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.
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.
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 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.
A few weeks ago, I posted about my new two-screen setup. I explained that I have started using the second monitor as a “reference” monitor to the right of my iMac screen. I’ve received emails and questions in the forums about how I manage windows between the screens.
I explained in the post that I do use Apple’s Spaces feature—although to a much lesser extent—with the new two-screen setup. What I didn’t explain, however, is how I like to manage windows using keyboard shortcuts and our old friend Keyboard Maestro.
First, a Word about Window Managers
There are a lot of applications for the Mac that will manage windows for you. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and range from simple to complex. You can also manage windows with an AppleScript, if that’s your thing. If I had to pick one window manager, it would be Moom. I’ve used it for years, and I still have it installed despite the Keyboard Maestro shenanigans listed below.
Keyboard Maestro FTW
I think Keyboard Maestro is an ideal tool for window management for several reasons.
First, it is hyper-customizable without being hyper-difficult.
The second reason for using Keyboard Maestro is that it does so much more. I am a big fan of “stacked” automation. This is the idea that you take two relatively simple automation tasks that you often perform in order and stack them together in the same script. For example, when I want to plan a day, I often open up OmniFocus and my calendar, and I arrange those two applications in a certain way that makes it easy to see data in both. Moreover, in OmniFocus I will open particular tabs so that I can click through them quickly. I demonstrate this below.
These are all simple automation steps, but when strung together (or stacked), they become a powerful tool to manage my day. Using Keyboard Maestro for window management, not only can I make simple scripts to move the current window to the left side of the screen, but I can also stack more complicated scripts that create a working space based on the task at hand. Since I need Keyboard Maestro to do that second part, it might as well do the first part as well.
And Now, a Screencast
So now it’s time to dive into the technical details of how I do all of this. For that, I think a screencast is a lot easier than a bunch of words. Here you go.
The YouTube Plug
You may note with the above screencast that I’m distributing it through YouTube. I have finally set up a YouTube channel for MacSparky, and I’m going to be adding more content going forward. For that reason, I respectfully ask that you subscribe and push whatever other buttons you’re supposed to push to make me feel special.
Jeff Richardson from iPhone J.D. joins Katie and me to chat about how he uses a Mac at home and PC at work, going all in and adopting a paperless lifestyle with the iPad, starting a successful blog, using the Apple Watch, and more. Join us for the latest episode of Mac Power Users.
