Stephen leads me through the maze of Ubiquiti’s Unifi networking offerings on this episode of Mac Power Users. The company offers a wide range of equipment for home and business users, including routers, switches, access points, cameras, and more, but it can be confusing to navigate.
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I tore through Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series when I was about twelve. At first, I assumed the story would follow Hari Seldon, the brilliant mathematician who kicks off the series by predicting the collapse and rebirth of galactic civilization. Twelve-year-old me loved Hari, and I couldn’t wait to see his story unfold.
Then the books leapt forward … by centuries. Seldon slipped from living legend to myth, from myth to footnote, and finally into near‑obscurity. Part of my twelve-year-old self was offended by that. I’d been invested in Hari, and how could he become so obscure? Underneath it all, I was grappling with something: If even Hari Seldon—a towering hero—could vanish into the background noise of history, what chance did I have of leaving a mark?
After my twelve-year-old brain processed this, I surprisingly didn’t find the thought depressing. I found it freeing. The futility of chasing an eternal legacy felt like permission to let go. The real point, my twelve‑year‑old self decided (and my adult self still believes), is to live fully in the sliver of time we’re given—to savor our brief window of human experience rather than worry about being remembered forever. That little epiphany has stayed with me.
That insight became an internal compass. When I start taking myself too seriously, it nudges me back into alignment. By now, it’s so ingrained that I seldom notice it, yet it quietly shapes my decisions and my ability to live in the moment.
It colors my work as well. I don’t expect any Field Guide I write to alter the course of humanity, but I can help real people, right now, who face the same messy challenges I do. There’s a quiet nobility in that: sharing what I’ve learned, offering what might help, and trusting readers to judge its value.
Recognition is nice, but I try not to clutch it. Anything I build stands on the shoulders of others, and I’m happy to spread credit around. If someone finds my work useful, that’s enough. After all, in just a few generations I’ll be much less remembered than Hari Seldon, and that’s okay.
Looking back, that early revelation about impermanence was probably my first real philosophical insight. Not a bad takeaway for a twelve‑year‑old.
Oh Boy! The iPad got some much needed love this year from Apple. In this video I show off some of the impressive new power-ish features in iPadOS 26.
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I recently came across Stephen Millard’s write-up on routing Mac Studio audio through a HomePod mini. He ran into some disconnect hiccups, but, unsurprisingly, solved it with a handy Keyboard Maestro macro.
Lately I’ve noticed a wave of seasoned iPad power users making the jump to macOS, and almost invariably the first app they rave about is Keyboard Maestro. It’s the one tool on the Mac that can truly automate almost anything you can imagine. No other utility comes close to its depth and flexibility.
I like the app so much that I made a Keyboard Maestro Field Guide to help you get up to speed quickly and start building your own custom macros.
One idea I noted from Stephen’s article was audio routing. I record with a mic connected to my audio interface with an XLR cable, so those built-in USB-connected mic mute software buttons don’t work. But I bet I could mirror Stephen’s output-switch macro on the input side, muting my mic’s audio channel with a single keystroke. That’s now officially on my “research projects” list.
In this week’s episode of The Lab Report: Viticci’s interview with Craig Federighi, my experience with the betas so far, and it’s time to catch up on Foundation before Season 3 arrives.
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I don’t think there’s been any more effective advocate for the iPad over the years than Federico Viticci. Federico got an interview with Craig Federighi about the iPadOS changes. It’s an excellent interview. I think this new balance of adding power user features while still keeping the single window mode will (finally) turn out ot be the right fit for the iPad.
One productivity struggle I constantly hear from readers (and have faced myself) is keeping events and meetings organized when the details live in email. Fantastical, which Apple made “App of the Day” earlier this week, has brilliantly solved this problem with their Forward Emails to Fantastical feature, and I can’t imagine going back.
Here’s how it works: When you get an email confirming an appointment, a webinar registration, or even something informal like coffee with a friend, just forward that email directly into Fantastical. The app intelligently parses the content, extracting dates, times, locations, and participants, and automatically creates a perfectly formatted calendar entry. It’s magical—and a huge time-saver.
I’ve always appreciated how Fantastical seamlessly integrates into the Apple ecosystem, syncing effortlessly across my Mac, iPad, and iPhone. This latest feature just adds another layer of smart automation, eliminating manual entry and reducing the risk of typos or overlooked details. If you’re as obsessed with automation and efficiency as I am, you’ll quickly see how this small change makes a big impact.
Congratulations to the Fantastical team on being featured as App of the Day—it’s well-deserved recognition for continually improving an already indispensable app.
Give Fantastical a try or explore this clever new email-forwarding feature yourself at flexibits.com/fantastical. Your calendar will thank you.
Derek Sivers joins Mike and me on this episode of Focused to talk about personal agency, idea ownership, saying no, and (of course) journaling.
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For old-timey Mac users, macOS Tahoe 26 is … different. But after a few days playing with it, it is starting to grow on me. Here’s a brief walkthrough of the new Mac operating system featuring Liquid Glass.
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I’ve been trying a physical keyboard again.
For years, I’ve had this strange relationship with clicky keyboards. I love the idea of them. The satisfying sound, the mechanical precision, the cool factor. But when I try to use one long-term, it never quite clicks. (See what I did there?) I inevitably fall back into the arms of Apple’s slim, quiet keyboard with Touch ID and that dedicated dictation button. It’s just so damn convenient.
That said, I’ve held on to one mechanical keyboard through all the purging: the Keychron Q1 Pro. This thing is a tank. It’s made of aluminum and weighs enough that I’ve occasionally considered it might double as a home defense device. It looks fantastic on my desk. And unlike most of the mechanical keyboards I’ve tried in the past, this one has Bluetooth, so I don’t have to run a cable across my desk like it’s 1987.
I’ve had it out for the past three days, and it’s been…pretty great?
I used the Keychron Launcher web app to rewire a bunch of key settings—something that used to be a pain but is now surprisingly simple. I even swapped the switches and keycaps ages ago based on a recommendation from Myke Hurley. I couldn’t tell you what I installed; only that it feels nice and sounds satisfyingly clicky.
Still, not having Touch ID is a friction point. Right now, I’m handling authentication by typing my password or letting my Apple Watch unlock things for me. It works, but it’s not as seamless as a fingerprint authentication. On the flip side, however, I’ve got some pretty great remapping on this keyboard that is not possible with Apple’s Magic Keyboard.
Mechanical keyboards, in my experience, are an all-or-nothing kind of thing. Either you fall in love instantly, or you start bargaining with yourself about what you’re gaining versus what you’re losing. For me, it’s always been the latter.
So, we’ll see. The Keychron Q1 Pro has earned a spot on my desk — for now. But I’m not holding my breath that it’ll still be here in a week. Like I said, this kind of keyboard has always been a slow burn for me. And I’m just not sure clicky love works that way.