This is a test

This is a test of the wordpress.app program for the iPhone. Thus far it seems to work really well. It makes me want to write on this blog again.

-rebby

Time Tracker Tracks Time (Say it five times fast!)

Lately I’ve been trying to keep track of how much time I spend on any one task. It helps me stay focused on that task and also helps me plan when I need to repeat that task. While searching for an app that could assist me, I came across a little utility called “Time Tracker”.

This freeware application simply does what it says- tracks time. It allows you to create new projects and tasks within those projects. You can keep track of the time spent on each task using the built-in timer. It also has a menu icon for starting and stopping the timer.

I like the simplicity of Time Tracker. There are only three buttons: one for the timer, one to create a new project, and one to create a new task. There are no extra frills. Adding new projects and tasks is easy and tracking time spent on any one task is very straight-forward. I know I’ve mentioned OnTheJob before for keeping track of my consulting work, but I don’t really want to use that for personal tasks. OnTheJob does a good deal more and for personal use, I just want a glorified timer.

I also like Time Tracker because open source, licensed under the GPL so I can check out the code. I was hoping to learn a little Objective-C and thought this would be a good place to start.

Time Tracker does lack a few features that would be useful. It would be helpful to be able to export and import projects and tasks. I’m sure all the GTDers out there could see the possibilities if this somehow synced with kGTD, or at least export to some text file. Since I use Alt-Tab so often, I’d also like to see my time spent on the current task in the Alt-Tab menu, instead of having to switch to the Time Tracker application.

But who knows? These features could be included in the next version. Time Tracker is still an active project. You should definitely check it out if you need and easy (and free) way of keeping track of your time.

You are Quicksilver Ninja!

Recently, someone mentioned to me that Quicksilver was confusing and a bit intimidating. It’s true that at first glance it may be hard to get beyond Quicksilver’s main task as an application launcher to the more ancillary functions, but only at first glance. Though it may require some time and a little reading, anyone can become a true Quicksilver ninja.

To start off with, anyone interested in using Quicksilver would really benefit from reading some of the documentation:

• A great first tutorial – This will introduce you to the basics.
• Another great introduction – This one will really show some of the great features of Quicksilver
• The Tutorial List – Blacktree even has a list of a bunch of tutorials, including those mentioned above.

There are also a couple of MacBreak Episodes where Leo Laporte and Merlin Mann get into true Quicksilver ninjitsu.

Merlin Mann really explains Quicksilver well when he refers to the “functional sentences” that you’ll end up using in Quicksilver. They consist of nouns and verbs. For example you can use the noun “safari” and verb “open” to open safari:

1. Invoke Quicksilver
2. Enter your noun: “safari”
3. Press tab
4. Enter your verb: “open”
5. Press return

This idea of a noun-verb combination can be expanded to noun-verb-noun. For example you can move an item on your desktop to a specific folder. Let’s say I just downloaded a dmg and want to move it to my download folder. My first noun would be “desktop/myfile.dmg”. My verb would be “move to” and my second noun would be “downloadfolder”:

1. Invoke Quicksilver
2. Enter your first noun: “desktop/myfile.dmg”
3. Press tab
4. Enter your verb: “move to”
5. Press tab
6. Enter your second noun: “downloadfolder”
7. Press return

When you’re referring to a noun like a folder or document or even an application, you can get to it by it’s system path. In the example above, I used the noun “desktop/myfile.dmg”. If you type “desktop” when entering your first noun, Quicksilver will bring up an icon of your desktop, just like you’d see in Finder. The slash (“/”) in “desktop/myfile.dmg” tells Quicksilver to find an item on the desktop. Then typing “myfile.dmg” selects that item on the desktop. This would be the same as opening a Finder window and double-clicking the desktop icon and selecting “myfile.dmg”.

This idea of a noun-verb or noun-verb-noun combination is really only the beginning. It’s a great way to understand how to make Quicksilver work for you, but the docs and tutorials help expand your arsenal. After you tweak some of the settings, enable some plugins, and set some triggers, you’ll begin to unlock your Quicksilver ninja skills. Soon you’ll be wowing everyone with your noun-verb multi-combinations, or at least impressing yourself at how few keystrokes it takes you to chop off the your enemy’s head do stuff!

What’s on your mac? (Part III)

I’ve come across another nice program, X Resource Graph by Gaucho Software.

X Resource Graph (XRG) is a nice freeware utility that presents system monitoring data in a self-contained bar. The graphs provide quick and easy summaries of the various operations of your system, from CPU usage to memory consumption to network traffic. It even has a temperature monitor. My mac doesn’t have the appropriate temperature sensors, so I’m not sure how well that feature works. In case you get bored or still feel understimulated with information, there are even graphs for monitoring stocks and local weather.

