I know I’m a bit late to the party on this one, but I wouldn’t forgive myself if I missed it. As of a few days ago, you can become a patron of Minimal Mac, and support the amazing work that Patrick Rhone is doing over there.

In case you don’t know about it, Minimal Mac is a site that explores the concept of “enough” in our relationship with computers and technology in general, with a specific focus on the Mac platform and the rest of the Apple ecosystem. It has been a personal favorite of mine ever since it launched, about two years ago.

The pitch is really interesting as it is, but what I find most compelling about it is the unique feel that Patrick has managed to achieve with the site. You see, Minimal Mac doesn’t pretend to know it all and be a beacon of absolute truth. Instead, it aspires to be a light you can use to hopefully help you find your own particular brand of truth. What works for you may not be what works for Patrick, or for me. And that’s okay. Nobody has all the answers. When it comes to the relationship you choose to have with the technology around you, there is only one guru: you.

And so the search is the same for all of us, Patrick included. And trough his work on Minimal Mac we get a chance to explore these exciting ideas together, and hopefully find the balance that feels just right for us. The combination that is enough.

If, like me, you enjoy this concept, you should consider becoming a patron today. For just $5 a month you can subscribe to Patrick’s personal newsletter, and you will get special access to his work as it evolves in his head. Think of it as your personal little hole in Patrick’s wall, through which you’ll be able to get a peek of his creative process. As a patron you will not only be supporting his efforts, you will also be ensuring the continuity of Minimal Mac, and maybe helping to make it even better.

Of course, the problem in today’s world is that people don’t like to pay for what they can get elsewhere for free. Especially content. It is so devalued by today’s standards that it’s hard to find a compelling reason to justify the expense. But good content is always worth it, and Patrick’s content is as good as it gets. The way I see it is pretty simple. I just ask myself: Do I get $5 worth of value (a pint of beer) out of Patrick’s work every month? If it depended solely on me, would I pay that amount in order to ensure its continuity, support him and allow him to devote as much time to it as he feels comfortable with? The answer in both cases is ridiculously evident: a resounding yes.

Patrick is a terrific writer, and such a nice guy that he even goes out of his way to ease the concerns of the doubtful, making it crystal clear that it’s possible to unsubscribe at any time, no questions asked. But trust me, after a few weeks sharing the road with him, you’ll realize that this was one of the smartest decisions you ever made, and the only doubts you’ll have will be about what you can do to support him even more.

Good luck, my friend.

Onward!

“The cover,” writes Isaacson in private e-mail, “is the Albert Watson portrait taken for Fortune in 2009. The back is a Norman Seeff portrait of him in the lotus position holding the original Macintosh, which ran in Rolling Stone in January 1984. The title font is Helvetica. It will look as you see it, with no words on the back cover.”

I love the cover design. Simple, elegant and effective. Just enough. And the pictures they chose are perfect. I know I’m in line to get one the day it goes on sale (November 21, 2011).

Via MG Siegler.

TechCrunch:

But why? Why is Google now a villain to many in the industry? I don’t believe it’s because they’re evil, I believe it simply relates to the Plainview quote. Increasingly, Google is trying to do everything. And they have the arrogance to think that they can. And it’s pissing people off.

MG Siegler at his best. Google may be biting more than they can chew, and no company is invincible. Besides, you gotta love how he picks the images and headlines for his articles.

The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), in Christian Science.

__US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit.

For the past few months, I have been following Pack Light. Go Fast. with great enthusiasm. It’s a blog about the art of packing light and traveling with just the essentials, so you can worry less about what you’re carrying and focus on enjoying your trip instead. The advantages are many: you can move faster through security in airports, you don’t need to check in any luggage (which can save you quite some money), and if you’re carrying only one bag, you can keep everything with you at all times so you don’t need to worry about leaving something behind… you get the idea.

If this sounds like something you’d like to try, you should spend some time browsing through the archives. The work that Uri is doing over there is phenomenal, and there is some solid advice for everyone.

