Here’s a handy little trick I discovered that allows you to combine multiple PDF files into one single PDF document using the built-in tools in OS X. It’s easy to do, and comes in really handy when you’re preparing reports and other documents. In my case, I use this to combine the output of a single-page scanner into multi-page documents.
Apologies in advance, the screencast is a bit low-res, but I explain each step along the way.
Take a look at Anxiety, a nifty little to-do tracker for OS X. It uses the new Calendar Store in Leopard so that it keeps your to-dos in sync with iCal and Mail (and therefore also any devices you may sync with iSync). Best of all, it’s free!
Small business owners don’t have much choice in the marketplace when it comes to accounting software. Here in Canada, our choices are basically Quicken QuickBooks and Simply Accounting. If only there were a free, cross-platform alternative accounting program that actually worked… well keep reading, because there is!
I’ve never liked Intuit very much - to me their Canadian products always feel as though the Canadian features were tacked-on at the last minute as an afterthought. Also, is it just me or does it seem a tad exploitive to offer umpteen different versions of your product? Simply Accounting is nicer, but doesn’t allow me to track projects the way I’d like to. Another downside (for me anyhow) is that both of these products require that I run Windows. Now it’s not that I hate Windows, but I alternate between Windows, Linux and Macs so often that it would be nice to have a solution that worked on all three.
Enter SQL Ledger. It’s a free, open-source double-entry accounting package that runs Windows, Mac and Linux. In addition to very nice-looking invoices, it can do all kinds of stuff:
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
General Ledger
Inventory Control
Billing / Invoicing
Time Cards
Point of Sale
Check Printing
Multi-User
International Support
and much more. One of my favourite features is that the software is web-based (you run it on your own computer though). Which means that multiple users can access the program with their web browsers. No additional licenses required!
The downside? The installation isn’t a simple double-click and you’re good to go, although installation instructions for all the supported platforms are available. Additionally, you can obtain professional support from the author and several other consultants.
It’s free, and definitely worth a look if you’re in the market for a new accounting system.
OmniFocus is a great app for tracking and improving your productivity. It’s currently in beta, and you can download a free copy to test/play with here. The Omnigroup is offering a special discount to beta-testers - if you pre-order before January 8, 2008 you can get OmniFocus for $39.95 as opposed to the release price of $79.95.
I grabbed my beta copy and have been tinkering around with it. What I like is that it doesn’t force you into the GTD methodology - you can use it as a fancy to-do list tracker, and when you’re ready to dig deeper the extra functionality is there. It also syncs with iCal, and can watch your email for incoming tasks that you mail yourself - for example, if you’re at work and think of something to add to your task list, just email it to your home account. OmniFocus will pick it up the next time you check your home email and add it automatically.
I’m one of those people that needs more than one computer to work. My main workstation is a 15" MacBook Pro that is connected to a 20" Apple Cinema display. To its right is our 20" iMac, which serves as our media server, backup server, and VMware test machine. Due to limited desk space, I didn’t want to have multiple keyboards and mice laying around. My first thought was to use a standard KVM switch to switch my keyboard and mouse between my Macs. But that requires a lot of USB cables, and I really didn’t want that kind of clutter behind my desk. I needed a clean, elegant solution.
Enter Teleport - it’s a software-based KVM that works over your home network. You simply load Teleport on each Mac that you want to share your keyboard and mouse and enable sharing. Your "secondary" Macs (the ones without keyboards/mice of their own) will show up as monitors that you can position around your primary Mac’s display. Then, when your pointer moves offscreen, it will "hop" over to the next Mac. Teleport even allows you to share information between your Macs. You can drag and drop files, as well as the content in your clipboard.
For those of you not running Macs, be sure to take a look at Synergy - an open source alternative that runs on Windows, Linux, and yes, even Macs. One nice thing that Synergy has going for it over Teleport is the ability to mix and match your computers on your LAN. So you can control a Windows machine from your Linux box, etc.