06 October
2009
A Gallon of Milk and an Onion
Where Keith gets hungry
I've been a little cagey here about the exact nature of the iPhone app which isn't entirely fair to my loyal reader since i've talked about it elsewhere. It's a grocery list app. I realize that this is a pretty crowded market, but as i've said before, i strongly believe that an app that works differently and is (to enough users) better than the others will succeed in the marketplace. I'm going to keep my app's secret sauce close to my chest until we get a little closer to launching lest the more established players squash me like a bug. For now, i'll say that it's sufficiently different in its focus from the competition to be worth bringing to market. Frankly, it's kind of hard NOT to talk about it so watch this space for loose lipped updates.
Progress for the past few weeks has been steady, but the time has come to take a plunge. This morning, i went to the grocery store and purchased a gallon of milk and an onion. I hereby resolve: i will make no further grocery purchases until i can do so based on a list created with my app. Nothin' like a little hunger to keep you motivated.
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12:34
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08 October
2009
20 Questions
Where Keith answers
A few weeks ago, i had the opportunity to virtually sit down with David Allen of Mac 20 Questions for a chat. David's a peach of a guy who can spin a really nice story out of how people use, and what they create with their macs. He's done about 60 of these interviews, but if you don't have time to add 60 hours of podcasts to your listening regimen, then definitely give a listen to Keith Blount talking about his writer's word processor: Scrivener and especially Double Edge Films talking about their new movie: Ink. You can subscribe to Mac 20 Questions via iTunes.
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10:59
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15 October
2009
Dog Fed
Where Keith Has a Snack
I recently threatened the food supply of my entire family but am happy to report that supply lines remained unaffected. People who write software like to use the phrase "eating your own dog food" to mean using and living with the software that you write. Well last week, i ate the dog food and successfully made a shopping list and then took it to the store to shop from it! To my competitors, i say: you've got nothing to worry about yet. This app is missing a lot of features and is very rough but as of today, we're off to the dog races.
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10:53
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Hey Mac
Where Keith is goin' mobile
At WWDC this year, i befriended a fellow software craftsman named Mike Taylor of Hey Mac Software. I would place Mike firmly in the category of my friends who are much smarter than i am. Following Mike on Twitter, i became aware of the License to Mod contest, promoting Hey Mac's Narrator for iPhone. Narrator provides synchronized audio and text which can help you learn to read english or just to tell an interesting story with sound, words and images. The contest involved listening to the Motive Games audio book and solving the mystery therein. The story was very cute and although aimed at a young adult audience i found myself pretty engrossed in the climactic scene. Getting engrossed in a story like this has certain benefits because i won the contest! I'm writing this post on my circa 2001 Titanium PowerBook, but soon will upgrade to the brand new 13" Mac Book Pro of my dreams. At my desk, i of course have a machine that is a little more modern but for my mobile commuting computing i'm thrilled to be getting an upgrade.
If narrator doesn't sound like your cup of cocoa, then definitely check out Hey Mac's Briefcase. Briefcase sits at the head of a class of applications that lets you transfer files from a desktop to your iPhone/iPod Touch for viewing anywhere. What sends Briefcase to the head of the class is how it can connect via ssh (a secure connection) to your computer from anywhere in the world, at any time and let you view pretty much any file. When i first tried it, it was one of those experiences where the technology seemed almost indistinguishable from magic and definitely made me feel grateful to be living in the 21st century.
On the Job, On the Train
Where Keith works and goes
My very sincere thanks again go to Hey Mac software, the makers of Narrator and Briefcase for bringing me this moment:
