How I’m Using CleanMyMac

Over the weekend, I loaded CleanMyMac X for my March scan and noticed it’d received an update. Among the improvements was a battery drain alert function that will help you identify battery hogs earlier. It reminded me that I should write about how I like this app.

CleanMyMac does a system scan for me to look for unneeded large files, malware, and other efficiencies to keep my Mac running clean and fast. I manually run it about once a month. But I also use the app for my troubleshooting and maintenance routine. The app can speed up Apple Mail and rebuild your Spotlight index.

And a few years ago, they added malware detection. I’ve never felt wound up enough about malware to install malware software on my Mac, but I can do scans through CleanMyMac, and so long as those continue to return clean, I feel like I’m in good shape.

Over the years, CleanMyMac X has evolved into an excellent toolbox for my Mac. You can get it directly from Ukranian developer MacPaw or as part of a Setapp subscription.

Mac Power Users 682: Full of Surprises

On this Mac Power Users feedback episode, Stephen and I sort through some follow-up before sharing our origin stories and reacting to a surprise or two.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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Jazz Friday: Wayne Shorter

This week I’m featuring Wayne Shorter, who we sadly lost this week.

Wayne was a tenor and soprano saxophone player and tremendously talented. Back when I was a kid I met a guy that played with Wayne in the Army. He explained how Wayne, even back then, was on a different planet from everyone around him. As a kid, I used to listen to his solos with the Jazz Messengers. But he was a fixture in jazz for his entire life, playing both traditional jazz but also with cutting edge bands like Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet. Then he changed the face of jazz with his participation in Weather Report. In researching for this post I found this great article demonstrating how Wayne changed jazz.

You could listen to any Wayne Shorter album and enjoy it. But if I had to pick one, it’d be the 1966 album “Speak No Evil” (Wikipedia)(Apple Music).

Drafts (Sponsor)

This week, MacSparky is sponsored by Drafts, where text always starts for me. Sometimes, apps need time to grow on me. With Drafts, it was love at first sight. First and foremost, Drafts is a text capture app. You open the app, and you’ve got a blinking cursor. Anytime I need to write down something on my phone. I tap the Drafts icon and get to work.

The thing is, my workflow on the Mac is the same. I keep Drafts in my menu bar. If I’m on a call and want to take notes or jot down a phone number, I click the Drafts icon and go.

But that isn’t all. Drafts is the poster child for third-party apps. You tap the complication, start speaking, and capture text that shows up on your phone and Mac.

In short, Drafts is the place to capture text. For some, that is enough. If you want more, Drafts has that too:

  • Drafts also has a full suite of editing tools.
  • Drafts can automate so your text gets sent to other places.
  • Drafts lets you create actions right in the app.

Drafts is the Swiss army knife for text. I keep it on all my devices all the time. You should too.

That’s not all, Drafts’ developer has a special deal for MacSparky readers. You can get 50% off your first year of a new Drafts Pro subscription with this link. In order to work, this must be redeemed on an iPhone or iPad.

P.S. This post, like all others, began its life in Drafts. 🙂