Category: Columns
As you may recall, I released my first self-published e-book, Working Smarter for Mac Users back in February and was touched to receive many reviews like these: Then, a few months later, I released my first online course, Working Smarter for Mac Users—Improve your Efficiency, which is based on the first section of the book—Improve Your Efficiency—and was even more touched to receive reviews like these: But… as good as I think the Working Smarter for Mac Users—Improve Your Efficiency course is, it’s only Part I…
This month on Open Apple, the part of Quinn Dunki is played by RCR Podcast co-host Carrington “Fake Quinn” Vanston. A post-KansasFest Mark Lemmert of 6502 Workshop returns to the show to promote the new Nox Archaist Kickstarter. You should contribute because it’s awesome to support those still developing for the Apple II and not just because you get cool stuff when you do (though that’s a thing that happens too!). There’s lots of news to cover and Carrington has…
After 16+ Years of Nearly Continuous Development, My New Online Course — Working Smarter for Mac Users: Improve Your Efficiency — is Now Open for Enrollment! After more than 16 years of nearly continuous development, I’m proud to announce that my first video training course — Working Smarter for Mac Users: Improve Your Efficiency — is now open for enrollment. It would be an understatement to say I’m proud of Working Smarter for Mac Users: Improve Your Efficiency. I’m more than proud — I’m ecstatic….
by Rick Sutcliffe September 2017 unless it reflects reality All real world activity generates observable data, and such data is the necessary starting point for information. The term “fake data” is an oxymoron, for alleged data not rooted in real wold activities and events simply isn’t. In his long and hopefully not too misspent life, the Spy has occasionally encountered people who believe they possess data that is no more than their imagination working overtime. Even by people who…
This month on Open Apple, we run the annual group megapodcast that is recorded live at KansasFest! This is a four-year-old tradition whereby all the attending retro podcasters get together and do one big silly show together. It’s clunky, it’s pointless, and the audio quality is terrible because we’re all crowded one microphone in a grungy old basement chapel. Yet it’s one of our favorite things to do every year, so we hope you enjoy listening! Around the table this…
August 2017 Of Technology are relative to an individual’s “normal”. Just now, the Spy has finished his annual task of pressure washing the house, then put some water on the squash and cucumber patch. To someone living in Western society, small engine machines like pressure washers, string trimmers, generators, chain saws, lawn mowers and tractors are low technology–even to a city slicker who may not have heard of, much less used any of these. Seen in use, all would be…
I hope you enjoy this short film by yours truly (Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus)… It explains why you SHOULD NOT BUY the softcover version of my latest book, Working Smarter for Mac Users, and why the eBook version is so much better.
Way too late for June, but just in time for KansasFest! This month on Open Apple, we sit down with KansasFest committee member and lifelong Apple II user Peter Neubauer. We talk lots about the upcoming KansasFest, of course, but also Peter’s own experiences with the machine. He has a passion for Logo, and a special place in his heart reserved for the Apple IIc Plus. I think many of us can relate to that. We talk KansasFest, KansasFest, and…
Birthdays engender delays, which is why this tome is a few days late, being written on the third of July. Canada Day number 150 falling on a Saturday this year, meant the national holiday substituting for it fell on the Spy’s own birthday. Nice of the country to celebrate for me, but really… ‘Course, that other fractious country to the south has its birthday tomorrow. In view of recent national and other elections, the questions of course for pundits and…
June 2017 In a reprise of previous comments on the subject, the Spy has resolved his issues with his Synology 4-bay 1815+ NAS, that he purchased for home use (yes, yes, overkill, but one cannot have too many backups, especially when one of them fails). This unit worked worked well for over a year, but became flakey, started to beep, and when the Spy investigated, he found the volume had crashed. Attempting to turn it off and on again yielded…
This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Michael Packard, author of the upcoming new game Alien Downpour. Michael has gone back to teach himself assembly language and make the kinds of games he wished he had made back in the day. The results are indeed impressive, and his first foray into solo Apple II game production is shaping up great. He’s also been very encouraging to the community, having set up the Facebook group Apple Graphics and Arcade…
By Rick Sutcliffe May 2017 The Spy has become one (a technology driver that is) for as reported in his March column, he and wife Joyce recently purchased their first new car in over two decades–a Subaru Forester–and it is technology rich. Typical of mind-range SUV crossovers, it has a rear camera with dash display for same, multiple information screens, steerable fog lights, smart air bags, blind spot detectors in the mirrors, keyless entry with secure fob, always on all…
This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Mark Lemmert, co-founder of 6502 Workshop. Him and his partners (Mike Reimer, Bill Giggie, Robert Padovan, Gordon Mackay, and Galactagog) have been building Nox Archaist, a brand new story-driven tile-based role-playing game in the classical Ultima style. They’re pushing the hardware as far as they can with this new engine, working to break new ground in scope, story, animation, sound, and music. Early builds look great, and we’re really excited to…
My editor Bryan Chaffin says one of the best (and most unique) things about Working Smarter for Mac Users is that I don’t try to convince you there’s only one way to do things, or that my way is the best or only way. Rather, one of the hallmarks of my eBook is that I offer you tips, hints, and techniques that have worked for me, as well as tips, hints, and techniques that may not have worked for me but may…
We’ll begin with a bit of advice on working with and managing windows, including how to quickly hide and show them, the four ways you can view Finder windows, and how to tweak the Toolbar and Sidebar to make them more useful. I work with a dozen or more apps running at any time, and most of them have more than one open window or tab. So, at any moment there are at least a dozen windows on my two…
Here is another skill I recommended in the first chapter of Dr. Macintosh (1989) and still recommend to this day. That skill is reducing your dependence on the mouse. Many of the things you do with your mouse can be done faster and easier with a keyboard shortcut. If you’re not familiar with keyboard shortcuts, look in just about any menu in almost any application and you’ll see some. Take the Finder’s Edit menu, for example: I can’t remember the…
This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Craig Peterson, who got involved with hardware and software development very early in the life of the Apple II. Craig integrated Apple II computers with a numerical control manufacturing system, producing G-code for the cutting machines in a factory. He was a pioneer in using the Apple II for what computers are actually good at- moving data around in an automated fashion and abstracting away sources of human error in a…
I heard someone plop in one of my chairs and creak it back. A pair of boots heels thumped on my table. “Hope you’re not wearing spurs today,” I said without turning. Nellie Hacker is…rather informal. “That table is for helping my students with their assignments. Gouges would be counterproductive.” “Calculus, no doubt. What’s the topic de jour? Lemmie see. ‘Given an elliptical cross section with axis lengths 10 and 15 centimetres, the formula for the depth of the water,…
This month on Open Apple, Mike and Quinn sit down with each other and catch up on all the news they’ve been neglecting lately. We discuss the disappointing 8BitDo controller, get excited about remanufactured printer ribbons, and pretend to know anything about EDD. Follow along as we review Softalk volume 1, number 3. The ads are always the best part! Meanwhile, we manage to sneak in one more Kevin Savetz reference, and a Boo Atari in the same breath. That’s…
I read this article at fortune.com the other day called Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Multitask, According to an MIT Neuroscientist by Earl Miller. I couldn’t agree more. One of the cornerstones of my new book, Working Smarter for Mac Users, is that you get more work done when you focus on one task at a time. I knew this instinctively, but only after years of trial and error, which is why I found the science behind it so fascinating. Here’s an excerpt (click it…
