Google search has been experiencing a slow slide into the realm of unmoderated Wordpress comments. I'm sure Google finds a lot of relavent search results but in general the first 2-3 pages of results is garbage filled with link farm results and Adwords hits.
I've recently been on a quest to replace Google search with something that actually works. I was getting pretty frustrated until I stumbled across duckduckgo.com. So far the only bad aspect of the service is the name.
SimplicityIsBliss has some very helpful info. It's new to me but is now in my short list of feeds for useful Mac information. There is particularly heavy attention paid to Omnifocus but in a good way.
Dropbox (referral link) is the service that Mobile Me should have been. Apple really missed the mark with MobileMe especially in the file syncing arena. Innovation does not tolerate a vacuum or even a partial suck. Dropbox filled that void nicely and the ubiquitous integration with iOS apps has made it indispensable. That's one reason I am a happy paying customer.
If I pay for a service, it's usually because I am deriving significant value from it.
OmniFocus from Windows
There's no doubt that OmniFocus by the Omni Group is the quintessential mac app. It's elegant, easy to use and simply makes work easier. It has nearly solved the digital ubiquitous capture problem. It's an iPhone app, it's an iPad app, it's desktop app, it's a whipped topping. Unfortunately it is not a windows app (yet).I spend most of my work hours on a Windows machine. I have developed a couple of rountines that allow me to integrate OmniFocus with my workflow on Windows.
Hazel by Noodlesoft is a really fantastic little helper application. It's really what folder actions should have been. It's the rare example of how Apple missed the target and an independent developer really nailed it.
I'm going to skip the Hazel tutorial and get right to the main show. I wanted a system for ripping DVD's of all kinds. Typically this is a manual process where I rip a disk image to my harddrive and then extract the video at the appropriate resolution.
Do yourself a favor and learn this:
http://www.dpbestflow.org/backup/backup-overview#321
Trust me on this one. The American Society of Media Photographers KNOW how to secure data. I know a half dozen people that took backup too lightly and suffered the consequences. Including myself.
Media is cheap. Memories are not.
It's an interesting dichotomy. As screens get larger and resolutions higher, screen real-estate gets more valuable. There's been a dramatic uptick in the number of native OS features on both Mac and Windows to provide tools for maximizing a workspace. Windows has window snapping. OSX has Spaces. Recently there has also been a variety of new utility applications for OSX that provide some additional assistance in moving and resizing your workspace windows.
I've been using Pinboard.in as a bookmark service since before it was cool. I mostly use it because I never had a desire to share my bookmarks with the world. It always felt akin to sharing all of my post-it notes with the world.
Here are just a few ways to get your Pinboard service baked into your everyday workflow.
Setup the "send to" service for Google Reader
This is a great way to quickly add interesting things to Pinboard but keep them out of your primary inbox.
I came across this great widget for tracking package shipments from the Dashboard. It has a really simple interface while remaining incredibly flexible. You can enter a title for your various shipments which is especially handy if you are an Amazon Prime member and order a lot of stuff.
Here are a few quick keyboard shortcuts. When viewing a smart playlist in iTunes, you can complete delete the selected track from the iTunes library by hitting command-option-delete. If you want to select a button option on a pop-up selection, just type the first letter of the button. For example, type “d” for “delete.”
