The HomePod as Speaker

Phil Schiller did an extended interview over at Sound and Vision. That choice of publication for the interview speaks loads about Apple’s point on the HomePod. It’s not a smart speaker to them as much as it is a good speaker. I like the way Apple appears to be sweating the details. From the interview, Schiller explains how the HomePod uses the motion sensor to recalibrate itself.

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“We wanted to make a speaker that sounds great no matter where you put it in your home. From the moment you plug in HomePod and start listening to music, it automatically and instantly senses its location in the room to take full advantage of the environment it’s in. The microphone array in HomePod listens to the reflection of the music off neighboring surfaces, senses where the bookshelf is, or if it’s in the corner of a room or against a wall, and then uses machine learning to understand what it’s hearing, interpret the sound, and adjust the audio. Using advanced software and the A8 chip, HomePod intelligently beams center vocals and direct energy away from the wall while reflecting the ambient reverb and back-up vocals against the wall for dispersion into the room. The end result is a wide soundstage with a feeling of spaciousness and depth. This entire process takes just seconds and it doesn’t stop with the initial setup. Every time you move HomePod, it uses the built-in accelerometer to detect a change in its location and continues to make sure the music sounds great and is consistent, wherever it’s placed. We’ve also done some great things to help minimize the audible side effects of compression artifacts by developing studio level dynamic processing to optimize for rich, clean bass even at loud volumes.”
— Phil Schiller

I’ve always felt there is a degree of snake oil salesmanship involved when talking about advanced technology in speakers. The question is, will normal listeners be able to tell a difference with all of this at work. We’ll find out soon enough with the HomePod shipping next week. I hope the HomePod is as good as Apple and some of the early access press are reporting.

Conquer the New Year with PDFpen – Sponsor


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This week MacSparky is sponsored by PDFpen, the get-it-done PDF application from Smile for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Years ago I went all-in with PDFpen, and I haven’t looked back.

PDFpen is excellent for organizing documents in the new year. Split and combine PDF documents to send just the right things to your accountant or your lawyer. Fill in PDF forms, whether interactive or not. One power trick is to add page numbers so you can explain exactly why that new HomePod on page 42 is tax related.

If you’re sending documents with your social security number or other private data, PDFpen makes it easy to redact that data, so it doesn’t get passed around. PDFpen also automatically performs optical character recognition on PDFs the first time it opens them so you can search and highlight the documents.

If you use PDFpenPro you can even create PDF portfolios – collections of multiple PDFs and related files – to make the presentation of your year-end documents even easier. Your accountant will love you.

The bottom line is that PDFpen and PDFpenPro are great tools for managing all of that end of year business we all must deal with. This year get PDFpen on your side and see how much easier (and faster) the job gets. 

 

HomePod Goes on Sale Tonight


The Apple HomePod goes on sale tomorrow (presumably tonight at midnight PST). We’ve been hearing about Apple’s entry into the home speaker/voice-in-a-can business with the HomePod announcement at last years WWDC. There is a lot of “meh” in the community about this product. Fundamentally, the concern I’m hearing is that Apple is emphasizing this product as a speaker and a lot of people are more interest in the Siri voice-in-a-can product.

I’m getting one. I actually would like a nice speaker next to my computer on my desk and because I’m fully invested in iCloud the Siri integration, even if limited, will be nice. Another point for me is that it supports Apple Music, for which I’m a subscriber.

Whether the HomePod is a successful product or not is an open question. In my opinion, this first iteration is going to leave a lot of people wanting more. Apple isn’t going to jump in with both feet for third-party integrations. (Don’t believe, go looking for third-party watch faces on your three-year-old Apple Watch.) 

I do expect, however, for Apple to deliver on its promise of making the HomePod a very good speaker with some Siri integration. If the HomePod is going to get better, however, they’re going to need to do their thing and iterate.

The WaterField MacBook SleeveCase Review

For a few weeks last month I was a world traveler. While it is fun getting stamps on your passport and embarrassing your children while you try to converse with people in other languages, one concern I had for the trip was getting around with my technology.

I knew I needed to bring the MacBook. My problem was I didn’t have a bag for it. Before leaving, I picked up a WaterField MacBook SleeveCase. As computer cases go, this is fairly minimal. The bag is waxed canvas (they also have a version in ballistic nylon) with a nice padded pocket to hold your MacBook and a leather flap that velcros down to keep your Mac solidly in place. I chose the waxed canvas SleeveCase with leather reinforcements. I’m pretty sure it is the same one Indiana Jones would carry if he needed such a thing.



I opted for the additional side clips and strap so I could wear it over my shoulder. I’m glad I did because I ended up carrying this computer bag everywhere.



The MacBook SleeveCases are designed to fit around the specific Apple laptop computers. They make them for all of the MacBooks ranging from the 12-inch MacBook to the 15-inch MacBook Pro. You can order the SleeveCase in either vertical or horizontal orientation. The bag is TSA approved, and I was able to put it through airport security without removing it from the SleeveCase.



