Tangible Life
How I Use My Notebooks
Great update post from Jenny Mason over on The Finer Point! I have a bit of a notebook fascination (or fetish, perhaps) and seeing how others use various types has always been of interest to me.
Jim Henson’s Violent Wilkins Coffee Commericals
This pre-Kermit character sure knows how to sell coffee!
Shifty Jelly
What a great highlight of the Shifty Jelly development team. Pocket Casts has been my podcast app for years now and the Android experience is by far the best.
Macstories iOS 10 Wishlist
This is why Federico Viticci and the MacStories team are best in class. Go watch the video and read the article that accompanies it.
Favorite Android Utility Apps
Every year I try to avoid “resolutions,” but that doesn’t mean I don’t take inventory and try to make changes where needed. Over the coming weeks, I’ll cover some of my favorite apps on various platforms. I use iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, so hopefully at least one of the posts will be useful to every reader.
The following Android apps do not require root privileges. Some are paid apps, but most have a free version or trial. I believe in paying for apps I rely on because the app ecosystem is ripe with apps that do not get maintained over time when there is no clear support model for the developer.
These are the Android utility apps that have made me more productive on my HTC One M8:
1Password
1Password is a great password manager on its surface, but I’ve come to use it for so much more over the last few months. It can be used to securely store credit cards, identity data like Social Security cards, software license keys and even secure notes. The Android version includes the option of a custom keyboard that will populate usernames and passwords automatically with the touch of a button.
1Password also has Mac, Windows and iOS versions that all sync reliably so that your passwords and more are available on every major platform.
Texpand Pro
Texpand Pro is a text expander/text automation app. I’ve used TextExpander from Smile Software on Mac and iOS for years, but was never satisfied with the Android alternatives until Texpand Pro came along. While it doesn’t sync with TextExpander (importing snippets from a TextExpander Sync/export would be a great feature to add), adding snippets is very intuitive and the app follows modern Material Design guidelines. Backup and restore options are available in the app settings, so moving to a new device shouldn’t be much work. Some other notable feature are as follows:
- Write phrase snippets to user dictionary
- Import snippets from user dictionary entries
- Hovering expansion button that floats as recognized phrases/abbreviations are typed
I do not use the last feature, personally, but I can see how it would be useful for some. I keep it simple and just expand snippets using a short abbreviation. For example, when I type scb it automatically expands to my full conference bridge phone number and ID. It makes creating meeting invites a snap.
Twilight
Twilight’s premise is simple; blue light from your device is bad when you need to go to sleep. Reading on phones and tablets trick our bodies into trying to stay awake. Twilight tweaks the color of your screen so that the bad blue light is filtered. You control how aggressive the filter performs and it will even allow you to dim the screen more than turning the standard brightness setting all the way down. Twilight has the option to automatically enable/disable based on on sunrise/sunset for your current location. You can also set it to start/stop at specific times. If you want to read more about what blue light is doing to your brain at night, the developers put several great references in the app description on Google Play.
Coffee in Space: A Bold Cup of Innovation
Finally… I can book space travel.
In partnership with ASI, the Italian space agency, Argotec and Lavazza have produced ISSpresso (get it?), a capsule-based machine that promises to deliver “a perfect espresso” in the weightless environment of space. Microgravity complicates literally every action astronauts perform in space, and liquids are particularly tricky to deal with up there. With this new appliance, however, they can insert a pouch of water, add a capsule of espresso, press “brew,” and voila! Caffeinated bliss.
Kit Kat Dunk
I’ve been missing out…
See it there, right next to lemon cookie and giant cookie? There is the Kit Kat — a common candy bar — pretending to be a cookie.
Aeropress Love
Shawn Blanc details why the AeroPress is the coffee brewing system he utilizes most often.
The AeroPress has become this sort of cult classic, popular geeky way to brew coffee. Everyone with a Twitter account recommends it.
While I do not have a cupboard full of coffee making contraptions, the combination of my Bodum burr grinder and the AeroPress have become my go to method for making a great cup.
Inside the Company that Rebuilt Digg
Informative post on Vox about Betaworks.
