There are so many problems with cables these days. The fact that Thunderbolt uses the same connector as USB-C means that often you’ll use the wrong cable and lose the benefits of Thunderbolt.
For awhile I’ve been looking for a vendor to make reliable Thunderbolt 4 cables without paying Apple’s prices. OWC’s new $24 Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C cable fits the bill. It is universal for everything, which should make it the only cable you need. I like the price. I like the vendor. I’ll be buying a few.
My menu bar is always a bit of a work and progress but here it is with my favorite menu bar apps as of March 2022. Also I’ll demonstrate and share a cool Keyboard Maestro script to minimize your menubar and change the clock that I run before screencasting that you may have use for.… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
Like many people all around the globe, I’ve watched this ongoing invasion of Ukraine with great sadness. Trying to write about this topic is one for which I find myself ill-equipped. I don’t know the history of the region as well as I should. I don’t know about the current politics of the region as well as I should. I do, however, know human suffering when I see it.
I have friends in our geek community in Ukraine and I worry about them. When I see the news I think, “Where is Julia right now? Is Eugene safe?” There is not a lot I can do, but I can contribute money to help those in need. I just wasn’t sure where.
That’s where Oleksandr Kosovan comes into it. Oleksandr is the CEO of MacPaw, one of my favorite developers (which also happens to be a Ukrainian company). Oleksandr wrote this excellent post about how the invasion is impacting him and his employees. It gave me a lot of insight. Moreover, Oleksandr concluded the post with a list of organizations where you can donate to make a difference. Whether you want to help the Ukrainian army or assist with humanitarian aid, there are links where your donation can make a difference today.
Regardless, it helps getting an understanding from someone in the midst of the crisis and I’d encourage you to read and share Oleksandr’s article with friends and family.
My friend Casey Liss made a new iPhone app that that can put emoji faces over human faces, called MaskerAid. It’s a clever little trick and particularly helpful if you don’t want pictures of your kids on the Internet. Here’s a little video I made on my first run through the app.
On this feedback episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I celebrate the Mac Studio and Studio Display before revisiting the Stream Deck, Preview, Day One, and more.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
In this part 2 of my weekly planning video, I show how things went following last week’s plan and proceed to make next week’s blocks, this time without Shortcuts automation but instead using a couple simple keyboard shortcuts…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Early Access and Backstage Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
Mike Schmitz, my co-host on the Focused podcast, has been hard at work developing a thoughtful newsletter where he talks about productivity and his Christian faith. I like the way Mike writes and you may too. It’s definitely worth checking out.
For small businesses, it can be difficult to stay on top of clients, leads, and projects that are evolving every day. Here’s how Daylite can help supercharge your team to shine brighter, handle more clients, close more deals, and execute more projects. Designed for Mac, iPhone, and iPad exclusively.
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Hooray, I’ve got a new Friends of Dave (FOD) Interview in the MacSparky Labs. Daniel McCann is a professor of medieval literature and a mac geek. During the Pandemic Daniel’s iMac got stolen and he ended up doing all of his work on an iPad for over a year. In this interview, Daniel and David talk about how to get work done on your iPad, Bibliotherapy, and how Chaucer was bending words way before Eminem did… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Early Access and Backstage Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
The Mac Studio and Studio Display reviews are dropping today. Some reviews of note include:
Jason Snell, Six Colors on the Mac Studio
“The Mac Studio isn’t for everyone. But for the people who have been dreaming of something in between a Mac mini and a Mac Pro, something that wasn’t an iMac, it’s the fulfillment of a dream.”
Monica Chin, The Verge on the Mac Studio
“There are very legitimate reasons that the Mac Studio is the wrong computer for all kinds of people. And as a reviewer scoring this product, I care so much less about those than I do about the sheer reliability of this device: the smoothness as you scrub the timeline, the snap of windows opening and closing, the wonder in people’s voices as they say “Wow, this is fast.””
John Gruber, Daring Fireball on the Studio Display
“I’ve been waiting years for Apple to release a good desktop display for under $2000, and in every single regard other than the camera, the Studio Display meets or exceeds my expectations.”
Also on YouTube…