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Software for organizing quotes and stories
Macbook Pro to Go
G5 in an acrylic case project
Help - APA style template question
Pretty good
Software for organizing quotes and stories
From Peter Vanacore
Hi Charles,
I spend a good deal of time working on presentations, lessons and writings. I have an ever growing and cumbersome group of folders holding quotes, stories and articles that refer to throughout my work. My admin can enter these into a database, but I haven’t found the software to make it work in OS X. In the past, I have used a DOS program and a OS 9 program that did not work in classic. I would especially appreciate a tool that could pull a quote from a PDF or webpage and control-click it into the database.
Do you or your readers have any suggestions?
Pete
Hi Pete;
Perhaps readers will have other suggestions, but for this sort of data organization and retrievel, I use DEVONThink Pro, which can accommodate folders, documents, pictures, and so forth, and has powerful search and categorization tools. It also supports OS X Services, so you can dump snippets of text or whole articles into the DEVONThink database without leaving the application you;re working in so long as it is Services-savvy.
The less expensive DEVONThink Personal Edition and DEVONNote also support similar functions, with somewhat fewer bells and whistles.
You can check them out at:
http://www.devon-technologies.com/products/
Charles
Re: Software for organizing quotes and stories
From Peter Vanacore
Thanks Charles:
I just happened to look at their site after I wrote to you. They have several products that look like they can simplify my work, but I wasn't sure of the quality. Your recommendation has a strong influence my purchasing decisions.
Pete
Hi Pete;
As with most German software, the quality and dependability is very high. There are a few things that bug me like non-support for some standard Mac OS keyboard shortcuts, and that TypeIt4Me macros don;t always work in the DEVON applications, but those are relatively minor niggles. These are really impressive and very useful applications.
My review of DEVONThink Pro is here.
While I'm at it, a couple more applications in a similar vein you might want to check out are:
Boswell:
My review here (click this link).
Developer's site:
http://www.boswell.com
And
Keep It Together (KIT)
My review here. (click this link).
Developer's site:
http://www.reinventedsoftware.com/kit/
Charles
Macbook Pro to Go
From Joseph Rogers
Hello Charles,
I'm glad to write you again! I'm happy for the opportunity.
On 12 Jan I ordered the new MBP. I too was taken aback by the omission of FW 800, the DL burner, and the modem. But I thought about it from a utilitarian viewpoint for two days. Then I ordered.
First - Jobs was asked about the same Al form factor being used. He was quoted as saying that they couldn't think of a better design. Of course, his mind can change tomorrow, but I think he is right. My 15" PB 1.25 Ghz is still as nice as can be. After 2 years it is just as beautiful as the day it arrived. I'll keep it as a fallback machine. I am content that the new MBP will look the same. You would probably be ecstatic if it came out looking like your pet Pismo. Actually, black would be a nice change of scenery.
Second - The internal modem is a good omission. Yeah, I know this is a big deal with users living like you in "special locations". But Apple reps have said that 90% of the pro users have not used a modem in the last 2 years. (note that I said pro users) Certainly I haven't! Those travelers who use temporary quarters that do not furnish clean sheets can very well carry a dongle.
Third - FW 800. PCI Express 34 cards will be available in the next couple of weeks. I'll buy one to use at home.
Fourth - The lack of DL optical drives. This is my favorite subject. When away from home, how many users have a need to burn a 9 GB disc? The idea is plumb loco! In fact how many would burn a 4.7 GB disc on an airplane? The DVD drive on my G4 PB is slated for its 3rd replacement under Applecare. I believe that the optical drives in laptops are not designed for heavy use. Subsequently, I bought a 16x DL Lacie for a $100 to do all my burning.
In laptops, there is an arms race to sell people features that are not needed. For the same non-reason a Mercedes speedometer goes up to 160 mph.
I hope your new Prime Minister's wife does not push sales of Macs. I don't want Apple to grow too large. In a very large corporation bureaucracy it is very difficult to "Think Different".
Best regards,
Joseph
Hi Joseph;
Good on you. I'll be interested in hearing how the MacBook Pro works out for you.
I read that comment by Jobs on the form factor too. Making a virtue of necessity I imagine, although I think the 15" G4/ MacBook Pro is the handsomest of the metal PowerBooks, and frankly, I like the look better than the Pismo's.
We'll have to agree to disagree on the modem thing. Where I live, you often have to drive to the top of a hill to get a cellphone to work, and there are precisely zero wireless hotspots. And what are the 10 percent of pro users who do use modems, second class citizens?
You're right about FW 800 and the Expresscard 34 solution, and your VD burner solution is sensible for a heavy user.
Ms. Teskey Harper stays out of the public eye as much as she can, so I don;t imagine she will become a public Mac evangelist.
Charles
G5 in an acrylic case project
From Dixon Chan
Hey Charles
A fun winter project I did recently
Came across an iMac G5 board and power supply and decided to go out and build a computer around it. I noticed a lot of older iMac G3’s in ATX cases around the web but I don’t think many people have started on the G5’s but here’s my project build. Not 100% finished but close enough as I’ve started to use it daily. Just refining out the heat and cooling design over the next few weeks.
http://www.gsdye.com/FrankenMac/
Keep up the great work on your site.
Dixon
Looks cool, Dixon.
Who says Macs are no good for tinkerers?
Charles
Re: G5 in an acrylic case project
From Dixon Chan
Thanks but we have to give props to Jonathan Ive and his design team at Apple, the amount of work it must take to design the computers they do ....
I only spent a few hours every few days thinking about it.
It's easy to build a box around a board, it's a lot of work to design a SMALL box around a board.
Take care
Dixon
Help - APA style template question
From Rebecca
Looking for the latest version of APA style template to download or order. I can find the 3.0 version for the Mac but not the 5.0 version. Can you help ?
thank Becky
Hi Becky;
There's one here, but I'm not sure the version:
http://www.apastyle.info/template.shtml
Another one here:
http://www.apastyle.info/scholarword.shtml
I've found no references to version 5 specifically for Mac.
Hope this is some help.
Charles
Pretty good
From John M. Dennis
This is a pretty good article about Jobs from someone that was at Apple with him.
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