Whatever gene it is that makes you defenseless to heart-warming marketing videos, I’ve got it. I clicked on this video just to see how good it looked, being shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max. Within thirty seconds, I was hooked and entirely forgot about it being shot on iPhone, which is likely the point.
Post Category → not-labs
The JLPGAA PowerBook 170
Stephen Hackett is at it again. Here’s a video in testament to a Mac I had no idea existed. If only Apple were willing to be more whimsical with Mac colors today.
This Month in the MacSparky Labs
Here’s some of the content that was released in the Labs for the month of January 2024:
- 2024-01-31 – Q&A with MacSparky – January 2024 (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-30 – Collaborative Email with Spark Mail (Levels 2-3)
- 2024-01-29 – Kagi Search (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-29 – Sparky’s Focus Modes (Levels 2-3)
- 2024-01-26 – Lab Report for January 26 (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-25 – Testing PodHighlighter (Levels 2-3)
- 2024-01-24 – What’s New in iOS 17.3 (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-22 – Vision Pro Thoughts (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-19 – Lab Report for January 19, 2024 (Levels 1)
- 2024-01-19 – Vision Pro Order Day (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-18 – Repeating Task Strategy in Reminders (Labs 1)
- 2024-01-18 – Task Management Deep Dive (Level 3)
- 2024-01-17 – Q1 Planning Video (Levels 2-3)
- 2024-01-15 – Apple Vision Pro Thoughts (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-12 – Lab Report for January 12, 2024 (Labs 1)
- 2024-01-11 – Using Serinity App on Your Mac (Labs 1)
- 2024-01-10 – Labs January Meetup (Levels 2-3)
- 2024-01-08 – The Case for Journaling (Levels 2-3)
- 2024-01-07 – Early Access to the Productivity Field Guide (Levels 2-3)
- 2024-01-05 – Lab Report for January 5, 2024 (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-04 – The Case for Journaling (Levels 1-3)
- 2024-01-03 – Quarter 1 Planning Webinars (Level 3)
- 2024-01-01 – Happy New Year from Sparky (Levels 1-3)
If you’d like to be a part of the MacSparky Labs, you can get more information and join right here.
Vision Pro Video Reviews Are In
The Vision Pro review videos are all now dropping. The ones I’ve enjoyed the most are listed below. I think it’s fun that this new product category has got everyone doing some head scratching. None of the reviews have yet gone deep on using the device for productivity. That’s something I intend to explore.
One interesting effect of watching these reviews with my wife in the room is that she now wants her own fitted light seal to watch all her Disney movies in Theater mode. So, if you watch the below links with loved ones around, you’ve been warned.
Using Apple Vision Pro: What It’s Actually Like! (Marques Brownlee)
Focused 196: Focus and the Reading Life, with Maryanne Wolf
Cognitive neuroscientist and reading warrior Dr. Maryanne Wolf joins Mike and me on this episode of Focused to talk about the science of reading and how what we read changes our brains.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
- Zocdoc: Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up for free.
- Indeed: Join more than 3.5 million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast.
- Harvard Business Review: The leading destination for smart management thinking. Subscriptions start at just $10/month with code FOCUSED.
Capture Your Ideas Easily with Whisper Memos
I’m pleased to welcome a new sponsor to MacSparky: Whisper Memos.
I love this app’s blend of utility and simplicity. You just open the app and start talking. It uses AI technologies to get an excellent transcription of your words, separated logically into paragraphs. You then get an email with an AI-generated subject line, so you’ve got your words captured with no extra effort. It’s that simple. You talk, and your words are reliably transcribed and captured.
Whisper Memos also shines on Apple Watch, and if like me you’re sporting the Apple Watch Ultra, you can set the Action Button to start a recording in the app. You can also add a complication on your Watch face; no need to open the app, just tap and talk!
Behind the scenes, Whisper Memos is using OpenAI and GPT-4 to get the best possible transcription, and Google Firebase for authentication and data protection. You can opt out of storing your transcripts in your account, so Whisper Memos just sends them to your email and then dumps them, leaving no traces on their server
I’ve been using it (on Private Mode) for months now. It’s simple and incredibly useful. If you like to record your ideas and thoughts, I think you’ll love it, too.
Mac Power Users 729: Don’t Hear What We Aren’t Saying
On this feedback episode of Mac Power Users, we’re talking more about AppleCare and the Vision Pro, then some listener feedback, and more proof Stephen and I spend too much time together.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
- Zocdoc: Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up for free.
- Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MPU.
- Ecamm: Powerful live streaming platform for Mac. Try it for free today.
- We Got Your Mac: Your guide to Mac adoption at scale. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
Automators 146: OmniFocus 4: Automation Update
In this episode of Automators, Rosemary and I talk about the new automation features that have come to OmniFocus 4.
Day One Shared Journals
Day One just introduced a new, interesting feature: Shared Journals.
The idea is that you can share a journal. Multiple people could contribute. An individual’s entries are not editable by other participants, but it’s an excellent way to build a journal among friends and family.
This goes against the grain of journaling in that journaling is usually a very private thing. However, I see a use for this. I’ve already set one up with my wife, where we’re journaling our trips to Disneyland. It’s a way for us to create a record together, and it will be enjoyable. It has the added benefit that she is now regularly using Day One and is now doing more personal journaling that isn’t shared with me.
Overall, it’s a nice new feature, and if you’ve got loved ones also using Day One, I recommend giving it a try.
The Mac Turns 40
There are a lot of nice articles today about the Mac’s 40th Anniversary. My favorite was at the Steve Jobs Archive. The Mac was not a big “boil-the-ocean” project at Apple but something else, designed by a small team and largely left alone by the corporate types. The later “Think Different” ad campaign easily applies to the people who brought the Mac to life. I was a junior in high school when the Mac first arrived, and it was immediately obvious to me that computers would be “just like this” going forward.
If you’re interested in more of the story behind the development of the Mac, I recommend Andy Hertzfeld’s Folklore.org. It’s a gold mine of early Apple anecdotes. I’ll finish by saying that despite it’s age, my Mac remains the bit of Apple technology that I continue to use and rely upon the most.