I downloaded trial versions of these 3 software packages (but not Presto), useful for a blogger.
… And eventually decided on Typinator. (20Euro … though I found a discount code for 30% off)
TextExpander is supposed to be a little better, but I had several problems with it on my particular MacBook Air.
My second and third favourite sources of information in 2011 are audio:
• Audiocasts
• Audio books
I pretty much always have an audio book or two in progress, buying most of those from Audible.com. … Sadly not every book I want is available in audio.
Audio podcasts are still quite crude. The most evolved, however, are superb: RadioLab, This American Life, CBC Spark, Economist Editor’s Highlights, and On The Media. Almost all audio podcasts are still free.
But my main sources of information … my most trusted … my most detailed and nuanced … are blogs.
The best are labours of love by passionate, often amateur writers. Most bloggers are unpaid, spending thousands of hours focused on a specific topic simply because they love that topic.
more photos of bloggers
For example, the best Apple blog is Daring Fireball. I don’t pay much attention to any other.
I do whatever I’m told by Michael Geist when it comes to Canadian government regulation of the internet. A big election issue right now.
There are 4-5 essential blogs on gymnastics, but if I only was allowed to read one blogger it would be Blythe Lawrence.
If you read Kraig Becker, you’ll know more about outdoor adventure than you’ll ever need to know for one lifetime.
… Those are just a few examples. Leave a comment if you’ve got a blog that I should follow.
(blogger photos via Spark)
The iPad 2 was announced on March 2, 2011. It will be in stores soon.
Click PLAY or watch the promo on YouTube.
It’s the little details that make Apple great.
Click PLAY or see the iPad Smart Cover on YouTube.
2010 was the year of the iPad.
Click PLAY or watch how people use them on YouTube.
Tech pundit Leo Laporte bet fading tech pundit John Dvorak it would sell 5 million units in 2010. It sold nearly 15 million, even more than Apple projected.
Steve Jobs says 2011 will be the Year of the iPad 2.
He’s right. But competitors will begin to catch up as they have in smart phones. Catching up to Apple in profits will take years longer.
Eventually Google Droid devices will surpass Apple in sales and popularity. The only question is, how long will that take?
related – The best take on the iPad 2 launch I’ve read was by the unofficial blogger for Apple, John Gruber – The Chair
Note: The Kindle sold about 10 million units in 2010. But it’s really not an iPad competitor. Many folks have both a tablet and Kindle.
Dave and I did a little comparison shopping after the launch of the iPad 2.
If you want to be cool, get the iPad 2.
If you like fit and finish, get the iPad 2.
But you kind of have to hold the iPad 2 to really get the redesign. It’s thinner by a third, plus its edges taper to a thin line of metal. It’s almost inconceivable that this thing you’re holding is a multicore tablet computer. The Xoom tablet is trim, light, and very pretty … but when you place it next to the iPad 2, it looks as though it was designed and built by angry Soviet prison labor instead of by Motorola.
If you’re an annoying Apple fanboy, get the iPad 2.
_____
I’m an annoying Apple fanboy and there are some things superior with the Xoom.
Click PLAY or watch the Xoom promo on YouTube.
OK it’s not as friendly as an Apple device:
… The Xoom is not a tablet you would hand to your mother; it is cold and complex and industrial and vaguely foreboding, the look and feel resembling a glossed up slice of Blade Runner. Everything is black, with glowing blue accents. …
The operating system (Android 3.0 Honeycomb) is arguably more powerful. And within a few months will be much more powerful.
The built in Chrome browser is as good as the Safari browser on the iPad, and getting better, faster.
The Xoom has an SD card slot (function coming soon), something I really miss in Apple devices.
Overall, for a brand new product … it’s amazingly ready to compete with the iPad 2.
By summer, as apps roll out, the software will be as good. Or better.
And far more customizable. I’d change the dark theme to a light one, ASAP.
I have faith in Google to throw millions into the operating system until it’s superior to the iPad. That might take a year. It might take 6 months.
Motorola Xoom Review: The Future Of Tablets (Whether You Like It Or Not)
Click PLAY or watch a comic comparison on YouTube.
I’ve had it with TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop. Adobe Air and Microsoft Silverlight software sucks. The never ending updates are infuriating.
The trend in 2011 is to use the Twitter.com website. Not bad.
Or one of the new lightweight simple Twitter apps. I’m running both Twitter app (free) and Kiwi desktop (free with ads).
Both are excellent. I’d say Kiwi is slightly better. It requires the latest version of the Mac operating system, Snow Leopard.
… That said, I think twitter is the most over-rated web service ever. It’s a waste of time for most people. (But for a few, especially bloggers, it can be valuable.)
UPDATE: There’s a very similar email client called Sparrow ($10)
I keep both open on my Mac at all times, switching frequently.
