http://www.mcelhearn.com Writings about more than just Macs, by Kirk McElhearn Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:46:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 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/ 2 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 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2005/01/14/the-joy-of-travel-in-the-digital-age/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2005/01/14/the-joy-of-travel-in-the-digital-age/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:54:00 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/wordpress/?p=98

Guest post by Rob Griffiths, webmaster of Mac OS X Hints, and author of Mac OS X Power Hound.

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking about Mac OS X (one of my favorite subjects) at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco (thanks to everyone who came to my sessions!). Since I live in Portland, Oregon, I had to pack for a plane trip to the 'big city.' That's when the fun began...]]> http://www.mcelhearn.com/2005/01/14/the-joy-of-travel-in-the-digital-age/feed/ 3 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2005/01/14/unleashing-the-power-of-the-powermate/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2005/01/14/unleashing-the-power-of-the-powermate/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2005 09:53:30 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/wordpress/?p=95

Buy from Amazon.com

I have always had mixed feelings about gadgets. I like the cool factor inherent in some of them, but I tend to find that the cooler they look, the less useful they are. So I rein in my gadget-buying impulse, and try to purchase only those that are both cool and useful.

Sometimes it's hard to find whether a given gadget is useful. If a friend or colleague owns one, you can try it out; if you see it on display in a store, you can give it a whirl. But some gadgets are hard to find - especially here in my Alpine village, where mail-order is my only option.

When Griffin Technology's PowerMate came out in 2001, there were lots of articles saying how cool it was, including a mention in the traditional TidBITS Macworld Expo Superlatives article. The coolness is clearly visible - an attractive brushed aluminum knob/button, taken from the most minimal of stereo designs, sits atop a thick layer of translucent plastic with a soft blue light pulsing beneath it.]]> http://www.mcelhearn.com/2005/01/14/unleashing-the-power-of-the-powermate/feed/ 0 http://www.mcelhearn.com/2004/09/20/back-to-the-basics-the-hipster-pda/ http://www.mcelhearn.com/2004/09/20/back-to-the-basics-the-hipster-pda/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2004 12:36:56 +0000 kirk http://www.mcelhearn.com/wordpress/?p=12 43 Folders, shows how he creates and uses his "Hipster PDA", a unique combination of file cards and binder clips, to organize his action items.

Using the Getting Things Done methodology, the Hipster PDA is a great way of organizing your stuff and getting back to the basics.]]> http://www.mcelhearn.com/2004/09/20/back-to-the-basics-the-hipster-pda/feed/ 0