Category: post

One of the many benefits to having an iPad, an iPhone 4, and 11 inch MacBook Air is the swiss army knife of portability options at your disposal. Before leaving the house, I take inventory of my day and decide which of these tools I might need. Because of the extreme ease of portability of the options at hand, making the choice for any combination or all does not mean too much extra burden. That said, why take anything with me I don’t absolutely need?
I often leave the house with nothing but my iPhone, this is not abnormal. What is unusual is that, when taking inventory of my needs, I determined that all I really needed was a keyboard. I was going to a quick lunch meeting and then to do some writing. Sure I could bring my iPad or MacBook Air but, the only thing I really needed to get the writing done was a keyboard. So, I threw one in my bag and here I am.
Between the iPhone, the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard, and Hog Bay Software’s PlainText I have all the tools I need today. I have this little plastic card stand I got somewhere (don’t remember where) that just happens to hold the iPhone in landscape at the perfect viewing angle. I’ve got the headphone plugged in to listen to some ambient music while I type. Outside of one of those folding Bluetooth keyboards I have seen, I can’t think of a more perfect fast and light computing solution.
I think it is easy to think of the iPhone (or iPod Touch for that matter) as something less that a “real” computer. That, somehow, one can’t get real work done or that it could never be a true replacement for a full size machine. I, personally, don’t believe that and often seek ways to see exactly how much I can get away with just using the iPhone. In fact, I have even written the first draft of one of the chapters in my book on the iPhone using the onscreen keyboard. Was it the perfect solution? Maybe not but it was the resource I had at hand so that made it the perfect one for me at the time.
I have heard tales that, for some households in other countries, the smartphone is the only “computer” they own. They are inexpensive, portable, easily sharable with other members of the family and perfectly capable for many tasks. While some may scoff at such a challenge, I feel it is really no challenge at all. The real challenge is overcoming our comfort, convenience, limits and pre-conceived notions.
Just more food for thought.

When I encounter someone brand new to the Mac, either a new client or someone who reaches out to me via email about switching or having recently done so, this is the text file I send. I thought it would be nice to share this with the world. Perhaps it will be useful to you or those you love.

Welcome to Macintosh.

Congratulations! You are now a proud owner of one of the most elegant and powerful tools on the planet. The very beginning of your experience is the essence of the idea of minimalism – everything you need and nothing that you don’t. Each item, icon, and even the desktop background chosen equally for its function and its beauty.
When you first turn it on and get past the welcome music and basic setup information, what you are presented with is a completely clean desktop, a dock filled with all the applications one might need to get started, and a basic set of important status items (time, wifi, etc.) in your menubar.
Contained herein, is everything you need to create and enjoy the creation of others. To engage in conversations across space and time. To be entertained and delighted to the point of laughter and moved to the point of tears. To make the next multi-million dollar movie or write the next great American novel. To make a lasting impact on millions of strangers or leave a legacy for our children. All of this done with unparalleled ease of use in a package that fits into your briefcase or on your desk.
Of course, we don’t think of a new computer this way. But perhaps we should. Because, right out of the box, with no additional software needed, the Mac includes all of the tools one needs to do any of these things. Let’s take inventory:

• Safari – This is one of the fastest web browsers ever made. Built on web standards, with an open source core, it takes the task at hand seriously. It is chock full of features such as tabs, advanced security, private browsing, form and user/password autofill, and bookmark management. But mainly it keeps those out of the way so that you can get online and to work as quickly and easily as possible.
• Mail – A fantastic and modern email client with support for POP, IMAP, and even Microsoft Exchange based email. It supports multiple accounts, junk mail filtering, rich HTML support, multiple signatures, and advanced rules. It’s a powerful tool that is easy to set up and use.
• Text Edit – This is a surprisingly flexible word processor that even seasoned Mac users don’t know the full capabilities of. It has the ability to create lists and outlines, advanced spell checking, advanced text formatting, allows for embedded images, photos and hyperlinks, and it can open and save in Microsoft Word document format including the recent “docx” format.
• Preview – Not only a powerful application for viewing and annotating PDFs but also a nice image viewer and editor. You can do fairly advanced color correction, crop and resize, and change file types (.jpg to .png for instance).
• iCal – A pretty good calendar.
• Address Book – a pretty good contact manager.
• iChat – A really decent and fairly advanced IM client with support for voice, video, and screen sharing.
• iLife – This is a suite of applications all built around the theme of digital organization and creation. It includes: iPhoto for organizing and editing your digital photos. iMovie for creating professional looking movies from your video. iDVD can be used to create professional looking DVDs from the movies. iWeb allows you to create nice looking WYSIWYG websites. Garage Band is for performing and recording music.

