In the next few months I will take on a new Project Manager to help take Applingua up a notch. In preparation, I’ve begun making a presentation about how things work at Applingua and the processes involved, which I can then use during initial training. Writing down a set process is something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Only yesterday I realised it was something I should have done long ago.
Writing down what you do forces you to think hard about your work and, more importantly, why you do it. As I drew out the 11 steps in Keynote I realised certain things can be re-jiggled or merged to save time later down the line. Going deeper into each process item, I realised that there are certain variables which can’t be taught and require months of [...]
I recently noticed there are a set of apps in my Dock which are constantly open. I use them all every single day, almost without fail. Why not write yours in the comments below – these are mine!
The Hit List – It took more than 10 years to move away from pen & paper. After 10 years of failed electronic todo lists, came The Hit List. On the face of it you just press Enter, type your todo and that’s it. But if you need it, there are lots of powerful features that keep you organised and delivering my projects on time.
BBEdit – I’m in the business of text. Lots of text in many different languages. BBEdit is the perfect text editor: great colour coding, multi-language auto-completion, folder view, split view, support for every text encoding [...]
I probably have about 100 different ideas a week. They can be anything from future Applingua plans to completely new business ideas to something as simple as a blog post. Most ideas are instantly unviable, but there are often a few which get jotted down in The Hit List for future consideration. Unfortunately they often get left there simply due to time constraints.
One such idea was a blog post I recently published to Applingua’s Blog, listing the Top 100 Paid Mac OS X apps and their localizations. I knew in order to make the blog post more valuable to me, my clients and the blog’s audience, I needed to delve a little deeper than just studying one app store. I also knew surveying 100 apps across several stores would take a lot of my time, which I [...]
I often hear people ask whether they should get the 11″ or 13″ MacBook Air. I’ve owned both, so I wanted to give a run down about why I upgraded from the 11″ to the 13″, but why my first choice wasn’t necessarily a bad one.
Nine months ago I needed a machine to complement my desktop computer. Something I could just play on (web browsing, writing documents, emails, view photos), but also something which could handle a week or two away for work purposes (at the time, text editors, one or two localization text tools and the separate interface builder app). I opted for the 11″ and was not disappointed.
The MacBook Air 11″ was the most special machine I’ve ever owned
After a few days working with the MacBook Air 11″ I knew this machine was [...]
Followers of my blog will know I’m too lazy to write full reviews, so rather I just spend 24 hours with something and write my first impressions. I like the spaghetti western approach to reviews because they are quick and easy to follow.
I got the Ultimate Air you can buy from Apple: 1.8Ghz i7, 4GB RAM, 256GB HD
The Good:
The screen resolution is to die for. Finally Sturdy design, feels strong despite being so thin Let’s not lie, it doesn’t encode video as fast as my Quad-Core i5 iMac, but the i7 and SSD make this a really enjoyable machine. Haven’t had one speed problem yet, even building apps in Xcode. Really nice SD slot is good for me now this is my only machine Backlit keyboard. Definitely missed this on my old 11″ Full size [...]
Despite years of wanting “the perfect setup”, an iMac in tandem with a MacBook Air, I’ve come to the conclusion it just doesn’t work for me. Sure, it’s nice going on the odd day out with the Air, knowing I can check eMails and do any emergency work if I need to, but if you spend a week or weeks away from home as I recently did, having two machines is a bit of a headache. Even despite the many cloud sync options available today.
This year I’ve been fortunate enough to own both a MacBook Air and iMac. For the most part it’s been excellent. Work has been sync’d perfectly over Dropbox, making it easy as pie to pick up from where I left off during the odd day trip. But anything longer than a day or [...]
If there’s one thing the internet has brought us, it’s a giant, 24/7, international shopping plaza. Sod the academic motives of Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1980s and enter a 365 day shopping bonanza where you can buy everything from your favourite pen to ex-Royal Navy flagships.
There’s one day in particular that US online retailers revere more than any: that’s today, Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving has traditionally been the start of the Christmas season and attempts to spur sales through pretty attractive discounts. Town centres and online servers suffer as the mayhem ensues…
On this side of the pond few shops have cottoned on to Black Friday (and why should they? Our retailers appear to start the Christmas season in September…), but the beauty of the internet means we get to enjoy some of [...]
For years I struggled to make real money online. Apart from making the odd website, staring at a screen doesn’t bring in cash. It’s a dream many people have, especially those who want to free themselves from their desk and become more “location independent”. Well I’m making money online now and I’ve learnt a lot along the way. I want to share with you what I know.
This article already sounds like link bait, right? Just like one of those posters that used to litter lamp-posts “earn cash at home” or the countless spam emails you probably receive every day. Well it’s true to a certain extent you won’t be able to earn money online if you are not comfortable with your computer or if you don’t possess any sales drive. Finding work online requires you to be able to [...]
Hello
I'm Rob, founder of Applingua Ltd. Location Independent and Living the Dream! I blog about running a small business in tech. Contact me via Twitter, Facebook or email.
Latest Tweets
- MUC ✈ MRS 9 hours ago
- @jeffhodnett I have one too! Great while travelling. Love it :-) 9 hours ago
- @craiginwales pentyrch! Some kid lit a guys house on fire! 9 hours ago
- I don't really get how @Path is making money, so I bought 3 filters. 10 hours ago
Tag Cloud
amelia app Apple Applingua App Store britain Business business tools conservatives Customer Support emails equinux europa First Impressions hack iMac internet iOS iPad italy location independence Ltd MacBook Air MAS mobile national insurance new newsletters nics on-the-move politics Revenue ROI Second Impressions Software starting up startup Stats Steve Jobs tools tories twitter uk vat Web Design
