PDFpen for iOS Tutorial Videos

I recently did a series of seven tutorial videos on how to use PDFpen for iPad and iPhone. They're now available to watch at the PDFpen website and I think they're pretty good. Looking back, it's remarkable just how much my document review workflows have changed with the arrival of the iPad Pro. The combination of that big piece of glass with the Apple Pencil make it easy for me to review and annotate documents digitally. This is superior to my old method of printing it out and using a red pen and highlighter. Now I have way more annotation tools available and because the product is digital, it is easy to save, copy, and share. Another benefit I've noticed over time is how much easier it is to hold on to these digital annotations. I recently represented a client on a contract dispute and being able to look at my original annotations when the contract was signed last year was helpful.

Anyway, if you haven't looked into digital document annotation lately, watch these PDFpen videos. I've embedded one of them below.

How to annotate and add mark-up to your PDF.

Austin Mann's iPhone X Camera Review

Photo by Austin Mann with iPhone X.

Photo by Austin Mann with iPhone X.

Austin Mann took the new iPhone X to Guatemala, where he took some remarkable photos and had some great feedback on the new iPhone camera. One discovery he made was how much faster the iPhone X is at focussing in on a subject in low light. I didn't notice that until reading the article but playing around with the new camera in comparison to my iPhone 7 Plus, there is a significant difference. Anyway, read the full article and drool over Austin's Guatemala shots.

Keep on Top with SaneBox Reminders (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by SaneBox, the email service that adds power features to any email system. With SaneBox at your back, you add a powerful set of email tools that can work in just about any email client. SaneBox will automatically sort your email for you, defer your email to a more convenient time, set reminders, and automatically forward email. 

One of my favorites is SaneReminders. With SaneReminders you can copy (or blind copy) an email to some time period at SaneBox.com. For example, 1week@sanebox.com. SaneBox will then keep track of that email and, if you don’t get a reply in a week, SaneBox will send you a reminder. This is a great way to keep track of email related tasks.

I use this feature a lot. So often I need to keep track of matters through email before they raise to the level of an OmniFocus project. SaneReminders are perfect for this. I send the email, activate SaneReminders, and SaneBox does the rest.

You can also use this system to send your future self time-sensitive reminders. For example, you could send an email to Feb14.2pm@sanebox.com with the subject line, “Buy Valentine Gift for Sweetheart” and SaneBox will send you the reminder at the designated date and time. SaneBox explains reminders further on their website.

Best of all, because you’re a MacSparky reader, you can get $10 off. Try SaneBox today.

A Few Random Thoughts After 24 Hours of iPhone X

I've spent the last 24 hours playing with my silver iPhone X and occaisionally making a few notes. Here they are:

