Can you do real work on an iPad?

Well if the real work is writing, then I argue that it is probably better at it than most other devices.

A writer’s provisions are the tools they use, and their imagination. This is why a lot of effort is put into finding and using the appropriate tools, because it allows the focus to be on the writing.

In my opinion, because of the writers need to focus on what they are writing, the best tools are the ones that don’t make themselves a distraction from the end goal. The ideal environment needs to adapt to the writer and not the other way around, which is where I think the iPad fits in perfectly. It’s of course, not a new product, but still the argument on whether work can be done on it successfully continues (although this seems to be dying out).

With the iPad, you have a fully portable device that is not only able to be taken anywhere, but it’s also able to be used anywhere. It also benefits from the consumerism around the device, because this has led to a wide array of accessories being made, such as external keyboards, stands, and now the Apple Pencil. Especially with iOS being such a flexible platform, and apps for pretty much every single scenario.

I have a MacBook Pro and while I like to write using it, I still find the iPad to be more suited to the job. With tasks like visually organising notes and ideas with the touch screen, or making use of the Apple Pencil, it’s as if you’re really interacting with the content, without any unnecessary distractions.

Also, it may sound strange, but the Workflow app for iOS is another reason for why I favour the iPad for writing, as it makes all the management tasks associated with writing much more streamlined and adaptable. The way I think of the comparison between writing on an iPad and writing on my Mac, is the ratio on which actual writing is done, compared to the time you spend managing your writing and the related process. For me, my Mac is okay for longer-form writing pieces where I spend a long time writing, that the amount of time editing, submitting to blogs, embedding images, and so on isn’t a big deal. On the other hand, with my iPad I have all of my processes automated with apps such as Workflow, Opener, Trello (Trello has a website you can use), so I can focus on the writing, regardless of the situation.

I of course can’t complain too much, because my Mac is the newest MacBook Pro, so it’s super light, and the keyboard is nice to type on. But I still believe the iPad edges out in front.

An iPad may take longer to get used to, and maybe a while to find and configure the writing tools for you. But once you’re there, you’re free to just write.

Nathan Jeffery on Imposter Syndrome and failure :

In a world where people like Elon Musk are literally building rockets and cars that run on energy from the sun it’s easy to look at your own life as an entrepreneur and feel like a bit of a failure or be totally dismissive when people acknowledge your success or compliment you. Sure maybe you’re not changing the world at the same scale as Elon but you are no doubt having an impact on countless people’s lives through job creation and that alone is commendable.

This was a nice little read, and I agree with everything he says.

Warning: This guide is now outdated since Xcode has changed a lot since it was first published. A new version of this guide, Using GitHub and Xcode Together, is available and is based upon Xcode 10.1.

Developers are always talking about whether to use Git from the command line, or via a GUI such as GitHub Desktop. Well, if you’re using Xcode, then there’s a much simpler method that’s already built-in! It’s called Xcode Source Control^[1].

I’m just about to upload one of my projects to GitHub, so I thought I’d share the process. Especially as I’ve recently found it so much easier to use, because it’s right there in Xcode!

Step 1

The first step is to let Xcode create a Git repository on your Mac. It should be checked by default.

Step 2

Then you will need to create a new repository on GitHub. Give it a name, description, and make it Public/Private. But make sure you don’t select “Initialize this repository with a README”.

Then select “Create Repository”.

Step 3

Then you’ll be redirected to a page where you’ll be asked to set up your repository. You only need one thing from this page, and it’s the URL in the Quick Setup section.

In my case, this is https://github.com/chrishannah/CH-Work-Item.git.

Step 4

Now it’s time to add this into Xcode.

Simply select Source Control from the menu bar, your project name, and then select the “Configure project” option.

Once you’ve done that, the next step is to select the “Remotes” tab, then select the + button in the bottom-left corner, and select “Add Remote”.

Here you will need to give it a name, and an address. The address is the URL previously found on the GitHub set up page. Then press “Add Remote”.

Step 5

The repository has now been created on GitHub, and added to Xcode, the next step is to initialise the repository.

Again, from the menu bar, select Source Control, and then Commit.

A window will appear with all the changes to the repository, since this hasn’t been initialised yet, it will show all of your projects files.

Simply add a commit message, select “Push to remote”, which should automatically select your GitHub repository, and press “Commit X Files and Push”.

If you haven’t connected your GitHub to Xcode before, you will be prompted for a username and password, these are your GitHub details.

That’s It!

Once you’ve completed all of the previous steps, your project should now be on GitHub, and if you go back to the repository on GitHub, it should now be populated.

If you haven’t already (like me above), it’s probably best to add a README file.

Managing Your Repository

From here it’s really easy to manage your repository in Xcode. It’s all found in the Source Control menu.

From there you can commit new files, push them to GitHub, pull any new changes, and anything else you’d expect from a Git client.

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I hope that this guide proved useful, and provided a bit of piece of mind for you knowing that your project is now essentially backed up.

If you want to see the other tutorials I have here, then there is a Guide section.

You can find me on GitHub as chrishannah.

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1. For more information, there is a session from WWDC 2013, “Understanding Source Control in Xcode” that explains this in more detail ↩︎

A bit of a weird post today, but I’ve come to the realisation that I need to find a way to fund myself through the last bit of my university course.

