I always wished I could carry the pinboard(s) from my office with me. On my Macs. And wouldn’t it be awesome to have multiple version of one pinboard to try different things for ideas. And if you don’t have to manually write them down if you start with the next project?

Well – in a couple of days we can all carry our pinboards around. We can even store them in iCloud. Or use the Mountain Lion Notification Center to send as (scheduled) reminders – even when we’re not in front of our pinboard – aka the Pin App is not running :–)

I’ve just published the (very) first alpha version of moApp for AppDotNet.

It is already stable – but, of course, not feature complete und unpolished. For example: The notifications are not working yet and infinite scrolling decided to be a bitch. I’m working on it – but sometimes even a nerd like I needs some sleep. Should you run into problems – please let me know.

It is already Retina-ware and tested under Mountain Lion. It should work under 10.7 as well…

» Download moApp Alpha
» Follow @MOApp on AppDotNet

Your first second text, code & markup editor.

» Purchase from MOApp
» Download Demo Version

Simple. Powerful. Customizable. Retina-aware.

No, no ugly monsters here.

SimpleEdit is not one of those editors that haven’t been updated in years. It is also not one of those this editors that never left their alpha status and then were sent to retire on a farm upstate.

Yes, sometimes a jam-packed editor is necessary.

But in most cases we need something simple.
Something really simple.
Something fast and most important – something uncluttered.

SimpleEdit will be your first second editor of choice.

It is very fast, iCloud* enabled, powerful and simply clean.
DeadSimpleEdit is, of course, not a good name – but it would fit perfectly.

And, the best thing about SimpleEdit is its customizability:

You can create your own themes and definitions for any language you want and need. Its syntax highlighting knows more than just some keywords and is very fast and robust.

But what you will love most about SimpleEdit is its customizable command menu. A menu with all your own actions, scripts, commands, snippets and templates. You can create your own command-line commands or even your own URL requests. So you could post your code with just a single click to an online snippets repository. Or – with also just one click – you could create a PDF preview from a LaTeX document.

I’m sure that you will come up with even more versatile actions, commands and scripts…

» SimpleEdit Website

Simple. Powerful. Customizable. iCloud* enabled. Retina-aware.

No – SimpleEdit is not an ugly monster editor like others. It is also not an editor that will never leave its alpha state or is not updated in years.

Yes, sometimes we need such a jam-packed editor.

But in most cases we need something simple.
Something really simple.
Something fast and most important of all – something uncluttered.

SimpleEdit will be your first second editor of choice.

It will be released tomorrow and in the spirit of my current Apple-AppleStore-Review-Bullshit-Hatred – I decided not to wait until it is also available on the App Store.

It is currently waiting for review. And waiting. And waiting …

I like TextMate. Simply because it is simple. I don’t need all the bells and whistles other editors like BBEdit offer. And I only use it as additional/second editor.

After it was not updated in years I moved on to BBEdit. It is an awesome App – no doubts. But it is ugly and does not ‘feel’ Cocoa-ish.

And I was happy to download the alpha version of TextMate. But I guess this is going to be vaporware times two and will never leave the alpha status. At least not for the next couples of years.

And for my needs even TextMate is to much and currently to slow under 10.8.

So I searched for alternatives. The only ‘alternative’ that comes closes is Chocolat. But it does not really fit my needs, has no iCloud support (and probably will never) and it is to much for me as well.

I just need a simple – a dead simple – editor to quickly paste some code out of Xcode, to just update a website with new links and I want to do that without typing to much. That’s why I already once wrote HTMchen. But why use two Apps – when one can do the trick. And HTMchen’s syntax coloring isn’t very sophisticated and fast.

And as always – if I need something and can’t find an already written App that will fit my needs – I open Xcode and create a new project.

This new project is called SimpleEdit. I shortly thought about naming it DeadSimpleEdit – but that’s not a good name. But you get the point.

No tabs, no folding, no coffee maker, no VGA interface and no floppy drive.

But it offers a very clean interface, iCloud support, a symbol list, themes (yes, you can create your own) and the ability to edit (or create) syntax definitions and own actions (like formatting, inserting links, snippets or even templates etc.), code completion and scripts (sort of, we are talking about the Mac App Store here).

It can be completely operated by keyboard and what I hate most about other solutions is the way you have to select the definition, the encoding etc.

