elsewhere

Merlin Mann explains what he keeps in his menu bar


Merlin’s First Desktop Tour from Merlin Mann on VimeoMy hunch is that the people who devote most of their time to productivity are the ones for whom the act is a constant battle. These are the people who have high demands on their time but have the most trouble staying on task and “getting things done.” I think this may be true of productivity guru Merlin Mann of 43 Folders fame. And it is because of this that I think Merlin is so effective: he’s not an authority on which productivity methods work because the processes comes easy to him, but because they do not. It’s as if, if Merlin can use this method/gadget/application and be more focused, it should work for everyone.

So, when I found that 43 Folders had posted Merlin’s First Desktop Tour, I was hooked. In the video, he goes icon by icon and explains what each application or menu item does and why it’s great.

After watching the tour, I’ve committed myself to looking in to BusySync and FuzzyClock, but I’d like to offer an alternative to Spirited Away in the form of Desktopple Pro which has all of its functions and then some.

[ Via Lifehacker ]

Note:

WALL•E + EVE hard drive icons posted at Iconfactory

wall e 20090113 201329 WALL•E + EVE hard drive icons posted at IconfactoryIconfactory artist, Louie Mantia, has submitted an icon set inspired by Pixar’s robots WALL•E + EVE. The set of 18 hard drive icons contrasts the industrial design of the sleek Apple-like EVE with the “industrial accident” look of the garbage bot WALL•E.

The icons are freeware so go download them and check them out. And if you find that you don’t like them, you can feel free to toss them into space.

Note:

MacMerc.com’s Rick Yaeger interviewed on Typical Mac User and Mac OS Ken Day 6

podcasts 20081209 204157 MacMerc.coms Rick Yaeger interviewed on Typical Mac User and Mac OS Ken Day 6I had the honor of being interviewed twice last week about the launch of MacMerc.TV. The first interview was with Victor Cajiao of the Typical Mac User Podcast. He allowed me to plug the show and also share a few of my favorite Mail.app add-ons. Typical Mac User is a great audio podcast for any Mac user looking to learn new tricks and tips and expand your “Mac horizon.” Victor also does a lot of great interviews with cool people in the Mac community. Such a great show and a great host.

The second interview was with a good friend from back in the Wizards of Technology days, Ken Ray. Ken has his regular 5 day a week free podcast, Mac OS Ken, where he covers all the Mac news that matters in a way that makes it accessible and fun. My interview appears as part of Ken’s Day 6 which is the pay side of his podcast. A subscription costs $10 per month and it helps support all of Ken’s podcasting efforts. Day 6 gets you a recap of the week’s news, as well as conversations around Apple’s past, present, and future. It also gets you interviews with people like me or, better yet, super-awesome-cool people like Greg Grunberg from NBC’s Heroes. (As much as I want you to check out Ken’s interview with me, his interview with Greg Grunberg about Band from TV is one you simply must hear…seriously…pay the $10).

Thanks to both Victor and Ken for welcoming me on their shows. I had an awesome time and I’m really proud of the way the interviews turned out.

Note: