Jazz Friday: Phil Woods at the Village Vanguard


Alto Saxophonist Phil Woods was an animal. I saw him for the first time in the late 70’s and it changed the way I thought about the saxophone forever. Phil played so fast and hard that it reminded me of a running out of control and always about to fall on my face. But Phil never fell down. 

Some called him the “New Bird” because of the way he played so intensely like Charlie Parker. (He also was married to Bird’s widow.) I always thought of him as the jazz-hippie because I was introduced to him during his long-hair phase. For awhile, Phil lived in France and recorded avant-garde jazz with a group called the European Rhythm Machine. (A nice example of this music is their song, Chromatic Banana.) By the 70’s, Phil moved back to the United States, returned to more straight ahead jazz, and got a haircut.

Phil also played sax for many popular artists including Billy Joel and Paul Simon. Whether playing upbeat or a ballad, Phil Woods always played intensely. My pick, his Live at the Village Vanguard is on iTunes and features him powering through Webb City and equally nailing a ballad as only Phil could in Prelude to a Kiss. Like a lot of jazz artists, the best Phil Woods recordings are those made before a live audience.

Phil passed away last week at the age of 83. The below video is of Phil playing in Lincoln Center a few years ago. Even in his 80’s Phil Woods still could swing his ass off.

My Home Screen: iOS 9 Edition

While I’m usually featuring someone else’s home screen, with the release of iOS 9 and a few other developments, I thought I’d share my own home screen today. So, here goes.


My home screen is always in motion. For example, the Notes app is currently in my dock because I’m still testing it as a potential full-time notes solution. Camera is likewise in the dock because the 3D touch buttons on the Photos application icon make keeping the app on my home screen suddenly relevant again. Audible is another example. I don’t usually keep it on the home screen but I’ve been listening to James Corey’s Expanse Series so I want quick access.

Drafts is still a thing for me. Even with iOS 9, I like the ability to start dictating text with one press. I also admire the way Drafts keeps evolving to take advantage of new iOS features. It’s now 3D touch-friendly.

Unread is under new management but still manages to hold onto the whimsey that makes it my RSS tool of choice.

About two months ago, I got tired of looking at Tweetbot on the iPad and switched over to the native Twitter app. About the time I started figuring out the official app, Tweetbot released its new version with much better iPad support and I went back without thinking twice.

1Password is another application that I like to keep on my home screen. I’ve got so much data in there and want easy access. Secure notes are a great feature in 1Password if you want to keep something important behind a separate security wall.

I haven’t decided if the App Store deserves to be on home screen but with all the post-iOS 9 app updates, it’s going to stay there for at least the next month.

The strangest development is that my home screen is now my only screen. Katie Floyd made the suggestion in a recent episode of Mac Power Users. She split all her additional apps into just 4 folders. I tried it and was skeptical at first but I think I’m sold. The folders are Productivity, Reference, Utility, and Fun, I’ve put the most frequently used apps in each category in that first page and I can now get to my favorite apps without swiping away from the home screen.

My wallpaper is another thing constantly in motion. The current one is a picture of a gray brick wall that I like (for now).

If I were in charge at Apple, I’d continue to give iOS more power-user features. I understand how they want to keep things simple but as iOS evolves, the operating system needs more power tools. 3D Touch is a great start. It’s easy to use and easily ignorable. More of that please.

Fantastical for iOS 2.5

This week the other penny dropped for Fantastical. On the heals of their Mac update comes Fantastical for iOS 2.5. There’s a long list of updates and new features including things like 3D Touch on the new iPhones and multitasking. 

For me, the big story here is the Apple Watch app. It’s always looked better than the native Calendar app but also been hampered by the fact it’s not a native application. It is now. The native app is much faster, now includes a Fantastical complication, and retains that clean Fantastical design. I’ve switched all my calendar complications over to the new Fantastical.

Apple Maps in 2015

Poor Apple Maps. It has been the whipping boy of the Internet for several years. Here is my favorite shot at Apple Maps from last season’s Silicon Valley.

For the first year after Apple Maps released, I kept Google maps on my home screen. However, after that Apple Maps improved enough to work for me. Moreover, the killer feature with Apple Maps is the Siri integration. I can be driving down the road, press the button for Siri and say “get directions home” or “get directions to Hippieland Granola Factory” and Siri does the rest of the work for me. It looks it up, opens the location in Apple Maps, and then initiates directions. This has saved my bacon plenty.

