Mac Power Users 689: Apple-sized Asteroids

On this Mac Power Users feedback episode, Stephen and I revisit our revisit of Contacts, talk about the differences between Obsidian and Craft, answer questions about version control, and get philosophical about modern Apple.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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Automators 126: Safari Automation

In this episode of Automators, Rosemary and I go on Safari and look at all the settings, extensions, and integrations you can use to automate your browsing across macOS and iOS.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

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DEVONthink: The Best Place for Your Files (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.

Nothing else can hold a candle to DEVONthink when it comes to working with actual files. Also, whether your are a daily DEVONthink user or simply interested, I recommend checking out their blog, where they routinely post tips and workflows for getting more from DEVONthink.

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

The 15-inch MacBook Air Chip

As the rumors continue to swirl around the looming 15-inch MacBook Air, some leakers are now reporting it will ship with the M2 Apple silicon rather than the earlier-rumored M3. That earlier rumor never made much sense to me unless Apple was willing to use the M3 in all new hardware from now on. Wouldn’t it be confusing if the Mac Pro was based on M2 while the less expensive, less powerful MacBook Air was already on M3?
Regardless, I’ve heard from many readers and listeners that are waiting for this computer to release. I suspect many people will want a bigger screen laptop that isn’t at MacBook Pro specs (and price).

Phone Addiction World Rankings

A recent study ranks the degree of phone addiction in different countries by finding the percentage of waking hours citizens spend with their phone screens.

The Philippines leads with people spending 32.53% of their days behind their small screens. The United States comes in at number 20 with 21.14%.

This is interesting, but I have questions about how they got their data. Also, I’d like to see these number broken down by age. Regardless of how they’re calculated, those numbers are too high. As humans, we do need time to be alone with our thoughts, and technology taken too far ruins that for a lot of folks.