Forgot about PathFinder. Downloaded it this AM. Are you running Spirited Away .5 or .7? Saw there was some issue on Leopard with .7.

You should work a deal like MacHeist with a productivity bundle of some of these apps.

Really great, and a fresh way of looking at real life usage. Would be great to see some more in a similar line, small apps that make a big difference, enhance productivity and inspire creativity. More please!

Very nicely done, sir. I'd also love to see footage of your workflow ideas for certain "makin' with the creatin'" kinds of tasks (e.g., brainstorming/mindmapping, capturing ideas, writing, and general "making").

Ok if I didn't want a mac already...

Well only question I got is: are you doing the switching of viewpoints realtime while recording? How is that done, do you have shortcuts for that?

(btw, why do I =always= feel compelled to comment on your vids? this is cray-zeeee)

Merlin,

Long time fan, started to listen to you when you did a few podcasts with David Allen back in the day. I did a video recently using screen flow (vimeo.com/2749524) but feel like a retard when doing it...

...you pull it off much better! Looking forward to seeing more of your videos.

That was the best screencast I have ever seen. Very professional, very succinct, very informative. I like that you didn't spend long periods of time on any one application. I look forward to seeing more, although I really don't think they can get any better. And I am being completely honest when I say that.

As for suggestions for future screencasts, I would really like to know how you keep everything in sync. It is a huge problem for those of us with multiple Macs, and I bet you've come up with a pretty good way to deal with that problem.

I look forward to tomorrow's video.

Hi Merlin, thanks for the video, it was great.

If you like Skitch, you might want to try LittleSnapper (my recent discovery) - basically it's Skitch on steroids ;-)

realmacsoftware.com/littlesnapper/

Cheers

Great video as always, Merlin. I think you've convinced me to take another look at PathFinder -- I tried it years ago but never really got my head around it.

If nothing else, you prompted me to take a look at the crap in *my* menu bar and make some decisions as to what gets screen real estate -- do I *really* need MenuMeters telling me that I still have 136GB free on my disk? Do I need VPN up there for the one time every few months I need to connect?

I'll second Stephen's request up there for some syncing info. I've got a tower at work, an iMac at home and a MBP that floats between the two. Dropbox has been great for keeping some stuff sync'd but I'd love to hear what you're doing.

If the price of @hotdogsladies taking a tootbreak is quality moving pictures like these, I'll take it any day.

Fantastic, Merlin! I've been a fan of 43folders.com from the earliest days and pretty much only listened to Macbreak Weekly because of your contributions. (I don't even have a Mac--can't afford it.)

This desktop tour was like a year's worth of Macbreak picks rolled into eleven minutes. Keep 'em coming, and if you are indeed seeking requests on what people might want to see, I'd benefit immensely from watching how you GTD your way through your various text files (actions lists, etc.). I think you had a 43folders post about that some time ago, but to see it in action would be great.

Politely,
Jay

I'm really loving all of the videos.

My question is, what the crap do you use Evernote for? The denizens keep pronouncing it as amazing, and after using it I can see that it's cool, however I have yet to find a practical use for it. I'd really appreciate some enlightenment.

I heard you mention Dropbox before and put it in someday/maybe to look into it more, but after seeing what it does here I immediately went and got it. I've been using non-iDisk WebDAV to do something similar and it's been frustrating to no end. This is a freaking-fantastic solution. The fact that it keeps versions of everything is icing on top.

I sent this suggestion into the ether of your email a long time ago, before 43F changed course, but will mention it again: we've never gotten much specific incite into how you're using OmniFocus, both day-to-day and big picture to help you make things. It's a deceptively dense piece of cake. Your uncanny ability to explain things in an easily digestible way is needed.

*wishin' and a hopin' (but also understandin' if you feel it's too productivity pr0ny)*

Another great video. Really loving this series of yours.

Fantastic, Merlin. Truly.

I'll jump on board and ask for specific vids on specific apps/workflows as time allows.

