The Field Guides and Labs Thanksgiving Sale

Next week is Thanksgiving in the United States. Hooray! I certainly have a lot to give thanks for this year, as I’ve made a huge transition in my life and can pursue my work as MacSparky full time. I feel like I’m making a better contribution to the world, and I’ve added ten years to my life all at once. 😍

So I’m running a sale for the next week…

All Field Guides, 20% Off

Starting today and through next week, the code TURKEY22 will get you 20% off any courses at Learn.MacSparky.com. No exceptions. No asterisks, Go nuts.

The MacSparky Labs, 20% Off

This is the first time I’ve ever offered a discount on Labs subscriptions, but for the next week, the code TURKEY22 will get you 20% off any new MacSparky Labs subscription.

MacSparky Labs Membershup Upgrades, 20% Off

If you are already a MacSparky Labs member and want to upgrade your membership, I’ve got a code for you too. LABSUPGRADE22 gets you 20% off any membership upgrade for the next week.

Please note that any discount subscriptions or upgrades will renew at the regular price.

Home Assistant with Rosemary Orchard (MacSparky Labs

I recently purchased a Home Assistant Yellow, a Raspberry Pi-based piece of gear to let you control just about any home automation product on the market. So I did an extended video with Rosemary Orchard, who’s been running Home Assistant for some time, where she showed me how to set it up and the ropes of running it…

This is a post for MacSparky Labs Tier 2 (Backstage) and Tier 3 (Early Access) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

Elon to Twitter Employees: Go Hardcore or Quit

Ars Technica reports Elon Musk sent an email to all Twitter employees that they need to go “hardcore” and work long hours or they should quit (and get three months’ severance). I feel for Twitter employees. They didn’t grossly overpay for the company, but now they are expected to put in long hours to attempt its reinvention. This is a monumental task. Right now Facebook, with its 2 billion active users, is struggling. Twitter has something more like 200 million active users. One-tenth the reach. Whether Twitter is successful (and Elon makes more billions) or unsuccessful (and everyone gets laid off), those who sign on to Elon’s hardcore employment still have to deal with wreckage that does to the rest of their lives and relationships.

Steve Jobs did a similar thing at Apple in 1997 when he came back … kind of. I’ve heard of a meeting where he told people they need to get on board or leave, but I’ve never seen any reporting that it included the condition that they screw up their lives. A video from this period on YouTube shows Steve’s plan to turn the company around. Still, that meeting was more to sell his employees on his vision than giving them any ultimatum.

Regardless, if I worked for Twitter, I would take the severance and run.

iOS 16.2 Beta Brings Hide Wallpaper Option for Always On Display

That didn’t take long. There were a lot of folks that wanted an option to hide wallpaper on their iPhone 14 Pro’s Always On screen. They’re about to get it.

As a brief check-in, the Always On screen is still handy. Now, my eyes look down at my phone for the time, next appointment, and other details without a second thought. I’ve set mine to change based on Focus Mode, and I dig it. I’m not seeing any problem with battery life, but my vertical stand doubles as a MagSafe charger, so I’m cheating a bit.

Exploring Raycast (MacSparky Labs)

There’s a new keyboard launching app on the block, Raycast, and there’s a lot to like about it. Here’s an early walk-through with Sparky sharing some of my favorite Raycast features.…

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

Just 8 Hours Left on MPU Apparel

This year’s MPU Apparel is really nice and if you want some, there are only 8 hours left.

Mac Power Users 666: The 2022 MPU Gift Guide

Believe it or not, it is time for the annual Mac Power User’s Holiday Gift Guide once again!

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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DEVONthink for All of Your Research (Sponsor)

I often hear from listeners/readers looking for a research solution in the Mac ecosystem. My favorite app for this, without a doubt, is DEVONthink. DEVONthink is the most professional document and information management application for the Mac. It’s the one place for storing all your documents, snippets, or bookmarks, and working with them.

The Integrated A.I. assists you with filing and searching, while the extensive search language with advanced Boolean operators.

DEVONthink features a Flexible sync system that supports many cloud services – or lets you synchronize over the local network too – with everything securely encrypted. This gives you the choice for however syncing works best for you!

It has Smart rules and flexible reminders that let you automate all parts of your workflow and delegate boring, repeating tasks. Let DEVONthink automatically organize your data with rules you define!

DEVONthink’s AppleScript dictionary is one of the largest on the Mac. There’s no part of DEVONthink that can’t be automated. Extend DEVONthink’s functionality with your own commands by adding them to its Scripts menu.

Even templates can have scripts inside and you can set up new documents with data from placeholders, or inserted by your own AppleScript code.

And, of course, there’s so much more, from an iOS companion app, email archiving, scanning, or even an embedded web server for sharing your data securely with your team.

I’ve heard from so many people that use DEVONthink in so many ways ranging from managing bills to writing their doctoral thesis. It is that good. I love the way the DEVONthink developers have thought through all the little details from syncing to using the built-in artificial intelligence.

I find the combination of innovative features and automation support irresistible. Interested? MacSparky readers can get a 20% discount on DEVONthink..