What’s in my Menubar

⌘ Permalink

Today, I thought I would share what’s living in my Mac’s menubar these days. I’ll move from left to right.

1. Keyboard Maestro

You can see some of the things I do with this utility over here.

2. Dropbox

I collaborate with a lot of people, and Dropbox is the main way I do it. I have a Pro account with 50 GB of space.

3. TextExpander

If you type the same thing more than twice on your Mac, you’re wasting time if aren’t using this app.

I keep chunks of code, words I misspell often, email addresses and more in TextExpander. It really is like magic.

4. Cinch

While there are lots of window management options out there for the Mac, I like Cinch because it’s simple. It allows for easy window resizing by dragging it to the left, right, or top screen edge. It makes living with a dual-display setup much more pleasant.

5. 1Password

This is another invaluable Mac utility. I store website credentials, credit card information and more in 1Password.. I haven’t typed a password on my Mac in months.

6. Dropzone

Dropzone, while not well-known, is super powerful. It allows me to drag a file, URL or folder to the menu bar to do just about anything on it. I have S3 and FTP upload options, as well as quick shortcuts to print files, install apps and shorten URLs with my custom Bitly setup.

7. Evernote

While I’ve recently switched to Evernote,, it’s quickly becoming my hub while working on my MacBook Pro. The menu bar item is a fast way to add something to the Inbox and move on. It can also be used to take screenshots that will be imported upon taking.

8. Messages

I dislike having the Buddy List window open in iChat/Messages, so I just use the menu bar item.

9. Time Machine

I use Time Machine to backup my “Storage” hard drive to an external. If you don’t backup your files, you’re just asking for trouble.

10. Bluetooth

While I do use an Extended II keyboard, I keep Bluetooth on for my Magic Trackpad.

11. Battery

I have a portable. Duh.

12. Clock

As long as I’ve used the Mac, I’ve kept the clock on in the menubar. While working, its faster than looking down at my watch.

13. Fast User Switching

While I have only one user on this machine, this menu bar item gives me quick access to the Login Window, where I leave my Mac if I step away from my desk.

Update: I can’t believe I didn’t know about the “Lock” command in Alfred. Thanks, @philgetzen.

14. Spotlight

I’ve switched to Alfred, but Apple doesn’t let users get rid of this icon, so I’m stuck with it. (Alfred, by the way, can run without a menubar item, which is pretty sweet.)

Update: It seems this can be disabled. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

On Pre-Existing Conditions

⌘ Permalink

Julie Rovner at NPR:

After this week’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court, lawmakers and health policy experts are starting to ponder what had — until recently — been unthinkable to many: What if the court strikes down the entire Affordable Care Act?

Heading into the week, most supporters of the law had assumed that at worst, the court might find unconstitutional the requirement that most Americans either have health insurance or pay a penalty. And it might also invalidate a few key insurance provisions that are immediately tied to that, such as requiring insurance companies to sell to people with pre-existing health conditions.

[…]

One example, from Michael Cannon of the libertarian Cato Institute: If insurers didn’t have to cover pre-existing conditions for children, he says, “maybe some insurers would return to states” where they stopped offering coverage.

Screw Michael Cannon.

Without this law, my three-year-old son is uninsurable due to his pre-existing brain tumor.

RIM Announces Q4 2012 Earnings

⌘ Permalink

Right before the call, Jim Balsillie (former co-CEO and current Director of the Board), David Yach (CTO) and Jim Rowan (COO) all resigned.

The Loop has some highlights from the call:

  • Revenue of $4.2 billion, down 19% from the third quarter and down 25% from $5.6 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2011
  • BlackBerry smartphone shipments of 11.1 million in Q4, down 21% from Q3
  • 500,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets shipped. No number on how many actually sold

App Recommendation: 1-Bit Camera

⌘ Permalink

Most iOS photo apps are all about applying rich, heavy-handed filters.

1-Bit Camera is an exception. The 99¢ app shoots in 1-bit mode, leaving just black and white dithered images. There are options to select high or low contrast, and to use either Atkinson and Bayer dithering algorithms. You an share via Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

The best part? The UI is set in Chicago. The retro look and feel is outstanding, and really adds to the experience of using the app.

On iPhoto for iPad

⌘ Permalink

Abdel Ibrahim:

All in all, I’m impressed with iPhoto on the iPad. It’s a great mobile solution for editing pictures, and I have no doubt that any photographer worth his salt could churn out quality images without running to his computer. But as big of a leap forward as iPhoto for iOS is, and as enticing as its portability can be, it doesn’t make a good enough argument for ditching that desktop altogether. Not yet.

On Android Tablets

⌘ Permalink

As pointed out by John Gruber, TechCrunch is reporting that Asus has only sold 2,000 or so of its Transformer Prime tablet..

2,000. Since December.

As Gruber remarked, Android isn’t winning in the tablet space.

(While the Kindle Fire has surely sold better, Amazon’s custom stuff on top of Android really puts the Fire in its own class, next to the Nook tablet.)

That said, dozens of Android tablets have come out since December, when the Prime shipped, and dozens more will ship this year.

I don’t understand why OEMs keep making these things. Do they each think that their tablet will be the one to make it, breaking the streak? Google might be ready to “double down” on the tablet front, but it really seems like whatever the company can do, it will be too little too late. The iPad is nearly uncatchable, if that.

Furthermore, why do sites like the Verge and others keep spending so much time reviewing these things?

Amazon CEO Plans to Recover Apollo 11 Rockets From Sea Floor

⌘ Permalink

Adam Mann at Wired:

Billionaire Jeff Bezos announced plans to recover from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at least one of the F–1 engines that carried the Apollo 11 rocket into space.

Founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Bezos already has his hands in several extreme undertakings, such as the private spaceflight company Blue Origin.

Bezos reported March 28 on his blog that a team of engineers has recently used state-of-the-art deep-sea sonar and found the Apollo 11 engines lying 14,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. He wrote that he is currently making plans to raise them.

The space nerd in me is excited. I hope Bezos is successful.