Nov 2005
Bonjour Octopus
November, 18 2005 04:28 PM Filed in: General
I'm not a
developer but I do have an idea for the future
development of already existing Mac apps or perhaps a
new app altogether. We've had the functionality of
Bonjour for a while now and we see it used to good
effect in iTunes, iPhoto, Transmit, iChat, Adium,
SubEthaEdit, and web browsers such as Safari and
Camino. I know there are a few others but none that
cover the functionality I want.
First, Apple, please add Bonjour functionality to iCal. Is this not obvious? I'm amazed it has not already happened.
Now, imagine a program that could serve as a unified Bonjour interface for sending files, notes, tasks, events, and documents. Imagine this as Bonjour Octopus. Imagine I'm on my network with 3 or 4other users, perhaps in a small non-profit or home business setting. Bonjour Octopus would provide a list of users similar to iChat's buddy list. With a click or a drag I want to be able to share or delegate tasks, events, documents, etc. As it is I can share files this way via iChat but imagine if I could collaborate as well. Yes, I can use SubEthaEdit to invite others to collaborate on a document. It works well but it's not as easy as what I'd like to see.
Let me add another element to the above. Apple Mail. Perhaps Mail should grow into Apple Communications Center. Imagine I could send/share my tasks, notes, documents, files, etc over Bonjour and have them sorted accordingly. My co-workers could then easily acknowledge receipt and further status just as we now have with iCal events.
What it comes down to is I would like an expansion and consolidation of Bonjour into a unified interface. I've heard many others suggest that there should be greater integration between iCal, Address Book, and Mail. I agree but I'd like SubEthaEdit and Bonjour thrown in for the party.
Now that i think about it, wouldn't it be fantastic if all Mac apps allowed Bonjour sharing?
Technorati Tags:Apple, Bonjour, OS X, iWork, Sharing
First, Apple, please add Bonjour functionality to iCal. Is this not obvious? I'm amazed it has not already happened.
Now, imagine a program that could serve as a unified Bonjour interface for sending files, notes, tasks, events, and documents. Imagine this as Bonjour Octopus. Imagine I'm on my network with 3 or 4other users, perhaps in a small non-profit or home business setting. Bonjour Octopus would provide a list of users similar to iChat's buddy list. With a click or a drag I want to be able to share or delegate tasks, events, documents, etc. As it is I can share files this way via iChat but imagine if I could collaborate as well. Yes, I can use SubEthaEdit to invite others to collaborate on a document. It works well but it's not as easy as what I'd like to see.
Let me add another element to the above. Apple Mail. Perhaps Mail should grow into Apple Communications Center. Imagine I could send/share my tasks, notes, documents, files, etc over Bonjour and have them sorted accordingly. My co-workers could then easily acknowledge receipt and further status just as we now have with iCal events.
What it comes down to is I would like an expansion and consolidation of Bonjour into a unified interface. I've heard many others suggest that there should be greater integration between iCal, Address Book, and Mail. I agree but I'd like SubEthaEdit and Bonjour thrown in for the party.
Now that i think about it, wouldn't it be fantastic if all Mac apps allowed Bonjour sharing?
Technorati Tags:Apple, Bonjour, OS X, iWork, Sharing
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Use TextMate to organize files into projects
November, 03 2005 12:07 AM Filed in: How-to
I'm a big fan of the simple, clean, and powerful three pane interface used by Apple for its Mail application. I'm obviously not alone because plenty of apps are adopting that general design. The problem though is that many apps that attempt to help you track information via a unified notes database will not work very well with the fantastic new search technology that Apple is developing for it's next major upgrade to OS X, 10.4. Dubbed Spotlight, the technology will rely upon the meta data of each file. Not only will you be able to find files based upon their file name, but also by the content. Given this, I'm making the decision to avoid programs that will tie my data up in a single unified database. TextMate empowers me to get the interface I like while keeping the separate file structure that will work well with Spotlight. As an added bonus this method works perfectly with apps such as LaunchBar or Quicksilver that can be used to find and open the files on your Mac. In fact using them now gives you an idea of what Spotlight will do and allows you to insert a new efficiency into your workflow.
Here's what I'm doing. First, I've organized all of my currently used text files into a single folder with sub-folders. I've labled this folder __THE HUB. The current subfolders are accounts, GTD, Notes, and Websites. Using TextMate I've created a new project (File > New Project) and dropped the primary folder, __THE HUB, onto the project. I save the project file onto my desktop. and I am now one click away from all of my most important and current text documents. Once I've opened the project I can open the individual files, create new files, rename, delete, and create groupings. I can easily add whole new folders or individual files. The resulting project file is very small, 4 KB at the moment.
Until Spotlight is released searching the content of the text files will fall into TextMate's incredibly fast project wide searching. When Apple releases 10.4 (Tiger) my files will be neatly organized and each will be indexed for Spotlight's searching. As it is now the file names are indexed by Quicksilver so at any moment from any app I can hit the Command-Space combo that activates Quicksilver to find any of these files to open or email them, copy or move them, all with Quicksilver. I could never do this with an app that locks my data into a single database.
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November, 02 2005 12:04 AM Filed in: General
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Technorati tags: Apple, Macintosh, FileMaker Pro, iLife, iWork, Consultant, St. Louis
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Technorati tags: Apple, Macintosh, FileMaker Pro, iLife, iWork, Consultant, St. Louis
Quicksilver: Getting things done more quickly
November, 01 2005 04:48 PM Filed in: Productivity
If you are
using a Mac without LaunchBar or Quicksilver you are
missing out. I used LaunchBar for over a year but
switched to Quicksilver this past summer. I've never
really written much about this fantastic application
and with the latest beta I thought it was about time.
