Skip to Content
Skip to Table of Contents

← Previous Article Next Article →

ATPM 10.01
January 2004

Columns

How To

Extras

Reviews

Download ATPM 10.01

Choose a format:

Bloggable

by Wes Meltzer, wmeltzer@atpm.com

Around the Mac Blogosphere in 32 Links

Everyone has one and no one seems to know quite what it is, or even how to define it. You knew it was big when it could raise up the unlikely and strike down the mighty. When everyone had to have one, you knew its time to shine had come.

What am I talking about? The weblog, that humble collection of links transformed into a civic-minded, voyeuristic “new medium” published for all to read online.

But you maybe already knew that. (You might have even read it in ATPM first.) What you might not already know is that if you’re a Mac user, you could stand to benefit significantly from the medium—from tips and shortcuts to purchasing advice, accessories to software, and, of course, the grapevine.

Before I get into what this month can offer you in the blogosphere, I’ll offer an anecdote, so you can imagine why this is of any meaning or use to you at all:

I had just switched my weblog, now called The Idea Salon, from LiveJournal to a Movable Type setup, and I didn’t feel like using the Web entry form to write new entries. That made it really hard to write when I wasn’t connected to the Internet. Well, I went hunting and I found only one free client, Kung-Log, with which I was not happy.

Well, I happened across a client called EspressoBlog mentioned in an entry on someone’s weblog, written by a guy who is now a friend of mine, and I tried using it. It was OK but not spectacular, and I had a few issues with it. I posted an entry to my weblog, I think only half-realizing that my remarks would reach his. Subsequently I found out that he was writing a new client that would remedy some of the complaints I had about his present product.

Without the Mac blogosphere, I don’t know that I ever would have found EspressoBlog in the first place, much less found out about Userspace, the client (still in beta) that I now use to write my weblog.

Well, then! Having said that, let’s look at some of the news from December in the blogosphere, in no particular order:

So you see, it can pay off to pay attention to Mac bloggers’ buzz. You might find a new piece of software, or a new feature for a piece of software you already use. You never know when you’ll find out about something new, from the iPod battery-replacement program to “features” in the latest OS X update. You’ll never be stuck with something you can’t fix or something you just don’t understand ever again.

Better yet, you can have your cake and eat it too! Each month I will try to introduce you to more slices of the Mac blogosphere, in terms of topics and in terms of bloggers. I’d love your suggestions as to who I should be reading and what I need to focus in on, so we can make this space more useful to everyone.

That’s it for this edition of Bloggable. Tune in next month for more news in the Mac blogosphere!

Also in This Series

Reader Comments (5)

Michael · January 3, 2004 - 22:43 EST #1
Like you, I've used Kung Log, but would like an alternative. I went to the web site you mentioned, but there's not much there, especially no download link and no way to contact the author.
Wes Meltzer (ATPM Staff) · January 4, 2004 - 00:32 EST #2
Michael - unfortunately, Userspace is still in private beta; ergo, no download link.

However, I advise that you do what I did and contact the author (Phil Ulrich) and ask him about it, as he might well let you beta test it also. E-mail me if you want me to give you his e-mail address, or you can hunt around and find out, I suppose.

Best of luck!
Trixie McGuire · January 4, 2004 - 02:54 EST #3
I, myself, probably have a blog on every free site out there (I could tell you stories about my blog voyeurism), wherever "out there" is. Let's just say I have a ton of "0s and 1s" floating in cyberspace! Here's my only non-anonymous one--I use it to record important e-mail and stories.

Good Mac blogger read. I acquired a few good Mac tips through the links in your story. ;0) Thanks.

Trixie
anonymous · January 4, 2004 - 09:55 EST #4
He hasn't updated in a while (server issues or something), but Switcher Jeremiah Cohick blogs, too.
Jan · January 5, 2004 - 00:00 EST #5
This kind of article is why I read and support ATPM. Nice to see a blog column. Keep up the great work.

Add A Comment





 E-mail me new comments on this article