Mike and I cover a variety of Free Agent topics on this week’s episode, including getting enough sleep and staying motivated. Also, I make a big decision about my transportation.
This episode of Free Agents is sponsored by:
I am pleased to announce the launch of a new website for the distribution of all my video courses, learn.MacSparky.com. I am moving all of my video courses to that site and encourage you to check it out. There’s plenty of free and paid material there to keep you busy.
When I first started distributing videos, I did so with one large video file that you could download to your Mac. That worked okay for a while but it very quickly became evident that people wanted a streaming solution. Put simply, a lot of people watch these courses on their iPhones and iPads. That eventually led me over to Vimeo where I have been distributing my video courses for a few years. It was a service that allowed for streaming, but it was also entirely outside of my control. I received complaints from customers that didn’t like the Vimeo marketing, where they would send them advertising materials for videos entirely unrelated to geeky MacSparky stuff, and furthermore, Vimeo never gave me a list of who bought my stuff. Put simply, I wanted to have a direct relationship with my customers.
I’ve been hard at work on this problem for several months, and today I’m announcing the new website, learn.MacSparky.com where you can get access to all of my video products. Having set up the website, I am also able to now distribute a lot of the videos that I create freely. I think it’s better for you and better for me. I’ve summarized the current offerings below, and I hope you check them out. I’m thrilled to have made this move. Go sign up today and let me know what you think. Below is a list of the current video courses.
I made this several years ago when workflow first was released. This has been a paid course since its original release, but now I am making it completely free.
Hazel is one of my favorite Mac utilities. It takes so much of the TM out of file management and let your Mac to a lot of your work for you, unassisted. To get the most out of Hazel, you do need a little help in this course is aimed at solving just that problem. This course already has many happy customers who are automating their way to fame and fortune.
There are two volumes of this book I wrote with my pal, Brett Terpstra. The video versions have all of the same materials as the books and can help you get better at using your Mac every day. Both volume 1 and volume 2 are available in the new learn.MacSparky.com website.
Apple photos is a powerful and all-in-one solution for managing, editing, and storing your photos. This video course walks you through how to set up your library, manage pictures, and make edits. This course also goes beyond explaining some common photo management utilities, backup strategies, and all the other bits you need to manage your photos and video properly.
This recourse includes this series of videos I have been producing for The new version of the Drafts app, one of my favorite writing and automation tools (yes, it’s both) for iPhone and iPad.
I often release short little videos for free relating to new workflows that I find or products that I like. A lot of these are on the MacSparky YouTube channel, but if that’s not your thing, you can sign up for a course@learn.macsparky.com that will regularly update with the same content.
The Automators podcast comes with a lot of bonus content explaining how to create and run specific automation routines that Rose and I regularly discuss on the show. Again, we have a YouTube channel for that, but not everyone wants to spend time on YouTube. We are going to distribute all of the podcast supporting materials through this learning course in addition to the YouTube channel.
Now that I’ve built this learning website, I’m back in full swing in creating new content for it. In the next month, I will be releasing an all-new course on Siri Shortcuts to coincide with the release of iOS 12. The new course is coming out great, and I’m working on it every day.
Also, later this month, when the Omni Group releases OmniFocus 3 for the Mac (or shortly after that), I will be releasing a brand-new edition of the OmniFocus Field Guide. This new version is shot entirely from scratch and nearly done. There is a lot of new material about how to get better at using OmniFocus and how to manage your tasks in a way that makes sense. In addition to having a lot of new material about technically managing the software, this new version also has a lot of discussion about productivity and strategies to make your task system work for you instead of you working for it. The new OmniFocus Field Guide is still in production but coming out great, and I cannot wait to share it with you.
If you were a customer for any of the above courses on Vimeo, and you would like to transition your course to learn.MacSparky.com, sign up for the learn.MacSparky.com website and send me a copy of your receipt. I can then send you a code for your account. Please note that is a manual process and I’m sure the initial flood of requests is going to take a little bit of catching up.
I am so happy to share this news with you. It has taken a lot of work, but this new website is going to be great for everyone. If nothing else, I encourage you to sign up for some of the free courses to check things out.
Join Katie and I on this week’s Mac Power User’s episode as we speculate about Apple’s upcoming September 12th event. Also, I go laptopless again. We discuss hiding cables and technology clutter around your home, shutting down Wi-Fi on a schedule, storing business cards, and fixing a broken iPhone. And it’s time for some listener feedback.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
My “home” Apple Store is located at the Irvine Spectrum. The center has been getting some updates lately and, with little warning they moved the Apple Store from a typical outdoor mall site to its very own building. I had a little business there yesterday and was able to check out the new store. Very nice.
This week MacSparky is sponsored by SaneBox, the powerful email tool that can help you conquer your inbox. I’ve written before about SaneBox filtering, which is awesome. However, SaneBox smart filtering is just the beginning. SaneBox can also sort your inbox, keep track of reminders and snoozed emails, rescue email from your spam folder, upload attachments your cloud, and more.
One of my favorite features is SaneReminders. This feature alone can be a game changer for you. When I send an email to someone that requires a follow-up, I just blind copy to “1week@sanebox.com”. If in the following week my recipient doesn’t reply, SaneBox sends me a reminder so I can follow up. This whole workflow is the most seamless way to keep up with email responses and I use this feature multiple times a day. This is all very powerful and just one more feature you get with a SaneBox account.
SaneBox is a great service that I use every day to manage my email. You should too. To learn more head over to SaneBox.com and check it out. MacSparky readers even get a discount.
Click to enlarge. Turtle not included.
I’ve been wearing Waterfield’s Pro Executive Laptop Backpack for the last few months and I made a new review. This is one of the first reviews to come out of the new studio. I hope you dig it.
On this week’s episode of Mac Power Users, Katie and I dive deep on HomeKit and discuss the HomeKit app, managing rooms, creating scenes, automation, and our favorite HomeKit-enabled devices. We also discuss where HomeKit falls down and our workarounds.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
Last week AgileTortoise released the latest in my ongoing screencast series on Drafts. This one is all about managing actions.
This week MacSparky is sponsored by Hoban Cards, makers of fine letterpress calling cards and stationery. I’ve been using Hoban Cards for years and it seems I get a compliment on my business cards every time I give one away. They have solutions for every budget from beautiful existing designs to custom cards. Lately, they’ve also started doing letterpress colophon cards that really stand out. (I’m probably going to end up buying a set of those for myself.)
At the source of all of the beautiful Hoban produts is their collection of vintage letterpress machines. While you may think your cards look just fine made with a Mac and a laser printer, you really haven’t seen anything until you see a calling card made with 1500 pounds of steel and iron. I’m hooked on Hoban’s stationery and cards and I bet you will be too.
Best of all, mention “MacSparky” at checkout for a little help on your order. Learn more at Hoban Cards.
Podcaster and programmer Casey Liss joins us on this episode of Free Agents to talk about his free agent journey, what caused him to take the leap, the tendency to do too much, and his desire to pull the thread which led to him becoming an accidental YouTuber.
This episode of Free Agents is sponsored by:
