Collin Donnell

Just went on an extended ride through the east side of Portland in the rain, on the bike I received yesterday. The combination of weather, and my old bike being slightly out of commission for a few weeks means I haven't ridden as many places I was before. Winter can sort of make you forget how great going outside and doing something — even a little — physical makes you feel. Your body feels better, and your brain works better.

Anyone serious about development should be serious about how they treat their body. Both with what they eat, and what they do.

Jeff Atwood on the new iPad and it’s display

iPad 3 reviews that complain “all they did was improve the display” are clueless bordering on stupidity. Tablets are pretty much by definition all display; nothing is more fundamental to the tablet experience than the quality of the display.

Jeff’s thoughts on why Apple — and not Microsoft — is leading the post-PC revolution are another highlight.

One of my favorite times in Portland is the several months out of the year when the PSU Farmers Market is open. During this time I spend a couple hours every Saturday morning getting local vegetables, wine and baked things. Spencer went the opening weekend this year and has a post with some nice photographs of it.

There's good article in The New Yorker this week about how Uniqlo and other companies have become more financially successful by investing in staff in numbers, training and compensation, and how other companies have failed or faltered by doing the opposite.

I've shopped at Uniqlo before and it's about as close to an Apple Store experience as you're going to find from a non-luxury clothing retailer. And although their not mentioned, clearly Apple is another company which has taken this to heart.

One who hasn't is Home Depot. I was in one of their stores last week, and this quote from the article is a perfect description of the experience:

When Bob Nardelli took over Home Depot, in 2000, he reduced the number of salespeople on the floor and turned many full-time jobs into part-time ones. In the process, he turned Home Depot stores into cavernous wastelands, with customers wandering around dejectedly trying to find an aproned employee, only to discover that he had no useful advice to offer.

I think that anytime a company can invest in improving their customers experience, it's going to pay off whether it's by having support staff, or hiring more retail employees. It's sad that the model of making things as hard for customers as they can be to try and cut costs has become something, we're so accustomed to. Even worse is that it doesn't even seem to work.

I haven't ever known exactly what to do with folders in Instapaper. But I'm a sucker for systems and organization, so I've really tried. In the past I've used folders to turn Instapaper into sort of a pseudo-bookmarking service, but not having other organizational features (e.g. tags) makes it a pretty bad choice for that, and I want to use the right tools for the right jobs. I've decided that Instapaper works best when I treat it like an inbox I need to clear out — purely as a “... Later” service. The idea is that everything saved to Instapaper should be consumed and then archived, leaving no stale items.

Instead of having folders like “Recipes” and “Development” to store articles indefinitely, my folders are:

• Read Later
  • News articles and blog posts.
• Watch Later
  • Videos people send me mostly.
• Cook Later
  • Recipes I'd like to try soon.
• Buy Later
  • Things I intend to buy online (apps, Amazon).

What makes this work is a feature in Instapaper that was a bit hidden to me until now. From the Instapaper website you can save a bookmarklet for any folder and have it work just like the “Read Later” bookmarklet. I have one for each of my folders as the first four items in my bookmarks bar, so anything I save off the web can get stored in the right place automatically¹. Once I'm finished with an item I archive it, and things I'm pretty sure I'll want to look at again I send to Pinboard, where they can be organized in greater detail.

I wanted to see what the real differences were between Verizon's LTE, and the AT&T 3G connections I've been using, so I ran some tests and decided to post the numbers. The devices I used were a new iPad, an iPad 2 and an iPhone 4S. I tested all of them from my home in Portland Oregon using the “Speedtest.net Mobile Speed Test” app with their cellular (3G/4G/LTE) connections, plus the new iPad on my home Comcast connection.

• iPad 3: Home Comcast via Wi-Fi
  • Download: 31.05Mbps
  • Upload: 5.03Mbps
  • Ping: 14ms
• iPad 3: Verizon LTE
  • Download: 14.20Mbps
  • Upload: 3.42Mbps
  • Ping: 44ms
• iPad 2: AT&T 3G
  • Download: 5.57Mbps
  • Upload: 1.23Mbps
  • Ping: 99ms
• iPhone 4S: AT&T “4G” (HSPA+)
  • Download: 7.16Mbps
  • Upload: 1.26Mbps
  • Ping: 99ms

The LTE numbers were way better than I expected — 14.2 down is probably better than most home (or any coffee shop) Internet connections. It also looks like AT&T's HSPA+ “4G” is a little faster where I live than regular AT&T 3G for downloading, but only a little. My overall impression is that AT&T 3G is pretty fast where I live, and that Verizon LTE is holy shit fast.

