Big Damn Heroes

Okay, this is just a little step-by-step guide to how I use ComicRack in conjunction with a CBR/CBZ reader on my iPad. (These days I’m primarily using Comic Zeal, but I still use Comic Reader Mobi on the iPhone.)

1. In ComicRack, I start by creating a list folder called Comics I Follow.
2. Inside that folder, I create individual Reading Lists for each ongoing series I’m following. I usually go with a Smart List, which will automatically pick up new issues as I add them to the database.
3. Next I set up non-Smart Lists (Dumb Lists?) for older runs/series/events that I want to re-read or catch up with… just create the list, and drag-n-drop all the relevant issues into the list.
4. If there are single issues/graphic novels that I’m wanting to read, I toss them into a Miscellaneous list.
5. Now the most important step: I add a new root-level Smart List (outside the Comics I Follow folder, in other words) that has two features: (a) it uses Comics I Follow as its source, and (b) filters out all comics that I’ve already read. This Smart List gets labeled Comics To Sync.

So that’s the setup. Now here’s the usage:

1. Every week or so, when I’m ready to move new content on to the iPad, I run ComicRack and view the Comics To Sync list.
2. I also open up iTunes, and size both windows for easy dragging-and-dropping. Within iTunes, I select my connected iPad, click the Apps tab. scroll down to the file syncing section, and click my reader app of choice.
3. Back in ComicRack, I select the comics I want to read, and drag them into iTunes.
4. Immediately after kicking off that copy operation, I return to the ComicRack window, right-click on the selected comics, and select Mark As Read. (Remember the “unread only” filter I set up? The combination of this step and that filter means that we won’t waste space/time copying the same files to the iPad over and over again.)

That’s pretty much it. In my experience, this process makes keeping up with a steady flow of creatively collected digital comics relatively easy. The flaws in the system are entirely on the reader side, really… Comic Zeal fails to group issues of the same series between syncs, for example, while Comic Reader Mobi doesn’t group anything at all. But those are wrinkles that will work themselves out eventually, and the present situation is still better than any other alternative I’ve seen.

I’ve mentioned before that I love my iPhone. Smartphones with hardware keyboards are harder for me to use because the fine muscle control required to push down firmly on a tiny nub makes my hands shake even worse than usual. The iPhones tap-and-swipe interface, on the other hand, makes things relatively easy… no pressure == less muscular activity == less shaking.

But there’s always been one nagging issue with the iPhone, relative to my tremor: its size. The thing, lightweight form factor that everyone else loves so much turns my hand into a trembling, shivering claw when I try to use it one-handed. It probably seems counter-intuitive to people without ET –especially in light of what I just said about muscle activity– but when it comes to holding stuff, small, delicate items are a real pain in the ass. Most of us take for granted how much control it takes to hold something gently until you wake up one day and “gently” has become a matter of concentration.

Anyway… for reasons having nothing to do with ET, I picked up a Mophie Juicepack Air the other day. It’s a case/battery-pack combo that doubles the battery life of the iPhone while also providing it with a bit of protection. I’m constantly letting my phone run low, and I already had it in a semi-bulky case anyway, so I figured it’d be worth it.

What I didn’t realize is that, by doubling the thickness of the device and adding several ounces of battery and plastic to my phone, the whole thing would become so much more comfortable to use. Yeah, it’s no longer as sleek and beautiful a device as it once was, but I use my iPhone constantly, and having it feel so much more secure in my grip is a blessing.

If you’ve got ET and a Jesus Phone, definitely look into Mophie’s wonderful little add-on. It does everything it claims on the box, and then some.

I’m finally watching the announcement keynote, and I want to give a positive nod to Apple’s “free is always free” App Store policy.

Yeah, I know it would be nice if a user could download a free demo and then upgrade it to a paid version in-app, but Apple is spot on in recognizing how quickly that could degenerate into a wave of angry users wailing “I didn’t mean to buy it! I was just trying it out!” Far better to play it safe and make users confident that they can try out a freebie without getting themselves into trouble.

Besides… the “MySuperApp LITE” convention seems to have caught on enough that it is probably unwise to change things now.