see, GitHub has always provided documentation, events, online training and tools to try to make Git easier for everyone. If Git is easy to use more people will use it and therefore more people will sign up and pay for GitHub. GitHub for Mac is simply an extension of these educational efforts that GitHub has always offered since the beginning. It is yet another lily pad for people to jump on as they cross from shore to shore. Brilliant.

GitHub for Mac isn’t the first application to give Git a UI on the Macintosh but it is the first that came from the guys behind GitHub and that alone will be enough to make many people make the jump. It also helps that the application is very good. If they work as feverishly to keep GitHub for Mac up-to-date as they do all of their other services I think everyone will look back at this app’s launch as a major point in the company’s already incredible story.

Reeder for Mac hits the App Store

June 10th, 2011

I just did something I’ve been waiting months to do. I purchased Reeder for Mac from the App Store.

It isn’t very often that I am so anxious to pay for something that I have been using for free. In fact, I can’t remember any other application that I’ve wanted to purchase more than Reeder for Mac. For months I’ve been using Reeder for Mac’s “beta” builds and they have progressed steadily and swiftly from a pretty good application to an indispensable one. Its workflows are so well refined that it allows me to accomplish a task that – at one point in my life – used to take hours and hours of my time each day. With Reeder for Mac I’m able to keep up-to-date with everything going on in my world in only minutes per day instead of hours. I’m able to use the same workflows no matter which device I happen to currently be on because I use Reeder on my Mac, my iPad and my iPhone. In fact, I simply can not imagine owning a Mac, iPad or iPhone without having Reeder installed.

I suppose I’ve wanted to pay for the application for so long because I’ve wanted to put my money where my mouth was and to finally pay tribute to those that have worked so hard on it. To provide them with the resources they need to keep the application in existence and, dare I say, improve it. I’m really looking forward to the future of these applications.

So, I guess it goes without saying that I recommend you pick up Reeder for Mac too. Oh, and for iPad. Oh, and for iPhone. You’ll thank me later.

 

How I write on iPad

April 1st, 2011

I’m often asked how I write my posts on iPad. What applications do I use? Do I use an external keyboard? How do I get images onto iPad to include in posts?

All good questions. Here is how I write on iPad.

First, I use an application called iA Writer. This application gives me a distraction free writing environment that has just the right amount of features to make writing easy.

I do not use nor own an external keyboard for iPad. Never have. In fact, the on-screen keyboard in Writer has a custom keyboard with few shortcuts that I find very convenient.

I also edit within Writer. I read and re-read (unless I’m in a rush for some reason) the post until I’m happy with it. At this point there is no HTML, no links, no images, no videos in the post.

I then copy and paste the text from Writer into WordPress for iOS. I immediately save the post as a Draft (just in case). At this point I’ll either add the links, images, or video. If there is a lot of media to add to the post I may wait until I’m on my MacBook Pro to finish the rest. Sometimes adding a lot of HTML to a post using iPad can be cumbersome. I’m hoping that WordPress for iOS, at some point, adds a custom keyboard for written HTML quicker.

When the post is finished I’ll then schedule it to be published, usually sometime in the morning the next day since I typically write at night or very early in the morning. This gives the post time to stew a bit and gives me a chance to yank it if I end up not feeling good about the post. It also gives my blog a feeling of consistent publishing rather than a sporadic schedule.

And that is how this post was written.

New Browser releases make me nauseous

March 23rd, 2011

You know that feeling you get when two of your friends ask you to do something different on the same day? That feeling in your stomach when you don’t know which one to let down? You sit there agonizing over the choice between two friends, two things great things to do!

Firefox 4 was released today and once again I’m made to feel this same nauseating feeling. Every single time a new Browser is released, well Safari, Chrome, or Firefox (we’ll leave Internet Explorer, Opera and others out of this), I’m torn between making the jump from one browser to the other.

I’ve jumped around a lot over the years. And it always comes back to one thing that determines whether or not I use a Browser every day; speed. I don’t use many extensions, themes, or add-ons in any Browser. I had used Safari before it even supported such things. Speed, however, keeps me loyal to a Browser until – inevitably – the next-fastest Browser released pulls me away.

