MacJournal

One little app that I find indispensable is MacJournal from Mariner Software. Mariner is an old timer in the software biz--if you are old enough to remember pre-Windows or even Windows 2.0, you may recall that there were other spreadsheets and word processors before MS came to dominate. A very good one was Pascal and Pascal Write, which was a Mariner product.

MacJournal is touted as a journaling and blog software package. It does do that stuff--I can do a post in MacJournal and have it post here, if I want. For me, though I could do that stuff in a lot of different ways. The value in MacJournal, as I see it, is a catch all for all the stuff you need to keep--at least for a while, but don't know where to put. It is like the little corner of my desk where stuff that is important enough to keep but not important enough or long lived enough to file sits.

Say you are doing research on a project. You get stuff from newspapers, emails web searches, whatever. You know you are going to need this stuff, but it isn't worth bookmarking in your browser. Or, perhaps you just want it all in one place under the project name. MacJournal is perfect for organizing all that stuff. You can put whatever you want into it (at least so far I have not found anything that would not work), organize it the way you want and have it all at your fingertips if you need it.

It is one of the few software packages that I really am glad I have--a real convenience rather than a boring necessity.

Hopefully soon they will come out with an iPhone version to sync with the desktop version. Even if they don't, it is a great package.

Apple Keyboards

First off, let me say that I love the newfangled Apple Keyboards. I think they have given me a few extra WPM by not having to press so far down with each keystroke.

But in the WTF are they thinking department, why do they not make a wireless version with a number pad? They did it in the older wireless keyboards, so it can’t be the technology that eludes them. In a business, folks are often called upon to key in numbers, since it is not uncommon that numbers are important in business.

So I had to add another machine yesterday. Just about everything else in the office is wireless and (although it pains me a little to admit it, since I don’t buy into the Apple is waaaay cool thing) I like the clean look of no wires.

Unfortunately, that is no longer an option. I can either drag out one of the extra old school wireless keyboards (which isn’t a good option since there is a reason they are not being used), go with a wired keyboard or go with a wireless keyboard with no number pad. This latter is simply not an option for 99.9% of the folks here.

Come on Apple. Get a clue and make wireless keyboards with number pads.

Apple ProCare

The best thing about running a business on Macs is that you can go a long way without bringing on any IT folks as long as you are a reasonable computer user. Unfortunately, machines break or otherwise mysteriously screw up. When that happens, you have to try to figure it out for yourself. Teh Internets make this fairly simple. Google is your friend. He will typically send you to a post on the ever helpful Apple Support Discussions, Mac OS X Hints or some other support community.

Sometimes, you need professional help. If you are near an Apple Store, the Genius Bar is usually very helpful, especially if you pick up AppleCare with your machines. The problem with the Genius Bar is you head down to the store and have to stand in line with all the other folks with problems. The wait can be hours, which is not a productive way to spend a day.

The best way around this is to purchase an Apple ProCare account. ProCare is a nifty little service that lets you make appointments for service or other help from the comfort of your own office. Then you just arrive at the appointed time and let Geniuses figure it out for you. It costs only $99 per year and is a bargain--especially when there is a new iPhone release out.