Mac Power Users - Workflows with Merlin Mann

Katie and I have been thrilled with the success of the Mac Power Users podcast. With the new year we began talking about ways to improve upon the podcast. One common theme in the show feedback is how much people like hearing about our workflows so I got thinking why stop with Katie and I? We decided to start doing shows where we feature some other Mac Power Users. One of my tasks at Macworld this year was to seek out some interesting people for such shows.

During Macworld, I had the pleasure of meeting Merlin Mann. Merlin and I share a lot of similar neurosis and immediately hit it off. He was extremely gracious and when I asked him if he would be interested in doing one of our “Workflows” episodes, he immediately jumped on it.

We recorded the show last week and it quickly digressed into a drunken bash of power tips, workflows, and ideas. If Katie hadn’t been there to occasionally push us along, we’d probably still be recording. This will be a great episode to listen to in front of your Mac since the application recommendations run fast and furious. You can access it in iTunes here but also will probably need the show notes here.

The idea is to run one of these episodes every two or three months. Let us know what you think.

TextExpander 3 Released

Today SmileOnMyMac released TextExpander 3. I’ve been using the beta for a few weeks and am sold. The big difference with the new version is user functionality.

There is a new quick entry window that makes creating new snippets a breeze. One of my favorite upgrades is the ability to set a key combination to edit the last expanded snippet. Correcting and updated snippets just got a lot easier.

It also now supports fill-in-the-blank snippets. You can create a snippet. “Dear Mr. _, I can’t help but notice your dog _ is beginning to smell funny. I suggest you give him a bath. Very truly yours, __.” Once you engage the snippet, a window opens with blank fields and you can tab between to fill in the data.

You can now search your snippets from the menubar. This is particularly helpful if you, like me, sometimes forget your abbreviations.

Also, TextExpander was liberated from the System Preferences window. It is now a separate application. This makes getting into TextExpander a lot easier. They also now have baked in support for Dropbox syncing which, while possible with version 2, required a bit of hoop jumping.

If that is not enough for you, the balloon icon also got an orange ribbon. Nifty. The upgrade price is $15, or free to users who purchased on or after November 1, 2009.

FileMaker 11

FileMaker, Inc. today released FileMaker 11 and Filemaker Pro 11. The new version includes new graphing, customization, and sharing tools. Apple owned FileMaker, Inc. continues to dominate the database market on the Mac with FileMaker and Bento.

Mac Power Users - Traveling Mac

Fresh back from our Macworld trip, Katie and I did an episode all about traveling with your Mac. This episode is chock full of travel tips and equipment reviews. Check it out.

Pogoplug Review

When you stop and think about it, there has been a revolution in remote file access the last few years. Services like MobileMe and Dropbox have changed the way we think about file backup and access. I used to travel with thumb drive copies of my data in my pockets, bags, and luggage. These days it is much easier with my key files always available from any web browser. As nice as these online solutions are, there are limits to cloud based storage file sizes. This is where the Pogoplug fits in.

Cloud Engines’ $129 Pogoplug is a small box that plugs into your existing router and an external USB Drive to one of its four USB ports. Although it is about the size of a paperback book, it actually is, in essence, a linux box handling the heavy lifting of sharing up data to the interweb. You plug the Pogoplug into a power outlet and the hard part is done. Then it is simply a matter of setting up your Pogoplug account and your data is on the web. Think about it. No multi-week uploads or snail-pace setups. You fill up a USB drive, plug it in, and your done. The device supports multiple formats including Mac OS X Extended Journaled.

You can be at any internet connected computer and log in at my.pogoplug.com to get access to your files. It is a web interface so it is not quite as seemless as the Finder but you will find your files. It also has built in media players so you may watch your movies, listen to your music, and browse your photos right from the web interface. Everytime I’m leaving town, I copy all of my work and presentation files over to a dedicated folder on the Pogoplug and rest easier. Using the Pogoplug application, you can even set up folders that automatically copy “watched” files to your Pogoplug folders.