SimpleEdit asks you directly when you create a new document and you’re done.

It will never replace those power editors – but for me it is already the best second editor. Especially when working with my new Retina MacBook Pro :–)

Oh – and I have just submitted it for review…

I had an idea! Now I own the domain. And the App is already in the works.

We all use CloudApp, Droplr and Co. Those services are simple, working and free. And that is the problem.

Because it is our content. And I hate it, when my content is stored somewhere else. It is my content. I own it. I created it. I want do decide – what to do with it.

And last night I had an epiphany. I own a server. All I need is an own tool. Lucky me: I know how to write Apps :–)

Droppp.Me

Yes – I know. Most Apps on the Mac App Store are games. But there are actually some people out there still using their Mac for work. Creative work. And not all creative work has something to do with social media and HTML.

Some of us are still writing books and plays and articles. And for those I am currently writing a complete new version of my (very) old Zitate App.

References will be an iCloud enabled App to store and track references (incl. attachments, notes) and to create reference lists (MLA and Co). There is not a single Reference Tracker on the App Store and the others are all to ugly or to complicated.

And never mind their prices…

FINALLY!

After over six weeks and lots of frustrating rejections, Free finally hits the Mac App Store.

“Less is more”, as minimalist architect Mies van der Rohe says. Not only is this aphorism true in architecture, it’s true in writing as well.

Enter Free, software specifically designed with you, the writer, in mind.

Free is extra newly written for Lion – thus it comes with all the OS X goodies we love:

· iCloud
· Auto Save
· Fullscreen
· Versions
· Resume (Suppressible)
· Substitutions
· Spelling and Grammar
· Dictionary
· …

In addition – Free has some nifty features and tools that will make it your tool of choice when it comes to writing – distraction free writing – in no time:

· Paragraph Highlighting
· Color Schemes
· Typewriter scrolling
· Typewriter sounds (optional, for the crazy ones)
· Word Count (for selection)
· Word Frequency and Statistics
· Paginated Preview | Print | Export
· Markdown Support
· Formatted Printouts
· Formatted Export (e.g. Word Documents)
· Different Fonts for Screen | Print | Export
· Convert into | Edit | Print | Export as Rich Text
· …

Free’s predecessor – the very successful and widely used myTexts was the very first App of its kind. The first distraction free text only writing tool with paragraph highlighting, background patterns to better work with glossy screens and a Markdown enabled preview and export. It was also the very first App with extra custom made fonts, in depth statistics and word frequency count.

Long story short: with Free you get years of experience for – well – almost free :–)

Unlike most word processors, Free stands apart from the rest with its user-friendly interface. Without the burdens of superfluous features common in other softwares, Free helps you get more meaning out of your words with less distraction.

With Free, you don’t need to worry about the glitz and glamour of eye-candy filling your screen, meaning less clutter, less distractions, and less troubles; Free’s integrated automated environment helps you focus almost automatically on writing. Simply put, you don’t have to worry about pesky pests like windows, buttons or formats. No mess, no fuss. Free truly turns your Mac into a supercharged typewriter.

No man is an island – not even the best poet. Since we write to be widely read and understood, Free’s multi-format file support makes it easy to exchange files with the outside world. Free inherently has read/write support to common and prevalent file formats like Word, OpenOffice, Rich Text, Markdown, HTML, Plain Text and even LaTeX.

Free Website
Free on the Mac App Store

Apple has just approved my latest little helper tool.

Dammit. Where is that important folder?
Dammit. Do I have all files for my latest application?
Dammit. Why did I just closed that Finder window, again?

Think of Dammit as the speed dial buttons to your most often used and most important files and folders.

Just create a stack. Add up to nine files or folders per stack and simply open them with the keys 1-9. Or just click onto them. Of course you can create unlimited stacks and you can add whatever you want.

Folders, images, Apps, bookmarks and even drives and servers.

Swipe between Stacks and replace items in a blink by drag-and-drop. If needed you can lock items or even flag them.

Dammit runs in the background, can be activated by an own custom Global Hotkey and if you like you can disable the Dock icon.

Dammit has a very small footprint, is optimized for speed and can be completely operated by keyboard.

So – why not replace the daily “Dammit. Where is that folder again?‘ with: “Dammit, what a great little helper”?

Dammit Website
Dammit on the Mac App Store