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Obsidian is a remarkable app, and the new Field Guide came out great. You can even get a 40-minute free sample at the above links. Check it out.
Want the Details? Here you go:
Obsidian brings new tools and paradigms to working with our thoughts on computers. Obsidian can be a game changer, and I’ve been using it since its early beta release. You can turn Obsidian into any sort of notes and data management tool you need: research, client work, PKM, or whatever. I use it primarily to document my own personal operating system, but there is more on that in the course. However, before you can make Obsidian truly race, you need to get some time behind the wheel and figure out how it works.
Build Your Own Mind Palace
Obsidian allows linking to and from notes throughout your Obsidian “vault”, making connections of thoughts easier and more illuminating. It’s built on a plugin-style architecture that gives the app an ever-increasing feature set with plugins built by Obsidian’s developers and the Obsidian community. It’s based on a folder full of Markdown text files, so you always own and control your data. It can be end-to-end encrypted to protect your privacy. People use Obsidian to gather their thoughts, write their dissertations, plan their projects, and even track visits to the veterinarian. The app is powerful and flexible.
However…
The Obsidian on-ramp is steep. It takes a while to wrap your arms around exactly what you can do with this app and unlock its full potential. You need a guide. That’s me, MacSparky, your Obsidian pal. Once you master Obsidian, you’ll also need help picking plugins and figuring out exactly how far down that rabbit hole you want to go. I’ve got you covered there, too.
The Obsidian Field Guide is a 6-hour course including 78 instructional videos that will get you up and running. The course starts with the basics and goes straight through to the advanced. It is carefully paced so anyone can take advantage of Obsidian. Each tutorial includes a full transcript and closed captioning. The transcripts are even bundled into ePub and PDF documents you can download.
Your purchase will also get you access to the Obsidian Field Guide Private Vault, where you’ll get additional resources, links, and access to the samples used throughout the course.
Want More? Get the Plus Edition
In addition to the above, with the Obsidian Field Guide Plus Edition, you’ll get an additional webinar series going deeper into Obsidian with additional materials, guest speakers, questions and answers, and even more Obsidian goodness. All webinar sessions will be recorded and added to downloadable content for plus edition customers.
There’s a lot more, along with a free 40-minute sample, at the below Obsidian Field Guide links. If you’ve ever wondered why so many people love Obsidian, now’s your chance to learn.
Last week Jason Snell and John Gruber weighed in on what they’re doing with their iPads these days. I, too, have a much-simplified relationship with my iPad.
For years, I tried to turn the iPad into a production machine. I still love the idea of sitting down with a piece of glass and getting real work done. But there were just too many hoops to jump through for much of my work. I remember at one point sitting in a meeting as a lawyer while we were discussing the purchase of a company. An accountant in the room sent me ten spreadsheets to review. I had an iPad Pro and thought to myself, “How am I going to keep up with everybody in the room trying to process these files on an iPad?“ The answer, it turns out, is that I didn’t.
The real turning point for me was a dinner conversation with my children. Both were in college and using their iPads and were very happy with them. They explained how they used them to take class notes, work on outlines, and make themselves flashcards. It sounded like an Apple commercial.
I realized as I listened to them that they were using the iPad just like Apple envisions it. They were not looking at edge case uses but instead using it for what it is good at. That is when the switch flipped in my brain, and I changed my relationship with the iPad.
People will tell you that if you’re in a relationship with another human and think you can change them, you’re on a fool’s errand. I feel like the same goes for the iPad. You have to accept it for what it is to enjoy using it.
It’s been several years of me using the iPad as Apple intended instead of as I wanted. I can tell you the relationship is a lot healthier. I still use it all the time (indeed, I am dictating this blog post on my iPad mini.), But I’m not trying to get it to record podcasts or perform any task that requires me to do silly things like setting up server connections or gimmicky Rube Goldberg-based automation schemes.
The iPad remains a production-plus-consumption device for me. I write on it, research on it, and plan on it. But as soon as I meet any significant resistance, I set it down and pick up a Mac.
So, the iPad and I are settled and at peace with one another. I still wish Apple would give the iPad more horsepower. There are many ways Apple could make these devices, which run on Apple silicon, take on Mac-type work. Until then, I’m done swimming upstream. I use my iPad as the maker intended.
Getting back to those posts by Jason and John, I usually bring my iPad mini and MacBook Air when I travel. I generally find nothing I can’t do without those two machines. 
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AppleInsider’s Mike Wuerthele got some hands-on time with the Vision Pro and reports in. On the video passthrough, Wuerthele explains, “The part I’ve been most skeptical about is how well the Apple Vision Pro passes through the surroundings to the user. The short version is that it does it very well, with crisp and clear images most of the time.”
I think when it comes to this product, it’s going to need to be something you spend some time with before purchase. I’m curious how they will accommodate that in Apple Stores.
Casey Liss rejoins Mac Power Users to discuss his new app Callsheet, and to give Stephen and me a tour of the apps and services he uses to manage his media.
I’ve talked previously about how Focus modes are underrated and underused. One of the first steps in setting up a Focus mode is having a wall in place to keep out distractions so you can get your important business done. With the help of SaneBox, MacSparky’s sponsor this week, you can start building this wall.
SaneBox has a feature called Do Not Disturb. When you enable this nifty feature, you can take away the distraction of checking your inbox. SaneBox temporarily pauses new emails and moves them to your Do Not Disturb folder. Do Not Disturb is customizable so you can set your inbox to get these emails at a time and/or date of your choosing. You’re in charge of who passes through, so you can also choose if there are delivery exceptions, such as certain people or clients, that you don’t want to miss out on if there’s something really important going on.
A few weeks ago, I did a survey on Apple Watch usage. I summarized the results in today’s newsletter (Sign up) along with some thoughts about how it relates to the future of the Apple Watch, but I wanted to share the entire survey results somewhere, so here you go.
There were just under 1,100 responses. I think you can assume the responses skew a bit on the nerdy side because, well, me. But overall, the data reflects that the vast majority of folks are very happy with their Apple Watches.
The data below speaks for itself, but there were a few items that stood out to me:
The Apple Watch users are overwhelmingly satisfied with their watches. Those of us on the edges forget that most people just love their Apple products.
Many People (~40%) are wearing older Apple Watches (3+ years). At the same time, the Ultra is very popular (19.5%).
The big watch is much more popular than the small one. I know there are more men than women in my audience but I also suspect my gang thinks about battery life more than most consumers.
The cellular watch is more popular than I thought it’d be. I try not to think about the money I spend to have a cellular watch vs. the amount of actual usage it gets.
Seventy percent of those responding sleep with the Watch on at least sometimes. That is a much bigger number than I expected.
The feature usage numbers were not that surprising, except for Focus modes. I expected more people to be using the watch for Focus Mode shifting, and the numbers didn’t bear that out. I’ll be doing my next survey on how many people are actually using Focus Modes.
I got lots of email and comments from people using their Apple Watches in unique ways. While for most the watch is a time, notification, and activity device, for some users it’s a lot more.
