Mac Power Users 505: Chris Bailey and the Noah’s Ark of Dongles



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We’re joined by Chris Bailey on this week’s episode of Mac Power Users. He’s an author and presenter with an undying love for TextEdit and getting focused work done with the Mac and iPad.

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.

  • 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.

  • eero: Get your WiFi fixed as soon as tomorrow! Free overnight shipping.

  • Hover: Make a name for yourself. Get 10% off any domain name.

Automators 34: Getting Cozy with Regular Expressions



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On the latest episode of Automators, Rose and I are tackling regular expressions. What are they? How do you make them? Where do you use them? All of those questions get answered in this episode. Regex isn’t as daunting as it may first seem.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

  • PDFpen, from Smile : The ultimate tool for editing PDFs on the Mac.

  • Zapier: The easiest way to automate your work. Start your 14-day free trial today.

  • FreshBooks: Online invoicing made easy.

9to5 Watch Time Appearance

This week I was a guest on the 9to5 Watch Time podcast where I talked with Zac Hall about fitness with the Apple Watch and thoughts on the watch in general. It’s a fun listen because when we recorded, we were on the last day of an Apple Watch fitness competition between each other. I’d tell you who ultimately won, but that would just be bragging

Get Rid of Pests with the SaneBox Black Hole (Sponsor)



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This week MacSparky is sponsored by SaneBox, the email service that can add a boatload of features to any email application. Using SaneBox you can get your email auto-sorted for you, defer it, and even get reminders when people don’t reply to important email. The feature I’d like to cover today, however, is the SaneBlackHole.

Have you ever received emails from a pest that just doesn’t know when to quit? I’m not talking about SPAM here, but instead a real person that just keeps bugging you. Just this morning I received the third email in three days from a blogger that wants to do “friendly cross-posts”. I declined in a reply to his first email but that didn’t stop him. They just keep coming. Today’s email started out, “Just in case you missed my earlier email about this important opportunity for you …” So today I unceremoniously dumped his email in the SaneBlackHole. Now, when I get any future email from that person, they go straight into the black hole and I’ll never see them again.

Maybe you’ve got someone in your life that needs to be dropped in the black hole. SaneBox can help you with that.

Why not straighten out your email by getting a SaneBox account today. If you sign up with this link, you even get a discount on your subscription.

Small Firm Bootcamp


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Next year I will be speaking at the Small Firm Bootcamp in New Orleans. There are a lot of advantages to being a small operation when it comes to practicing law, and I’m looking forward to this conference. If that’s your thing, I’ll see you there.

Last Call for Shortcuts Field Guide at Introductory Price



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The launch price for the Shortcuts Field Guide is about to end.

I’m so happy with the way this course turned out. I’ve spent the last week recording additional videos for the course. There are seven new videos and they feature apps like PCalc, LookUp, more on Drafts, and some of the excellent text transformation apps.

The Shortcuts Field Guide now weighs in at 114 videos and over 6 hours and 45 minutes of content.

My goal with all of the Field Guides is nothing less than turning normal users into power users. The Shortcuts Field Guide does just that. If you’re at all interested in Shortcuts, now is the time to jump on board.

Use the code BLOGSHORTS for $5 off, but that is going to last for only a few more days.

Mac Power Users 503: Fax the Updates, with Dave Hamilton



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On this week’s episode of Mac Power Users, we’re joined by Dave Hamilton to talk about his work at the Mac Observer and BackBeat Media, his approach to podcasting, how covering Apple has changed over the years, and some software tools every Mac user should know about.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • SaneBox: Stop drowning in email!

  • The Omni Group: We’re passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad.

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