Last week Pixelmator released Photomator for the Mac. Photomator is the application which finds that Goldilocks position between Apple Photos and Pixelmator Pro. If you’re looking to make your photos look better, but you don’t want to get in the weeds, this is the application for you.
I’ve always been impressed with the way Pixelmator incorporates artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge Apple technologies into their products. Photomator gives you the benefit of those technologies without the learning curve. Color adjustments. Batch editing features. Magical Repair and Clone tools. Even better, with iCloud support, whether you’re using Photomator on Mac, iPhone, or iPad, your edits will always stay in sync.
Watch below to see just how fast and simple Photomator is.
It’s a new year gang, and I’m guessing over the holidays you took a few pictures. How’s your Photos library doing? If it’s anything like mine, it’s a mess right now.
PowerPhotos works with the built-in Photos app on your Mac, providing an array of tools to help you get your photo collection in order. Find and eliminate duplicate photos, split up your library into smaller ones, merge libraries together, open libraries in separate windows, export photos/albums, and more.
If you’ve got old iPhoto and Aperture libraries, PowerPhotos will convert those for you. There are a ton of features in version 2:
– Convert your old iPhoto or Aperture library to an equivalent Photos library – Advanced export of photos/albums – Full support for iCloud Photos – New visual duplicate detection engineLibrary groups – Global menu bar item – Multiple windows
PowerPhotos adds all the features to Photos that Apple never will. You can download PowerPhotos for free to check it out, and purchasing a license will unlock all the features of the program. MacSparky readers can get a 20% discount with the coupon code MACSPARKY23, and existing iPhoto Library Manager and PowerPhotos 1.0 users can also use their old serial number to receive upgrade pricing, 50% of the normal price.
So make the Photos app work harder for you with PowerPhotos 2.0. You can get it today.
Mike Vardy has been speaking about productivity for a long time, and he’s got a lot of great ideas. He’s always one of my favorite guests when he comes on our podcast and has something insightful to share. I can’t wait to read his new book, The Productivity Diet, which you can help fund right now on Kickstarter.
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Bill Evans is one of the best pianists ever to play jazz. He was the moving force behind Miles Davis’ outstanding Kind of Blue album. I once heard that Miles would sometimes call Bill and ask him to lay the telephone receiver on the piano and just play.
Bill was famous in his day and, as a result, got plenty of gigs. As a result, we’ve been getting plenty of previously-unreleased Bill Evans recordings, but a recent one, Bill Evans Treasures, is fantastic. It’s a series of recordings made in Denmark over four years (1965–1969).
There is a bunch of trio work and some features he did with the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra and the Danish Radio Big Band. It is those recordings that I can’t stop listening to. Arranged by Palle Mikkelborg, the orchestrations are a fascinating showcase for Bill’s piano. You also can’t help but note how his playing changes with the bigger ensembles. It makes me wish more of the greats of that era had the opportunity to play in bigger groups like this and how they would have sounded. This album is a new favorite for me and can be a great start or addition to your Bill Evans collection.
There are a lot of great apps in the Apple ecosystem, but when it comes to doing research, the clear leader is this week’s sponsor, DEVONthink. DEVONthink is the most professional document and information management application for the Mac. It’s the one place for storing all your documents, snippets, or bookmarks, and working with them.
The Integrated A.I. assists you with filing and searching. The search is extensive, with advanced Boolean operators.
DEVONthink features a Flexible sync system that supports many cloud services — or lets you synchronize over the local network too — with everything securely encrypted. This gives you the choice for however syncing works best for you!
It has Smart rules and flexible reminders that let you automate all parts of your workflow and delegate boring, repeating tasks. Let DEVONthink automatically organize your data with rules you define!
DEVONthink’s AppleScript dictionary is one of the largest on the Mac. There’s no part of DEVONthink that can’t be automated. Extend DEVONthink’s functionality with your own commands by adding them to its Scripts menu.
Even templates can have scripts inside and you can set up new documents with data from placeholders, or inserted by your own AppleScript code.
And, of course, there’s so much more, from an iOS companion app, email archiving, scanning, or even an embedded web server for sharing your data securely with your team.
I often get email from folks who are using apps like Obsidian or Craft and trying to figure out document management in those apps. My answer, if you love those apps, is to keep using them, but put all files and documents into DEVONthink. While these emerging PKM apps are pretty great, they can’t hold a candle to DEVONthink when it comes to working with actual files.
On top of all of that, the DEVONthink team just keeps iterating. The most recent version (3.9) give you the ability to embed deep links into text and PDF annotations.
I find DEVONthink’s combination of innovative features and automation support irresistible. Interested? The code MACSPARKY2023 gets you 20% off any version of DEVONthink (Standard, Pro, or even Server). You can also click this link.
Apple is pre-announcing features again as we head toward WWDC. This time it is several new accessibility features:
Assistive Access
This feature addresses users with cognitive disabilities, combining and simplifying the communication features into a single app and adding other features, like an emoji-only keyboard.
Personal Voice and Live Speech
This feature is for people suffering from disabilities that impact their ability to speak. (They specifically call out ALS.) With Personal Voice you can train your iPhone to generate a voice that sounds like yours. There are a bunch of security implications for this, but Apple has the bases covered.
Magnifier App
This is getting several improvements, making it easier to interact with text labels and allowing the phone to announce text on each button.
Voice Control
There are better guides to help you set it up, and now the inclusion of phonetic suggestions for similar-sounding words.
Over the years, I’ve heard from many readers/listeners with disabilities praising their Apple devices. I think this is one of those things Apple always prioritizes. A few years ago, a shareholder suggested Apple could get a better return on investment by backing off accessibility features. His response: “When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind, I don’t consider the bloody ROI.”
As we head into WWDC and it increasingly looks like Apple will announce the new headset, expect them to be clearing the decks with more announcements like this.
Dell first promised this monitor (dubbed the Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor (U3224KB)) at CES. Now we’re getting more details with a promised release in the first half of this year. Priced at $3,199 ($2,559 at launch), it comes in at about half the price of Apple’s Pro Display XDR (with the stand). The tradeoffs are:
Color quality: This is not the same reference spec as the XDR.
Build quality: The XDR is a beast.
Beauty: To me, the big lens on top of the Dell is ugly. (This is admittedly subjective.)
In addition to the price difference, you also get a built-in webcam and speakers. And that price difference is significant. Compared to the Pro Display XDR, you’ll have enough money to buy a well-specced Mac to go along with it. It is worth considering if you are looking for a 6K monitor (I LOVE mine). Ars Technica digs it.