I still think this is a function of where you live. With me being in California, I suspect the Apple Maps problems got fixed a lot sooner than it would for someone who lives somewhere more remote. Nevertheless, if you gave up hope in Apple Maps, you should go look at it again. How-to Geek just did a comparison of the two services and found Apple and Google maps were a lot closer than they expected.

Self Driving Cars

Matt Honan, who’s at Buzzfeed these days, got to go for a ride in a Google car.

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“A future without human drivers is a long, long way off. But we’ll get there. No matter what you think. No matter what you hope. No matter how you feel about it. Because the efficient, unemotional, necessary logic of cars that operate without human error and instability is unquestionable.”

Matt further explains how the Google cars, now with a combined 3 million driving miles under their belts, are sharing the same brain and, in essence, learn from each other’s mistakes. While that sounds creepy, I am all for self-driving cars. In the past week alone, I’ve seen a driver do her makeup on the freeway and another driver shaving while blowing through an intersection. Setting aside the legions of bad drivers, wouldn’t it be nice if you could spend your commute time getting some work done or (even better) taking a nap? Once all this sorts out, sign me up.

(Thanks Daring Fireball for pointing me at the linked article.)

Home Screens: Brian Sutich


Brian Sutich (Twitter) is a huge Apple guy who writes over at TheAppFactor.com and Sutich.org. Brian’s a man of many hats as a dad, musician, and audio engineer. So Brian, show us your home screen.


My homescreen is a little crazy, but it has a method to its madness. I try to put my most used apps where I can reach them, and I use Spotlight search so much, that it almost doesn’t matter where the icons are at this point.

What are some of your favorite apps?

I’ve installed 1Password on every device I own, and that coupled with TextExpander are auto-installs I couldn’t live without because of how much time they save me.

Speaking of time-savers, Slack came out of nowhere and now I’m subscribed to multiple channels. I enjoy it a heck of a lot more than email, and I’ve met some great folks through using it. 

I left Spotify this year for Apple Music, and I haven’t had any of the problems yet (fingers crossed) that people have complained about. I love Apple Music because of their catalog, Beats 1, and the curation. I have big hopes for the app as it gets updated. 

For photography I use a combination of Obscura to take photos, and Pixelmator to edit them. Those apps are so powerful at this point, that they truly feel desktop-class. 

For journaling and trying to figure life out, I’m using Day One. I love the design on both iOS and OS X. I try to journal as much as possible and I’ve found it has had a huge positive impact on my life. 

I’m also using Paprika for collecting recipes I’m looking to try and cook. I haven’t burned anything yet!

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

It has to be a tie between Tweetbot and Overcast. I check Twitter more than I’d like to admit and Tweetbot has been my favorite client on iOS and OS X. I’m subscribed to tons of podcasts in Overcast (so I can listen to alllll the great shows), and some months I listen to more podcasts than I do music. I can’t wait for the update to Overcast, but I also have my eye on what’ll happen with the new version of Castro.

What app makes you most productive?

For getting stuff done, it’s a combination of Fantastical, Todoist and Due. Each app gives me something different for long term, medium, and short term tasks I have to get done. 

On the writing side, I’d say it’s a combination of Editorial, Blink, and Clips. All great apps that help me put together an article right on my iPhone.

Finally, Nike +, Pedometer ++ and Get Moving have all helped me in my quest to get in shape. I just finished my first 10K this month! 

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

Definitely Pythonista. I know it’s a powerhouse, and I’m trying to learn the language a bit every day. Slowly but surely I’m using it more and more. I need to read more Dr. Drang!

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

Quite a bit. I love my 128 GB iPhone, and I guess you could call me an app hoarder. At the time of this post, my installed app count was nearing 700 apps. I’m always looking to try something new to see what sticks.

What Today View widgets are you using and why?

I’m using a bunch. Some of my favorites are Launcher, which I use to launch directions to home, Shazam a song, open Apple Music and more. I also use Carrot Weather, which has a detailed and good looking forecast. I use Clips and Drafts to manipulate text. I use Shipments to track anything headed to my house, and I use Today Steps to see my step count info.


What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

My favorite feature is that it truly has become a mini computer that allows me to do just about anything. While the iPhone and iPad haven’t replaced my Mac yet, they’re not far off from being able to handle anything you throw at them.

What’s your wallpaper and why?

