Installing Lion? Be sure to consult Joe Kissell’s ebook “Take Control of Upgrading to Lion.”
If you have a Mac and have concerns about upgrading to the Lion operating system (expected to be released at any minute), good news: You can get clear step-by-step directions and advice from Joe Kissell’s new ebook “Take Control of Upgrading to Lion” ($10).
This not an idle recommendation on my part. I’ve been using Joe’s ebooks about operating system software for years. On several occasions they’ve saved me from making decisions about software configurations that I would have later regretted.
Joe takes the surprises out of the process — you know, the part where you find out two days after installation that the scanner you want to use right now won’t work with the new operating system. Really, there’s no need for that to happen. Joe’s ebook explains how to check your current software and hardware in advance so you know about potential glitches and can make adjustments before the upgrade screws up your workflow.
Those of you who might be planning on calling me if Lion gets confusing should know that I’ve already got an answer to your questions. That would be: Download “Take Control of Upgrading to Lion” and use it!
You’re subscribed to RSS feeds, Twitter streams, email newsletters, and blogs. In short, you’re subscribed to so much online content that you’ve taken to ignoring it. Even hiding from it. You need a filter for your filter, but you’re too tired to set one up.
I’ve stumbled across one that does at least part of the job, and does is so well that I’m addicted. It’s called paper.li.
Sign-up took about a minute. I gave paper.li access to my Twitter account and it turned my Twitter feed (where I control subscriptions) into a beautiful newspaper. Now I see not an endless stream of Tweets but a “front page” index of Tweets (ones that have links), turned into teasers and links with photos. News is conveniently divided into sections (Technology, Politics).
There is limited customization. You can:
Change the name of your paper
Modify the content stream (which begins with you and those you follow) to add users, lists, hash tags, keywords on Twitter and keywords on Facebook.
Changes will appear in the next edition of your paper.
Paper.li is not perfect, but now, instead of ignoring everything, I’m seeing some great stuff in my paper. At least two or three of the stories inspire me to blog, so I’ll be doing more with WriterWay.
The hidden cost of cheap air travel is illness, leading to lost work time and ruined vacations.
We all know the paradigm of the frog that doesn’t realize it’s being boiled alive because the heat in the pot of water is being increased so slowly.
I’d like to suggest that as airline passengers, we’re are in much the same situation.
Any airplane trip I go on that’s longer than 2 hours seems to result in a severe cold or flu within 72 hours. That either ruins a good part of my trip, or leads to lost work time when I return. I’d say this same thing is true for about half of my friends and colleagues.
The situation has gotten way out of hand — not just in terms of personal inconvenience but in terms of lost work time and public health expense. The hidden costs of “cheap” air travel are exorbitant.
Like the frogs in the warming water, we’re vaguely aware of the situation. We blame post-flying illnesses on poor air recirculation systems, or germ-laden handles in the airplane restrooms. But I think those are only a small part of the problem. After all, these same factors exist in most office buildings and restaurants.
Think about it. You might bump into the guy behind you in the supermarket line, or the woman next to you in the elevator might sneeze, but would you then stand pressed up against either of them for the next three hours?
The truth is, there is no other environment in our lives besides a plane in which we would put up with this type of prolonged, close physical contact with strange human beings, many of whom are exhausted, dirty or ill.
I flew from Denver to Seattle last week in the middle seat of a row with a man on either size of me. Both were large, but not outsized. Nevertheless, my shoulders were under their armpits and their elbows were in my lap. Let’s not even talk about the thighs. Or the breathing. There are many marriages in which people don’t get this close to their spouses!
I just love those sanctimonious nannies who tell me I can avoid airplane germs by wiping my tray table and arm rests down with sterilizing towelettes. Arm rests? Honey, those two guys had already taken up the arm rests to give themselves more arm room.
Let’s get real here. What I really needed to do last week was to wrap myself in a big plastic bag. Or hand out masks to my whole row.
Can you imagine people sitting in a movie theater in which the seats were packed as closely as they are on the today’s planes? Of course not! They’d never go back to the place. (For a comparison of theater and airline seating, see this article by the Independent Traveler.)
Fifty years ago, when you sat next to someone on an airplane, you were sitting in a large, well-padded seat with plenty of room. There was absolutely no physical contact with the person next to you. If you needed to sneeze, you could move your arms to get to a Kleenex. You could stand up and walk to a empty area of the plane! In fact, you could spend much of the flight wandering around the cabin if that took your fancy.
Those days are long over. Most fliers don’t even remember them. And all we know now are the appalling conditions that a combination of security procedures and the industry’s pack-em-in-like-cattle greed has given us.
Isn’t it time for somebody to step in? The Centers for Disease Control, perhaps? Or maybe The Humane Society? The little kitty who came on board in the nice carrier cage looked like he, at least, had some breathing room.