In the previous post I talked about my reservations regarding the way that iCloud syncing is handled in an app like Byword, but forgot to mention that Byword for iOS includes Dropbox support for syncing as well as iCloud.

I tested it a bit, and iCloud definitely works more seamlessly in this version — changes tend to get picked up faster on both ends — so you're still compromising (for now) one way or another with or without iCloud. It is possible, however, to use Byword on iOS without changing your entire workflow.

Shawn Blanc on iCloud Syncing:

The iCloud integration is, as with most other apps, painless and quick. I’ve found that apps which sync their documents through iCloud are quicker and more reliable. However, what I don’t like about using iCloud syncing is that it is application-specific. And so, in a way, an app becomes a silo of my work.

I'm trying out Byword for writing blog posts, and so far this is my main sticking point. Keeping all of my drafts in Byword means apps like BBEdit (on OS X), or Elements and Writing Kit (App Store) (on iOS) into a secondary position. Each of these apps does some — or many — things better than Byword, but if I choose to use iCloud, a multi-app workflow will be a lot harder to maintain.

I have more to say about this, so I'll save the rest of my thoughts for a more thoughtful review in the next day or two. I will say that I think the Metaclassy folks did a great job on both versions of Byword and most of my reservations have been about iCloud syncing as a concept, rather than Byword itself.

I did a little reorganization in my office today and took some snapshots. I've been trying to find a more ergonomic place to put my keyboard and mouse since my desk is a bit high for my chair, and doesn't have a keyboard tray. Instead of trying to install one, I got a “Dave” laptop table from IKEA for $20 and am using that instead. I actually like this better since the table is adjustable, and while I'm planning to phase out the desk soon, the table will still be useful around the house. I'm also pretty stoked on how much desk space I freed up.

Brent Simmons — “Each Generation is Doomed to Reinvent the CueCat”:

Here’s the thing about the CueCat: it wasn’t that the hardware sucked, it’s that people aren’t going to scan things to go to a web page.

I've never heard of the Cue Cat, but the Wikipedia article is fascinating to me in that I'm pretty sure you could actually replace every instance of “Cue Cat” with “QR Code”, and it would still be pretty accurate. I'm yet to see any person in real life scanning a QR code even though I see them everywhere.

Ever since Google started prioritizing Google+ in search results, I've been courting new search engines. I tried Bing, which was fine, but the aesthetics of it really weren't pleasing to me. More recently I've been using Duck Duck Go, and I like it pretty well. It has a more minimal look that I prefer, and the search results have so far been pretty good. I can access Duck Duck Go easily from within Alfred¹, but I also use the search box in Safari a lot, which only has options for Google, Yahoo! and Bing. The suggestion I heard the most was to edit your hosts file in order to replace Yahoo! with Duck Duck Go, but that wasn't super appealing to me.

The solution I liked a lot more was to install an app called Glims, which adds all sorts of functionality to your search bar as well as add other search engines. I'm running the latest version of Safari and it works great. I actually found out about it on Duck Duck Go's Safari support page, so I was surprised I hadn't seen it mentioned elsewhere.

UPS just dropped off the Matias Tactile Pro I ordered from OWC. I'm going to write a full post about it in a couple of days, but my initial impressions are:

• Bigger and feels more solid than I thought imagined.
• Not nearly as reminiscent of the Apple Pro Keyboard as I was afraid it would be.
• It's going to take a day or two to get used to the different layout after using the Apple Wireless Keyboard for so long.
• Even louder than I thought it would be.

If nothing else — it seems fun. It really is kind of satisfying to get some tactile feedback when you hit a key.

I'm terrible at cleaning my house, especially vacuuming. I came to a realization that the only way for me to stay on top of this is to lower the friction as much as possible. Up until now I've had a a big bulky thing that I bought a while back. It has a filter that must be replaced and re-purchased every so often, is heavy enough to make me not want to bring it up or down stairs, loud enough I don't want to run it at night (I have attached neighbors) and dirty to clean. So the friction has been pretty high. My solution yesterday afternoon was to purchase a Dyson DC35 Digital Slim. I like it so much I decided to do something I normally wouldn't: write a review of a vacuum cleaner.

The Digital Slim is a lightweight cordless vacuum by Dyson that can be held in one hand and can be used either as a handheld or floor vacuum (by removing or using the included aluminum tube) It doesn't seem to pick up any less (more, actually) than my old vacuum, and being cordless is means I can use it for the car as well. I also enjoy that it sort of looks like something from Doctor Who.

