This year at Macworld, I made a new friend in Josh Centers (website)(Twitter). Josh is one of those guys that you immediately like upon meeting. He currently writes for TidBITS and recently published a book about the AppleTV. So Josh, show us your home screen.
What are some of your favorite apps?
I’ve been a Gmail user since it was in beta, and despite my qualms about Google, it’s just too useful to move away from. After a long battle with Apple’s Mail apps, I took your advice and started using the Web interface and official iOS app, and I haven’t looked back. Gmail offers a ton of features that Apple Mail doesn’t, like inbox tabs, push notifications, and showing my own replies in message threads.
Internet security is horribly broken, so it’s essential to have unique, complex passwords for every site I use. I’ve tried KeePass and LastPass, but 1Password integrates best with Apple’s stuff.
Just as essential is two-factor authentication, and Authy takes a lot of the stress out of it. Unlike Google Authenticator, Authy backs up my keys in the cloud and allows me to sync keys between devices.
I tried OmniFocus long ago, and liked it, but I was too cheap to buy it on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. I tried just about every alternative, but when I started becoming overwhelmed with TidBITS and Take Control projects, speaking engagements, and the baby, I caved. Nothing does a better job of organizing tasks and keeping me sane. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer collaboration features, but I have a couple of supplemental apps for that.
We use the free Trello service to manage TidBITS and Take Control tasks, and the iOS apps are great. Trello lets you set up boards for each project, then inside each board you can create multiple lists full of task cards. At TidBITS, we use Trello to jot down article ideas, track what’s ready to edit, and decide which articles will be in the next issue.
For kitchen and grocery management, nothing else compares. My wife and I use Paprika to share a grocery list and store recipes.
Twitter is a distraction, but it’s also brought me new friends and opportunities. Before Tweetbot, I never used Twitter much, and now any other client feels clumsy. I can’t wait for the iPad update.
Chrome is my preferred browser on the Mac, so I also use it on iOS to access open tabs on all of my devices.
Which app is your guilty pleasure?
Alien Blue for Reddit. I waste entirely too much time on there, but I always keep coming back. But some of the smaller, more focused subreddits can be a treasure trove of information.
What is the app you are still missing?
Our TidBITS Publishing System is built around the Subversion version control system, so I’d love a customizable text editor like Nebulous Notes with Subversion support. Unfortunately, no such thing exists, which limits my ability to write and edit TidBITS content while I’m away from my desk.
How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?
I use my iPhone constantly throughout the day. My iPad is usually restricted to my bedside, where I use it to read comics on Marvel Unlimited or ComiXology, and play games. However, when I’m on the road, my iPad Air paired with the Belkin QODE Ultimate Keyboard Case makes a convenient writing machine.
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?
AirPlay. The capability to take any bit of media and beam it to my Apple TV is huge.
If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?
I would overhaul the way Apple handles music and photos. iTunes and iPhoto on the desktop are dreadfully slow, and I get tired of messing with storage space and metadata. I’ve already switched from iTunes to Rdio for my music needs for that reason, and I use Dropbox (for now) to sync photos and videos instead of Photo Stream. I would have iTunes and iPhoto rewritten from scratch, to be introduced alongside cloud-based music and photo services to make these things easier for users.
I would also have iOS inter-app sharing improved. This is one thing Android does right. For instance, let’s say you want to add a Web page to Evernote. On Android, that’s easily accomplished from the browser in a few taps. On iOS, it requires a kludgy bookmarklet that’s both awkward to install and to use.
What’s your wallpaper and why?
On all of my devices, I use the system defaults. They look nice, and it’s one less thing I have to think about.