Home Screens - Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus

This week’s home screen post features Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus (Twitter). I’ve been a fan of Bob’s from afar for some time. He writes great books, is the technology columnist for the Houston Chronicle, and plays a mean guitar with the Macworld All Star band. I got to spend time with Bob at Macworld this year and found out that in addition to his contribution to the Mac community, he is a really nice fellow.

So Bob, what is on your home screen?

What are your most interesting home screen apps?

PhotoCard. Bill Atkinson’s app for sending photo post cards by email or post is a great and truly unique app. Dragon Dictation — I use it all the time to dictate notes and send them, (usually to myself).

What is your favorite app?

That’s easy. Red Laser. Why? It’s the only app I have that’s saved me money almost every time I’ve used it.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Lately it’s been Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 on my iPad. I’ve wasted a lot of time trying for a hole in one… Before that, Pocket Legends or Angry Birds. (But not very often. Apps that are fun have a nasty habit of turning into huge, gaping time sucks, and my editors hate that.)

What is the app you are still missing?

Word. Microsoft Word. I wish I had a real word processor on the iPad. Heresy? Nah. Just as you prefer working with plain text, I have always written in Microsoft Word. Since version 1. It’s love/hate — especially when it crashes — but for the most part I like it: I like its styles, change tracking, margins, headers, footers, WYSIWYG view, and lots of its other features…

P. S. I don’t think its outliner is very good and agree that OmniOutliner Pro rules. But… Word’s built-in outliner is good enough for almost everything I need it for. And did you know that the past couple of versions have had audio recording synchronized with outlining? It’s great for taking notes on the MacBook Pro; I’d LOVE it on an iPad.

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

Don’t you mean “how many times a day do I NOT use my iPhone/iPad?”

I use both constantly, all day, every day.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

A user interface even a mother can love and use.

And apps, of course. Lots of apps.

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

I’d find a way to create lower entry level price points for many products. For example, the least-expensive Mac notebook is currently $999. I think Apple would benefit long-term from having a Mac notebook at the $599 or $699 price point. Mac OS X is so superior I hate to think its being denied to some people just because a crappy Windows box is cheaper. Ditto for iPhones and iPads.

Anything else you’d like to share?

iPad For Dummies 2nd Edition is available @ Amazon.com and other fine book sellers on and off the Internet.

Thanks Bob.