The Sweet Setup choose MindNode for its favorite mind mapping app:

The best thing about MindNode is that it is incredibly easy to use. The UI is simple and intuitive, even if you’re not an experienced mind mapper. In fact, you could probably start using MindNode without even fully understanding the concept of mind mapping because the user interface will actually teach you how to do it.

I absolutely agree with that. A months ago when I prepared a presentation about HbA1C, I didn’t know where to start. I searched for every mind mapping apps and choosed MindNode. The app is easy to use and there’s no learning curve at all. You can instantly do mind mapping using MindNode. I think that’s a clear sign that’s MindNode is an awesome app.

I don’t know about you guys but I’ve never use any third party browser on iOS. Safari is my main browser but, today, Chrome gets an update that bring widget, gesture and 1Password support. The widget available in the Today View of Notification Center which bring two buttons. One for open a new tab and one for doing voice search within Chrome app.

This is a trick everyone should know.

When creating a contact, instead of this:

Jenny
866-5309 x1982

Do this:

Jenny
866-5309;1982

The semicolon is secret code to your iPhone to wait once the call connects and gives you the option to dial the extension when you tap it at the bottom of the screen.

GTD or Getting Things Done® is a stress free productivity technique based on David Allen which is awesome and many of the nerds talk about it. It’s simply take 5 steps to GTD: capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage. Sounds easy, huh?

I knew it last year. Since then I tried to get many references and tools to support GTD systems. I still failed. Sometimes I still fall into cracks, sometimes I let my lists outdated, and the next week I rebuild it.

Tim Cook on FastCompany interview:

There’s this thing in technology, almost a disease, where the definition of success is making the most. How many clicks did you get, how many active users do you have, how many units did you sell? Everybody in technology seems to want big numbers. Steve never got carried away with that. He focused on making the best.

GOLD!

Federico Viticci thought about iOS 8 and bunch of its features last year on Macstories:

What I realized in using extensions is how necessary last year’s redesign of iOS was. Imagine if Apple didn’t ship a new design with iOS 7: today, we’d have sheets of stitched leather or shiny metal on top of apps that look like agendas or little robots. The cohesiveness and subdued style that iOS 7 brought with its precise structure and hierarchy allows extensions to integrate nicely with apps, feeling like extra actions rather than eerily realistic objects.

The impact of action and share extensions on my workflow has been massive even with only a few apps and bugs left in iOS 8. I use my iPad more because I spend less time switching between apps, copying text around, or moving files between different containers. I’m more efficient thanks to extensions because the quality of the software I use every day has increased considerably. I can’t imagine what we’ll start seeing today with action and share extensions on the App Store.

When iOS 7 came out, I didn’t satisfy with the new UI. I wished there’s a way to downgrade back to iOS 6. The main reason was the unbearable lagging and blindly white all over iOS for that time. Then iOS 8 came out last year, I upgraded. Now when I look at iOS today, I would think many times to downgrade even when there’s a way to do.

Extensions, change how we used iOS. I could easily post to Tumblr, Path, Twitter. I could easily find a inspiring quote, make selection and save it on my Notes folder in Dropbox that also available on my nvAlt. 3rd party keyboard, let us manage multiple clipboard like Clips does. Finding the right emoji, now become easier, there’s Emoji++.

And if I look back to iOS 6 (yeah, my friends still use iOS 6.1.3 in her iPhone 4s), it look dull and outdated.

Working multi-platform operating systems Windows and Mac sometimes give you pain in the ass. You can do something easily on Mac but maybe not in Windows and vice versa. Overmore, I’ve to work in Windows machine with limited user previlege so I can’t install any software I want.

If you know what apps that I miss when working in Windows, I would gladly say it’s TextExpander. I feel I could do anything with with TextExpander on my Mac but when it comes to work with my lovely Windows machine, I feel odd. Luckily I found a similar apps, PhraseExpress.

Federico Viticci wrote a story that everyone should read:

Since being diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma (Stage IV) in late 2011, my life changed. Beyond the psychological and emotional consequences of how cancer affected me, my family, and my relationships, it is undeniable and abundantly clear that cancer took its toll on me from a physical perspective.

Last year, I decided to regain control of my body, my life habits, and my health. I started tracking everything I could about my activities, my exercise routine, the food I ate, and the time I spent working with my iPad instead of walking, sleeping, or enjoying time with my family. Since then, I’ve made a decision to not let cancer and its consequences define me any longer.

I want to be healthier, I want to eat better, and I want to take the second chance I was given and make the most of it. What started as an experiment has become a new daily commitment to improve my lifestyle and focus.

And it wouldn’t be possible without my iPhone.

Have you ever wondered how a product of a company could change people’s life? A good company not only built a product to make money but also built a product which can change people’s life.

Go, send @viticci writings on your favorite read-later service.

Federico Viticci on MacStories:

In a few months (I first started testing Workflow in August 2014), Workflow has become an essential component of how I get work done on iOS. The improvements and features launched today extend the app’s capabilities deeper into native iOS frameworks – whether you want to find photos, filter files and calendar events, or save selections from Safari, Workflow is becoming a command center for iOS that can do anything. It’s powerful, and there are still a few issues to fix, but it’s useful, and, even better, it’s fun.

I’ve tweeted about Workflow several time and if you need a good place to start then look no further.

Interesting thought ofJohn Gruber about Apple Watch pricing:

Apple Watch Edition is not a tech product, so don’t try to price it like one.

I love the footnote of his post:

At prices like these, an Apple Watch Edition is not an accessory for your iPhone — your iPhone is an accessory for your Apple Watch Edition.