2009.10.30
Posted in Software, Technology at 9:43 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
I’ve been a Mac user for quite a while now, and there are a few applications that I don’t think I could do without now that I’ve started using them on a regular basis. Of the four applications I’m going to mention, only one has a Windows version. In the case of two of them, they’re almost worth switching for on their own. Yes, they’re that good.
MindManager
OK, I’ve been using this one for a while, but it bears mention here. I use MindManager almost every day for one thing or another. I use it to collect my thoughts, analyze documents I’m reading and reviewing, brainstorm ideas, and numerous other things. Fundamentally, it’s a mind mapping application, but for my money, it’s the best one. Mind Mapping applications live and die based on their user interface, and on that basis, you’re better off buying one than using FreeMind (sorry, FreeMind).
Worth the money because: Very easy to use UI, can export to OPML, compatible with the Windows version.
Pet peeve: DEVONthink can’t automatically index MindManager documents
Windows Version: YES
Alternatives: NovaMind, FreeMind, others.
DEVONthink
DEVONthink is one of those applications you have to use for a little while first to realize why it’s worth the money. I picked up the Personal edition 1.0 for free during a MacHeist giveaway, and recently upgraded to the Pro version 2.0. This is an application for collecting, organizing, searching, collating, and mining information. I use it to organize the random stuff I run across on the web, cross-reference that with book references, and sort and search the growing number of PDF e-books in my collection. The PDF search, PDF annotation, and cross referencing features are worth a lot more money than I spent on this application. Search alone is worth the price of admission. If you have a lot of PDF e-books, stop reading and go download a trial right now. Oh, and Windows users, this one is worth switching for.
Worth the money because: PDF Search, fantastic AI and research support
Pet peeve: Import Web Site feature needs a lot of improvement; doesn’t play well with FireFox
Windows Version: Unfortunately not
Alternatives: None that I am aware of.
Scrivener
Scrivener is an application for writers. If you’re an essayist, journalist, novelist, or short fiction author you may want to take a look. It has some of the same features of DEVONthink but it’s oriented towards the writing process as opposed to the research process. For writing short fiction, I’ve started to use DEVONthink to collect up all of my ideas and do some of the research heavy lifting, and when I decide to launch a writing project, I move into Scrivener. The Edit Scrivenings feature makes writing from an outline work the way it should, and I can always reorganize my thoughts later with the corkboard. Brilliant.
Worth the money because: Makes writing from an outline or set of ideas easy, collects all of my writing ephemera right next to the manuscript itself.
Pet peeve: Doesn’t do PDF search like DEVONthink does.
Windows Version: Unfortunately not
Alternatives: The vendor has a comprehensive list.
OmniGraffle
I like pretty pictures, and OmniGraffle lets me draw them. For anybody who has ever used Visio and wishes there was a Mac version, this is what you are looking for. If you’ve never used Visio but have the need to draw diagrams of any sort for work, school, or your volunteer projects, you should take a look. As a basic example of what OmniGraffle does, when you draw a line between two shapes, then move the shapes, the line stays attached (Visio does that too).
I use it to draw diagrams for work, from UML Diagrams (be careful, this is a diagram tool, not a UML Modeling tool) to User Interface wireframes to flowcharts and everything in between. The automatic alignment and spacing guides save tons of time, and the ability to do things like “copy the color of this circle to that square” quickly is another huge bonus. One of its coolest features is its support for linked layers. If I have a collection of drawings in the same document and I edit part of one of them, linked layers lets me automatically ensure that the changes happen in all of the other diagrams as well. It’s not a feature everyone needs, but once I discovered it, I almost immediately remarked that OmniGraffle just paid for itself. If you’re a Windows user, this one is worth switching for.
Worth the money because: It’s Visio. For the Mac. Actually, it’s what Visio aspires to be. Seriously.
Pet peeve: Can be a little tough to do with a trackpad – a mouse works much better.
Windows Version: Unfortunately not; Visio is about as close as I’ve seen, and it doesn’t measure up.
Alternatives: None that I’ve seen.
Of course, I also do other things with my Mac like audio recording and photo editing; a discussion of those applications will have to wait for another post.
Full disclosure: I own all of these products and use them regularly. I received absolutely no compensation or consideration from the vendors for writing this article.
