http://www.mcelhearn.com Writings about more than just Macs, by Kirk McElhearn Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:33:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/12/07/thoughts-on-using-speech-recognition-software-on-a-mac/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/12/07/thoughts-on-using-speech-recognition-software-on-a-mac/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:00:38 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=2680 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/12/07/thoughts-on-using-speech-recognition-software-on-a-mac/feed/ 15 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/12/02/choosing-a-microphone-for-speech-recognition/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/12/02/choosing-a-microphone-for-speech-recognition/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:09:03 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=2664 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/12/02/choosing-a-microphone-for-speech-recognition/feed/ 2 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/11/28/logitech-solar-keyboard-a-tale-of-two-fails/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/11/28/logitech-solar-keyboard-a-tale-of-two-fails/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:03:24 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=2627 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/11/28/logitech-solar-keyboard-a-tale-of-two-fails/feed/ 3 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/09/19/big-screen-small-screen-whats-the-best-screen-size/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/09/19/big-screen-small-screen-whats-the-best-screen-size/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:45:33 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=2023 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/09/19/big-screen-small-screen-whats-the-best-screen-size/feed/ 6 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/08/19/how-much-should-you-spend-on-a-stereo/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/08/19/how-much-should-you-spend-on-a-stereo/#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:19:06 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=2004 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/08/19/how-much-should-you-spend-on-a-stereo/feed/ 20 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/07/07/headphone-review-audio-technica-ath-anc7b-noise-canceling-headphones/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/07/07/headphone-review-audio-technica-ath-anc7b-noise-canceling-headphones/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 09:59:24 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=1889 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/07/07/headphone-review-audio-technica-ath-anc7b-noise-canceling-headphones/feed/ 0 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/05/21/headphone-review-sennheiser-px-100-ii-i/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/05/21/headphone-review-sennheiser-px-100-ii-i/#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 08:55:25 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=1833 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/05/21/headphone-review-sennheiser-px-100-ii-i/feed/ 1 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/05/18/why-use-vuescan/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/05/18/why-use-vuescan/#comments Wed, 18 May 2011 10:19:48 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=1830 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/05/18/why-use-vuescan/feed/ 17 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/02/16/disappointed-by-sennheisers-wireless-headphones/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/02/16/disappointed-by-sennheisers-wireless-headphones/#comments Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:36:11 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=1697 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/02/16/disappointed-by-sennheisers-wireless-headphones/feed/ 5 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/02/12/looking-for-scanner-recommendations/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/02/12/looking-for-scanner-recommendations/#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:11:05 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=1683 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2011/02/12/looking-for-scanner-recommendations/feed/ 8 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2010/12/12/home-theater-hd-audio-and-what-i-dont-understand/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2010/12/12/home-theater-hd-audio-and-what-i-dont-understand/#comments Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:46:49 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=1559 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2010/12/12/home-theater-hd-audio-and-what-i-dont-understand/feed/ 10 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2009/08/18/improved-searches-on-kirkville-with-relevanssi/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2009/08/18/improved-searches-on-kirkville-with-relevanssi/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:47:51 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/?p=696 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2009/08/18/improved-searches-on-kirkville-with-relevanssi/feed/ 0 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2009/01/23/bbedit-the-text-editor-for-processing-words-updated/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2009/01/23/bbedit-the-text-editor-for-processing-words-updated/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:06:00 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/wordpress/?p=3
I wrote the following back in 2005, and I felt it needed updating. I use BBEdit regularly, for more and more writing tasks, and I feel it's one of the best tools on the Mac platform. While I don't write much code, much of my writing includes code, such as HTML tags, so BBEdit makes it easy to deal with ordinary text and code together. Read on...

Like many writers, I perform a variety of tasks that involve producing and processing words. For some of these tasks, I am free to choose the tool of my choice, whereas others have external constraints that require me to use a specific word processor. And that specific program is Microsoft Word. But many tasks allow me to choose the tool I want to use. BBEdit, from Bare Bones Software, is becoming the text editor I turn to most often when I have only text to process.

When writing computer books, Word is the de facto standard: while you might be able to use Unix/Linux tools with certain publishers, most of the books I've penned are built on Word templates, which contain specific styles set up by the publishers so they can easily transfer the text into their page-layout programs. In addition to these styles, Word is the best tool for tracking changes and comments, as well as passing texts through the complex review process that computer books undergo.]]> http://www.mcelhearn.com/2009/01/23/bbedit-the-text-editor-for-processing-words-updated/feed/ 0 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2007/09/01/in-praise-of-the-pencil/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2007/09/01/in-praise-of-the-pencil/#comments Sat, 01 Sep 2007 18:22:00 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/wordpress/?p=26

It can generate megabytes of text, needs no batteries, and has no user manual. It is comfortable to hold, it smells good, and it is relaxing to turn around in your hand as you try to think of the right words. The humble pencil, the forgotten analog writer's tool, is generally ignored as people try to have the fastest computer and the most powerful word processor. But no tool has more power to change the world: words written with a pencil may last forever, even after the last power plant dies.

I've long been a pencil fan, and, even if I'm writing these words on my iBook, I have several pencils next to me. I use them to doodle and sketch, or to jot down ideas as I brainstorm. Much more than pens, the pencil has character: it comes from nature - from trees and the soil - and it is rooted in the deeper subconscious as a tool that has lasted for some two centuries.]]> http://www.mcelhearn.com/2007/09/01/in-praise-of-the-pencil/feed/ 3 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2007/08/13/review-the-kinesis-advantage-keyboard/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2007/08/13/review-the-kinesis-advantage-keyboard/#comments Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:45:00 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/wordpress/?p=216

Buy from Amazon.com

(Note: there are several models available; the above link is to the Kinesis Advantage USB keyboard in white, but the keyboard is also available in black, and Kinesis has several other models. Also, I wrote this review some time ago, and some of the features may have changed since then.)

This strange keyboard looks out of place compared to the standard input devices that are supplied with computers today. Based on the venerable typewriter, standard keyboards place the hands, wrists and arms in abnormal and uncomfortable positions. Many computer users suffer from repetitive stress injuries (RSI), which can be debilitating. While there are a number of alternative keyboards available, some which split the keyboard in two and tilt each half, others which move the two parts of the keyboard even further apart, the Kinesis Advantage takes a unique tack by turning the keyboard inside-out.]]> http://www.mcelhearn.com/2007/08/13/review-the-kinesis-advantage-keyboard/feed/ 1