The EERO Pro V6 – A Significant WiFi Upgrade

One of the recurring complaints around Sparky headquarters these days is Internet speed. My kids are in college-from-your-bedroom during COVID, my wife is also home, and I use a little bit of bandwidth myself.

Years ago, eero was a podcast sponsor, and I got a free three-pack at the time. After that, I bought three more to get eero into my kids’ rooms and the backyard. We’ve had a good connection, but we didn’t have enough bandwidth for everyone using the Internet so intensely. Speedtest.net was showing WiFi speeds between 50 and 150 Mbps. So I went looking for alternatives.

eero has recently released some new hardware taking advantage of the more recent WiFi 6 standard. I’ve generally been happy with eero. They are easy to set up and just seem to work once you’ve got them installed. So I purchased the eero Pro 6 3-pack. The Pro 6 is made to cover 6,000 square feet. My house is only 1,500 square feet, but I do like to work in the backyard, and I do have WiFi cameras at the very front of the house. At $600, this was no small investment, but my wife and kids have been complaining a lot, and I decided I would do some serious testing once they arrived, intending to return them if the improvements were only incremental.

After several weeks of usage, I am keeping these.

Installing the new eero hardware took all of 15 minutes. The eero app will recognize new hardware and let you add or replace existing hardware. One question in my mind was whether I would need to keep any of my older eero hardware to get full house coverage. (My old system had six units. This new system only had three.) Regardless, I took all the old units offline and installed the three new units. Two of the endpoints have Ethernet cable, so two of the devices are plugged in. The third device is at a location that doesn’t have a convenient Ethernet drop, so it is just plugged into the wall. Then I started doing some testing.

I’ve done probably thirty speed tests on this new system, and it has clocked in no less than 500 Mbps every time. However, if I sit close to the transmitter, it gets closer to 700 Mbps. I’ve been shocked at how much faster WiFi is in my house with this 5X increase. Also, my network is a lot easier to manage with just three devices instead of six.

If you’re looking unsatisfied with your current WiFi speed, these eeros may be just what you’re looking for.

Meet Daylite: The CRM with Apple Fans in Mind (Sponsor)

For small businesses trying to stay on top of clients, leads, and projects that are evolving every day, it can be tough if not impossible to manage everything with just the existing Apple apps in your repertoire. That’s where Daylite comes in clutch. Daylite is a native Mac CRM and business productivity app designed to help you and your team manage more clients, close more deals, and finish more projects.

Daylite is fully compatible with Big Sur and M1-powered Macs, and works seamlessly with the Apple features you already use and love:

Integrate with Apple Mail on Mac
Share your Apple Contacts and Calendar
Leverage Siri and Caller ID on your iPhone
FaceID and TouchID support
Create contracts and other documents by pulling Daylite data into Pages, Numbers, and Keynote

Unlike most Web-based CRMs that just focus on customer relationships and sales, Daylite’s productivity-focused design helps you and your team get more done throughout the full customer lifecycle. From meeting prospects and winning business, to managing the moving pieces on projects, all the way through to following up for referrals and repeat business, it’s all done in Daylite.

Whether you’re in a legal, design, consulting, or other professional services firm, Daylite can help you build stronger client relationships and scale your business. Daylite also offers complimentary onboarding support to help new customers get started.

Ready to do big things with your small business? Start your free 30-day Daylite trial today!

Contour Design’s RollerMouse

Earlier this month, Adam Engst guested on the Mac Power Users. During the show, Adam explained his love of Contour Design’s RollerMouse, a product I’d never heard of before.

Nevertheless, I’m always curious about input devices, and I like the idea of mixing things up once in a while, so I ordered one. The RollerMouse shows up in a keyboard-sized box and ships with some extra RSI (repetitive strain injury)-friendly plastic bits, a cable, and a USB wart for wireless connection. The RollerMouse itself had a solid build quality. The device fits at the bottom of your keyboard, and the primary component is a big roller that you can roll with your thumb while simultaneously moving the roller right and left to place the mouse pointer on your screen. The advantage is that you don’t have to lift your fingers off the keyboard to position the mouse. You can also press down on the roller to click or program any of the several buttons underneath the roller for additional functions, like double tap and right-click.

I put my mouse in a drawer and used it for a week. The RollerMouse is good at its intended purpose. The roller is buttery smooth, and you can indeed move the mouse without lifting your fingers from the keyboard. There is an adjustment period. After a week, I got used to the RollerMouse, but I never really warmed up to it. It’s silly, but aesthetically, I just didn’t like looking at that big piece of hardware under my keyboard. Moreover, I found precise mouse movements and things like clicking and dragging to be … well … a drag.

Ultimately I gave up on the RollerMouse and sent it back, but I do see how folks like Adam could grow to love a roller mouse. Allowing you to keep your hands on the keyboard is a big win, and this device allows for that. Moreover, if you are experiencing mouse-related RSI problems, this lets you mouse without a mouse. While the RollerMouse ultimately was not for me, I could see how it would suit other folks. If you are looking for a different way to input at your desk, you may want to check it out.

Mac Power Users 594: A Third Alternative

It’s Mac Power Users feedback time so Stephen and I are here with listener questions, our experiences with Apple’s current crop of betas, and the future of Day One.

