Mac Power Users 52: Getting Ready for Lion

Mac Power Users Episode 52 is available for download. Katie and I cover the best practices for getting your Mac ready for the new cat.

You can get it on iTunes here or on the web right here. If you haven’t already, why not subscribe?

Multiple iTunes Account Answer

My post after the iCloud announcement got a lot of comments. Today Apple answered the question in their MobileMe transition FAQ post.

If I use different accounts for iTunes and MobileMe, can I merge them into a single account and use it with iCloud?

No. You cannot merge two accounts into one. However, you will be able to move your MobileMe account (yourname@me.com) to iCloud and, if you choose, you can continue to use a different iTunes account for store purchases and iTunes in the Cloud.

Works for me.

Send to App...

Although iCloud is going to be great for syncing data between multiple platforms with the same app, it doesn’t solve the problem of moving compatible file types between different iPad apps. Last week iThoughtsHD cracked it. A recent iThoughtsHD for iPad update added an interesting feature. It added elipses to the Send To popover. Since iThoughtsHD can export in several formats, the app lets you choose the Send To App depending on the file type. For example, if you save to OPML, you can send directly to any app that speaks OPML, including OmniOutliner for iPad.

This function lets you skip the formerly tedious process of saving up to Dropbox and then downloading and sending the file to OmniOutliner via the Dropbox app. It also makes obvious to anyone the way your OPML files can jump between outliners and mind maps.

This is the first time I’ve seen an app use this behavior. It makes sharing data between apps on the iPad even easier than it already is. I would like to see other developers adopt this sharing method in their apps. I think it is great. MacDrifter agrees.

How to Wreck Your Internet Company in 4 Short Hours

The news that Dropbox managed to run for four hours yesterday with all of its shields down is shocking. Everyone watching cloud computing is waiting for The Big One, that catastrophic data compromise that causes even non-geeks to say holy shit. While it hasn’t happened yet, between the Sony debacle and Dropbox yesterday, I think we are getting closer. I’m not sure if it is a function of the state of Internet security, so much as it is our increasing trust and reliance to put really sensitive stuff out there.

One thing is for certain, the stakes are only going up as The Cloud (and iCloud) goes mainstream. So does this change the way I am going to use web based storage? Not really. The huge benefits I receive from cloud syncing make it worth the risk. Nevertheless, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself:

1. Lock up those online accounts with a strong password, not pencil;
2. Change your online passwords. I change mine every time the clocks change;
3. Don’t be stupid about what you store up there. Database of 1970’s baseball cards = Yes. Scanned tax returns = no.
4. If you upload anything sensitive, encrypt it yourself first on your Mac. I wrote about it in the book and there are a lot of online tutorials out there explaining how to do it.

So in response to this latest problem am I going to run out and cancel my Dropbox account? No. I think Dropbox learned its lesson. (At least this lesson). I still think, however, we are not far from The Big One.

MacSparky.com is sponsored by Bee Docs Timeline 3D. Make a timeline presentation with your Mac.

iPad at Work - Crunch Time

Things are coming along nicely on the new book. I learned many lessons with the first one that are all getting incorporated into this new one. I’m also making the book even more useful for analog and digital readers alike with QR Codes and hyperlinks respectively. Right now the word count is at 62,000 and a few of them are even pretty good ones. Most of that is, however, rough text, and there really are no short cuts. Writing a book takes a lot of time. My deadline is the end of August and I expect the next eight weeks are going to be busy.

Talking Podcasts

Here is a link to my recent article for Apple Ink in which I listed some of my favorite podcasts. In picking my “don’t miss” list I looked at play counts and it turns out there are four I don’t miss: Back to Work, The Talk Show (sans Bond), Fareed Zakaria GPS, and Gil Fronsdal’s Audio Dharma talks. There is a lot more at the link though. Check it out.

Home Screen - Kyle Wiens

As further evidence that one of the best reasons to attend Macworld Expo is to meet like-minded nerds, this year I had the pleasure getting to know the iFixit guys.

Kyle Wiens (twitter) can take just about anything apart and put it back together. In addition to being a really smart guy, Kyle is an e-waste activist and has some really useful information on the subject at his site. Finally, Kyle’s iPad home screen wallpaper is perhaps the most appropriate (based on what Kyle does for a living) of any home screen poster yet. So Kyle, show us your home screen.