On the outset Firefox 4 feels very snappy. Just about as fast as Chrome (if not faster) and a lot faster than Safari. Chrome and Firefox 4 are now neck-and-neck for winning my default Browser of choice. But that’s today and I’m sure that won’t last long and, once again, I’ll be left with the nauseating choice of jumping ship.

The iPad apps that I use most

February 14th, 2011

Since posting about the iPhone apps that I use most I’ve had a few requests to do the same for the iPad. So, here are the iPad apps that I use most.

  • Mail.app. I check, read, and write email on the iPad every single day. I actually prefer using the iPad to my computer for email. It forces me to be succinct and makes email fun again.
  • Reeder. With Reeder on my iPhone, Mac and iPad I am able to keep up-to-date with my Google Reader account whenever I have time to read. In bed, on the go, and at my desk. Out of the three Reeder for iPad is the best.
  • Instapaper. I tend not to use Instapaper on the iPhone all that often but I use it quite a bit on the iPad.
  • Twitter for iPad. The Twitter application for iPad is better than any desktop or mobile application. It is just about every feature you could need or want.
  • Dropbox. I share files between my iPad, iPhone and Mac using Dropbox more than any other way. And, having Notational Velocity + SimpleNote storing documents within my Dropbox share makes it easy for all of my devices to be wirelessly synced.
  • SimpleNote. The only way I keep notes on my iPad/iPhone.
  • Numbers and Pages. I use both of these applications fairly often. I bought them thinking that I would only open them occasionally but it turns out that having a real word processor and spreadsheet application is very handy.
  • iThoughtsHD. I give a fair number of speeches and I like to use mind mapping for my speech outlines. On the go I use iThoughtsHD to put these maps together.
  • VLC. Getting video into iTunes into the Videos app on the iPad is an exercise in frustration sometimes. VLC will playback just about any video and adding them to the iPad is a snap.
  • Google Books. I read my books in Google Books so that I don’t have to buy books more than once (iBooks only works on iPad/iPhone).
  • Angry Birds. The only game I keep on the iPad.

These are the applications that I use the most. I’m a fairly “light” applications user in that I spend a lot of time in a small amount of applications – rather than a little amount of time in a lot of applications. I see other people’s iPads and I wonder how they can possibly keep everything straight with so many applications.

There are, however, some applications that I use from time-to-time that deserve honorable mention. Flipboard, NPR, iSilo, iPod. Also, Devour.com is a great way to watch video on the iPad.

*Update 08/30/2011:* I failed to mention in this post that I use the core iPad applications (the apps that ship with the iPad by default) all the time. Safari, Mail, Maps, Music (iPod), Calendar – I use them all and often.

If you have any suggestions for applications that you think I would enjoy please feel free to send them along. My email address is on the front page of my site.

The iPhone apps that I use most

November 12th, 2010

My iPhone homescreen

I’ve been using an iPhone for 3 1/2 years. I’m not of the sort that installs or purchases a lot of applications – but I have tried out a few over the years and some have stuck. They’ve stuck so well that I use them on a daily basis.

Here is a list of the applications that I use every single day.

  • Camera – This may seem like a no-brainer but I use the camera application every single day. I do not have a point and shoot camera. I have an iPhone 4.
  • Echofon – I use Twitter pretty heavily and my application of choice on the iPhone is Echofon. It has nearly every feature I could want – drafts, location, good searches, etc.
  • Dropbox – Quite simply one of the best services to launch in the last few years. Sync files between just about everything over the web instantly.
  • Facebook – I don’t do much with this app except check to see if anyone has commented on my status. But I check that at least a few times a day.
  • iPod – I’m subscribed to a few podcasts (see 5by5, Fresh Air) and have about 2Gb worth of music for my weekly commute to work.
  • Messages – With the original iPhone I didn’t SMS too often. With the iPhone 4 and being able to send MMS messages (images/video) I use it quite frequently. Actually, I’m surprised how often I send MMS.
  • Mail – For all of my emailing needs.
  • Clock – It has waken me up every morning for 3 1/2 years.

Here is a list of the applications that I use now and then, but have found a place on my iPhone and still recommend.