I spend nearly all of my time doing one of two things, university work, or developing things for everyone. Whether it’s a new application, a website, or something, I’m always making stuff.

I guess most people would simply raise the prices of their products, in order to try and make more money, but I don’t really want to do that. I want to reward people for backing what I do, so this is what I came up with:

• Qwiki, my Wikipedia app for Mac has been discounted (indefinitely) from £3.99 to £2.99.
• Pretty Regular Expressions, my upcoming regular expressions app for iOS and macOS will only be £0.99.
• All of my other apps are completely free. This includes my fun pixel art iMessage Sticker Pack!

Why would I make everything free, or really cheap? Because I trust everyone that finds my content useful, wants to help me in what I do, or simply is a super awesome person will back me.

And that’s why I’ve set up a Patreon page. Honestly I feel a bit dirty doing this, because I don’t want to ask for your money, but if I can balance this out by creating some awesome projects, then I think I can make sense of it.

If you can support me, then it really is a case of anything helps. The costs associate with University (especially in London) are stupid, and then there’s my desire to make things that also adds to that, even a coffee will help me through the day.

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Don’t worry though, because I’ll have a good announcement in a few days relating to a certain app I’m making!

We are excited to announce that SpaceX has been approached to fly two private citizens on a trip around the moon late next year. They have already paid a significant deposit to do a moon mission. Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration. We expect to conduct health and fitness tests, as well as begin initial training later this year. – SpaceX Blog

Wow. 🌑

With the recent discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system, NASA asked on twitter for names for each of the planets:

#7NamesFor7NewPlanets?
TRAPPIST-1b
TRAPPIST-1c
TRAPPIST-1d
TRAPPIST-1e
TRAPPIST-1f
TRAPPIST-1g
TRAPPIST-1h

😉 https://t.co/QS80AnZ2Jg pic.twitter.com/gis6Ba7UBu

— NASA (@NASA) 24 February 2017

Here are my suggestions:

• Philosophi Lapis
• Camera Secretorum
• Vinctus Azkaban
• Calix Ignis
• Ordinis Phoenix
• Dimidium Sanguinis Princeps
• Letaliter Sanctio

Have a guess what they’re from!

Joe Rossignol, writing for MacRumors:

iPhones that have undergone any third-party screen repair now qualify for warranty coverage, as long as the issue being fixed does not relate to the display itself, according to an internal memo distributed by Apple today. MacRumors confirmed the memo’s authenticity with multiple sources.

Finally, this should of been the case since the start.

Read the full article on MacRumors

A NASA telescope(Spitzer Space Telescope) has discovered the largest batch of earth-size planets orbiting a single star, and three of them are in the habitable zone. In total there are seven planets, and they all are possible candidates of having liquid water, however the three located in the habitable zone are the most likely.

This discovery is not only fascinating, and incredibly breathtaking, but it also breaks a few records. With this being the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star, and the three planets in the habitable zone are also the highest number found around the single star outside of our solar system.

The system, named TRAPPIST-1 after The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope, is about 40 light-years from Earth, but this is actually relatively close.

It will now be up to further observations to determine whether they contain liquid water, and also what their atmosphere is made up of.

I’m really excited to see what discoveries can be made in TRAPPIST-1, and maybe one of these will have the necessary ingredients needed for life to exist!

Find Out More:

• NASA Article
• NASA – Spitzer Space Telescope
• NASA – TRAPPIST-1 System
• NASA – Exoplanets

<rant>

Tweetbot for Mac has been my number one choice of Twitter client for a while now (apart from a few weeks with the official Twitter app), but there’s always been one "feature" that’s really confused me.

I personally think that Tapbots have high level of precision, and I can see that 99.9% of Tweetbot does something a certain way for a reason. It’s that 0.1% I’m confused about.

It’s about what happens when you double click on the Profile icon… It makes your Favstar.fm profile appear in your web browser? Why would I ever want to go to Favstar? What is Favstar?

On all the other icons, double clicking would move the relevant list to the top, such as Mentions, Activity, etc. So instead of just switching to the different tab, you can quickly scroll up.

But why isn’t this the same with the Profile? Why can’t I just quickly see my most recent tweets?

</rant>

David Sparks on the need to use tags to manage files:

Lately I’ve been thinking about making another run at file tagging. It’s kind of funny how these tech issues percolate up. It all started with some receipts that I wanted to save to both client folders and tax folders. I found myself creating duplicates to have them in two places at once, which rubs me, someone who used to save computer data onto a cassette tape, as fundamentally wrong.

And:

So I’m looking at a hybrid tagging system that will still work with folders at some level but also rely on tags to help sort, store, and find files. There still are a lot of downsides to tagging. It takes extra time and it has very shaky support on iOS. I’m making a list of problems as I go.

I have moments like this where I think using file tagging would make my life so much easier, especially when I first found the feature to be quite interesting when first announced. However, when I decided to try out the feature, it never seems to stick with me. It was always a bigger task to set up, then to just deal with the problems one by one.

Nevertheless, I am very interested to see what results David has, and it may spark myself again to try them out.