First, let me say that Quicksilver
is free. Second, let me say that this app will change
the way you use your Mac. For those that plan to
upgrade to Mac 10.4 Tiger it also serves as a nice
sneak-peak into the Spotlight
feature.
For those that may not already know, Quicksilver is a program that runs in the background and is activated by a key combination. I've got mine set to activate with command-space. Once activated a search interface appears and waits for textual input. Immediately upon typing the live search begins. If I type "applications" to navigate to my default Applications folder Quicksilver usually comes up with the correct selection before I even get past appl. Since I started using Quicksilver I rarely keep apps in my dock as a shortcut. It's quicker to open them via Quicksilver. I type "iph" and iPhoto is at the top of the list, I hit return and it opens.
But wait, there's more! Finding and opening apps, folders, and files constitutes two actions. Quicksilver is capable of many more actions depending on the context. If I navigate to a jpg on my desktop I have 27 possible actions to choose from. There are finder actions such as copy, move, delete or get info; Mail can be invoked and the file sent to a user chosen in Quicksilver... oh, yeah, did I mention that? I can use Quicksilver to find someone in my address book. I begin typing the first name and within seconds there they are. I can then send them a file via an email, send an email, display their phone or address in large print on the screen, or even activate BuddyPop using the BuddyPop plugin. Plugins, perhaps I should explain?
Quicksilver is extensible via plugins that tie in to applications and application services. Here are some of the plugins I've installed: Adium, BuddyPop, Growl, iPhoto, iTunes, Firefox, and Transmit. Within 4 keystrokes I can open an ftp connection to any Transmit favorite. Those same keystrokes will find and open my iPhoto Albums or iTunes playlists. Internet searching is especially sweet: if I type "goog" I can choose from a standard google search or google images or google groups from within Quicksilver. I can type fedex or ups or usps and enter a tracking number which will open a window in my default browser and display the results of my search. Other searches I can execute from within Quicksilver: IMDB, MacUpdate, VersionTracker, Amazon, Epinions, Dictionary, Wikipedia, Technorati. I can add many more to that list. I'll illustrate the process with IMDB. I open up the site and do a search. I bookmark the search result then I open up that bookmark's properties in the bookmark manager. I searched for Jaws which results in this:
That's it. Just replace your search term with *** and your done. Now Quicksilver will identify that bookmark as one that has a default action of "Search for" which means that when I type imdb and choose the imdb bookmark I can then hit my tab twice and enter the text I want to search for.
Cool eh? If you don't use Quicksilver do yourself a favor: download it. Give yourself an hour to configure it and then make a point of using it consistently for the next couple of days. Make it a habit and you'll be happy you did.
Technorati Tags:Apple, Quicksilver
For those that may not already know, Quicksilver is a program that runs in the background and is activated by a key combination. I've got mine set to activate with command-space. Once activated a search interface appears and waits for textual input. Immediately upon typing the live search begins. If I type "applications" to navigate to my default Applications folder Quicksilver usually comes up with the correct selection before I even get past appl. Since I started using Quicksilver I rarely keep apps in my dock as a shortcut. It's quicker to open them via Quicksilver. I type "iph" and iPhoto is at the top of the list, I hit return and it opens.
But wait, there's more! Finding and opening apps, folders, and files constitutes two actions. Quicksilver is capable of many more actions depending on the context. If I navigate to a jpg on my desktop I have 27 possible actions to choose from. There are finder actions such as copy, move, delete or get info; Mail can be invoked and the file sent to a user chosen in Quicksilver... oh, yeah, did I mention that? I can use Quicksilver to find someone in my address book. I begin typing the first name and within seconds there they are. I can then send them a file via an email, send an email, display their phone or address in large print on the screen, or even activate BuddyPop using the BuddyPop plugin. Plugins, perhaps I should explain?
Quicksilver is extensible via plugins that tie in to applications and application services. Here are some of the plugins I've installed: Adium, BuddyPop, Growl, iPhoto, iTunes, Firefox, and Transmit. Within 4 keystrokes I can open an ftp connection to any Transmit favorite. Those same keystrokes will find and open my iPhoto Albums or iTunes playlists. Internet searching is especially sweet: if I type "goog" I can choose from a standard google search or google images or google groups from within Quicksilver. I can type fedex or ups or usps and enter a tracking number which will open a window in my default browser and display the results of my search. Other searches I can execute from within Quicksilver: IMDB, MacUpdate, VersionTracker, Amazon, Epinions, Dictionary, Wikipedia, Technorati. I can add many more to that list. I'll illustrate the process with IMDB. I open up the site and do a search. I bookmark the search result then I open up that bookmark's properties in the bookmark manager. I searched for Jaws which results in this:
http://us.imdb.com/Find?for=Jaws
so I change it to
http://us.imdb.com/Find?for=***
That's it. Just replace your search term with *** and your done. Now Quicksilver will identify that bookmark as one that has a default action of "Search for" which means that when I type imdb and choose the imdb bookmark I can then hit my tab twice and enter the text I want to search for.
Cool eh? If you don't use Quicksilver do yourself a favor: download it. Give yourself an hour to configure it and then make a point of using it consistently for the next couple of days. Make it a habit and you'll be happy you did.
Technorati Tags:Apple, Quicksilver
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