Instantly grab a high-res icon for any Mac app
In Instantly grab a high-res icon for any iOS app, the awesome Brett Terpstra (@ttscoff) offered a script and an app to get the icon from iTunes for any iOS app. I wanted the same for Mac apps. Turns out, it’s a one word change to Brett’s scripts. Just follow his instructions using the below files, but replace the script name with macicon.rb and the application name with MacIcon. Download and save the script as macicon.
Email before the Open Web
Today, April 30, 2013 is the 20th anniversary of CERN making the WWW free, see Twenty Years of a free, open web. I thought I’d share a story about how it was like before then. The year was 1988 or 1989, and my Computer Science Professor wanted to send his first email. But first we had to connect our University to the fledgling Internet. Since I ran the UNIX lab, I was tasked to set this up.
The Process is not the Product
Or how many people get so stuck in the processes of how to do the job, they simply forget to actually do the job. Many a product has failed to materialize because the process to make that product has gotten mired, stuck, distracted or waylaid. It becomes about the people and the politics and the process and no longer about the product. I use this Hiltmonism to help me to focus on the goal, the reason we are creating the product, and the need to be ruthless in getting it done.
My Workspace
I have no idea why I am sharing this, but this is my current workspace: On and around it you will find (left-to-right-ish): My original iPad 1 running Panic’s Status Board on a Twelve South Compass Stand for iPad. A Koncept Equo Gen 3 desk lamp, stylish and bright. An AT&T MicroCell so I can get Mobile Phone service at home in Manhattan! My iPad 3 WiFi 64GB, gray Apple smart cover.
Phone Etiquette
We all spend a lot of time talking on the phone, and have been doing so for many years. It’s far beyond the right time to learn basic voice call etiquette, but here are some of the best practices I have come across.
See other articles in Etiquette, including Email Etiquette and US Dining Etiquette Failures.
Make Perfectly Good Mistakes
We’re not perfect, yet: You can only learn from making perfectly good mistakes. We all know of people’s reluctance to try things out in new software products because they are afraid of making mistakes and looking foolish. They are striving for perfect execution, yet unknowingly fail to learn the product or gain the benefits of its power. Yet the failure to try new things is the biggest mistake of all. If you do not take a chance and try, you cannot learn anything.
Punctual
punc·tu·al /ˈpəNGkCHo͞oəl/ Adjective Happening or doing something at the agreed or proper time; on time. Denoting or relating to an action that takes place at a particular point in time. Synonyms precise - exact - accurate - prompt One of my many peeves is with people who are not punctual. If we schedule a call or a meeting at a given time, I will be there, on time, prepared and ready to go.
Analyst Expectations
Lets take a look at the Widget market. It’s maturing but still expanding, with sales growing to about 2 million a quarter. An experienced investor, looking at fundamentals, history and buyer preferences, will expect Peach to sell 1 million Widgets and Pear to sell about 250 thousand, with the remaining Widgets being sold by others. But lets assume the presence of an Analyst that wants to drive Peach’s stock down, and wants to promote Pear.
Apple's Scheduled Releases are a Mistake
I think Apple’s recent move to annual releases for major products like iOS, OS X, iPhone and iPad is a huge mistake. It opens up too many cans of worms and is hurting the company’s public image and stock price.
Slogger after 6 Months
I have been using Brett Terpstra’s (@ttscoff) Slogger for the last six months, and I think it’s time to review it. Slogger is a script and a set of plugins that log your online activity each day into Day One, the best journaling application for OS X, or in Markdown files if you prefer. It’s a core part of my Backing up your Online Life process.
TL;DR: It’s totally worth taking the time to set it up and get it going. The data captured is so useful and often hard to gain access to, especially as we operate across many services, and as these services come and go.