The items mentioned above only just begin to scratch the surface. Your new Mac comes preloaded with all the tools most people need to get their daily tasks done or even change the world. The only thing you need to bring to it is your motivation to do so.
That said, some people do have particular needs that require more software that does not come preinstalled. For instance, many require a more robust word processor or spreadsheet program for their jobs. Some require a more professional photo editing or design program. All of these things are available to you to install if you need them. They are just a search, purchase, and download away if you need them…
Wait! Don’t move so fast there. I said if you need them and that is a very important if. Don’t just assume you need them because you think you do or because someone who does not know what your needs are tells you you do. I would argue that the majority of computer users can get by just fine with a fresh out of the box Mac.
In fact, I would argue that that easiest way to find out what you really need is to use your Mac as it ships. Do everything you need to do. Go about your daily business. When you run into something that you need to do but can’t seem to find a way to do it with the applications that come preloaded on your Mac, here is the steps to take.

• Search online to see if there is a way to achieve your results with the tools at your disposal. You may be surprised to find out the capabilities you don’t know exist in programs like TextEdit, Mail, or Preview. Even programs I have used for years sometimes still reveal surprises. Look through the menu choices in the programs you have. Study the preferences. You may be amazed at what you discover therein.
• If number one does not turn up what you need, then do some searching for all of your options. Need to build an image from scratch? Think Adobe Photoshop is the only way to do that? Think again. There are a half-dozen programs I could tick off that can do the same thing just as well for far less cost and learning curve. Do some research. Look around. Find the tool that is right for you which often is not the one everyone talks about.

I could go on and on about the awesome programs that I use daily and could barely live without. The problem of course is that I found these mostly through the same methods I described above and just being engaged with the development surrounding the Mac platform. All of these are also under regular scrutiny and evaluation. Just because I needed something for a particular project or task does not mean I need to keep it installed forever. That said, at this moment and on most days, I’m pretty satisfied with my Mac. I’m certain you will be too.
The idea here is to slowly, methodically, and purposefully build the perfect computer. Perfect in this case is subjective. Perfect is what is exactly right and enough for you. Just as mine is for me. The Mac is a great foundation on which to build this exciting new future. Have fun!

Since keeping your Mac clean seems to be a popular topic, I thought I would take a moment to highlight a couple of products I have used for quite some time.
As a Mac Consultant, I often run into keyboards and screens that are less than sparkling (Honestly, who’s really is?). Because of this, as a service to my clients I often will take a few extra minutes to spiffy up their Mac a bit before leaving. Kind of a nice value-add that anyone would appreciate.
For cleaning keyboards and other hard to reach spots, I depend on Cyber Clean. The best description I can give it is “goop”. That said, this goop molds itself into the tightest spaces and picks up dust, crumbs, dirt, and other detritus that is otherwise hard to get. It’s looks nasty, feels strange, but works like a Christmas miracle.

To clean the screen, I absolutely swear by iKlear. I have used it ever since getting a sample at Macworld about ten years ago. Nothing does a better job on portable screens. Nothing. I usually keep a stash of the iKlear Travel Singles in my bag. In less than a couple of minutes I can have a screen looking like brand new.

Between the two of these my Macs, and those of my clients, are always shiny.

I have talked before about final choices and sensible defaults as a way I bring balance to my life by reducing the number of choices I have to make. I have recently identified one other method I increasingly use to simplify in this manner – delegating choices to someone or something else.

For example, when listening to music at home, I rarely seek out a specific album or artist. Most often, I use iTunes Genius Playlists or iTunes DJ to do the selecting for me. Even more recently, since it’s release, I’ve been using the excellent KCRW Music Mine and just hitting play. In both of these cases, I’m happy to place my trust in these tools and let it run. I don’t need to think about what kind of mood I’m in and searching through thousands of choices. I simply hit play.

