nutMac

Sometimes the best thing you can do to speed up your workflow on a Mac is to get OFF your Mac. SOunds crazy doesn’t it? Well recently I was lucky enough to join the ranks of millions as an iPhone 3G users (tried three times to get one at my Kitchener Rogers store on Fischer-Hallman and Ottawa), not because I thought I needed one, but because I do so much work developing sites, icons and artwork for those who develop iPhone apps (which is why I have been so neglectful of this blog).

Instantly I started looking at ways to work the iPhone into my productivity regime… without much success until I really thought about what the little jewel of hardware is really good at; reading things. Reading email, reading RSS feeds, reading tweets… all things that general detract from productivity while sitting in front of a project with a looming deadline.

So I have started to resist the urge to stay current WHILE working and decide to take my iPhone with my on whatever daily breaks I might have, coffee, lunch, erm… rest room… and do all my catching up then.

Brilliant! Several things have happened; I know take regular breaks (something I am famous for not doing), and I am now more productive during actual working time.

While I am not expressly endorsing the iPhone, I am endorsing getting away from the computer from time to time to mentally recharge. While sitting on an e-reader of sorts is hardly disconnecting from the cyber world, the change of pace will help keep you on track in your daily grind.

There’s about 2 hours before Steve Jobs stands before a ravenous, crazed room of less-than objective reporters who sense of reality has been relatively obscured by some unknown field who’s effect seems to have greater impact once Steve Jobs actually takes the stage. Yes, Steve Jobs will be taking part in what has affectionately become known as the Stevenote… the Macworld keynote speech at which Steve will wow us with something bedazzlingly new, some unheard of gadget so incredible that we can’t have imagined life on earth before he bestowed knowledge of such an item upon us… or so we are compelled to believe without rational thought or objective criticism until we actually break free of the reality distortion field (which can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks).

All of this pressure to continually come up with new thing-a-mabobbers each and every year, and the continual pressure to live up to the rumor sites building expectations… it’s a lot for a hippie throwback like Steve to take. Let’s face it, he’s no spring chicken anymore. The force is weakening. I mean sure, Yoda could lift an X-wing fighter at 200 plus years of age but look what it did to him. And that pails in comparison to controlling the minds of hundreds of otherwise curmudgeonly reporters willing to write bad things of Apple the other 364 days of the year.

So that’s why my prediction for the 2008 Macworld Stevenote is this:
In lieu of Steve’s failing powers Apple has developed a new device, code named (aptly enough) Yoda which is a small device, about the size of an iPhone, blue in color, with a button on it… it’s the first ever RDF amplifier called the iField. Seriously… “There is something in the air”? Uh…yeah… it’s the iField!

Initially aimed at the iPod market, you know, kids who want their parent to believe their homework is done, the actual implications for this device are wide ranging with potential uses for CEO’s, board of directors, head of the PTA, husbands… why this device could have such broad appeal that this could very well launch Apple shares into the stratosphere… like $50 or $60… or something really big even.

You watch in two hours time. If Steve is indeed holding a blue box with a button, my predictions are at least partly true. If he says nothing about the iField it’s only because he is just beta testing it. If the iField is in fact working, you won’t even recall reading this article.

Headphones not included.

Technorati Tags: Stevenote, Macworld, keynote, Air, iField, Steve Jobs

Don’t get discouraged when I tell you this; if you are using your mac to make a living then you are repeating the same tasks over and over again. Sounds like you are stuck in a rut right? Don’t think of it that way. Think of it as an opportunity to streamline a very short list of processes, operations and procedures.

Let’s take me for example. I am a web designer and web content contributer extraordinaire… well maybe I made up that last point, but you get the idea. I am constantly designing for and filling up the web. When I am using my mac for work, what processes do I actually involve myself in on a daily basis? I could get geeked out and start watching my console.app to really get behind what I actually do in a day, but I am not getting that deep about the meaning of my life. I just mean what apps do I use most, what apps do I work with and for what reasons and is there a way to change the way I do things for the better?

