Category: Tools

Last week I mentioned the love one man can have for a keyboard and asked others to write in on the tools they use to save their joints. Roy Jacobsen wrote in with his own recommendation:

You can take away my Kinesis Contoured keyboard when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers! (Yeah, it was obvious, but I couldn't resist.) I was developing some serious wrist pain whenever I had a project that took a lot of copy/paste, because the keyboard shortcuts were so awkward. It took about a week of practice with the Kinesis to get back up to speed, but I've never looked back. Oddly enough, I can switch to a standard layout without any problems. I think it must be kind of like switching between an automatic transmission and a stick shift: Once you're used to both of them, your muscle memory takes care of the rest.

Are you using a tool that's saving your body? Well don't keep it to yourself! Tell me!

Screenwriter John August is too good for the regular plain old keyboard that you automatically get with your computer. But you might be too--don't you deserve the ergonomic goodness that John raves about with his SafeType keyboard? And after just a few days, one apparently gets used to the vertical madness. Read more about what makes it so great on his blog here ((although Mac users might want to read about John's issues with his keyboard and his new Mac Pro here.)

Do you have an ergonomic keyboard, mouse, chair or other wacky tool that's been making your typing life more comfortable? Dish, sister.

Daunted by technology, but interested in podcasting? A pro breaks down what you'll need to get started -- and it's easier than you'd think. This is an excerpted transcript of mediabistro.com's "Podcasting 101" seminar held June 1, 2006 in New York, conducted by video/DVD producer and podcaster Duy Linh Tu. Register now for Duy's popular courses: The Multimedia Journalist and Going Solo: How to Start Your Own Media Business.

So what do you need to create a podcast? It's pretty simple. You need a computer of some sort. It can be a PC or Mac, it doesn't really matter. Some of you are Mac-heads and some are PC folks. If you're going to do video podcast, a Mac is just better because the software's free. It comes with IMovie and you don't have to pay [a] bundle to get editing software. On PC, I'm not so sure that there is a free solution out there. I don't believe there is. So you might have to spend $99 or something like that to get some really limited version of free editing software. It's your choice. If you have a PC, go with it. If you have a Mac, go with it. In terms of plugging in all the gear that you'll need, we'll go through that in a little bit. A Mac is easier. When I say easier, I just mean that when you plug in the stuff, it'll work right away. As some of you PC users might know, you have to download, plug in this, download driver that. That can slow up the process and really stop you before you get going. But either way, both computers' platforms do it. So just because I have a Mac here doesn't mean anything, or that you'll need that. Your computer will have a sound card. Or, it most likely will. If you bought your computer in the last five years, it'll have a sound card for you to work with. You'll need a microphone to record you. The analog in terms of video podcast is that you'll need, instead of a microphone, a video camera. It's the same thing.

Read on here.

This is the question I posed on Ask Metafilter last week. What printers work best for writers? Not what's the fanciest, or the cheapest, or the best for travelling--basically, all of these wrapped up all in one, tried and true by those who know. Here are a few suggestions:

laser for text. laser for text. laser for text. laser for text. LASER FOR TEXT. Seriously, it's a world of difference. And it can be cheap and reliable too, if you get a refurbished HP Laserjet 5 or 6 (the ones with flat paper trays, not the ones that hold the paper up and down).

I love my HP Laser Printer. It's the 1320 model, black and white. Why do I love it? It does double sided (flips the paper itself) and can print up to 4 pages per side. this means I can fit an 96 page document on 12 pieces of paper. Excellent for proofing. So, it's both economical and durable. Not portable, however. I would recommend you avoid inkjet printers as the cartridges are ridiculously expensive, print too few sheets, and can streak. And color? Why bother? If your printer is for printing text, you're wasting your cash. Many color printers won't even print black and white unless the color cartridges are also full.

I bought a LaserJet 2100 on eBay from a company in California that refurbishes equipment from bankrupt corporations. It had hardly been used and it was a great deal. If you're picking someone with good feedback who specializes in printers, there's no reason to be afraid of eBay.

Several have said it, but I'll reiterate: older-model b/w LaserJet. IMO, cheap is better than durable, because the idea of a "durable" printer seems to me to be a myth. Too many moving parts, especially with hideous "all-in-one" scanner / fax / printers.

Oh and by the way is that not the most exciting image you've ever seen posted on a blog? You're welcome.

Via Sree's tips, advice on buying a digital camera, especially good for you freelancers hoping to supplement your articles with great accompanying photos.

"I'm a work-at-home mom and if my computer gets the sniffles---I'm in big trouble!" writes reader Janene Mascarella. She'd know--she suffered the agony of losing everything when her computer crashed. So you don't suffer the same fate, she wrote up some tips on keeping your computer from ruining your life.

One of my online pet peeves is message board know-it-alls. You know the type. They react with annoyance when newbies post newbie questions (instead of simply not answering. Although, newbies, take note--always do a quick search regarding your question before you post), shoot down entire topics that they find frivolous and tend to end posts with the word "period." Very helpful. Unfortunately, some new writers mistake these people for experts, just because they act like jerks. Linda Formicelli at the Renegade Writer has some tips on how to take a troll with a big ole grain of Kosher salt.

Reader and A'Guild member L.A. Starks wrote in telling me that she agreed with Dan Cooper's recommendation of the book Differentiate or Die as a guide for helping bloggers and writer brand themselbes. She also recommended another resource:

A dense book published in 1980 by Michael Porter,a Harvard business school professor, called Competitive Strategy is another resource for this differentiate-or-die approach. Another competitive strategy is commoditization/least cost. Tho publishing seems to be heading there, it's a brutal strategy for authors. Chapter 2 of Porter's book, titled Generic Competitive Strategies, is the go-right-to-it reference.

Got a recommendation of a book, site, resource or tool that's been enhancing your professional life? Don't be square: share.

Does anyone know of spaces (offices/cafes/whatever) geared specifically to writers? I know of theOffice in Santa Monica. Any others you know of? Links? Also, if you've frequented such a place, what were your impressions? If you're a writer, what would get you into such a place?

I've been offered a cafe/retail space at a very good price in a hip part of Toronto. Owning a "regular" cafe doesn't appeal to me but converting it to something like this does.

So, I'm asking: if you're a writer, does such an establishment seem like a good idea to you? If not, why not? What would it need to make you change your mind?

Answers and tips here.

If you're one of those on-the-go type bloggers, you might be interested in this new service recommended to me by Alissa over at Unbeige. She forwarded the following info to me from her friend Ophir. Unrelated, he was sending this from "34,000 ft. above Brussels - First time using WiFi on a plane (El-Al)!" Scary.

I've been working on a new experiment/venture called Mojungle with partners Ari Mir and Andrew Arrow. Mojungle is a free service that enables you to send media (text, images, video) directly from your cell-phone to a personal media player online. This player can be placed on any web site (usual suspects include social networks like MySpace and blogs) and media sent from your mobile device is shared with the world in real-time. We launched the service very recently and have been getting positive writeups and good growth.

First writeup on Mojungle here.

More reviews/mentions here:

The service is insanely simple to set up and use and works with nearly all US and international providers. We are developing several features that add to the social nature of the service as well and these will be deployed in stages over the next few weeks. I'd love to hear your feedback. Check out www.mojungle.com. Share your life.