MacSparky

Rosemary and I tackle health tracking and how we can automate it to get all of the plusses with as few negatives as possible. From "smartifying" health devices, to building habits and accountability, it's all covered on today’s episode of Automators. This…

One of my personal goals this year is to get back into the habit of sharing some jazz nuggets around here on Fridays. My pick this time is a recent album by the YAYenning Quartet called Scott Ave. This album gives a contemporary twist to traditional west coast…

Katrina Onstad for the Guardian thinks maybe you shouldn’t have any.

I’ve done several posts here the last few weeks about the decade transition and Apple. I thought I had nothing further to share on that front and then Jason Snell posted an article putting the past decade of Apple performance in charts. This is definitely…

This week MacSparky has a new sponsor, Jamf Now. Managing your Apple hardware should not be something you need to spend a lot of time on and no longer demands a full, dedicated team. Jamf Now democratizes the process of Apple device management.With Jamf Now…

The more you use Shortcuts, the more you the lack of shortcut organization smacks you in the face. Adam Tow, of Tow.com, has been an active Shortcuts user and community contributor for some time. He decided to take this problem on and has done so with the…

Apple has landed in the soup again with the U.S. Justice Department over its inability (or refusal?) to give access to the Pensacola shooter’s phone. This is a similar issue to that faced with the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone a few years ago. Apple…

Mark Hackett runs the small non-profit Operation Broken Silence in Sudan. Join us for the latest episode of Mac Power Users to hear David and some other Hackett guy talk about data management so far from home, the power of Apple's apps like Pages, and his…

It’s funny how everyone keeps thinking about the technology industry in terms of cars. Steve Jobs talked a lot about cars and trucks. Just this week, Ben Thompson wrote about the technology industry in general and his theory that it is similar to the…

New year, new episode. Mike and I aren’t fans of New Year's resolutions, but we are fans of creating new habits.This episode of Focused is sponsored by:Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when…

Benjamin Mayo did a fantastic job at 9to5 Mac of summarizing Apple’s run in the 2010s. Because Apple is such an iterative company, it is easy to forget how far they can move in 10 years.

Time is your most precious resource. You need to know how you are spending it.But time tracking is no fun, especially when you forget to start or stop a timer.What's more, having to worry about starting timers all the time makes you lose focus quickly.…

The idea of developing ideas over time (I call it “cooking ideas”) is a frequent topic on my podcasts. Recently Brett Terpstra explained how he uses mind maps for much of the same process and how mind maps help him cope with ADHD when it comes to planning.…

The iPhone has become the primary device for many different types of tasks for a lot of people. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I look at the current state of the hardware, software, and services that make up Apple's most popular product.…

Brydge has announced a new iPad keyboard. This one combines their excellent build quality with a built-in trackpad. I love that Brydge has embraced the “keyboards for pro users” market and I hope other manufacturers are paying attention. Combining an iPad…

Tim Stringer is nerdy in all the best possible ways and uses automation to run his Mac and iOS devices. He’s also gone far down the rabbit hole of web-based automation. Today he shares some of his favorite automation tips and tricks with us on Automators,…

PowerPhotos is sponsoring MacSparky.com this week and this is the perfect time to pick it up and start cleaning up your Apple Photos library. I use Apple Photos for all of my photo management but there are certain features that are just too close to the…

I spent a good chunk of New Year’s Day looking back at 2019 and what went right (and wrong) for me in the critical areas of my life. For me, that includes how I did with my family and friends, the various elements of MacSparky, the legal practice, and taking…

This is a pretty great week for podcast kudos. In addition to 9to5 Mac making MPU a best of the decade pick for the 2010s, the Upgrade podcast named Automators as “Best Tech Podcast” for 2019. I spend a remarkable amount of my time on those podcasts and a…

Today I was reading Stephen Hackett’s post naming the MacBook Air as the “Mac of the Decade” (I agree!), and it got me thinking about what I would consider the Apple Device of the Decade for the 2010s. The answer, to me at least, is the iPad.While there…