Category: Tech

What’s a “widget”?

That’s a reasonable question, given the silly history of the word:

a small gadget or mechanical device, especially one whose name is unknown or unspecified.

If you just want to know how it applies to your iPhone and Mac, skip the first few paragraphs.

In the software world, the story goes a little like this:

Yahoo bought a company years ago, called Konfabulator, who used the term to refer to a kind of mini-app. These little apps would show or do simple things — like weather, a calculator, a clock and calendar, a stock feed, package trackers — any single-purpose kind of information that you’d want to access or manipulate quickly. 

Konfabulator ran their widgets in a dashboard, an overlay on the rest of the stuff on your computer screen. You could have them floating on top or behind, or pop out from the side of your display, I can’t remember all the possibilities.

So Yahoo got ‘em and changed the name to Yahoo! Widgets, and pretty soon everybody was jumping on board. (“Widget” apparently has become a standardized term in software.) Apple put a Dashboard in OS X (still there but probably going away soon), Microsoft called them gadgets in Windows, you get the picture.

This year, Apple introduced a feature into iOS and the Mac, where you can add widgets to your Notifications screen. They are a very cool way to get quick information, and even to add notes and to-do items.

With my Philips Hue lights and the new Hue widget, I can even change the lighting scheme in my home! I just turned my office lights on and the den lights off, in two swipes and one click, without leaving my chair. 

Here’s how to add widgets in the Today view on your iPhone and on your Mac. 

Widgets I like:

There are more on the phone at the moment. We are waiting for Mac developers to release some goodies.

Note: I’ve used my App Store and Amazon affiliate links.

Which carrier should I choose for my iPad?

If I have my current phone plan through Sprint [or whomever], is there a reason that I shouldn’t get an iPad through them?

No, no reason at all, if you have been happy with their connection.

By the same token, the iPad is a separate bill, so you have no reason or obligation to go with the same carrier on the iPad as you have on your phone. In San Antonio, I generally recommend AT&T, but y’know, they’re all bloody bastards who have finally caught up to semi-decent technology. There are only fine, subjective distinctions between any of them.

Why you should get a second Drobo

I believe my Drobo is due for replacement, just to compensate for normal wear and tear. Could you advise me on which unit to buy? I will keep my existing Drobo in play, in case the new one goes down. Reviews say it’s good to have a backup unit because of the proprietary RAID system.

I’m real glad you are ready to get into a new Drobo. Like any tech, these enclosures don’t last forever. The advice you read — to maintain two of them, one backing up the other — is definitely smart. (Indeed, this policy applies to any storage scheme!) The Drobo remains the best, most flexible option for small businesses.

You have likely noticed that the Drobos appear to have gone up in price. Excepting the awesomely portable Mini, the manufacturer has eliminated its lower-end units, made five drive bays the minimum, and put the much faster Thunderbolt and USB 3 in all the models.

You will read negative reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. Many criticisms are specious — “I want this to walk my dog and bake me an full-disk-encrypted pizza, and it doesn’t do that, waaaaaanh!” But some experiences sound legitimately nasty, albeit suffered by people who didn’t have backups, and who got upset that Drobo support didn’t provide a magic spell to save them from their own poor planning. Waaaaanh!

Still, the failures are real, and the Drobos seem more prone to them than other similar devices. So while I still prefer the expandability and simplicity of the Drobo, I would be remiss if I didn’t also draw your attention to the Pegasus Promise RAID.

All that said, if you agree with me that the Drobo is the best option for mass storage, this 5D is the one for most Mac owners.

And you’d get five (5) of these 1TB Seagate hard drives.

Submit a support request when you get the new unit, and we’ll get your storage all backed up and redundant!

Hangout: Cure your website woes with Squarespace

If you need a website, or if you have a site that you’re unhappy with, you have got to try Squarespace. Squarespace makes creating a site easy, fun, and satisfying. Apple Consultant Jonathan Marcus will show you how to get started with Squarespace, and some important tips for building your content with Mac and iOS.

Thursday, Nov 21, 1pm CST, on Google+

Original event

If your Time Capsule shows a backup error

> I just got an error from my Time Capsule: “Time Machine completed a verification of your backups. To improve reliability Time Machine must create a new backup for you.” I went ahead and started a new backup, but how can I know that my backups are reliable?