In most cases there is. I use RapidWeaver, TextMate, CSSEdit, Photoshop and Captain FTP nearly every minute of every workday. For the most part I have mastered each of the narrow facets that I might use for each of these apps but that doesn’t necessarily mean I am using each one effectively or to it’s fullest potential. The latter is not necessarily ever going to be a time saver since many apps are built with far more features than most will ever need and sometimes those features pail in comparison to an app that specializes in that area. However, the former, using an app effectively, is a crucial ingredient to increasing your productivity.

To be more effective using your apps in production you need to learn more about them. I don’t mean sitting down and reading the manual from start to finish (though this wouldn’t hurt), but rather keeping your eyes open and looking for solutions to new problems as they confront you. Resources such as the help manual and readme files can be great for this, but in some smaller apps, documentation is feeble at best. You need to take a proactive approach and join (or at least read) the related forums, read the developer blogs, read the tips and tricks (often part of the aforementioned forums or blogs) and communicate with other avid users of those apps and learn how others have overcome issues or addressed their own productivity concerns. When it gets most interesting is when you find tricks that the app developer never intended and through awareness of such approaches, soon becomes such a widespread technique that the developers end up building it into their app, or at least bringing it more to the forefront.

When you can’t find faster ways of doing repetitive tasks with your apps, look for helpers or apps that make these tasks simpler for you. Apps like Quicksilver and Launchbar are two such apps that make finding, launching and thinking so much faster once you get them under your productivity skin. For me, Quicksilver is an indispensable tool. From spelling to app launching to script running to note taking to blog posting to finding everything… Quicksilver does everything I think about doing. In conjunction with Exposé, a tuned mouse setup and Witch, my screen is a blur with action to the uninitiated over-the-shoulder observer.

Another way of getting things done quickly is to make use of Automator. With folder actions and finder actions you can get things done with a contextual menu selection or a drag-and-drop. For me, this is image uploading. I save myself the time and effort of opening an FTP client, selecting an address, selecting a folder and uploading an image. Instead, I right click on an image, go to actions, select my appropriate upload action (upload to nutMac.com for instance), and I am done. There are many pre-made actions to be found at the Apple download area. With apps like Automator and Quicksilver, you circumvent the need to actually open the apps in question and instead make use of the services they hook into.

The bottom line is, never stop looking for ways to improve your workflow. Never stop learning new things about what you do and what you use. Never stop questioning the reasons for the ways you do things in your day-to-day processes Stay ever aware of how you get things done and you always stay on top of your productivity.

iTunes and movie rentals in the near future? What say we? Dave Watanabe, the developer responsible for NewsFire and xTorrent came across this interesting popup window when trying to report an iTunes bug… Interesting!

Technorati Tags: iTunes, movie rentals

So why the FARG to part 4 take so long? I said it would boil down to the tools I use, therefore, I had to make sure I gave all the options a fair shake and really come up with an objective list of lean, mean, blogging productivity tools. You wouldn’t think that would be so hard right? I mean aren’t all blogs accessed via a web browser? Umm… er… uh… well… editing a post in a browser sucks! It’s slow, counter intuitive, inherently unstable (if your connection is lost, so too is your post), and on and on and on… In a pinch, or for casual blogging this is the way to go, but it you are in any way serious, you need to consider some desktop alternatives:

1. TextEdit - if you have nothing else at hand on your local computer then at least consider using TextEdit to compose and safely save your work in progress.

2. MarsEdit - I played with this one a bit. It’s well put together, easy to use, and doesn’t go over board with the features. It’s an editor, manager, publisher all in one, so if need be, you wouldn’t need any other tool.

3. Ecto - This one is a bit spotty. It’s powerful, has a cult following, it’s extensible, but it always seems as though the developer has his priorities elsewhere. I will use this over MarsEdit simply because of it’s ability to have most aspects of it’s templates and snippets edited to suit your own preferences. It earns points for it’s geekery.