XRG’s user interface is configurable; you can choose what data you want to see. If you don’t want to see what’s happening on your ethernet interface, you don’t have to see it. The interface also supports skins. It’s pretty easy to configure the look to match your favorite background. On my machine, XRG is configured with transparent borders and background, only showing labels and graphs, so it doesn’t clutter up my desktop.

XRG is not a widget. I’ve seen a few other system monitoring widgets out there like iStat nano, but I use widgets so infrequently that something like iStat would annoy me.

Overall, X Resource Graph is a great, free system monitoring app. Everyone should give it a try at least once. Maybe twice.

The Apple ?iPhone

I’ve pretty much gotten tired of the whole coverage of the iPhone. After the RDF dust settled I find myself with only so much energy to really contemplate the paradigm-shifting possibilities of a product we won’t even get to see in production for six months. In the aftermath of the introduction of the Apple iPhone, and the whole blow up over whether or not Cisco really has legal rights over the name “iPhone”, I’m really more interested in seeing The Omni Group’s promising new GTD software, OmniFocus.

However, while casually perusing the Apple webpage, I clicked on the iPhone link and I noticed that something looked different. Now on the page, instead of just having the name “iPhone”, there’s a little Apple logo beside it, giving us “Apple iPhone”. Now, feel free to call me redundant or an idiot if that was already there. I checked the WayBack Machine but to no avail. They don’t have any archived information the middle of last year for Apple.com. And after a brief search on google, I didn’t find anything that might indicate either that the logo was or was not there.

In any case, I bring this up to further propagate the somewhat pointless speculation that the iPhone will at some point become the Apple Phone formerly known as the iPhone. I could be completely wrong, but I suppose I can live with that.

Quicksilver Ninjitsu

Quicksilver is by far one of the most useful applications I’ve installed on my MacBook. With it, I can launch applications, move files, send emails, and much more, all within the confines of a few keystrokes. For someone who doesn’t particularly like having to use a mouse to get around, this is great. And, sure Spotlight has some similar functionality, but it’s just not the utility that Quicksilver is. As some of you read this, I’m sure you’re thinking “Rebby, this is no news to me. I’ve been using QS since b49. If Quicksilver were the Matrix, I’d be Neo (only with better acting). Heck, I’m a regular Quicksilver ninja.” Well, fantastic, Mr. Q.S.Ninja. But I want you to prove it. I want to find out what are some of the most useful features of Quicksilver that you actually use. Below is list of some of my more common Quicksilver moves. You can leave yours in the comments.

Quicksilver Ninjitsu:

Command+Space, then

• “mail[tab]get” – Get my new mail with great stealth!
• “mail[tab]open” – Get and open my new mail or commit seppuku!
• “.[somewordidon’tknow][tab]di” – Assasinate my ignorance by defining that word I don’t know with ninja speed using the built-in dictionary.
• “s[enter]” – EXECUTE Safari…In the “run that program” sense.
• “[thatuseddmgfileidon’tneed][tab]motot” – DESTROY that file.dmg by slashing it into a million little bits stored in my trashcan!
• “MommaMy Arch Nemesis[tab]compose” – Tell my mom I love her.Issue a warning of an inevitable downfall by my sword!

These are only some of the more basic moves I know. How awesome is your ninjitsu?

Casual Friday

Today I pay tribute to a popular blogger, productivity guru, and all around techno-smart-guy, Merlin Mann. You may know him from one of his several sites or from the video show MacBreak. If you don’t know of him, check him out. Either way, here is my list of 5ive.

Five things I’ve had the impulse to do:

1. Stick my hand in a fryer- like french fries, only with my hand
2. Dress up like a ninja and hide out in the park
3. Jump off an escalator to my untimely demise
4. Rock the Casbah
5. Find out what the Casbah really is

Happy casual friday!

The Little Things I Like… (Part I)

Since the switch from my hp pavilion laptop to this MacBook, I’ve really been more and more pleased with OS X. I like the way it just works. Apple has put a lot into the OS X interface, making sure that the environment is consistent across the board. Granted, there are some inconsistencies, but I’m not concerned with them right this second. What I am concerned with are the little things I like about my MacBook.

Here’s a perfect example. Say I download an application to try out- a text editor or whatever. It doesn’t really matter. Now my mind is racing and I want to get down some thoughts so I open my newly downloaded and installed text editor and start typing…But wait! The text is bright green! I hate green! Green is the devil! Green is the mindkiller. Green is the little death that brings total Oblivion. And no one likes Oblivion. So what do I do? “Well it depends on the program, you know. It depends…Is it Text Wrangler or BBEdit, or are you using TextMate, maybe did you actually download Emacs?” But you’d be wrong because 99% of the time it does not depend. All you need to do is press Command-Comma. That is consistently the easiest way to get to an application’s preference pane and change that horrid shade of green.