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.
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

Evolution After COVID

As the COVID vaccines continue to get distributed and life begins to revert to something like it was before the pandemic, what are you doing to avoid making the same mistakes all over again? It would be too easy to go back to your old office and your old habits and flip the “autopilot” switch back on.

Instead, think back to how you had to evolve because of COVID and take that with you. A lot of people are rethinking things as the world wakes from its slumber. Consider this your opportunity to do the same.

The Sparky Status Board 2.0

A few months ago, I went on a tear about my OmniGraffle-based Kanban status board. I had many people telling me I was doing it wrong and that I should have used one of the dedicated Kanban online tools, like Trello. However, since this board was just for me, I didn’t see the point in that.

However, about a month after that post went up, a beta Kanban plugin showed up for Obsidian.md. This isn’t an online-based tool but just a simple plugin to create Kanban-style blocks from a markdown file. Moreover, it lets you embed Obsidian page links in the blocks. It isn’t particularly pretty or customizable. (However, the developer continues to improve it and add features.) Regardless, it is a dead-simple way to put together a Kanban board inside of Obsidian.

Since all of my projects are already in Obsidian, this got my interest. I spent just a few minutes with the plugin before deciding it was time for Status Board 2.0

I learned a few things using Status Board 1.0, which initially had four categories: Active, Hold, Waiting, and Done. After using it daily, I realized I only needed two columns: active and hold. Projects to me are either active or on hold. The reason they may be on hold is that I’m waiting on a client, or I don’t have time to deal with it right now, but regardless it is on hold. Also, once the project is done, there’s no reason for me to keep it on the board. I don’t need a trophy case of completed projects. I need focus. These cards are only pointers to the actual project page. Deleting a card does not delete the project. Once I finish a project, I delete the card, and it is, satisfyingly, “off the board”.

So I had already starting to evolve my status board to only have two columns for each area of my life. Bringing this over to the Obsidian Kanban plugin, I could re-create that for every area of my life on a single board. I’ve got these two columns for MacSparky, Field Guides, the law practice, and personal life. Each one has a column with active and on-hold projects that I can move back and forth. Above is a heavily redacted image of the current Sparky Status Board 2.0.

Where Status Board 1.0 had links to the OmniFocus and Obsidian project pages on each card, Status Board 2.0 has an internal link to the Obsidian project page. (OmniFocus links and much more are on the Obsidian project page.) At first, I also included a few short notes about why a project was in the hold column, but that was silly. I already know why every project is on hold and don’t need to spend time documenting it on the Kanban card.

I have incorporated this into my day-end shutdown routine. So, in addition to working through OmniFocus at the end of the day, I also take a look at “the board”. Anything still active gets my particular attention, but I also scan all of the projects on hold to see if I can move them to active status for the next day. This often will spur a flurry of text messages and emails to clients and co-workers to get projects rolling again. Because all of this is in Obsidian, if I want to jump right into any particular project, I need only tap on it, and Obsidian takes me there.

Status Board 2.0 isn’t as pretty as Status Board 1.0, but I find it just as effective. I keep the status board in my root level directory of Obsidian to access it as needed throughout the day. Also, when I put this in full screen on my Mac, it gives me those same feels I was getting before with Status Board 1.0 in full-screen mode.

I know many of my readers will be saying, “I told you so” but in my defense, this plugin did not exist when I first started creating Status Board 1.0. I still stand by my initial position that a cloud-based Kanban board does not make much sense for an unshared, personal status board.

I doubt this is the final iteration of my status board, but this is the current one. Indeed, if money were no object, I would instead build a wall-sized Flipboard machine in my studio just like you used to see in airports and train stations. Every morning it would make a satisfying rolling and clicking sound as it updates to show my active and hold projects across the wall. At least that’s the dream.

Focused 128: Communication

On this episode of Focused, Mike and I tackle one of the most difficult subjects of focus: communication.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

TextExpander, from Smile: Communicate smarter. Get 20% off.
Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post.
Literati: A bestselling book subscription service that offers curated book clubs for all readers. Start your free trial.

Band-in-a-Box 2021 for Mac Is Here

I remain a fan of the Band-in-a-Box app and I’m pleased to see their continued support for the Mac. This app lets you easily create backing tracks for any song. You just type in your chord changes, pick a style, and then you can start singing (or jamming) on top of it. I’m pretty sure the first time I bought this app was in the late 80’s.

They just released the 2021 edition with over 80 new features and loads of new content like 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, Artist Performances, Bonus RealDrums “Singles,” RealDrums transcriptions, MultiStyles PAK 1, XPro Styles PAK 1, Xtra Styles PAK 11, and more. From now until June 30th, you can save up to 50% off upgrades, Bonus PAKs with 40 Additional RealTracks, MultiStyles PAK 1, and more.

Mac Power Users 593: It’s All Based on Stickies, with Paul Kafasis

Stephen and I are joined by Paul Kafasis on the latest episode of Mac Power Users to talk about Mac software development in the modern era, some of Rogue Amoeba’s history, and the tools Paul uses to get his work done.

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.
The Intrazone, by Microsoft SharePoint: Your bi-weekly conversation and interview podcast about SharePoint, OneDrive and related tech within Microsoft 365.