Another way I have been doing this, and this is an idea I learned from a good friend, is when ordering at restaurants. Instead of looking through the menu and trying to decide my meal, I delegate the choice to the server. I simply ask, “What is good today?” or “Bring me your favorite.” and they, more often than not, are happy to oblige. Now, one must have a pretty broad palate (I do) and one must be OK with the idea that what is delivered may be the most expensive item on the menu (this has been rare for me) but, in general, I’m delighted with the results of such experiments.

In both of these cases, one takes a risk that is based on the trust that the person or service will make choices that are agreeable to you. It helps that in both I have broad and curious tastes and therefore it is hard for me to be disappointed. That said, I think there is under-appreciated delight in randomness, serendipity, and surprise. I wish to fill my life with more of it and this is one way to do so.

As stated last week, I plan to start going a week wIthout some things in order to best evaluate my needs. It should come as no surprise to any of my patrons that I have been struggling with how I approach social networks.

Don’t get me wrong, they are a great tool for communication and engagement. In fact, there are many people that I have met and converse with primarily through social networks that I would call my friends. I would not have been able to build these relationships without these tools.

I have no problem with advertising at all. When it is done well advertising can connect people with really useful products and ideas they may not have heard of otherwise. If a social network wants to go down the advertising path to pay the bills, I can support that.

I guess what I’m increasingly uncomfortable with, and the reason for this break, is two fold:

• I find I spend and share far too much of my time and words there with no clear intention of why I’m doing so. Are the things I’m saying really things others need to know? Is it helping them in any way? Is it helping me by sharing them? Could the words I’m sharing there be better shared some other way? On a website or a book? With a tool that allows me better control and retains personal ownership.
• As a writer, I make my living off of my words. Is a social network, as a tool, worth the trade of letting someone else profit from my words as well? Is it OK for them to listen into my conversation about the double-shot of espresso I pulled and then deliver a burr grinder ad into my stream? Does the fact that I happen to be in the market for a burr grinder make that transaction OK? Because, those words are ultimately what they sell to advertisers and use to deliver “relevant” advertising to us.

Once again, I’m not saying it is good or bad one way or the other. I honestly do not have an answer. These are all questions, along with many others, I will be pondering during my mini-sabbatical. I will also be pondering how to come back with a better intention and approach. Which, ultimately, is what we should be seeking with any tool we wish to use well.

When was the last time you went a week without something? Perhaps something you enjoy. Perhaps something that you struggle with. Perhaps something you are sensing transition with.

Maybe, for some of you, you have done so or are doing so right now due to circumstance. There has been bad weather and flooding in the eastern United States. For some that has meant a week without power, telephone or Internet. For far too many in the world at large a week without food or shelter is a regular occurrence.

This is a question I have been sitting with for a while now. I think it is often times important to do without in order to get a better sense of our place within. Perhaps a week without Twitter or Facebook will help you better understand the value that you derive from it. Perhaps a week without caffeine will help you better frame your dependence on it. Perhaps a week without your iPhone will help you evaluate your use of it.

The week is intended to help one see the advantages as well as the disadvantages so that one may determine the best approach. That may be a revelation that the thing you went without holds an important place in your daily life. It might also determine that after a week you could do another until you find you did not need it at all.

Starting next week I’m going to go without something. I have not quite decided what that is yet (hence the “next week”). I’ll announce what it is next Monday so that I may be kept accountable. This is not a directive nor am I trying to start some movement. I’m just asking a question aloud in the hopes that the asking may help others as well. If you too are inspired to go a week without something, I welcome the camaraderie and would love to hear about your experiment and experience.

Stay tuned.

