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many of the tech writers in my Twitter stream, I too am simply exhausted from all that there is to unpack in today’s WWDC 2011 Keynote. That said, let me try to break down a few highlights that I think are important to what we believe in here.

I’m going to start with the one I found most interesting:

iCloud

The funny thing is that iCloud is not any one thing but a host of things. Perhaps iCloud is not even “things” but an idea. The idea being that users should have the stuff that matters to them – music, photos, documents, contacts, calendars, etc. – available to all of their devices and backed up, offsite, in real time. The idea that the files system should not matter and, in fact, should become unimportant. The idea that if you buy something from Apple on one device it should be available to download (by choice or automatically) to all devices.

I think, for those of us purposefully working with limited space, there is a question of how all of this get stored and how much space it takes up. I purposefully did not install iLife on my Macbook Air, not only because I knew I would rarely use these apps there but also because of the additional space not having the app or the library would save me and allow for other things that mattered more. It was hard to get a sense from the “liveblogs” I followed how such things would be handled. For instance, I do have iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) on the Macbook Air. Will it be possible to sync only the data pertinent to it and not iLife as well or will it be an all or nothing affair?

These are things I don’t quite know or understand yet and we will have to wait for Mac OS X Lion to check them out.

The one thing I want to point out is the iTunes in the Cloud feature. As I stated a couple of weeks ago, Apple knows what we have purchased and they know what is in our library, why not just make it available to all devices? If it’s available in the iTunes store, why not simply make it available for listening? Well, this is exactly what they did. It looks fantastic. The stuff you have bought through iTunes is there available for download today. If you have ripped music or, presumably, purchased it elsewhere, it will be available for same when the new iTunes Match service is released this Fall.

The only thing I got wrong was the streaming aspect of it. Not sure why this was not announced today. I still think, due to the decreased amount of storage available on some of Apple’s most popular devices (i.e. iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Macbook Air 11 inch), not to mention increasing bandwidth (I get a steady 19MB down as it stands right now), this would seem to me to be an important play. I don’t know the reasons but still believe it is coming sooner rather than later. Perhaps, that too, is waiting for Fall.

The Photo Stream feature will be a godsend to those of us who take lots of pictures and can never remember what the heck is where. I’m also hoping it will resolve a long standing issue of my wife and I which is the ability to have a central immediate photo storage that we each have access (i.e. “Can you email me that cute photo of Beatrix you just took so I have it too?).

It will also be interesting to see how this changes mine and my wife’s fairly complex and robust calendar sharing that we have thus far relied on BusyCal to do being able to handle all of this stuff with iCloud and have any changes instantly synced between our devices will be a godsend.

But these two things bring up an important (to me at least) question – how will iCloud handle this from an account perspective? Will we be able to say, for instance, both my wife’s devices and mine belong to the same iCloud account for some things but have separate accounts for others? For example, she currently has her own Apple ID and therefore her own music, app and other purchases. In the case of apps, she may not want to have to wade through all the stuff I purchased to get to the three things she has. Not to mention documents. I think we can see where this is going. I wonder how the complexities of a modern household where several devices exist and sharing would be good for some things but not others will be handled?

That said, it seems many of the questions will likely be answered in the coming months or for sure will be come Fall. Of all of the announcements made at the Keynote (and there were a ton), I foresee this being the most foundationaly disruptive in terms of the way we approach our data today.

Not long ago, at the mall, I found myself standing outside of the Microsoft Store which is strategically built directly across from the Apple Store. I stood at the window and watched the people playing in front of the Kinect demo. I made a point to look mostly at the players and the strange sort of pantomime they were doing as they manipulated the action on screen. One did not have to see the screen, that pantomime told the story. Pick up the ball from the rack, bring it up to the chest, swing it back behind, swing it forward and release. Roll. Strike! Bowling.

It really is an amazing and magical technology. Think about it. You are using natural real-world movement to mimic an action and it is happening in real time on a screen in front of you. No special gloves, wands, cables. Nothing. Just you. You pretend. It makes it real.

