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Audio Hijack 4

My congratulations to the gang at Rogue Amoeba on the release of Audio Hijack 4. Audio Hijack is my Swiss-Army Knife for audio on my Mac. Rarely do I run into a recording problem that I can’t solve with Audio Hijack. For example, when I record a Podcast, I make three recordings: 1) me alone; 2) the other person alone; 3) the two of us together. All three of those recordings are made with a single Audio Hijack workflow.

The new version keeps all of Audio Hijack’s features and adds a bunch of new features:

Powerful New Blocks

The “Mixer” block makes it easy to mix up to 5 sources, while the “Magic Boost” and “Simple Compressor” blocks provide potent audio adjustments with minimal configuration.

Improved Input and Output Blocks

To avoid inadvertently using sub-par built-in mics, the input block now requires you manually select a device, and it visually distinguishes built-in devices. As well, the Input and Output blocks also now include a “Track” option, to follow the default devices set system-wide.

Additional Block Improvements

All blocks now offer popovers, allowing them to be pinned for easy viewing and access when Audio Hijack is in the background. As well, block titles can now be edited, particularly helpful when using multiple blocks of the same type.

Manual Pipeline Editing

An oft-requested feature, it’s finally possible to edit the precise block layout of your sessions manually. We experimented with both modeless and moded manual connections, and have found this moded system to work best. Note that Undo is well supported, so fiddle without fear.

Scripting

Speaking of oft-requested features, Audio Hijack now supports scripting via JavaScript. The eventual goal is to allow you to configure and automate everything you’d want. For 4.0.0, we plan to have a solid skeleton, one which we’ll flesh out further in subsequent updates. Try it out in the “Scripting” tab of your sessions, as well as via the Shortcuts app on macOS 12 (Monterey), and let us know how it works for you.

Background Sessions

Audio Hijack sessions can now run without their window being open. Handy!

Menu Bar Control

In conjunction with background sessions, the new Audio Hijack status item provides global control from the menu bar. This global window can also be pinned, for instant access from within any application.

Always-On Sessions

With the new “Auto Run” control, you can configure sessions to run whenever Audio Hijack is launched, or even whenever your Mac launches. Have sessions running at all times, automatically.

Interface Refresh

Nearly all of the artwork within Audio Hijack has been updated and improved, and a brand new Light mode has been added. Sessions are now more robust, with Recordings and Timers contained within each session itself.

I’ve been using the updated version for the last several episodes of my podcasts and it is working without fail. If you are looking for some powerful audio tools on your Mac, look no further.

Creating a Quick Action to Convert Images

On this week’s episode of Mac Power Users, the topic of HEIC vs. JPG images came up. Sometimes you’ll end up with an HEIC image on your Mac that you want to upload or otherwise share somewhere that only accepts JPGs. So I made a simple Quick Action in Shortcuts to do the conversion. A link to the video is below and you can download the Shortcut with this link. If you dig this sort of thing, you should check out the MacSparky Labs.

Mac Power Users 634: Getting the Most Out of Your iPhone Camera

The iPhone has all but killed the point-and-shoot camera market. On this week’s episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I talk about the hardware and software that makes the iPhone such a good camera for photography.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.
  • NetSuite: The leading integrated cloud business software suite. Get a special one-of-a-kind financing offer.
  • Electric: Unbury yourself from IT tasks. Get a free pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones when you schedule a meeting.
  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

CleanMyMac X Can Now Remove Suspicious Apps

MacPaw, the Ukrainian company I wrote about a few weeks ago, has announced an update to their CleanMyMac X app with a new Suspicious Apps category to identify quickly, review and remove apps originating from Russia and Belarus to protect users from potential cyberthreats.

Legislation in Russia allows government and affiliated companies to access private information stored on servers in Russia without user consent or a court decision. Consequently, apps made or hosted in Russia and Belarus put your data at risk of government inspection at a minimum.

Of course, deciding what apps are safe and what apps are not is essential. The CleanMyMac X team does its best to avoid bringing safe apps to the suspicious list. Before making a decision, they use information from different sources, ask security experts, and contact the app developer whenever possible and reasonable.

