End-user perspective on small office tools & technology

Meta: WordPress Apps For OSX & Windows

WordPress App on MacBookToday saw the launch of WordPress 4.4. For me this is significant as most of my writing for publication online ends up in WordPress.

Some time ago I documented my initial experience with the platform and hosting services. Since then I’ve grown to admire the WordPress team for delivering utterly seamless upgrades, and Lightningbase as a wonderful hosting company. This site is just passing three years live at Lightningbase.

While I spend a lot of time in WordPress, the actual writing most typically happens in Windows Live Writer.  I like the program for it’s simple functionality. I’ll have more on that in a post to follow tomorrow.

Recent changes in WordPress have included new back-end functionality that’s designed to facilitate more evolved front-end applications. The WordPress mobile apps (Android, iOS) have been around for a while. I’ve had one loaded to my Nexus 7 tablet for a long while, but never actually written anything substantial that way. I’ve tried a few times, but ultimately found the experience lackluster. 

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Replacing My One+ One…a not-so-smart-phone

Nexus5 lock screenMy history with Android-based mobile phones isn’t really that long, at least not when expressed by what I’ve owned; T-Mobile G2 (aka HTC Desire Z), Samsung Galaxy Nexus, LG Nexus 4 and the One+ One. Transitioning away from a Blackberry 9700 in 2010, I liked the G2, adored the two Nexus models, but I regret the decision to buy the One+ One.

I bought it back in February. There were two motivating factors at play; my Nexus 4 had become unreliable, and I was taken-in by the One+ One’s combination of reasonable price, flagship specs and limited availability.

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A Year Behind The Rebel Desk

About a year ago I purchased a Rebel Desk adjustable sit/stand desk. In my now more desk-bound working life this was the first step in a plan to help me be healthier and happier in my home office.

I’ll begin with an admission of sorts; the events of my past have left me quite spoiled with respect to workspaces. Early in my career I was a television editor. Technically, an “online”editor…at a point in time when such editing suites were custom built to accommodate the technology of the day. Further, it happens that I had a hand in building and/or renovating several facilities. As a consequence, at least twice my workspaces were in fact made-to-order. Of course, that was only possible when funded by other people’s money.

In general the sit/stand desk has been a good thing. It has helped to address my tendency to fidget part-way through the day. I now have a habit of cranking the desk up for certain activities, down for others.

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Hear me! For I Am The Lord Of Darkness!

vader-helmetIn the house Stella mostly gets to decide matters of décor. In contrast, in the garage apartment that serves as my office I alone am the master of all things! <evil>HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!</evil>

Recently, I was reminded of the law of unintended consequences. For you see, earlier this year I was annoyed by the ancient ceiling fan in my office. It had the most unbelievably squeaky bearings. It simply had to go!

About that time I had a small credit with Amazon, so I ordered what seemed like a suitable new ceiling fan. The new one was very much like the old one. The primary difference was that the old one included a lamp. The new one, while blissfully silent, doesn’t.

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A Microphone Deep Dive: Part 1 – Frequency Response

Last week, in response to Chris Koehncke’s blog post, I set about creating a couple of sample recordings to support my belief that a headset trumps a laptop’s built-in microphone. Along the way I came to a couple of realizations, or perhaps I should say remembrances, of things that I hadn’t thought about in a long while. There are numerous subtleties to the matter of microphones.

SONY DSC

Microphones, like most things, are built to address specific applications. There are microphones for recording studios. Microphones for stage performers. Microphones for board rooms. Microphones for mobile phones. Even a microphone for that cheesy tape recorder that you bought at Radio Shack back in the 1980’s when it was still a great gadget shop.

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Kranky & Krankier?

Statler and Waldorf

“Statler and Waldorf” by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia

Chris Koehncke (aka Chris Kranky) recently posed a question in a blog post. He asked, “How good is your laptop microphone?” He then laid out an experimental series of recordings using different hardware. As an executive summary he offers, “Your current internal laptop mic is probably fine.” As you might imagine, I disagree…but there’s more to it than that.

In truth, it’s not that he’s wrong, but I think that he was asking the wrong question! The question he should have asked is, “How do I best convey my voice when using this laptop?”

The answer to that question is quite simple…use a high-quality headset, preferably one with a boom-mounted microphone. When participating in any kind of conference call, or video conference nothing can touch the quality of sound delivered by using a good headset. This has long been my belief, although I accept that it may not be a widespread.

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