Happy Thanksgiving!

For those international readers, Thanksgiving is the U.S. holiday where all yanks gorge themselves on turkey and take naps. We also like to give thanks. I'm very thankful for many things like my family, my friends, and my job. I'm also very thankful for the success of Macsparky. Particularly, I'm thankful for all of the wonderful friendships I've made in the Mac community. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

1Password Thanksgiving Promotion

1Password started a promotion today that allows registered license holders to gift a license for 1Password to a friend. If you are a registered owner, check your email and share the password generating, security providing 1Password love.

Default Folder X - Software Craftsmanship

As I was downloading the latest update to Default Folder X, I couldn't help but think about the fantastic work Jon does over at St. Clair Software. It is a small shop but Jon truly is a software craftsman. He has been developing Default Folder X for years and he never stops making it better. I already reviewed it and even screencasted it. If you have found OS X's default save/open dialogue boxes wanting, head over to St. Clair Software and check out Default Folder X.

Freedom - When You Absolutely Have To Get it Done.

Working on a computer can be very distracting. You are bombarded with a constant stream of email, RSS reeds, and other internet content. If you want an excuse to avoid work, your mac has a big one sitting there, just a click away, tempting you. Sometimes I have enough discipline to avoid that siren song. Other times, I don't. That is why I really like Freedom. It is like carrying a copy of your mom in your Mac always ready to make sure you get your work done. Freedom is a simple little application that turns off your internet tap for up to six hours.

Once you click "OK", that is it. The airport turns off and you are officially out of the distraction business. You can't get back online until the time elapses or you reboot your Mac. This is perfect when you really need to buckle down but don't trust yourself to avoid checking MacSparky just one more time.

Geek Gift Guide

My friend, Reid Trautz, just published his annual Holiday Gift Guide. It is actually aimed at lawyers and sports interesting products like a pocket projector but it is appropriate for all geeky business types on your list. Check it out.

MacSpeech Dictate Review

As a computer geek, I have been fortunate to live in amazing times. I grew up watching the birth of the personal computer. I saw the internet transform from a college project to a global phenomenon, and I've been trying to get my computers to listen to me since the beginning of speech recognition software.

About 10 years ago, when speech recognition was first being introduced to the masses, I tried it out. It was terrible. You ... had ... to ... put ... a ... space ... between ... every ... word. While those initial experiments were fun, the technology ultimately came up short. I work on a PC at the office and a few years ago I tried again. This second attempt was much more successful. The Dragon Dictate engine on the PC software made huge strides. No longer do you have to put spaces between words. You can speak naturally and, with some training, the computer gets very good at understanding your voice. I write for a living and Dragon Dictate quickly became a regular part of my computing experience.

I was always disappointed that the Apple Macintosh did not have a similarly adroit speech recognition application. The PC beating the Mac with voice recognition is like seeing an old beater car with a killer stereo. It just makes you hurt a little bit. So you can imagine my excitement last January when I discovered MacSpeech Dictate at Macworld. MacSpeech licensed the Dragon recognition engine for the Mac. This was no vaporware. They had working demonstrations and if they had it ready, I would have bought it that day. Going back and reading my Macworld 2008 coverage, I forgot just how much I lusted after this software. As soon as MacSpeech released a few months later, I had it installed on my Mac. The application is now at version 1.2. The question now becomes, was it worth the wait? The short answer is yes.

This product includes both the software and a voice friendly headset microphone and a USB sound device allowing you to plug the headset in. After installing the application, MacSpeech Dictate walks you through a remarkably short tutorial. Once again, my age is showing. I remember when training voice dictation software would take hours. My total set up time on this application was about 15 minutes. Once you’ve done the basic setup and microphone adjustment, you simply load your favorite word processor and get going. Where this application really shines is text input. I can sit down and dictate correspondence, work documents, and even this review as quickly as I can form the words. The trick I found was not to mix typing and talking. In addition to recognizing your voice, MacSpeech Dictate needs to keep track of where the cursor is. If you edit the document while dictating, you’re very likely to confuse the application and cause unacceptable, and sometimes humorous, results. So my workflow with MacSpeech Dictate is to simply talk through my rough draft. So long as I focus on dictating and typing separately, the accuracy is remarkable. You will need to proofread the final product closely and the application will confuse some words but generally that is more a result of me getting sloppy in the dictation process then the application itself. MacSpeech Dictate needs you to articulate your words properly. This doesn’t mean that you have to be extra careful with the way you speak. It simply means you can’t get lazy and began slurring words together like a drunken sailor.