4. RapidWeaver - You might think this recommendation is a bit much… a complete web development platform for the single purpose of posting to a blog? Well, on it’s own there is merit for such an argument; host a blog anywhere you like, have it look any way you want with the hundreds of available free and commercial theme designs, host as many blogs as you want without having to know sql, myphp, or go through any convoluted server-side installation process each time. RapidWeaver isn’t just a blogging client that integrates into one of the available blogging platforms… it IS the platform. If RapidWeaver on it’s own is not enough, add to it the amazing plugin from Loghound, RapidBlog, and you have a do anything, go anywhere blogging system with unprecedented control that can be both edited from the comfort of your desktop or from any remote location you happened to find yourself in.

5. TextMate - Are you are the ultimate geek who needs the ultimate power with the fastest, most productive editing tool known to man kind? You need to be blogging with TextMate! You need to be doing everything with TextMate, your coding, developing, editing, your laundry, picking up the groceries, etc… The only app on my machine that gets more time in use is Safari, but TextMate runs a close second. Name the A - Z of coding, markup or scripting languages and TextMate does it and then some. Right, so what has this got to do with blogging. Right out of the preverbal box, TextMate has some pretty cool blogging features that allow you to post to one or many blogs, but add a nifty little plugin called BlogMate from Todd Ditchendorf, and TextMate becomes my number one choice for blogging clients. Here is why; I can type any word, hit some hot-keys and TextMate will find the most relevant URL and title for that word and create a link in whatever language I happen to be writing in, like HTML or Markdown. I can also post to nearly any blogging platform I want, which is good for me since I use WordPress, Blogger, Jaiku, Twitter and have been known to use a host of other platforms in the past. If you are serious about blogging from a mac, you want to consider my number one choice for blogging… TextMate!

I hope you have found this little series on blogging helpful. Hopefully you can take what you have learned here and apply it to your own blog.

Technorati Tags: blogging, WordPress, Blogger, TextMate, Ecto, MarsEdit

So now you know why you want a blog and what your blog will be about. We’ve also told you about blogging platforms and how to get your blog out there. Now it’s all about the content, delivery, and timing.

So often the best, most successful blogs are about one persons view or interpretation of the latest happenings. All too often, bloggers just regurgitate the news as 500 other blogs have done on the same day that something news worthy happens. Though this can often be the best way to distribute newsworthy information, it can also lead to mass misinformation and misquoting and can lead to damaged reputations and diving stock prices.

One of my favorite blogs out there is Daring Fireball by John Gruber, not because he regurgitates the news of the day but because he give careful thought to what the news is about and then delivers his opinion of how that might or should affect him or his viewers. He has an opinion and whether you agree with his or not, it can’t be denied that his opinion is intelligent and thought out.

“Ok fine,” you say, “I too have an opinion.” This may indeed be true, but how is your opinion conveyed? When taking an opinionated stance, as so many blogs try to do, it is too easy to sound flippant, blithe or belligerent. Care and concern needs to be taken in your wording. This is easier done if your blog is taking a comedic or sarcastic view. Tongue in cheek is far less likely to offend but a knack for comedy is not naturally inherent in most of us.

Great, so you have an opinion or another way of seeing things, and you are sure that your ability to convey that stance in your writing will be effective. Now what? Timing. You could be the best, most intelligent writer out there who always strikes a chord with your intuitive view of the world, but that does you no good if you are writing about week old news. It’s important that you keep step with the news sites and blogs out there and stay as current as possible. If you can’t read some news and turn it around in your blog in the same day, then don’t bother blogging about it.

However, if the news is older but you’ve just found out about it yourself, then by all means blog about it. Just be sure that there is value to your readers in doing so. If you think the news might have slipped by your readers just as it slipped by you, then they’ll appreciate you for it. But to regurgitate something that everyone is likely to know about just because you were asleep at the wheel will certainly turn many reader away, deeming you to be behind the times.

One excellent way to stay current is to have an RSS aggregator running at all times pulling in feeds from all the trustworthy news sites, like Slashdot, CNET, Engadget, Wired, etc… When something that interests you comes up quickly determine if there is something else you can add to the story; another angle, point of view or opinion on the matter. If you decide to go ahead with the story, do it quickly, site reliable sources (more than one if you can) and be sure that you follow up on enough leads that will show that both you and your sources are credible.