As Ryan said (and as I just posted to the StumbleUpon, for them what does not know you yet), you combine an all-too-rare set of personality traits that includes two which are key to me: Getting It and Entertaining-ness. Or whatever.

I will make two specific requests: file taxonomy and how you use Evernote. Because my use of the latter, I've found, is extremely hampered by my lack of ability with the former.

I'll agree and ask for videos on apps/worksflows. Nice work!

I was about to ask you to do this and bam it showed up in my Vimeo inbox, great minds think alike ;). I'd love to see specific use cases for: Evernote, text/markdown/filenaming (loved seeing your list format for most days), OmniFocus, and any Gmail extensions, TextExpander Snippets, or Hazel rules that rock your world. Have you seen the stuff the guys at ironicsoftware.com are doing in terms of their finder replacement Leap and their new image search Deep that searches images by color? Pretty cool, and would love to hear/see your thoughts. Keep up the videos.

Really interesting stuff Merlin, thanks!

It's videos like this that make me realize that I'm not scratching the surface of what I can do with my Macbook.

I'm going to watch this again when I get home and look into some of the applications you were showing off today. Thanks again.

I (heart) fuzzy clock with the heat of a thousand suns. I know, it's goofy, but I like the "human" element to it.

When I was testing Leopard for our studio, it was one of the first things I tried after a fresh install:
twitter.com/zuhl/statuses/366310052

Loved it. Thanks Merlin. More stuff like this would be excellent (signed up on vimeo to make this comment)

Evernote? Really? Come on Merlin, throw users who have been on a mac for more than a week a bone. My grandmother uses evernote.

Of course, she's 6-4 250 and runs the 40 in 4.3.

Great job. I guess it's about time I disable the Talking Moose.

Great video - seeing best practice desktop setups is helpful. I'd like to second the call for OmniFocus and general work flow of task management. I know everyone has their own needs but real-life examples are still helpful.

I use Yojimbo a lot but have considered moving to Evernote now that they have a sweep iPhone app.

Yeah Omnifocus thirded. I'd love to see your setup for it.

Eek, did everyone just kill the LiteSwitchX website (proteron.com)?

And thanks, Merlin.

OmniFocus. Mostly because I don't feel like I'm musing it well enough.

Hazel. Haven't started to use it. Like to see usecases.

Evernote. Use-cases. Curious to see how you use it so I can improve my workflow... I tend to use the 'creative box' idea. Projects get their own box, stuff gets dumped in a box... and so on.

Thank you for this. I played along at home and by the end of the video had a totally pimped out computer Merlin-style.

The programs--such as Hazel and Spirited Away--that I can set to do stuff automatically in the background totally appeal because I'm really anal about minimalism and maintenance and spend way too much time cleaning up after myself. So anything else you use along this line would be interesting.

I'd also love to know how you deal with taxonomy/filing/putting stuff places. Do you have a system that is working for you?

A++ Merlin! Your video just reinforces how much i love my mac! Have you used boxee, pixelmator, perian or appzapper.

Whistle Dixie.

Great walkthrough Merlin. Thanks for sharing.

BTW, I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but if you want to get rid of the American flag and the Volume menu items, just Option+Command drag them off the menu. Maybe even MobileMe Syncing while you're at it. If the Flag icon doesn't come off, go into the International System Preference and then the Input Menu tab and uncheck Show input menu in menu bar.

I'm on a MacBook so i'm usually very stingy about what Menu Extras get to stay up in my menu bar. And since my MacBook's keyboard and my external keyboard have keys for volume adjustments, I find the Volume menu extra a waste of screen real estate.

Very nice Merlin! Just downloaded SoundSource.

Great video Merlin. Lots of stuff for me to get!

Merlin, killer video. I got soooo much info in a span of 11 minutes. You definitely need to do more. As for future ideas, anything on powerful tools, must have apps or just streamlining the Mac experience will be great.

Just casting a vote for more of this. Love what you're doing lately.