I really like the new Digg and use it when looking for something interesting to read. I was never an original Digg user, but I was familiar with Betaworks due to it’s acquisition of Instapaper (which it has done a great job with).
Podcasting 101
This is an excellent post by Marco Arment, of Build and Analyze and Accidental Tech Podcast fame.
The only piece I’ll disagree with is his one:
First and foremost: as a listener, I should never know that you use Skype.
Roderick on the Line wouldn’t be the same without that ringing.
App Highlight: Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts is an app for listening to, discovering and managing podcasts. This post will focus on the Android version, which is available on the Google Play Store for $3.99.
Over the years I’ve used several podcast apps but have stuck with Pocket Casts for two reasons. The first is that it is cross-platform. It has an iOS version and a recently launched desktop web app that make listening to podcasts across multiple platforms seamless. The other reason is the app’s design. The app is beautifully designed and the developer frequently updates it to make it fit in with the current UI decisions of the platform itself.
From discovering new podcasts to downloading (or streaming) ones that you’re already subscribed to, Pocket Casts makes the entire process elegant and intuitive. If you’re new to listening to podcasts, it has a Discover section where you can view what podcasts are popular in different genres. You can even browse through podcast networks so that all shows on that network are available in a single view. No matter how you discover a podcast, a full show description is available and you just tap a button to subscribe to ones you like. Once subscribed, you can select how many downloaded episodes to keep and you can have all new episodes automatically download any time you are connected to WiFi. It makes managing podcast updates something you never have to think about.
The player interface is designed with advanced users in mind, however, the careful placement of controls doesn’t overburden even the casual listener. It makes accessing things like show notes (which allows links to be opened), the Up Next playlist and playback speed controls accessible, but not distracting. Podcast artwork is front and center in this view and it is presented beautifully.
App Highlight: Croma
Croma for Android is a lovely app for managing and creating color palettes. It is available for free on the Google Play Store and offers enhanced functionality via in-app purchase.
If you’ve ever done design work, you know how much a good color palette can make all the difference. Croma is designed with Android’s new Material Design asthetic, which makes it feel all the more fresh. As the quick walk-through video shows, creating a palette (complete with color code values) from an existing image is simple and elegant.
Lift
I mentioned in the previous post that this month I’m working to build a new habit by writing 500 words each day. To track the progress for this habit, as well as others I am working on, I am using an app called Lift. Lift has been around for awhile now, but when I looked at it in the past it did not offer an Android version. Using the iPhone version on my iPad was less than an optimal experience, but with the Android app available, it’s a great choice for me.
Overview
Lift is designed to make creating, finding and tracking goals or habits simple. You can browse what habits have already been created by other users and see how many participants they have. You can add your own habits if the one you are looking for does not already exist. You can even mark a habit private so that other Lift users cannot see that you are a participant.
Social Features
I’m not using the app for the social features that it offers, however, they seem to be helpful to those that do. From simple positive feedback/reinforcement to the ability to ask questions of other habit participants, Lift gives you the ability to interact with other users to motivate you to succeed. Some goals are even sponsored by experts that then make themselves available for question and answer sessions in the app. I have noticed that this is typically also tied to a chance for the expert to market themselves or their services, but I can understand why they see the opportunity as a good one for both parties.
Design
A big part of what makes me want to use an app is the design and user experience. Many Android apps feel out of place when the iOS version came first. Lift is an exception. The Android app is great and feels like it was developed with the Android platform in mind. The user interface is very clean and minimal, yet informative and clear as to the progress on each goal or habit.
Don’t Break the Chain
The value in having an app like Lift is that it gives you a very visual and material way to measure how you are executing on your goals. It adds the achievement of checking a box each day. The idea of not “breaking the chain” is a large component in building any habit. You don’t want to kill the streak, and having an app that shows you that really does seem to have a motivating effect.
500WED
Update: I failed. I literally only met the goal 2 or 3 days out of the 30. I would say I feel defeated, but it has been a busy time in many respects. I’ll think about a more reasonable goal at a more reasonable time.
