New Podcast: Automators



Automators 400.png


I’m pleased to announce today the launch of a new podcast I’ll be making with my pal Rosemary Orchard. The show is called Automators, and it’s all about, as the name implies, Automation.

Specifically, this show will pick one particular Automation subject and drill deep on it. The goal is to give ordinary users automation super-powers, and I’m so happy to finally share it with you. 

Like Mac Power Users, this show is meant to provide listeners with a lot of signal and very little noise. We’ve got a website, Automators.FM, where you’ll be able to download the automation scripts we cover in each episode, a Forum where you can discuss and share your own Automation workflows, and a YouTube Channel where we’ll post related video screencasts when we have them. We’ll also be releasing scripts and tutorials with each episode. We want to make this easy for you.

The Automators aims at being a 30-45 minute show, and it will release every two weeks. We’re releasing the show on Fridays with the idea it will give you a fun weekend project with every episode. If you like Mac Power Users, I think you’ll like Automators. The two shows are incredibly complimentary of one another. You can subscribe right now to episode 0 and episode 1 drops this Friday. It is all about automating calendar events and it’s both geeky and wicked useful. I hope you’ll give the Automators a try.

For fun, we recorded Episode 0 memojified below. Please subscribe to the new show and, if you like it, check out the website, forum, YouTube channel, and leave an iTunes review so listeners can find us. 

​MPU T-Shirts and Hoodies Available for Limited Time



IMG_0138.JPG


There’s a big promotion at Cotton Bureau that ends tomorrow. As part of the promotion, we agreed to put some of our MPU merchandise back up for sale. We really weren’t planning on selling these again but the folks at Cotton Bureau asked and it looked kind of fun so we agreed.



IMG_0139.JPG


So if you’d like an MPU hoodie or t-shirt, now’s the time. They are also giving away some pretty cool technology so you may end up with a lot more than a t-shirt.

Manage Cloud Storage on Your Mac with CloudMounter

Like everyone else, I have files distributed across a collection of cloud storage services. As a result, I’m always juggling how to keep track of that data on my laptop with limited SSD storage.


Screen Shot 2018-06-24 at 10.41.38 AM.png

Recently, I picked up a copy of CloudMounter. CloudMounter is a Mac utility for precisely the above-described problem. Specifically, it runs in the Mac’s menubar and lets you attach various cloud storage solutions. They’ve got the usual suspects, like Dropbox, Google, Microsoft OneDrive, and Amazon S3. They also have more unexpected providers like Backblaze and various flavors of FTP.

I’ve been happy with CloudMounter. It gets out of the way but still gives me access to my cloud storage without filling up my SSD. The application integrates with the Mac’s Finder, so you see the mounted cloud storage as just another volume in the Finder. Even though those files show up in the Finder, Cloudmounter doesn’t download the files to your hard drive which is the trick that saves you so much space.

There’s also an option to encrypt your cloud data through CloudMounter, that gables the cloud files if they are accessed from a different device. Because I use multiple devices and platforms, I did not enable this.

Even on my desktop Mac, I have limited SSD storage. As a result, there are pieces of Dropbox that I never automatically download. Instead, I have to fiddle with the application settings or go on to the web service if I want to get access to those files. Using CloudMounter, I’m able to get to them much faster.

If, like me, you’ve got a lot of data stored in the cloud, CloudMounter may be the solution you’re looking for on your Mac.

inDispute, an App for Arguments


Screen Shot 2018-06-24 at 10.00.40 AM.png

As both a lawyer and a nerd I am always interested in the technology behind negotiation. So much so that I’ve even created custom Members templates to help me out during mediations. Recently I discovered an app for the iPhone and iPad, inDispute, that’s engineered around making reasoned arguments. The idea is to help you script out arguments and counter-arguments, making it easier to get your point across (and hopefully take some of the emotion out of an argument). It’s an interesting and app and one I never quite imagined existing but isn’t that what the App Store keeps doing to us? Giving us apps we’d never imagined before. 

Either way, inDispute is worth checking out before you make your next argument.

OmniFocus 3 Now Available for iPad and iPhone – Sponsor


Screen Shot 2018-06-25 at 6.08.11 PM.png

This week, MacSparky.com is sponsored by OmniFocus. Check out the new OmniFocus, version 3 for iPad and iPhone. It’s everything you’ve always loved about OmniFocus, just more powerful and easier to use. 

The new version allows you to add tags to your tasks, like location, person, energy level, and priority. You can even sort by multiple tags to build perspectives that get exactly the tasks you need in front of you right now. 

Speaking of perspectives, there are some useful built-in perspectives with the new version including forecasts but if that’s not enough for you, with the pro version you can make your own custom perspectives. I use these every day to get my work done.

I’ve been hearing from readers that are worried about upgrading to the new version on iPad and iPhone while they’re still using version 2 on the Mac. This is not a problem. The Omni group spent a lot of time making sure that the files will work just fine across version 2 on your Mac and version 3 on your iPad and iPhone period. (Version 3 for the Mac should arrive later this summer.)

So stop waiting and get yourself set up with OmniFocus, version 3 for iPad and iPhone and let them know you heard about it here at MacSparky.com.

Mac Power Users 436: MPU+: These Things Are Like Tribbles


Mac Power Users Artwork.png

In this episode, we launch the new MPU Discourse community and talk about Siri Shortcuts. Katie got a HomePod. I share my thoughts on the iOS Beta and my recent visit to Apple Park. We also tackle listener questions about messages in the cloud, iPad accessories, and kids in college. 

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? Now you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Save up to 20% using this link.
  • The Omni Group: We’re passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. 
  • Gazelle: Sell your iPhone for cash at Gazelle! 
  • FreshBooks: Online invoicing made easy.

SummerFest App Sale

The SummerFest app sale is now live. This is a collection some of my favorite Mac Apps (including apps liked Tinderbox, DEVONthink, Scrivener, TextEapnder, HoudahSpot, PDFpen, and Timing) and they are all 25% off. Take a look and get a deal.



Screen Shot 2018-06-24 at 10.03.20 AM.png


MPU Meetup in London – July 9

We’re having a MPU meet up in London on July 9th, at 6PM London time at the Wetherspoons just outside of Victoria station 5. Weatherspoons is a basic pub where we can walk around and converse. There’s no dress code – MPU attire is optional! I’ll be there, Rose Orchard will be there, and while Katie Floyd hasn’t agreed to attend yet, I’m working on it.

Your nearest Apple Store will be Regent Street which has been refurbished to be a flagship store.

Also, if you come, make sure to ask me for some stickers!


28f2dfdf8ac3eff955c9b183ffd10048362f3790.jpg