When was the last time you had soda out of a wine glass? My guess is, for most of those reading, the answer is either a while or never.
Why is that? After all, the wine glass is just a glass like any other glass, right? In the simplest terms, it’s a vessel for containing liquid. Just like every other vessel for containing liquid. Why, then, are we not just as likely to reach for a wine glass as we are any other glass when we want to pour a glass of soda?
I believe we don’t because we have given this kind of glass a size, and shape, and name, that pre-determines the likelihood of and is ideally suited for what liquid that glass will be filled with. In this case wine.
Wine glasses are designed the way they are for a reason. They have a stem for which to hold them, so that the heat of one’s hand does not effect the temperature of the wine. The base is wider than the lip in order to provide a wide surface for the wine to breathe while letting the aroma pool in the glass. Yet, the glass opening is not so wide that it prevents your nose from entering while sipping so that you can taste with both senses. All of these things matter in the case of wine. Not so much in the case of soda. Wine glasses are designed for wine, not for soda.
That said, next time you have a soda, grab a wine glass and poor some in as you would wine. Not too much, about 2-4 ounces. Now, hold it and sip it as you would wine. Does it change the experience of drinking soda a bit? Does it feel a bit more classy? Elegant even? For me it does. Just as much as drinking wine out of a juice glass feels a bit less so.
The vessels we create often determine the things that contain them. Also, changing the vessel can change our perception and our experience and what we place in them. Even the name of the vessel can make such determinations.
The same is true of the way we frame ourselves.
Are you a blogger who writes blog posts? Because, if you are, that is a frame. Not only will those hearing that frame paint a specific picture of what it is you do and who you are but you, likely, will do so as well. The picture will be reflective and appropriate of the frame you built to contain it. The frame places certain conscious and subconscious limits. There are many things that frame can contain and many others that frame can not. And that is OK. There has been and will continue to be a place and platform for bloggers who write blog posts.
But what happens if you change the frame?
What if, instead, you are a writer who writes essays? Well now, that seems like the picture has changed hasn’t it? That frame gives the picture new possibilities and new limits. And, though the content and publication may be the same, that frame opens new ideas and responsibilities for what that picture, that craft, can and should be. Bloggers, writing blog posts, belong on blogs. But writers who write essays… Well those could be anywhere! Your essays could be on a blog, sure. But they could also be in a magazine or a book.
So, now comes the hard part. Make a choice. Name your vessel and fill it. Frame your picture and paint it.

I’m not here. Wherever here is these days. For me, here is as much an idea and a goal as a place. Therefore, here is not quite here for me right now. No place you can see really is. It is largely because of that you have not seen the regular updates in this place I would prefer. I’m not here.
Where am I? As David Foster Wallace used to say, I’m deep into something long. Which was his way of describing where here is for a writer who is writing a book. That is where I am. I’m deep into something long. Furthermore, I’m into something that questions the very heart of how I approach places such as this. Other places as well. Because of these questions, I’m increasingly uncertain as to what belongs where. I am even beginning to wonder if much of this belongs anywhere at all.
When I was a teenager I took a summer long creative writing course. One of the many, many lessons I learned there that stick with me today is this: For a writer, some things come out fully formed. Other things come out a sentence or a word at a time. That you may have a sentence, or even a single word, that you know is great and belongs somewhere but does not quite fit anywhere yet. Stick it aside, the instructor said. It may be days or weeks or years but you will know when it comes to you. That word might be the missing piece of a paragraph. That sentence might be the beginning of a whole book. Or, perhaps, that sentence or word belongs on the sticky note you scribbled it on and stuck aside to remind you that even not having a place is a place in itself.
I feel very much in that place. I feel like so many of those words and sentences I should have stuck aside in a special place just for me I have instead blown into the ether-wind that is Twitter, etc. and now they are in places I can’t find them. I wonder what great paragraphs they might have made or great books they might have spawned. I try to console myself with the idea that someone else’s place is a place as well and perhaps these things might do some good there. Sometimes such consolation works. Far too often not. Which is all the more reason I am not there as much as I used to be. When I am it is at odd hours and quick bursts and unsure intention. I’m just not there anymore. It does not belong to me.
This place is all mine. It even has my name on it. Yet, I’m no longer sure what this place should be for me. This place was a place for me to stick those words and sentences and paragraphs until where they fit was revealed. And now that they live on in that place, as a book, I’m not sure what this place should now contain. I’m not sure what it represents. I’m not sure what this place is and should be.
Frankly, I’m not going to figure it out right now. All I know is that I’m not here. This place is not with where I am and I’m not where this place is. It is mine. I can rip it down and rebuild it should I so choose. Certainly, some of the broader thinking I have been doing around the deep long thing will help with such choices. But I also don’t have to do anything right now. Not choosing is a choice in itself. Perhaps, like those words and sentences and paragraphs that are placeless, perhaps the place for here will be revealed. I have time.
I am deep into that long thing and the deeper I get the less I have to share elsewhere. Only one of my online sites is getting any attention, and that is only because it’s message is similarly aligned with the long thing. Yet even that alignment is still not enough for it not to feel as much a distraction from where here is for me as anywhere else. I rest in the idea that that site at least does not take my head too far out of the game and that maybe a word or sentence I put there might be part of something I just have not seen yet. Perhaps the long thing.
As for this place and most others, if you are wondering where I am, now you know. I’m not here.