The Challenge
For the month of September, I have decided to take on a challenge. The goal of the challenge is to build a more consistent writing habit. Daily success is measured by 500 words written. I’ve wanted to build a better writing habit for years. Posting more content here has always been a big motivation, but obviously not enough to push me to write more regularly. My hope is that by doing something every day for 30 days, I will form the habit.
Potential Risks
- I’ll have no desire to write after a few days
- I won’t have anything worth writing about after a few days
- The structure will make my writing more robotic
- I won’t be writing because I enjoy it
Potential Rewards
- After this month, content will be posted to the site regularly like magic
- I will form good writing habits
- My writing will continually improve throughout the month
- Site readership will increase due to more regular posts
Tools
Most of my writing will likely take place on my phone or my iPad. I would love to sit here, lie and say that I will set aside time to sit in front of my iMac and crank out post after amazing post like Stephen J. Cannell at the end of an episode of Hunter. While the desktop computer in my makeshift home office is great, it isn’t where most of these words will be created. This post is being written on my iPad. This is actually the second time I have written this post. I wrote it to the tune of 542 words last night and then proceeded to accidentally delete it with a poor default action step in the Drafts app.
I want this exercise to also filter my toolset. I want my writing workflow to improve along the way. I want to know what apps aid my writing and which ones should be deleted because they add nothing to the process. I want to find the groove in the technology I have at my disposal so that future efforts aren’t over complicated by the plethora of cool apps or devices I have built up around me. I can see why an app that is available on all the platforms I use that also syncs the data from one instance to the next would be an obvious choice. I can also appreciate using the best of the best apps on each platform and letting sync be carried out by Dropbox or some other external syncing or file storage service. Needless to say, I’ll keep readers informed along the journey.
Disclaimers
I should clarify that the goal is to write 500 words each day. It is not to post to this site daily. It is also not to make sure all posts during the challenge are a minimum of 500 words. Some of the words I count towards my daily goal will never see the light of day on any website. Some will be components of larger efforts. What I have decided is that only words created outside of my day-to-day “real job” will be included towards the goal. I have never counted how many words a day I generate answering and creating emails, writing code or having conversations through instant message/IRC. Counting those towards this effort would simply be pointless. It wouldn’t develop any new or good habits.
Go
Consider the starter pistol trigger pulled. This is day two and I’m happier with this version of the post than the one I wrote and accidentally deleted yesterday. Seems like progress to me.
The Invention of the Aeropress
The AeroPress has become my preferred method for making coffee over the last year and a half. Priceonomics provides a great history lesson on the AeroPress and its inventor, Alan Adler.
Reading Literature on Screen: A Price for Convenience?
I’ve often been curious if reading on screen was as valuable as reading a physical page. I’ll be interested in future studies, but I know I read more with my phone and iPad than I would without them.
She said more research is needed to understand what’s lost by reading literature on screen. She added that the type of text, the device used, and the background experience of the reader could all influence the outcome
Why you shouldn’t drive slowly in the left lane
As someone who commutes to work using some of Florida’s most glorious interstate highways, please share this link with anyone you know that drives slow in the left lane.
If they give you the the following justification… slash their tires.
Now, some people counter that as long as they’re going the speed limit, they don’t have to move over — and by slowing down would-be speeders, they’re making the roads safer.
New York Real Estate: Dirty Money
Many walk a fine line between showing off and staying on the down-low. Instead of putting property in their own names, they may arrange to put the names of their spouses, children, lawyers or other proxies on property deeds. Often, the buyer of record isn’t a flesh-and-blood person—it’s a limited liability company set up in a US state, or an offshore company established in the British Virgin Islands or some other overseas haven.
Not much different than the cocaine money that built the Miami skyline in the 1980s and 90s.
17 Surprising Facts Most People Don’t Know About Coffee
Just more reasons to enjoy the nectar of the gods.