Also, do you worry about over-customizing your Mac and then being lost or crippled when you go to help out Buddy Joe, Mom, or Over-Talkative Neighbor with their Mac woes?

I found this to be very helpful, Merlin, thanks. Would definitely watch more of these sorts of videos.

Thanks, Merlin! Now I have a whole bunch of new apps to look over!

Merlin. This is straight down the plate helpful. I know you have gotten away from focusing on tools. I admire that and have appreciated the depth of your recent posts. AND I'm glad you're not afraid to _make_ (and be _better_) at this sort of product as well. You are uniquely good at this kind of explanation and at selecting tools that promote focus. In fact, you are the best in the world at this, and you help a lot of people do our "making." Just because it comes easy to you doesn't mean it's not creative!
I look forward to more videos like this, as well as to the full range of your work. It's exciting to watch you stretch (like with photography) and it's exciting to watch you be incredible with tools for focus.

I don't see the Quicksilver icon in your menu bar-- did you deep six QS, or is it just hidden?

Good stuff, Merlin. I loved the few screencast episodes you did on The Merlin Show, and I find it promising that you can now produce those easily yourself with Screenflow + Vimeo.

Suggestions:

1. Your take on organizing files. How do you name them, what is your folder structure, do you tag your files (via Spotlight comments and/or Quicksilver plugin) etc.

2. Your writing setup. I'm really getting into WriteRoom + killing my WiFi with Freedom, which gives me distraction-free productivity, and also something like 7+ hours of battery life on a year old MacBook (with brightness dimmed way down). I imagine you have lots of good tricks in that department.

Also, to the Screenflow developers: Shoot Merlin an email and setup a promo. Your program rocks, but it's mad expensive. Give us a little recession-rebate, pretty-please? :)

Great! More!

You were born to do this. Seriously. Soooo awesome to see somebody use tools so well.

Path Finder is on sale this weekend over at MacZot.com

TOTALLY love it - More, por favor. My first macbook was shipped out Friday!

Great stuff Merlin. The BusySync will probably save my marriage. My wife and I just cannot seem to get our calendars together and this looks like it will do the trick.

So, I know and love QuickSilver. It seems that the "Google Quick Search Box" has superseded QuickSilver as the main guy behind QS seems to have gone to work on the GQSB. Have you had a chance to look at it. What are your thoughts.

Oh and thanks for sucking all of the heat out of America. It was -8 this morning in Connecticut. That is not right.

Loved the video, Merlin.
Keep up the good work.

Fantastic stuff, Merlin! Almost makes up for missing my weekly snark on MBW... ;) And I'll just chime in on wanting to see more workflow/process stuff like this. You're a natural at this screencast stuff and you make it look easy and wonderfully conversational. Oh, and more random references to Ral Partha and Gail Serens, please.

Really nicely done as usual. Plus (another) request for an omnifocus demo.

As an aside, I've been a long time PC user, but also a longtime avid reader of 43folders. Made the switch to Mac in November, due to you and my pesky college age kid. Thanks to you both :)

Thank you, very nice! Especially in HD. But now, I gotta go back, do some creative work on my master thesis ;-)

Hey Merlin. Great stuff.

I think it would be cool to see your process and workflow of creating a blogpost from conception to execution. How you decide what to write about, the draft process, and working in whatever applications you use to publish.

I believe that a quicksilver demo in this style would be extremely helpful.

Screencast + Vimeo = all sorts of goodness. Thanks for sharing. Many of your favorite apps are many of my favorite apps, too.

Err, ScreenFlow + Vimeo is what I meant.

Next: The Dock?

Would also love to see a workflow movie, or something that it's not often covered but basic principles of organization that are essencial to your work (how do you store your ideas, your snippets of information?)

I'm especially curious on the subject of serendipity and would love to hear your thoughts about that, because in an age of Quicksilver and Google Search, we tend to just find stuff by typing, and sometimes (for creativity) it's great to find stuff by change, and I feel that's harder and harder to do in a computer.