  • Face ID is the real deal. I already like it better than Touch ID. I'm not the first person to say this, but it reminds me of the original iPhone where there was no authentication at all. You just lift the phone up and start working. Security almost becomes a non-event. I’ve tested it in the dark, outside with the sun at my back (and front), with sunglasses, and with a hat. It just works. I'm letting my beard grow for the week to see what happens but I fully expect it to continue working fine. The only failure I’ve encountered is when the phone is held upside down, which isn’t really fair but easier than you think given this buttonless flat piece of glass.
  • 1Password and Face ID together are kind of awesome. It does feel like living in the future.
  • The longer screen makes sense. I spend a lot of time in apps that list data, like Notes, OmniFocus, and Fantastical. The extra vertical space is useful. Some apps handle the extra space (and notch) nicely. Others don't, but it's too early to call anyone out. The conscientious developers will figure out the best UI for the new display.
  • Speaking of the notch, I don't like it. When I'm in an app that has a dark user interface, I don't notice it. When I'm in a light colored app interface, I think it looks terrible. Edge-to-edge everywhere else really makes the notch stand out. All that said, I'm glad Apple didn't wait until they could bury the sensors under the screen to make this phone. As much as I don't like the notch, I'm willing to live with it in exchange for all the other stuff the phone can do.
  • After years of buying Space Gray, this year I went Silver. There are a few reasons for that. First, the silver phone still has a black bezel in front. (I wasn’t a fan of the white bezel.) Second, those stainless steel edges look damn fine next to my stainless steel Apple Watch. It kind of reminds me of the original iPhone. (Catching a theme here?)
  • Looking at an iPhone sans home button is jarring. After 10 years of seeing the same face on my phone, it still looks like something got cut off.
  • The new gestures do not take long to internalize. It’s kind of remarkable to me how quickly swiping up for home screen became second nature. I'm still not sold on having to go to the right ear to swipe down the control center. I'd have preferred a long swipe up from the bottom. Swiping left or right on the home bar lets you switch between apps. That is easily best app switching gesture Apple has provided us to date.
  • Reachability is taking a back seat. You have to go to accessibility preferences to turn it on and the gesture, swiping down at the home bar feels awkward to me.
  • The OLED screen looks great but it is not on the same level as the transition from non-retina to retina screens. After just a day, I don’t notice the OLED as much as I thought I would
  • Coming from the 7 Plus, the new camera system is better. This is particularly true with the 2X lens, which now also includes image stabilization and lets in more light. Indoor shots have improved. I took several test photos on my walk this morning and the iPhone continues to take better pictures. The biggest upgrade is the selfie camera, that can now take a pretty great portrait-style selfie. There’s a gallery below.
  • The sleep/wake button on the right is bigger and more prominent than I’ve ever seen it on the iPhone.
  • The iPhone X sounds excellent. I turned up the volume all the way, and the iPhone X speaker is fine for podcasts, audio books, and – in a real pinch – Dexter Gordon.
  • It’s too early to report on battery life. This thing has been hot and sucking down battery since I first turned it on. That’s typical for someone like me that has his entire life stored in cloud services. I expect things will calm down in a few days.
  • Carrier authorization when I was first setting things up was a mess. This also reminded me of the first iPhone.
  • Transitioning from a Plus size phone down to the iPhone X has been interesting. I like the way the smaller phone fits in my hand, and I'd forgotten about that feeling after using the bigger phone for the last two years. Despite physically being nearly the same size as the standard phone, the screen is nearly as big as the Plus size screen, which almost makes you feel like it is bigger on the inside. I'm worse at typing on the smaller on-screen keyboard but, overall, I'm looking forward to carrying a smaller phone.
  • Overall, I like the iPhone X. I guess there is no surprise in that. It’s not going to change the world in the same way the original iPhone did, but after so many years of evolutionary updates to the iPhone, it’s kind of nice to have something a little more revolutionary.

iPhone X and AppleCare+

If you're like me and waiting for your door doorbell to ring, you may want to take a moment to read this post from Stephen Hacket about iPhone X repair costs. In short, they're really expensive.

If you break the front iPhone X screen, out of warranty repair cost is $279. If you break the back, it's a whopping $549 to repair. If you bought your new iPhone X without AppleCare, I'd recommend adding it ... today. You can add AppleCare to a new device within 60 days after purchase.

Home Screens – John Voorhees

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John Voorhees (Twitter) joined MacStories in 2015. He is an editor and regular contributor to MacStories and the Club MacStories newsletters, co-hosts AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, with Federico Viticci, and handles sponsorship sales for MacStories and AppStories. John is also the creator of Blink, an iOS app that creates links for the iTunes Affiliate Program. So John, show us your home screen

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What are some of your favorite apps?

My Home screen is organized to put my most-used apps within easy reach. I’m left-handed, so that means the lower left corner of the screen is where my most heavily used apps live.

If I’m mobile and using my iPhone, you can bet I’m listening to podcasts or music. My daily podcast player is Overcast because I love its Smart Speed feature, but I also use Castro, which added amazing drag and drop support with iOS 11. 

Apple Music has come a long way since its early days. I’ve found that the algorithmic playlists are much more closely aligned with my tastes than in the past and I’m a fan of the new social features. Every few days I find myself browsing through what friends are listening to, which is a fantastic way to expand your musical horizons.

My iPhone is also all about communication. Messages is the primary way I chat with friends and family, so it gets the coveted first position in the dock. 

Slack is where conversations with MacStories team members happen. It’s where we plan the Club MacStories newsletter, post links to interesting news stories, and coordinate article assignments. 

Airmail can be a little buggy at times, but its customization and third-party integrations can’t be beaten. I keep it just out of easy reach and don’t use badges because I don’t want to be dipping in and out of email constantly, but I also need to have it readily available.

