David Allen Wizardgold's posts

I am in the Apple Community after being half in and half out by using an Android phone for 16 months. Added to the stable today with the arrival of the latest iPad. Easy set up which I could have made go faster if I had thought about what I was doing step by step. I started downloading apps to the iPad that I could have just synchronised from iTunes.

Pretty pleased with the iOS device from Apple and I know it will serve me well for two or three years now. The screen is excellent and it looks like the text and images are right on top of the glass front. Less reflective than the screen on the previous model. I am finding it great for reading books.

Trying out a load of camera and photo apps and I can't wait to get into the Replay app I saw demoed on the stage at the Apple event last week. Pixelmator is an app I love using on the Mac and I have just bought the new iPad version. It will be a favourite along with Procreate which I like to use for drawing and painting digitally.

I hesitated before I am graded my Mac to Yosemite and this is because I always use DragonDictate rather than using the keyboard. I reckon I can write about three times faster using the dictation rather than using typing. In the end I decided to take the jump and give it a try. Of course I had a whole load of backups completed before I did anything. I use the application Superduper to create two separate backups of the system drive. And I also have Time Machine backup to fall back on if necessary too.

So I am quite pleased with the new operating system for my Mac even though there are one or two things that are not working on it and will never work on it probably. The reason that some things will not work is because of the absence of Bluetooth low energy version 4 on the Mac. So whichever way I tried to get it to do the job with the handoff and also with connecting up the phone for the SMS messages on the Mac it was no good at all.

Tomorrow I will be getting my new iPad air 2 and I will be held to try out the hand function from the iPhone 6 to the new iPad. Same thing with the SMS messages where I will be able to see text messages that were destined for my phone on my new iPad. I don't plan to upgrade my Mac for a year or two so I'm going out to stick with what I've got. I did toy with the idea of getting a USB dongle for the new Bluetooth for low-energy. The only thing is, that I heard on a podcast that this possible solution to the problem is not going to work.

The battery of my iPhone is just not lasting today. So it is a good job I have an external battery coming so I can charge it up when I am out and about. Getting an extra charger too - One for carrying with me to use elsewhere and the other to leave beside the bed. Two more lightening cables - One for the car and one for connecting to the Mac. Now I am sorted.

I should have been working on the book today - It is a non fiction book about how to beat writers block with technology and a good and geeky writers workflow. I have been testing out apps on my iPhone and iPad to use alongside the apps I use on the iMac so I have a funnel of ideas and words that go into the writers app Scrivener. Scrivener is the best place to do professional quality writing like a book or long articles. My book goes into depth with the testing I have been doing on outliner apps and getting the data moving in between specific apps on the way to Scrivener. Then in the last chapters I have the final workflow which works for me. I have it laid out bare so that people can grab it and use it and suddenly get good at beating writers block.

I also got a new case for the iPhone 6 it has a clip on it so I can keep it on my belt. So I have no need to put it into a pocket where it could accidentally get sat upon. It also has a little clip on the back of the bumper style part of the case that goes round the phone, so that I can prop the phone up. I could use a small Bluetooth keyboard with it to have some mini workplace if I fancied doing some typing. I actually prefer to do as much of my writing using DragonDictate, but it is good to have options.

I got the e-bike out and hit the road. Some errands to be done first but the beach and a dip in the sea beckoned. Trying out the MapMyRide app this morning. It isn't working as well as the Map my Walk app that I have been using. Something is not quite right. I have been fiddling with settings and I will sort it out so that it records my position with GPS as does the other app.

First day of my holiday following a long old time at the campsite for the summer.

Waffling about the goings on at the campsite. A couple of Swedish girls arrived on bicycles looking sweaty. It's a tough trip from Tossa de Mar to Plato's d'Step on bikes.

I talk about other happenings in the campsite

Sort of happy with the iPhone 6 - All of the features are great and the phone is lightening quick in comparison with what I had before. The battery is draining too fast for my liking and I will have to get a back up battery to use to save me on the days of heavy use. #iphone6

after using android devices for just over a year I have been tempted to go back into the Apple fold. I have ordered a new iPhone 6 and I can't wait to get my hands on it. There are loads of new things in iOS eight which have brought me back such as the extensibility feature which allows me to work with the features of one application while still in another application. I can do things in the Paper Camera app from within the photos application which is pretty handy. I like that we can have widgets that we can drag down from the top in the notifications area although I don't think it's quite makes up for what I have been using with the Google Now.

I'm looking forward to using my favourite applications that are only available on iOS. These applications would be Drafts, OmniFocus, Clear and Day One. There are a number of other applications that I'm pleased to be using gain over on the iOS platform and the applications in general are better on the Apple side of the fence. This is one of the reasons why it sometimes seems that I was getting a second rate experience by using android.

The biggest problem with using Android was the fact that with my Galaxy S3 I didn't get any updates from the carrier to be to upgrade it to KitKat. I had to do some upgrading by using rooting and CyanogenMod and to be honest it was a lot of messing around that I didn't really enjoy doing.

I have already been trying out some of the new features in iOS 8 using my iPad and loving them. I can't wait to get my hands on the new iPhone 6 to be able to take advantage of the connections between iOS devices and there will also be the connection between the Mac when Yosemite becomes available. The added security that I will get by having Touch ID is going to be pretty handy especially seeing as they have been extensions being made across from my passwords application 1Password. So they go this is David Allen Wizardgold having a bit of a chat about switching back over to iOS from Android.

Podcasting for authors and writers

A short podcast discussing how to get started with podcasting with hardware and software. I demonstrate the difference between using an internal microphone and an external microphone. There is information as to how to have a good microphone technique so that you sound as good as it is possible. I talk about the microphones that I use for studio recording and also the one that I use when I am out and about.

#Podcasting #howto #writers #authors

#AppleWatch - I want one. I just can't help myself because I love technology and the thought of it being like living in the future. I watched the Apple announcement this morning on my computer and before I knew it I was lusting after one of these Apple watch devices to put on my wrist. It's going to seem a long wait between now and the beginning of next year when it becomes available to the general public.