The WaterField SleeveCase does not hold much except your computer and whatever you can fit in the side pocket. There is an optional piggyback case that lets you store more accessories and attaches to the case.



The thing I liked most about the WaterField SleeveCase is that it served two purposes. It’s robust enough with the strap that you can carry it around for the day with your Mac inside. However, if I needed to carry a backpack with more gear, the case is thin enough that I could slide it into my backpack where it served as a protective sleeve for the MacBook inside the backpack. WaterField makes laptop bags with more onboard storage, like the Staad Attaché and the Outback Solo, but I needed something that could either be worn independently or easily fit in my backpack when needed. It was this dual purpose that attracted me to the SleeveCase in the first place.

Like all other WaterField products, the SleeveCase is gorgeous. At one point during the trip my teenage daughter said to me, “Dad, I like your computer bag.” That’s right. The bag received a compliment …  from a teenager! Somewhere at that moment an angel received its wings.

All WaterField products are made in San Francisco and built to last. I’ve been buying products from them for ten years, and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. 

The Email Diet


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With the start of a new year, I’m looking at new workflows, this year even more than usual. I’m disappointed that my latest iBook didn’t get released last year and am now looking for ways to get rid of some of the obstacles that got in my way.

One of the biggest obstacles is email. Because I’m “out there”, I get a lot of email. I particularly like reading and replying to email from listeners and readers. Indeed, I think I like it too much. I can start replying to MacSparky email and then look up to find that three hours just disappeared from the day. Moreover, I realized that I had turned my self-image about replying to most of my email into a liability. If I want to get a book released, I simply can’t do that anymore.

To combat that, I have now put myself on a strict email diet. I’ve set aside 30 minutes a day to process email. That’s it. Within 30 minutes I can always deal with the most urgent and some of the not-so-urgent email sitting in my box. I cannot, however, deal with all email. Every day I give it 30 minutes, and then I get back to work. I realize this isn’t ideal, but it’s a lot better than letting email take over my life.

At this point, I’m considering this an experiment, not a permanent practice. I’m just a few weeks in, but I already see benefits of this email diet. Over the long term, I realize this means I’m not going to be able to answer every email that comes to me. That may just end up being the way things are. If I have to choose between being a guy who no longer publishes books or a guy who doesn’t reply to every single email he receives, I think I know which one I would prefer.

MPU 414 – This is What I Got



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In the latest MPU+, Katie shares her struggles with APFs and High Sierra, and I explain a few workflow changes related to OmniFocus defer dates and my hyper-scheduling experiment. We also answer listener questions relating to photo albums on the Apple TV, how we’re using Evernote today, and tech organization. We follow-up new developments in home automation, scheduling, Qi Charging and more.

Sponsors include:

  • PDFpen from Smile With powerful PDF editing tools, available for Mac, iPad, and iPhone, PDFpen from Smile makes you a Mac Power User.
  • 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. 
  • Sanebox Stop drowning in email!

Digging Out


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The Sparks family had an amazing vacation in January. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips to London and Paris. My kids are at the perfect age, and my wife and I both agreed that we don’t know how many years we have left with both of them around to vacation with us.

My point is, I didn’t want to spend the entire vacation working. So I spent some time deliberately thinking about work before I left. As a business lawyer, I often have clients dealing with one sort of emergency or another, and that is unavoidable if I want to continue in this racket. Non-emergencies, however, are a different story. My plan was to get up a few hours early every day and deal with whatever emergencies were thrown my way and then close the computer and spend the rest of the day with my family. It was a ten-day trip and how much day-to-day stuff could really pile up, right?

For once, I stuck to the plan. Partly thanks to jet lag, getting up early wasn’t a problem and the several emergencies that appeared all got handled.

The surprising part for me was precisely how much non-emergency stuff piled up in my absence. I spent the plane ride home reading Cal Newport’s Deep Work, and I had this grand plan about how I was going incorporate a bunch of his ideas into getting more work done on my next book starting the day after I returned. 

That didn’t happen.

Instead, I took stock of the backed-up legal and podcasting work and smacked my forehead. I had to dig out. For a day or two, I kept thinking I could get my fresh start on writing more for the book while digging out but eventually I worked through the four stages of grief and arrived at “acceptance”. My deep work on the book was going to have to wait a little bit longer.

So instead I resolved that I would just focus on digging out. I made a list and (for a few weeks) largely cut myself off from social media, television, and other diversions. It turns out I needed two weeks to get caught up with work. It’s probably obvious to most people, but the biggest revelation for me in this process was where I stopped and just accepted that, despite my efforts, nothing new could happen until I dug out. Once my brain wrapped around the idea, it was a lot easier to put my head down and get the work done. It probably sounds silly, but I’m quite pleased with myself having survived the deluge and enjoyed the big vacation.

As I write this, I’m finally back in a place where I can put time into the book. This morning I put several hours into writing, and it feels great. Chapters are showing up in the iBooks Author file, and boxes are getting checked. Stay tuned.