You should know by now that I normally do not get into much “news” around here. Especially when it’s not specifically Mac news. There are a ton of great Mac news sites out there and I leave that job up to them. That said, Chairman Gruber linked to a highly fascinating Wall Street Journal Liveblog of today’s Hewlett Packard conference call today. Specifically, he called out this particular statement:

“The tablet effect is real, and sales of the TouchPad are not meeting our expectations,” Apotheker says, explaining the movement of consumers from PCs to tablets as one of the problems with the PC division. So H-P is exploring options for its unit that “may include separation through spinoff or other transactions.”

So, as it turns out, HP is getting out of the PC business because of “the tablet effect”. Whereby “tablet” he means “iPad” because, as we all know, there really is no tablet market, there is only an iPad market. So, the only tablet that could have created such an effect is the iPad.

Wait, did you catch that?

The iPad is causing such disruption in the PC business that HP, a company fundamental to the creation of the personal computer itself, is getting out of the PC business.

Wow. Just wow.

And, if you think other PC makers are not also feeling the pain of the tablet eff… oh heck, let’s just call it what it is, the iPad replacing the very idea of the affordable personal computer in the mind of the average consumer, then you are fooling yourself. I mean, Michael Dell may be laughing it up in public but I can promise you he is crapping his pants in the office and crying in the boardroom. I mean, at this point they are not even in the race that HP is giving up.

So, here is where I would like anyone who disagrees with me to feel free to mark this post and then throw it in my face if it turns out I am wrong. Got it bookmarked? Good. Consider this an open letter…

Dear Anyone Else Who Thinks They Have A Chance In The iPad Market,

You don’t. The iPad is the fire that sucked all the oxygen out of the room. Apple zigged and you guys are still trying to figure out what a zag is. It’s sad really, to see companies that were once at the top of the NASDAQ stumble around digging for pocket change in your high-end sofa cushions.

It is time to stop looking and, like HP, face a simple truth – you can’t win playing the iPad game. Because it is not the tablet game. It is the iPad game. And you can’t make those. You can’t even manage to make something as good as those, at least not at that price. Apple has the channel locked up price wise. Tim Cook saw to that. You will never be able to build at the same cost they do and produce anything even close. And let’s just skip the whole integrated end-to-end platform discussion because you guys are just not built that way.

Oh, Google, sit down and shut the eff up because I’m talking to you too. You are the company that names your beta builds after candy, ice cream, and sugared cereals. Apple names their betas after things that will eat your things along with the tasty human wrapper that eats that crap. Do you honestly think anyone can take you seriously?

Where was I?

OK, are we agreed? You are going to stop trying to make iPads right? Good. So, come a little closer, I’m going to give you a secret. You might want to sit down for this one. I’ll try to explain it simply…

Change. The. Game.

Apple did not beat you with the iPad. They beat you with the iPad market. A market they created out of the ashes of burning netbooks, low cost laptops, and PCs that no one really liked or wanted in the first place. There simply was no other option at the time available for them to buy otherwise. Apple created that option.

Just like the iPad created a whole option, and thus, new market (the one you keep calling the “tablet market”), the only way to compete is not to get into that market but to create a whole new one. One that will suck the life out of the iPad market. Something so disruptive, so mind blowing, so magical that, like the iPad, people will form lines around the block for months to get it.

Create. A. New. Option.

Make the iPad as irrelevant as the iPad seems to be doing to the consumer PC.

Huh? What? You want ME to tell you what that is? What do I look like? Fake Steve Jobs?

