Mac Power Users 05: Word Processing and Writing

Episode 5 of the Mac Power Users posted over the weekend where Katie and I talk in detail about word processors and writing.

OmniFocus + Timeline = Geek Love

Bee Docs announced a new importer that takes your OmniFocus data and turns it into a Timeline file. I love it when two great developers collaborate to make my life easier.

MacSpeech Dictate 1.5 Review

It wasn't too long ago that I reviewed MacSpeech Dictate version 1. At the time I concluded it was the best dictation application on the Mac but is still wanting against the DragonDictate on the PC.

Because MacSpeech Dictate uses the Dragon speech recognition engine, I've always felt it is only a question of time before MacSpeech catches up with the feature list on the more mature PC application. Recently, MacSpeech Dictate came out with version 1.5 that takes several important steps on that path.

Since the original release of MacSpeech Dictate, the Dragon engine has been updated to version 10 on the PC. MacSpeech Dictate 1.5 brings that Dragon version 10 engine over to the Mac. It is both faster and more accurate than the Dragon 9 engine in the prior version. The developer states the accuracy improved "up to 20%." Even using the prior version, my accuracy was very good. Having used speech recognition software (off and on) for over 10 years, I simply cannot understate the accuracy of the Dragon engine if you spend a little time and are careful with your dictdion. Frankly, my biggest accuracy problems are not the software but my occasional sloppy dictation habits. While difficult to quantify, the improved accuracy and speed with the new version is noticeable. Indeed, the engine upgrade is, in my opinion, the most important reason to move to version 1.5.

Another reason to upgrade is the addition of the vocabulary editor which allows you to train individual words and add them to your dictionary. It can be anything: technical jargon, latin phrases, even "MacSparky." This is one of the PC features that I missed on the Mac. Thankfully, you can also save your profile so the additional words and nuances of your voice can be captured by the system.

The application now also recognizes 13 distinct English dialectic variations. The new "cache document" command allows you to navigate a document and perform edits. In practice, I still found it easier to use the mouse and keyboard for proofing and editing following dictation.

The interface has not changed significantly. It still provides you with a list of available commands and an easy to use control window. Once you get used to MacSpeech Dictate, I recommend you turn some of these additional windows off. These days I use this application exclusively through its menubar icon.

As I get older, I find myself using speech recognition software more and more often. This results from the fact that I'm getting older and my fingers get sore after long typing sessions. Also, I'm really busy and using MacSpeech Dictate allows me to write much faster. Most of then content at MacSparky.com and, for that matter, this very review started out with MacSpeech Dictate.

MacSpeech Dictate remains the only option on the Macintosh for speech recognition. Thankfully, the developer is aggressively moving forward with the addition of new features and support. If you are buying it new, the price is $199 and includes a microphone. For the upgrade to version 1.5 it is $55. You can learn more at macspeech.com.

You can listen to this review on the MacReviewCast Episode 214.

Presentation Mojo

Recently Ars Technica posted about a study commissioned by the International Journal of Innovation and Learning about the futility of PowerPoint presentations. In summary, it explains how excessive animation and poorly structured presentations put audiences to sleep.

This follows the growing backlash I've seen recently against presentation software in general. I find this curious because I was using presentation software before it became popular. I remember the days of walking into a presentation with a projector and everyone looking at me inquisitively wondering exactly what the heck all that gear was for. (I also remember the bad old days before presentation software where I'd spend lots of money on big unwieldy blow ups.)

In the ensuing years, PowerPoint became a staple of business, sales, education, and just about every other scenario where one person needs to communicate information to another. I appreciate that a lot people are sick and tired of "death by PowerPoint." I disagree that presentation software as a tool is a bad thing. To refine matters, I believe people are sick of bad presentations, not presentations as a whole.

The problem is, that most presentations are bad. While everyone is busy adding animations, transitions, and jingles (yes, jingles) to their presentations, nobody is bothering to figure out how to do one correctly. Using Apple's Keynote is a good start. It looks so different from the usual PowerPoint templates that it gives you an immediate head start. That is only the beginning though. Keynote is just as easily abused as PowerPoint.

Software developers are not making it any easier with the arms race of tricky animations and visual effects. While these are a lot of fun (when used sparingly), for a lot of misguided presenters, they become a crutch upon which to give a cheesy, sleep inducing presentation. Don't even get me started on the subject of bullet points and full screen paragraphs.

When done right, a Keynote presentation can complement an oral presentation beautifully. Maybe the problem is people think the presentation software can do the work for them. It doesn't replace the presenter's job of conveying information, it only enhances it. The answer is not to abandon presentation software. The answer is to make better presentations.

1Password Pro for iPhone and iPod Touch

Agile Web Solutions released 1Password touch Pro 2.1, a new, version of 1Password touch for iPhone and iPod touch. With new capabilities like Quick Copy and Paste, a Safari bookmarklet for logging into websites, and compatibility with iPhone OS 3.0, 1Password touch Pro makes this application even more useful on your iPhone and iPod Touch.

