Category Archives: technology

Everyday Software (Mac)

Screen Shot 2013-07-08 at 9.12.46 AM

For no particular reason, other than the fact the people like to know these things sometimes and full disclosure, here are the apps I use every single day on my Mac. This does not account for everything installed and used. This is just the stuff I use every day without fail. I’ll likely do one of these in the future for iPhone and iPad as well.

  • Safari — I believe in using the built-in tools whenever possible. It helps when the built-in tools are pretty darn good. I find Safari pretty darn good most of the time.

  • Mail — The one email client I have used long enough and learned deeply enough to be maximally efficient with it.

  • BusyCal — Way better than the built in Calendar app (formerly iCal) and has easy sharing of calendars which my wife and I depend on.

  • nvALT — I’ve been a Notational Velocity user for over 8 years. I use it for all sorts of things. Currently contains 867 notes. nvALT is Brett Terpstra’s fork of this open sourse project that adds a ton of useful features which make it that much better.

  • Byword — What I use for most writing when on my Mac.

  • Twitter — Yes, Twitter. The official client. I still check in here daily despite having mostly moved to App.net.

  • Reeder (awaiting update) — My RSS reader of choice. Only worked with Google Reeder so I have not used it since that shut down on the first of this month. Once it updates to support FeedWrangler I’ll gladly fire it up once again.

So, those are all the “app” apps I use. But, what about the menubar and “just runs in the background” sorts of things? Here are those:

  • Droplr — For sharing files, screenshots, and quick one off notes easily.

  • Dropbox — If it is a file of any sort it is likely in here.

  • Day One — Which I use more as a daily log than a journal.

  • Jumpcut — Clipboard buffering. Keyboard driven. Full on awesomesauce.

  • Shortcat — Use your keyboard to find and click on buttons and links. The less I have to touch my trackpad/mouse, the faster I am.

  • FastScripts — Execute scripts with keyboard commands.

  • QuickCal — Enter calendar events quickly using your keyboard and natural language processing.

  • Quicksilver — Launch apps and do all sorts of other cool things using your keyboard (Are you sensing a theme here?).

  • DragonDrop — Provides a “shelf” with the shake of your mouse to drag stuff temporarily before dropping it.

I might have missed a few things but that’s what I use every single day on my Mac.

I’m a full-time independent writer who works hard to bring you quality reading and ideas here daily. If you enjoy what you read here, please consider a free will donation of any amount.

The Revolution Won’t Have To Be Televised

The old guard has not learned that yet. They still believe in a world where, if they don’t cover it, no one will find out. That the truth only exists the way they wish to tell it, when they wish to tell it, if they wish to tell the truth at all.

We on the ground know that time is long since past. That we don’t need them to televise revolutions and that there is no such thing as a local story. We know that history is best told by those who are living it and we have the tools to hear directly from the source.

We know that what seems to them like a tiny protest in another country is the spark of a full scale revolt. Even if their media does not cover it. We hear the truth the media doesn’t tell. We see the photos. We hear the news. And we watch it unfold in real time.

We know what seems to them as a lone whistle blower and a bad PowerPoint presentation to us is the hint of something deeper. The chink in the armor reveals the weakness within. And while they are focused on who and where the whistleblower is, the ‘we now informed’ are talking about who we are as a nation and what happened to the rights we are guaranteed (and what price is high enough to give them away).

What was to them was a lone state legislator’s opposition to a state bill not really worth covering, was to us a national story. While the old guard ignored the news, 100,000 people watched the live stream and millions monitored realtime coverage on social media. When they tried to change the rules or bend the truth, tens of thousands caught them in the act, called them on it, and forced them to change their tune.

There are no longer international stories, national stories, and local stories. There are only stories. Their power determines their reach and we decide their importance. The revolutions will not have to be televised because they no longer decide what they are. We do.

I’m a writer. Writing is how I make this world better, friendlier, stronger place. If these words improved your day, please let me know by contributing here.

littleBits

littlebits_starter_kit_open

littleBits is open source library of electronic modules that snap together with magnets for prototyping, learning and fun. We were given a starter kit by a friend who accidentally ordered two during their successful Kickstarter campaign. It’s really great. Especially for kids.

I spent some time playing with it with Beatrix last night and was quite impressed. The packaging and presentation was top notch. What you get are little modules one that magnetically snap together into ious configurations and make little projects. The modules are essentially divided into four color-coded categories — Power , Input, Wire, Output. The possibilities of what to do with these are largely up to your experimentation. The instructions do provide a couple of example projects to give you an idea of how it all works but the rest is up to you. That said, there seems to be an active community of folks sharing their projects ideas. A great resource.

This is a perfect thing to get kids excited about electronic experimentation and making. Beatrix had a blast in the half hour we had to play with it before bed. She insisted in bringing it up to her bedroom so that she could remember she had it to play with in the morning. Which, in Beatrix’s world, is the best vote a toy can receive.