Next time around, in part 4, we’ll have a look at my ever evolving arsenal of tools that help me to post as easily and quickly as I can.

Technorati Tags: blogging, Slashdot, Daring Fireball, CNET, Engadget

In part 1 of Compulsive blogging we discussed the mindset required and the questions you should ask yourself before taking a stab at being a blogger with a purpose. Now that you’ve made it this far, perhaps you want to know just how you go about blogging so in part two we are going to look at some of the methodology behind blogging. We are already assuming that you know what you’re blogging about and that you’ve gone as far as registering a domain name and secured some hosting somewhere. What we will look at specifically is the means by which you will create the actual blog.

First off you’ll want to decide on a blog software. There are many available, many of which are free and most of which are remote type clients where the software is hosted on a remote server and you blog writing and editing takes place with a web browser. Some of the more widely used and reputable blogging applications out there are:

• WordPress
• Moveable Type
• Typo
• and Blogger

I personally use several blog applications but if I had to choose one it would be WordPress. Some factors that might aid the decision process are the features you might require (i.e. commenting, permalinks, trackbacks, image uploading etc…), the ease of use of the software, the community that surrounds the application, and the availability of plugins, themes or extensions that allow you to create your own unique experience.

Once you’ve settled on a platform and got it hosted you’ll need to cut the tape as it were and christen your newly founded blog with some inaugural blog postings. What I might suggest is a few posts to clarify who you are what you are about. Share your dreams and aspirations about the blog and what you hope will come out of this blogging exercise. Where possible, add a few permanent information pages to your information architecture. Not only will the average visitor look for this but it will also serve as fuel for the ever hungry search engines looking for useful content.

Be sure not to go public with your new blog just yet. There are things to consider and things to test first. Wait until you have at least ten solid posts and a sidebar full of useful snippets of text, links, ads or anything else that makes the page feel well balanced and established. You also need to do some testing as well. Have a look at you new blog from every browser you can get your hands on. How does it look? Does it render adequately on IE6, IE7, Firefox and Safari? What about Opera? You might not care how your blogs looks on other browsers but you visitors certainly will, and they will let you know by not coming back. Also, be sure to check for broken links, typo’s, grammatical errors or format inconsistencies.

Now that your ready to go public with this blog consider your ways of getting the word out. In todays Web 2.0 culture there are countless way to spread messages like this. Consider services like Technorati, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg.com. There are also less agressive means like taking part in social networks like FaceBook, MySpace and Virb, as well as micro-blogs like Jaiku and Twitter.

In the next installment we’re going to address news relevancy and timing and how you should apply that to your blog.

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Technorati Tags: blogging, Jaiku, Twitter, WordPress, Blogger

Blogging is all the rage right now and you might feel that you want to get involved too. It is a great and rewarding form of expression but it can also be a big flop or waisted effort.

Before you dip into the world of blogging or before getting deeper in than you already might be you must first ask yourself a few basic questions:

1. Why are you blogging?

   • Maybe you have a particular interest in a subject that you feel you have a good knowledge of and would like to share.
   • Perhaps it’s a good way to stay in touch with friends and family at a distance.
   • It’s possible that you are passionate about something or someone and want to express your dedication as a fan.

   Whatever your reason, it’s important that you have one. You need a good enough reason for yourself to carry on blogging without faltering. You must have reason enough to stay the course.

2. How often do you want to contribute?

   All too often we set goals for our blogging activity that are far beyond what we can actually keep up with. Set a goal of blogging frequency that is suitable to your schedule and lifestyle. This planned frequency does not need to be common knowledge, but more often than not, your readers will catch on to any kind of rhythm to your posts. If you start off posting once per day, then once a week and eventually once a month, the public will pick up on this subconsciously and view your blog as “dying”.

