Join Stephen and me on this episode of Mac Power Users as we offer advice on how to best care for Macs, iPhones, iPads, and more, from cleaning to battery management and beyond. Then, we reflect on recent news, including the new MacBook Air and the death of the company’s car project.
This week’s sponsor, Unite 5 for macOS, takes your web experience to the next level, transforming websites into feature-rich Mac apps. Powered by a completely redesigned WebKit browser, Unite 5 offers a more immersive and customizable browsing experience.
What sets Unite 5 apart? They’ve gone beyond just app conversion. Their new intricate link-forwarding rules give you unparalleled control over web interactions, making your web apps smarter and more integrated than ever before.
Some highlights of Unite 5: Advanced Link-Forwarding: Navigate your web apps like a pro. Revamped Browser Engine: Faster, more reliable, and tailored for macOS. Enhanced Customization: More ways to make your web apps truly yours.
Create powerful web apps in seconds, such as:
A Gmail client that integrates seamlessly with macOS.
A resource-efficient Slack or Discord app with full notification support.
A dedicated AI app for ChatGPT or Claude.AI
A Robinhood or Figma app that feels native on your desktop.
MacSparky readers get an exclusive 20% off this week. Use the promo code ‘MacSparky’ at checkout or visit http://bzgapps.com/unitesparky.
This week’s sponsor, Winterfest 2023, is something you need to check out. It is the annual sale of artisanal software for the Mac. All apps come from small, highly skilled developers making some of the best software on the Mac. And all of them are 25% off for a short time. There isn’t a single app on this list I wouldn’t recommend.
This week MacSparky is sponsored by DEVONthink. There are a lot of ways to manage a database on your Mac, but in my opinion, there is no better tool than DEVONthink. Just a few of the things I use DEVONthink for include:
A reliable repository of research documents. DEVONthink will hold as many documents as you can throw at it. In addition, it makes import (and export) easy, so you can have all that power without feeling trapped.
A research assistant. DEVONthink uses artificial intelligence to analyze and connect your documents in ways that may not otherwise occur to you. This isn’t that new-fangled-kinda-dumb AI. This is search AI that finds shockingly relevant documents. It’s spooky.
An OCR Tool. Everything you store in your DEVONthink Pro library gets OCR’d. It just happens.
An Automation Tool. DEVONthink lets you build powerful automation subroutines into your library to help tag, move, and organize documents.
DEVONthink supports multiple sync methods and lets you even use your own sync password, so everything is encrypted. If you’ve got an iPad or an iPhone, you can access your DEVONthink data there, too, with DEVONthink To Go.
It never ceases to amaze me how fast DEVONthink search is. Just recently I needed an obscure documents from several years ago sent to me buy a guy whose name I could not remember. DEVONthink found it in my first search as the #1 result. Boom.
It is this combination of power and security that makes DEVONthink the clear winner. You can think of DEVONthink as your paperless office. You can automate your workflow from capture to filing, editing to publishing. It stores all your documents, helps you keep them organized, and presents you with what you need to get the job done.
And of course the DEVONthink team never stops making improvements. The latest update (3.8.7) improves upon Wikilinks, the Concordance inspector, and more.
I am so pleased to welcome Fantastical as a new sponsor of the MacSparky blog. I’ve been using Fantastical since they first released their menu bar app and changed the calendaring world many years ago.
Over the years, it has evolved into a powerful calendaring system for me. Here are just a few of the ways that Fantastical’s unique features make my life easier:
I schedule nearly all of my appointments with the proposal feature. When I need to meet someone, I send them a proposal link, and they always pick one. I no longer play the email/scheduling shuffle game.
I aggressively use calendars and calendar sets so I can always see exactly what I need.
All of my Zoom meetings show up in my Fantastical events. I click the button and start the Zoom call. I haven’t started a Zoom meeting in any other way in the last two years.
Quarterly view. I love that view for future planning.
Fantastical widgets make the Apple Calendar widgets look so very sad.
Fantastical has excellent Shortcuts support, so I’ve fully automated the app.
There are so many reasons why I’m a Fantastical subscriber. If you’re looking for a calendar app that gets updated more than once a year and is made by complete calendar nerds, look no further.
Through the end of November, MacSparky readers will receive the biggest discount of the year and new users will save 50% by using this link – visit the Flexibits site to download the free trial.
TextExpander: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander.
MasterClass: Get unlimited access to EVERY Class and get 15% off an annual membership.
Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MPU.
Indeed: Join more than three million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast.
Unite 5 for macOS takes your web experience to the next level, transforming websites into feature-rich Mac apps. Powered by a completely redesigned WebKit browser, Unite 5 offers a more immersive and customizable browsing experience.
What sets Unite 5 apart? They’ve gone beyond just app conversion. Their new intricate link-forwarding rules give you unparalleled control over web interactions, making your web apps smarter and more integrated than ever before.
Some highlights of Unite 5: Advanced Link-Forwarding: Navigate your web apps like a pro. Revamped Browser Engine: Faster, more reliable, and tailored for macOS. Enhanced Customization: More ways to make your web apps truly yours.
Create powerful web apps in seconds, such as:
A Gmail client that integrates seamlessly with macOS.
A resource-efficient Slack or Discord app with full notification support.
A dedicated AI app for ChatGPT or Claude.AI
A Robinhood or Figma app that feels native on your desktop.
MacSparky readers get an exclusive 20% off this week. Use the promo code ‘MacSparky’ at checkout or visit http://bzgapps.com/unitesparky.
I’ve talked previously about how Focus modes are underrated and underused. One of the first steps in setting up a Focus mode is having a wall in place to keep out distractions so you can get your important business done. With the help of SaneBox, MacSparky’s sponsor this week, you can start building this wall.
SaneBox has a feature called Do Not Disturb. When you enable this nifty feature, you can take away the distraction of checking your inbox. SaneBox temporarily pauses new emails and moves them to your Do Not Disturb folder. Do Not Disturb is customizable so you can set your inbox to get these emails at a time and/or date of your choosing. You’re in charge of who passes through, so you can also choose if there are delivery exceptions, such as certain people or clients, that you don’t want to miss out on if there’s something really important going on.