My name is Richard J. Anderson. I’m originally from Philadelphia, and now live in New York City. By day, I’m a Web Producer for a specialty publisher focused on medical journalism. By night, I write about technology and culture for Sanspoint.com.

— Richard J. Anderson's iOS and Mac setup – The Sweet Setup

While the Mac and iPad setups are about the same, I’ve completely upended my iPhone setup since the interview. Still, if you want a sense of how I work, when I work, this will do the job. Thanks to the folks at The Sweet Setup for the interview, and I’ll post an update here on my iPhone setup soon.

“What does independence mean? It means that we should be able to change platforms and devices without having rebuild entire workflows. We should be able to work in an internet cafe on the other side of the globe using a spotty connection, even after all of our own batteries have run dry.

It’s OK to be multiplatform in a world of Googlers, Apple zealots, and Microsofties. Every day we use Apple iPads, Android Nexuses, Microsoft Surfaces, Google Chromebooks, and Ubuntu servers, and we want to show you how they all work together. We will provide opinions, reviews, recommendations, and tutorials in eclectic proportion, and together we’ll see what sticks.”

— Heretics – A Concept

Interesting. And something I’ve been thinking about lately too. This is something to watch.

It’s becoming more common to have something tracking you at the office — not just someone from IT sending you a nastygram when you accidentally click a porn link in a spam e-mail. IT’s been able to see what you do on the computer for years, but now it’s more in-depth. A number of companies are promising to track the applications and websites you use at work, with the goal of making sure you stay productive in the office. But increasingly, employee tracking is moving outside of the office and working hours. Some companies give employees fitness trackers to nudge them into a healthier lifestyle, and maybe save some money on their insurance plans. Some do more.

— Ugh! Bosses Are Now Using Non-Work Apps To Spy On Us…

My second piece for Unicorn Booty is up, and it’s about a real, growing problem with the apps we use to create and track our data. I’m more than happy to track what I do for my own benefit, but I’m pretty damn creeped out by the idea of my employer using those same tools to keep an eye on me when I’m off the clock.

I’m on my iOS device 10+ hours a day. I like to be able to, at a glance, get a sense for where certain things are, and badges help me do that; I like to know what my various “queues” look like (e.g., RSS, Instapaper, Slack, messages, etc.). I don’t look at this device 1000 times a day because I have a pretty background (I do) or because I’ve rearranged my icons into a “fun” pattern (I haven’t). I look at it 1000 times a day to get stuff done and manage my time.

— Hypertext: On iOS badges and information density

And this is exactly why I don’t have badges turned on for most apps. I don’t think of most apps as a queue that I need to process and empty. I think of them as repositories I can dip into and deal with at my leisure. My task manager and the app I use to message my significant other can have the blinding red badge because they’re important. My email, and the stuff in my Instapaper queue, not so much.

I don’t want all the information when I look at a device, I just want relevant information. It’s why, unlike Justin, I don’t use the Modular face on my watch—in fact, right now I’m using X-Large, simply because it’s the weekend and there’s nothing important I really need to see beyond the time. Tomorrow, I’ll switch to my Utility face and see my next calendar appointment, the weather, and my activity rings, because that’s all I need worry about. But that’s just me. You set up your device just how you want it.

Hat tip to Conor McClure for this one.

“What seems to be lost in this discussion of free speech is that, like it or not, Reddit — or any discussion platform on the Internet — is well within its rights to censor or ban anything they see fit. Whether it’s for the prospect of monetary gain, to create a more welcoming space for new users or to soften their image in the public eye is utterly immaterial. Although some banned communities have, in the past, been able to regroup on Reddit and continue doing whatever odious thing it is they initially set out to do, the amount of attention the FPH bans caused is likely to make regrouping impossible. As Baldwin put it, ‘If Reddit can’t keep a community off their site, they look incompetent.’”

— The Misfits Of Reddit Aren’t Leaving – Digg

The right to free speech is not the right to be heard.