What is your favorite app?

Well, I’m obligated to say that’s my own app: iFixit. Repair manuals were meant to be mobile, and the iPad is far and away the best way to use a repair manual. You perform a task, swipe to the next step, do the next step, swipe next. It’s seamless and crazy functional. The final user experience turned out much better than I had hoped it would. Our technicians use it all the time in the office.

I also love Maps. I didn’t have data access when I was traveling throughout Africa researching e-waste, and I got lost constantly. Being able to get last-minute directions frees me from having to pre-plan every last detail of my life. I love the flexibility.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Instapaper. Whenever I get a spare moment, I dive into articles I should have read earlier but didn’t have time.

What is the app you are still missing? I’d love to get a useful Google Voice app.

I definitely miss iFixit on my phone. Our iPad app is so incredibly useful, and I’d definitely like to have that view of our repair guides on the go. We’re almost done with our iPhone version, which I’m really excited about.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

It depends on the day. When I’m working, I don’t use them much at all. When I travel, I use my phone constantly. I listen to podcasts on the way to work and Runkeeper when I run in the evenings.

I actually use my iPad rarely—less than I use my Kindle. I mostly use it to follow a repair guide when I’m fixing something or to check out interesting new apps. But when I do use it, it’s incredible. In fact, I used it last night to fix the ignition switch in my Honda Accord. There’s no way I would have been able to use my laptop for that.

I’d like to use the iPad more over time, but I haven’t found anything yet that makes it useful in my day-to-day coding and design work.

I’m so much more productive on my MacBook Pro than my iPad that I really reserve it for consuming content. Or jamming in Garage Band.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

The iPod app’s double-speed podcast playback. If it didn’t do that, I’d have to get a custom-purpose device that did.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I would kill iTunes. It’s the worst product Apple’s ever made, and it needs to be scrapped and rewritten from scratch. Here’s an example. I listen to BBC World Service every morning. Here’s my process: Open iTunes. Plug in my phone. Wait 10-15 seconds for iTunes to un-freeze and start syncing. Click podcasts, click refresh. Wait for the phone to sync and the podcasts to download. Then click sync again, because it doesn’t always sync podcasts that were downloading while it was syncing the first time. Wait for the sync to finish, unplug and go. It’s a ridiculous waste of time. Why can’t my phone download new podcasts over the air?

I’m sure Apple knows iTunes sucks, but replacing it with a cloud architecture is hard. I’m optimistic they’ll figure it out eventually, but I don’t think the solution will come anytime soon.

Anything else you’d like to share?

The iPad revolutionizes repair. Performing a repair with the iPad is a phenomenal experience. It really feels like the future. Follow a step. Swipe to the next step. Tap to zoom in on a photo, and pinch to zoom to see the itty-bitty details of an individual screw head. Tap to close, swipe for the next step. The iPad completely disappears, and the photo manual is all that you experience. This really is a quantum leap forward in making online knowledge seamlessly useful. Unlike the repair manuals of yore, iFixit on iPad gets better when you’re not using it—because thousands of people all over the world are constantly editing and making our manuals better.

I also included a screen cap of my MacBook Pro’s desktop for posterity. Lightroom, Scrivener, and BusyCal are my favorite third party Mac apps.

Thanks Kyle.

Mac Roundtable Appearance

This week I participated in the Mac Roundtable episode 102. We covered and reflected upon all of the WWDC news. Enjoy.

MPU 51 - Menubars, Docks, and Dashboards

Mac Power Users Episode 51 is available for download. Katie and I spent time talking about our favorite menubar, dock, and dashboard utilities.

You can get it on iTunes here or on the web right here. Enjoy.

Apple Intervenes

Today news broke that Apple has filed its motion to intervene on the Lodsys matter. This is good news for developers.

I once had a law school professor explain to me that an intervenor is a happy parachutist who inserts himself in litigation he was not a part of. I remember thinking at the time there are very few circumstances in which a person (or company) would willingly want to join a lawsuit. It seems, however, Apple finds itself in just such a situation and for good reason.

Now that Apple is officially in the lawsuit, I expect them to be very aggressive towards Lodsys. The fact that they filed a cross-complaint is a good sign. Nonetheless, the wheels of justice grind slowly and expect plenty of news about this matter as it spends the next year going through courts.