Endor Studios Update (MacSparky Labs)

Hooray! The city inspector came by today and gave Endor Studios the final approval. There is still some clean-up work and a bit more prep work on the inside, but I am very close to moving in. Here’s a short video showing the current status of the interiors…

This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

Celebrating 20 years of Great Software from Rogue Amoeba (Sponsor)

Since 2002, Rogue Amoeba has been making amazing audio apps for the Mac. Whether you’re a podcaster, musician, or just someone who listens to audio on their Mac, Rogue Amoeba can make your life better. Whatever your audio needs, it’s a good bet they have a tool to help you. And right now, for a very limited time, you can save 20% off any purchase.

I first discovered Rogue Amoeba through Audio Hijack, the app that lets you record and manage audio in ways I never thought possible until I tried it. Over the years they’ve added more great apps to their line-up:

  • Audio Hijack: Record any audio you hear on your Mac, and so much more.
  • Loopback: Get ridiculously powerful audio routing to pass audio from one application to another, without needing cables or mixers.
  • SoundSource: It’s the sound control that should be built into MacOS, with per-app volume and output control, audio effects on any audio, and fast audio device switching.

There’s also Airfoil (home audio streaming), Farrago (the Mac’s best soundboard app), Fission (fast and lossless audio editing), and Piezo (charmingly simple audio recording).

Just to give you a few ideas about how we are using Rogue Amoeba apps in the Sparks house, my wife uses Piezo to get the music tracks from Disneyland parades off YouTube videos. I rely on SoundSource to manage audio sources on my Mac. I use Fission for nearly all audio edits I make. More importantly, Audio Hijack is my tool of choice for podcast recording. With every show I record, I get three separate tracks: 1) me; 2) the guest; 3) the guest and me combined. They are all recorded at once, but give us the separate tracks we need to make the best possible product for our listeners. Rogue Amoeba delivers for me, every day.

Free fully-featured trials are available for all these products, right from MacAudio.com. Better still, in celebration of 20 years in business, Rogue Amoeba is offering a very rare sale. If you buy before October, you’ll save 20% off every purchase from Rogue Amoeba.

You don’t need any coupon codes or special URLs, but act fast. Just visit MacAudio.com before the end of September to save. You’ll be glad you did.

The Old “Pad of Paper Under the Laptop” Trick

I’m setting up my desk and trying it without a shelf. Why am I ditching the shelf? Partly so for the always-on iPhone, but also just to leave things a little cleaner looking.

One of my favorite features of having a shelf on my desk was the way it kept my laptop a few inches off the desk surface. I always liked having the expensive laptop a few inches above the desk surface just in case.

Without the shelf, my laptop is back on the desk. No shelf = no altitude. So it’s time for the old Pad of Paper Under the Laptop trick. It’s not as safe as a shelf but in the event of a spilled cup of tea, it should keep the liquid out of the laptop.

Mac Power Users 659: Workflows with Alex Cox

Alex Cox drops by the Mac Power Users to update us on their new indie life, including Apple silicon hardware, collaboration tools, and the new iPhone 14 Pro.

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. 
  • TextExpander: 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.
  • Indeed: Join more than three million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast.
  • Zocdoc: Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up for free.

Automators 111: Automating Endor Studios

On this week’s Automators, Rose and I dive into my new studio and plan out how to automate everything.

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.
  • Trade: Save Big, Support Small Roasters. Get $30 off your first order.
  • LinkedIn Jobs: Post a job for free by visiting this link.
  • Rogue Amoeba: Save 20% in celebration of the 20th anniversary.

DEVONthink: The Unparalleled Data Tool (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by DEVONthink, the app that organizes and tracks your files and data for you. I use DEVONthink for all of my research and record-keeping workflows. There simply is nothing else that has DEVONthink’s combination of file management, meta-data, and artificial intelligence tools. Also, DEVONthink performs OCR (optical character recognition) on everything for you.

Since releasing the DEVONthink Field Guide I’ve heard from so many people that rely on DEVONthink. To name a few:

  • I heard from a high school student that tracks all her class work in subject-based DEVONthink databases. (That would also work for college.)
  • I heard from a pH.d student writing his thesis with DEVONthink.
  • I heard from a listener that builds plastic models of WWII aircraft. He researches every plane before a build and uses DEVONthink to store his growing database.
  • Stephen Hackett, our too-young but too-smart Apple historian has gigabytes of Apple data in his DEVONthink database.

These are just a few. If you have need of tracking, sorting, organizing, or searching, or analyzing data, DEVONthink is the tool for you. Check it out today.

Apple Watch Ultra Reviews and Trade-Offs

The initial Apple Watch Ultra reviews are in. I spent the morning reading them. Some of the best coverage came from The Verge and Marques Brownlee.

The trade-offs of this watch are not in dispute.

The Good Parts

  • Doubled battery life (two days, perhaps three)
  • Lots of power-user features
  • An additional button
  • Rugged, bulky design

The Bad Parts

  • It’s big
  • It’s pricey
  • Rugged, bulky design

For a lot of people, myself included, the Apple Watch Ultra is overkill. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m interested. I am a fan of rugged design and the thought of never having to think about battery life on my watch is an appealing one to me. Best of all, it appears I’d be able to trigger shortcuts with that action button.

I’ve ordered one. Whether I keep it will come down to how big it looks and feels on my wrist, but I’m looking forward to trying it out.

Mac Power Users 658: Every Letter Is Precious

In this feedback episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I revisit iOS 16 and the M2 MacBook Air, then dive into some listener questions and talk about the state of voice dictation.

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. 
  • 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.
  • Setapp: More than 240 powerful apps. Try it free for a month with code ‘MACPOWER’.