October 1: Macintosh Computer Expo

Posted on September 15, 2011 by jeff

One of the many things I just love about my job is getting to go to cool events and meet cool people. Where will I be doing that next, you ask? How about at the Macintosh Computer Expo on October 1 where I get to talk about bending cloud-based services to your whim.

Mce banner 2011 small

Here’s the description of my session:

Dropbox, Evernote, MobileMe: The Internet is loaded with cloud-based services designed to make your life easier and keep your files within reach where ever you go. Finding the right services with just the features you need can be a daunting task, so Jeff took care of the headache for you by putting together a list of his favorite online services and apps for your Mac, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

I’m speaking from noon to 1PM and I promise to do my best to teach you something — or at least keep you entertained for an hour.

But wait! There’s more! I’ll be speaking on the opening panel event at 9AM where the amazing Adam Christianson from the Maccast will guide us through a discussion on the future of Apple and the impact the company’s products are having on out culture.

Talk about a power house lineup! The panel also includes The Mac Observer’s own Bryan Chaffin, Smile Software’s Jean MacDonald, Jason Snell from Macworld, and David Sparks from Mac Power Users.

Bryan and I will be manning TMO’s expo booth, too, so be sure to drop by and say “hi.” Maybe I’ll draw a picture for you.

The Steve Jobs Retirement-palooza

Posted on August 30, 2011 by jeff

In case you missed the news last week, Apple’s long time CEO and rock star, Steve Jobs, turned in his executive restroom key and retired. Despite the way so many people reacted, no, he didn’t die. He just called it quits for the full-time Apple thing — and since I can’t shut my mouth, I had plenty to say about the whole thing.

Jobs and Jeff

If you need to get up to speed on what went down, Bryan Chaffin covered Steve’s retirement announcement at The Mac Observer, and followed up with Apple giving the CEO title to Tim Cook, the man that’s been running the company for the past few months.

Turns out a couple news outlets wanted to chat with me about Steve’s retirement. Here’s a list of the interviews and podcasts I did. For your viewing pleasure, of course:

Forbes This is an Associated Press article, so you can find it other places, too.
The Huffington Post Want to see how Trip Chowdry from Global Equities Research and I have very different views of Apple’s ability to perform without Steve? Here you go.
MacJury Along with Chuck Joiner, Katie Floyd and Bryan Chaffin, we talk about what to expect now that Steve has dropped the CEO title and taken up his new role as Chairman of the Board.
Reuters Insider Me, live, on Reuters TV. Guess who’s on with me? Yeah, Trip Chowdry. Just in case you don’t get how different our views on Apple post-Jobs are, you totally need to check this out.

There’s a good chance I missed something because the day of and day after Steve’s resignation were crazy busy. If there’s something I need to add to the list, just let me know and I’ll take care of it.

And my opinion in a nutshell: Don’t worry about Apple. It’s still business as usual, and we’ll still see awesome products for years to come. And thanks for all the hard work, Steve.

Grab Your Mic! I’ll Teach You How to Podcast

Posted on March 26, 2011 by jeff

I’m pretty sure it’s no surprise that I talk a lot. Really. Luckily, I’ve been able to turn that into something that works well for me, and hopefully brings a little something into your life, too: podcasting. And now I’m hoping to bring a little more into your life by teaching you how to podcast, too.

Yeah, this is what podcasting is really like.

Here’s the scoop: If you’re near Boulder, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 30, I’m teaching my Getting Started with Podcasting class at Boulder Digital Arts. The class runs from 6PM to 9PM and costs $69 for BDA members, or $89 for non-members.

I’ll talk about deciding what you want to share in your podcast, how to choose the right microphone and headphones, sorting out the software you’ll need, how to get your podcast in front of your listeners, and more.

Want to get a little head start? No problem. I have some tips on picking out a microphone at the BDA Web site ready for your viewing pleasure. And to answer one of the questions I get all the time: My mic of choice is the Rode Podcaster.

See you Wednesday! You know, because I love to talk.

It’s that Time Again: Macworld Expo 2011

Posted on December 30, 2010 by jeff

Macworld Expo is only weeks away, and as always, I’ll be there. The event is filled with a week’s worth of vendor meetings, interesting conference sessions, awesome parties, and is an annual reunion with cool people that I may not see again for another year. Did I mention that I’m speaking at this year’s conference, too?

My User Conference session this year is “Working in the Cloud: Best Online Services for Storing and Sharing Your Data,” and I’ll have plenty to talk about. Here’s my session description from the Macworld Expo Web site:

Dropbox, Evernote, Google: The Internet is loaded with cloud-based services designed to make your life easier, keep you connected with information, and help you share files. Some are free, some require payment, and some are “freemium,” giving you a handful of features for free and even more when you pay. In this session we’ll take a look at the best freemium services for the Mac, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and how to use them effectively so your important information is always just a mouse click or finger tap away.

My session runs from 3:30PM to 4:45PM on Friday, January 28, 2011. The conference runs from Wednesday, January 26 through Saturday, January 29 at the Moscone West center in San Francisco. Dress warm, kids.

If you’re looking to save a few bucks at Macworld Expo, you can get a 15% discount on a conference package just for having the patience to read this far. The Mac Observer has a sweet deal on hotel rooms at the Intercontinental — which just so happens to be right next to Moscone West.

I’ll be running around all week checking out the latest Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad software and gear during the day, and hanging out at the after hours events, too. If you happen to see me, be sure to say “hi.” After all, Macworld Expo is like one big family reunion. But in a good way.

Fill ‘em if You Got ‘em

Posted on November 30, 2010 by jeff

I record the We Have Communicators podcast pretty much every week with Michael Johnston and Adam Christianson, and it’s no secret that I tend to draw on my iPad during the show. Those drawings end up in the podcast show notes, and somehow the whole deal evolved into me agreeing to put our faces on a mug. I’m pretty sure it’s all Michael’s fault.

So here’s the deal: I drew amazingly life like interpretations of Adam, Michael and me — and by “amazingly life like,” I mean “my usual style, thanks for humoring me, everyone.” Once we were all happy with the design, I slapped our mugs on a mug at Zazzle.

In case you’re interested, I used ArtStudio on my iPad, a Pogo Sketch stylus, and my homemade artist hand puck to avoid accidental gestures showing up as unwanted lines. Next, I exported the drawings as Photoshop files and dropped them into Illustrator so I could make vector versions of our faces. Finally, I uploaded the finished file to Zazzle and lovingly placed it on a mug for your drinking pleasure.

Now that my part is done, it’s your turn. Head on over to Zazzle and order your mug. I made sure there are plenty of mug styles to choose from because I know just how picky you are. Yeah, you’re welcome.