Will Hopkins // Will Hopkins is a student at Swarthmore College majoring in psychology and English literature. In what spare time he has he writes, works on his amateur photography, and meditates.
Tembo is a great Spotlight interface app from HoudahSpot. It is snappy and efficient, so I bound it to Opt + \ to draw on my LaunchBar clipboard history muscle memory. A few quick keystrokes later and Tembo has filtered through my files (default search locations defined by me) to deliver exactly what I’m looking for.
Keyboard Maestro is a macro application for Mac. It can do anything from text replacement to app launching to clicking your mouse every minute to remembering your clipboard history, and even includes a window switcher. Any action you perform on your Mac more than once can be automated within a minute and save you both time and attention.
I would review KM here, but Ben Brooks’s article does it far better. Read his review of V5, download the trial, and program a few macros. If you’re in need of ideas, try these:
– Launch nvALT (F5)
– Format Markdown links (Cmd + Shift + A; h/t to Ben Brooks for this one)
– Clean unnecessary capitals from pasted text with filter clipboard
Peter Lewis, the developer of KM, recently released Version 5. The update includes Lion support and a macro library, just to name two of the most significant changes. If you haven’t already downloaded the trial, go do it now. Then, come back here when you’re ready to buy and use this link, which gets you a 20% discount and helps me get a free upgrade when V6 rolls around.
It’s worth pointing out that I think KM is a bargain at full price, and I would never recommend a purchase if I did not stand behind it and the developer (who offered this discount link to all of his mailing list subscribers, and offers tireless individualized tech support).
Shawn Blanc reminded me in a recent post thatÂ
[What could go wrong?][ http://icanhascheezburger.com/2011/07/26/funny-pictures-chemistry-cat-science... ]
As of a few days ago, you can no longer find MacBooks for sale on Apple’s online store. They have discontinued the loyal machine that saw me (and most of my classmates) through the last four years. The few white polycarbonate Apple laptops that remain are now endangered and will not be replaced.
I’m both sad and curious about Apple’s decision. First, the reasons for my sorrow. The white laptop was both distinctive and ubiquitous. It was clearly a MacBook, and yet they were everywhere. The design certainly had its flaws, but we grew to know our machines like extensions of ourselves and the chips and cracks in the plastic became our own scars and distinctions.
While my laptop’s specs are no longer anywhere near top of the line, they were powerful back in the day and did well enough. Even without an i7, or a dedicated graphics card, or a SSD, my MacBook could open documents, serve web pages, and do the essential work of a student and writer with grace. What more could I ask?
Sometimes I think it’s strange that I’ve become so attached to my quirky, outdated laptop. But given the number of hours we’ve spent together working on homework and half-finished flights of fancy, is it any wonder that I treat it like a close and valued friend?
I’m also curious about the MacBook’s demise. Apple’s intention is obvious: the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro are now the only Apple laptops available, and the Air has moved down market. It is not, however, a match for the MacBook’s specs. When choosing an Air, customers will be paying for a lighter, faster machine that is smaller and has less storage. Will they care?
I think many customers will not be fazed by the smaller hard drive. External storage is ubiquitous, and while I always want more onboard storage I would sacrifice some for an SSD’s impressive stats. The screen size, though, is where most people will have qualms. Many people, especially college students, use computers for TV and other large-format viewing. Spending an extra few hundred bucks on the larger laptop (I believe) will seem frivolous, and people will look elsewhere. They may just get an external monitor, but it certainly won’t be Apple’s. Have you seen the price of a Cinema/Thunderbolt display lately?
Overall, I think the Air has potential. It is the future of Apple laptops, no doubt about it. Its amazing speeds and low weight make it a very attractive portable machine for people who just want to open the lid and go. Still, the end of the MacBook is the end of an era, and I am sad to see it go.
On and every on, friends!
In his latest issue of the Getting Your Important Work Done newsletter (#24 to be precise), Michael Nobbs offers a list of ways to raise his spirits. Raising spirits is not about cheerleading yourself (unless it is)—everyone has down days or hours, and knowing how to remind yourself of your own worth is a great way to beat the slump.
When I’m feeling down, I like to:
What do you do?
I try not to get involved in OS flame wars. To be honest, it’s not worth anyone’s time. Which OS you use depends on needs and subjective preferences, not the objective superiority of one system over another. While I prefer a Mac for my home computing life, I have to use Windows at work, and I can see advantages to both.
For one, Windows 7 is pretty and fast. Aero is (for me) a nice touch that makes it just a bit easier to navigate. And, of course, much of the software we use is only available on Windows (curse you, Teleform!). Windows 7 is such an improvement over previous versions of the OS that I’m almost willing to use it.
On the other hand, I have a pretty big issue with Windows: lack of a comprehensive, simple standard search function. The search in the toolbar is a step in the right direction, but it still makes finding files and folders a hassle compared to the lightning speed with which I can locate almost anything with Spotlight on my Mac. When working with files all day long I miss my Spotlight.
When it comes to usability I prefer a Mac, but when I use Windows I just do my best to adapt.
http://lifehacker.com/5809879/how-to-get-windows-best-features-on-mac-os-x?co...
As a Quaker, silence absolutely necessary. Through silence I center myself and find silence within.
Silence is a place, strange as that may sound, both external and internal. In a silent place I can meditate and enter a more peaceful focused state.
Yet silence within is hard to find. I have my own little soundtrack, playing constant snatches of music, conversation, and background noise. The value of silence is in learning to quiet the inner soundtrack and learn to be comfortable with oneself.
I like organizational systems. They offer a sense of security, a feeling that I’m doing things the Right Way. I enjoy spending time organizing according to my system, tagging and renaming files, sorting objects into folders. The act of organizing itself provides that neurochemical rush that makes me feel good, productive, organized.
When am I using that system for the system’s sake? For example, I enjoy going through my file folders and tagging files with HoudahSpot. I could spend hours just tagging files, most of which I will never search for again. It would make more sense to search for files as I need them and tag them then, since if I’ve searched for it once I’ll probably need to do so again. Nonetheless, I spend time tagging and using the system for the system’s sake.
Using a system for the system’s sake is a Bad Idea. It’s a security blanket that lets me avoid doing real work, like acting on files or closing the computer and reading a good book.
Now that I am working full time, a system for the system’s sake is a luxury I can’t afford. Time to streamline my process, simplify, and make time for what I’ve got.
http://willhopkins.tumblr.com/post/6318332675/tagging-with-openmeta-and-houda...
