Jason Snell on the Rumored Apple Headset

Jason Snell writing for Macworld:

Apple’s been getting ready for this for years. And while Apple’s first VR device will be expensive and underpowered compared to its second, third, and fourth, it will still be the culmination of at least five years of effort. I have to admit, I’m interested to see Apple’s vision for virtual worlds–and I hope that, somewhere in there, there’s room for a friendly poker game among Memojis.

I’m with Jason and find myself curiously optimistic. I own the first generation Oculus Quest and my big stumbling blocks with it are the limited uses (beyond gaming) and the poor screen resolution. Those are two problems that Apple could easily solve. I hope that 2022 is the year Apple starts tuning its cards over in this space.

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Focused 144: Enough, with Patrick Rhone

Patrick Rhone joins Mike and me on this episode of Focused to talk about analog productivity, knolling, mise en place, and staying focused while wearing many hats.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

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MacSparky Labs Video: Disneyland vs. Disney World with Casey Liss

This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

I’ve had an Internet-based running battle with Casey Liss for years now over the question of Disneyland vs. Disney World. Daisy and I planned a trip to Disney World for their 50th anniversary and before leaving, I asked Casey to give me a list of things I must do at Disney World …

AirTags and Kids

I’m in the midst of a short stay at Walt Disney World this week. Something that I didn’t expect to see, but I keep seeing, is kids wearing AirTags. There are kids with AirTag necklaces. There are kids with AirTags hanging off their clothes. I even saw one little girl with an AirTag connected to her shoe.

When they were first released, a common question was “Can I use AirTags on my flight-risk dog?” According to Apple, No. And there are, frankly, better options. The question I never heard at the time was, “Can I use AirTags on my flight-risk kids at theme parks?” I know Apple doesn’t want you to use an AirTag to track people, but parents of small children are using Apple’s tracker for just that.

Mac Power Users 625: Apple as the Measuring Stick, with Austin Evans

YouTuber and podcaster Austin Evans drops by Mac Power Users to talk about his content business, how Apple is competing in the wider marketplace, and the gear he uses to get work done with a growing team.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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January in the MacSparky Labs

The first month of the MacSparky Labs went swimmingly. I spent a lot of time working on the back end of things as I added features and figured out friction points. But I still got a lot shipped to the members. Here’s a list of content that got released in January.

  • January 27 – I released a video sharing the tech gear I bring with me on trips with the Backstage and Early Access members..
  • January 26 – I did a zoom call with Early Access members sharing how I’m using calendars these days. (It’s kind of nuts.)
  • January 25 – I released a screencast demonstrating how to capture ideas on the iPhone with shortcuts.
  • January 22 – I released the journaling webinar video to early access members …well … early.
  • January 21 – I released a walkthrough of me building a shortcut from scratch to manage scheduling new podcast episodes to the Backstage and Early Access members using Shortcuts, Obsidian, Mail, and Calendar for Backstage and Early Access members..
  • January 19 – I made of a video of myself building the slide deck for the Journaling webinar and narrated it with some of my favorite Keynote techniques for the Early Access subscribers.
  • January 18 – I made and released a screencast about how to capture ideas on the Mac using Keyboard Maestro and Obsidian.
  • January 17 – I released my video interview with Kourosh Dini to Backstage and Early Access members where we talked about DEVONthink, Obsidian, top-level task management, and music.
  • January 14 – We had the first MacSparky labs virtual meetup on Zoom for Backstage and Early Access members.
  • January 12 – I released of video of me setting up and testing vibration and leak sensors in my home. I also shared an unsuccessful experiment to rig up my mailbox with a vibration sensor. (I haven’t given up on that one yet.
  • January 10 – I shared a video update and an example of how I block schedule.
  • January 7 – I did my quarterly planning with a Zoom room full of Early Access subscribers.
  • January 5 – I made a video answering some of the most often asked qustions following my big announcemnt.
  • January 3 – I released my first video to the MacSparky Labs members

Wizards No Longer United

I was too old to understand Pokémon Go, but I was interested in Niantic’s “Wizard’s Unite” game that came out a few years ago. The game was set in the Harry Potter universe and required you to catch digital creatures out in the real world. My enthusiasm for the game lasted about a week. I found that I preferred engaging with the actual world around me more than the little window on my phone. It sounds like I was not alone as the game is shutting down today.

All that said, I do think these reality interactive games are going to be huge in the future as technologies like VR/AR glasses evolve into something that you don’t have to literally strap to your face.