That’s YOUR job. That’s what you should have been doing… Oh, i don’t know… 10 years ago. Around the same time Steve was dreaming up the iPad.

Microsoft, you still have some great talent left around. Your R+D department is still one of the most respected in the industry. Do something with that. Grab a few Kinects and see what else you can do with that stuff.

Google, you just bought a bunch of patents. Why not dig around in them. Maybe there is something groundbreaking there. Also, use big people beta names for this stuff. Folks might take it more seriously.

To the rest of you, well, do something different. But, for jeepers sakes, do not keep fooling yourself that there is a tablet business or even much of a consumer PC business you have any chance of making real money in. If HP can’t, if Dell can’t, you are toast there.

To recap:

• Stop trying to make iPads. Make markets.

Sincerely,

Patrick

As I have mentioned and intimated many times in ious places, I’m currently hard at work on my next book. The working, and likely final, title is Enough. Anyone who has followed this site long enough should have a basic idea of the what the book will be about from the title alone. That said, for those that are new here, it will be about my ideas surrounding simplicity, minimalism, clutter, consumption, and living a life of balance.

Like my first book, Keeping It Straight, Enough will be a series of essays mainly focusing on concepts, deeper thinking, and discussion surrounding ideas such as…

What is enough?

How does one find it?

What strategies might help in getting there?

Why is it important in the first place?

In a way, it is as much manifesto as it is instruction. There may be some tips and suggestions but they will be bolstered by a heavy dose of reason and purpose.

I have no idea when the book will be “done” let alone published and released. I’m working hard to get there though. Some weeks are better than others. This week has been disastrous but last week was promising. Just know that some of the lack of deeper and more frequent writing here (and for the foreseeable future) is due to my energy and thoughts being directed there.

That said, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at the current draft of the first essay/introduction (I’ve not decided which it is yet). It is not finished but should give you an idea about the sort of direction the rest of the essays in the book will go.

So, here it is…

Enough

My daughter takes classes at a European Style Circus Arts school. It’s a pretty amazing place. They teach and train children, starting at age two, how to perform all manner of classic circus acts. German Wheel, Trap, Triple Trap, Side-by-side, Silks, Spanish Web, etc. Think of Cirque du Soleil but with kids and you have the idea.

Recently, in class, she was learning how to walk the wire. As I watched her, It began to occur to me that this was the perfect metaphor for what I believe the idea of Enough is, and how to discover it.

We all have a center of balance that is unique and different from everyone else. My center of balance is different than yours. My daughter’s, from mine. As she walks the wire, hands out, wobbling to and fro, this is what she is in search of. As she gets older, this process might become easier, faster, with less wobble, but it will never end. No matter how good, she will always need some device to assist her – arms stretched, a long poll, a racket or fan. Even the Flying Wallendas, perhaps the greatest wire act to ever perform and a family team stretching back 10 generations, still wobble and use devices to maintain their balance.

Why is this? Well, because the conditions are constantly changing. Changing in ways that we never really even think of. Here are just a few:

• The wire is usually made of metal. Air temperatures change. Metal expands and contracts slightly in such changes. Thus, the tension of the wire changes ever so slightly as well.
• Wind, as one can imagine, is a factor. Even a slight breeze can make a difference.
• Is there a crowd? Well, applause and other loud noises cause vibrations in the wire.

As you can see, there are many unseen and rarely considered things that can affect one who is walking the wire. Those are just a few of them. These changes require frequent adjustment.And this is outside of the fact that, even if nothing on the wire changed, even the most seasoned wire walkers would still need to make constant slight adjustments to maintain balance, both physical and mental.

So it is with the idea of Enough. What is enough for you will be different than what is enough for me. Also, what is enough for each of us will change with changing conditions. If I’m really hungry, an apple will likely not be enough for me. If I have just eaten a full meal with dessert, an apple will be too much. The goal is to find the sweet spot, the center of balance, that allows one to have enough or what one needs when one needs it. But even this will change and requires constant adjustment and re-evaluation as the conditions change. Just like balancing on the wire.

The goal then, is not to find what is, or will be, enough forever. That is impossible. The goal is to discover the tools and strategies you need to find what is enough for you right now and provide the flexibility to adjust as the conditions change.