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I’ve decided to build a dedicated space for MacSparky Studios. Here’s the explanation and the initial plans. This also turned into a bit of a screencast on how to use Home Design 3D …
Mikah Sargent is using all the automations and joins Rosemary and me on this week’s episode of Automators to share some of his favorite Mac, iOS, and home workflows.
This episode of Automators is sponsored by:
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Early Access Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
A few days ago I did a Deep Dive session on Roles-Based Productivity. Here’s a video recording of the session …
Yesterday Chance Miller published an opinion piece at 9to5 Mac on the need for a 16-inch MacBook Air. Stephen Hackett has been talking about the same idea on the Mac Power Users for months now. The idea would be that Apple has two laptop models (consumer (Air) and pro) along with two sizes for each model (small and big).
We’ve got two sizes on the MacBook Pro. Why not have that on the MacBook Air as well? Stephen suggested 13 and 15 inches. Chance is arguing for 16 inches. I would probably tend toward 12 and 15 inches. Regardless, having a larger screen consumer-grade MacBook would be an excellent idea. Because of the significant differences in pricing between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, it’s unlikely a larger MacBook Air would cannibalize sales for the 16″ inch MacBook Pro. If anything, I think it would cause more people to upgrade from the smaller MacBook Air than downgrade from the big MacBook Pro.
I also just like the symmetry of it all. You go into an Apple store and answer two questions:
Now that Apple has sorted out the Mac and is making excellent laptops, this would be the next logical step in my mind.
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Backstage and Early Access Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in? I’ve been testing out the Rocket Book, an erasable analog notebook system with an attached application that scans, sends and attempts OCR on your handwriting. Here is the book in action and my initial impressions …
A few years ago we had an explosion of “shelf” apps, that let you hold on to a file or a bit of text for use elsewhere. One of my favorites is Yoink and it just continues to get updates.
This week, we got a new version of Yoink that adds clipboard history to the mix. We recently talked about clipboard apps on Mac Power Users and Yoink now definitely belongs on the list of contenders. Yoink’s clipboard history can hold just about anything: text, files, images, and URL links. On the flip side, Yoink ignores items from your Mac’s keychain and all of the more popular third-party password managers, including 1Password, LastPass, and a bunch more. Yoink’s developer explains the new clipboard feature in detail on the Yoink Blog.
There’s also a new widget that allows you to copy previously copied items and they’ve added some Shortcuts support.
It’s a nice update. Moreover, it demonstrates that the Yoink developer is in it for the long haul. If you haven’t tried a shelf app, Yoink is an excellent option. You can find it in the Mac App Store or on Setapp.
Do you ever feel like you forgot to do something, but you can’t remember what? Oh, yeah, that email you meant to respond to but just didn’t because … life. SaneBox, this week’s sponsor at MacSparky, has got you covered.
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Interested? SaneNoReplies is included with all SaneBox plans. Click here to sign up for your free trial, and you’ll get a $10 credit you can use towards a SaneBox subscription. Give it a whirl.
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Early Access Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
Tomorrow is the Early Access member roles-based productivity seminar. I’ve been using a roles-based system for figuring out what is important to me for years now and it has been transformative. Log in details are below …
I spent the morning doing some work in Disneyland’s Batuu over the weekend and made a short video for the Disneyland Field Guide. I figured there is just enough overlap to share this one here.
I’ve been using my MagSafe battery now for over six months and I thought it would be a good time to check in.
In short, I love this thing.
It’s crazy that they only come in white and it’s crazy that Apple charges $100 for it, but the MagSafe battery is my favorite extra-juice-for-your-iphone-thingamajig ever. Whether I’m traveling, or theme-parking, on days where I intend to use the phone a lot, the MagSafe battery has enough juice to get me over the top. I don’t need to futz with a cable and the battery nearly disappears in my pocket. (Especially on cargo-pants days.) When travelling, I also love that I can plug it in while attached to my iPhone and charge them both simultaneously with one cable.
The battery does exactly what is expected of it with very little weight and no need to carry an extra cable. My wife and I pass it between each other, depending on who has a long day planned.
My only complaint is the cost. Despite all of this great stuff, $100 feels like too much. I don’t know anything about Apple’s costs or margins on this battery, but if they were selling it down in the $50-$70 range, I think they’d sell a lot more of them.