Mark Gurman is back with more rumors concerning the M2 generation Macs. There is a lot in his article ranging from MacBook Air to Mac Pro. If I were a betting man, I’d say that we’ll see the M2 MacBook Air and M2 Mac mini first, sometime this year, but probably not at WWDC.
The only two weird points in the Mac lineup at this time are 1) the continued existence of the 13–inch MacBook Pro, and 2) The lack of a desktop MX “Pro” configuration.
The 13-inch MacBook “Pro”
I don’t understand why this computer exists. Now that there are proper Apple silicon MacBook Pros, this souped up MacBook Air really doesn’t have a place in the line. I think Apple would be much better off dropping this Mac and releasing an additional larger-screened MacBook Air. Gurman’s article makes no mention of a bigger MacBook Air but confirms there will be another version of the 13–inch MacBook Pro. Weird.
The Desktop MX Pro
The M1 Pro chip only exists in the MacBook Pros. If you want a desktop Mac, you can only get an M1 mini or an M1 Max (or Ultra) Mac Studio. Historically, there was a second tier Mac mini that had a bit more power. That seems like the natural spot for the M2 Pro chip to live on the desktop. Gurman thinks that will eventually happen. I hope he’s right.
Today 9to5 Mac ran an article about how Apple’s privacy focus comes with a cost of slower app development and fewer features. That makes sense to me. It is harder to develop with privacy limitations and smaller data sets.
This is an old debate. I used to write about this years ago when Apple refused to process user data with cloud servers. For example, Google Photos, as I understand it, does all of its magic on their servers, which requires them to see your photos. Apple Photos does its magic on your device so Apple doesn’t need to see your photos.
There is always some cost to this. The extent of that cost is dependent on how advanced the underlying technologies get. Using the above example with Apple Photos, the fact that Apple now has rocketship-style Apple silicon with dedicated artificial intelligence components, my iPhone is more than good enough to do that photo processing locally without requiring me to share my photos with Apple. That’s a win.
At the leading edge, however, Apple will always be a little constrained as it makes privacy a priority. That used to bother me. Now it doesn’t. Constraints often make things better. Apple will figure this out in a way that does serve consumers and protect our privacy. The other guys aren’t bothering. This is one more reason why I’m using Apple gear.
I’m often asked about the distinction between task lists and calendars. Some folks track tasks in an app. Others do so in a calendar. I get asked where I fall, and my answer is always both. I track tasks in an app, but I block time in my calendar to make sure the most critical tasks on that list get done. It is at that intersection between your task list and the calendar blocks that progress is made.
If you have an overflowing task list but a sense of dread about making any progress on your most important project, this technique can help you. Find one project that is important to you and block some time this week to make some progress on it. This isn’t rocket science, but does take some discipline. Nevertheless, that practice of calendaring time for the big things actually moves the needle.
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where I can temporarily place files that are later automatically deleted. As I experiment with different options, I ended up using the Finder, Hazel, Dropzone, and Reminders… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Tier 3 (Early Access) and Tier 2 (Backstage) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
Pixelmator Pro just dropped a significant update. The new version features new classes of layers including color adjustments and effects layers. This lets you keep the edits in a separate layer and, in effect, create non-destructive edits. I use Pixelmator Pro almost daily and I really appreciate the developer’s constant updates that all feel aimed at making the process of using Pixelmator Pro easier for people like me that want a powerful photo editor but don’t care to learn how to use/subscribe to Photoshop.
One of my favorite features with OmniFocus is the way you can automate it with AppleScript. I have a few scripts I’ve hacked together that let me automatically move defer and due dates in OmniFocus. I use the scripts via Keyboard Maestro. Here’s a video demonstrating how I work them. You can download the scripts and Keyboard Maestro Macros below…
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The April 2022 MacSparky Labs Virtual Meetup was, as always, a lot of fun. Subjects included: 1) Mac Studio and Studio Display; 2) Who’s Left for the Mac Pro?; 3) Alternative Task Managers; 4) Endor Studios Update; 5) Universal Control and Miscellaneous Questions; 6) 51:38 MacSparky Labs Updates …