It’s an amazing Empire Strikes Back movie poster zoomed in. It combines both my love of Star Wars and the color orange. (Two gold stars to Brian! -David)

Anything else you’d like to share?

Apple devices have literally changed my life. It’s so great we can share what makes us productive and happy. Thanks so much for having me, it’s an honor!

Thanks Brian!

Carrot: Weather with Attitude

Growing up in southern California, I never thought much about weather. It’s always kind of nice and occasionally too hot but never too humid. But these days things are getting weird here and it has stopped raining. Not only do I care more about weather these days, I am carrying this underlying animosity towards it. 

With this in mind, I’ve found my perfect weather app, CARROT weather (iOS App Store) (Mac App Store). Carrot has timely and accurate weather data. It has more data than I certainly can use including things like humidity, pressure, dew point, and other things I don’t particularly care about (or even understand). It also has solid weather predictions including temperature, how cloudy it will be, and wind speeds. If you pay an extra $1.99, it will predict and tell you when it’s going to rain. (Snort.)

Best of all though is that the app has a sense of humor. It’s kind of malicious but since that matches my own attitudes toward weather, it’s perfect. When you open it up, it’s voice will say something snarky about the current weather.


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There is a lot more whimsy throughout Carrot weather. For instance, there is a circle, dubbed the “ocular sensor”, that serves no purpose. If you tap it, the application takes offense for you poking it in the eye and then says something appropriately rude to you.

The app also has weather for your current location or any other place you ask it to track weather. Some of the locations are pretty exotic, like Mount Doom and the Skywalker moisture farm. 

There are notifications, a today view widget, and all the other bells and whistles you’d expect. They have an app for iOS and also the Mac. While all this attitude is not necessary, I smile at least once a day when checking weather and in the middle of the California drought, that’s pretty special.

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A Few Notes about OS X El Capitan

It’s update day! Hooray! My usual sickness for installing beta operating systems long before any sane person would carried over to this year’s OS X update, 10.11 El Capitan. After several months, here is my collected list of notes, tips, and observations:

  • The new San Francisco font = win. I suspect this will be the Mac’s system font for a long time into the future.

  • Find friends in the today view sidebar is great. While working at my Mac I can get location data for my wife and kids immediately. I use it way more now that it is on my Mac than when this was an iOS-only thing.

  • Split view on the Mac is a great idea but the implementation feels wonky. Setting it up requires some precise clicking and dragging on the green minimize button. Swapping windows is harder than it should be. I like the idea but am not sold.

  • OS X Dictation got a performance bump. It is more accurate than the Yosemite version but also still makes some dumb mistakes and not as good as Dragon Dictate. (I’ll be writing more on that soon.)

  • That problem where some random-yet-unknown Safari tab is playing music is now solved. Safari puts a small speaker icon in the tab and never again will you be required to quit Safari because you can’t figure out which tab is playing the whack-a-mole song.

  • Swiping email to delete, trash, or archive is nice. It is not as useful as it is on iOS since we have keyboards on Macs but is a nice alternative. The only curious part is that aren’t as many swipe options on the Mac as there are on iOS, where you can also flag and move messages. It’s just weird that they didn’t didn’t include the same options.

  • Speaking of mail, data detectors are way better now. Apple Mail even gives you a little bar across the top of any message that includes usable data.

  • I’m going to write more about Notes but if you’ve been waiting, now is the time to push the button on updating your Notes database to the new Notes. Go ahead. Kick the tires.

  • Some of my nerd-friends aren’t impressed with the way Safari pins tabs. I like it. There are a few key sites that I like quick access to and pinning them does the job nicely.

  • Spotlight is getting Siri-like, by letting you type in natural language queries. (No Siri-type voice recognition this year.) Like all natural language interfaces, it works so long as you use the expected syntax. I like that the operating system is going this direction but consider it more a first step than anything else. Also, you can now move the Spotlight window.

  • There is system preference (in the General settings) to hide the menu bar. It may make sense if you’ve got a small screen. I tried it for a few days and it made me nuts. Apparently I still use the menu bar lots.

  • Metal means better graphics performance. While that is great for gamers, it also helps speed up slower Macs. Win-win. 

  • Two factor authentication is now part of the operating system. That’s a good thing.

  • Disk Utility got a new user interface. I never saw that coming.

  • One of my big complaints about Photos was the lack of third party extensions. That’s fixed now. Expect several Mac apps to get friendly with Photos now.

To learn more about El Capitan, we did an entire show on it with this week on the Mac Power Users.