Mac Power Users 623: Collaboration and Project Planning

Very few people work alone at the top of a mountain. For the rest of us, things like team collaboration and project planning are a very real part of our work. Stephen and I talk about these topics on this episode of Mac Power Users and discuss some apps and services that can make working with others easier and more productive.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • SaneBox: Stop drowning in email!
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Automators 93: Automating MacSparky

I’ve made a few changes and it’s time for an Automator-style audit. In this episode of Automators, Rose and I cover email, task management, calendars, desktop setups, web automation, and more.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

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It’s Not Too Late

I read this Bloomberg article reporting that the average age of the top 10 podcasts is seven years. The article makes the case for how hard it is to launch a successful podcast in a crowded market and while all of that is true, I don’t agree with the insinuation that it is somehow too late to make a relevant and popular show. In fact, this touches a nerve for me. This idea, that it’s too late to make a good podcast, is not new. When we were in the development stage of the Mac Power Users, we were told by several reputable podcasters that we were “too late” to start an Apple-related podcast. I remember one guy telling me there was “no oxygen left in the room.” Of course, that was not true.

Nobody looked at a Picasso painting and said, “That’s it, folks. We’ve reached Peak Art. There is no point doing any more painting.” The fact is that everything is evolving and every new voice leaves its mark.

I don’t care what kind of art you want to make, it’s not too late. It’s never too late.

Dropbox is Getting Support for Apple Silicon

Some good news as reported by 9to5 Mac. I’ve been using Maestral for months now as my Dropbox replacement client and I have no complaints. I’ll cover Maestral in more detail later, but the short review is: Fewer features. Less nonsense. No problems.

Unrelated, I also am hearing from sources that Dropbox is divesting from its substantial investment in buggy-whip factories. They’ve decided that the horseless carriage might be here to stay.

Track Your Time with Timing (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by Timing. Timing is a time tracking app that records your time automatically and then reviews it for you later.

It’s a new year and time to get rolling with some new habits. The problem is that your perception of how you are spending your time is a lot different from reality. How can you make changes without good data? It’s hard to track your time if you’re doing a bunch of different things at once or don’t have the right tools.

That’s where Timing comes to the rescue. With Timing, you instantly see how you are spending your time so you can work more productively and make smarter decisions about how to spend your time.

The Timing app makes recording and reviewing your time easy with automatic tracking and a simple interface for adding details about what you did each day so you can see how much time was focused on each task. In addition, you can use Timing to share projects and times across your team while preserving each team member’s privacy.

I even made some screencasts on how I use Timing. I run Timing on my Mac every day, and you should too. Download the free 14-day trial today and get 10% off for the first year!

622: Exploring HomeKit with Shane Whately

Stephen and I are joined by HomeKit expert Shane Whately on this episode of Mac Power Users to talk about the apps, products and automations that can be used together to make any home smarter. With HomeKit, anyone can scale from a single smart bulb to a house full of technology.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore. 
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15 Years Since the iPhone Announcement

Fifteen years ago yesterday, Steve Jobs announced the iPhone and had a really good day. Granted back then the “figure out what Apple is making next” business wasn’t nearly so sophisticated, but he was truly able to pull a revolution out of his pocket.

Watching the Keynote again just reminds me how Steve was at the top of his game that day. The voice infections and the use of pauses and questions to create tension and then the release of that tension are all worthy of study if you speak in front of groups.

Every time I watch this Keynote, I also think of the Apple engineers in the audience that were doing shots of Scotch as their apps were demoed successfully (and didn’t crash). I wish we had video of that.

It also helps that the product he introduced was about to turn the world upside down.

The iMac G4 Turns 20

Sometimes the news can make you feel old. The iMac G4 turning 20 is one of those things for me. It does not seem that long ago to me that Apple came out with that cute little flat-screened flower-looking computer. Stephen Hackett made a great video celebrating the G4 iMac and today is the day you should watch it.