The problem is that Microsoft does not, can not, see it that way (and perhaps never will). They invented a device from the future yet could not untether themselves from the past and present. They could not see the potential to change the world with this device because they are too wedded to the idea that it had to work with the present. So, instead, it is just a toy, nothing more.

If they threw out the ideas and influences of the present, they could have seen that you could stand in front of a flat screen in your living room and manipulate objects on the screen like documents or pictures or folders or email – all through the same strange sort of pantomime. Perhaps it would understand your speech and respond to that as well.

“Open email from Steve.”

“Reply.”

“Steve, that time sounds perfect. Thanks”

“Send.”

That would change computing. It would set a bar leaving others to catch up. It would define a whole new category. That is disruptive. That is post PC. That is something I would buy. That is a platform I would invest a lot of money in. No matter the maker. I suspect I’m not alone.

Perhaps that is the most frustrating part to me. I see this future, and all the pieces to build it, sitting right there. We could have it, today, in every room in our house. Walk up to a screen and command it. Interact with the stuff you have there. Naturally. But, due to lack of vision, it’s not magic. It’s a game. As long as the blinders of the present and past remain, it will never be anything more.

There are those that believe that you need the experiences of the past and present to build the future. I’m calling bullshit. If you build on the past or present you simply extend the past and present. To build the future, you must let it stand alone. You must build it on top of a whole new platform. You must create whole new segments and spawn whole new eras.

The very act of invention involves forgetting everything you know. You can’t have a discussion about the future using the words and concepts of the past or present. You have to forget everything you know about the way people interact with a computer and reinvent it, as well, around this new future. Otherwise, you end up asking the wrong questions and trying to see where this new thing fits. And if the new thing does not fit you will find a way to make it fit.

In the case of the Kinect, Microsoft could not make it fit with Windows. They could not make it fit with Office. So, they found a way to make it fit with Xbox. They can’t see the Xbox platform beyond a gaming device. Therefore, naturally, they could not see the Kinect beyond just some cool peripheral to a game.

Contrast this with Apple and the iOS. They saw the future. They knew they had something nothing short of magic. To build it, they forgot everything they knew about the way one interacts with a computer. They did not find a way to make it fit. They redefined the very idea of computing around this new idea. They did not let the past or present inform them. They built the future. And, in doing so, they set a bar. It was disruptive. It caused everyone else to try to imitate. It changed the rules. They created a new era.

This is a heads up that I’m going to be changing the way I approach Twitter for the foreseeable future. Here is the new plan:

• I will be treating my stream more like a microblog. I will be posting updates mainly through Reeder, Quotebook, Birdhouse, etc. This is an attempt to improve the quality and the value of the stuff I’m sharing. I want to share things that I think will add value to your precious and limited time. My hope is that you will find it worth the interruption and I will evaluate what I post based on that criteria alone.
• I will only be dipping into my “stream” of folks I follow occasionally and will not be “catching up” by reading all the things I’ve missed. Therefore, I will likely miss some things. Which is OK. I need to reduce my fear of missing out by missing out. That said, if you feel that something requires my attention (i.e. Is it worth the interruption for me?) then I welcome your @reply, cc, or mention. I’ll be checking those for sure (see below).
• As I do with my email, I will be responding to @replies and Direct Messages in batches and only for a certain time period every day. Unlike my stream, I will be “catching up” and reading all of these. That said, only @replies and Direct Messages that I feel require a response will receive one.

My intention is not to be aloof, condescending, or out of touch. My intention is to try this on for a while and see if it improves the value and quality for all involved. Most of all, it allows me to turn my focus to what I feel is my mission here on this rock, writing and curating.

Those who follow me on Twitter saw me drop this idea last night in my stream so this may not be new to you.

I was just thinking aloud after reading the umpteenth rumor/speculation/claim-chowder post about the alleged Apple iCloud service and the possibly to stream music from some giant locker in the sky. In almost every one of these I have read, it is speculated that one would be able to upload or store purchased music in some sort of cloud based digital locker – similar to the way Google and Amazon are doing it.

