Tools – Page 33 – ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

Supporting Academic Writing at Universities

2015-03-20

Some comments on supporting academic writing at universities based on a (failed) application for an academic service position.
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Good-bye, Gaming Mouse for Everyday Work

2015-03-19

My beloved gaming mouse is dying after about 6 years of really comfortable and productive work ... a shout-out to a highly under-appreciated tool.
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Surviving Mac Accidents and Catastrophes

2015-03-09

Recommendation of a Mac Power Users Podcast regarding Doomsday scenarios for the Mac and a few tips of my own.
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Digital Information Infrastructure with DEVONthink

2015-02-11

An overview of my DEVONthink databases to handle that strange craving to preserve digital information.
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Using InDesign to Layout your Dissertation Thesis

2015-01-28

When you use great writing software like Scrivener to write you thesis, you will likely need another program to create a final version you can submit. Especially if you have to get your thesis printed a couple of times for the university library. Personally, I used InDesign. It's a choice that's not for everyone, but, well, it worked (for me).
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Searching Blogs that do not offer search fields and subscribing to blogs that do not offer RSS icons

2015-01-22

Sometimes you find blogs that you like -- but you would like to know more. Search the blog or subscribe to it. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they do not offer a search box, or they do not offer an RSS icon. In some cases, you can still access them.
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Scanning the Bible (or other books with thin pages)

2015-01-19

How do you scan books with very thin paper? I don't know either, but I have a few suggestions.
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Splitting Folder Contents into DVD-sized Amounts of Data

2015-01-11

If you want to use DVDs as backup, you might end up with folders that contain more than 4.7 GB. Thus, you have to split them up into DVD sized contents. While not being able to split files directly, Folder Splitter is a useful tool for OS X.
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GoodReader iOS App is now able to easily read PDF files to you via Text-to-Speech

2014-11-15

GoodReader is a very good app to display PDFs and other files on an iPad or iPhone. With the latest update, you can even get it to read PDFs and text files to you.
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Recommendation: Mac Power Users 221: Academic Workflows with Aleh Cherp

2014-11-02

Mac Power Users recently had Aleh Cherp from macademic as guest on the show. It's a really interesting episode, not only if you are an academic.
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This is a private blog showing my opinions. If you have an issue with what I write here, either don’t read it or talk to me directly. Don’t waste your time — or mine — dragging my employer into matters where they hold no authority.

The institution I work for, or rather the people officially representing it, have already distanced themselves from this blog. I find this unnecessary, as I’ve clearly stated in the «About this Blog» section that this is a personal blog.

Frankly, I have nothing but contempt for those who lack the backbone to address their concerns directly and instead resort to passive-aggressive tattling to others. Such behavior strikes me as not only cowardly, but also spineless, gutless, and wholly unprincipled. Moreover, these efforts are as pathetic as they are futile.

That said, I might listen if you present compelling arguments and evidence, as constructive feedback is always welcome. Who knows? We might even both gain something valuable from the interaction.

A comment for those seeking to use this site for personal gain: Given the increase in requests, let me be clear. I write on this blog because I want to. It’s my hobby, my playground. Sometimes people point me to interesting products/services and I write about them. But any request regarding ads or sponsored placements ends up the trash without a reply. And if you think something would be of interest, differentiate yourself from the spammers by referring to a posting — in an intelligent way. (I get enough auto-generated mails to identify them immediately.)

BTW, posts can get updated after I published them if I spot spelling errors (not a native speaker) or think a different wording might improve precision and clarity.

This blog is not focused on a single topic, or method. As long as it is relevant to improving creativity (or allowing it in the first place), it's fair game.
Some postings on this blog deal with freedom, as I think that we need freedom of thought, of speech, of association, etc. pp. to solve mankind's problems. Thus, some postings may seem a bit remote when it comes to organizing creativity. Freedom is, however, the bedrock of creativity.
The heterogeneity of the postings can make reading this blog a bit cumbersome, at least if you are only interested in one topic. You can either use the search function (above), or use the categories or the tags to narrow down the postings you see.