This week the popular iPhone JD blog turns seven and Jeff Richardson, its proprietor, has a great post to mark the occasion. Despite its name, the site isn’t just for lawyers but instead anyone trying to get productive with the iPhone and iPad. To me, during this past seven years Jeff’s writing has transformed from “just another guy on the Internet” to a trusted voice. Congratulations Jeff and iPhone JD.
MPU 288 and 289: MPU Live and Apple TV
A few episodes of MPU have gone live over the last few says while I’ve been galavanting around the State of Florida.
Katie and I both bought the new Apple TV and then used them a week before recording the show. We talk about what works and what doesn’t along with some of our favorite Apple TV Apps.
MPU 288 – Traveling to the Land of Crocodiles and Alligators
This live shows includes follow-up on keyboard launchers, note applications, listener tips, our new gear, and a live interview from a virtual assistant.
Sponsor: Hoban Cards and Hoban Press
For several years now Hoban Cards has sponsored MacSparky. I love Hoban as a sponsor because I’ve always wanted to make this site about discriminating content and products and Hoban fits the bill perfectly.
They’ve proven it once again with the third iteration of the Hoban Cards website. As always Hoban Cards give you a way to minimize the cost of letterpress printing while still getting something beautiful. The website is better than ever and there are some new templates to choose from. (I like “The Requisite Card”, pictured above.) They’ve also got some gorgeous Stationery, again reasonably priced.
If you want to do something even more unique, head over to Hoban Press and Evan will help you make something beautiful. Regardless of which route you take, use the discount code “MacSparky” for $10 off. Thanks again Hoban for sponsoring MacSparky.
Improved App Store Search
This week TechCrunch broke the story about Apple’s improvements to App Store search.
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“This new change is focused more on how apps are returned when users type in keywords to find an app – something that’s becoming a more common way to find apps in a crowded app store featuring over a million mobile applications. According to studies, at least half of iOS apps are found through search.”
I’ve often thought App Store search was pretty embarrassing for Apple. My own particular canary-in-a-coal-mine on this issue is Tweetbot. When I needed to rebuild my new iPhone a few months ago. I searched “Tweetbot” in the App Store and the results came up empty. This is one of the most popular Twitter clients in the App Store and yet searching its explicit name did not find it. Searching “Twitter”, gave me a long list of Twitter-related applications but despite scrolling for a long time, Tweetbot did not show up. I finally gave up and left the App Store. Ultimately, I found the application by going to the developer website and clicking the app store link from there. Crazy.
As a test, this morning I went into the App Store and again searched “Tweetbot”. The application immediately showed up. Even better, the more generic search term, “twitter” returns Tweetbot as the fourth entry, right above Twitterrific, another popular third-party Twitter client. These are good signs for the new App Store search.
The Dash MacBook Sleeve
With my super-slim new MacBook, I’ve been looking for a good sleeve to hold it, particularly when I throw it in a larger bag or am running into a tea shop for a break and don’t want to carry the full bag.
I’ve bought so many bags from WaterField over the years that I should have started my search there. Eventually, I did find myself on the WaterField website and ended up with the 12” Dash Sleeve.
The Dash Sleeve is exactly what I was looking for in terms of minimalist design and quality materials. Despite its slim design, there is compression foam padding and soft liner fabric to protect my MacBook.
Rather than deal with a lid or flap, the Dash Sleeve has a wide elastic band that slides over the end.There’s also a mesh pocket big enough to hold my iPad Air. WaterField makes several sizes of the Dash Sleeve ranging from the 12” MacBook all the way up to the 15” MacBook Pro. I’d recommend it for any Apple laptop.
iPad Pro Reviews
Happy iPad Pro day. I haven’t got one back yet, but based on early reviews, I most likely will. My two favorite reviews thus far are by Federico Viticci and John Gruber. I’m really pleased that Apple gave Federico a review unit. As an iPad power user, I was looking forward to seeing his opinions and glad we got it on day one.
Just Days Left for Mac Power Users T-Shirts
For the first time ever, there are Mac Power Users shirts for sale. The shirts are gorgeous and not only will they make you look smart, they’ll also make you more attractive. I can’t think of a better way to tell those around you how much you love them than giving a few of these shirts. Who doesn’t want to publicly declare they are a Mac Power User? There are five different styles to choose from but just a few days left before the sale closes. Head over and get yours now.
