If you run a Mac with Google Drive (or try to) then you're probably as frustrated as me. The reason for such frustration is that Drive crashes - a lot. Sometimes it gives you errors or warnings, oner times it will silently slip into the darkness. I've been trying to get a shared folder with 3 users over 10 machines in sync. The initial sync is beyond painful. If you search the web for a solution you'll see that many people have reported this to Google but have never been issued a useful response.

So I have a theory. Whilst Drive is alive, it works. When it quits, you rarely realise and therefore miss hours worth of potential syncing time. To rectify this we need to know that Google Drive is always running on our system.

So I wrote a very quick Automator app. This is a loop that uses a timer to determine a 40 minute pause between force quitting and relaunching the Google Drive app. This means that the app is always running. Perfect for overnight syncs - no longer do you have to keep checking the menu bar!

I've hosted the app on CloudApp and you can download it here.

Let me know how you get on or if you come up with any modifications via twitter (@nathansmonk)

The current state of computing troubles me.

Archaic file systems that rely upon folders within folders within folders within folders within...

UI patterns that revolve around windows within container like displays.

Currently, computing is based on prior experiences of similar systems

Zoe's Magic Camera (http://cl.ly/Ht3m) is a digital commission for Six Summer Saturdays (www.sixsummersaturdays.com) by Birmingham Hippodrome (www.birminghamhippodrome.com).

Created and dreamt up by branding, print and digital design agency - SMILE (www.wearesmile.com) - Zoe's Magic Camera is a free iPhone app that allows users to engage with the city in a new and innovative twist.

After the app has directed you to one of several locations, you hold up your phone to discover that there are creatures running amok at the location in front of your very eyes! There are even super secret dance performances choreographed by Rosie Kay Dance Company (www.rosiekay.co.uk) which will be announced via Facebook (http://cl.ly/Ht3m).

The app is a novel use of Augmented Reality, whereby fantasy is overlaid on reality - shown through your iPhones camera.

Zoe's Magic Camera is a free app available on the App Store now! http://cl.ly/HpwT

I know nothing about football but I do enjoy watching international games. I always feel like I'm going to get caught out by the real fans because I can't really join in with the banter.

Luckily, I have a Matt - a football fantatic who understands my dilema. He's got my back and helped me to create a list of one-liners to shout out during the game:

• Square ball!
• Switch!
• Well in!
• Foul!

If a goal is saved:

• Safe pair of hands

And when the game ends:

• We'll take that

For the best part of 6 months, I have tried to recreate the functionality of Dropbox for SMILE (where I work). I have never been able to do this successfully.

There are 4 computers in the studio. 1 is connected to the TV (used as a status board) and an external drive. We call this the AirDisk. We connect to this drive as our central repository for files. Every computer has an external drive, which is used with Time Machine for regular backups. The AirDisk is also backed up via Mozy, for off-site storage.

When we didn't have a studio, we used a shared folder in Dropbox to keep our files up to date and accessible from anywhere, even offline. Another great advantage was that Dropbox was so super user-friendly. As our collection of files began to expand, we soon outgrew our 2GB of free space.

So I decided to try my hand at re-creating this functionality. I've tried open-source projects as well as rsync, other system level hacks and proprietary programs. The stumbling block is always multiple users. Our most recent of problems was the overwrting of newer files by older copies - not cool.

Today I admitted defeat. The maintanace of doing it yourself just isn't worth it and the advantages offered by 3rd paty services are just too good to miss out on.

So what did we replace our broken system with?

Dropbox for teams would have set us back $795 per year. Admittedly it's pretty much unlimited storage, but we don't need that, the scaling costs are high and we like escape plans (so Google's monthly plan is better that a one-off 12 month cost). We knew that there were a few other providers in the cloud storage space, but I didn't want to get everyone signing up for another service, so we chose Google Drive. The storage is very cheap - we've opted for 100GB which costs us ~£3.50 per user, per month. Dropbox for teams costs ~£8.70 per user per month (based on the division of their standard cost) and of course it's not really a like for like comparision as the space and number of users is different. As we already use Google Apps extensively it seems like a no-brainer - great interface, very accessible, great scaling options and low cost.

Whilst working on a project for the Hippodrome, I was required to go out location scouting. I thought this was an excellent opportunity to get some 360˚ photographs of Birmingham. Whilst I like the interactive views, I have a secret thing for the 2D versions. We did 13 in 2 hours. These are only rough, as we needed them for a location reference, but imagine what you could do given the right amount of time!

One of the biggest problems with the 'creative industries' is that there is no regulation.

This filters through to the tendering process. If you're not aware of the process; it's horrendous. Here's a little summary of how it generally goes:

1. Log onto 1 of about 50 'e-tendering' portals
2. Find a tender and express interest
3. Once granted access, get the PQQ (Pre Qualification Questionairre)/ITT (Invitation to Tender) documents
4. Edit the documents and upload all required files
5. Progress and messages are then posted through the portal

This process is completely broken. Here's why:

1. There is no elimination of 'duff' entries
2. The documents available are in Word format
3. Getting 'PQQ Ready' is a guessing game

So why are these 3 points so important. Point 1 is in reference to my original point, boundaries are never clearly drawn.

