WaterField AirPods Max Shield Case


Waterfield AirPods Max Case

WaterField has come out with an AirPods Max Shield Case. Apple blew it by not including a travel-friendly case and Waterfield stepped up.

They’ve designed a leather shield case. There’s one layer of ultra-plush lining backed with soft foam to cradle my AirPods Max and prevent them from getting scratched. Then there’s a top and bottom layer of closed-cell foam to disperse external forces and resist compression—no mooshing of AirPodsMax. All covered in a ballistic nylon or waxed canvas paired with full-grain leather and waterproof zippers to protect my precious AirPods Max against the elements. And the special and ingenious elements by WaterField is the in-case charging and a Magnetic Leather Butterfly that acts as a buffer between the ear cups and triggers the AirPods Max into low-power mode. If you’ve got some AirPods Max, you should check these out.

Mac Power Users 568: Looking Toward 2021



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At the end of an unprecedented year, Stephen and I take some time to reflect on what it’s meant for an Apple user, and what we’d like to see out of 2021 in terms of tech. Click here for the latest episode of Mac Power Users.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.

  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code MPU to get 30% off. Offer expires on January 31, 2021, and can be used only once.

  • Woven: The calendar with the most powerful scheduling tools. Try it free for 21 days.

Windows and Apple Silicon

Things are evolving quickly for folks who want to run Windows on the new Apple silicon Macs. Hackers figured it out first, but now Parallels has Windows for ARM support working in its version 16 preview. Granted, this is only for Windows for ARM (vs. Windows for x86), but I didn’t expect this to happen so fast.

It’s still unclear if Microsoft is interested in playing along and offering Windows for ARM for sale separate from Windows for ARM hardware. Does that make sense when the Apple silicon hardware is both faster and lasts longer than traditional ARM hardware? Is that screwing over all those other Microsoft partners?

A month ago, I would have said that official support for Windows on Apple silicon is a pipe dream. Now I’m not so sure.

Power Up Apple Photos with PowerPhotos (Sponsor)



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PowerPhotos is the year-end sponsor at MacSparky. While Apple continues to make incremental progress with Photos, the power tools are forever absent.

PowerPhotos is the app you need to manage your extensive photo library. With PowerPhotos, you can manage images across multiple libraries. Need to merge libraries? It does that. Need to split images into a separate library? It does that too. I use PowerPhotos to remove duplicates. Whatever your Photos challenge, PowerPhotos can help you get your photo collection back in order.

With the recent release of version 1.9, PowerPhotos supports macOS Big Sur and runs natively on Apple Silicon. It also added a new feature, making it possible to copy RAW+JPG pairs as a single item, making everything all that much easier.
PowerPhotos gives Apple Photos the tools it needs, but Apple didn’t provide. With PowerPhotos, you can work with multiple Photos libraries and store them wherever you want, including on an external drive or a network drive. You can also split up your giant library into smaller ones by copying photos and albums with a simple drag and drop, preserving metadata such as descriptions and keywords along the way. Or, if you already have multiple libraries, use PowerPhotos to merge them while weeding out duplicates along the way. PowerPhotos also features a powerful duplicate photo finder, a browser to let you see your photos without even opening up Photos itself, a multi-library search feature, and more.

PowerPhotos has all those tools you’d want for Apple Photos, but Apple will never add. The end of the year is a great time to look at and manage your photo library. Why not do that with PowerPhotos this year? If you’re a Mac veteran, you may recall an app from the iPhoto days called iPhoto Library Manager that gave you a similar set of tools. PowerPhotos is by the same developer, and it’s just as reliable.

MacSparky readers can use the coupon code MACSPARKY20 to save 20% off a purchase of PowerPhotos. Go check out PowerPhotos today.


