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Website Transition and New RSS Link

I have been busy with a skunk-works project to transition the website to WordPress for the last several weeks. I’ve been a happy customer of Squarespace for years, but I am looking to add some new features as we move into the new year, and I needed a bit more flexibility. The website’s look will remain the same (except for a few minor tweaks). Nearly all of the changes are happening under the hood. Regardless, I’m about to push the button, and this will be the last post going out through the old system.

New RSS
Once the publication goes live, there will be a new RSS Feed:
https://www.macsparky.com/feed

We are trying to automatically direct the old feed to the new one, but you never really know about these things. If you don’t get any more posts after this one in your feed, the auto-direct didn’t work, and you will need to re-sign up above.

I can’t wait to roll out some new features with the new site.

The Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking

Something I think a lot about is contextual computing. (Here’s an MPU episode on the topic.) Put simply, our technology has advanced to a level where a mindful user should be able to get focused work done without distraction. As a few basic examples, you should not have to go to an email inbox to answer a specific email or a list of all your tasks to find only the tasks related to a particular project. And yet, too many software developers don’t consider this. Often the only way into specific data is first to wade through all the general data.

To use travel as an analogy. If you were in Los Angeles and wanted to visit Trafalgar Square in London, you’d have to get in a car, then on a plane, then a train, and then a cab. All the way, you’d have distractions that may delay or divert you from Trafalgar Square entirely. It doesn’t have to be that way with technology. Why not skip all that and zap yourself right to that data set you need.

I’ve slowly built my entire data management stack around this principle, and I can usually stay in context and on target. You should too. I’m going to be covering this in much greater detail in 2022.

In the meantime, I’m not alone in this belief. Cognitive scientist and Hook developer Luc Beaudoin has spearheaded a movement called the Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking. Linking is the key to contextual computing. It is how we can skip the car, the plane, the train, and the cab.

There is no better place for this movement to get traction than the Apple developer community. So many Mac developers have already built linking systems already. We need them standards-based, not loaded with tracking garbage, and ubiquitous. There are many smart people behind this and I hope it gets momentum. There are plenty of problems in the world for us to tackle. Are we going to use our computers to do focused work and make things better, or will we use them to distract us from what matters? This is a good start.

Mac Power Users 618: Making Movies at Pixar, with John Soliman

This episode of Mac Power Users has Stephen and I chatting with John Soliman, a second assistant editor at Pixar, about his workflows and how collaboration works at the studio.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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The Wallpaper* Feature on the Apple Design Team and a Missed Opportunity

Wallpaper* published a rare feature on the inside of the Apple Design Team. This group of people is arguably the best design team in the world. I have so much respect for their work. You should read every word of the article and take some time with those pictures. That being said …

  • I can’t help but think that every picture looks arranged and posed. This is not the design team ’at work’. They are instead posing for a magazine shoot. Creating art is messy. Those pictures and the table layouts in those pictures are art, but they are not, in my experience, what it looks like while you are doing art.
  • It appears they shot most of the pictures on the upper floors. I’m guessing the dirty work of design happens on the lower floors.
  • I wish that in addition to rooms dedicated to typography and color science, they also showed an even bigger room dedicated to user interface design. In my opinion, Apple’s hardware is untouchable at this moment, but some of the software mechanics and user interfaces need work. I wish I saw signs they were working more on that.

The article references an oft-quoted Steve Jobs explanation of design and how it is more than just a veneer. “It’s not just how things look, it’s about how things work.” I agree with that statement entirely.  

That said, relying on something Steve Jobs said years ago to justify your work is the wrong way to go about it. During Alan Dye’s tenure as VP of human interface design, Apple has become very opinionated and, arguably, too minimal. Removal of proxy icons is just one example of this. It feels like the veneer is getting way too much attention at the expense of the working bits.

Instead of quoting Steve Jobs, I would have preferred an explanation from Alan Dye about his philosophy of user interface design and what his north star is when he does his work. I’d like him to make his case. If he explained the thinking behind this minimal approach, it might make more sense. Maybe this article was never meant to be that kind of deep dive on design philosophy, but it feels like a missed opportunity.

Silly Season is Ramping Up for an Apple Headset

Apple is a secretive company but the existence of new Apple products are rarely much of a secret these days. We knew a tablet was coming. We knew there was a watch coming. We currently know there is a mixed reality headset on the way.
And now the smoke signals are going up for an announcement in 2022.

  • Ming-Chi Kuo is now reporting weight (around 350 grams) and operation details (it will not require an iPhone). He also reports a 2022 Q2 Announcement (WWDC would make sense) and a Q4 2022 release.
  • Mark Gurman also reports in that the first generation device will be used for “gaming, media consumption, and communication.”

This is just the beginning. As this filters out to the not-so-super-connected technology audience, the rumors about this product are going to be nuts.

Where I was eager for an Apple Watch and very eager for a tablet, I’m not sure where I stand on a headset. I think this is definitely a space Apple should have an offering, but I’m still not sure what their approach will be.

If you are curious about what Apple is going to offer, I would recommend not getting too hung up on the rumors. There are going to be so many words thrown into the Internet meat grinder about an Apple headset when things really start heating up and nearly all of them will be by folks who have no clue what is actually going on.

Outlines vs. Mindmaps

I sometimes get asked about where I use outlining tools versus mind mapping tools. I can see why those lines could be confused. Both tools are good at taking a bunch of inputs and letting you organize them later. For me, the distinction is all about chaos and order. Specifically, where outlines are best for taking generally organized information and making it more organized, mind maps are all about taming chaos.

For instance, when I was making the initial attempt at organizing the Photos Field Guide, I used a MindNode-based mind map. I didn’t have a clear path when I started that project, and I needed to just get ideas on the screen so I could start organizing. By using a mind map, I saw there were multiple organizational paths for that course. Using the mind map also helped me determine to group courses by platform rather than topic.

Other good examples of mind map tasks, for me, are where I’m learning something new or when I have to get my head wrapped around my own thoughts on a topic. In that case, I start up a new mind map and add to it slowly.

On the flip side, when I create a chronology for a client matter, a project that is, by nature, linear, I start with an outline. I’ll do the same thing outlining contracts or planning structured long-form blog posts. Another place I often use outlines is when attending what feels, to me at least, like a structured lecture. You can just tell when the speaker has a beginning, middle, and an end, and those fit best as outlines.

Whether you are using mind maps or outlines, Cooking Ideas still works. This is the technique I’ve talked about in the past where you start to map or outline early, and come back to it every day or two with your subconscious mind doing the heavy lifting. If you can get started on a project this way early enough, it sometimes feels like the work does itself.

My weapons of choice these days for both? MindNode for mind maps. OmniOutliner for outlines. Both cover all the Apple platform devices and make it really easy to jump between devices and resume.

Focused 140: Your Brain Is Not a Computer With Cory Hixson

Engineering professor Cory Hixson joins the Focused crew this week to talk about staying on target, not letting your kids eat your brain, and why you are not a computer.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

  • Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post.
  • Setapp: More than 200 powerful apps for your Mac. Try it free for a week.
  • The Intrazone, by Microsoft SharePoint: Your bi-weekly conversation and interview podcast about SharePoint, OneDrive and related tech within Microsoft 365.

Sensemaking Obsidian Seminar

Mike Schmitz and Nick Milo are two of my favorite people on the Internet and they’re joining forces this Thursday to do a webinar on Sensemaking with Obsidian. I know they have both been working on hard on this one and I’m looking forward to seeing what they are up to.