minimalsites.com - Minimal Web Design Gallery and Minimalist Community

simpledesks:

Hi Pat,

Just a quick shot of my workspace/studio. Love your site man, keep it up!

Ciao, TB

Submitted by TB.

On a personal note, this would be a dream setup for me as well. – P

I have a serious thing for rustic tables and MacBooks right now.

iCorkz [Sponsor]:

I’d like to welcome iCorkz as this week’s RSS Feed sponsor. Look, we all have cases to help keep our iPhones pristine and to protect them from drops and scratches. But what about liquid? Get a little spillage in the port connector or headphone jack and your favorite pocket computer could be as functional as toast. Even a little moisture from rain or high humidity can trigger the moisture sensors and void your warranty. That’s where iCorkz come in. They are fitted covers for your iPhone’s port’s exact dimensions for a perfectly sealed, dry, and secure fit. Just under a Hamilton is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Milan based industrial designer Sakura Adachi created Trick, a bookcase which can be transformed into a console table with two chairs.

Adachi, born in Aichi – Japan, studied at the Musashino Art University in Industrial and Craft Design, specializing in woodwork, and moved to London afterward to completed her MA in Industrial Design at Saint Martins College of Art & Design.

Trick is a perfect furniture piece to fulfill your everyday activities in a small environment. Moving both sides of the bookcase from their original positions they become chairs and the center part becomes a table ideal to use for office work and dining.

So, many may now know that I’m working on a Minimal Mac podcast. We will be recording the first episodes this week and will have the first one up “soonish” after that. With my doing more podcasts for others and working on one of my own, it has become quite obvious that the built in mic just wont do. While it is perfectly fine for a minimal solution, it is past the time to upgrade to something more appropriate.

I recently asked on Twitter for some suggestions for good podcasting mics. My only requirement was that it had to be USB as I will be plugging it directly into my Macbook Air. Here, in no particular order, are the suggestions I got:

• Blue Yeti

• Rode Podcaster USB Dynamic Microphone

• Audio-Technica AT2020 USB

• Blue Snowflake

• M-Audio MobilePre – This was suggested for use with a more traditional microphone for a more “pro” sound.

And here are two excellent resources that were suggested to learn more about microphones in general:

• The Mixdown – Episode #4: Mic Mechanics

• Microphones 101:A Beginner’s Guide to Macs and Mics

Now, the most “minimal” looked to be the Blue Snowflake and I was heavily tempted to just go with that for now then upgrade later if needed. It is small, portable, and gets high ratings as a “good enough” solution but…

The one that I went with was the Blue Yeti. The main reason being that it is the one that my friends at The Bro Show use and, since they are helping to produce the podcast with me, I felt it best to have the same kit on all sides. Plus, I thought with my desk setup the Snowflake would end up too far away from my mouth to get the audio quality I wish. I also liked the humanistic look of the mic and stand. But at 3.5 pounds and a foot tall, it’s about as minimal as a Hummer.

That said, if money was not an issue, I likely would have gone with the Rode Podcaster because it got a really strong endorsement by Dan Benjamin in the episode of The Mixdown linked above.

Hope others in the market find all of this info useful.

Eureka for Mac [Sponsor]:

I wanted to take a moment out to thank Eureka for Mac for sponsoring this weeks RSS Feed. Eureka helps you find files your way with more flexible ad-hoc filtering criteria. It’s faster and more flexible than smart folders and has support for both Quick Look and Multi-Touch. It’s worth checking out.

patrickrhone / journal » Blog Archive » Monday Mac Tweak #9 – Notational Velocity:

The following question came up in conversation with a friend yesterday; How long have I been using Notational Velocity?

Only about six years.

I long for a world where my winter evenings look like this.

(via Convoy)