johnhendron.net: hendron’s digest - a weblog

Today, I downloaded Bean for Mac OS X, a simple, yet elegant rich text processor.

I’ve been a fan of programs like Scrivener, which allow full-screen editing. You just write and write and write, and aren’t bound by scrollbars, windows, and the distractions of text editors, Twitterific, or other things like icons on your desktop.

Bean is simpler than Scrivener (which I used in writing RSS for Educators), but looks like it could very well earn a place in my toolkit. I’m also starting to use TextMate for my web editing, and I’ve used it several times to write plaintext notes, too. Lots of tools can be a great thing… Perhaps I’ll report a month from now on what I’ve solidified in using.

Macintosh Shortcuts from Dan Rodney.

If you’re a Mac nut, or a Mac nut obsessed with security, this whitepaper may lend some tips on keeping things safe and secure.

I secretly covet the opportunity someday to teach a class to folks on file organization and workflow management. We’ve tried at my district, but not too many people want it. Or if they need it, they somehow don’t sign up. They like working unorganized.

My colleague has a method by which he makes folders for each month. He puts all the stuff for the month in there; if a project extends beyond the month, it makes the move to a new folder for the upcoming month. I never quite understood his system.

This hint, from November 07 shows off some of the power of the so-called “Smart Folders” in Mac OS X. With this tip, my colleague could store his files in more appropriate folders, yet still have the month’s last content at the ready.

Combined with tags, you’d have a pretty robust system.