770: The 2024 MPU Gift Guide

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I enjoyed listening, but did not open my wallet! A small victory.

Welcome back @ismh86. Glad to hear you had a nice break.

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Same here. Although if I had some more cash I might be tempted by Plotter.

Plotter is actually less than, say, this option: William Hannah in the UK:

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Except for some cheap Rhodia A5s for every now and then (and because from time to time the paper notebook still beats getting your iPad out), I have removed most paper notebooks from my life and write in Nebo.

But goodness these notebooks are incredibly nice. So expensive but so obviously high-end.

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Both Plotter and William Hannah options are really lovely. David approached the right way by tryng the paper first, and beta testing his usage practice.

As a middle option, the Travellerā€™s notebook comes in two sizes and has lots of refills but uses replaceable elastics in the quality leather cover rather than rings. Lacksathe rearrangement abiluty of a ring system but is much less.

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Fun suggestions in this one. I think David mentioning Plotter one more time will get meā€¦

Iā€™m relying on not being sure if I want a5, bible, or mini5 to keep me from pulling the triggerā€¦

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About the vertical mouse, if you have small hands, you should get the Logitech Lift instead of the MX Vertical.

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Itā€™s also worth noting that the Logitech MX Vertical is only available as a right-handed mouse, whereas thereā€™s a left-handed version of the Lift available (aka ā€œLift Leftā€).

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Great show as always, thanks David and Stephen. The EDC section is another rabbit holeā€¦I have been there and returned! Knives are a vexed issue in Australia, A leather man is doable but any other type of knife (except kitchen knifes) will draw the ire of our constabulary. So it often intrigues me to read about EDC discussion (non MPU) where people show off there amazing ā€œCrocodile Dundeeā€ size EDC knivesā€¦I often wonder what they use them forā€¦

As for pens, been there done that. I know have a collection of pens which are dust collectors, and rarely get used in angerā€¦and hard to resell.

Similarly the watches, but this is a bigger challenge. A beautiful Swiss watch is jewellery (collectors piece) for men IMHO but when you strap that Omega onto your wrist, its hard not to marvel at the beauty and craftsmanship (despite the sale of kidney to buy it :slight_smile: ).

It then becomes the challenge; Apple Watch which provides so much utility or the fancy Swiss watch which brings pleasure from the craftsmanship?? My compromise is the Apple Watch for workdays (appointments, reminders etc) and the Omega for the weekend; relaxation and peace. Stephen, I agree re the Speedmaster smart watches, they look fun but way over priced.

Finally, re IPads what size IPad did you both (David and Stephen) settle on? I have read more articles on choosing the right size, than I have had hot breakfasts in the last month. The 13ā€ is great for movie viewing and work (up to a point) until you want to take it somewhereā€¦ughh, So bulky. Itā€™s not the weight itā€™s the bulk/dimensionā€¦sigh. Currently living the two iPad lifestyle (12.9 and 11 both M1) but inching forward to an M4 (probably 11ā€™). Mainly because if I am going to spend A$4000 for an Apple toy, I lean toward an M4 MacBook Proā€¦I actually find switching devices both wasteful and slightly ridiculous. So need to reduce to iPad Pro and laptop (mainly for those sometime things that only a Mac can do easily and for storage and backupā€¦)

First world problemsā€¦

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The Peak Design MagSafe wallet looks convenient, but Iā€™m looking for recommendations for a transparent MagSafe wallet or card holder that works with an existing case. I need something that holds just one ID, as I often need to scan and show it at different buildings for work. It needs to be transparent to adhere to building security policies. Many options are available on Amazon, but Iā€™m concerned about their quality. Any recommendations?

SebMacV Iā€™m curious about your choice of Nebo. I currently use Goodnotes simply because it was recommended when I dabbled in using digital planners.

What would you say is the standout feature of Nebo for you?

I like that Neboā€™s smallest default unit can be an easily managed ā€˜documentā€™ or single page, rather than a notebook. I found Goodnotes clunkier dealing with single page notes back when I set this workflow up about two yrs ago. I also have no use for Goodnoteā€™s bloat (the ā€˜Marketplaceā€™ and plethora of themed templates, which I too dabbled with, but ended up never using). Nebo is much more of a leaner, single purpose app for me. I also thought that Neboā€™s scribble to erase and text manipulation features were really snappy. The Nebo single page is also endless so I can write as much as I want, whereas the Goodnotes single page has fixed dimensions like a paper notebook. I export OCRd PDFs of my meeting notes to Devonthink, and in case of long notes, these get automatically paginated. Neboā€™s conversion feature (of handwritten entry to typed) is helpful to me from time to time and more reliable than Appleā€™s Scribble; and I sometimes export my handwritten notes as markdown to another app. Entirely anecdotally, Nebo dealt very well with OCRing my handwriting (which isnā€™t great).

I think that there is so much movement in this space, with AI, improvements to Apple Notes, and other such apps, that you probably canā€™t really go wrong. Nebo had the edge for me and I havenā€™t looked into competitors closely enough since I put it in my workflow. It may well be the case that Goodnotes can do most of the above in ways that just didnā€™t suit my liking, or I havenā€™t looked closely enough.

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Iā€™m a Goodnotes user at the moment, and while I enjoy the paradigm of the paper-notebook-gone-digital that Goodnotes employs, Iā€™m ready to try something new. I have yet to venture out into the infinite canvas playground yet. Would you recommend Nebo for those new to infinite canvas apps or should I start with something like Freeform?

MY EDC is a Leatherman Skeletool + the bit kit set, the bit driver extender, and the tidy little sheath to store them all in. Serious pocket knife aficionados will point and laugh at the wee little multi purpose blade, but the thing never leaves my camera bag, except when I put it in my purse. The only thing I wish it had is a tiny pair of scissors.

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I donā€™t know! I tend only to use the ā€˜documentā€™ type of note that has horizontally constricted margins rather than the ā€˜boardā€™ note. Since Freeform is free thatā€™s where I would start. For whatever app you choose, consider where you want these notes to end up; what search abilities you need; whether you need to do any note-sharing with others; what your exporting or archiving needs are; etc.

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AFAIK most standard pocket knives are still OK in most places in the US. Iā€™ve carried a Swiss army knife frequently since I was 11.

sak

I used the screwdrivers to fix a lot of computer hardware over the years, and the flat screwdriver blade was thin enough to punch down network wire on a 110 block. I even carried it on airlines prior to the September 11 attack.

Fantastic reply. Thank you for taking the time to share your findings.

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Leatherman pocket plier vs leatherman pocket scissors vs Swiss Army pocket knife vs Park Tools Multi-tool vs Craftsman pocket scissors vs Craftsman pocket plier, or Ryobi Oscillating Multi-Tool. Your take?

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