I love machines.

I’m not talking about electronic gadgets like laptops, mobile phones and vacuuming robots (although, I like those things too.)  I’m talking about machines constructed with gears, cogs, springs and fly wheels.  There is a certain beauty in machines that are constructed in this way.  Mechanical watches are fascinating collections of cogs, gears and springs that run for days on the energy of a single spring and tell you what phase the moon happens to be in at any given moment.

My love of all things mechanical translates to the digital world in a similar way.

I get excited when I see web-based tools that allow me to build single purpose apps that are simple on the surface and complex under the hood.  On the web, I never need to see the cogs.  The website If This, Then That does this in a very clever and simple way.

If This Then That allows you to connect many of the social sites you use on a regular basis with the web tools you use on a regular basis. It is built around the concept of choosing a “trigger” and then executing an “action” when the triggering event occurs (hence, the name of the site “if this, then that”).

For example, when someone tags a photo of you on Facebook (trigger), save that photo to your Dropbox account (action).  Or when APPL stock drops below $300 (trigger) send a text message to my phone (action).  If it’s supposed to rain tomorrow (trigger) send me an email reminder to pack an umbrella (action). You get the idea…

If This Then That has a collection of pre-made “recipes” that people have already created to get you started.  There are also some nice write-ups of the service on Webmonkey and Scott Hanselman’s blog.

Now, go make something fun.

Flickr photo from Sergei Golyshev

I’m not sure how long it will be around, but Fffoundtape looks like an interesting music sharing service that doesn’t actually move files.  It only “finds” them on the internet and then makes collections of the found files online.

I suspect this will draw the attention of the recording industry much like MuxTape did.

Should we take bets on how long it will survive?

(I’m giving them 8 months, although I hope it’s much longer.)

- Dave

The only problem I saw with the service was its inability to back up files residing outside your DropBox folder.

I found a solution to this problem recently on the DropBox wiki.  The solution is brilliantly simple, but requires a short Terminal command to create a symbolic link.  Let’s say you would like to back up a folder called “Projects” that lives inside your “Documents” folder.  Open your Terminal and type the following command:

This command will create a symbolic link of your Projects folder into your DropBox. I have tested this in Mac OSX and Linux (Ubuntu) and it works beautifully.  There is a hack to make it work in Windows as well.

By the way, I’m not affiliated with DropBox in any way, I just happen to think it’s a beautiful piece of software.

If you’re interested, you can get a free DropBox account here.

If you already have a DropBox account, do you have any tips or tricks to share in the comments?

According to TechCrunch:

“Beyond the quality assurance process, LinkedIn is also limiting the flexibility apps will have when it comes to monetization. Apps won’t be allowed to use third party ad networks – instead, they’ll have to work with LinkedIn’s ad system. For now applications will only have access to LinkedIn’s current ad inventory, which could make targeting ads less effective (though it sounds like there will be more options for targeted ads in the future).”

I’ve always thought the elevator pitch for LinkedIn was “a Facebook for work.” This solidifies the metaphor. I wonder how many newspapers would be interested in creating LinkedIn widgets?

Wanna place bets on how soon the Wall Street Journal launches a LinkedIn application? Or Monster.com? BaseCamp? I’m guessing pretty soon.

I’ve already installed a Slideshare.net application showing my most recent mobile presentation. The Slideshare application is a pretty simple one, but cleanly designed.

You can see it here on my profile.

Current available applications (at the time of this post) are: Slideshare, Box.net, Google presentations, Amazon reading list, WordPress, Blog Link, Company Buzz, My Travel and Huddle Workspaces.

The applications FAQ can be found here.

What applications do you think would make the biggest impact on LinkedIn’s platform?

Justine and I both have Gmail accounts, so that part was easy.  You simply create a document in Google Docs and share that document with your partner.  You can now update this document over and over for new lists whenever you need them (and even access the revision history to see what your shopping lists looked like last month).

You can now access that document on any mobile device in read-only format (presumably while you’re walking down the aisles in a grocery store).

