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Software I couldn’t work without

On January 7, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In Business, Tech

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 [...]

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MacBook Air 11″ vs MacBook Air 13″

On November 27, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Tech

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 [...]

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First Impressions: MacBook Air 13″ (2011)

On November 26, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Tech

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 [...]

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I can’t use two computers for business

On November 26, 2011 · 5 Comments · In Business, Tech

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 [...]

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Black Friday Deals in the UK

On November 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Business, Idle Chit-Chat, Tech

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 [...]

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Making money online

On November 6, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Business, Tech

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 [...]

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Steve Jobs

A life without Steve Jobs

On October 6, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Business, Idle Chit-Chat, Tech

There’s naturally quite a lot of sentimentality going around today. I usually shy away from public mourning, something I feel the likes of Twitter and Facebook have exacerbated, finding it often mawkish and lacking any sense of perspective. The crux of it is, today is unlikely to be any different for the vast majority of us and it’ll be much the same tomorrow.

But what about yesterday? What if Steve Jobs hadn’t returned to Apple in late 1996 and Apple had gone bust like so many industry experts at the time predicted? For most people who own an iPhone today, their life probably wouldn’t be any different. I cannot say the same for my own.

I got my first Mac in April 2000, thanks to my progressive parents. Yes, you had to be progressive, or barmy, to spend £1249 [...]

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First Impressions: Vodafone UK 3G Dongle

On May 21, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Tech

Vodafone supposedly has the fastest 3G network in the UK. I picked up one of their USB dongles back in March and have been using it on the odd trip since.

Although I’ve had this usb internet dongle for quite some time now, it’s only ever used in places where wifi isn’t available (i.e. not often). I’m writing this article using the 3G dongle on-board a First Great Western train from London Paddington to Cardiff Central.

The Good:

Software. Vodafone has placed an installer on the USB dongle making it easy to get started. The little tool it comes with is incredibly easy to use and pretty intelligent too: When Wifi breaks, it alerts you asking whether it should now connect via 3G. You can see your monthly usage and they’ve even built in Growl support to make [...]

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