End of the Rainbow
I’m certainly no “Apple insider” and I don’t have any sources to confirm or deny my theories, but that hasn’t ever stopped me from taking a few stabs in the dark a few days before an Apple announcement. I have read about the proposed “gold” or “champagne” iPhone 5S color option. I have heard it mentioned on several podcasts and I got curious enough to even go look at some of the “leaked” photos of supposed components. Based on nothing more than my gut feelings and trying to think about how Apple has operated in the past few years when it comes to supply chain management, here are my predictions when it comes to the iPhone 5S (should it carry this name).
The iPhone 5S will come in two color choices. Those choices will be “White & Gold” and “Black & Graphite”. Currently, the iPhone 5 comes in “White & Silver” and “Black & Slate”. All the articles I’ve read agree that the gold option would be paired with white components that mirror the existing “White & Silver” iPhone 5. I do not believe that Apple would offer both a “White & Silver” and a “White & Gold” option for the 5S. The majority of the articles that discuss a gold iPhone 5S propose the primary motivations are to offer customers more choices and appeal to a more global style or cultures. While I don’t disagree that the latter might be a valid benefit, I think it is more about differentiation than it is about an additional SKU for the 5S. The colors we’ll likely see with the iPhone 5C will provide enough choice for those that hold it above other core design elements.
Slightly altering the shade of the metal body and backing for the 5S makes sense for so many reasons. When the iPhone 4S launched, there was an overwhelming tone in the reviews from major media outlets that it was not different enough. This was based solely on the looks of the device. If you look at an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 4S, there is virtually no difference. The iPhone 5 launched with a larger screen that stretched the device’s overall height. The metal frame expanded to wrap around the back of the device. While many people said the design was still too similar, the iPhone 5 was a natural and beautiful progression in the industrial design that the iPhone 4/4S made famous.
When a smart and mature company has an iconic design that is as popular and striking as the iPhone has become starting with the 4, there is no reason to scrap it completely in an effort to reinvent itself. Ferrari and Lamborghini both have striking designs that are almost immediately distinguishable to even a novice car enthusiast. As new models have come and old models retired, there is a common design language that spans the brand dating back decades. Even with all badges removed, I’d be willing to bet that most people would be able to identify either of these brands from a line-up. Apple has accomplished the same thing with the iPhone. The color of the metal being different on the 5S vs. the 5 would, at a minimum, give reviewers a reason to pause and think twice about saying it looked too similar to its predecessor. By also adjusting the “slate” to a different tone and calling it “graphite”, the same occurs for both the black and white iPhone 5S options.
Lastly, Apple likes being a step ahead of the competition, especially when it comes to the design of their hardware. The iPhone 4 was the first phone to introduce a full glass front and back. A couple of years later, it was a design element that was “borrowed” by the Nexus 4 by LG. The iPhone 5 incorporated more metal into the unibody frame. HTC took notice of this trend and the HTC One was released with a full-body aluminum enclosure design. Apple will continue to push the envelope when it comes to industrial design of its products. They are running an ad in movie theaters that shows off nothing except the design of the new Mac Pro. I’d argue that the design of Apple products, and the constant refinement vs. redesign of those designs, is what makes the hardware sexy to the millions that choose it over the competition.
NSA Official Admits Agency’s Surveillance Covers Even More People Than Previously Indicated
Tim Cushing of Techdirt writing about the NSA’s testimony on data surveillance:
It’s heartening to see a few representatives stepping up to declare the NSA’s actions reprehensible.
I’d say it’s disheartening that it is only a few.
Thinking Now About Reading Later
I won’t take the time to detail each and every feature difference between Instapaper and Pocket. That information is readily available in countless reviews and comparisons on the web. They are both “read later” services which allow you to essentially bookmark articles on the web to read at some future point in time. They both strip out the ads and make the reading experience much cleaner and more enjoyable for the reader. Macro Arment recently sold a controlling stake in Instapaper to Betaworks. I hadn’t realized it until the sale, but a large part of why I used Instapaper exclusively was because I enjoyed the idea of supporting Marco’s work. With the sale, I decided to see what the other major player in the space had to offer. Along the way, I stumbled upon another option that I found worth consideration.
