On this feedback episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I answer listener questions and talk a bit more about window managers and backup utilities, my modern typewriter, Stephen’s new Plex server, and a lot more.
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Alex Cox returns to Automators to share a few new automation tricks and get answers for some more involving NFC tags, Keyboard Maestro, and automation possibilities with Apple’s Vision Pro.
The Information has an article by Wayne Ma reporting Apple is spending “millions of dollars a day” on Artificial Intelligence initiatives. The article is pay-walled, but The Verge summarizes it nicely.
Apple has multiple teams working on different AI initiatives throughout the company, including Large Language Models (LLMs), image generation, and multi-modal AI, which can recognize and produce “images or video as well as text”.
The Information article reports Apple’s Ajax GPT was trained on more than 200 billion parameters and is more potent than GPT 3.5.
I have a few points on this.
First, this should be no surprise.
I’m sure folks will start writing about how Apple is now desperately playing catch-up. However, I’ve seen no evidence that Apple got caught with its pants down on AI. They’ve been working on Artificial Intelligence for years. Apple’s head of AI, John Giannandrea, came from Google, and he’s been with Apple for years. You’d think that people would know by now that just because Apple doesn’t talk about things doesn’t mean they are not working on things.
Second, this should dovetail into Siri and Apple Automation.
If I were driving at Apple, I’d make the Siri, Shortcuts and AI teams all share the same workspace in Apple Park. Thus far, AI has been smoke and mirrors for most people. If Apple could implement it in a way that directly impacts our lives, people will notice.
Shortcuts with its Actions give them an easy way to pull this off. Example: You leave 20 minutes late for work. When you connect to CarPlay, Siri asks, “I see you are running late for work. Do you want me to text Tom?” That seems doable with an AI and Shortcuts. The trick would be for it to self-generate. It shouldn’t require me to already have a “I’m running late” shortcut. It should make it dynamically as needed. As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple wants to incorporate language models to generate automated tasks.
Similarly, this technology could result in a massive improvement to Siri if done right. Back in reality, however, Siri still fumbles simple requests routinely. There hasn’t been the kind of improvement that users (myself included) want. Could it be that all this behind-the-scenes AI research is Apple’s ultimate answer on improving Siri? I sure hope so.
It’s time for the latest Lab Report from MacSparky, covering this week’s Apple news and updates…This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
Next week, on September 12 at 10:00 Pacific, Apple will be announcing new iPhones, Apple Watches, and maybe a bit more. In the MacSparky Labs, we’ll be covering the event in several ways.…
There’s a new app-based AI tool called Monica that lets you run queries through a series of different popular Large Language Models, or LLMs. In this video, I kick the tires and show you how it works.…
Now that I’ve installed the Sonoma beta on my production machine, it’s time to share some Sonoma tricks with you. In this video, I explain how to add and customize Widgets on the desktop, and I show you some of the new wallpapers and how they look on the Lock Screen, and reveal my favorite so far.
On this Deep Dive for the Early Access members, I show you what my Ideal Week looks like, and then we share our stories around that topic and answer some questions.…
This week’s Home Screen features Andrew Hall. I’ve got to know Andy in the MacSparky Labs. He’s an engineer and an app developer (Lifeorities and Starship SE Corps). Andy is also a really nice guy. Show us your home screens, Andy.
Since my daily work is on a Windows PC, my productivity using my iPhone and other Apple devices is for personal and hobby productivity. I would say, for me, I use the Photos , Calendar, Reminders, Safari, Mail, Notes, and Messages apps. However, if I had to pick one, I would say Reminders because it is my daily task go-to app.
What app do you know you’re underutilizing?
Many. For work I use OneNote a ton. I definitely underutilize that for my personal use. Instead, I use the Notes app a lot, and it is great for my personal project notes.
How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?
iPhone: many times an hour. iPad: usually once a day — at night for YouTube and tv.
What Today View widgets are you using and why?
I have a ton of Today View widgets, mostly news-type widgets. However, I rarely swipe over to the Today View. Instead, I’ve got a lot of what I need on Home Screen widgets, particularly using Widgetsmith. My main Home Screen features the Siri Suggestions widget at the top.
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?
Lately, the Dynamic Island.
In general, so many apps and content available on a great platform. That is why I enjoy my hobby of app development! I love how these devices can be so personal and become a great creative and information tool.
If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?
I would improve/fix Siri.
What’s your wallpaper and why?
I have different iPhone wallpapers by Focus mode. Most of my Focus modes use the Photos wallpaper, and I have it randomly cycle through my favorite photos.