Here are some thoughts on that:

• Why would Apple want to get into the upload game? Let those that don’t get it (see above) fail at that. All the reports I have read from those who have used the above similar services is that it sucks. Broadband speeds in America are slow, at best, on the upload stream. When was the last time Apple released anything that was slow, hard work, or difficult for, say, your Mom to understand.
• Why would Apple have to do that? Apple likely knows what is in your iTunes library already. How? Genius. To generate those nifty Genius results in iTunes, your entire library is scanned and that data is sent to Apple where they can compare it against those of others and their purchase history.
• Therefore, if they know what is in your library, and that info is connected to your AppleID, and that item is already on a server for sale on the iTunes store, why not just allow people to stream it? In other words, no upload needed.

This, I’m sure is bringing up a lot of questions. That’s OK. I’m here to help (which is especially easy with things I make up):

• “But what about that live concert rip I downloaded off of Pirate Bay?”. Sorry. Can’t stream it. Has to be something for sale in the iTunes Music Store.
• “But what about the stuff I bought from Amazon? Ripped from CD?” Buy it from Amazon? Rip it from CD? No matter. If iTunes sells it you can stream it.
• “But most of what I listen to is not on the iTunes store!” Then, this service is not for you.

Apple does not care about the outliers here. Why should they? What’s the business case for doing so? The sales numbers tell the tale. Most regular people, the vast majority, buy their music from the iTunes Store and have for years. Such a service will be built and tailored for them.

The reason is obvious – Apple wants to make it even easier to listen to that music anywhere you have an Apple device so you buy more music. From Apple. To play on Apple products. Have an Apple product? Great! Any music you can buy in iTunes will be available to stream over WiFi or 3G to any Apple device.

Here, buy some music!

If you ever want to figure out what Apple is going to do in any case, look for these things…

1) What is the easiest to explain to anyone and everyone (Hi, Mom!)?

2) What is the simplest way to achieve the goal with the resources they already have?

3) What directly feeds the bottom line which is to sell more Apple stuff?

If your answer to any of these sounds like anything less than magic, pixie dust, and unicorn tears you are likely wrong.

Feel free to mark this as yet another piece of claim chowder and call me on it when the facts come out.

Dropbox Lied to Users About Data Security, Complaint to FTC Alleges | Threat Level | Wired.com

Yes, it seems the whole Internet is talking about this story. That said, here is the general rule of thumb we all should be aware of as a blanket statement of security about everything:

If you want your data to be 100% secure, here’s the solution:

Don’t have data.

Anything on or attached to the Internet could be accessed no matter what. This is especially true of anything you willingly give to someone else, no matter what they promise. The only way to be safe is to locally encrypt all of your data and never, ever, attach it to the Internet. Though, that is only as safe as someone taking your machine and breaking the encryption which, well, the government could surely do if they wanted to.

The bottom line is that the moment you even have data it is at some level of risk. So the real question is how much risk are you comfortable with?

For instance, I’m reasonably sure my hosting provider could read my IMAP based email anytime they want to. I’m also reasonably sure that, someone with the right skills could hack into my local machine from afar and read whatever they wanted. Therefore, I’m not at all surprised that a company that syncs data to the cloud that I allow it to and then to other machines has the ability to read that data and hand it over to authorities if pressed to do so under threat or law.

By connecting with the Internet in the first place I’m assuming some level of risk. Having my email hosted by a 3rd party I’m assuming another. Put any of my data in the hands of anyone else (Dropbox in this instance), well, that is yet another. 

Osama Bin Laden spent years not connected to the internet and encrypting his data. This still has not stopped our government from taking his machine and finding his porn stash.

I’m trading security for personal convenience in all of these cases and it’s a risk I have, thus far, been comfortable with in the instances I have done so. A big part of that comfort comes from knowing that most of our ideas about security are stories we like to tell ourselves and each other to help us sleep comfortably at night. The Internet knows much more about us then most of our friends do from the moment the cable guy flips the switch.

So, yes, back to the Dropbox thing…

Just be reasonably careful so you can be reasonably comfortable and know that there is no such thing as secure data.

Have a nice day!

