MacSparky

I had an interesting issue with my Monterey Mac. Since I bought my fancy new EERO routers, I’ve been dripping in Internet. But suddenly the party was over. My connection was noticeably slow and laggy. After a bit of troubleshooting, I discovered Private…

Yesterday Apple also announced the release of the new magic keyboards (with or without a keypad), mouse, and trackpad for Apple Silicon Macs. These are the silver versions (no other colors!). When paired with an Apple Silicon Mac, you can get Touch ID on your…

We're all a lot less objective than we give ourselves credit for. Join Mike and me on the latest episode of Focused as we attempt to figure out why by considering limiting beliefs, learning loops, and the slippery slope of self-sealing logic.This episode…

Yesterday Apple released some new gear for the Intel Mac Pro. I've been telling anyone that will listen to only buy Apple Silicon Macs going forward, but the Mac Pro does remain the easiest exception to the rule. There are folks making motion pictures that…

Dr. Drang returns on this episode of Mac Power Users to discuss his recent Mac renaissance, the way he manages notes, and some of his favorite utilities. This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and…

On the latest Automators, Rosemary and I are joined by Zachary Lineman, the creator of JellyCuts, a text IDE for Shortcuts.This episode of Automators is sponsored by:HPE Tech Talk: HPE news, tech insights and world-class innovations. Listen now.Audible:…

It’s a sad commentary on my AppleScripting lately that I just realized ScriptDebugger released version 8 several months ago. Script Debugger is the AppleScript tool that Apple should have released. It’s been in development for 26 years, and it continues…

If you’re a smallish business (up to 100 people), operating in a macOS or iOS environment, there’s a less-clunky, native Mac option that will certainly "check" all the usual CRM boxes while providing those uniquely intuitive and stress-relieving features…

Yesterday Apple announced its Q3 earnings. There is no surprise that the company continues to seemingly print money with $81 Billion (with a B) in revenue. The iPhone now represents 49% of Apple's revenue compared to the Mac at 10% and the iPad at 9%. (As…

For some time now, I've felt that MacSparky.com was getting too noisy. When I first did my prior design, I didn't have Learn.MacSparky and I only published one podcast. I've expanded since then, and the website just kept getting bits bolted on willy-nilly, and…

I've been using a few different apps over the years to apply Amazon affiliate codes to products I link here and sometimes on the podcasts. The thing about those apps, however, particularly the Mac apps, is that they are all different flavors of horrible.So a…

Our homes and businesses have become more technology-dependent, and having a solid network is more important than ever. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I talk about what goes into designing and maintaining reliable wired and wireless networks,…

Graphic artist Reagan Ray isolated Jazz artists' names from their album covers and laid them all out next to each other. It's remarkable how much the typography is reflective of the artist. John Coltrane's improvisational style can seem a bit frantic but…

One of my big takeaways from Cal Newport's book Deep Work was the concept of tracking time blocks. I've written (and talked) a lot about how to use hyper-scheduling to get your most crucial work moving forward.It's pretty easy to visualize how hyper-scheduling…

I've had several emails from readers and listeners asking this question. If you are planning on upgrading your Mac in a few years, the answer to this is obvious. Indeed, in a few years, I think you will be hard-pressed to find Apple selling an Intel Mac. But…

With the release of the third Monterey beta, Apple added an accessibility setting that lets you bring back the Proxy icon, which they removed in Big Sur. (John Gruber writes about this in more detail.)…

We live in the 21st century. There are some really great tools at our disposal, so let’s use them. I put SaneBox’s robots in that category. SaneBox is this week’s MacSparky sponsor, and their email robots will filter unimportant email out of your Inbox,…

At what point does your quest for productivity and efficiency become toxic? It's a good question and an easy trap. Mike and I share a few ideas on this episode of Focused.This episode of Focused is sponsored by:Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your…

The delta variant aside, things have started getting back to normal in my little bubble of the universe. I caught myself saying the words "back to normal" a few days ago, and as the words came tumbling out of my mouth, I already knew that wasn't the case.The…

Just one more car-related post this week …Tesla, which used to charge a one-time fee of $10,000 to make your car self-driving now offers a subscription service of $199 per month. I'm not ready for software to drive my car, and my Ford remains very much a…