Personally, I like to pack light when preparing for an upcoming trip. I always try to take as few items as possible to avoid checking any bags if I have to catch a plane. In Europe we often fly with low-cost airlines, which are great, but have very restrictive policies in place when it comes to baggage fees. In most cases you’re only allowed to carry one bag with you onboard, and if you want to check anything it usually comes at a steep price per bag. It is in part thanks to these airlines that I’ve gotten better at packing light over the years.

Right now I’m in my home town, Plasencia, visiting my parents. Since it’s August and most people are on vacation, I decided to take a couple days off work to be with them. Besides, next Tuesday is my town’s official holiday and I didn’t want to miss it. It’s a great chance to catch up with some old friends and have a nice day. I also wanted to bring some nice clothes in case we went out for dinner or something like that. In the end I was able to pack everything using only my backpack. I didn’t want to bring a trolley (which is considerably bigger) because I knew I would have to go straight from work to the train station, and I’d have to walk quite a bit through the city and take the Metro to get there. If you’ve ever moved across a big city like Madrid with a trolley, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s a pain.

I’m also lucky because I keep some of my clothes at my parents’, so that I don’t need to bring everything with me every time. However, this time around I brought everything I’ll use, with the only exception of a pair of dress shoes. Everything else was conveniently packed as you can see in the images below.

Here’s the checklist:

1 pair of shorts 1 pair of pants 3 T-shirts 2 dress shirts 4 pairs of underwear 4 pairs of socks Swimsuit 1 pair of flip-flops for the pool 1 pair of flip-flops to wear on the street Toiletries bag Apple Wireless Keyboard iPad 2 Amazon Kindle Glasses Belt Keys iPad charger and cable

And here’s everything packed up in my 25-liter Nike Hayward Medium backpack (which has sadly been discontinued). There’s actually plenty of room left. I could have easily fit another pair of jeans, an extra pair of shoes and even my MacBook Pro, but by bringing only the essentials, my backpack feels lighter, and I can go faster. As you can see, carrying only one bag means you can move better, and you have less things to worry about. It feels great.

After seeing so many great examples of people using the GORUCK rucks, I’m eager to get one and see for myself. My current backpack is similar to the GR1 in size, so I guess I’ll go for the GR2 following Uri’s advice. This way I’m covered for both short and long trips, and I can forget about trolleys for good.

For more details, you can browse through the whole set of images on Flickr.

I just couldn’t decide which lines of this wonderful piece I should quote. They’re all that good. Each and every single one of them.

Via Daring Fireball.

Make a decision, even if it’s wrong.

Jarvis Klem

The favorite moment of every Mac geek has finally arrived: John Siracusa’s Epic-length review of the next major version of Mac OS X is now up over at Ars Technica.

Grab something to drink, find a nice, comfy couch and treat yourself, it only happens every two years or so. With a bit of luck, you’ll have finished this one by the time the next one is published.

As widely anticipated, the new configurations are impressive, packing considerably more power while maintaining prices across the board. The Thunderbolt addition is also very much appreciated.

One interesting detail: the high-end stock configuration of the 11” Air is now a better deal than ever: just $200 will get you 4GB of RAM AND double the storage to 128GB of SSD goodness. Previously these were two separate upgrades.

Actually, the two highest-end configurations (the BTO options) of the 13” and the 11” have exactly the same specs now (1.8 GHZ Intel Core i7, 256GB SSD and 4GB RAM). Besides, they are only separated by $46, which leaves only the screen size to decide. Pair the top of the line 11” Air with one of the brand-new Thunderbolt Displays, and you have the perfect setup.

If you were waiting to get your hands on one of these, I’d say they were well worth the wait.

Incredibly emotional memo prepared to be used in case the Apollo 11 didn’t make it safely onto the Moon:

In ancient days, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Today marks the 42nd anniversary of its landing: the first time a human being set foot on our only satellite. A great, inspiring story for all mankind that thankfully had a well-deserved happy ending.

Thank you, gentlemen. You made us believe that anything is possible.