For streaming movies, Pogoplug did a good job. Even more impressive is the iPhone app. I streamed a movie to it over 3g and it was very watchable. This provides a great solution for the newest generation of space limited connected portable devices. It also displays photos and plays music with no troubles. This is, however, a function of your own upload speeds so if you are on a slow connection, you may have some troubles. Also, if your internet service provider limits your upload bandwidth, you may need to be careful with serving up too many files from your Pogoplug.

Sharing files is a snap. Select the folder or flie, then click “share.” One nice benefit is that your friends don’t have to create a Pogoplug account to view your shared data, though they may do so if they want. The Pogoplug is remarkable in its simplicity. It just works. The Pogoplug’s genius is easy online access to large files. In addition to being used for file backups on trips, I also use it to keep picture galleries to share with friends and family and a collection of movies and video for when I get in a jam on the road. The Pogoplug is a nifty bit of technology.

If you are looking for a way to share or access large files, the Pogoplug may be the solution you’re looking for. While it hasn’t replaced my cloud based Dropbox account, it certainly has supplemented it.

You can listen to this review on the Mac ReviewCast

This review was written following evaluation of a 2nd generation Pogoplug review unit provided by Cloud Technologies.

GroceryList for iPhone

HeliumFoot Software, developers of the popular Mac apps Mercury Mover(reviewed here) and Highbrow have released their first iPhone app, GroceryList . Keith really took his time with this app and it shows. I particularly like the interface, nimble and quick.

SmileOnMyMac Discount - Last Day

Today is the last day for the 20% discount. Don’t miss out.

Macworld 2011 - Free Registration

Macworld 2011 has already been set for January 25-29, 2011. For the next week, IDG is offering free registration for the expo. Don’t miss out.

Apple Says 27" iMac Problems Solved.

Let's hope.

Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch Review

Tablets are an underrated interface. A lot of people think they are only useful for artists. Most of those people have never tried one. I’ve been using tablets for years and find them great for annotating PDF documents, touching up photos, and making simple diagrams. Recently, Wacom provided me a review unit of their Bamboo Pen & Touch Tablet that I’ve now been using for several months on my iMac.

The Bamboo Pen & Touch offers a 5.8” x 3.6” active area for the pen and a slightly smaller active area for the touch functions. The tablet itself is approximately 10” x 7”. The package also includes a stylus and software discs containing drivers and a software bundle CD that has Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 for mac (7.0 for Windows) and Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0. The Bamboo Pen & Touch accepts both stylus and multitouch finger inputs. For laptop users who want their multitouch on their iMac’s, this is the only solution. The touch input is a nice feature but not as transparent as the touchpad on your laptop. For instance, I was unable to get it to work with the three finger swipe in BusyCal. I’ve been spoiled by Apple’s touch surfaces and the Pen & Touch surface felt a little too abrasive against my fingers. It is not so abrasive to be a show stopper but noticeable.

The pen mode features 2540 dpi resolution with 1024 pen pressure levels. Where the surface wasn’t ideal for the touch gestures, it felt just right for the pen, and much better than the texture on my 2 year old bluetooth Wacom. Clearly Wacom had to make some decisions selling a device that that supports both pen and touch. Wacom made the right decision here optimizing performance for the pen, that presumably gets used more often, over the touch input.

The tablet has four customizable buttons and an LED indicator that distinguishes between touch and pen mode. There is also a small, low tech, fabric tag to hold the stylus. The whole package fits nicely under an iMac ready to drop into your work area when needed. Because it is so accessible, I find myself using it all the time.

If you allow yourself to find your tablet groove, it is nice having an always ready pen input at your computer. Tasks like photo editing, drawing, and annotation quickly become second nature with the pen. Combining the Pen and Touch is really handy. You can draw with the pen and zoom and scroll with the touch features. The Wacom Pen & Touch is a nice upgrade to your iMac. The street price on the Bamboo Pen & Touch is $99 and you can find them from both online and brick and mortar retailers.