   If, however, you set a steady pace at the get go, like once a week or biweekly for example, then this is what your reader will come to expect and await each “episode” with anticipation.

3. Who do wish to be?

   It sounds like an odd question, but it is very valid. Your personality will shine through in your writing so it is important to think about how to present your persona to your readers. How you write says a lot about who you are whether you know it or not.

   It happens all too often; what we intend in our writing is not always what is read by the reader, so extra care should be given when reading back your posts to yourself. Consider how your comments or remarks might be received by the public.

4. What are your goals?

   Even if you are blogging for yourself, you need to set some goals. Whether your looking for a certain size readership, looking to reach a given number of visits of even if you are just looking at exercising your creative muscle to improve your writing skills, a goal is an important milestone to strive for and drive you on.

5. How will you measure success?

   How you confirm that your goals have been met is almost as important as having them in the first place. Maybe your goal is to have an article get noticed from time to time, then perhaps one of your articles be featured on Digg is affirmation enough that your goal has been met.

   Then again, if you feel you are a poor writer who has a goal to improve, then you might view a positive comment about an article you’ve penned to be an ample measure of that success.

It’s all about your mindset. You can’t go blindly into blogging if you’ve nothing to add to the realm of blogging on some level, be it personal, family or professional. Some of the most successful blogs have a very narrow field of interest or have a voice of strong opinion. Think about what you really want to write about, and then, in your mind, map out all the things you might have to say on that topic. If you had trouble coming up with 6 possible posts you might find that blogging is not for you.

In part 2 we will talk about the methodology I use when blogging.

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Technorati Tags: blogging, how to, writing, blogs

I get a lot of comments from friends and colleagues about how much content I generate for various blogs, tumblelogs and micro-blogs that they have a hard time understanding how I remain as productive as I do. So how do I do it?

Well for starters, I work about 16 to 17 hours a day (my wife will vouch for me there). But I don’t fully attribute my hours worked to my through put. There are other factors at play here.

• I type fast
• I have a lot to say
• and most important, I find the fastest, smartest way to do things

Most people who contribute to a blog or post on a forum find it a bit of a chore. If it’s a web based blog, they have to login, go to the right admin panel, click a link here and there, maybe grab a picture here or there, upload it, fill in a box with copy and publish. If it’s a desktop app there using, it usually involves opening a sluggish, bloated application, click a few buttons here or there… you get it by now.

Now if you count the places I generate content for; nutMac, seyDesign, Twitter (when it works), Jaiku (when it works), WigglyWumble, Tumblr, even a blog I have for my son… Imagine if I followed those aforementioned procedures? I would be at it all day. SO, how do I do it?

I am going to break it into parts; make it a bit of a serial for you:

1. In part one I will talk about the mindset.
2. Part 2 will be about the methodology.
3. Reaction time is key and I will look at that in part three
4. It all boils down to the tools I use and part 4 will delve into this

Stay tuned.

Today is the date of the original deadline served to the Internet radio broadcasters for paying up retroactive royalty payment totaling in the millions for some broadcasters. This date has been moved to June 15th 2007, but a few days back, in a bid to deal a small but political blow to the RIAA, I started the movement to stop the buying of music on the original deadline date, May 15th (today).

The movement met with criticism, stating it was pointless, useless, not sending the right message, hurting the wrong people, etc… The point I think the nay-sayers are missing is that this issue is localized to the United States. Other, obviously freer countries don’t suffer under the thumb of such organizations as the RIAA and the MPAA and so on. So this movement was more to show our American friends that we feel their pain and offer our support.

Living outside of America we have little way to impact the situation on any governmental level but we can always speak with our wallets. And that’s what today and this movement is all about. Will it change the overall outcome? Probably not, but a petition doesn’t sting nearly as much as lost revenue. Consider us and all the other international supporters on American Internet Radio, the constituency who vote with their wallets.

So I stick to my guns; DON’T BUY MUSIC TODAY, MAY 15th, AND STAND UP FOR INTERNET RADIO.

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Technorati Tags: RIAA, Internet Radio, boycotte, May 15