PowerPhotos

The Default Search Challenge

With the recent iOS update, Apple has added Ecosia as an alternative default search engine. Ecosia is similar to DuckDuckGo in that it is a privacy-focused search engine that isn’t Google. They don’t sell your data to advertisers and don’t use trackers. Instead of trying to build a monster-sized company, Ecosia is using its profits to plant trees. That’s right. Trees. One hundred fifteen million of them as of this writing.

So for the last week, I’ve been using Ecosia and, like DuckDuckGo, finding it up to the task. I would recommend you try DuckDuckGo (which has some nice tricks up its sleeve) or Ecosia (which is trying to help the planet) instead of Google for the rest of 2020. Just give it a shot. If you’re not happy with it by New Year’s Day, you can switch back.

To switch your default browser on iOS, go to Settings → Safari → Search Engine. On the Mac in Safari, go to Safari → Preferences → Search.

Focused 115: Solving Interesting Problems, with Ernie Svenson



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Ernie Svenson joins Mike and me on this episode of Focused to talk about how focus inspired his career change from lawyer to small firm consultant, the importance of getting help, and the value of journaling.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

  • ExpressVPN: High-speed, secure and anonymous VPN service. Get an extra three months free.

  • Woven: The calendar with the most powerful scheduling tools. Try it free for 21 days.

Apple Fitness+ and Peloton

Now that Apple Fitness+ is in the wild, everyone is racing to make comparisons with Peloton. You know Peloton, right? It’s that fancy stationary bike and treadmill that all Apple enthusiasts are supposed to own (in addition to a Tesla). I have never owned a Peloton (or a Tesla), but I know enough about Peloton to feel this comparison is a little forced.

While you can have a Peloton account without Peloton hardware, I don’t know anyone who has one without the other. Apple Fitness+ has way more workout options but requires an Apple Watch.

Peloton — A remarkably good system to get fit with Peloton exercise equipment.

Apple Fitness+ — A remarkable way to get fit with an Apple Watch.

This isn’t to say that Apple couldn’t start trying to eat Peloton’s lunch in the future. However, if they were to do that, I would expect them to start making their own branded exercise equipment that also interfaces with the Apple TV, like the Apple Watch. It’s not a bad idea, but given how hesitant Apple is to enter new markets, I suspect that’s not in the cards. Need proof? Look at all of the HomeKit gear out there, and note Apple’s refusal to enter the fray with its own branded plugs, switches, and whatnot.

There are certain areas of interest, such as privacy and accessibility, for which I genuinely believe Apple sees itself making the world a better place. I think health is another one of those areas, particularly with the Apple Watch. With the amount of money Apple makes, there was no need to build a fitness service. My opinion is that Apple Fitness+ doesn’t exist to beat Peloton, but because the folks at Apple thought it would help a lot of people with their fitness goals.

All that said, I’ve been trying Apple Fitness+, and it’s impressive, though I’m still undecided. My gym closed due to COVID restrictions, and I don’t see myself going back anytime soon. I’ve been working out with FitBod while watching YouTube videos for months now, and, for me, I think consuming educational videos while working out beats all the Apple Fitness+ bells and whistles.

Mac Power Users 567: The M1 Honeymoon Continues



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In this feedback episode, Stephen and I revisit bookmarks and Mail, M1 Macs and 32-bit apps, note taking and keyboards. 

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.

  • Woven: The calendar with the most powerful scheduling tools. Try it free for 21 days.

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

Apple Car, Ugh.

Now we’re hearing about the Apple Car project coming back from the dead.

Ugh.

It wasn’t so long ago that Apple was busy on the car project and building their spaceship campus, and it felt like the stuff we wanted most out of Apple—amazing Macs, iPhones, and iPads—was falling behind. That was the age of lousy keyboards and buggy software.

It sounds like Apple is, once again, getting more actively involved in the car business. Maybe this time, they will be able to walk and chew gum. They have finished construction on Apple Park, and the Mac, iPhone, and iPad all feel on solid ground right now. Yet still … it makes me nervous.