Home Screens — Ally Rilling

Allow me to introduce Ally Rilling. She is 19 years old and a freshman majoring in computer science and finance at University of Wisconsin–Madison. Ally used to rely on running Shortcuts from the widget screen but after listening to some MPU podcasts and watching some You Tube videos (e.g., Shortcuts-Based Home Screen and Shortcuts Home Screen, Evolved), she learned how convenient it is to to have them on the Home Screen. She shared with me how happy she was with the new functionality this has, so I asked her to show us her Home Screens.

What are some of your favorite apps?

Tempo is a great running companion app. I initially got the recommendation from Zac Hall on his Watch Time podcast, and I’ve been in love with it ever since. In high school, I did volleyball, basketball, and high jump on the track team, but was never really a fan of distance running. However, last summer I became interested in finding a form of exercise I could sustain in college and subsequently found—or more accurately, fell in love with—running. Tempo helps me track durations, distances, and intensities of runs so I can make sure I don’t overdo it. The dashboard view is perfect for analyzing how many miles I’ve done recently and how hard I’ve gone during those miles. It is a great app with a practical and beautiful design that makes going for a run even more rewarding.

What app makes you most productive?

I was surprised to find that I enjoy using OneNote for note taking at school. It works great with both text and Apple Pencil input on my iPad, and honestly, I don’t think I could do school without it. I haven’t really tried other note-taking apps, but I feel like with OneNote, I don’t even need to. The only feature request I have is that they add multi-window support for different notes. Other than that, it works great for me!

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

I am definitely underutilizing Shortcuts. I have been using the app ever since it was released as Shortcuts for simple automations, but I am sure there is more I could be doing with it.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

If it is a weekday at school, I use my phone very little (about an hour or less). My iPad is the powerhouse during the week. I can do pretty much everything for my classes (except write code) with my iPad, so that generally gets five or more hours of use.

What Today View widgets are you using and why?

The main widgets I use are Shortcuts, Dark Sky, and Sundial. I use Shortcuts because running a Shortcut from here is quicker as it doesn’t open the app. I use the other two because I enjoy weather and weather data.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

That, in addition to the Apple Watch, it can track and analyze so many things. I love data, especially heath and fitness data, and the iPhone allows me to see all that data in one place. With the updates to the health app in iOS 13 and the increasing capabilities of the Apple Watch, I’m very excited to see what new kind of data I will be able to collect in the future.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I wish Apple had more options for customization in iOS. I understand that Apple doesn’t want people walking around with ugly iPhones, but I would love some more settings and options within stock apps and on the lock and home screens. It would be cool to have widgets on the lock screen/home screen, change what is in the status bar, and just generally be able to control how information is displayed to us.

Do you have an Apple Watch? Show us your watch face tell us about it.

Yes, I have an Apple Watch Series 5 and I wear it all the time! The workout app is great for running, getting notifications on my wrist is super convenient, and I love having a bunch of weather and health data always visible on my wrist.

Currently, I switch between three watch faces. First, my weather face combines the stock, Dark Sky, and Sundial complications for a relatively comprehensive weather picture. Next, my workout face is basically just a launcher for the workout app and allows me to quickly glance at my rings and heart rate. Lastly, my heath face features complications from AutoSleep, HabitMinder (for water and steps), and some stock complications.

I usually begin my day with the weather face, switch to the workout face when it’s time to workout, and then finish off the day with the health face. Like many watch owners, I would like more customization/third-party faces, but am generally happy with what the watch offers today.

What’s your wallpaper and why?

My Home Screen wallpaper is black because I like to take advantage of the OLED screen and so that, using black icons, I can place apps where I want. I drew/traced a bunch of icons with black backgrounds for my shortcuts, so they seem like they are floating.

Thanks, Ally!

A Few Days with the New MacBook Air

My daughters both have been long overdue for new laptops but for a long time now. However, I refused to get them new ones. That’s because the last MacBook Air I bought them lasted over 8 years and I want the next one to do the same. I just don’t believe those butterfly switch keyboards will last that long. So, when Apple released scissor switch keyboards on the new Retina MacBook Air, we ordered one for each of our daughters. We’ve had them in the house nearly a week and I’ve got some observations:

The Keys feel great. Just like the 16” MacBook Pro and the Magic Keyboard at my iMac, the travel is about right and I no longer have to wonder when it will stop working.
The screen, at maximum brightness is noticeably dimmer than the MacBook Pro, but at a normal brightness, it is indistinguishable. And my kids are flipping out over the retina screens. It’s easy to forget what a massive upgrade that is over the old MacBook Air.
We got the i5 build, and for giggles I ran some screencast post production on one. It is a little jumpy and the render takes awhile, but it is absolutely up to the task.
The hinge balance feels great. Just enough force to open and close and it stays where you leave it.
In general, after usage, my initial thoughts remain true. This is a worthy successor to that 13” non-retina MacBook Air that we all loved so much. The MacBook Air is, once again, a computer we can all confidently recommend to friends and family. I expect these new machines to last my girls through college and beyond, keyboard and all.

iPad Evolution

I spent several hours this morning using my iPad at the kitchen table with an external keyboard and mouse. I continue to be impressed with the new trackpad/mouse support available with iPadOS 13.4. Using these input devices quickly becomes second nature, and while it isn’t the exact same behaviors you’d get with a Mac, it’s close enough that you can pick it up fast.

