Sparky’s Yule Playlist

I continue to refine my Yule playlist every holiday season. Here’s a link to the latest iteration in Apple Music. This list is very jazz heavy. When I say “jazz”, I mean traditional jazz music, not “smooth” or “light” jazz. That’s not actually jazz music.

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

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.
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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

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.
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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.

HoudahSpot 6.0

You know I hate looking for a needle in a haystack. We’ve got better things to do with our time and for year’s HoudahSpot has been that tool we use on top of Apple’s Finder to get really drill in. The good news is that it recently got an update. HoudahSpot 6 has added support for Macs with Apple silicon processors, giving you the best performance on the latest Mac hardware.

This update includes:

A plug-in for Apple Mail that allows HoudahSpot to include Mail message files in your search results.
The Tag Cloud, which lists your favorite file tags as well as all the tags found in the current search results. It also shows the number of occurrences of each tag.
Powerful filters to help you focus on relevant files by only showing you a subset of the search results, show only those that share a common property, and filter files by name, path, and folder names.
Arranged results to help break up search results into manageable chunks, such as by date, size, kind, or application.
Sharing a search that you can send to a colleague or friend.

My congratulations to team Houda on a solid update, HoudahSpot 6.0.

Gifting Field Guides is Now a Thing

You can now gift Field Guides! If you’re interested, send an email to gift@macsparky.com and we’ll get you set up.

Automators 65: 12 Days of Automation

The holidays are here, so let’s automate! On this episode of Automators, Rose and I cover 12 days of automation with cool ideas, tricks, and automation products to up your game this holiday season.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

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Some Thoughts After a Few Days with the AirPods Max

I did it. I bought a pair of headphones that cost more than my first car. I’ve never been embarrassed about spending so much money on something silly but I told my wife to call it my Christmas present and that helped. Getting over the sticker shock, I’ve been enjoying the AirPods Max for the last few days. My desk, thanks to COVID, is centrally located in our home so having noise cancelling is a must. Also, having it so everyone can see I’m obviously wearing headphones also helps. But AirPods Max for this job, really? Here are some thoughts:

The build quality is amazing. I’ve never had a pair of expensive headphones. Even the ones I use for podcasting are low-budget plastic. These things feel like something to come out of a secret government rocket factory.
The stainless piston-style adjustment is nice. My “click adjust” podcast cans never quite fit right. These can be fine tuned to exactly your head.
My ears fit comfortably in the ear cups. I’ve worn them for four-hour sessions without discomfort. That’s another first for me. All prior can-style headphones made my ears sore.
The sound quality is the best I’ve ever heard through headphones. That would make sense considering these cost 5X any headphone I’ve ever purchased, but still good to know.
A lot of people are making a big deal over the weight. It really hasn’t been a factor for me. However, I’m only really using them while seated at my desk. I don’t imagine I’ll ever take these fancy cans on the road or on a plane. The AirPods Pro are good enough for travel and they fit in my pocket. Also, these headphones are so clearly over the top. I think I’d be embarrassed to wear them in public.
Battery life as well hasn’t been a problem. I charged them before using them the first time and I’ve been using them a lot over the last few days and then just hanging them on a hook under my desk at the end of the day. I’m going on day three and there is still gas in the tank from that day one charge. I’ll charge them again today.
All the Apple bits are nice too. The Digital Crown and button are great for an interface that you can’t see when using (since it is stuck to your ear). Also, I’ve made several calls with them and nobody noticed anything unusual.
Noise cancelling on the AirPods Max is clearly superior to the AirPods Pro, which only makes sense with those big cans over your ears.
So much has already been said and written about the cover/case thingy. It does feel cheap compared to the rest of the AirPods Max. I’d be super curious to see if they don’t improve on that with a future iteration. I haven’t used my cover since pulling it out of the box.
At this price point, it’s just silly that they didn’t include a cable for me to plug the AirPods Max into an audio jack while they simultaneously sell that very cable for $35.
If you’re curious, I bought the silver model.

Overall, these headphones tick so many of the Apple checkboxes. They’re beautifully engineered and very good at the intended job of delivering music to your ears. But also they are a little over the top and over priced. That said, I bought these with the idea that I would send them back if I didn’t love them, and I’m keeping them.