Assorted links for June 15, 2010
A number of really cool things have moved across my desk this past week, but none of them are necessarily large enough for a post all their own. Enjoy exploring these uncluttering and organizing tidbits:
- Much like the Lifehacker Pack of free downloads for Windows that we linked to on June 3, we now can link to the “Lifehacker Pack for Mac: Our List of the Best Free Mac Downloads.”
- Lifehacker also had a great post about a creative way to display a collection in a small space.
- ThinkGeek featured a Universal Network Cable to make patching for rolled, crossover, straight-through, ATM/loopback, and T1 as simple as turning the dial on a single cord. The select-a-cable idea is uncluttering genius.
- SwissMiss’s photo gallery of the amazing use of space 505 square foot apartment literally made my jaw drop.
- Also on SwissMiss, a pretty cool storage stool and coat rack in the article “Cutter Stool and Wardrobe.”
- I may end up writing a full post on this next item, but since I have yet to install it, I don’t feel qualified enough to do more than share a link right now. The program Papers for the Mac allows users to manage files and create groups similar to the way iTunes works. I’ve been looking for a document manager exactly like this, and am really excited to give it a try.
- We all know about reusable grocery bags, but did you know you can get reusable produce bags, too? Amanda at Metrocurean introduced me to the Produce Stand Collection of vegetable bags.
- More suggestions for how to get rid of relationship clutter post-breakup from the wonderful D. Allison Lee.
- After the “The mess he made: A life-long slob decides it’s time to get organized” article ran in The Washington Post, there was a live online discussion with Mike Rosenwald and Randy Frost “Hoarding intervention: A life-long slob gets organized.”
- Finally, after our controversial post on Simplified Spelling earlier this month, a reader sent us a link to a really fun YouTube video of Ed Rondthaler (he’s 102 in this video). It’s a lighthearted critique of English spellings, but maybe not safe for work in one short spot mid-way through the video. Best to watch it at home.
11 comments posted
Posted by Wouter Groenewold - 06/15/2010
I first used “Tags” to organize my files in a smart way in OS X. Now I just use OS X for that. My workflow is:
-Select files.
-CMD + I.
-insert tags in the comment field.
-Use Spotlight to find back the tagged files.
-Use Saved searches to index the tags.
Works like a charm!
Posted by Bri - 06/15/2010
I love mesh produce bags too. I grabbed a couple four packs of Tidy Totes mesh bags from the dollar store and sewed up a drawstring bag to store them in. Quick and easy and only cost me a couple dollars. I’ll admit, they’re not going to optimize the humidity to keep the vegetables fresh longer, but they work.
Posted by Amy - 06/15/2010
Have you tried Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) to manage documents?
I’ve never tried it on a Mac, but it works great on Windows & Ubuntu!
Posted by Christine - 06/15/2010
I’m a graduate student and am in love with Papers! It’s got a lot of great management properties (ability to search the title, the authors, everything in the paper, etc.; keeps track of when it was downloaded, last read, last printed off; ability to place a single document in multiple collections or none; ability to sort by author, title, publication date, last read date). There is a wealth of useful features, and it’s simply a beautiful piece of software.
However, where it really shines for me is the fullscreen reading mode – a simple grey background and a scalable pdf, with options for a notation box or info box. Provided that audio alerts are turned off or my computer is muted, there is nothing else to distract me from getting my reading done.
In short, Papers is definitely *not* the document solution for everyone, but it’s the solution for me and the best money I’ve ever spent on software.
Posted by historydoll - 06/15/2010
I would also recommend DevonThink for paper wrangling. I use DT Pro Office for my financial stuff, and all my dissertation stuff, and it’s great. Multiple databases, searchable PDFs, easy integration with scanners, an AI that suggests classifications and similar pieces elsewhere in the database, etc.
Posted by HappyDogs - 06/15/2010
Thanks for the link to Papers, it sounds perfect for me. I will be testing it out tonight. My ScanSnap is coming soon, I have to get ready!
Posted by Lee - 06/15/2010
I’m totally clueless on the Free Downloads, but sent them to my Mac Loving kids. Thanks!
Posted by Misty - 06/15/2010
Thanks for the link to the article on hoarding.
Posted by Pat - 06/15/2010
Papers is pretty great.
Note that it’s pretty specifically for academic journal articles — if you want a more general purpose document manager there’s others out there, or you can roll-your-own with tags and smart search like Wouter.
Posted by Beatriz - 06/16/2010
I have used Papers for about a year now, and I grew to really hate it. First of all, it only handles pdfs. In addition, it has no format for book chapters, and you can’t change the formatting of the font (so no italics, which are really important in my field). I have more than 6000 references and 3000 pdfs, and the application is really slow to launch and to show suggestions of keywords. Trying to use keywords to create a smart list is so slow that I usually give up. Etc, etc. My husband used Papers for a couple of months then switched to Zotero, which is a free extension to Firefox that handles all sorts of documents, captures metadata more efficiently, and is updated very often. He is much happier than me. Unfortunately I am finishing my PhD and in too deep to switch before my defense. After that, though, I’ll be very happy to get rid of it!
Posted by Julie - 06/16/2010
I would love to see more reviews of Papers or other file management systems. Thanks for the comments everyone.
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