Victor Cajiao’s Surrender


Over a year ago I was talking to my pal Victor Cajiao and he told me he was making an album. From a lot of people I’d hear something like that and smile and wonder if he truly knew what he was getting himself in for. With Victor, I immediately knew that not only would he finish the album, he’d make it great. Victor delivered with Surrender. It’s a fusion jazz album extremely well done. You can get the album at CD Baby. I really enjoyed reading Victor’s description of the tracks as I listened. Of course you can download the album in MP3, but you can also download in FLAC if you like because Victor’s a nerd just like the rest of us.

Sponsor: inShort




This week MacSparky is sponsored this week by inShort. inShort is a project planning and diagramming tool like you’ve never seen before. The application has a unique interface that lets you see a project from the 20,000 foot view and then, with just a few taps, drill down into the details. For example, in the below project plan, you can click on the individual boxes to get further details on any specific component.


I like the way this application handles Gantt charts to include schedules for the work and material resources, as well as places.


inShort is a serious project planning and diagramming application but it could be used for so much more, like planning out a dissertation, creating a lesson plan, or even your own personal goals. It’s always under active development with new features in the pipeline.

inShort is easier to use than ever with a clever tutorial that show’s off the power of the application and teaches you how it works at the same time. There are versions for both the Mac and iOS. To learn more visit the inShort website and check out the User Guide. My thanks again to inShort for sponsoring MacSparky.com.

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MPU 331 – Stephen Hackett: Collector of Macs

Mac user, collector, and … yes … YouTuber Stephen Hackett joins this week’s episode to explain essential cloud-based services used to run the Relay Network, his growing collection of Macs, and his photo and video workflows.

Sponsors include:

  • Hover: Simplified domain management. Use code AUTOMATION to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • The Omni Group They’re passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad. 
  • Automatic The connected car company that improves your driving and integrates your car into yoru digital life. Enter code MACPOWER to get 20% off your purchase. 
  • Fracture Bring your photos to life.

Camera+2 for iPad

I’ve been getting most of my photo editing done these days on iPad with Apple Photos, Pixelmator, and Snapseed. Camera+ just released version 2 for iPad and it is now firmly in the rotation for me. As the name implies, Camera+ gives you lots of control over the iPad camera but what I really like about the new version for iPad are the photo editing tools. 


I’ve always been a fan of Camera+’s “Clarity” filter which, as “push one button to make it better” filters go, a lot better than most. I also like the way you can use the brushes (via finger or Apple Pencil) to apply localized changes.

One gripe with this app though is its lack of Apple Photos extension support. Maybe there’s a good reason but the app doesn’t tie into the native Photos app so you have to make a copy of a photo into the app and then manually save the edited copy back to Apple Photos. That part feels stone-age to me. That aside, I like the Camera+ for iPad update. (Website)(App Store)

Pokémon Go

I realized what a square I’ve become when I kept mispronouncing Pokémon to my kids. So I decided to bone up and did so over at iMore. Serenity Caldwell has been killing it over there with Pokémon Go tutorials for several days. Next I’ll be giving my kids Pokémon tips and go from being a square to a weirdo (which is my usual role in their lives).

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MPU 330: I’m Not Familiar with Wookiepedia

This week’s Mac Power Users is up. It’s our monthly feedback show and we have lots of great content on subjects like MPU workflows on a PC, merging Apple IDs, cleaning up after being scammed, more iOS photography, and family tech support.

Sponsors include:

  • Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like, free for up to 10 people.
  • Fujitsu ScanSnap ScanSnap Helps You Live a More Productive, Efficient, Paperless Life. 
  • Gazelle Sell your iPhone for cash at Gazelle! 
  • Sanebox Stop drowning in email!

Sponsor: OmniPlan

This week MacSparky is sponsored by OmniPlan. OmniPlan combines the simplicity and beauty that comes with all Omni Group apps with some serious planning power including features like Microsoft Project compatibility, Monte Carlo simulations, network diagrams, and earned value analysis. OmniPlan takes advantage of the Omni Group’s OmniPresence syncing service to make everything sync across to your Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

A lot of people are interested in OmniPlan but not sure how to get started. The Omni Group just released a series of videos called the “Project Planning 101” series. In it, they explain, in the context of world domination, how to easily set up your own project planning workflows. I’ve embedded the first in the series below. Thanks again OmniPlan for supporting MacSparky.
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Clockwise 144

This week I had the pleasure of joining Jason Snell, Dan Moren, and Georgia Dow on the Clockwise podcast. In 30 minutes we solved the world’s problems relating to email, virtual reality, two-factor authentication, and the privacy vs. services debate. Easy. Right?