Western Digital MyPassport Wireless Pro Back in 2006 I purchased a CompactDrive PD70-X — a battery powered portable hard drive (mine was 40GB) that sported a number of memory card slots in one end. While away from home, I could whip a memory card out of my camera (replacing it with another), place the filled […]
Continue readingAuthor: Allister Jenks
SleepPhones — Pajamas for Your Ears
Back when I was a teenager, I always used to leave my homework until last thing before bed. I was pretty sure it was just because I was lazy, but the excuse I used to give to my parents was “I do my best thinking late at night.” Oddly enough, there was more to my […]
Continue reading
GoodTask 3 Task Manager for iOS and macOS
When it comes to task management apps on Apple platforms, there has long been a gold standard in the Omni Group’s OmniFocus. I’ve been invested in OmniFocus for over three years now and admire the fit and polish of the product, but I’m at a point in my life where its complexity is now overkill […]
Continue reading
NC #670 Paintcode, Apple Watch Health Tracking, Stretch Timer, We.Stream, Bellus 3D, Cyber Essentials, Rings
Allister Jenks stands in for a vacationing Allison Sheridan. We have a review of Paintcode, a story of using the Apple Watch to track health in ways other than the Activity app, Allister’s own health app Stretch Timer, two interviews from CES with We.Stream and Bellus3D, some security tips with Cyber Essentials, and a fun […]
Continue reading
Rings by Kamil Kucma
UPDATE: Since I wrote this post (and recorded for the podcast) an update for Rings has appeared which claims to fix the in-app purchase bug and also streamlines some other parts of the app. I’m not a “gamer” by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like to while away some time playing logic […]
Continue reading
Cyber Essentials
The management at my work often brings up the topic of training. While for many years it was a hollow promise, in recent years there has been a real push on staff to take training courses, and not just those directly relevant to their current roles. Anything that is relevant to our company is considered […]
Continue reading
Stretch Timer by Allister Jenks
In my story about PaintCode, I mentioned I had rewritten an app that I use for timing my muscle stretches. I’d like to tell you about that app now, in a bit of an ‘advertorial’. I first wrote the app in 2016 when I was having back trouble, and part of the treatment for this […]
Continue reading
Apple Watch Health Tracking
Since I got my first Apple Watch two and a half years ago, one of my primary uses of it has been activity tracking. Those three coloured rings drive me to move during my day for the payoff of seeing them completed before bedtime. I have been managing over 3000 kilojoules a day (about 717 calories) by extending my daily commute and lunchtime walking. Part of the process is seeing the various reminders during the day – time to stand, and the occasional encouragement to get active. Plus the frequent notifications that friends have completed workouts. I’m looking at you, Allison.
Early in December I turned off all activity related notifications and removed the activity ring complication from my watch face. I did not want constant reminders that I could NOT meet my goals.
Continue reading
PaintCode by PixelCut
PaintCode is a macOS app with a very specific audience: macOS and iOS developers, although other developers should take a look too. If you’re not a developer then this review may not offer you an insight into purchasing, however, if you’re just interested in knowing “how stuff works,†this is a pretty cool story. For this reason, I have aimed this review at a less knowledgeable audience, which should also serve to explain to hobbyist developers, like myself, what value this tool can bring.
Continue reading
Allister’s Journey from Castblaster to MiX16 Pro
This piece started out as a simple review of one piece of software, but as I began writing, I realised it’s one of those times where a bit of storytelling is in order. Some listeners will know that I once had a podcast of my own. Technically, I still do, but it’s a pretty rare […]
Continue reading