  • Mapquest – Turn-by-turn directions right through my car’s stereo for free. Not as nice as Google Maps but Google Maps doesn’t offer turn-by-turn on the iPhone.
  • Weightbot – Extremely simple weight tracking application. No frills. No social. Just stats.
  • Square – I’ve yet to use this for any really good reason. But, it is nice to have.
  • Angry Birds – Want to waste hours and hours? Get this game. Its great.
  • Simplenote – Great way to sync notes back and forth between iPhone/iPad/Mac/Pc.
  • Reeder app – Now that I have an iPad I don’t use this too often on the iPhone but it is still worthy of honorable mention for those that don’t have an iPad yet.
  • Dictionary – I use this more often than I care to admit. But it is very handy.
  • Instapaper – Like Reeder app – I use this on my iPad far more than on my iPhone. But if I only had an iPhone I’d use it all the time.

Like I said, I don’t have a ton of applications. I’ve seen other iPhone users with 9 home screens full of folders full of applications. Hundreds of applications installed on a single phone. That isn’t how I roll I suppose.

Next up, iPad applications that I use most.

Acorn 2.6, now with Tilt-Shift filter

October 22nd, 2010

Acorn, my photo editor and general image-manipulation application of choice for the Mac, has been updated and now includes a Tilt-Shift filter.

Above is an image I took with my first-generation iPhone in July 2007 in Philadelphia while attending BlogPhiladelphia. Acorn’s Tilt-Shift filter made an old photo interesting again.

Well done Gus.

Steve Jobs says “Nope” to Mac App Store

April 26th, 2010

In my “Is there a future for Mac software?” post I postulated:

“I sometimes sit and wonder what sort of applications could have been made for the Macintosh if, say, Apple had opened up an App Store that supported iPhone, iPad, and Mac? Would the river of money have been split into three smaller tributaries? Would people flock to the Mac the same way they have iPhone and now iPad? Arguably the main reasons people buy iPhones and iPads is the ease of finding/installing software and content. Imagine if things were that easy on the Mac. And imagine if developers were excited to build applications for the Mac again!”

Well, I needn’t wonder anymore. In answer to an email asking about a Mac App Store Steve Jobs has replied “Nope”.

I know developers wouldn’t want the closed nature of the current App Store in any type of Mac App Store but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be in favor of a Mac App Store to help promote/sell their applications.

Oh well, software on the Mac will have to find another way to survive.

My Top Sites in Safari

April 12th, 2010

I’m back to Safari. I still love Chrome but Safari’s latest update made it edge out Chrome for speed. Speed, it seems, is the killer feature for me in Web browsers.

Until this latest release the Top Sites page in Safari was too slow for me to find useful. Now, however, it is much faster and I’m liking it very much. I liked Chrome’s New Tab page a lot. However, unlike Safari it wasn’t really all that useful for more than giving you a clickable tile to go to your favorite sites. Safari’s Top Sites page does a bit more.

First, it shows a ‘page-curl white star on blue’ icon to show which pages have been updated since you visited them last. This makes is quick and easy to go to the pages that have been updated rather than checking them yourself. Second, Safari allows you to choose how many sites show up on this page. Chrome does not. Depending on your screen size you can choose between Small, Medium and Large tiles for each site. Small is more, large is less.

Third, but not necessarily specific to the Top Sites page, Safari allows you to search your history in a visual way right from the Top Sites page itself. As you type in your search query a coverflow like window shows you a thumbnail of the Web sites that match it. It makes finding pages you’ve been to in the past much, much easier than in Chrome.

So, for now I’m back to Safari.

My Top Sites in Safari are (from left to right and down) this site, my WordPress admin, Twitter (although I rarely use this because I use Echofon so it may be replaced soon), Facebook, Gmail, Instapaper, Tumblr, 37Signals Launchpad, Flickr, Viddler’s Recently Uploaded page, GitHub and Google Reader.

Is there a future for Mac software?

April 4th, 2010

Warning: This post may have a slight taste of jealousy when you bite into it at first but I tried my best to only use a teaspoon.

iPhone was, as Scott Forstall recently put it, a gold rush for developers. Simple, relatively inexpensive applications for iPhone that hit the top paid, popular or featured lists on the App Store have made some serious dough for their developers. This caused a lot of developers to focus on iPhone either exclusively or in addition to their offerings for either the Mac or PC. They’ve spent a considerable amount of time focused on iPhone app development.

iPad is creating a similar environment. iPhone applications are being ported over to iPad and new applications are being developed and released as quickly as possible – and exclusively for iPad. A lot of time and effort is going into building these applications and I’m sure it will mean a lot of money in the pockets of developers.