Here’s Farhad Manjoo on “Why you never, ever use two spaces after a period.”
At least once a month I choke back an impulse to blog about writing tics that grate on my nerves. I don’t want to become a candidate for the editorial police — the sort of people who can read a suicide note and cluck over a typo.
But when another writer does a fabulous job of ranting about one of my pet peeves, I’m happy to share, in the hope that his (in this case, it’s a he) eloquence will have some effect.
So here’s Farhad Manjoo on Slate on “Why you never, ever use two spaces after a period.” He wants you to use only one space because it’s right from the perspective of readability. I want you to use only one space because I’m tired of having to go through long manuscripts that I edit, removing the darned extra spaces so they can be published. (Yes, I can use Word formulas to do it, but they don’t insure accuracy, and the results need to be painstakingly checked.)
There are, of course, reasons why you should use two spaces after a period. One is that you want people to think you have a secretary, one with blue hair in a bun who worked for your great-grandfather’s law firm. And there’s nothing like two spaces after a period to say that you’re an important executive who rarely touches a keyboard or any other type of (shudder) modern technology.
Now — would someone please tell me why Slate uses periods at the end of phrases that are not sentences, but headlines?
I had a lot of fun talking with Larry Sivitz at Seattle24x7 about the iPhone and my ebook on using it.
The long-awaited announcement this morning of the Verizon iPhone went the way of most long-awaited announcements and raised more questions than it answered.
As someone who writes about iPhone issues, I confess I’m stuck. The facts have been reported, including the only surprise: The Verizon iPhone is going to have the capacity to function as a mobile hot spot, meaning your laptop (and up to four other devices) will be able to use it for Internet access. Although jailbroken iPhones have this capability, iPhones activated through AT&T currently don’t.
I don’t think this feature is enough to have most AT&T iPhone owners switch, particularly because the iPhone 4 is likely to be surpassed in capabilities by the iPhone 5 expected to be released in June and because you have to believe that AT&T is going to make a similar service available.
Verizon did not announce pricing for the data plans. Until they do, or until AT&T makes a move, there’s not much substance to talk about. Not that I’ll let that stop me! I had a lot of fun talking with Larry Sivitz at Seattle24x7 about the iPhone and my ebook on using it. Here’s the article.
Most of us talk a lot about our “to do” lists, but not much about our “done” lists.
Most of us talk a lot about our “to do” lists, but not much about our “done” lists.
But science fiction author David Levine and marketing ninja Seth Godin are known for publishing their “done” lists. (Here’s Seth’s for 2010.)
I find that a “done” list is a great baseline for creating a better “to do” list for next year. What do I wish I had done? What do I wish I had done more of? What do I wish I’d done differently?
Rejoined the Northwest Folklife board, filling the unexpired term of the late Warren Argo, and took United Way’s training for board members.
Wrote a website for a state government agency using “Plain Talk” standards.
Wrote six humor columns for a membership publication.
Wrote more than 100 blog posts, op-ed pieces, brochures, profiles and case studies for clients.
Took fiction writing workshops taught by Ellen Klages and Mary Robinette Kowal, and submitted two stories to magazines.
Worked as a volunteer at the Fremont Solstice Parade and conducted training for Northwest Folklife greeter/fundraisers.
Nearly every “done” on the list had a significant obstacle — from mastering new technology to dealing with difficult people — I had to overcome. In every case, the earlier and more thoughtfully I tackled the obstacle, the better the result.
A big thank you to the people who offered me the challenges, the people who mentored me through them, and the people who were there to celebrate with me when I finally crossed the finish lines.
I’ll be in Naples, Florida, next week to visit family and make a presentation on my book Take Control of iPhone Basics at the Naples Mac user group meeting.
If you’re planning to attend the meeting, you might want to check out my blog iPhone 4 Tips.
Hale’s Ales, the Grand Illusion, Full Tilt Ice Cream, Cafe Paloma, the Tractor Travern, and T.S. McHugh’s are hosting events to benefit Northwest Folklife.
Sometimes it takes a sad event to bring you home to your family.
Last month, Northwest folk arts organizer and guru Warren Argo died unexpectedly. The contributions to the community Warren had spearheaded and supported during his life have filled articles, blog posts and memorials in the past few weeks. He was a community organizer in the truest sense of the phrase — and a real mensch.
Fifteen years ago, I had the honor of serving on the board of Northwest Folklife with Warren, who was among the festival founders and perennial organizers. Tuesday night, I was elected to fill the remainder of Warren’s term on the board. I’m honored to have been asked. And I’m jazzed to be back.
