May 2011
1 post
New Home!
I’ve moved over to MattWean.com, check it out!
April 2011
1 post
3 tags
What to Do About Passwords
The Problem
Lately I’ve been a bit concerned about digital security because of several websites that were hacked and some friends that had their email accounts compromised. I’ve been using 1Password for a long time, so I have incredibly long and complex passwords for almost all of my online accounts. However, there are still a few passwords that have to be memorable for times when...
July 2010
2 posts
5 tags
Essential Mac Utilities
Macworld recently published a series of articles that described what they considered to be essential categories of Mac utilities. They decided on launchers, text expanders, clipboard managers and automation tools. I generally agree with these categories, because they are always the first programs I install on a fresh computer. These types of programs are also pivotal to increased productivity on...
3 tags
Two Great Apps
There’s two iOS apps that I’ve been really happy with lately. The first is an iPhone/iPod touch game I found recently called The Impossible Game (Opens in iTunes). It’s a very simple game, but totally addicting. And at only 99 cents, it’s a great value. There’s really only two levels right now, but getting through them will take most people a very long time. You can...
June 2010
5 posts
4 tags
MoneyWell on Sale
MoneyWell, the excellent personal finance manager (and the program I use) is having a 25% off sale in preparation for the upcoming release of their iPhone app. This application is indispensable for managing my finances and has a very interesting and unique way of budgeting. Go try it out and take advantage of the sale before it’s over!
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iOS4 Update Breaks 3G/Edge Data
This afternoon, I installed the new iOS4 update on my 32GB iPhone 3GS and went out to dinner. When I got there, I found that my cellular data connection over 3G wasn’t working. I tried resetting the phone and resetting the network settings, but neither worked. I found this forum thread with many other people suffering from the same problem. It seems the only way to fix it is to restore to...
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Awesome Jailbreak App: QuickScroll
I recently discovered a great app for jailbroken iPhones called QuickScroll. This small utility adds translucent scroll bars (seen in the screenshot) to any app on your iPhone. I had always complained about how difficult it was to scroll through long web pages and documents on the iPhone, but this program solved the problem perfectly. You can activate the scroll bars by a variety of methods, set...
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Navigon MyRegion on Sale
From now until June 11th, Navigon is offering its three MyRegion GPS apps for only $14.99, a 50% discount. Image by App-Alooza
I originally bought Magellan, because I was impressed with the unique predictive keyboard, but I’ve since become unhappy with it. So far, I’m very impressed with Navigon. It has superior music controls and a cleaner interface than any of the other GPS apps...
5 tags
Syphir and Controlling Your Email
As I started learning about GTD and wandered around the internet looking for tips and tricks, I inevitably came across Merlin Mann. One of Merlin’s claims to fame is Inbox Zero. If you’re not familiar with it, you can read the original articles here and watch the famous 2007 Google talk here.
One aspect of this technique or mentality is to always process your email to empty...
May 2010
4 posts
6 tags
The Case For Everything Buckets
One of the more popular categories of Mac applications is Information Managers or “Everything Buckets”. These applications, such as Together, Yojimbo and Evernote, allow you to dump in information of almost any kind and then organize, tag and search it all from a single interface. I recently read a post from Alex Payne that was very critical of these types of applications, calling...
4 tags
They Just Don't Get It...
I thought they were making some progress with Windows 7, but Microsoft still doesn’t know how to make a decent interface. [via Engadget]
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Maximizing Your Keyboard: Part II
Last week, I discussed a few ways to improve your productivity with the keyboard. This week, I’ll continue with some slightly more advanced techniques. One thing I forgot to mention last time, was the most important way to improve your productivity on your computer, and that is to learn to type faster. I’m shocked I’m shocked to see how many people still hunt and peck at their...
4 tags
Maximizing Your Keyboard: Part I
A lot of people say that switching to a Mac made them more productive, and that has certainly been the case for me. One of the biggest reasons for this is the ease with which you can control a Mac from the keyboard. It may seem like a throwback to the days of a black screen and a blinking cursor, but it’s surprising how much faster you can be when you keep your fingers on the keys. Most...
April 2010
13 posts
4 tags
1Password Arrives on Windows
1Password, the wildly popular password management app for the Mac, is finally coming to the PC. If you’re adventurous, you can download the Windows beta from the 1Password forums. It’s still very rough around the edges, however, so it might be best to allow it to mature a bit before relying on it.
While you wait, there are already two methods for accessing your passwords away from...
4 tags
GTD and the Hot List
Today, I listened to a great episode of the David Allen Company podcast (opens in iTunes) called “Best Practices of Doing”. In it, David and two other GTD (Getting Things Done) coaches discussed some ways to actually do the things on your todo lists. One thing that came up was how to decide what task to actually work on from your task list.
When most people make a todo list, they...
4 tags
What About the Air?
One thing that really surprised me about the recent Apple laptop update was the lack of love for the MacBook Air. It could be that Apple is expecting the iPad to take over as the ultraportable workhorse, but I think this is the wrong way of looking at the Air. It isn’t so much the end result as it is a direction for the future of the whole MacBook line.
People love netbooks because of...
2 tags
New MacBooks and Dealing With Apple Envy
About six months after buying my first mac, a 13” unibody, a new model was released with three new features: roughly double the battery life, an SD card slot and a lower price. Having a good familiarity with Apple’s development cycle, I knew that my shiny new laptop wouldn’t be state of the art for very long, but I never would have guessed it would lose its luster so quickly. I...
2 tags
A Great New Home for Your MacBook
A dock for my MacBook is something I’ve always wanted but never needed. Up until recently, there was nothing that really tempted me, but the Henge Dock makes me want to run out and buy a monitor just so I have an excuse to get one of these cool new MacBook accessories. It has an ingenious design, with cables routed up inside the dock where they line up with the ports on your laptop. Just...
3 tags
Why I'll Still Jailbreak My iPhone
Several months ago, I finally broke down and decided to jailbreak my iPhone. I had avoided taking this step because of the complication it would add to my iPhone experience. I reasoned that Apple’s whole point with their phone was that it would just work, and I would never have to worry about it. This worked fine for over a year with my iPod touch and several months with my iPhone, but I...
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Photoshop Puppet Warp →
Now it’s just getting ridiculous… (via Gizmodo)
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10 Ways Photoshop Has Changed The History Of... →
MakeUseOf has a nice look at how Photoshop has changed photography:
Photoshop has changed the history of digital photography. Nowadays, when you look at an amazing photo or image your first impression is still “wow” but your immediate second thought is “that has to be photoshopped”. When you think of the history of Photoshop and everything Photoshop did to change the game, it’s pretty...
2 tags
Photoshop CS5 Content-Aware Fill →
Truly amazing technology here- I can’t wait to get my copy. But it seems a little too much like something they would use in the Ministry of Truth to alter history in 1984…
3 tags
12 Apps I Couldn't Live Without
I originally planned on putting together a list of all the apps I have on my MacBook right now. But after an hour or so of trudging through my Applications folder, I decided to cut it down to the handful that I couldn’t live without.
These programs are the first ones I install whenever I reinstall my OS, and the ones I most miss when I’m on another computer. I could go on for pages about...