You can’t blame the developers for going where the money is but I fear for the future of Mac software and I’m even beginning to fear for iPhone’s. I fear that one day all of the great work, the great applications, the incredible design will have migrated exclusively to iPad. That may not happen for some time and people are still making some serious money on making both Mac and iPhone applications – but the tide is definitely on its way out to the iPad sea.

I sometimes sit and wonder what sort of applications could have been made for the Macintosh if, say, Apple had opened up an App Store that supported iPhone, iPad, and Mac? Would the river of money have been split into three smaller tributaries? Would people flock to the Mac the same way they have iPhone and now iPad? Arguably the main reasons people buy iPhones and iPads is the ease of finding/installing software and content. Imagine if things were that easy on the Mac. And imagine if developers were excited to build applications for the Mac again!

Apple isn’t out of position yet to make this happen. With a single move, adding Mac software to the App Store, they could start a gold rush for Macintosh developers the way they have for iPhone and iPad developers. Unlike iPhone and iPad, though, it should be just another way to download applications – not the only way to do so. This way both developers and consumers could decide how to get applications themselves and not be forced one way or the other. I think, ultimately, developers would decide to distribute their applications through the App Store because that is how users would choose to get their applications but at least they’d have the choice. Wouldn’t that be great?

But this may never happen and that is why I fear for the future of Mac software.

Game Table for iPad

April 2nd, 2010

Many of the third-party iPad applications I’ve seen so far have me wishing that I wasn’t so sure that I’m not getting one. Game Table for iPad is no exception. It includes Checkers, Chess and a deck of cards (and some chips) for only $.99.

I love this bit.

“Game Table is not a video game. There is no “logic” built into these games. Game Table simply provides brilliantly designed game tables and game pieces along with an extremely intuitive and fun way for you and your friends to interactive with them. It’s so intuitive, you might even forget you’re not playing on a real table.”

/via Cameron Moll.

Instapaper Pro for iPad

March 23rd, 2010

Marco Arment has now confirmed and previewed Instapaper for the iPad. In the post he says “an iPad without native Instapaper Pro is not a device I want to own.” I agree. Instapaper on the iPad is like the drugs+.

However, having purchased a new Macbook Pro just a little over 8 months ago I will not be getting an iPad for some time. I see an iPad, as I’m sure many do, as a secondary device to a main desktop computer. Not as a secondary device to a laptop. It just doesn’t seem practical. Of course, I could buy an iPad for no other reason than because I want one but that’d be frivolous and I’m generally not a frivolous person. At least I try not to be. I presume that at some point in the future when I need to replace my Macbook Pro (my last Macbook lasted over 3 years) I will purchase both a new desktop computer (some flavor of iMac perhaps?) and an iPad. I’ll let you know in a few years.

Switching from Tweetie for Mac to Echofon

March 9th, 2010

This should come as no surprise to those of you that follow me on Twitter but I’ve switched from Tweetie for Mac, which hasn’t seen an update for months, to the oft updated Echofon.

Tweetie for Mac still has a few standout features that draw me to using it – but any software that runs on a public social service that isn’t updated in months tends to fall behind rather quickly. Echofon keeps up.

Launch delay

January 15th, 2010

No matter how fast your computer is there is a slight delay between asking an application to open and it actually being opened. Depending on the size of the application and how well it was built, this time may vary. I have a still top-of-the-line 15″ unibody Macbook Pro and even small applications take a few moments to open fully.

A feature that I’d really love to see (and if there is a way to do this that I do not know about please put it in the comments) is to open an application in the background. For example, I might be writing a post in my WordPress admin in Chromium and realize that I have to open Skype for my morning meeting. So, being the avid Spotlight user that I am, I key in CMD+Space, type in Skype, hit Enter. Never in the world of computing has it been easier to open an application. As the focus falls back from Spotlight to Chromium I can resume typing my post. Which is great. But then Skype rears its rather ugly head and takes focus from Chromium even though I’m typing in it.

This has been the way computer operating systems have always worked (as far back as I can remember). But why not give me some way to open applications in the background? We know that there will always be some slight delay between me asking the application to launch and its interface being available so why not plan for that?