Everything SKO...

Time to buy Apple

iPod and iPhones aside the more I travel the more I see Apple PowerBooks all around me. I remember only a few years ago I was the only guy in the room with a Mac. Now, it seems everyone has one.

I'm just on the Wi-Fi at Seatac in Seattle and I notice on my network list that there are 6 other Mac's on the network. That's 60% of the total. Not scientific in the least but a real indication that more and more people are switching to the Apple platform.

It's a classic Peter Lynch moment. Maybe time to buy Apple stock.

Great new online book

Here is a great new book by Cameron Moll... for a whole number of reasons.

First the book itself. The subject is mobile web design. It's a subject close to my heart and there are very few really good books out there that focus solely on this issue. I haven't read it all the way through yet but a cursory glance and some skimming tells me it has some really practical advice.

Second the medium. Cameron has chosen to self-publish his content via his own website using his own payment engine (via credit card or PayPal). Fantastic! Completely by-passes the existing infrastructure of the publishing world. All the money will go directly to the author. Talk about a long-tail play.

Third the price. It's not too cheap and it's not too expensive. What I mean by that is he has priced it just right. If it was priced at $5.95 we might think it had little value. At $49.95 we would find someway to scam it... get a copy or something. $19 is just right.

Finally... a great call to action with the iPhone competition. The first 599 buyers are entered into the draw.

All-in-all I like it. I like it a lot. I hope he has great success with this.

Two great little aps for the Mac

This won't be too interesting for those of you who are PC users but I'm sure there might be similar utilities out there.

I love the software cottage industry that has developed around the use of computers. Those individuals who are using a computer in their daily life and go looking for a particular tool or functionality, can't find it so they build it themselves. As is often the case, there are also many of us out there who might also want the same functionality so we are happy to buy these little aps.

Of course what I'm describing here is a product that conforms to the characteristics set out by Chris Anderson in his great book, The Long Tail.

The two aps I've just bought, which I highly recommend are:

1. WriteRoom by Jesse Grosjean at HogBay Software. If you're like me you are inundated with information all day, every day. However, you still have "real" work to do. As Jesse says on his Web site,

"Walk into WriteRoom, and watch your distractions fade away. Now it's just you and your text. WriteRoom is a place where your mind clears and your work gets done. When your writing is complete, exit WriteRoom and re-enter the busy world with your work in hand."

A truly excellent tool.

2. MenuCalendarClock by Guido Neitzer and Peter Maurer at ObjectPark Software. This little iCal or Entourage plug-in sits in your menu bar. When you click on it it gives you your calendar with to-do's and schedule in a nice drop down menu. It means you don't have to have your primary calendar open all the time.

Another truly excellent tool.

iPhone Envy

In an earlier post I spoke about how I didn't really care about a new mobile from from Apple. I was wrong. I take it all back.

I want one!

This is what it will look like with JAJAH running on it ;-)

The iPhone (iPod Phone) from Apple

My good friend Jurgen posted, what I think, is the best possible description of the new phone from Apple -- if there is actually a phone.

Jurgen knows more about the Apple platform than just about anyone I know. He worked for me at BOPJET (an Apple-focused hosting company I used to own, I sold it to Digital Forest in 2001).

And just as an update and an alternate view Michael Kuhlmann just sent me this interesting story from The Guardian.