These new abilities are all in addition to the standard features of both 1Password touch and 1Password touch Pro, including:

* Secure two-way sync with 1Password on the Mac;
* Hardware-accelerated AES encryption and Auto-Lock to keep your data protected even if your iPhone is lost or stolen;
* Automatic Web Login to avoid remembering too many passwords;
* Ability to securely store and retrieve all kinds of information, including passwords, credit card numbers, text notes, software licenses, bank account numbers, and much more;
* Securely back up to and restore the 1Password touch database from any Mac, Windows, or Linux PC.

Soon, 1Password touch Pro 2.1 will also gain new features available only to Pro customers. While Quick Copy and Paste will come to 1Password touch 2.2, the Pro version will soon get more organization features with folders and favorites, as well as syncing over-the-air using MobileMe and other WebDAV services.1Password touch Pro 2.1 is on sale for $5.99 - or 60% off its full retail price of $14.99. I already bought my copy.

Elgato Turbo.264 HD Review

A few years ago I bought an Elgato video encoder at Macworld. This little thumb device immediately became a regular part of my video encoding workflow. Recently Elgato released its upgraded HD version, the Turbo.264 HD which has improved upon the original in every way.

The Turbo.264 HD uses a new HD encoder that handles more formats and is faster than its predecessor. How fast? Really fast. I’ve been using the device a month and usually encoding goes twice as fast with the Turbo.264 HD than it does without it. Sometimes quite a bit faster.

The science behind the Elgato Turbo.264 HD is its ability to take the video encoding work from your processor and do it with the Elgato’s own hardware encoding accelerator. In addition to accomplishing this faster than your Mac’s processor can, this also gives the added benefit of freeing up your processor for other jobs.

Elgato has also improved upon the software. The new version has easy to use presets but also allows you to tweak away.There is also a lightweight editor that allows you to trim and merge clips. The merge function is particularly useful for joining tracks. The QuickTime settings, not present on the older device, give you a ground zero way to export your video. You can set up multiple projects at once and the Elgato will rip through them without further interruption.

Import and export are also easier with baked in support for AVCHD camcorders which converts what used to be a very tedious process into lickety split drag and drop. You can also directly export and upload to YouTube from within the Elgato software.

The device itself still looks like an oversized USB thumb drive. This time there is no cap for the USB plug but it does include a short USB extension cable that is handy when using it on a laptop with close set USB ports.

At $150, this product is not a necessity but it is wonderful luxury. It is good at what it does, consumer level encoding acceleration. It is fast and the final product is good. I don’t see it getting used for any feature films but for the stuff I make, it is just fine. The tipping point is if you are having troubles with video encoding or the process of encoding is interrupting your work. If you encode video once a month and start it off before heading to bed, you can move along. If, however, you are all too familiar with a sluggish Mac and endless encoding of files, you owe it to yourself to take a look at this product. The Elgato Turbo.264 HD can pay for itself in saved time.

You can listen to this review on Surfbits #213.

Insuring Your iPhone

Because I am weak, I upgraded my iPhone over the weekend. I've always insured my laptops but never found good, reasonable policies for the iPhone. Today I discovered Square Trade. I was able to buy a 2 year policy on a 32gb iPhone 3g s for $115. This covers drops and spills, which AppleCare does not. If I upgrade the phone (say NEXT June), I can get a refund for the unused time on the policy. It seems like a good idea considering if I break the phone, It will be $500 to replace.

I've never made a claim to Square Trade and can't vouch for them but if you decide to give it a try and feel generous, list me as a referral (david @ macsparky . com - without spam-busting spaces). I have no idea what referrals do for me but it can't hurt.

If you've got any better ideas about insuring your iPhone (I know some homeowner's policies cover them - mine doesn't), sound off in the comments.

Bento Template Exchange

You can now upload and share your custom Bento templates. This should have happened a long time ago.

iTunes Sync and the Palm Pre

Mac Rumors and Daring Fireball point out Apple is explicitly stating they will not worry about supporting third party devices with future iTunes updates.

Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.

The "read between the lines" interpretation of the above goes something like this.

"Dear Pre Owners,

While you may be currently enjoying iTunes Sync with your shiny new Pre's (designed by former Apple employees), don't count on it for long."


I'm not sure Apple really is all that upset about this. The Pre doesn't sync very well with iTunes and the fact that it does at all could actually help shut down all of the complaints of an iTunes monopoly.

I think the Apple message could be taken at face value. It is not that Apple is going to actively try and cut the Pre out but Apple isn't going to waste any time making sure it works either. If future upgrades kill the Pre sync, then so be it. I've always felt that unless there is some agreement with Apple in place, Palm is foolish to tout this ability anyway. If Apple does break the sync, in the words of Ricky Ricardo, Palm is going to need to do a lot of 'splainin'.

MMS Messaging and Black Eyes

Today AT&T explained there would be no additional charge for MMS on the iPhone (assuming they get around to activating this seven year old technology on the iPhone.) People seem to be happy about this but it is a strange sort of happy. It is similar to the feeling you get when a bully, after taking your lunch money and giving you a black eye, opts not to punch the you in the other eye.