Pocket Change
Pocket has a lot to like. They have native Mac, Android and iOS app. Instapaper has no native Mac app, and the Instapaper web app leaves a bit to be desired visually. Pocket’s apps on all platforms are free, which most people would see as a benefit. During the last few years, I’ve come to believe that if you are going to invest your time and attention into integrating an app or service into your workflow, you should understand the relationship you have with the person or company that offers the app/service. With Pocket, the fact that the service and apps are free concerns me. They have no clear business model that I have been able to observe. This leads me to a healthy suspicion that if I put all my “read later” eggs in Pocket, I may be in the position to have to completely restructure my read later workflow again in the near future. This would likely be due to them being acquired by another company, or deciding that making any revenue in this space was not worth the effort and closing its doors.
The interface of the Pocket apps is very clean, which I enjoy. Pocket allows you to organize articles through tags, versus Instapaper’s folders. This took some getting used to for someone coming from Instapaper, but after a couple of days it was not a major issue. One annoyance is that the apps across the various platforms have slight differences in user experience that can sometimes cause confusion. Managing multiple articles at once, for example. The Android app offers a “bulk edit” feature that the Mac app does not. My brain has trouble accepting that a desktop application offers fewer features than a mobile variant.
Reading List
For a moment, I carefully considered using Safari’s Reading List feature instead of either Instapaper or Pocket. The advantages are pretty striking. It is baked into both the OS X and iOS operating systems since the Safari browser ships as the default browser on both. It is afforded system level integration that third-party services are not. Installing the “Read Later” bookmarklet for either Instapaper or Pocket is a pretty painstaking task compared to “Add to Reading List” in the share sheet in Safari. The bookmarklet installation in mobile Safari on iOS is even more of an Indiana Jones effort.
After much deliberation, there were three reasons I decided that Safari’s Reading List just wasn’t the right solution for me (though it would be a very viable one for many users):
- Reading List is only on Mac and iOS. I use an Android phone and a Windows computer at work. While about 85% of my reading happens on either my Mac or my iPad, I know I would miss the 15%.
- Reading List has no tag or folder organization methods. I archive very few of the articles that I read through any “read later” service, however, it is nice to have a method to organize the things that I feel have long-term value. The solution with Reading List would be to move any item to a bookmark service like Pinboard once it has been read. Pinboard has tags so it would not be a horrible work around, however, it seemed more complicated than either Instapaper or Pocket.
- Reading List does not format articles for “distraction-free” reading. Safari offers a feature called “Reader” that performs a similar function in this regard. What that means is that any time I would want to use Reading List + Reader to mimic the functionality of Instapaper/Pocket, I’d have to open the Reading List, click on the article, then move to the address bar and click the Reader button. That feels too much like work.
Back To The House That Marco Built
So, at the end of a month long journey to evaluate where my loyalties and preferences reside with regards to reading articles later, my choice is a return to Instapaper. I’ll be deleting the Pocket apps from my various devices and re-installing the Instapaper apps. I’ll miss the native app experience on my Mac (I’m aware of the Words app, but don’t care much for it). I’ll miss being able to put the same article in multiple categories via tags. What I will not miss is having the constant paranoia that Pocket is going to be sold or shut down tomorrow. I won’t miss the lack of font and theme options (Instapaper really shines here). I won’t miss wondering if Pocket is making money mining my reading habits and selling them to the highest bidder.
I don’t know what the future holds for Instapaper either. The service was recently sold and the company that now owns the control of Instapaper’s future, Betaworks, also bought Digg not all that long ago. They could decide to merge the two products or combine features across them that make Instapaper something different than what I want it to be. That’s the risk I’m willing to take.
(Re)building a simplified Firefox logo
Simplifying a style doesn’t always mean bringing it down to basic geometric shapes and solid colors. You can in fact bring simplicity to a visual by better balancing color, contrast, shape, and detail. To that last point, we removed quite a bit of detail in this latest revision but purposely added more detail where needed to accommodate today’s high resolution screens. The simplification process not only focused on the look but also the structure by making it SVG compatible and more accessible for the broader Mozilla community.
Great advice.
My lunch with Dieter Rams
Andrew Kim details his interactions with Dieter Rams. I couldn’t help but notice the design of his cane in the photographs.