Tweetbot is always close by too. I don’t view Twitter as the productivity sink that most people think it is. It can be if you let it, but at least half of the time I spend in Tweetbot I consider research because it’s where I find leads on apps to cover on MacStories. That said, it’s also where I kick back to joke around with my friends as a break from work.

Most of my Home screen consists of work-related apps. Blink is an app I built that I use for creating iTunes affiliate links to the apps I write about. I keep up with the latest Apple and tech news with Inoreader, a highly customizable RSS reader and save stories I find interesting in Pocket for reading later and linking to on MacStories or our weekly Club MacStories newsletter. Other research material is stored in DevonTHINK To Go or Apple’s Notes app. I’m in Safari on and off all day, so it’s in my dock as is my task manager, Todoist, which is where all my work and personal tasks go. I’ve tried many task managers and always come back to Todoist because it’s so easy to get tasks into it and to collaborate with others. My ‘Bidness’ folder is full of ‘money’ apps for my banks, PayPal, Stripe, TransferWise, and Xero to name a few. 

What app makes you most productive?

Ulysses is the app that I spend the most time in each day whether it’s writing for MacStories and Club MacStories or preparing materials for AppStories. I don’t use it frequently on my iPhone, but for quick edits and rough drafts in places where I don’t have my Mac or iPad, it works in a pinch. The two other apps that make me most productive on my iPhone are Working Copy, which we use to share and collaborate on writing projects with the MacStories team, and Workflow, which automates the setup of each week’s Club MacStories newsletter.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

It varies depending on whether I’m in front of my Mac. If I’m on my Mac, my iPhone gets used to respond to text messages or run a Workflow, but if I’m away from my Mac, my iPhone gets used whenever I’m not occupied by another task.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad.

My favorite feature of the iPhone is the ability to work anywhere and stay in touch with others. Before I left my day job as a lawyer, I ran every aspect of my side hustles from my iPhone. I also have friends who are scattered across the globe who I’m lucky if I see once a year. Whether we’re catching up on what each other has been doing or collaborating on a project, the iPhone is the glue that connects us. 

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I’d start by bringing inter-app drag and drop to the iPhone. I understand why Apple chose to limit dragging items between apps to the iPad, but apps like Castro and Bear have demonstrated the power of in-app drag and drop on the iPhone, which would be even more powerful if there was a way to drag items between apps.

Things are Rosy at Apple

Today Apple had its quarterly earnings call. Jason Snell covered it with his usual aplomb at Six Colors. There are a few bits that stood out.

The iPad Continues to Grow

iPad growth is up 11%. After so many years of decline, that’s good news. I always believed in you, iPad.

Services are For Real

Services have grown to 16% of Apple’s overall revenue. It was $30 billion in 2017. That is a lot of services. Hopefully that means Apple continues to improve iCloud.

Big Days Ahead

Apple is expecting between $84B and $87B in sales in the next quarter. That’s nuts. It seems like just a few years ago that Steve Jobs was astounded about Apple being a $50B per year company.

There’s a lot more, including many pretty graphs over at Six Colors.

 

 

Free Agents 33 - When You Say Yes to Everything

The latest episode of Free Agents is up. We've fiddled with the show format a bit. Specifically, now that we've covered most of the topic shows we wanted to cover, we're spending more time talking about the challenges we're seeing on the ground. I'm struggling with how I'm spending my time. Jason is trying to figure out when to say no and he got some better perspective about how well his business is doing, prompted by a job inquiry from a former co-worker. 

Sponsors include:

  • Freshbooks: Online invoicing made easy.
  • Podcast Listener Survey: We rely on advertising as a way to support this show. If you could do us a favor and answer a few short questions, it would be really helpful to us.

The Disneyland Stress Test for the iPhone X

Matt Panzarino for TechCrunch reviewed his iPhone X by taking it to The Happiest Place on Earth. There are now several reviews posted with Apple seeding review units to several people in the press. One of the big questions in my mind was how well Face ID will work in the real world. If these initial reviews are anything to go by, it sounds like things will be just fine. Mine shows up Friday and I can hardly wait.

Home Screens – Kent Sutherland

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This week’s home screen features Kent Sutherland (website)(Twitter). Kent is part of the Flexibits team and a pretty busy guy. Now that Kent has shipped the latest update to Fantastical and a brand new contact app, Cardhop, I asked Ken to share his home screen. So Ken, show us your home screen.

