Farewell Interact

This week Greg Pierce announced the end of life for Interact, my favorite Contact management app for iPhone. Reading Greg’s post, the reason isn’t primarily financial but instead difficulties and bugs with iOS contact management frameworks. I never had trouble with Interact and use it several times a week. However, I also keep all of my contact data in iCloud so I’m hardly an edge case.

I spent some time trying other third party contact apps following the announcement and none of them impressed me. If there is a silver lining, Greg concluded his post saying he’s putting all his time into Drafts 5. Since I happen to be writing these very words in Drafts, that makes me pretty happy.

The HomePod Table Tattoo

This story about people’s HomePod leaving a ring on their table is kind of crazy. How did Apple, a company that’s been shipping home electronics since the beginning, ship something that can damage your furniture? If they did know this was possible, they should have addressed it. If they didn’t know about it, that’s even more concerning. I’m probably making a bigger deal out of this than I should, but I expect more from Apple.

I don’t know how big (or small) of a problem this is but the pictures are damning. I’ve had mine on my wooden desk for a week, and there is no sign of a ring but I like this desk, and I don’t want to damage it. If you are coaster shopping, you can go crazy with something like the Pad & Quill solution or you can just cut out a piece of firm cardboard, or use an existing coaster. Ultimately, I spent $5 on a cork plant coaster from Amazon that should do the job. 

 


Photo: John Chase, Wirecutter

Photo: John Chase, Wirecutter

OmniOutliner 3 for iOS

This week the Omni Group released OmniOutliner 3 for iOS. It’s a worthy update that brings a lot of new features to iOS including password protected outlines, an improved slide-in inspector, focus & section lists, printing and pdf support, and some great looking themes. The update also gives you an iPhone X-friendly design.

The update came out this week. I was able to easily transition using my OmniPresence outlines.

I’m most excited about this upgrade’s inclusion of the new Omni Group scripting language into this new version. I can now design scripts to build template and script-based outlines and run them on either Mac or iOS.

The Essentials version is $10, and the Pro version is $40. However, if you have OmniOutliner 2 installed, the Pro upgrade drops to $20. The new version is worth the upgrade.

Putting Focus on AR Kit


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Apple’s got a new page featuring Augmented Reality iOS apps. I think that’s a good idea. When I speak with my non-geek friends about Augmented Reality, they first don’t understand what it is, and then they don’t know what it’s for. I end up rambling about education and gaming, but I do a poor job of it. 

I thought with the way that Pokemon blew up, the general public was ready to see AR in a lot more apps, but despite Apple’s powerful tools, it still feels like it is at the novelty level. The more attention Apple can put on this the technology, the better for all of us.

Also, did you know that Apple recently announced AR Kit 1.5? It adds several new features, including vertical spaces. This is notable for a few reasons. First, they are making a significant update mid OS cycle, which is unusual. Second, the number, “1.5”, implies a “2.0” isn’t far behind. Apple isn’t done with AR yet.

MPU 417: Workflows with Manton Reece



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This week programmer and entrepreneur Manton Reece joins the Mac Power Users this week to share how he’s using Apple gear to program and run his own business.

Sponsors include:

  • The Omni Group We’re passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad. 
  • Fujitsu ScanSnap ScanSnap Helps You Live a More Productive, Efficient, Paperless Life. 
  • 1Password Have you ever forgotten a password? Now you don’t have to worry about that anymore. 
  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

HomePod as Mac Speaker


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I’m digging my HomePod. The speaker itself is excellent, and while Siri has its limitations, the features it does include are working solidly. (I do wish it could tell me my calendar appointments though.)

One unexpected benefit of the HomePod, which sits on my desk in my home office, is just how well it works with iTunes on my Mac. To play music from iTunes to your HomePod, there is a simple toggle in iTunes for the Mac. You can set volume from Mac and seriously upgrade your tunes. I always need background noise while working so often I’ll play the sound of the ocean or a thunderstorm when I want to focus. Thunder from the HomePod turned up literally shakes my desk. My iMac never did that.



Tinderbox – Get a Discount on the Tool for Notes (Sponsor)



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This week MacSparky is sponsored by Tinderbox, the tool for notes. Tinderbox is a Mac App that lets you collect your thoughts and slice and dice them any way your brain prefers. The application does a great job of adjusting to the way you think. With Tinderbox, you can make a mind map, a check list, timelines, charts, outlines, and more. My favorite feature is that you are not tied to any paradigm with this app. Put your data in and start moving it around to help you make connections that weren’t there before.

People are using Tinderbox in all sorts of ways from writing novels to planning a computer network to organizing a complicated corporate merger.

Tinderbox recently released version 7.3 with more than six dozen visible improvements and a bunch of new technologies. The app continues to improve. Tinderbox can now look at your ideas from Notes, Evernote, Dropbox and more on iPhone and iPad. The new version also has quick links to connect notes instantly and composites to build big ideas from small notes. The new fonts also look fantastic on your Mac.



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Perhaps best of all, the Tinderbox developer has agreed to give MacSparky readers a limited time $50 discount. That’s a great deal so if you’ve been wanting to try Tinderbox, this is the time. Go check out Tinderbox today.

The 2018 Emoji

Emoji are increasingly a bigger deal to me. And I say that non-ironically. I recently sent an octogenarian client an email telling her that her corporate minutes were done and she responded by sending me a text message with a smiling face and heart eyes. That was it.

As text messaging and email have taken over for in-person and voice communications, emoji do fill a role to add context to words. I use them a lot more than I used to.

All that said, the people in charge of Emoji have announced 150+ new emoji and Emogipedia made a cool video showing them off. You can probably expect these in the first major update to iOS 12.

Here are my official awards:

  • Favorite overall: Superhero
  • Runner-up for favorite: Pirate Flag
  • Favorite new animal: Llama
  • Favorite new food: Cupcake!
  • Best new emoji for use in emergency situation: Toilet Paper
  • Social Justice Award: Red Hair
  • Most awkwardly familiar: White Hair
  • Happiest new Emoji: Partying Face
  • Most likely to be misused: Bone