 

“Time Machine completed a verification of your backups…”

I just got an error from my Time Capsule: “Time Machine completed a verification of your backups. To improve reliability Time Machine must create a new backup for you.” I went ahead and started a new backup, but how can I know that my backups are reliable?

Absolutely hitting Start New Backup was the right move!

All we need to do is make sure your Time Capsule has enough room to accommodate the additional information. If it doesn’t, we can archive the existing data to a separate drive.

So here’s what happened: Time Machine [italics mine] is the software that runs on your Mac, and backs up to an external drive or to a network device like a Time Capsule.

The wireless convenience of the Time Capsule comes with a tradeoff: It stores your backups in an encapsulated file called a disk image. It’s like a pretend disk, and like any disk, the file system inside it can corrupt. File systems are weak that way, which is just one of the reasons we keep a backup.

It may help to remember that a backup is just a copy of your files. You need to keep 3 copies of any file — a file doesn’t exist unless it exists in three places — and any of those copies is vulnerable.

Finally, I would recommend running Disk Utility on your Mac, just to make sure your main data drive has not itself become corrupt. Here are easy instructions!

If You Write, You Should Have Byword

If you ever write anything longer than emails, do yourself a favor: Download [Byword](http://bywordapp.com) on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. 

A Boon to Writers

Byword logo

If you ever write anything longer than emails, do yourself a favor: Download Byword on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Byword is built for editing text and Markdown files. It’s simple, pretty, and clean. It’s my favorite place to write.

As mentioned in Part I, text editors like Byword work best used in conjunction with a “cloud” service such as Dropbox or Apple’s iCloud. Syncing with the cloud lets you start a document on your iPhone, and finish it on your Mac. Or whatever device you have handy. Instant access to all your important text.

Byword is by no means your only option. But if you are just joining the Revolution in Text, I think it’s the best place to start.

Mac

Byword on the Mac is real straightforward: It’s just an app like Word or Pages. It’s job is to open and save plain text files from anywhere on your hard drive. But I would encourage you to start working in the Text folder you created in Part I.

iOS

Byword for iPhone and iPad is also easy. You just have to connect it Dropbox.

Open Byword, and tell it to connect to your Dropbox account.

Connect Byword to your Dropbox account

Then go back a level, and tap on Settings > Dropbox Setup > Folder, and choose the “Text” folder you created in Part I. Tap Done, and then tap on Dropbox to see all your text files.

Magic in an asterisk

But how do you make it look good? Look what a few well-placed asterisks can do:

Made-up Markdown example

Those characters use a really simple idea called Markdown. It’s easier to learn than making popcorn.

Links and images are also easy:

Made-up Markdown example

Here’s the kicker: Byword knows all these codes, and inserts them for you. Even on your iPhone. It’s as easy as any word processor, but without all the cruft — or the cost — of Microsoft Word.

Byword screen shot

What then?

“Great, fine,” you say, “but what do I do with that nicely formatted text?”

Easy magic! Byword automatically translates Markdown into formatted text (Rich Text Format or .rtf) and also HTML. You can copy formatted text straight from Byword into an email, or into Pages or Keynote. Bloggers can copy HTML to paste into a WordPress post. And if you use Squarespace (and you should totally use Squarespace), you can use Markdown directly in your web site and blog posts.

Markdown has gone viral among nerds, but I am here to tell you that it’s the writing tool for anyone at all.

Come to my presentation at BlogItSA! to learn more!

A Tech Support Joke

A chemist, an engineer, and a computer scientist are driving through the desert, and the car breaks down.

A punchline to remember when you’re having a tech meltdown:

A chemist, an engineer, and a computer scientist are driving through the desert, and the car breaks down.

The chemist says, “Look, guys, it’s probably something with the fluids. Let’s get out of the car, pop the hood, check the fluids, top ’em up, get back into the car, and I’m sure it’s gonna work.”

The engineer says, “No, guys, I bet it’s something mechanical. Let’s get out of the car, walk back, find the part that fell off the car, walk back, put it on, get back into the car. It’ll fire right up.”

Then the computer scientist says, “No, guys, guys, guys, listen: Let’s get out of the car, get back into the car, get out of the car, get back into the car, get out of the car, get back into the car… and then it’s gonna work fine!”

