Tim Stringer joins Mike and me on this episode of Focused to talk about mortality, reinvention, and the fight to live a focused life.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst that gets most of his insight from the Apple supply chain is predicting Apple will ship a folding iPad next year (as reported at 9to5 Mac). We’ve been hearing about folding iPhones and iPads for years but this is the first time someone as notable as Ming-Chi Kuo has planted a flag.
I generally like the idea of Apple getting more experimental with hardware. It’d be pretty cool if you could carry something about the footprint of an iPad mini (but thicker) which unfolds into something much bigger. The trick would be in that transition on the screen and the hinge. If true, I expect Apple would have some interesting ideas.
The Software Club talks about Fantastical and how it compares to Apple’s default Calendar application on this episode of Mac Power Users. Michael Simmons then joins us to discuss Fantastical’s history and the changes he has seen in the Apple software ecosystem over the years.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
Rosemary and I spent some time looking at Raycast, the latest Mac launcher to arrive on the market, and on this episode of Automators, we compare it to our current favorite launcher, Alfred.
This episode of Automators is sponsored by:
I know you all think I’m in the bag for OmniFocus, but I’m always interested in seeing progress with task apps in the Apple ecosystem, and Culture Code just made a nice update to Things.
You know I’m a big fan of Shortcuts, and Things 3.17 has vastly enhanced integration with Shortcuts on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. They’ve rebuilt the app’s actions with the new App Intents framework. They’ve added nine entirely new actions that deliver way more power. You can now create full-blown projects with headings and to-dos. You can query their database, edit items, duplicate them, and much more. The more developers that embrace Shortcuts, the happier I am. For those of you using Things, it just got a lot more automation-friendly.
Mark Gurman is reporting that our next major iPad revamp will be next year with a design overhaul to the iPad Pro, possibly with a glass back, instead of the current aluminum design.
I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m always interested in new designs, but I dig the current design. And an extra 11” (or 13”!) piece of glass would be heavy and much more prone to breaking than the current aluminum back.
There have also been rumors of bigger iPads up to 16 inches. I’d like to see that. The iPad needs a Hannah Montana to Wrecking Ball sort of transformation, and a bigger one would help that along. Personally, a larger iPad on my desk acting as a Sidecar screen/Universal Control device/status board would be cool.
And while the hardware team continues to march forward, we still have all these questions about the iPad software stack. It could be so much more.
This week MacSparky is sponsored by Drafts, the one text app to rule them all. I’m a fan of Drafts. So much so that we recorded an entire MPU episode about it. But if I had to summarize why I dig this app so much, there are a few points to make:
I can get into Drafts and start typing or dictating faster than any other app. Sometimes it feels like an idea is a fish I’m trying to land. The sooner I get it in the boat, the less likely it gets off the hook. Drafts helps you land bigger fish.
Once your precious words are in Drafts, you can do just about anything to them. You can send them to others, format them, send them to your favorite app, and add automation. As Drafts has matured, you can even keep them all right there in Drafts.
Drafts is the only text app I know that constantly evolves and grows. There is polish everywhere. Not surprisingly, I wrote this post in Drafts. If you haven’t tried Drafts, you really should.
Kaitlin Salzke is an accountant, student, and programmer who has built a library of OmniFocus automations. On this episode of Mac Power Users, she joins Stephen and me to talk about using JavaScript for automation, working on a PC during the week, and pushing the boundaries of what macOS can do.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
So I’ve had the MacBook Pro for a while now, and while I usually use it connected to an external display, there are also plenty of times that I bask in the brightness of that high frame rate HDR screen. As laptop displays go, it’s the best I’ve ever seen.
There is, however, the question of that notch. It took some getting used to and made the installation of Bartender a must, but I barely notice it at this point. So I thought it’d be fun to lean into the Notch a bit and see what developers are doing with it. My favorite Notch-adjacent app is Notchmeister.
Notchmeister from The Iconfactory and Craig Hockenberry isn’t practical but loads of fun. The app lets you plus up your notch with effects like Glow, Plasma Leak, and Nano Radar. They even have a Festive theme that strings lights from your notch.
It’s a silly little app, but it also brings some whimsy to your Mac. That used to be commonplace, but these days not so much. I wish there were more.
I received an email from a listener asking if it was too late to buy a Focused wall calendar. It is not.