'Barry' is a freelancer. He works from his bedroom. He operates under the guise of 'ACME Design'. Everyone thinks that 'ACME Design' is more than one person.

I think creatives struggle to define what they are and clients struggle to understand what the differences are. I believe that there are 4 types of creative businesses:

• Freelancer
• Creative Team
• Micro-Agency
• Agency
• Network

So what is the difference?

Freelancer

• Specialist in particular area
• Low cost
• No office space
• No set working hours

Creative Team

• All of the points of a Freelancer plus...
• • Extra pair(s) of hands
• • Shared workload for quicker turnarounds

Micro Agency

• Located at 1 office
• Set working hours
• Protocols and poilices
• 3-5 employees
• Limited Company
• VAT Registered

Agency

• All of the points of a Micro-Agency plus:
• • More employees

Network

• All of the points of an Agency plus:
• More than 1 office with at least 5 employees at each

As I previously mentioned, the creative industries is littered with groups that call themselves one title, when the reality is that they are something quite different. This is not to say that there are some exceptions to the rule:

I am a freelancer, but I trade as a limited company and I'm VAT regisrtered

I've seen the above happen, but it's not a micro-agency and I do believe that the exceptions should be noted. The best way that I can see, is to answer a questionairre, and based on those results a classifaication is assigned (along with a list of exceptions). Once your profile has been completed, it would be saved and, you could submit in one click for new tenders. Companies could define what criteria that applicatnts need to achieve to get an ITT and then lets get the system to automate the selection process.

Point 2 is the real place for improvement though. Publishing documents and getting creatives to fill them in and send back is an awful idea.

• Re-issued documents cause confusion and errors
• Microsoft Word is not a universally open file format

So how can we fix this? Simple, same as the solution to point 1: a form on the web. Edits can be non destructive and doesn't require anyone to copy and paste the entire contents into another.

Point 3 could be solved and there are a few things that come close. I've worked on around 10 or so tenders at this point in my life and there are slight differences in the requirements for every one. The ability to create policy documents via wizards really should be built into the proposed system. Again, browser based questions: simple. Getting PQQ ready should be this easy - instead, you're left to guess or blag your way through creating policy documents.

Why?

For creatives, it makes the process easier, quicker and fairer. For companies, it offers standardisation, less work and more accurate responses. It would be great for the creative industies to get some form of regulation that's free from hidden agendas.

End the pain

Imagine a centralised portal, where you could log in and search for tenders, one-click to submit your PQQ answers, then fill in a simple form to answer the ITT. That would be good wouldn't it.

If you've got ideas on how to make this happen, get in touch.

For years I have dreamed about a way of having one single device that is capable of slotting into a docking station and becoming something more. This is the closest I have achieved to that dream:

The iPad is a great device, it does have its downfalls but it lets me get most of what I need to achieve out on the road done. However, for long form writing or code editting it's never been much good with its virtual keyboard. I've now got myself a bluetooth keyboard (thanks Sue) and it makes for a great writing setup. Now, when I get home I can pop my iPad on the table and continue where I left off. Minimal noise.

Textastic used to be ok to edit code on, but now, it's a breeze. Full screen window and a real keyboard.

I hope that one day, there will be a device that you slot into some form of dock and it's your desktop - but it's also your phone, so when you're about you've still got your computer with you. The foundations are there with the latest versions of OS X sharing so much in common with the iOS range, but for now I guess I'll have to hold on to my laptop for Adobe Creative Suite.

There's been some talk about cinema style age certificates for music videos today. The study says that verification processes should be introduced - much to the dismay of online music channels such as Vevo.

It would just create a significant burden for the user, for the artist and the service provider.¹

Can you blame him? This sort of barrier is a major buzzkill and do they honestly think it will work? How does this prevent the simple task of lying?

For me, this only confounds my view that people with any sort of power haven't got a clue about living in the information age. I'm not saying that this isn't a good idea at all, but the proposed solution is really poor.

Instead, why not try to promote a new meta tag. I'm not sure why they've never been considered before. The site could add a new meta tag to the head (or maybe even on an object level) which dictates the age certification. It would then be in the parents interests to install parental controls (of course, software developers of parental control applications would have to roll it out) and restrict by age bracket. This could even be adopted by browsers.

This way, there would be no barriers to access content, and damage the way that users interact with websites.

I've finally managed to find some copies of "The Design Studio Handbook" by Computer Arts in good ol' WHSmith. So I bought every copy.

I'm very humbled to have played a part in one of "the world's best recent creative startups"¹.

To boot, there's even business tips by our good friend Russell at Clusta. It's still available online, go get one.