Guido Osorio’s iPhone setup
Every week we post a new interview with someone about what software they use on their Mac, iPhone, or iPad. We do these interviews because not only are they fun, but a glimpse into what tools someone uses and how they use those tools can spark our imagination and give us an idea or insight into how we can do things better.
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Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Guido Osorio, and I’m a writer from Santiago, Chile. That would be the short, concise version. The director’s cut is that I went to college here for two and a half years until I decided to drop out to pursue my dream of writing fiction for a living. Pursuing is all I’ve done so far though, but I’m getting there.
What iPhone do you have?
I have a silver 16GB iPhone 6. It kills me that Apple went with the 16/64/128GB lineup because I’m the kind of eats-lots-of-ramen young adult that would rather have the latest iPhone every year even if it’s the measly 16GB bottom of the line one. Frankly, 16GB is not that bad (cries himself to sleep every night).
I’ll be honest. There are days when I think I should’ve gone with a 6 Plus instead. Myke was right and y’all better recognize. I almost never use my iPad nowadays, so a big single screen makes more sense to me than two. My 6 does fit in my pocket, however, so I take that as a plus. (Ha, get it?)
Where can we find your wallpaper online?
Up until iOS 8 was released back in September, I had been using several wallpapers from the excellent photography of John Carey at fiftyfootshadows.net, but I find the current selection for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to be too thin. Lucky me, I came across Earth Asleep by Mohsen Kamalzadeh and I just love everything about it.
What apps do you use the most, and why?
Usage says Overcast at about 20% for the past week, which is both accurate as it is staggering considering I didn’t like any podcast app before Marco finally™ released Overcast last year. Much to my regret, I used Apple Podcasts app before. I most certainly listen to more podcasts than ever now.
Unread is my RSS reader of choice these days. Using it is not about speed but delight; from tapping an article, to viewing and dismissing a fullscreen image, all the way to sharing something on Twitter. I just wish it did away with the rounded corners. They look weird and remind me of Scott Forstall. *looks into your soul*
I used Tweetbot back in the day, but in my opinion it has stagnated — a lot, and I mean that beyond the dumb API restrictions. Luckily, there’s Twitterrific. The latest 5.10 update is superb. I still keep the official client around for the things Twitter doesn’t allow third parties do, like uploading videos and using its advanced search.
WhatsApp is not an app I’m crazy about, but everyone (and I do mean everyone) uses WhatsApp here in Chile. I can get by without a Facebook profile, but not WhatsApp, oh no. Even people with iPhones use WhatsApp instead of iMessage most of the time. It’s sad, and I feel bad about it.
I prefer Apple Maps even though I rely on Google Maps for transit, but I can’t go anywhere without directions anymore. Send help. Fantastical and Things keep my life in order. I mostly interact with both through their widgets. Speaking of which, I have a few actions set on Launcher (like opening a new tweet sheet on Twitterrific), and Sky Guide because it’s just lovely.
Lark scolds me for being a couch potato and effortlessly tracks my sleep. I also enter some data manually into the Health app. Health and fitness are some of the main reasons why I’m really excited about Apple Watch. The one thing I don’t do with my iPhone, other than jotting down notes in Vesper, is writing: I use my Mac and Scrivener for that. Others include Google Translate and WolframAlpha.
Which app could you not live without?
Safari. I would not be able to log into anything without 1Password, so let’s imagine a world with no passwords for a minute. Safari sits on the bottom right corner of my iPhone for a reason. I use it all the time to look stuff up with my right thumb. As someone who lived through the 90s and the Made for Internet Explorer 6 Internet, having the full web inside this beautiful thing that goes around with me all day, every day still seems magical.
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