The battery lasts for about 15 minutes (which is a lot longer than it sounds), and can be recharged in about three hours. One of the things I really wanted in a new vacuum was for it to not have a filter that had to be re-purchased occasionally; the filter in the DC35 pulls out easily, only needs to be rinsed once every four weeks, and never needs to be replaced. I was able to vacuum my entire house (about 1200 ft²) in that amount of time. I was also able to get into places I never could before, due to its size, the floor attachment being able to turn 90˚ and because it's easy bend down and extend the tube under things (e.g., the bed or couch).

It might seem a bit expensive at $329, but I was tired of friction, dirt and things that didn't work well. I consider my time to valuable to waste on cheap appliances. It's light and easy enough to move around, so I feel no obstacle to taking 5 minutes to clean up, and my floors are cleaner for it. If you live in an apartment or moderate sized house it can definitely be used as your only vacuum and I recommend it for that. Buy it using one of the links in this article and I'll get a small referral fee from Amazon.

Over the past couple of weeks I've been obsessing over getting a mechanical keyboard. Mechanical keyboards are "clickier," provide more tactile feedback and don't need to be fully pressed down to register a key. Most modern keyboards use rubber domes instead of mechanical key switches, which are cheaper and quieter, but pretty much worse in every other way. Because you don’t need to depress the keys as far to register a press, mechanical keyboards should theoretically cause less hand strain, and since most of what I do all day is type, anything that could make for a more enjoyable, less RSI inducing experience is worth looking into.

Although I've been aware of mechanical keyboards for about four years, I never bought one because I'm not really old enough to have fond memories of the best mechanical keyboards from the past, like the Apple Extended and IBM Model M. Also they're not cheap.

The two mechanical keyboards I've been considering are the Matias Tactile Pro, and the new Das Keyboard model with a Mac layout. I've considered the Tactile Pro before, but the second version didn't get the greatest reviews and had a really ugly sticker across the top of it. Version three has been out for a while, gotten good reviews, and did away with the branding on the keyboard. The Das Keyboard model I'm looking at is just now becoming available with a Mac layout, but has gotten good reviews in the past.

The primary difference I've looked at between these two is the use of different key switches. The Matias uses a version of Alps simple white key switches (similar to the Apple Extended), where the Das uses MX Cherry Blue key switches (common in mechanical keyboards on the market today). Both types work differently, and so they give each keyboard a different feel when pressing keys.

If you want to get a sense for what the Das Keyboard might be like, you can maybe find another keyboard that uses the same key switches at your local Best Buy, or other big box electronics retailer, branded as a gaming keyboard. The one that I found was the ridiculously named “Razer BlackWidow Ultimate,” which wasn’t on display but had a cut out where the arrow keys are to let you tap on. If you've never used a mechanical keyboard, it's worth doing just to get a feel for how much different they really are.

In the end, I decided to order the Tactile Pro mostly because it was hard to find a keyboard I could try that used the same Alps key switches, so if I got the Das I'd still wonder about it and end up ordering both¹). I've also heard good things about the Apple Extended keyboards, and it was on sale at OWC. I should get it soon, so I'll post my impressions once I've spent some time getting used to it.

The people at TidBITS have released the latest in their Take Control series of books — “Take Control of BBEdit,” and it's only $5. I haven't gotten into the content yet, but I skimmed over the chapter list and it looks good. BBEdit has become an essential part of my development and writing workflows. BBEdit is my primary writing environment, what I mostly used for creating this sites theme (and the Albina Development site), how I manage project documents, write scripts and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. If you don't have BBEdit, I recommend grabbing the demo, and then getting this book.

I edited a few pictures from the last few days using iPhoto for iPad and posted them to my Flickr. I took them using a Panasonic GF2, with a 20mm Panasonic lens. All of them looked slightly underexposed, especially the one of my guinea pig, and needed the white balance adjusted. The auto white balance feature using skin tones, or white points works great. This is one of the most impressive, and genuinely useful apps I've seen on the iPad yet.

Gruber asks, “What would it take for the iPad 3 to be deemed an immodest update?”:

But if a faster processor, more RAM, a double-the-resolution retina display, a better camera, and maybe even LTE networking make for a “modest” update, then what would it take for the iPad 3 to be deemed an immodest update? A fusion energy source? Teleportation? A camera that sees into the future?

