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Pixelmator Pro 2.4 – Odesa

Pixelmator Pro just dropped a significant update. The new version features new classes of layers including color adjustments and effects layers. This lets you keep the edits in a separate layer and, in effect, create non-destructive edits. I use Pixelmator Pro almost daily and I really appreciate the developer’s constant updates that all feel aimed at making the process of using Pixelmator Pro easier for people like me that want a powerful photo editor but don’t care to learn how to use/subscribe to Photoshop.

This update also adds 200 new vector shapes and improvements for Apple silicon. You can learn more from Pixelmator directly.

Mac Power Users 635: Workflows with Allison Sheridan

Allison Sheridan has been a Mac user since the very beginning and has been talking about Apple and its products since late 2005. She joins Stephen and me on this episode of Mac Power Users to talk about her experience with the platform, her use of diagramming in blog posts, and much, much more.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.
  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.
  • Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post.
  • Electric: Unbury yourself from IT tasks. Get a free pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones when you schedule a meeting.

Automators 99: Automation April

Hooray! It’s Automation April, and Federico Viticci and John Voorhees join Rose and me on this episode of Automators to talk about it, along with some of their favorite automation.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

  • Electric: Unbury yourself from IT tasks. Get a free pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones when you schedule a meeting.
  • TextExpander: Your Shortcut to Efficient, Consistent Communication. Get 20% off.
  • Hunter Douglas: Get your free Style Gets Smarter design guide.
  • Doppler: Sync environment variables at scale.

Stephen Hackett’s Mac Pro

Stephen Hackett wrote a goodbye letter to his Mac Pro. I’ve been teasing him about that computer for years on the Mac Power Users, but I completely understand why he bought it … and why he is now selling it. When that Mac Pro was announced, it was the first time Apple ever invited the Mac Power Users to an Apple Keynote event. For that reason alone, I will always have a special place in my heart for that computer.

One odd thing that strikes me is that the currently shipping Mac Pro never ended up getting a common nickname. We had the “Cheese Grater” and the “Trash Can”. This new one never got there.

Now that Apple has announced WWDC will start on June 6, I’m hopeful that they’ll announce whatever they are going to be doing with the Mac Pro and Apple silicon. Will it be in the same case? I don’t think so. Hopefully, it’s not long before we find out.

Unleash Your Creativity with DEVONthink (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by DEVONthink. There are a lot of ways to manage a database on your mac, but in my opinion, there is no better tool than DEVONthink. Just a few of the things I use DEVONthink for include:

  • A reliable repository of research documents. DEVONthink will hold as many documents as you can throw at it. In addition, it makes import (and export) easy, so you can have all that power without feeling trapped.
  • A research assistant. DEVONthink uses artificial intelligence to analyze and connect your documents in ways that may not otherwise occur to you.
  • An OCR Tool. Everything you store in your DEVONthink Pro library gets OCR’d. It just happens.
  • An Automation Tool. DEVONthink lets you build powerful automation subroutines into your library to help tag, move, and organize documents.

As a lawyer, DEVONthink was my legal research assistant. I dumped legal cases, statutes, regulations, and law review articles in DEVONthink and whenever I worked on a thorny problem I let DEVONthink grind on the documents before I did. It is spooky what DEVONthink could find for me. You could also do the same with all of your personal records. Dump them into a DEVONthink database and let DEVONthink sort it for you.

DEVONthink supports multiple sync methods and lets you even use your own sync password, so everything is encrypted. If you’ve got an iPad or an iPhone, you can access your DEVONthink data there, too, with DEVONthink to Go.

It is this combination of power and security that makes DEVONthink the clear winner. You can think of DEVONthink as your paperless office. You can automate your workflow from capture to filing, editing to publishing. It stores all your documents, helps you keep them organized, and presents you with what you need to get the job done.

Interested? MacSparky readers can get a 20% discount on DEVONthink. This is a limited-time offer, so check it out now.

Drafts 10-Year Anniversary

Ten years ago, I was in the middle of a trial, staying at a hotel in Los Angeles. My email was piling up, and I had a million things I needed to handle with my trial, other clients, personal life, and MacSparky. I saw this new app, “Drafts.” I thought, “Why the hell not?” Then I sat down and made about 30 text notes in 30 minutes. I handled all the cruft of my life at an unmatched speed, and I fell in love. Drafts remains, for me, the place “where text starts.” Drafts has evolved a lot over the last ten years and while I don’t use it to organize text notes (it can do that!), I still use it to create text notes that get sent to other places like the Mail app, Messages, and Obsidian, every day.