In a child’s mind, everything happens right now. Have you ever suggested something to a child, especially a two or three year old, with the intention of it happening at a later date. For instance, suggesting having ice cream after dinner or going to a movie later in the day? My results are always that they start heading straight for the freezer with bowl in hand or to the door ready to take in a show. It takes effort and explanation to sway them from the idea that there even is something called “later” let alone that these things are happening there.
I believe there is a reason for this. It is because later does not exist. The future is great in concept and theory but, until the future becomes now, it is as real as a fairy tale or an imaginary friend. Everything that exists in the world around us exists only in the now. Our natural state is now.
Therefore, imagine how strange and complex a subject the idea of later must be to the mind of a child. Especially one who is only just beginning to grasp the concept of time.
Perhaps we should all try to approach life and our time in it in the same way. Let the past be prologue. Let the future be fantasy. Let your thoughts and actions exist in the now.

Societal pressure to ‘keep house’

Personally, unless a home is filthy or is a danger to the person who lives there or a burden to others, I don’t care about the clutter. I just hope the person is happy and the clutter doesn’t interfere with her ability to pursue the life she desires or anyone else’s. Not only do I think gender is irrelevant to this topic, I believe we need to stop cluttering up our thoughts and time by concerning ourselves with how other people have chosen to live. If someone chooses to be an unclutterer, I think that is an amazing decision. However, I don’t think everyone should or needs to be an unclutterer to pursue a remarkable life.

What we believe in.

Just like Erin, if anyone were to see my home at any given time, they would likely think that the person who curates this site was a complete charlatan. I live in an old house. There are constant remodeling projects in ious stages of completion. I have a three year old daughter who messes it up as quickly as I can pick it up (so why even bother most days). My office area is in such a state of disarray that I can barely stand working in it. Plus, I married someone who, by their own admission, is the opposite of a minimalist. A big part of my desire to have a more minimal existence with my technology and other personal items is driven by the fact that it is the one thing I can control. It is the one area I can reduce some clutter and friction without forcing others around me to conform. 

Therefore, I’m always surprised when people think I judge them and how they choose to live and work. That I care about how much they have on their desktop or think poorly of them for having a messy desk. Quite the opposite actually. I want people to live and work in whatever way is best for them. All I try to promote here is the idea that we should not just let these things “happen” to us. We should all ask questions, in this increasingly crazy world, about what we can do to make our own lives a little bit more sane.

The other day I was having lunch with a friend. My friend has a business. He is a realtor. This business, like most, would benefit greatly from the use of a blog and social tools to both communicate to current clients and capture new ones. The problem: He thinks he doesn’t have anything to write about. He says he gets there, logs in, but does not know what to say. He sweats over the details. The words. The subject. Everything. He tells me this, seeking my help. So, here is what I told him and the secret I’m going to give you: Every conversation you have contains something to write about. If it’s interesting enough to have a conversation about, it’s interesting enough to write about and, if it’s not, you should not waste your time talking or writing. I’m not talking about idle chit-chat here (though that could be great too). I’m talking about conversations where real value and information is exchanged. Casual or not. The post is right there, waiting for you to capture it, share it. For instance, here are the things I learned in the five minute conversation we had when I asked him, “How’s business going?”:

1. In this market, you can get a 2,500-3,000 square foot house with three bedrooms and two baths for under $200,000. Compared to even a couple of years ago, it’s a bargain.
2. There are plenty of great house deals like this and plenty of people to buy. The problem is the bank’s willingness to loan. The problem in getting a loan is easily solved with the right Mortgage Broker. He has a guy that has relationships with 30+ banks and can get a loan for just about anyone.
3. Part of his job is, up front, assessing if he and the client are the right fit. He wants to be your guy. Therefore, he asks a few up front questions of perspective clients. Like, what’s their name. Many people don’t even want to give that. They are afraid that will somehow make a commitment. That he will be looking them up and cold calling them every five minutes. In fact, that is the last thing he will do. Why would any reputable business person want to start a relationship with someone who does not want to. How can he even know if he can get you the right house if you won’t even give him your name?