So a simple phone call while I’m at work “Honey, I updated the list” is all I need to know exactly what she wants me to bring home from the grocery store.

I find technology fascinating when it intersects with everyday life to make things a bit easier.

Do you have any technology tricks like this?  Feel free to share them in the comments.

I am always fascinated by the software that my friends and coworkers use to get things done on a daily basis.  I’m constantly wondering if there is a better tool out there to make my job easier or more efficient.

Below is a list of software I consider my “can’t live without” applications.  In order to qualify for this list, I have to use it routinely every day.

1. Adium (price = free) – http://www.adiumx.com/

Adium is possibly the best chat client around today.  It supports a ridiculous number of services (including AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, etc.), OTR encryption, file transfer, etc.  The UI is extremely intuitive and contact management is a breeze.  I am shocked Adium is free.

2. Adobe Creative Suite (Price = $1,800) – http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/

After getting over the fact that CS3 costs twice as much as my first car, it’s simply the best set of tools for design out there.  If you plan on designing websites or working with web designers, you should make the investment.  If you are a student (or know a student) you can purchase CS3 at a significant discount (around $500).

3. Coda (price = $99 [free 30-day trial]) – http://www.panic.com/coda/

Since the release of Coda 1.5 update last week, I can safely say that Coda is my web design tool of choice.  Coda combines several different applications necessary for web design into one user-friendly package.  Coda is a text editor, FTP client, SSH terminal, CSS editor, Subversion client and your new bicycle.  You can even kick the tires for free.

4. CyberDuck (price = free) – http://cyberduck.ch/

Cyberduck is a free open source FTP client that supports FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3, remote editing, etc.  When I need to move a lot of files to or from a remote server I use Cyberduck.  It has Quicksilver hooks as well as Growl integration (so I am able to minimize Cyberduck and allow Growl to notify me when my transfers are completed).  Cyberduck also integrates Textmate for remote file editing live on the server (if you enjoy living dangerously).

5. DropBox (price = free for now) – http://www.getdropbox.com/

Dropbox is a remote backup service with version control.  I wrote about DropBox in a previous post and have been using it ever since.  I suspect there will eventually be tiered levels of service, but for now, I am using the free 2GB verion for free to back up this blog (as well as other important files).  Sign up for the beta release here.

6. Firefox (price = free) – http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

According to my blog stats, there is a 50% chance that you are using some version of FireFox to read this post right now.  If so, you already know how useful FireFox is.  The latest version of FireFox includes some new functionality for the address bar (dubbed the “awesome bar”) as well as a new user interface.  I would have a very difficult time doing my job without this browser and it’s 3rd party add-ons.  If this list were ordered by importance, FireFox would be very near the top.

7. Growl (price = free) – http://growl.info/

Growl is a notification system that informs you when certain things happen on your computer.  For instance, you can configure Growl to alert you when you finish an upload or download, received mail, downloaded a podcast, etc.  There are numerous applications and system tools supported by Growl.  You’ll want to configure it to fit your needs.  When I first installed it, I got way too many notifications and almost uninstalled it.  However, after a quick configuration (reducing the number of alerts), I now really love it.

8. iStat Menus (price = free) – http://www.islayer.com/

iStat Menus is a monitoring application that lives in the menu bar at the top right corner of my screen. It allows me to monitor things like CPU action, RAM usage, temperature, fan speed, network usage, etc.  Great information at a glance.

9. iTerm (price = free) – http://iterm.sourceforge.net/

My use of he terminal is not nearly as thorough as my colleagues at chron.com.  However, when I need to ping, trace route, perform a “whois” search or a quick MySQL database search, nothing is faster than the terminal.  iTerm adds useful things like a bookmark tray and the ability to use multiple tabs.

10. Mail (price = free [comes standard on all Macs]) – http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/mail.html

Mail is simple.  Mail works.  Use Mail.  Nuff said.