Using MacSpeech Dictate, I can get raw text into my machine significantly quicker and with much less pain to my fingers. It has a built-in editor but I have also used it to dictate text directly into Scrivener, Pages, and Apple Mail.

If you are about to dictate a unique word, there is a spelling mode that allows you to stop and spell a particular word or name. There is also a procedure to allow you to train new phrases. For instance, my day job requires me to use some unique latin words and phrases. If I just start spewing these words into MacSpeech Dictate, it will tie itself in knots. However, if I stop and train these phrases and words, MacSpeech Dictate picks them up no problem.

In addition to inputting text, MacSpeech Dictate includes a command mode that allows you to drive your Mac with your voice. There is even a convenient commands window to help acquaint you. Using my voice, I can launch applications, perform menu commands, switch between applications, and a host of other possibilities. With a little practice using the command mode, you could operate your Macintosh without touching the keyboard. For people with disabilities, this could open a whole new world.

This software is simply amazing and long overdue on the Macintosh platform. This being said, the software is very new and not nearly as mature as the Dragon Dictate software on the PC. The error correction system is not as robust and some of the tools are simply missing. Nevertheless , MacSpeech Dictate represents a huge improvement to voice dictation on the Macintosh platform.

Without a doubt, speech recognition has finally made it to the Macintosh. Harnessing the Dragon engine, and the years of experience in technology that goes with it, was a stroke of genius. I'm easily talking to my Mac. The MacSpeech Dictation package, including the disk, manual, and microphone sells for $199. While this is no small investment, it is not particularly expensive for voice dictation software. The Dragon Dictate software on the PC also sells for $200. If you spend a lot of time typing or have a disability, this software could pay for itself very quickly. It has for me. If you are interested in purchasing MacSpeech dictate, click the affiliate link on the left and you can additionally help me pay for bandwidth.

You can listen to this review on the MacReviewcast episode 187.

Scheduling Appointments with Yourself

Since “back in the day” when I ran my life analog out of a Franklin planner, I’ve always had a thing for scheduling appointments with myself. Perhaps it is a unique brand of narcissism but setting aside time for specific projects makes sense to me. So in addition to my regular appointments with other, living, breathing humans, at any time, my calendar may include blocks of time that say something like "Write trade secret agreement" or "Audit outstanding commitments." I find this helpful for finding time to do the big projects that never seem to get done otherwise. If you are going to adopt this practice, there are a few tips:

1. Treat Appointments with Yourself as Actual Appointments.

If you set time aside to do a specific project and then completely ignore it, you are, in essence, breaking a commitment with yourself. If you can't trust yourself, than who else can? Sometimes things get in the way that prevent you from using your scheduled time. In that event, you shouldn't ignore the appointment. You should reschedule. "Okay Dave, a meteor just took out your garden shed. You can't write that motion this morning, but how about next Wednesday?"

2. Don't Go Crazy.

Once you start this practice, the temptation will be there. You’ll schedule yourself to walk the dog at 6:45 a.m. for 10 minutes. You’ll then schedule yourself to do 20 push-ups at 6:55 a.m. Don't. The temptation to micromanage will only get in the way. You’ll find yourself spending all of your time "scheduling" and no time "doing." I reserve this practice for large items, usually things that take more than an hour and a half. The only exception is for meeting preparation. If I'm going to meet someone, I will often schedule myself to spend 15 or 30 minutes preparing.

3. Review and Plan.

Try this for a few weeks then go back and see how you did. Usually on Sunday night or Monday morning, I look at some of the big items I need to accomplish during the week and schedule them into slots of availability. I know from experience that when I reserve time for a big project, it is much more likely to actually get done. It also feels good when you have scheduled time to do a project that is still pending. It takes the stress off so long as you have faith in yourself to honor the appointment. (See tip one above.)

