Techtonic Podcast

This week I joined the gang at the TechTonic podcast to talk about Photos, the “digital hub”, and what to do when your friends ask you about Android.

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Pixelmator for iOS Arrives on iPhone


One of the reasons I’ve not got too bent out of shape about no localized editing on Photos for Mac is because for years now I’ve been doing all of my heavy-duty photo editing in Pixelmator for Mac. Last year Pixelmator arrived on the iPad and it’s great. In some ways it’s better than the Mac version. I especially like using the iPad version on my couch while fiddling with pictures. Also, iOS Photos does an even better job of integrating third party photo apps than its Mac counterpart does. 

Today Pixelmator released an iPhone version of Pixelmator. The new iOS version of Pixelmator takes advantage of Apple’s Metal technology to add new Distort tools. I’ve been using the beta and it was killing me not to include this in my Photos Video Field Guide. In addition to bringing a very robust set of photo editing tools, there are also filters accessible straight from Pixelmator in the Photos application.

Best of all, it’s universal. If you’ve already bought Pixelmator for your iPad, you’ll get it for free on your phone.

Have you noticed how many iOS iPad-only apps are going universal and finding their way to the iPhone? I think there are several reasons for this trend including the bigger iPhone screens, better processors, and better development tools. Pixelmator is great in my pocket. The below video provides an overview.

Apple Watch and Bold Text


A few weeks ago I guested on The Talk Show and John Gruber and I talked about everyone’s favorite new gadget. John made the comment that he turned on Bold Text in the Brightness and Text Size setting. This is a strange setting and requires you to reboot the watch to take effect. During the show, I went ahead and switched it on and have kept it that way since. I don’t have much to add to what John said during the show except an endorsement. With Bold Text turned on, complications are easier to read and look better and in most other views text is also easier to read but doesn’t usually look better. 

TextExpander for Mac Version 5

Today Smile Released TextExpander for Mac, Version 5. The new version has some great new features including the ability to recognize frequently typed phrases and offer to create new snippets for you, remind you when you type a phrase for which you already have a snippet, improvements to fill-in snippets, iCloud sync, and Java Script support. I did a whole series of videos on the new version and they came out great. There are 10 videos in total and they really give you the soup-to-nuts training in TextExpander. If you are already a pro, just watch the “What’s New” video below.

App Camp For Girls Funding Campaign and Matching Funds Offer


I am so proud of my friend Jean MacDonald (Twitter). She left her business and took an enormous risk to start App Camp for Girls. Jean is truly making a dent in the universe.

I am also particularly proud of the role Mac Power Users listeners and MacSparky readers have played thus far in App Camp for Girls’ success. Not only have you provided financial support, several of you have also donated your time and expertise. It actually makes my heart swell.

Today App Camp for Girls has started a new public funding campaign. The funding goal is $100,000. These funds will be used to bring the program to more girls and more locations. Just as important, success there will convince corporate sponsors that App Camp is for real and help win even more corporate sponsorships.

Matching Funds!

Katie and I feel strongly about this. So much so that we’ve agreed to personally match funds contributed to App Camp for Girls by Mac Power Users listeners up to the first $1,000. Nothing would make me happier than writing a big check. So why don’t you help me out with that?

To participate:

1. Donate to the App Camp Indiegogo campaign as you normally would, including choosing from one of the available perks.

2. Email a copy of your donation receipt (feel free to redact any personal information but leave the amount) to feedback@macpowerusers.com with the words “AppCamp 3.0” (no quotes) in the subject line.

3. Katie and I will jointly match MPU listener donations up to $1,000.


Jean MacDonald will be our guest on Mac Power Users in early June to give us an update on her progress and talk about how she used technology to get a non-profit up and running. I’m hopeful we’ll also be able to announce we’ve raised enough money to sponsor a Mac Power Users team at App Camp for Girls this summer.

Setting the OmniFocus Default Start Time

One nice benefit of no longer working for the man is that I have a lot more control over my schedule. It has been a surprise to me that I find myself often working late into the night. In my former life, I had always been an early riser but in this new iteration of me, it sometimes makes more sense to do my work later in the day.

One consequence of this is that every day at midnight my OmniFocus database fills up with tasks previously set for the next day. I don’t want to see all those tasks. If I’m looking at OmniFocus at midnight it’s because I’m still working on stuff from the prior day. Fortunately, OmniFocus has a setting for that on the Mac app in the preferences pane.


Interestingly, there is no similar setting on the iPhone and iPad but if you change a setting on the Mac, when you synchronize the database the iPhone and iPad will also start setting start times consistent with the new Mac default.

The Hockenberry Flip


Craig Hockenberry is the first person that I saw point out the ability to switch your Apple Watch to put the digital crown on the elbow side and he makes a pretty good case for it. Ergonomically, it’s definitely better. Also, with the digital crown on the hand side of the watch, I was occasionally activating Siri when I’d bend my wrist in too far and press on the crown. I’ve only been trying the Hockenberry flip for a day but I think I may just keep it like this.

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