Thank you for what you do!

I just dug through some backups to find my old copy of LiteSwitch X but I tried installing it and System Preferences says I can't used it because it isn't compatible with Intel-based Macs. Anyone know if Proteron released an Intel version before they closed up shop?

Very cool, hoping to see lots more

As someone who does not speak English as his first language, I was a bit frustrated in understanding "Evernote" (I kept understanding it as "evernet", go figure). It's the only app you don't show explicitly, so I'd suggest to take care of it in the future, just for us "impaired" :)

Another remark deals with video quality. Watching the non-HD version, I noticed that your face went in "waves of deterioration": started fine, then got worse, and worse... up to a point in which it was really ugly! Then it comes back to normality, just to start another wave. Maybe some tweaking in the encoder? I actually don't know if others noticed the same thing.

Apart from nit-picking... great stuff, I really enjoyed it, thanks!

Follow-up: for those who are looking for an Intel-compatible LiteSwitch X, you can download it here:

proteron.portcode.com/LiteSwitchX2.6.dmg

Merlin, love the "most days" series and really enjoyed the desktop tour and would love to see more like it.

Here's my humble request: Since I've subscribed to your Flickr RSS feed, I've really enjoyed seeing where you're going with your photography. How about a screencast showing your photo workflow? i.e. transfer, LR/PS, etc

Continued success,
Jeff

pretty bad-ass...why the leap away from mail.app?...i must admit im getting more and more frustrated with it, and im jealous of your confidence to ditch it...how do u stay organized with it? keep the great stuff coming and miss you on MBW

Great stuff. Long time fan/lurker.

Just had a question for ya (& any other PF users):

How do you stand working with PathFinder PLUS Finder? As much as it's touted to be a Finder _replacement_, it really only supplements it. I've been wanting to use PF ever since it came out, but having to deal with some apps using PF, some using the Finder (a big problem as I'm an avid Exposé user) is just too much jiggering for my workflow. I know there are tricks to making it a 90% replacement, but that remaining 10% reliance on Finder just kills the deal.

Here's to Snow Leopard.


Steve O:

I too, have just recently moved away from Mail.app (prompted by a computer meltdown... leading to more of a net-nomad lifestyle). Can't say that I miss it. Though I'm no Inbox Zero guy, I've found that the simplicity of gMail helps with email zen. To replace MailTags/ActOn/folders, I use labels & advanced filters.

lifehacker.com/software/hack-attack/build-advanced-gmail-filters-and-persistent-searches-276499.php

I make a filter that labels a message (say, "Family"), and also mark is as "archive/skip inbox". That way it keeps my real inbox relatively manageable. That way, funny jokes from my dad/deals from various sites/etc.'ll be stored away for later viewing (still marked as unread), while the important stuff stays in my inbox. Its no Inbox0, but its what works for me.

It'll probably take anywhere from a day to a few weeks of constantly adding addresses to your various labels, but after putting the system in place, I've forgotten all about Mail.app's mystery crashes, non-hangs (works fine but won't quit), and IMAP catastrophy. I'm not scared of email anymore!

I use BusySync as well, but this switch from Mail.app is making me think about living strictly in gCal...

My life for google, I suppose.

Merlin - I'm really enjoying all of what you're "making". You can see how much you're enjoying the process. It reminds me to focus on doing what I love each day - and if I'm pretty successful, that's a good day.

I'll also add my vote to Evernote amd OmniFocus. I'd also like seeing how you work with QuickSilver (or LaunchBar) and TextExpander.

Thanks for this!

i too am throwing my vote in for a similar style run through on your quicksilver workflow. if you're still using it that is.

i'm a fan of ylnt and 43 folders. also have to say i miss you around on mbw, but totally understand your reasons for moving on. thanks for doing what you do!

That was great! Sort of makes me want a Mac again.