So, here’s troubleshooting 101:

  1. Whatever is not working, turn it off for 10 seconds, then turn it back on. (The geek word for this is “power cycling.”)
    • Sometimes this means force-quitting an app (in the Apple menu). Sometimes it’s unplugging your modem. Target the thing that’s causing the problem.
  2. Check all cables, everywhere. I know this sounds like an obvious one, but it is often still overlooked.
  3. Restart the computer. We know this sounds like number one, but if quitting an app and firing it back up doesn’t work, it’s always worth a wholesale restart of your computer.

Revitalize Your Work With Plain Ol’ Text Files

With just a few clicks on your Mac, you can start making your life easier. Enter the new, simple, elegant world of synced text files.

A very quiet revolution began a couple of years ago among Apple users.

It started with Dropbox, the cloud service that turns a normal folder into a magic syncing carpet for all your files. Dropbox quickly became ubiquitous on Macs, iPhones, and iPads. (The rest of this article will assume you have Dropbox installed on your computer and mobile devices.)

Then some brilliant nerds wrote some elegant apps. These apps did one thing: They edited text files in Dropbox.

Why is this cool? Because text files are easy (for both human and machine), small, and workable on any computer ever created. And while syncing other kinds of stuff like contacts and calendars is hard for computers, syncing text files is relatively simple.

As the revolution was fomenting, David Sparks said, “Plain text: It’s timeless. My grandchildren will be able to read a text file I create today, long after anybody can remember what the heck a .dotx file is.”

So what can you do with text? Any kind of writing, notes, lists, or snippets. I use it instead of Apple’s Notes app. I write all my blog posts and newsletters in text, and also a lot of emails when I care about what they look like.

Start with TextEdit

There are growing options for text editors out there. But let’s start with Apple’s own TextEdit. This will go really fast, I promise.

TextEdit in Dock

You can find it in Spotlight or Applications.

Search for TextEdit

Open TextEdit > Preferences. Click here…

TextEdit menu

Then here…

TextEdit Preferences

Change the default format to plain text.

Format as plain text

Close the Preferences window.

That’s it. Just create and save files as you would any other document.

When you start, they’ll look like this:

Plain ol’ blank space, ready for you to fill it. And just like any other document, you should put them in Dropbox. Create a folder in Dropbox called Text.

Text folder

Open up Dropbox on your phone or tablet or another computer, and your file is there. You can refer to your notes, or copy text from them to paste into another app.

In Part II, I’ll show you how to edit that text on your iPhone and iPad.

Some notes on Voice-over-IP

Somebody just asked me about VoIP options. Here’s what I know about vendors:

  • Packet8 is now 8×8, and they still stink. Lots of options, but complex and clunky, and my clients didn’t like the hardware at all.
  • RingCentral is quite good. The phones are fancy, and the handsets have a nice feel. Setup was easy, and the web app gives lots of options but not too many.
  • Internet service providers such as Time Warner Cable often have options that are not terrible, but are also not terribly full-featured.
  • Many SOHO businesses (1-3 people) can get away with a single, free Google Voice number, pointing it to ring on multiple landlines and mobile phones. Every user needs to have access, so it’s best to use a Google ID to which several people can have the password. (Really only those people who need access to the voicemails.)

Here’s what I know about the network infrastructure your office needs for something like RingCentral:

  • You need a nice, fast Internet connection.
  • You might need to pay your ISP for a “static IP” address to improve traffic.
  • You need a separate dedicated Ethernet port in your wall for each phone.
  • If that is totally out of the question, for whatever reason, each phone has two Ethernet ports. You run a cable from the wall to the phone, and one from the phone to the computer.

My problem with that last scenario is that it creates bottlenecks in your network. I spec CAT6 and gigabit (1000 Mbps) Ethernet switches for all businesses to get the best performance from their LAN and their file server, but those phones only have 100 Mbps ports, decreasing throughput 90%. Yuck. Any businesses running network-based user accounts will experience a serious degradation in productivity.

Whither goeth Save As?

Now that I am using Preview instead of Adobe Reader, I am having trouble saving documents. There is no Save As… feature in the File menu!

You’re not alone in confusion! Apple replaced Save As… with Duplicate.

There is a good reason for it: Mac apps — the good ones at least — now save automatically, all the time. They even remember versions of themselves (File > Revert).

So now, you can make a copy by going to File > Duplicate, then File > Save. Also, as always, option-drag and copy/paste still work in the Finder.

Apple has a nice write-up of the feature in this article.

But it still feels weird not to have Save As!