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2009.04.14
Posted in Board Games, In the News, Technology at 7:07 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Based on events over the past two weeks, I’ve spent more time than usual pondering the business of role-playing games (RPGs). In case you haven’t heard:
- Wizards of the Coast, who produce the popular Dungeons & Dragons game, decided to stop selling PDF versions of their products via web stores like DriveThruRPG
- In response, other RPG companies have announced special sales, discounts, and giveaways of PDF products. They seem to be trying to gain market share from this event. And why not?
At present, I material for several different games, and I often consider buying RPG products in PDF form as an alternative to buying books. PDFs are great when I have problems tracking down paper copies of games (my FLGS doesn’t stock products from some of the smaller companies, unfortunately) or when I can’t justify the cost of a paper copy. PDFs are also useful for test-driving a new game or supplement, which may prompt me to start spending more money on paper copies.
I think that a business model that ignores the PDF marketplace is a mistake for any RPG company, especially smaller ones. Here’s why:
- In many cases a PDF is produced at some point on the way to paper publication (or it’s easy to produce as a by-product), so there isn’t much additonal cost. And because the delivery cost of a PDF is very low, they can be sold more cheaply and end up in the hands of gamers on tighter budgets.
- There are already established businesses like DriveThruRPG who do a large amount of business selling watermarked PDF files. Although I don’t know their business practices, given the amount of products they carry, I imagine they would be happy to sell PDF products of even very small companies. While watermarking does not prevent piracy, it is a deterrent, and most people I know are pretty honest when it comes to paying for products they enjoy and find useful.
- PDFs allow you to sell products that are out of print, and where demand exists but is too low to justify another 5000 copy print run.
- Many (most?) RPG companies offer all of their products in high-quality PDF format as well as on paper. White Wolf is a good example. If you don’t offer PDFs, you will be at a competitive disadvantage.
As an example of a company that has really embraced PDFs as a key part of their strategy, consider Paizo. Their Pathfinder Core rulebook is currently in beta form, and is a completely free PDF download (for now). Paizo expends a lot of effort creating and selling source materials for the Pathfinder system, and has a very interesting subscription model for their published scenarios. The best part of the model: If you subscribe to the paper publications, they give you a free copy of the PDF as well. So, you can download it and start reading it before your paper copy arrives in the mail. This is a fantastic idea; I wish more companies would provide free PDFs for people who purchase their books in paper form.
Paizo also strikes me as a company that is willing to almost give away the core system in hopes of getting you hooked and selling you lots of supplements. They produce fantastic source material, scenarios, maps, and other things for the system. While none of them are free, you can buy them a la carte, either in print or PDF.
It’s great for people like me who want to sample things – I can spend $10 on some PDF material before I decide whether it’s worth investing $50 in paper copies. Even if I hate what I buy, I’m only out $10 in the worst case, and if Paizo impresses me, they’ll get another $50 out of me as I buy a bunch more stuff.
Like it or not, gamers like me are demanding PDFs as an option today, and this trend will probably continue. As soon as I can buy an eBook reader for under $200 that works well, is easy on the eyes, and supports PDF, I will be buying one, and I’ll probably reduce my print RPG purchases even further. And I’m sure I’m not alone.
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2009.03.15
Posted in Music, Technology at 2:58 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
When I bought my iPod Nano, I was replacing a 5G iPod Video. The size and heft difference is quite noticeable. And quite ridiculous when paired with my headphones.
As an aside, why is it there are so few iPod Nano cases that have belt clips? I’ve only found one case worthy of consideration, and it’s more money than I want to spend. Doesn’t anyone else want a belt clip for their Nano?
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2008.05.08
Posted in House and Home, Technology at 7:29 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
For a number of reasons it was long-past-time to upgrade my copy of Photoshop Elements. I was running version 2, and I upgraded to version 6.
I should have guessed from the download size, but wow is version 6 ever a behemoth.
Version 2: 186MB
Version 6: 2.5GB
Ummmm….. Good thing I’ve got (or rather I had) plenty of free disk space. Yeesh. And bear in mind this is Photoshop‘s Little Brother.
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2007.10.20
Posted in Technology, The Web at 5:17 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Steve Jobs announced that an iPhone SDK would be available in February 2008, and the media response has been favorable. I think the favorable response is premature, and that there will be many disappointed people in February.
