Category: Columns
I made this for Working Smarter for Mac Users, my upcoming e-book. But I like you too much to make you wait months to see my 13 second masterpiece. So, if you want to learn how to move many files into a folder with one click, here’s my 13-second tutorial: If you liked it, I’d appreciate it if you’d say something in the comments. If you didn’t like it, I’d still appreciate it if you’d say something in the comments. Thanks!
I made this for Working Smarter for Mac Users, my upcoming e-book. But I like you too much to make you wait months to see my 15 second masterpiece. So, if you want to learn how to batch rename files (for free), watch this: If you liked it, I’d appreciate it if you’d say something in the comments. If you didn’t like it, I’d still appreciate it if you’d say something in the comments. Thanks!
Check it out… I just finished a column about my trip to Germany, featuring my close encounters with a pair of world leaders, the famous river surfers of Munich, and IBM Watson, up close and personal It’s at The Mac Observer (of course). Click here to read it.
This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Huibert Aalbers, author of Soundsmith. It’s hard to overstate what a platform-defining piece of software this was for the Apple IIgs. Few people appreciated what the audio system in this computer was capable of, until Huibert unlocked it for the world to hear. Games and scene demos would use his tool for the entire life of the machine. Other music trackers came along in later years, but Soundsmith was always there….
I’m back from my trip to Germany and just finished posting all the pix and videos I shot there. If you’re interested, you’ll find them—all 400 or so of them—here. Or, browse the embedded gallery below if you prefer. (Tip: Use the Next and Previous buttons on the right and left edges of the image if you want to browse without leaving this page. If you click anywhere else on the image, the Flickr gallery will open in a new window…
May 2016 The Apple haters and doomsayers will slither from beneath their rocks in force now that Apple has suffered its first quarterly year-over-year decline in revenue in thirteen years. No company can grow its sales indefinitely, so this day had to come. Mind, the company still had revenues of over $50B, so it’s not about to become a corporate food bank client. This does mark a watershed for the iPhone business, however, as it may indicate, if not market…
My desktop was a mess. I had more than two dozen icons strewn about, and as often as not opened or dragged the wrong item, or dragged two or more items when I meant to only grab one. I’ve also dragged extra files or folders to the Trash unknowingly along with items I actually wanted to drag to the Trash. Here’s what it looked like before I cleaned it up: So I decided I’d create a folder on my Desktop to…
I’ll make this brief… If you’re as fascinated by the new Apple “spaceship” campus as I am, here’s a cool new drone video: And here’s a link to the official Apple Campus 2 information page on the City of Cupertino web site. That’s all, folks (at least for now).
Sweet Sorrow April 2016 Parting can be tough when you’ve had a faithful machine for so many years. But the old model 180 was getting long in tooth and was no longer reliable. True, some of the problems were mere cosmetic scuffs, but others ranged from annoyances that had to be worked around to serious impairment of functionality. So, when the Spy’s local dealer announced an introductory (and deeply discounted) sale on a brand new (to the frozen north; they’d…
You know how Consumer Reports magazine has the Selling Itcolumn on the inside back cover? You know, the one that pokes fun at goofs and glitches in ads and solicitations? I recently received this direct mail piece from none other than Consumer Reports: I thought the way they redefined the word “free” was a goof (or, at least a glitch), so I submitted it last month. I’d say the odds of it running in the magazine are slim and none. But I could be…
After being rejected by the iTunes Store and selling a whopping two copies, I’m giving up on my dream of becoming the next Weird Al. So, if you’d like to download and enjoy a free copy of iTunes Must Die,click here. If you’d like to download the lyrics and guitar chords to iTunes Must Die, click here. And by popular request, here are two short excerpts from the uncompleted music video for iTunes Must Die: Note that both movies were shot with…
I usually switch apps using the “double-tap the home button to access the app switcher” shortcut, but recently learned that there’s an easier way. Excuse me if you already know this one, but it was new to me (a few months ago) and most of the people I’ve shown it to have been surprised. I made a short (42 second) video that shows both techniques—the old school double-tap the home button technique first, followed by the newfangled 3D press/swipe on…
In addition to making progress on my Working Smarter for Mac Users eBook and online course last week, I managed to write both a column and an editorial for Mac Observer, something I rarely have the time or inclination for. The column is: A Usable Stand-Up Desk for $25? Yes! And, in fact, I thought the $25 stand-up desk—called Oristand—was so cool I made a video of assembling one in under 30 seconds. The editorial is: Microsoft OneDrive Drives Me Nuts, and it includes a hilarious (and totally appropriate) Microsoft…
This month on Open Apple, we sit down with legendary Apple II programmer, Bill Budge. In addition to being an icon of Apple II gaming and graphics, he is the number-one-requested guest by listeners of the show. Mike and Quinn are very excited he was able to make some time to talk to them, and hope you agree it was worth the effort. Bill is, of course, the author of such seminal classics as Raster Blaster, Pinball Construction Set, and…
I was understandably excited when not one but two printer makers offered me an opportunity to test their new initiatives for making inkjet printer ink more palatable to consumers. Epson’s approach features five new “EcoTank” printers, which include huge ink reservoirs that are big enough for up to two years worth of ink—the equivalent of 20 sets of ink cartridges. Hewlett-Packard (HP) has a radically different approach, offering the Instant Ink program, “designed to save consumers up to 50 percent on the cost…
So… Having confessed to being a serial procrastinator, I’m curious: What are your biggest rabbit holes—the things you find yourself doing instead of real work. Mine include (but aren’t limited to): guitars, social media, Logic Pro or GarageBand, and that damn Strike Skilz bowling game I keep playing on my iDevices. I’d love to know what your rabbit holes are… so I can help you figure out the best way to avoid them when you’re working. That’s all for now. Thanks…
March 2016 This column is being (metaphorically) penned on Leap Day, a day similar to Sadie Hawkins Day (November 13) in which historically the ladies may ask the men without violating polite norms–hardly an issue in our day, though originally somewhat sexist. It’s also spang in the middle of the great American ask/catch–candidates trolling for primary votes, while the rest of the world watches a system seemingly self-destruct in vitriol, venom, slander, and name calling. Ahem. wasn’t democracy supposed…
This month on Open Apple we sit down with Peter Lount, co-developer of Gemstone Warrior and Gemstone Healer for the Apple II. Canadian programmer Peter and his partner Trouba broke new ground in video games by combining fast action combat with procedurally generated caves and dungeon content. Gemstone Warrior doesn’t get credit for being the predecessor to Blizzard megahit Diablo, but it should. Peter talks about tuning his rendering engine, including rewriting huge chunks of it overnight to meet a…
Or, “How I learned to get stuff done after learning I have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).” I’m tryin’ to think, but nothin’ happens.—Curly Stooge So here I am, trying to write the first piece for my new Working Smarter for Mac Users blog and newsletter. But, as Curly Stooge was so fond of saying, “I’m tryin’ to think, but nothin’ happens.” Then, the little voice-inside-my-head starts in with, “Just play a little Real Racing 3 and your creative juices will flow like wine.” Once…
Why is it that supposedly hard-headed evidence-based fact-found business and IT decision makers seem so driven instead by emotional and personal considerations? Take the stock market, for instance. The one predictable thing about it is that it always overreacts, whether on the up or down side. Never has this been more apparent than lately, where every titbit of “news” sends it on a wild gyration, up several hundred points one day, down likewise the next, with no time or effort…