Apple TV Remote Tricks
Following up on yesterday’s post about Siri commands, here’s another full of Apple Remote tricks:
Home Button
That button in the upper right corner is a home button. Once you accept that, things get easier.
App Switcher
Double clicking the home button opens the App Switcher. This works just like on iOS. Swipe between them to switch apps without hitting the home screen. Swipe up to force quit an app.
Sleep Apple TV
Hold down the home button for a few seconds.
Return to Music App
If you are playing music in the background and want to return to the Apple Music app, hold down the play/pause button.
Scrubbing Video
Swipe right or left on the trackpad. You can also move forward or backward in 10 second increments by clicking on the right or left side of the trackpad. Hold down on the right or left side of the trackpad to scrub forward.
If you accidentally scrub (which happens often with he trackpad), click the “Menu” button to return to your original location.
Video Settings
Swipe down while watching a video for audio and closed captioning options.
Move and Delete Apps
Click and hold in the home screen to move an application with the trackpad. Click and hold even longer to delete an app.
Rebel Force Radio Appearance
This week I appeared on the most recent episode of Star Wars Rebel Force radio where we talked about the most recent episode of Star Wars Rebels. There’s a great disturbance in the force right now that results from a bunch of nerds’ giddiness at getting a new movie. I’m so in.
Siri Commands on Apple TV
We are about to release a new episode of Mac Power Users all about the new Apple TV. One thing I’ve noticed in my first week of usage is that I rarely use Siri. I’m just not used to talking to my TV. In order to fix this, I spent a few hours with the TV sorting out all the Siri commands. Here’s what I found:
To start out, remember to press and hold the Siri button when adding commands. If you just tap it, Siri isn’t listening.
Basic TV Commands
These are the ones everybody should know. After my experimentation, it is absolutely clear to me that you will get a movie started fast this way than drilling for it with the remote.
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“Find Henry Thomas Movies.”
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“Find a movie starring Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore”
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“Play ET”
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“Find the series finale for the Newhart Show.”
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“Play the Episode of the New Girl with Prince”
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“Play Alto’s Adventure”
Siri Search
If you’re in the mood for something, Siri can help you out.
- “Show me Spy movies”
After it shows you spy movies you can further narrow the list: - “Only Comedies”, “Only Dramas”, “Only from this year”.
You can also get more specific:
- “Show me James Bond movies”
- “Show me James Bond movies with Daniel Craig”
Siri Scrubbing
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“Move back two minutes” / “Jump back two minutes”
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“Play from beginning”
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“Fast Forward three minutes” / “Jump forward ten minutes”
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“What did he say?”
This one is much talked about and magical. It rewinds 15 seconds and turns on closed captioning for just that section and then turns it off.
Siri Movie Information
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“Who Directed this?”
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“Who Stars in this?”
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“What is this movie Rated?”
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“When was this movie released?” / “When did this movie come out?”
I tried a few more that didn’t work like “Who is that?” while a single actor was on the screen and “Who wrote the soundtrack for this?”. I’d love to see this expanded.
Siri Data
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“What’s the weather?”
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“Is it going to rain tomorrow?”
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“What’s the weather in Orlando?”
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“What’s the weather this week in Orlando?”
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“What time is sunrise tomorrow?
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“How’s Apple Stock doing?
I’d like to see data returns expanded. When I asked “How many days until Christmas?”, it returned “one month”, which is sort of right. When I asked “How many days until January 7”, I got the same answer. It also doesn’t give me contact data. When I asked “What is Katie Floyd’s Phone Number?”, it displayed a movie called “Phone Booth”. It also doesn’t do math, “What’s 17 plus 32?”. It also doesn’t access my calendar. Siri couldn’t answer when I asked “What are my appointments tomorrow?”. That seems like a no-brainer.
Siri Utilities
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“Turn on Closed Captioning.”
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“Turn on subtitles” / “Turn off subtitles
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“Reduce Loud Sounds”
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“Go to Movies.”
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“Go to Earthlapse”
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“Open Settings”
Siri Sports
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“Did the Saints win?
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“Who do the lakers play tomorrow?”
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“Who is the kicker for the Seahawks?”
My big take away is that using Siri with my TV is nearly always faster than using the remote. Put these to use. You won’t regret it.