Prior to the launch of the video iPods in 2005, only one company wrote software that ran on the iPod platform. Apple. A few third party developers have been allowed to develop games for the iPods starting with these video-capable models, but remember that Apple was very picky about who they allowed to do this. Many longtime developers who had excellent relationships with Apple were denied this ability. Most still are.
If we forget about the phone part of the iPhone, it’s just another iPod model. The forthcoming SDK will mark the first time in history that Apple will allow all but a few select third parties into the iPod software platform. Why is Apple suddenly willing to give up the tight control they have over their darling hardware platform?
They won’t.
In the announcement, Jobs mentions Nokia’s restriction that applications running on their newest models must be digitally signed. “While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction,” says Jobs.
Apple must now perform a delicate balancing act. If they too require that applications be digitally signed before they will run on the iPod, developers will cry foul. And, someome will write an unlock program that allows unsigned applications to be run anyway. But Apple has all but admitted that they will be somehow restricting access to the platform; they just haven’t told us how yet. Apple won’t open the platform completely. Nobody has asked Apple how open it will be, and Apple isn’t telling anyone either.
There are any number of possibilities, but one thing that isn’t possible is for Apple to pull back the curtain completely. They won’t do it, because then they would lose control over their most valuable asset: the iPod platform.
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2007.05.23
Posted in House and Home, Technology at 7:09 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
For the first time ever, I’ve allowed everyone’s favourite operating system into my condo. Up until now, the only computers I’ve allowed to cross the threshold are my iMac and Jason’s iBook.
Why did I commit this mortal sin, you might ask?
Ah, the things we do for work. I’m working from home tomorrow so I brought my PC home with me. Rest assured, it’s only temporary. My condo will return to pure Appleicious glory on Friday.
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2007.02.09
Posted in Music, Technology, The Web at 7:51 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
According to last.fm, I’ve listened to 20,000 songs since March 15, 2006. And that’s just the stuff that actually got tracked to last.fm, so in reality, I’ve listened to more than that. That’s a lot more than I would have expected in just under a year.
So what’s hot on my iPod these days? Well, if recent history is any indication, it’s Tom Novy‘s dance track Take It. Though I still maintain that Madonna rocks out to Faster Kill Pussycat on her iPod. Unless Miss Thing decides to settle the matter once and for all, I guess we’ll never know for sure.
Part of why I got a last.fm account to begin with was to see the stats on what I actually listen to. Some of the numbers don’t surprise me, but there are a couple that do. Apparently I really like the Chrono Cross soundtrack, because 光田康典 (Yasunori Mitsuda) is my top artist according to last.fm. I listen to that stuff quite frequently at work, which I guess accounts for the fact that it’s what I’m listening to more than 5% of the time.
And considering I was waffling on even buying the damn album in the first place, I would say it turned out to be money well spent.
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2007.01.21
Posted in Technology at 3:34 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
There was a rumour online that Best Buy stores were holding Wii stock for Sunday, January 21 since the Wii would be featured in a flyer. Since I was up early enough, I figured I’d go check it out – I’m in the market for a Wii, and now that the holiday season is over, I figure I might actually be able to get my hands on one.
Turns out that the rumour was either false, or only applied to stores in the USA or something. I showed up at the nearest Best Buy just before they opened (along with about 12 other folks). There was no long line up or anything, just a few people waiting outside for the store to open. Most of us moved pretty quickly for the Wii section of the store only to find that the store was out of stock. Obviously these other people had picked up the same rumour that I had.
Since there was a Zellers, EB Games, and Walmart nearby, and since I wanted to hit T&T for some Pocky goodness and coconut milk anyways, I thought I would check all of them. No luck. Nada. No Wii for me.
Apparently EB Games got a shipment on on Friday – a whopping 5 consoles. They all sold the same day (duh).
So, now I’m wondering when the stock will stabilize at the local retailers. The Wii has been out for a couple of months and it still can’t be found anywhere.
Maybe if I wait another month…
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2006.12.29
Posted in Music, Technology at 10:24 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
I can finally claim to be winning the battle of the metadata.
Now that I have an iPod, I’ve been spending a not-insignificant amount of time working with the metadata for my iTunes library. I’ve fixed bad metadata (incorrect track names or artists, mostly) on about 100 tracks, and I’ve managed to rate over 80% of the music in my library. This opens the door for a number of smart playlist tricks that will make my iPod listening more rewarding, and I hope to get some funky smart playlists set up over the weekend. Given the amount that I use my iPod, I’m sure this effort will pay off very quickly.