To celebrate ten years of Drafts and to help people see how it can help them, developer Agile Tortoise is offering the first year of Drafts Pro for just $4.99 — a notable saving on the normal $19.99 subscription. This offer is available to new customers and will run from today through April 30, 2022. To claim the offer, users should visit getdrafts.com/offers.

Finally, I want to give my congratulations to Greg Pierce, for defining a new app category and doing an excellent job of it for ten years.

WWDC 2022

Yesterday we got word that Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is set for June 6-10. The event will be (nearly) entirely virtual. The only exception, as Apple explains, will be for a select group of developers to join a live keynote on the Apple campus. If they announce new hardware, I’d expect there will also be some press invited.

The question is whether this is just another step toward the everybody-in-one-town WWDC we had in 2019 or a refinement of the new (mostly) virtual format. I don’t have any inside information but if I had to guess, I’d say WWDC will be more virtual than anything else for the foreseeable future.

There are several good reasons for Apple to lean in that direction:

Apple Resources

I’ve known Apple employees that speak and attend WWDC. It requires them to spend a lot of time on tasks that usually aren’t in their wheelhouse. Don’t forget that they are in the middle of building new operating system updates for all Apple products at the same time. WWDC is a huge distraction for those folks.

No Surprises

With the virtual format, Apple gets better control of the message. The keynote, the sessions, and just about everything else is pre-recorded. Consequently, there are no slip-ups or mistakes.

Better Virtual Materials

Apple has been releasing videos of the WWDC sessions for years, but the materials and production values of the virtual events of the last few years have been much better than in years past.

Way More People Can Attend

Historically, to attend WWDC, you had to hit the ticket lottery AND have the available time to travel to San Jose AND have the disposable income to pay for the flight, overpriced room, and everything else. There are a lot of folks who can’t tick all those boxes. In building the event as a primarily virtual one, Apple can give a good experience to many more people.

Missing the Gathering

All that said, historically, WWDC wasn’t the only thing that happened at and around WWDC. There were multiple related conferences, live podcasts, and numerous other social events that you don’t get with a virtual event. I’ve met many of my best friends at the “gathering of the tribe” around WWDC.

While I don’t expect Apple to ever announce their long-term intentions for WWDC, I wish they would. If the community knew WWDC will remain virtual for the foreseeable future, we could start thinking about creating our own events instead.

iPad Air vs. iPad Pro

I’ve had many emails lately from prospective iPad customers asking for advice when choosing between the new iPad Air and the 11″ iPad Pro. So here’s my breakdown.

The M1 Processor

Both devices use the same M1 chip. I expect that will change with the next iteration of the iPad Pro, but who knows when that will happen. Both devices also have 5G networking. The iPad Air comes with 8GB of RAM, and the iPad Pro has 8GB and 16GB builds.

The Displays

Both devices have Liquid Retina displays with 264 ppi. Both displays also have True Tone and P3 Wide color. There are differences, though: The iPad Pro screen is 11″ and the iPad Air is 10.9″. The more relevant difference is that the iPad Pro has 120 Hz ProMotion. It doubles the frame rate of the iPad Air, and depending on your preferences, it is a huge deal or not noticeable.

Camera System

Both devices have f/1.8 12MP wide rear and f/2.4 12MP front-facing cameras. The iPad Pro adds an f2.4 10MP Ultra wide rear camera with a LiDAR scanner, and TrueDepth to its front camera.

Authentication

The iPad Pro uses Face ID. The iPad Air uses Touch ID on the top button. This is another one that varies with the user. Both are fine by me, but that isn’t true for everyone.

Speakers

The iPad Pro has a four-speaker system that sounds noticeably better than the two-speaker system in the iPad Air.

Storage

You get limited options with the iPad Air at 64GB or 256GB. The iPad Pro goes up to 2TB of storage.

Colors

The iPad Air has fun, whimsical (but understated) colors. The iPad Pro comes in Silver and Space Gray.

Connectors

Both the iPad Pro and iPad Air have a USB-C connector, with the iPad Pro adding support for Thunderbolt and USB 4. Given the state of iPad OS, you don’t get much bang for your buck on that USB-C connector on the iPad Pro.

Price

The prices of these devices are closer than you’d think. While the iPad Air starts at $599 for 64GB and $799 for the iPad Pro with 128GB, if you even out the storage at 256GB, the iPad Air is $749, and the iPad Pro is $899.

Some Recommendations

You should lean toward the iPad Air if you are on the fence about this. The two devices are so close that you should only be buying the iPad Pro for a specific reason. For instance, if you love ProMotion or need better speakers, pay the extra. However, for the vast majority of folks, the iPad Air is plenty enough iPad.