So with that, in mind my predictions are as follows:

• Double as a multi-dimensional gateway, ala Sliders. I expect this feature to be released in beta, so like Sliders, it will lack the ability to choose your destination.
• In the maybe category, a quantum leap accelerator. The part of Ziggy will be played by Siri.

Over the past week I've moved away completely from the template-based hosting service I was using, to creating by hand both a new site for my company, and a custom Wordpress theme for this blog. I created both in Coda and BBEdit using nothing but HTML and CSS¹, which I needed to learn a lot more about to do what I wanted². Neither site is the most sophisticated example of web site creation imaginable, but I'm very pleased with how far I've gotten in the amount of time I've spent.

Previously I'd been using Squarespace for both sites. I would recommend Squarespace for anyone looking for that kind of template based system and isn't very comfortable mucking around in a text editor. I thought I might be that way when it comes to web sites for a while, but I'm really not. I love the opportunity to feel unencumbered in my creativity, and to learn new things, to much. The only technical problems I really had is that I wanted it to work better with MarsEdit and Markdown than it did.

The real reason I switched was to own more of my sites, create them using the tools I want and understand what went into them.

I think there's value in owning the things you make and not being afraid to get your hands dirty with something you're not yet comfortable with. You'll probably find out it's less intimidating than you imagined once you scratch the surface — creating a Wordpress theme, for example, was much easier than I thought it would be.

I don't mean that everyone needs to literally create from scratch every part of what they make. When I say own, I mean taking responsibility for the things you put into the world and making them the best they can be. Every person should pick the level of dirty they need to get to feel ownership.

I thought I wanted to be as hands off as possible when it came to my websites — and I was wrong — but for a lot of people using something like a Squarespace or Wordpress.com site is perfect and empowers them in a different way. I also could have rolled my own static blogging engine³, but didn't feel a strong enough desire to take things that direction. The thing that no one should be is afraid to challenge themselves or settle for a level of ownership below what makes them satisfied. After all, learning and creating new things is a lot of fun.

The Omni Group:

Today, I get to do something we’ve been looking forward to for a while now: announce that the Omni Sync Server is coming out of beta.

I use OmniFocus every day to manage my personal and professional tasks. It's the only task management app I've been able to stick with and get more out of than I put into it.

I've moved this blog to a new host — so sorry if you saw repeats in the RSS feed.

Looking at this gallery of beautiful work spaces (via The Loop), my initial thought is actually — how much does this matter to anyone? I don’t mean to say that I don’t think some of them aren’t gorgeous, what I mean is that all of them look like places where people sit in chairs and stare at computer screens.

The kinds of things that are appealing to me are having a private office, having enough room to move and having good snacks and coffee. I’m not sure a slide is one that even rates for me.

This week I finally decided to put together a new site for my company using just HTML, CSS and Photoshop. I’d been hosting it using Squarespace, but it felt like a really heavy solution for a static site. I also never felt as though I could get far enough away from it looking like a template — although I’m sure someone with more CSS skills could. Mostly though, the biggest reason is that I was never totally comfortable not owning every part of my site, and wanted the entire thing on my Mac.

Since I haven’t made any web sites by hand in a long time, I learned a lot — I’m also sure I got some things wrong and will need to tweak it over time. I found that using Coda and BBEdit helped the whole thing come together pretty easily.

Coda is great because the auto-complete works so well, and the CSS editor was really helpful. It’s also nice having everything in one app. The BBEdit features that helped the most were letting me keep all of my related files in a project and search globally across them.

The one thing that really struck me with doing it this way was how much it’s similar to, but not like programming.

I’m a big fan of Brett Terptra’s app Marked for showing Markdown previews while writing in another app. Since I’ve been using BBEdit more for writing Markdown, I’ve wanted a way to preview the current document without leaving the app, so I took a few minutes to write an AppleScript which does that. If you haven’t previously saved the document, you’ll be prompted to. Once the document’s on disk it’ll open up in Marked.

Add it your [!~/Library or ~/Dropbox]/Application Support/BBEdit/Scripts/ to launch it from the scripts menu in BBedit, or using script launching app like Alfred or Launchbar.

A new app I created called Closeby is now available on the App Store. It uses your address book to tell you how far you are from people you've saved addresses for. Closeby is great if you're visiting a town you don't live in, are stumbling home from a bar and need the closest couch to crash on (I take no responsibility for the damage this does to your personal relationships), or just want to see all your friends addresses on a map.

I'm trying to eliminate ever using log messages in my code for debugging. I'm sure a a lot of people already know this, but if you ever need to log an NSData you know contains a string in the debugger the command is:

po (char *)[data bytes]