I’m sure the MacPaw team has a lot on their plate right now, but as governments worldwide get increasingly aggressive about user data, I hope to see this feature expand. If you’re interested in CleanMyMac X, I’d recommend a Setapp subscription.

SaneBox (Sponsor)

My thanks to MacSparky’s sponsor this week, SaneBox. One of SaneBox’s nifty features is that it can keep your email attachments in the cloud. If you’ve got Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, Evernote, or IBM Smart Cloud, any attachments that come through your email account can be automatically uploaded to your favorite cloud service with SaneBox’s SaneAttachments feature.

Some attachments, especially larger ones, can be trouble. They can fill up your storage or be hard to find. Some take too long to download and forward, especially if you’re using a mobile device. SaneAttachments solves these problems by automatically moving your file attachments from incoming emails and organizing your attachments, making it easy to find. And you can still forward these emails as you normally would, or you can send someone the link to the attachment. This way, you can keep your inbox fit and trim and make sure that only important email stays, and you can still find and get your files when you need them.

You can try SaneBox out for yourself. Use this link to sign up for a free trial and get a $10 credit you can use towards a SaneBox subscription.

CARROT Weather 5.6

Today CARROT Weather released its latest update with the addition of locations lists, tab bar customization, and new layout sections. To me, CARROT Weather is the poster child app for user interface customization. With this latest update, the developer just further piles on. CARROT Weather lets you, in essence, design the user interface to match your own needs and desires. I wish more app developers would follow suit.

Focused 148: Savoring the Moment, with Chris Bailey

Chris Bailey is back on the latest episode of Focused to talk about his dopamine fast, the art of savoring, and avoiding the productivity racket.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FOCUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • Ahrefs: Improve your website’s SEO performance and get more traffic from search. Free for website owners.
  • Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post.

Hands-On with the Mac Studio and Studio Display

Over the weekend I got to spend some time in the Apple Store with the new Mac Studio and Studio Display. This post just barely qualifies as “hands-on” since I only got about 30 minutes with the setup before moving along. Nevertheless, I have thoughts:

The Mac Studio

  • The Mac Studio looks nicer than I thought it would. When I first saw images of the Mac Studio, I thought it was kind of ugly, but in person it has a utilitarian “let’s get some work done” feel to it. I found myself running my fingers over its curves and kind of digging it. Still, I think I would have leaned into the idea of a cube more, but that’s what you’d expect from an old(er) Apple fan, right?
  • So much input/output. This was no surprise, but seeing a Mac in an Apple Store with I/O on the front seemed kind of great.
  • The only Mac Studio they had on the floor was the M1 Max model and performance-wise it felt exactly like my M1 Max MacBook Pro that I’m writing this on. No surprise there. It’s essentially the same computer.
  • I put my hands over both the ventilation input and output. You could definitely feel airflow. I put my ear next to it and couldn’t hear anything (but I was in a crowded Apple Store). Also, the ventilation holes are both smaller and more numerous than I expected.

The Studio Display

  • Maybe I’m an outlier, but Apple displays without the Apple logo or the chin look better to me than the old Thunderbolt monitors with all the branding.
  • The display looks great. Viewing angles are good and the colors look nice. The difference with this display and the Pro Display XDR in terms of color depth, screen size, and black blacks is obvious, but you could also buy three of these for the cost of an XDR (and all three of them would have stands).
  • The speakers sound good, but not particularly better than the MacBook Pro.
  • The video camera looked okay (but not great) to me. I know there is a software issue with these new displays but I’m with John Gruber. For this much money, I really wish they had put in the camera module from the back of the iPhone. (The display is much thicker than an iPhone.) If you buy one of these displays, it should last you a long time. That camera is going to look pretty bad before the display goes bad.
  • The stand looks nice, but is going to be too low for most people.

Overall, the pairing of a new Mac Studio and a Studio Display is a great-looking combo. I think a lot of people are going to really dig this setup.