The Shape of Everythinghttp://shapeof.com/2012-04-23T15:26:33-08:00Gus MuellerSkyDriveurn:uuid:3840225b-228b-4e6f-892c-c4c27c7b55902012-04-23T15:23:34-08:002012-04-23T15:26:09-08:00SkyDrive from Macworld: "New and improved SkyDrive is a threat to Dropbox".
Since it works similar to Dropbox, I figured I'd try out syncing a VoodooPad 5 document from Mac to Mac. And sure enough, it worked just fine. I saw new pages being added and modified, without having to close a document.
]]>VoodooPad 5.0 Releasedurn:uuid:d9019e2a-aaa4-493f-a006-d1d5faa1dfc52012-04-21T11:41:23-08:002012-04-21T11:47:19-08:00
You can read about my favorite new features on the FM Blog, and you can download VoodooPad 5 from the VoodooPad website.
It feels really really good to finally release this; VP5 was one of the most difficult releases I've ever done. So much internally has changed, and combined with VP for iOS 2.0 being released at the same time- I'm surprised I didn't kill myself.
Even though Acorn brings in the lion's share of my revenues for Flying Meat (over 90%), I still love using and working on VoodooPad. It works like I do, and it allows me to squirrel away thoughts and info and write my documentation and everything in it. If you're a long time VoodooPad geek, I think you're really going to like this update.
]]>Forbes: It's Time to End the Drug Warurn:uuid:8105254d-4f15-4817-b927-fd5a07daa64e2012-04-20T10:42:02-08:002012-04-20T10:49:45-08:00It's Time to End the Drug War:
"April 20 is the counter-culture “holiday” on which lots and lots of people come together to advocate marijuana legalization (or just get high). Should drugs—especially marijuana—be legal? The answer is “yes.” Immediately. Without hesitation. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200 seized in a civil asset forfeiture. The war on drugs has been a dismal failure. It’s high time to end prohibition. Even if you aren’t willing to go whole-hog and legalize all drugs, at the very least we should legalize marijuana."
I'm tempted to quote the whole (relatively short) article since it touches on just about every reason I support full legalization of marijuana.
]]>BBEdit Turns 20urn:uuid:75219476-0182-4354-b13e-4c04e8bb1c302012-04-20T09:23:41-08:002012-04-20T09:29:44-08:00BBEdit turned 20 years old. I've been using it since 1996 (version 3.5), and I still use it every day.
Congrats to Bare Bones- it's not an easy task keeping software going for that long.
Jason Snell has a writeup about BBEdit's birthday on Macworld as well.
]]>Well That's Interestingurn:uuid:687324b6-1d71-4a3d-a1af-afcfce9f2f752012-04-17T19:05:53-08:002012-04-17T19:11:11-08:00
However if you enter APPLE.COM, Safari will visit http://apple.com/.
Huh
Well that's interesting.
I better tweet about this remarkable find.
And so I got back this from Twitter:
Apparently Twitter doesn't like all caps either.
]]>Manton on iCloud vs. the Weburn:uuid:41662853-c956-4990-822d-be16208461cd2012-04-16T09:43:30-08:002012-04-16T10:33:41-08:00iCloud vs. the web:
"If you're a developer considering iCloud support, just make sure your data fits there. Ask yourself if your data is all about your app, or if it's bigger than your app. Developers who are willing to take a risk on building an open API instead of iCloud could see new opportunities: web-based views of their data, compatibility with other apps, and syncing on the Mac outside of the App Store."
"I know of several developers who tried to implement a single iCloud storage for some of their apps, and got rejected, as Apple doesn't like the idea of different apps from the same developer sharing iCloud documents."
Spoiler alert: VoodooPad 5 doesn't use iCloud syncing for one simple reason- it's currently impossible to share documents between two users over iCloud. Combine that with the horrible UX on the Mac and making it super annoying to beta test- well, I'm using Dropbox instead.
Speaking of Dropbox, their new /delta api is wonderful. If you've built syncing on top of Dropbox previously, it's worth your time look into the delta call.
"When Steve Jobs said that Dropbox was but a feature, perhaps he was revealing a blind spot. The cloud, or the Web, is more like a platform. If Apple doesn’t want to provide the APIs, developers will find others to build on."
So if you love pizza as much as me and are curious what a fellow pizza maker's process looks like, check out Mueller Pizza Lab.
]]>Figure from Propellerhead is Awesomeurn:uuid:41ac37c1-d670-4ed3-8fca-380642c99ab62012-04-05T13:09:32-08:002012-04-05T13:12:13-08:00Figure from Propellerhead is just plain awesome. And it's only a buck! If you like creating music (even if you suck at it), you should certainly check it out.
Even Madeline, a 4 month old baby, loves this app.
]]>Why Apple Is In Chinaurn:uuid:c9528210-d4a2-4620-b658-6aacd3be58ab2012-04-05T08:59:39-08:002012-04-05T09:02:25-08:00The Beer Game -or- Why Apple Can’t Build iPads in the US:
"Imagine if Apple built a Foxconn-style final assembly plant in California. They could literally be screwed waiting for new screws to come via cargo ship across the ocean."
Via Hacker News.
]]>Deliberatism: Forget Self-Improvementurn:uuid:0c16372f-241c-445f-9607-4b8ca7b3035a2012-04-03T16:28:13-08:002012-04-03T16:30:20-08:00Forget Self-Improvement.
Ever wonder how some people accomplish so much? They run marathons, write novels, start companies… without making it seem like a big deal?
]]>Harry Potter and the DRM-less ePuburn:uuid:6f9eeef4-696e-4bc0-a99a-1c9e49b9f6b62012-03-27T18:02:24-08:002012-03-27T18:08:04-08:00JK Rowling blows up the eBookstore business.
"You purchase once and you can get the book on any device. And I mean any. Kindle, iPad (through iBooks), Google Play (whatever that is) and Sony who appear to have provided the technical grunt to get this working. There is no other major book that is available this way. Actually, probably no other paid book available this way.
…
So what does this mean? The whole concern over eBooks was potential device lock-in. We are worried about being tied to Amazon or Apple or what have you forever. This same thing is preventing entry or inroads by others such as Sony. The Rowling initiative breaks through all of that. It is device independent for the first time in this industry."
There's obviously other books that have gone this route- but nobody this big has done it before today. The future of publishing is awesome.
]]>Wil Shipley: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgradesurn:uuid:43348120-c4d6-4a55-b51f-319fc3f0a0822012-03-27T13:21:54-08:002012-03-27T13:29:16-08:00The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades.
As usual Wil writes something all Mac devs will want to read. And he manages to layout a handful of options that we're given (some of which I recently voiced myself). His proposed solution is for Apple to provide paid upgrades in the App Store. I agree wholeheartedly- but I'm pessimistic and don't think Apple will do this (it's not really their style).
And he echoes perfectly my feelings about the whole situation:
"Apple’s not keeping iWork up-to-date despite sitting on one hundred billion dollars. I’m a lot poorer than them; I simply can’t afford to write new code and not charge for it. I wish I could! It’d be great if I could say to my beloved customers, “Look, you gave me $40 six years ago, you’re set for life, here’s my latest work for free!” but my employees unfortunately don’t like it when I say to them, “Look, I paid you six years ago…”"
