Category: Macintosh
Yosemite, iOS 8 in New Seattle Times Column
In my latest Practical Mac column for the Seattle Times, I look at OS X Yosemite, iOS 8, and how they’re converging. Plus, I recommend a few ways to get the same features now that are coming in the new system releases. Read it here: Apple blurs line between Mac, iOS platforms and that’s OK
Everything Wrong with Tech Reporting in One Paragraph
At a family gathering for Father’s Day, my sister asked, “So what’s wrong with Apple?” Puzzled, I asked her to clarify, and she mentioned the occasional snarky tweet I post making fun of Apple analysts, like this one referring to last week’s 7-for-1 stock split: @jeffcarlson: Please please tell me someone wrote an article about ...
Apply Styles from the Keyboard in InDesign
A quick, in-the-weeds-of-book-production post: I’m an oddity among book authors in that most of my books are written directly into layout. Most people write a manuscript in Microsoft Word or Scrivener or some other word processor, then hand it off to design and production folks who lay it out with styles and artwork in an ...
Devil-on-the-Shoulder Look at the WWDC 2014 Keynote
[Updated in places thanks to feedback from readers, and a fresh round of caffeine since I wrote this post late last night.] I almost titled this post “The Pessimist’s Look at WWDC,” but I’m not a pessimist. I think most of what was announced by Apple at the Worldwide Developer Conference keynote is exciting and ...
My Report from Macworld/iWorld in the Seattle Times
I’m having a great, but very busy, time at Macworld/iWorld 2014 in San Francisco. In addition to appearing on a fun panel about creative technology with Serenity Caldwell (@settern), Chris Breen (@bodyofbreen), and Kyle Lambert (@kylelambert), I filed my Practical Mac column for the Seattle Times. In it, I note three Seattle-area products that caught ...
Why Do Big Magazines Hire Hacks for Big Tech Stories?
Given the many little flubs in this exclusive interview of Jonathan Ive for Time Magazine (originally published in The Sunday Times Magazine), I figured an over-the-top headline for this post was warranted. Let me set up a couple guideposts. First, getting an exclusive interview with Apple’s Vice President of Design Jonathan Ive, especially one that ...
Latest Seattle Times Column Covers Security Update and Screens App
In my latest column in The Seattle Times, I talk about last week’s crucial security updates for OS X and iOS. I also look at Screens, my favorite iOS and OS X app for connecting to another Mac and controlling it. Read it here: You’ll sleep better after this update.
Link: How to Survive on 256 GB a Year
One of the more dramatic shifts we’ve had to deal with in recent years is working with less storage in laptops. Having 500 GB or 1 TB in a portable computer was no big deal, giving us plenty of breathing room. But the switch to SSDs (solid state drives) changed that metric. An SSD is ...
Two Mac Articles to Share: Mac at 30 and OmniOutliner 4
Two Mac-related articles of mine were published this week: My latest Practical Mac column at the Seattle Times celebrates the 30th (!!) birthday of the Macintosh, looking back at the original model and how much of its appearance and influence have continued to the present: Mac is still with us, even thriving 30 years later. ...
Hear Me on Macworld Pundit Showdown XXIV
I was invited to participate in the last Macworld Pundit Showdown episode of 2013, and it was a lot of fun. Host Philip Michaels asks questions about the tech industry (such as, “Who will we be making fun of this time next year as the CEO of Microsoft?”), and the participants all vie for points ...
Jeff Carlson | Never Enough Coffee Creations 