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What are some of your favorite apps?

Reeder is one of my favorite apps that also gets used all the time. I'm one of those weird people that still loves RSS feeds and uses them all the time. I also enjoy Words With Friends because it lets me distract myself occasionally and keep in touch with friends that I wouldn't otherwise talk to as often. Pinner is used frequently so I can pull up saved recipies when I'm at the grocery store or when I'm cooking. For built-in apps, the Podcasts app gets used a lot although I'm not a fan of what happened to it with iOS 11 (it might be time to explore alternatives). Finally, it's not on my home screen, but I don't know how I'd type on my phone without Gboard.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Reddit, because it lets me look at stupid images and videos while I'm waiting for a bus or in line somewhere.

What app makes you most productive?

I've found my phone doesn't really help make me productive, as getting real work done requires my Mac. Slack at least helps me keep track of our build system and any issues that might come up when I'm away from a computer though. Judging from my home screen, my phone is frequently used for communication (Viber, Facebook Messenger, Messages, Slack, and Words With Friends are all used for text messaging).

What app do you know you're underutilizing?

I should probably be using Pocket more often. I'd be a bit more efficient if I deferred reading for later, but I've gotten out of the habit.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

Who knows, but probably more than I'd expect. To try to minimize that number I often keep my phone on do not disturb while I'm at my computer, which helps to reduce the chance that I'll get distracted by push notifications.

What Today View widgets are you using and why?

Fantastical in the expanded month view and Weather Underground. I'm pretty light on widgets, but I get regular use out of both of those. There's only really room to see a couple of widgets at once, and I found I never used the others if I had to scroll down to get to them.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

My favorite little feature on the iPhone is the 3D Touch gesture to switch apps. I was distraught when they removed it from iOS 11, and I was very happy with they said it was coming back.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

In terms of iOS, I'd make iOS faster to use. The iPhone and iPad are fast computers now, but that speed is often locked behind all of the animations and gestures. For example, switching between two apps takes a second or two for the app switcher animation, then another to tap on another app and wait for it to appear. In my perfect world there would be an option to disable all of the unlock and app transition animations. I've used iOS enough to know exactly where on the screen everything is going to appear, and if I could tap without delay the time savings would add up quickly.

Do you have an Apple Watch? Show us your watch face tell us about it.

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My watch it spends most of its life on the charger, as I'm not much of a watch person. It does get used to test Fantastical's watch app and complications, and the timer occasionally comes in handy when I'm doing laundry.

What's your wallpaper and why?

My wallpaper is one of the cloud and star pictures from a previous version of iOS that has long since been removed. My lock screen is a picture of a jellyfish that I took in a zoo. I set it a long time ago and it seems to have just stuck.

Thanks Kent ... and great work with Cardhop!

Get Mac Help with Willems Tech (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by Willems Tech. Rogier Willems is a wicked smart IT professional that specializes in Macs and security. Rogier and his team do remote IT for customers all over the world, and they are a great asset if you need any help managing your Apple network. 

As long as your Mac connects to the Internet and powers on, Rogier and team can assist with all Mac problems and even to a complete Tune-Up to make your Mac run like new again. They untangle email, contact, and calendar problems.

Finally, Willems Tech does a lot of consulting in data privacy and security with the knowledge that most IT professionals lack, like email encryption for instance. If you need some IT help, reach out to Willems Tech.

Dropbox Professional

This week Dropbox announced a new individual tier, Dropbox Professional. For $20 a month you get 1 TB of storage, which is the same amount of storage with the Dropbox Plus plan at $10 a month. However, there are some additional features like smart sync, which lets you access all of your Dropbox-stored files without necessarily keeping them on your device and full-text search, which lets you search the contents of your files stored on Dropbox.

The sharing and collaboration tools also include some additional features including shared link controls which lets you manage access and visibility of shared documents.

At this point, I have largely divested myself of Dropbox except for some of its sharing features as I’ve been continuing my iCloud experiment. If iCloud didn’t exist, I probably would upgrade to the professional plan. The additional features are useful, mainly if you’re running on a laptop with limited storage. I do wish however that for $20/month they provided more storage than the same amount you get for the $10 tier. Dropbox has a page outlining the differences between the various individual plans.