It’s a great board, a great staff, and applications for performers for the Memorial Day festival are already pouring in — hundreds of musicians volunteering to play for free. This spring they’ll be joined by thousands of volunteers who’ll emcee, stage manage, greet, guide, and otherwise supplement Northwest Folklife’s small core staff to make the four-day free festival happen — for a quarter of a million visitors.
It’s going to be a tremendous year. Please join us at some of the Night for Folklife events being held in the next month at Hale’s Ales, Lucid Jazz Club, the Grand Illusion, Full Tilt Ice Cream, Cafe Paloma, Laughing Lady Cafe, the Tractor Travern, Eddie’s Trackside Bar and Grill in Monroe, and T.S. McHugh’s. There’ll also be dances throughout the region. Details here.
This MacVoices radio interview was a delightful, if unexpected, part of promoting my new ebook.
The new ebook Take Control of iPhone Basics, iOS 4 Edition
This summer I wrote a 138-page book for new and intermediate iPhone users. Take Control of iPhone Basics, iOS 4 Edition, is part of the Take Control series of ebooks (also available in print editions) published by Adam and Tonya Engst at TidBITS Publishing. I’d edited two books for them, and was thrilled when Tonya asked me to take on a writing project myself.
The writing process is iterative: You outline, you research topics, you write sections, you get technical and editorial reviews, and you rewrite. At the end it was tweak, tweak, tweak — plus another round of research and writing to cover the updated operating system for the iPhone.
Maybe you’re not supposed to say this, but I totally enjoyed writing the book.
I also enjoyed, as the writing gave way to editing, developing a modest marketing plan for the book. I didn’t want to find myself in the place where I’ve seen so many authors land: The book goes live, but there’s no support material. Fortunately, Take Control does a fabulous job of creating a book/author page and sending out targeted press releases. But I knew I needed to do much, much more.
A Blog
In July, as I was researching the book, I started the iPhone 4 Tips blog. I used it to write about iPhone accessories, apps, news, and research that didn’t quite fit into the book. Now it includes some information about the book itself — plus the updates to the ebook that Take Control will be issuing. (A huge “thank you” to the makers of the magical DoubleTake software I used to stitch together multiple screenshots to create the graphic for the blog’s header.)
Business Cards
I ordered business cards for the ebook. The problem with using my own business cards is that most prospective customers for the book don’t want to reach me — they want to buy the book. Making them email me, or go to this website — or even to the iPhone 4 Tips website — and hunt around for a link to the ebook is obviously not the way to make sales. The card has the URL for the Take Control sales page. I’ve since met several fiction authors who use book business cards, complete with graphics from the book’s cover.
Social Media
My marketing plan included a list of my existing social media identities: Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and some specialized professional lists. I drafted little blurbs for each that I used, with a bit of modification, when the book came out earlier this week. I’m still working my way through that list, crafting blurbs that are appropriate for each list. It’s difficult not to feel that I’m spamming people, so I’ve carefully studied the way that each community handles this type of announcement.
My partner, Tom, is an established member of two major web communities; his postings about the book on those sites, using short budURLs I created, have been more effective than mine in generating click-throughs.
The Unexpected
Now we get to the interesting part: What went, not wrong, but not at all the way I’d expected?
First, I sprained my ankle the day before the book went live, which meant that I was implementing the PR plan while alternately in severe pain or pretty thoroughly drugged. I used a proofreader.
Second, there were radio interviews. I’d been lining up some speaking engagements, but somehow overlooked the radio and podcast world. I found out that Take Control authors get invited to be on some of the major technology shows. The irony here, of course, is that my book is less for geeks than it is for the people who pester geeks when they can’t find their email.
Audio interviews require earphones and a microphone, I discovered. Fortunately, I have top-of-the-line noise-canceling earphones. I was not as well prepared on the microphone front — deep in my closet I found a box labeled “audio” that contained an ancient, cheap USB mic with a flimsy plastic mic stand. Fortunately, it worked (taped firmly to the desk), even when the cat leaped on the desk in the middle of the taping and began gnawing on it.
As for the content of the radio interviews, I’m realizing that I need more preparation. More on that, later.
It’s “website.” The 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has caught up with the digital age.
Image by eiratansey via Flickr
Not a Web site, or a Website. It’s a website. The new, online, edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has spoken.
The 16th edition of the copy editors’ bible has caught up with the digital age. And who better to welcome it in than Jesse Vernon, the copy editor at the Seattle weekly newspaper The Stranger. If you read right to the end, you’ll find out about the paper’s in-house list of spellings for words they use that are, for some reason, not found in the dictionary.
“Sometimes, Chicago outright tells writers to make shit up,” Vernon explains.
This not an idle recommendation on my part. I’ve been using Joe’s ebooks about operating system software for years. On several occasions they’ve saved me from making decisions about software configurations that I would have later regretted.