Nice, but you don't seem to be too much of a sucker for Apple software. Why's that? I'm completely happy with Finder, MobileMe, etc... They produce powerful apps in my opinion.

For those who are brave enough to test beta-apps. Check out postbox-inc.com. I found Postbox to be a worthy replacement for Mail.app.

Also, I have a feeling Mr. Mann hid his QS, since it's not necessary for a QS master like him to have it sitting on his dock/menubar. (Yes you can hide it on both places).

Yes, a focus on OmniFocus would be helpful. It is deceptively dense.

nice - Thanks

Very nice! Turned me on to a few apps I didn't know were out there.

Hi Merlin,

Thanks for this. Like you, I have given up on MobileMe and mail.app. I have moved to GMail (aps) and Spanning Sync. There is also a cool service called nuevasync that allows your iPhone to sync your Google Calender and email. So far and it's working fine.

Like others on the site I think it would be super to see a few workflows from start-finish on here. Always so interesting to see how other people do it.

Thanks,
Rev. B Wagner-Adair
Leeds, England

Hey Merlin,
Just wanted to say thanks for all the help and wanted you to know i'm a fan of your tips and processes. I'm a filmmaker that lives in Oakland, and my videos are published at Salon among other places.

A few years ago I got my first mac and it was a struggle over the last few years to get organized, and get as much accomplished as needed to. I also was getting overwhelmed with distraction. So, a lot of your tips have saved my butt.

All of the apps you mentioned today -spirited away, dropbox , rouge amoeba... (except gmail and google cal sync which i do from a windows machine and then use plaxo) I'm using, and can't agree with you more that they are essential. I love pathfinder especially, as it makes video a breeze. Your inbox advice, well, I guess there's a reason why they are famous on the web.

I have seen the light about gmail, (using mail.app with ) but ave been loathe to go through the pain of switching.
Anyway, thanks. Videos look great.

Great stuff! Really liked the fuzzy clock and pathfinder (can't believe I haven't heard of this before) But no mention of quicksilver? That's my favorite app.

I'm sure this will really rankle in your wounds (as the great Mel Brooks once had Frankenstein say), but man has this given me a bunch of stuff to just screw around with endlessly! ;) Seriously though, a lot of this stuff seems like it could be really useful.

One question, to everyone, since Proteron appears to have closed up shop, anyone know how to get around the registration notifications? Serial Number, perhaps? Or does someone know how I can pay for it and get a license legally?

What kind of mic are you using it looks like a tallboy beer can and kinda expensive?

You seems like the kind of guy who would be into Quicksilver - blacktree.com/

I was a bit taken aback when there was no Q in the menu bar. I thought, horror of horrors, that Merlin had ditched Quicksilver.

I see from his comments though, that he's still got it. Whew.

Merlin, I met you at the MacBreak recording at MWSF09. This video has taught me more in 10 minutes about new, useful stuff for the Mac than I've learned in a year of just sitting on twitter and the web. Thanks. and I still love YLNT - it's a good podcast to listen to when you're ironing.

I got PathFinder plugged on an episode of The Screen Savers back in 2004 with Leo (youtube.com/watch?v=WcIFL3aJSgY), but I had forgotten about it. Glad to see they're still working on it.

Hi Merlin, I loved all the prod-pr0n in this clip -- but what I'm interested to know is, did you create/edit/graphically "sex up" this vid entirely within Screenflow?

I ask because I've always found SF's editing interface really frustrating, but clearly you don't if you "posted" this entire thing in that app -- it looks/flows beautifully. I make a screencast-driven show for Slate every week and our post workflow is very Final Cut Pro-centric... so if you did this all in that one app, maybe I should give it a closer look.

Really liked the video, an now I'm also really enjoying Pathfinder. The drop stack feature is exactly what I've been looking for.

THANKS for doing these. Love to see more.

Hello Merlin. I hope to see more on what apps and services you use and how you combine them.

Merlin - thank you, this was terrific

great. love it. i'd love to see more of these