Do you schedule appointments with yourself? How's it working for you?

iPhone Adventure - More Retro Love

Again the iPhone developer community thrusts me back in time! Peter Hirschberg recently released the free application, Adventure. This is a faithful recreation of the old Atari 2600 game. I was 11 when the game released and spent countless hours, as a dot, negotiating catacombs and avoiding dragons, that looked a lot like ducks, in search of glory. In 1979, this game was "sweet." This was also the first game where I discovered an easter egg. I'm not sure how entertaining this free application would be to anyone who wasn't "there" in 1979. I even have my doubts as to how much time I'll be playing it, but I LOVE that somebody made it.

XMind and Mind Mapping Conundrum

This week the popular Java based mind map program, XMind, went open source and is now free. I've generally had a hit-and-miss experience with mind mapping applications. Generally, when I need to take notes in a meeting, I do it on a piece of paper or in OmniOutliner. Perhaps, I need to implement it more in brainstorming. Despite my best efforts, I've yet to see the benefits of using mind maps. Do you effectively use mind mapping software? If you have any ideas, sound off in the comments.

Mail Act-On 2 Review

I reviewed Mail Act-On last year explaining it is one of the most useful utilities on my computer. With the recent release of version 2, that hasn't changed. For the uninitiated, Mail Act-On installs itself as a preference in the Apple Mail client. It allows you to assign keystrokes to repeated actions and rules when dealing with your inbox and, with version 2, outbox. For instance, after reviewing an e-mail, there are a limited number of things I will do with it. I will either deal with it and file it, put it in my "action" folder, or delete it. Each of these require me to drag the e-mail over and place it in the proper folder. This works fine if you don't mind taking your hand off the keyboard and using the mouse to drag it over and if you're accurate enough to make sure that you actually drop it in the right folder. For those who use hierarchical folders to sort their Mail, this can be even more difficult. No matter how you slice it, this process takes time.

Using Mail Act-On, I can simply create a rule that takes the highlighted e-mail and files it in a pre-designated folder with a simple key combination. For instance, on my Mac, if you press control F, the highlighted e-mail gets dropped in the "filed" folder and makes a satisfying "plunk" sound courtesy of Mail Act-On. If I wanted to get exotic, I could additionally have Mail Act-On highlight the e-mail green, create an automatic reply, mark it as read and perform a variety of other rule based actions. This is the beauty of Mail Act-On. You can selectively apply user-defined rules with a simple keystroke. You are limited only by your imagination.

This application has become such an ingrained part of my e-mail system, that when I first upgraded to Leopard, and the developer had not yet released a Leopard compatible version, I felt naked. Suddenly, I had to use my mouse and all sorts of other commands to accomplish what I was used to performing in one keystroke.

With the recent release of version 2, Mail Act-On is cleaner, faster, and sports several new features. The act of creating rules in this new version is much easier. The new interface gives you three views: inbox, outbox, and keystrokes. There are a many options for you to make things as simple or complex as your heart desires. If you use Indev's other excellent Mail plug-in, MailTags, you can create Act-On rules that apply MailTags metadata such as keywords and projects.

Another nice new feature is the F1 key that allows you to, among other things, apply an existing rule, copy, or move an e-mail message even without benefit of a rule. You can pick the destination by simply typing a few characters of the folder name. When using the Mail Act-On menus, a new function allows you to lock them open. This is useful when you're grinding through a pile of e-mail. Another improvement is the application's memory of recent destinations so you can find your most recently accessed mailboxes quickly.

Perhaps my favorite new function is the addition of "undo." As fun as it is to quickly send your e-mail to a designated folder with Mail act on, it can be a real pain when you accidentally send a message to the wrong place. Act-On now includes an undo memory which allows you to reverse these mistaken actions and get back to the task at hand.

Act-On also now allows you to apply rules to your sent items box. If you like to keep your e-mail organized in nested folders, you can now create rules to automatically move your "sent" items to the appropriate file. This would allow you to keep everything in one place. Frankly, if you are that person, this function alone would make Mail Act-On worth the cost.

With the release of version 2, Mail Act-On now requires a license fee. It is currently at the introductory price of $19.95 but it will raise to $24.95. Having used this application for some time, I believe the price is fair. You can download a 21 day demonstration from the developer. Version 2 only works on OS X 10.5. An older version that is compatible with OS X 10.3 and 10.4 is still available.

If you find processing e-mail tedious, this application is a must-have. Once you set up your rules with Mail Act-On, you will receive immediate dividends of saved time and increased productivity.

You can listen to this review on Surfbits MacReview Cast 186.