Join Mike and me on this episode of Focused as we consider the hidden costs of prioritizing the virtual world over the real world and discuss ways that we can fight for focus in an age of distraction.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
NordVPN recently released its annual list of commonly used passwords, and (surprise, surprise!) not much has changed. What’s truly baffling is how many folks still rely on this digital equivalent of leaving their front door wide open. The most common password is “123456” but fear not, “password” is still in there at number four.
If you’re reading MacSparky, you probably already use a password manager and strong, unique passwords. But if you know someone who doesn’t, please share this with them. Their accounts are far more vulnerable than they realize.
And there’s no excuse anymore. Apple users don’t even need a third-party solution: The built-in Passwords app starting with macOS 15 (Sequoia) and iOS 18 and newer generates, stores, and auto-fills strong passwords for free. It’s right there in your Applications folder (App Library on iOS), waiting to help.
Remember: If your password is easy for you to remember, it’s probably easy for others to guess.
I’ve done some project planning scripts in the past but folks have been asking about doing it with Reminders. Here you go!… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
According to reports, Apple is developing a smart home camera slated for 2026. Such a device would be a natural extension of Apple’s commitment to privacy and artificial intelligence, potentially offering the seamless user experience we’ve come to expect from Cupertino. If given proper support, an Apple camera could be compelling. This potential move raises an interesting question: Why hasn’t Apple been more aggressive in the home automation accessory market? Apple-branded switches, light bulbs, and locks would likely find an enthusiastic audience, particularly given the current fragmented smart home landscape. The answer may lie in Apple’s exacting standards. Perhaps, until now, they haven’t felt they could deliver these products sufficiently better than the competition to justify the work.
But at this point the concerns with smart cameras — fiddly apps and interfaces and massive privacy concerns — point directly at Apple’s wheelhouse.
If this camera rumor indicates a shift in strategy, it’s a welcome one. The current smart home market is crowded with vendors of varying reputations and security standards. An Apple-branded line of smart home products could bring much-needed clarity and confidence to consumers who want to embrace home automation without compromising their privacy.
On this Mac Power Users feedback episode, Stephen and I talk about the M4 family of Macs, our RSS setups, and recent updates to some of our favorite apps. Then, we discuss some listener feedback and our home networks.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
The new Mac Mini isn’t just cute as hell, it’s also extremely versatile. It’s only been out a few weeks and there’s already some really interesting uses. Action Retro combined it with a legacy iMac G4 to turn it into an iMac. Before watching the video, I wondered if he’d even take the Mac mini guts out of that small case. (He did.)
This doesn’t surprise me since it seems like this is Apple’s intention. Rather than buy a big iMac, they want you to get a Mac mini along with a large screen. (Like Apple’s own Studio Display!) But Action Retro brings it to a whole new level.
Alex Cheema takes a different route. He combines four separate Mac Minis into a mini AI cluster. And they’re able to run a huge model with an array of four Mac Minis. It’s only a question of time before someone makes one out of ten or twenty.
And finally, if you want Mac Mini power but like the Mac Pro’s look, there’s this cute 3D print where you can have them both.
With the latest visonOS 2.2 beta 2, Apple has enabled the Wide and Ultrawide Mac virtual display. It’s impressive. Here are my initial tests on the Ultrawide display.… This is a post for the Early Access and Backstage MacSparky Labs Members. Care to join? Or perhaps you need to sign in?
As the Automators ride off into the sunset, Rosemary and I talk about the importance and future of automation and answer listener questions.
This episode of Automators is sponsored by:
Gemini, Google’s flagship AI model, has landed on the iPhone, marking another significant move in the increasingly competitive AI assistant landscape. The app brings the full suite of Gemini’s capabilities to iOS users, including conversational AI similar to ChatGPT, image generation through Imagen 2, and deep integration with Google’s ecosystem of apps and services.
The mobile release is particularly noteworthy given the current tech landscape, where platform exclusivity has become more common. Google’s choice to develop for iOS highlights its determination to compete in the AI space. Google appears keen to establish Gemini as a serious contender against established players like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.