It’s a little surprising just how quick I was able to rate this many songs. My best estimate is that I’ve spent about 9 hours rating the 2,400 some odd tracks that I’ve gotten to so far. Definitely quicker than I would have thought.
I’ve also spent a bit of time organizing my podcast audiobooks so I can play them back start to finish. I’ve got a growing list of audiobooks I’ve obtained via services like podiobooks.com that I have to manage in addition to my usual music collection.
I also have to mention that I didn’t accomplish all of this completely unassisted. In this process, I’ve made judicious use of several applescripts I obtained from Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes, which has proven to be an indispensible resource. If you run iTunes on a Mac, you’ll no doubt find at least a few gems in Doug’s collection of AppleScripts.
And now it’s time to get back to enjoying my music.
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2006.12.28
Posted in In the News, Technology, The Web, This Site at 6:37 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Suppose you’re out to buy a new car. You’re kinda partial to Japanese cars, and you’ve done a bit of research, and you’ve narrowed it down to two options:
- A Honda Civic
- A Toyota Corolla
Both cars fit your criteria. You just have to pick one. Here’s the $1,000,000 question: which of the following would pull more weight with you?
- A paid television advertisement for the Honda Civic, which highlights the excellence of its engineering and how fun it is to drive.
- A trusted friend’s informal, unsolicited review of her Toyota Corolla, which she absolutely adores and can’t stop gushing about.
If you picked B, you’re a winner. Or rather, Toyota is the winner, since you’re busy driving your brand new Corolla.
Here’s the catch. Everybody knows this. Even slow, lumbering multinational corporations have figured this out by now. And so the marketing departments now have some new pages in their playbooks.
Recently, there have been a couple of news items that illustrate the emerging trend of using weblogs as marketing tools:
- Sony has admitted that the website http://alliwantforxmasisapsp.com/ (seemingly now offline) was a fraud, created by a marketing firm that Sony hired.
- More recently, Microsoft gave brand new laptops loaded with Windows Vista to prominent bloggers as gifts. This action has caused at least one blogger to reconsider the ethics of accepting gifts from vendors.
Going back to the original question, there are two key phrases in option B that are the focal points of the new marketing plays: trusted friend and unsolicited review. By creating alliwantforxmasisapsp.com, Sony was looking to trade on the unsolicited review bit. Rather than having a slick, professional, corporate marketing website that just oozed Sony, they tried to create the illusion of an average Joe who was in love with the portable gaming device. On the internet, people sometimes pay more attention to weblogs that appear to be impartial than they do to the manufacturer’s own site. They’re looking for the real dirt, not the corporate line.
Microsoft was trying for a double-whammy – trusted friends giving unsolicited reviews. There are many bloggers who are rather influential with the tech set, and by giving them free review laptops with no obligations whatsoever, Microsoft was hoping that the bloggers would nonetheless feel obligated to write some sort of positive review of Windows Vista. These influential bloggers could easily have a significant impact on the general internet buzz surrounding the launch of Vista.
This whole mess has caused me a moment’s reflection about things I’ve blogged about. Just the other day I was raving about Solio. In my case, I didn’t buy a Solio, but it was a Christmas gift. Furthermore, and I’m sure nobody at Better Energy Systems Ltd. has even noticed that my weblog even exists, let alone has a positive review of their product. I don’t feel any ethical qualms since I’m fairly sure that the person who gave me the gift had no idea I would even want to write about it on my weblog. And as a personal thing, that’s the way I intend to keep things – all of the stuff I write is my own opinion. It hasn’t been bought via bribes yet.
Though I’m not sure I agree with the position Joel Spolsky has taken on the issue. Even without him disclosing the fact that by reading his weblog I’m indirectly contributing to the “Joel gets a Hot Tub fund”, I already knew that. I don’t trust him any less (or any more) for disclosing that, and I still take everything he writes with a grain of salt (as I do with information source).
I suspect that if people generally had better critical reading skills, this whole new frontier of weblog marketing would be less of an issue; the issue would still exist, though, since many weblogs are being written more or less anonymously, and it can be tough to even discover who the source is, let alone evaluate their trustworthiness or authoritativeness. Surrogates like Google Pagerank are helpful as a guide for assigning trustworthiness, but as with everything, the hard work is still up to us humans. And luckily for the marketing companies, that probably won’t change anytime soon.
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