Microsoft has made a big deal about releasing its newest lineup of ARM-based PCs, which appear to be testing in the same ballpark as the M3. With the arrival of the M1, Apple caught the rest of the industry with its pants down. To compete, Microsoft needed an ARM-based platform, which it had been working on for a long time but really wasn’t ready for prime time.
This new lineup feels like a response to Apple’s M1 chip. In terms of processing, they appear competitive with the base M3 chip in performance. Moreover, several manufacturers are getting ready to adopt this platform with hardware that will be released as early as next month. That means there will be tablets and PCs with similar attributes to Apple silicon but running Windows. Microsoft is branding them as Copilot + PCs, with an emphasis on AI (like everyone else seems to be doing these days).
The above link contains videos and links to manufacturers, so if you’re curious about this, I recommend checking it out.
The net result of this will be that we get a lot of new hardware that runs in the ballpark with the M3 MacBook Air. It will be running Windows, but ultimately I think the competition will be good for Apple, and maybe encourage them to take a few risks with the types of platforms they use with their M-series SoC.
I enjoyed the latest iFixit teardown for the new iPad Pro. Apple made several improvements, including the ability to remove the batteries without taking the entire thing apart.
Also, you’ll see that the CPU runs down the center of the device, which makes it a lot more stable and allows it to cool more easily. In years past, the CPU was on the side. There’s also a cover over the CPU, giving additional rigidity across the long axis but not the shorter one, explaining why the iPad is doing better in bend tests along the long axis. Overall, it looks like a solid design.
John Buck published a book covering the “Apple Technology Group,” a division within Apple that operated back in the 1980s and 1990s and experimented with many forward-looking bits of technology that we take for granted today. Join Stephen and me on this episode of Mac Power Users as we talk to John about his book Inventing the Future.
This week, MacSparky is sponsored by ScreenFloat 2, a major upgrade to the Mac’s built-in screenshot tool. With ScreenFloat 2, screenshots become so much more.
To begin, your screenshots will float, just like the name implies. You no longer have to dig through windows to find your screenshots. It’s right on top, waiting for you.
Then, there is a suite of screenshot tools: markup, annotate, colors, rotate, and trim. ScreenFloat 2 lets you record your screen and trigger screenshots on a timer. If you need to re-capture, there is a tool for that, so you don’t have to reframe the shot from scratch. You can even extract text and barcodes. If you need to redact, there are tools for that as well. You can remove text, faces, or barcodes.
Shots float by default: anything you can capture on your screen can easily become a reference. It’s like Picture-in-Picture, only for screenshots and recordings. Shots can be effortlessly shared with a simple drag and drop, with extensive formatting and export options also available.
Also, every shot is analyzed for texts, faces and barcodes, which allows you to vuew, extract, copy, share and redact this information hassle-free. You can also search for a shot’s content in the Shots Browser, or with Spotlight.
Screenshots and recordings are stored in the Shots Browser, keeping the Desktop free of clutter, and allowing you to organize, categorize and find your shots. Shots are optionally synchronized via iCloud.
If you want to redact a text line, a face or a barcode in a shot? A simple right-click will let you do it without any further interaction on your part. But you can also go in and annotate, markup and redact manually. All annotations/redactions are non-destructive, so you can always go back and change or delete them.
I often want to get exact color matches out of screenshots, which is pretty difficult. But not so with ScreenFloat 2. The app has a built-in color sampling tool. If you want to use screenshots, you can drag and drop them out of the browser, or directly from floating shots. ScreenFloat 2 also includes a browser to organize your images with folders and tags, and it all syncs over iCloud. If you want to use your screenshots, you can dmrag and drop them out of the browser.
It is frustrating when you consider the untapped potential of the iPad. With different stewardship, it could have been so much more by now. I keep coming back to the conclusion that the iPad didn’t blossom into something more because Apple is not interested (or interested enough) in doing that. Even more so with the recent Mac renaissance, Apple, through its actions, is saying, “The iPad is for people with simple tasks who don’t want the complexity of a Mac, and the Mac is for all that complex work.” If you just look at the sales spreadsheets, you could argue that that is the right approach.
But as an Apple fan, that isn’t satisfactory to me. Apple has often been the tech company with both the vision and temerity to blaze a new path. With the iPad, all the pieces are there. The hardware is innovative and cutting edge, but when it comes to software, Apple just doesn’t seem interested in taking the training wheels off of iPadOS.
Nom Nom: Healthy, fresh food for dogs formulated by top Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists. Prepped in our kitchens with free delivery to your door. Get 50% off.
Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code FOCUSED.
Indeed: Join more than 3.5 million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast.
I’m thrilled to once again have Flexibits and their fantastic calendar app as a MacSparky sponsor. I use Fantastical every day at MacSparky HQ, and I’m constantly blown away by how much it can do for me.
Some of my favorite features are the meeting setting and Zoom integration. Openings and Proposals links got a lot better and I can now add contact details in the URL link. Some more great Fantastical features:
Live Activities — for those of us with a Dynamic Island-equipped iPhone, seeing your upcoming Fantastical event in this prime spot is so handy, and you can get right to it with a tap.
The Quarter view was added to the Mini Window on Mac. This is my favorite view in Fantastical and one that I’m convinced they added just for me.
With iOS 17 came interactive widgets, including SmartStack and StandBy on iPhone. Fantastical was ready, and took advantage of these new features in September. I use widgets all the time. They also made the Apple Watch app so much nicer and easier to use.
I could go on and on…but I think you’re getting it: Fantastical has never been better, and if you’re wondering whether it’s right for you, head over there now and give it a spin! Managing your events, tasks, and meetings has never felt as good.