The app is free to use and includes access to both Gemini Pro and, for Google One AI Premium subscribers.
This finally gives me the kick I need to spend more time evaluating Gemini.
Today I’m featuring the home screen of web developer, swell guy, and my pal, John Chandler. So John, show us your home screen.
I am a spiritual director and a freelance WordPress developer. I originally did a home screen post almost 15 years ago. Some things have certainly changed since then!
David provided many thoughtful questions to respond to, but this one is of my own making. A few years ago, I landed on this idea of having an iPad mini that was minimalist in form, but robust in function. (I just came up with this phrase to apply to it, though, and feel very proud of it.)
I say minimalist in form, because I allow only a handful of key thinking-type apps in the dock — the rest of the home screen is completely clean. If I were to swipe to the next screen over, there would be some widgets, and a few more apps, but most of the time this is the screen I’m working from. When I pickup my iPad mini, it’s usually with a specific purpose in mind, and I don’t want to see something else that will lure my attention elsewhere.
But I say robust in function, because I don’t limit what I can access. I can check Fantastical, Mail, Messages, or Slack. I can open Safari. I can get mired in eBay or Amazon. I can watch an MLB game. All of these are tucked away in the App Library, but I only access them with a tug down on the home screen for the search window.
This was a stock wallpaper a few iOS releases ago. The imagery of a tree thriving in a stark landscape has a lot of meaning to me in my own personal journey, so I’ve latched on to this image and find ongoing inspiration from it.
I love the versatility of the iPad mini. I don’t try to use it for everything, but I love that I can use it for almost anything.
I seldom use it as a primary device — if I’m doing any kind of work, it’s generally going to be on a Mac. But if I’m going to have coffee with a friend, sitting in a Zoom meeting, or just going to be running some errands, I’ll often have the iPad mini handy with Apple Pencil latched alongside. I prefer it to my phone in case I have need to capture or reference something, and I like the option of being able to handwrite some notes if needed.
NotePlan – I looked at NotePlan a few years ago, but it didn’t stick for me. I was using Things for tasks, and Obsidian as a PKM. But I revisited NotePlan after the MPU episode earlier this year, and dove in headfirst. It wonderfully bridges the gap between mapping out tasks within projects and capturing the daily notes I used to keep in Obsidian. I also dove headfirst into roles and arete this year, and find NotePlan is the perfect app to manage my goals from the 30,000-foot overview all the way down to daily fine-tuning and implementation.
Readwise Reader – I started using Reader right as they rolled out ePub support, and so I read almost everything in Reader — books and articles alike. It captures my highlights automatically into Obsidian. (Truth be told, though, most of the reading happens in the Reader app on a Boox Page.)
Day One – I’ve journaled in Day One since it was first released, and even backfilled some older journal entries. So I have 18+ years of journaling in there. Most of the journaling happens on a Mac, but one of my favorite daily habits is to look back at the “On This Day” section to reflect on who I’ve been and who I am becoming.
Obsidian – Though I pulled my daily notes out of Obsidian, I still engage in Obsidian multiple times per week. It is a deep reference library of book notes, personal research, and my primary app for drafting ideas into longer forms. I also seem to be one of the few that isn’t bothered by the experience of Obsidian on iPad.
Ivory – I follow my favorite NFL and MLB teams pretty closely. I slammed the door on Twitter a few years ago, and letting go of my sports feeds was the only challenging part. Now, I’m able to fill that hole by tracking a chunk of sportsbots.xyz accounts in a Mastodon account with Ivory.
I also have an old 11″ iPad Pro that I use in similar ways, especially when I want to have a keyboard available but not carry a full laptop. If I could change something, I would continue to have the Smart Keyboard Folio available for the newer models. It’s light and streamlined compared the Magic Keyboard cover, so it feels more like the experience of just carrying an iPad. I’m aware some didn’t like the experience of that keyboard, but I have no trouble with it.