The New MPU and Free Agents Forums



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Today we released the brand-new Discourse-based forums for Mac Power Users and Free Agents found at talk.macpowerusers.com. I’m really excited to share this news. A lot of work went on behind the scenes to make this happen. The new forum is based on the open source Discourse project and gives us a really nice place to share thoughts and ideas. 

We’ll be explaining the change further on this week’s show but suffice it to say the new forum is better, more organized, more searchable, and (hopefully) more fun for our listeners. Please go log in and check it out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Special thanks go to Joe Buhlig at ProCourse.co for helping us build the new forum and Rosemary Orchard in helping with the transition.

Simultaneously with the formation of the new forum, we are shutting down the Facebook Group because … well … Facebook.

Smile Software Celebrating 15 Years – Sponsor


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This week MacSparky is sponsored by Smile Software, makers of TextExpander and PDFpen. This month Smile is celebrating 15 years of bringing its productivity software to the world. They’ve had several products over the years and there is an excellent series of blog posts over on Smile’s website about how the company formed and their journey.

Of course, I have an affinity for companies passionate about making productivity software and Smile has been delivering the goods to me (and a lot of other users) for a long time.

Have you checked out Smile’s current software lineup? If not, you should. 

TextExpander is a text replacement application, but so much more. As a result of Smile’s hard work, TextExpander is exponentially more powerful than a normal text replacement application. Here are just a few examples of what I do with TextExpander.

PDFpen has been my only PDF app on the Mac for years. I use it every day to review and markup contracts and otherwise get work done.

Thanks Smile for an amazing 15 years. I can’t wait to see what you do next.

Availability-Based Scheduling with When Works


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John Chaffee has been making calendar related apps for Apple hardware for a long time with is involvement with Now Up-To-Date several years ago and, more recently, BusyCal. So when John launches a new product, I’m always interested. His latest venture is WhenWorks, an availability based appointment-setting application. 

With this iOS app, you can set your availability and meeting type which ultimately results in a web page you can send out to invitees where they can select an available time. That selection then updates back into your calendar. Basically, it gets you out of the usual multiple-email calendar event setting game. The service integrates with iCloud calendar, Office 365, Google Calendar, and Outlook.

If you’re interested there is a 14 day free trial and, after that you can schedule up to 5 events per month for free and unlock unlimited events for $5/month.

Mac Power Users 435: Catching Up with Don McAllister


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Don McAllister returns on this week’s MPU+ episode to talk about building a business around ScreenCastsOnline, building his team, delegation, project management, and more. We also talk chat travel and electric cars.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • TextExpander from Smile: Type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.
  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? Now you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Save up to 20% using this link.
  • SaneBox: Stop drowning in email!
  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

Free Agents 49: Panting to the Finish Line


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Family members with employment issues remind Jason about just how far he has come. I grapple with letting go of control and working with an assistant. And Jason hands in his resignation and participates in an “exit interview” with me. Join us for the latest episode of Free Agents.

This episode of Free Agents is sponsored by:

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FREEAGENTS at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • FreshBooks: Online invoicing made easy.

Happy 15th, Smile Software


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Today is the 15th Anniversary of Smile software. Smile is a great little software company that makes apps I use every day. Smile’s co-founder, Greg Scown, shared some of the Smile story with Stephen Hackett over on 512 pixels and it’s worth reading. With the rise of mobile and the software monetization model getting re-written (multiple times), there aren’t many software companies that survived the last 15 years. Having spent time with the Smile gang, I’d have to say their secret for success is an absolute belief in their products and their customers. 

Disclaimer: Smile sometimes sponsors the Mac Power Users and this site.

Guesting on the Lawyerist Podcast


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I joined Sam Glover at the Lawyerist podcast to talk about getting more from your iPhone. The Lawyerist is one of the few lawyer-focused websites that is not dreadful. Indeed it is quite the opposite. On this show, we talked about the iPhone Field Guide and how to be productive with that computer in your pocket.

 

Track Your Time on the Mac with Timing – Sponsor

This week MacSparky is sponsored by Timing for Mac. Once installed, Timing watches how you use your Mac and gives you colorful, detailed reports on how you’re spending your time. 

You know that new feature Apple is adding to iOS 12 called Screen Time? Timing is like that, but for the Mac and way more detailed. 

Timing is a great tool to help you get your act together. It’s very difficult to keep track of how you’re spending your time. Throwing manual timers adds a lot of mental overhead and inevitably leads to bad data. Because Timing is automatic, you don’t have to think about it and the data is better. With Timing data, you can learn a lot about your work habits and where you can get better. Once you sort that out, Timing can help keep you honest.

Timing even scores your productivity based on what apps you spend time in. It’s a great app and using this link, you can get it at a discount. If you’re a SetApp subscriber, you can also get Timing as part of your subscription. Go download Timing today and see for yourself how much more productive you can be.