Lifehacker posted a reader’s poll where ‘power users‘ strongly liked those two best.
Since that poll, Firefox has closed the gap. A little.
The main rule, however, is do not use Internet Explorer … unless you have to. IE still sucks, though it’s not as ghastly as in the past.
If you want to know why click over to Lifehacker – How and Why Chrome Is Overtaking Firefox Among Power Users
UPDATE: … The next version of Internet Explorer (not available yet) was just reviewed. Some improvement. But it only works well on Windows 7 and Vista, not XP. And, as usual with Microsoft, it’s too little too late.
Second UPDATE: Dave Sykes links to a BBC Tech reporter who confirms IE 9 is available for download. Microsoft claims it’s now the fastest browser on Windows 7. … When I went to check, all I can find is the IE9 Release Candidate. That’s still something of a Beta.
Microsoft doesn’t care much about IE, in any case. The big problem at Microsoft is Windows Phone 7, too little too late.
Ad agency Hill Holliday recently conducted an experiment, asking five families to give up cable TV in favor of connected TV devices for a week.
The growing availability of online content and video subscription services, coupled with an exploding market for connected devices, has pushed the idea of cord cutting — or dropping a traditional cable TV subscription package in favor of online video sources — into the mainstream. But how viable is the concept, really?
For its experiment (which the agency stresses was not intended as a scientific research study), Hill Holliday provided each family with a different connected device: the Roku, Apple TV, Xbox 360, Boxee Box and Google TV.
An Experiment In Cord Cutting from Hill Holliday on Vimeo.
Traditional Cable TV is horrid. But the alternatives are still even worse.
When is Apple or Google going to get it right?
(via Mashable)
My man Leo got a nice shout out …
TWIT gets its name from Mr. Laporte’s flagship podcast, “This Week in Tech,” which is downloaded by a quarter of a million people each week. He produces 22 other technology-focused podcasts that are downloaded five million times a month. He also streams video all day long that captures his podcasting and a weekend radio show on computers, “The Tech Guy,” that reaches 500,000 more people through 140 stations. …
I’m a dedicated soldier in the TWIT army listening to perhaps 7hrs / week of his broadcasts from twit.tv.
Like almost everyone I subscribe via iTunes.
My favourite shows are This Week in Google and MacBreak Weekly.
Tech gurus like Mossberg and Oprah declare the iPad their favourite thing of 2010.
Om Malik has both.
He tends to read on the iPad, write and work on the Air.
Unlike most other reviewers, he prefers the 13 inch over the 11 inch MacBook Air, the size I got. The main advantage of the bigger machine is longer battery life.
The 2.13 GHz, 256 GB Storage, 4GB RAM, 13-inch screen version of the MacBook Air is my gadget of the year. …
GigaOm review
In that same article he explains why none of the current smart phones are good enough … yet.
I’m loving my MacBook Air. I don’t have a single reservation after a couple of months non-stop use.
Apple MacBook Air MC505LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop
You can get one for about $1000. Plus accessories.
Kate reminded me to do what I do most Fridays. Buy nothing.
Buy Nothing Day (BND) is an international day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. Typically celebrated the Friday after American Thanksgiving in North America and the following day internationally, in 2010 the dates are November 26 and 27 respectively.
It was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by Adbusters magazine …
Wikipedia – Buy Nothing Day 2010
____
But if you’re the kind of scumbag who buys gifts for loved ones, Amazon, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls are the place to shop USA.
Know that TJ Maxx and Marshalls are offering brand new iPads for $399 — a savings of $100 on an item that is rarely ever discounted.
It’s a Black Friday American Thanksgiving promotion. … Those will sell out quick. Not every location has them.
But all day, every day, you can save money on EVERYTHING at Amazon.com.
Why? … No sales tax.
… Unless you live in Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, or Washington state, you’ll pay no sales tax on many purchases from Amazon. (There are exceptions for goods that other merchants, like Target and Dow Jones, sell through Amazon.) …
You’ll get an especially good deal at Amazon if you’re making big purchases and you live in an area with high taxes. In Chicago and Los Angeles, for instance, state and local taxes add up to 9.75 percent, the highest in the nation. Sales tax is 9.5 percent in San Francisco, 9 percent in New Orleans, and it’s above 8 percent in Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. In those areas, a … 64-gigabyte iPod Touch, which sells for $399 at Apple, $395 at Target, $387.99 at Best Buy, and $382.54 at Wal-Mart is cheapest of all at Amazon—$382.54, without the $30 you’d pay in taxes at other stores. …
Slate – Every Day’s a Tax Holiday
You can buy from Amazon.com if you live outside the USA. But there’s some chance your shipment will be stopped at your border. You might be asked to pay duty in excess of the savings on the buy.
Rick McCharles 