Guess what I told him? In five minutes he came up with his first three blog posts. Information that would be valuable to any current or perspective client. Ideas that can then be promoted with a single tweet or status update. Also, if we could come up with that in five minutes just think of what we could come up in an hour long lunch. A meeting. A phone call. Especially with a colleague or client. Do you also see something else? It’s hiding right in front of your eyes… This post. This post is from that same conversation. I start with “nothing to write about” and in five minutes of casual conversation I have something to share. It’s like magic. But it’s not. It’s called writing.

I’ve been meaning to speak about this for a while. Namely, this: If you have music you don’t enjoy in your iTunes library, why?

Is it that you bought it before you realized it was not your thing and now feel like deleting it would be throwing money away?

Is it because it was a gift and you feel like deleting it would somehow dishonor the thought?

Do you have your music on a shared system with your spouse/significant other/family/roommate and you have different or only slightly overlapping musical tastes?

I don’t claim to have the answers to any of these. In fact, I’m likely just a guilty as anyone else. Especially if you have a large music library, it can take a while to go through it all and decide what to keep and what to delete.

That said, this is even more of a reason to turn on shuffle from time to time and let the random happen. And, while the random is happening, take the time to rate each song as you hear it. It only takes a few seconds and can prove invaluable for separating the wheat from the chaff. That way, even if you don’t or can’t delete the music you don’t like, you can at least focus in on the stuff you do. How? Well, with Smart Playlists of course. Here are a few that I use:

Here is the stuff that has never been played in your library. Start here. I limit mine to a manageable and not overwhelming amount. I play these and rate them as I go along.

Here is new stuff I have added and not yet played. Once again, I take pains to rate this stuff as I listen to it so that I can do the work up front.

Once again, a manageable chunk. No need to give yourself more pressure. Rate a few and a few more will be there when you are ready to get back to it. Do it enough and you will know where everything in your library stands.

Because then… Then… You can do stuff like this:

Boom! 

You now have the greatest playlist in the world filled with stuff you at least like more than average. Every single song will be great.

You can also do this:

These are the things you should ask questions about. 

Sometimes, you don’t even know you are writing a book until you have done so. A writer who writes primarily for online publishing, who is used to publishing in essay form, does not always see the individual items emerging into a meaningful whole. Then, one day, you look up and realize that you have something. That this thing belongs with another thing. That, perhaps, all of these things want to be together and live on as a collected body of work. This is a core of a book.
It is with great pride (and a certain sense of relief) that I release my very first book. It’s titled Keeping It Straight – You, Me, & Everything Else. It’s available today in both paperback and eBook form. I would be humbled and honored if you would consider buying a copy.
Keeping It Straight is a collection of short essays that explore topics such as mindfulness, compassion, truth, and living a purposeful and productive life. There’s plenty of practical advice to take away as well. For instance, how to deal with email overload and sensible task management.
Here is what some others have already had to say about it:
“Patrick’s writing is like warm butter on dry toast. Each page is full of musings and personal discoveries from Patrick’s life that will make you think about how you’re spending your time and energy, and, more importantly, it will make you think about what priorities are most important in your own life.” – Shawn Blanc
“Fans of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ will instantly embrace Patrick Rhone’s work. Patrick offers the “Why” to GTD’s “How.” – Randy Murray
“Patrick is a wonderful writer and many of the thoughts he conveys in this book compel you to put the book down right where you are in order to make some real changes in your life.” – Ben Brooks
Keeping It Straight is a delightful mixture of advice, reflection and exploration that reads like a poem. Patrick’s honest, genuine approach to a iety of topics from happiness to efficiency make this book a joy to read. Highly recommended. – Brett Kelly
Most of this book has been written over the past few years, originally published online in ious forms, for ious projects and in many locations. While most of these ideas are out there, somewhere amongst my uncollected works on the internet, and available for free, everything in this book is different from the original. These are now collected, professionally edited, and presented in the way these ideas seem destined to live on – together. Also, I believe you will find that many take on a new life in this form.
Finally, I’d like to thank all who have helped make this possible especially Randy (and Penny) at First Today Press, Aaron at Wet Frog Studios, and Pat Dryburgh for designing the book website.
Buy it today:

• Paperback

• ePub

• PDF