11. Quicksilver (price = free) – http://www.blacktree.com/

Saying Quicksilver is just an application launcher is like saying a Porsche is just a car.  Quicksilver can access a multitude of applications to perform some amazing feats (if you can remember the key combinations, which I usually don’t).  You can send mail, move files, take notes, delete things, play music, etc.  The list goes on.  By the way, Quicksilver is also a great application launcher.

12. Skitch (price = free) – http://skitch.com/

Skitch is the best screenshot application that I have found for the Mac.  Skitch allows you to capture an image of your screen and then crop, resize, create shapes and draw on top of the screenshot.  The most useful part of Skitch for me is the remote file sharing Skitch provides via your Skitch.com or Flickr account.  Great way to share a screenshot with friends and co-workers.

13. Superduper (price = $27.95) – http://www.shirt-pocket.com

We all know how important backups are, right?  Apple has made good progress with Leopard’s native Time Machine for incremental backups.  However, if something bad happens to your startup disk, Time Machine’s backup won’t save you.  You need a bootable backup.  That’s where SuperDuper steps in and saves the day.  If you ever need it, it will pay for itself many times over.  It’s already saved me once.

14. Textmate – (price = $58) – http://macromates.com/

Textmate is the mother of all text editors that offers some unique tools for people who edit code for a living.  With Textmate, it’s all about the “bundles”.  Bundles are the terminology Textmate uses for small macros that specialize in making tedious jobs a little easier.  I keep all my blog ideas in a Textmate project and edit the posts in Textmate before I post them.

15. Twitterific (price = free w/ads or $14.95 w/o ads) – http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific

Twitterific is a Mac OSX desktop application for Twitter.  It has a very simple user interface and (the free version I use) contains very unobtrusive ads.  I tried Twirl, but found the UI a little cluttered, so now I’m back to Twitterific.

16. iTunes (price = free [comes standard on all Macs]) – http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview/

iTunes is a pretty good music player but a lousy pod-catcher.  With the recent upgrade to iTunes 8.0 the Genius sidebar makes suggestions for you based upon music in your library. Very cool.  I still don’t think iTunes is a great podcatcher, but I haven’t found anything better yet.

Honorable mention

(A list of applications I use on a weekly basis, but didn’t make the daily cut).

CocoaMySQL – (price = free) – http://cocoamysql.sourceforge.net/
Colloquy (price = free) – http://colloquy.info/
Flickr Uploader (price = free) – http://www.flickr.com/tools/uploadr/
Google Earth (price = free, plus = $20, Pro = $400) – http://earth.google.com/
iWork (Keynote, Pages, Numbers) – (price = $79) – http://www.apple.com/iwork/
Voodoo Pad (price = $29.95) – http://flyingmeat.com/voodoopad/
VMWare Fusion (price = $79.99) – http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/
Minuteur (price = free) – http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19356
iPhoto (price = free [comes standard on all Macs]) – http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/

What are your software tools of choice?  Let me know in the comments.

Dropbox is a remote back-up service that provides a very simple way to store files in a version-controlled environment. I’ve been using Dropbox to synch and provide back-ups for some test files on several computers at home.

How does it work?

First you need an account from Dropbox*.

Then you need to download and install the Dropbox software on your computer (Mac or PC).

When you install the software it creates a directory called “Dropbox” somewhere on your computer. On a Mac, this directory is created in your “places.” On a PC this directory is in “my documents.”

You will need to login to the software after you install it so Dropbox knows which web account to tie your computer to. You can install the software on multiple computers, tethering them to your single Dropbox account.

The next step is to simply drag and drop any files that you would like to back-up into your Dropbox directory. It’s that simple. Dropbox copies those files to all computers tied to that account.

If you edit a file in Dropbox and save it, the changes will be updated across all computers tied to the account. The old version will be saved as well, just in case you need to revert back to a previous version. The version control is one of the best features of Dropbox in my opinion.

Sharing is caring.

Another interesting feature of Dropbox is the ability to share files with friends in a public folder. This makes collaboration on projects very convenient. I can see this feature being popular with web designers, writers, developers or anyone else who needs to work remotely with another team of individuals on a single group of files.