I’ve always argued that one of the fundamental motivations for me using an iPad is delight. There is just something about using a flat piece of glass computer that I can write on, type on, speak to, and now mouse/trackpad on that makes me smile. I’m pleased that the pointer implementation on the iPad brings this sense of delight to this new interface. The round pointer nicely transitions its shading, so it always contrasts with the background. The pointer ball squishes itself as it approaches other shapes (whether they be buttons or the curser line) to morph itself into them. Jason Snell posted these animations over at Six Colors. When you stop using the pointing device, the indicator fades away, only to come back when you need it. It almost feels like your pointer is your little buddy helping you get your work done. It’s so eager to please you that it jumps into buttons or your text for you.

While there are some app inconsistencies, particularly in my experience with apps that roll their own text entry system, I expect developers will get that sorted out. Overall, however, having used this new system under fire for about a week, I think it is brilliant. I also believe that when laptop users start getting their hands on keyboards with trackpads built-in (or experiment with a Bluetooth mouse), their thoughts about iPad limitations and what they can accomplish on the device are going to evolve.

Panzarino on the New iPad

I have read several reviews of the new iPads. The best one, in my opinion, is from Matthew Panzarino. I didn’t realize Matt was using the iPad exclusively on the road. That gave him some great insight as to the new machines. In terms of upgrade strategy, this is a great iPad upgrade if you are using anything prior to the 2018 iPad Pros. If you’ve got one of those, sit this one out.

Mac Madness

Given that things are pretty bananas right now on a global scale, Stephen Hackett wanted to bring a little sunshine, so he set up the Mac Madness contest over at 512 pixels. This is a bracket of various Macs. All you have to do is go in and vote for your favorite Macs. It will be updated weekly. A winner will emerge.

I meant to post this last week and make a pitch for my favorite Mac, the amazing SE/30. (I wanted that Mac so badly.) Unfortunately, I didn’t post, and now my beloved has been knocked out in round one. MADNESS!

Setting this travesty of justice aside, go and vote for your favorite Mac.

Mac Power Users 528: The Merlin Awakens

MPU Hall of Famer Merlin Mann returns to discuss using plain text, home automation, the Apple TV and more on the latest episode of Mac Power Users.

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The Updated MacBook Air

In addition to new iPads, yesterday Apple released an update to the MacBook Air. A few thoughts:

SCISSOR SWITCH KEYBOARD! I’m so pleased the butterfly keyboard is now down to just the small MacBook Pro. Hopefully, we get that one updated real soon.
256 GB Minimum Storage. This solves another pain point with the previous iteration. 128GB was ridiculous.
$999 for a respectable base model. This same spec a few days ago (with a slower processor and far inferior keyboard) was $300 more.

The MacBook Air is once again a computer we can recommend to our friends and family without reservation. I can’t help but reflect on how the second iteration of the original MacBook Air was the one that got nearly everything right. With the Retina MacBook Air, again we are getting something much better with the second time again.

A Few Thoughts on the New iPad Pro

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It’s been rumored for months, and now it’s here. I’ve got a few thoughts:

The new iPad Pro has the same design as the previous iteration. Amen. I really like this design, and I hope it finds its way to the iPhone at some point.
The new processor “outpaces most PC laptops available today”. The Apple silicon and hardware team continue to crush it on the iPad. Indeed, they do such a good job that the iPadOS team seems to struggle to keep up.
The new Magic Keyboard reminds me of the second-generation Apple Pencil in that it solves so many of the obvious problems with the first generation: Low profile? Check. Adjustable angle? Check. Backlit keys? Check. Scissor switches? Check. Extra USB-C port? Check. Backward compatibility with prior iPad Pro? Check. Floating height!? Check. Also, it adds a trackpad.
Speaking of that trackpad, there is a promised iOS update that is going to make trackpad support much better than the current mouse support. With iOS 13, we got support through accessibility. With this new iteration, it looks like we’ll be able to control the entire interface. I’m eager to see what software developers make of this. Also, I’m going to have to now reshoot a bunch of the Photos Field Guide. The mouse/trackpad implementation will be great for screencasters.
Improved cameras are always nice. I am curious how many people use their iPads for photography, though. I occasionally use mine for B-Roll when shooting video and to scan documents, but that is about it.
The LiDAR camera will most likely also come to the next iPhone. Apple keeps pushing forward on augmented reality, and we all continue to yawn collectively. I wonder when they are going to release the AR glasses. That has to be in the cards.

Focused 95: Five Years of Freedom

I’m sharing the big lessons I’ve learned from five years of working independently on the latest episode of Focused. Also, Mike and I talk about the fear of failure, intentional constraints, effective delegation, and the impact my furry new coworker has on my productivity.

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