Do you know how to do that in Windows? “Well, Rebby, if that’s your real name, it’s probably as easy as…well…um…it depends.” Correct! It’s as easy as clicking on “Tools” and then “Options” or “Preferences”, or maybe “View” and then “Options” or “Preferences”, or even “File” and then “Preferences”, or even some other combination of clicks. You get my point. I’m not bitter about Windows. I don’t even think that three mouse-clicks is torturous. I’m just saying that it is so much easier in OS X to get to the pane that changes the font color to something besides that putrid shade of green. And to me, that’s important.

What’s on your mac? (Part II)

I’ve already listed a few of the programs that are in heavy rotation on my mac, but I left out a few. Here’s the second list.

• NetNewsWire Lite – This is one of several feed aggregators for OS X. Before moving to NNW Lite, I was using Firefox as my browser and RSS reader. If you weren’t already aware, Firefox has a feature called Live Bookmarks. This is great when you want to check a couple feeds; just save your Live Bookmarks on your Bookmarks toolbar and peruse at your convenience. However, once you get more than seven or so, the Bookmarks toolbar starts to get crowded.
  Enter NetNewsWire Lite. It’s true that there are others out there (NewsFire, Vienna, etc.), but I tried NNW Lite first and liked it. As an aggregator for my 10-12 feeds, it works great.
• The Missing Sync – This is a great app for syncing your PDA [read: Treo 650] with your mac. I tried going with the Palm Desktop and iSync, but it was just really messy to try to get categories to sync correctly. I don’t even remember if I ever got it to work completely with the Palm Desktop. Anyways, The Missing Sync works really well for syncing up iCal events and todos, and your Address Book contacts. It has its own little app for managing your memos, which is nice because I use memos pretty often for random notes. It has other features like syncing with AvantGo, iTunes, and other media, which is nice if you need that functionality. But I do need my calendar, todos, and contacts, and this program syncs them faithfully to my PDA.
• On The Job – This app is useful for anyone who does any freelance work and needs a way of keeping track of the services provided. Personally, I do some IT work on the side and needed some way of recording my hours on each project. I know I could do it easily with a spreadsheet, but I don’t currently have a spreadsheet app, and ended up stumbling across this app first. It lets you create job and task records related to the job. You can record hours worked and services provided. It also has a very easy mechanism for creating invoices. It’s a pretty slick app.

So these are a few of the other programs you should at least check out.

What’s on your mac? (Part I)

Since getting my MacBook, I’ve been scouring the web for interesting and useful software to check out. So now, after a month, I’ve come up with a list of some of the software that I’ve become accustomed to using.In no particular order, I give you the list:

• Quicksilver – This is the multi-tool of app launchers. At first glance, I didn’t see how it was very different from Spotlight, aside from its interface. But I learned quickly and now it saves me a few steps when I want to open new emails, recently edited files, or add events to my calendar. It’s far more than just an app launcher, and worth more than the $0 it costs to get it.
• Adium – This is a versatile chat client that aggregates all your IM accounts into one client. It supports AIM, MSN, Jabber, and others. You can also get a bunch of plug-ins that change the look, feel, and function of the app.
• Growl – This little utility comes with bundled with Adium, though you can obtain and install it separately. From the FAQ, Growl is a “notification system for Mac OS X.” It basically will bring unobtrusive pop-ups to your display, letting you know that you got a new email, or so-and-so just IMed you, or your ethernet plug just came loose. If you’ve ever used MS Outlook or Trillian, you’ve seen notification pop-ups perhaps a little similar. Growl is very configurable with different skins and preferences. You can even control what it will notify you about. It’s a neat app.
• Camino – Camino is a web-browser that uses Mozilla’s Gecko rendering engine, like Firefox. Unlike Firefox, it has a more native look and feel, like Safari. One might ask, “why aren’t you just using Safari?” Well, I have two reasons at this point. The first is that Camino has ad-blocking built into it. To the best of my understanding, you need to purchase the PithHelmet plug-in to get similar functionality. My second reason, is that Camino seems to load pages faster than Safari. But, I’ve not run any benchmarks to prove that fact. If you can prove me wrong on either count, I’d gladly use Safari.
• AppZapper – Coming from a Windows/Linux background, it makes me a little nervous to just drag-and-drop applications. I have no idea where anything is going. Are there any extraneous files being installed? AppZapper is an app that attempts to track down all the files associated with an application’s install and remove them. So I can feel more comfortable about trying out new software and trust that I’ll be able to remove it cleanly if I need.

Okay, so that’s just a few of the apps that I’ve been using. I’ll follow up with some more of them later on. If you haven’t checked them out, you really should. And let me know, what’s on your mac?