The business.

Dropbox received seed money from Y-Combinator, a company specializing in funding start-ups in their early stages with small investments to aid in the company’s initial growth.

I suspect they will sell tiered account packages, charging for additional storage or features. However, for now, the beta is free with 2GB of storage.

If you happen to try the service, let me know what you think.

* Dropbox is currently in a beta release as I write this post, but I have 6 invitations. If you would like one, leave a note in the comments of this post and I will send you one (until supplies last).

I consume a lot.

On a regular basis I consume podcasts, RSS feeds, emails, phone calls, text messages, books, magazines, TV, movies, radio, social networking noise, music, advertisements and occasionally sky writing.

It’s comforting to know I am not alone in my maddening consumption of information.

The population of th United States consumes an staggering amount of information every day. Luckily our brains are the most sophisticated recorders of video, audio and text known to man. While we’re awake our surroundings are meticulously captured and stored for later recall (although, certainly not perfect recall in my case).

I was half-listening to a podcast the other day while I was doing a little work at home. After typing away, not really paying attention to the podcast, I heard the phrase “I want to create more than I consume.” I must have heard this between mouse clicks or browser refreshes, because I heard it clearly and it stuck in my head for a couple days.

I considered the ramifications of creating more than I consume on a daily basis. The idea was so completely foreign to me I didn’t know where to begin.

As I write this post, I am listening to a podcast, watching my Twitter & FriendFeed streams, answering some emails, and trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight. This is ridiculous, now that I think about it.

And probably means several things.

One. I am doing none of these things very well because you can only stretch your attention so far, right?

Two. I have a very short attention span.

Three. My rate of consumption far exceeds my rate of creation.

Is it honestly possible for us to create more than we consume? If you are a painter, is it possible for you to paint more pictures than you are able to see in a lifetime? Not comfortably – without locking yourself in a room with brushes, canvas and a steady supply of coffee.

Regardless of the possibility, the idea is an interesting one.

How much do you create?

(Photo by reflexer on Flickr)

Merlin Mann, from 43Folders, presented a thought-provoking talk at the Google campus about time management. The video above is around 36 minutes, but worth watching if you have the time.

I thought his concept of laying departmental ground rules for communication was an excellent one. Does a particular message warrant a phone call, email, AIM, in-person visit, group meeting, etc? This is something I’d like to try at work.

I try to be conscious of my co-workers’ time when I schedule meetings, only inviting someone if it is absolutely necessary for them to be invited. I know how busy our schedules can become, and don’t like sitting in meetings where it’s difficult to determine why I was invited in the first place.

Merlin addresses some of these issues more eloquently than I ever could.

Link to the video if the embedded video doesn’t work for you.

- Dave

The instances of people doing bodily harm to themselves while walking the streets of London and sending text messages with their phones has increased to the point that the city of London has installed padding around lamp posts in certain parts of town.

The Daily Express says:

Six million Britons were injured last year bumping into lamp posts, bollards and litter bins while trying to walk and text on mobile phones at the same time.

New figures reveal that more than one in ten needed treatment for injuries including broken noses, cheekbones and even in one case a fractured skull.

Research among 1,055 adults discovered that 63 per cent concentrate so hard when they are texting that they become “blind” to objects around them.

Mobile phone users are now being advised to use template messages to speed up texting and look up every five seconds to avoid hazards.

I find this both funny and serious at the same time. This is very thoughtful of London politicians. It is also useful during the weekends for bar patrons who have a few too many to walk straight. I can appreciate that.

I would love to see the statistics for driving accidents caused by text messaging while driving. I suspect it happens more than we’d care to admit (I’m guilty of it, myself).

Isn’t this a bit like padding the highways with giant pillows so drunk drivers don’t hurt themselves?

Can’t we simply invest in hats and t-shirts warning our fellow pedestrians to “Stop texting and just walk!?”

Photo by mindshare