Last Friday I notice that my favorite local custard and coffee shop, was not in Apple Maps. I reported the missing location and tonight, less that three days later I got a notification that Scoops had been added to Apple Maps. It's a simple thing really but think it's pretty great that the correction was made so quickly and that I got a notification about it.
Over the past year or two there have been quite a few write-ups comparing note taking apps particularly comparisons between Apple Notes (since it's big update with iOS 9) and Evernote and most recently the new app, Bear. Inevitably such write-ups always leave out the newest Apple Notes features that were added in iOS 9 and iOS 10. In fact, I'm often left wondering if the writers of such comparisons actually bothered to really use the updated Notes app at all!
I'm sure there are others but this is just a quick list I put together in response to the most recent articles I've come across. As a default, free app, Apple notes really is a powerful app with many of the features found in paid services and I suspect it is underutilized by most users. It's the sort of app that often provokes the response: "I didn't know you could do that!" It's an app I use daily and I expect to do a post on how I'm using it soon. In fact, it fits in well with my recent post about doing more with the stock Apple apps when possible as opposed to cluttering up my iPad with third party apps. Stay tuned for that!
The Workflow folk have put out yet another update and of course Federico has an excellent write-up: Workflow 1.7.1 Brings New Icon Glyphs, ‘Run Workflow’ Action.
This week’s episode of Canvas with Federico and Fraser is excellent. They delve into one of the most powerful (and I suspect underutilized features of iOS), the share sheet. I didn’t really understand the power of iOS until I understood and began to fully utilize the share sheet. Give it a listen here.
Some discussion this week about Apple switching iOS devices to USB 3. I think it’s obvious that they will at some point. This year or next or the next. Shrug. As usual though the Apple blogosphere can’t help itself. Here’s Federico’s take. The Cases for (and Against) Apple Adopting USB-C on Future iPhones. Only thing I have to say is it’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be. Why do folks so often make issues and problems where they don’t really exist? Biggest complaint I’ve seen is that people would have to spend money on new cables. But that’s silly. A cable comes with every new device. Lots of these folks have already got a new Apple laptop which means they have that cable as well. And a new cable will cost what? $10-$30 depending on brand. Just as lightning cables are everywhere and cheap so too are USB-C cables. It’s a non-issue. And if you have a mix of devices that have both you now have to carry two cables when traveling. I hardly thing that’s going to break anyone’s back. Jiminey. We have other things to worry about in our world.
Mossberg has a great write up on the future of the PC and how the iPad fits in:The PC is being redefined – The Verge
If you became a frequent computer user starting anytime between, say, 1990 and 2007, there’s a good chance that your idea of a PC is a desktop or laptop running a mouse and keyboard-driven graphical user interface — most likely Microsoft Windows or, to a lesser extent, Apple’s (recently renamed) macOS.
But if you got attached to computing in the last 10 years, you very likely find it more natural and comfortable to do your digital tasks on a multi-touch device lacking a keyboard or mouse and running a new, simpler, and cleaner kind of operating system. This certainly includes an Android or Apple smartphone, or, possibly, a tablet running Android or iOS. These devices have become by far the most commonly, frequently, and extensively used personal computers. They are the new PCs. Phones and tablets are the new PCs
Even older people have taken to Android and iOS in a huge way, though they can still rely on their traditional Windows and Mac laptops.
Daniel Eran Dilger over at Apple Insider has a great two part series on the iPad:
In 2010, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPad as a new product category between the smartphone and notebook. It ended up dramatically shifting demand in the PC industry, but sales have since plateaued. Here’s what Apple can do, has done and is doing to build iPad into the Post-PC future of computing.
Editorial: The future of Steve Jobs’ iPad vision for Post-PC computing, part 1
Born into ridicule, there’s still a widespread misunderstanding of what iPad actually is, seven years later. Here’s a look at why.
Editorial: The future of Steve Jobs’ iPad vision for Post-PC computing, part 2
This one’s old but if you use Ulysses on an iPad it’s worth a read anyway: Review: Ulysses 2.5 for iPad and, now, iPhone – MacStories
I’m a geek and so I tend to enjoy tinkering. Back in the day I used (or tried to use) speakable items on my Mac. It never stuck because it just didn’t work very well. But it was fun to play with. Something that did stick was Quicksilver. And Launchbar. And then Spotlight. I switched back and forth between the first two but as Apple’s Spotlight got better I eventually just settled on that. Which is to say I went from the more powerful third party tools to Apple’s simpler option. Maybe I’m just less of a tinkerer than I used to be because as time goes on I seem to prefer simplicity.
As I’ve experimented with some of Federico’s favorite iOS productivity apps such as Workflow and recently Copied I’ve begun to think that my needs (or my methods) just are not suited to so much complexity. For example, in his recent post about clipboard workflows using the Copied app or his powerful clipboard manager using Workflow, Federico offers many of the details that make him more productive. But I spent the better part of two hours with Copied and just came away frustrated. It may be that it’s just not suited to the way I work or maybe I need to spend more time learning it. Or, just as likely, it may be that I don’t write the kind of content or perform the kinds of tasks that benefit from that kind of app.
One lesson learned from the experience: when evaluating the tools and workflows of others for my purposes, be open but be critical. Will they really enable me to get things done in a better way or will they just end up slowing me down? Are they the right tools for the jobs I need to get done? These are obvious questions to ask but I think often it’s easy to get caught up in the tools and techniques of others. New and shiny is better right? So, my new goal is to find a balance of being open to new tools but not to spend too much time dwelling on it all.
All this cruft can get in the way. I live and work in a tiny house which requires being very deliberate in the choices I make about owning stuff. As often as stuff is useful it is just as likely a burden that gets in my way. Stuff has a way of accumulating and is often kept around even when it’s not all that useful. One reason I love the iPad is that it strikes a beautiful balance of simplicity and power. I don’t want to ruin it with lots of apps and utilities, many of which overlap in what they offer.
Why was I interested in using Copied? I like the idea of gathering links to posts with titles and relevant quotes and having them ready to put into a blog post just as Federico seems to do. But what I’ve discovered is that I find it much easier to just use the share extension to send items to their own sheet in Ulysses. If some of these are meant to be shared together in the same post I can easily use the merge sheets function of Ulysses to consolidate them all into one. Problem solved without the help of any extra utilities and quite possibly with less effort from me.
Another area in which I thought Copied might be useful was in saving groups of text for websites I manage. But here’s the thing. Again, my tool of choice, Coda, already has that covered with the text snippets or clips function. With a tap I get a dropdown list of my snippets and another tap I get the text I want pasted right into my document. Or I can assign a tab trigger for any snippet. These seems a better option than using Copied.
Another third party utility that I recently purchased that seems like it may be more work for less benefit is Launch Center Pro. As with Copied it may well be that I’ve not spent enough time with it to learn the benefits. I get the gist of it. But so much of what it seems to offer I would file as solutions in search of problems. Much of what it offers I can just as easily accomplish with Siri. Shortcuts to apps end up being just as many taps as clicking on the app or asking Siri to open it or using Command-Space to open via spotlight. On the iPhone with 3D Touch most of my regular apps have short cuts built in. It also seems to duplicate Workflow in many ways and I’m still trying to get a handle on Workflow.
My plan going forward is to focus on using each app as it is provided. This isn’t to say I’m not interested in utilities that might add benefit to my workflows. But I will cast a more skeptical eye towards utilities and workflows that seem overly complex in the name of saving me time. If my use of an app or combination of apps results in obvious friction then I’ll see what I can do to reduce it but step one is to ensure that I’m using all of the features of the app as intended.