Thoughts on Today's Apple Event

There have been a lot of hardworking journalists putting out a lot of great content about today’s Apple event. I'm in bed sick and instead wrote down some medicated thoughts and now I’ve decided to publish them here. What could go wrong?

  • Watching the China store opening I was struck by the question of how a company instills so much devotion and emotion in customers  over a new retail store opening. I think the answer is in delight.
  • Doesn’t HBO coming to Apple TV feel like the tiny hole in the dike that could pull the whole thing down?
  • I felt like the whole Apple TV bit was sort of a tease. Apple TV still needs an overhaul.
  • 700 Million iPhones. That’s 700,000,000.
  • At the next Apple event or earnings call, every time Tim says “customer sat”, I'm going to have a shot.
  • As technology becomes more ingrained in our every day life, using our iPhones for medical research makes so much sense. Also, open sourcing this is wonderful.
  • The new MacBook is very sexy. My current laptop is three years old. I'm currently in the reality distortion field so I’ll have to sit tight for a week or so.
  • The way Apple managed to customize the battery to fit every nook and crany of the MacBook is brilliant. It almost seems as if they poured the battery in.
  • One port. In the future we will look back on one port as a bold step (like USB in the iMac) or the 2015 equivalent of the round mouse. They didn’t mention that getting to VGA or HDMI requires a $79 adapter.
  • It’s pretty interesting that the new MacBook does not have build-to-order configurations. There are two configurations. Pick one.
  • I'm pretty curious about how hot the new fanless MacBook gets. I'm looking forward to the in-depth reviews.
  • I really like San Francisco, both as a city and as an Apple Watch font.
  • The Apple Watch’s friends list UI changed since the initial watch announcement. I'm not sure the tap targets in the old version were big enough or ever intended to ship.
  • Tim Cook was much less awkward with Christy Turlington than with Bono. I wonder if they practiced. That may also be because health and fitness are clearly some of Tim’s favorite subjects.
  • Remember how we all bemoaned Kevin Lynch and his Flash post? I'm eating crow today because I thought he did a great job demoing the Apple Watch in a usual day. That was the best Apple Watch demo yet.
  • I'm going to have so much fun screwing with my nerd friend’s watches and “Hey Siri”.
  • 18 hours of battery life is good enough if that holds true. This is another one I'm looking forward to seeing real world experiences but Apple has given more detail than I expected and it’s promising.
  • The 42mm Sport Watch plus the leather loop band will cost $550. The Stainless Steel version with the leather loop band is only $150 more. I didn’t expect them to be that close.
  • Did you notice how there was no slide with the number $10,000 on it?
  • Overall, Tim carried a lot more of the load in this presentation than he has in the past. He’s not Steve (who is?) but he also seems to have found his groove in front of an audience.
  • Wow. I can hardly wait for April.

 

Sponsor: OmniGraffle 2.1 for iOS is Now Universal →

This week MacSparky is sponsored by OmniGraffle 2.1, the newly released version of The Omni Group's diagramming, wire framing, draw-anything power tool. This version ups the game in a lot of ways:

1. Universal!

Did you buy one of those big new iPhones and now wish you could run OmniGraffle on your phone? Your wish has been granted. The application not only looks good on the iPhone, The Omni Group's designers figured out how to make it usable on the smaller screen as well.

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2. New Tools

There is a new set of tools for editing the points on a shape. You can drag existing points and add (or remove) points from an object. As a result it's easier than ever to take a pre-existing shape and bend it to your will. 

3. A Loupe

Touch the screen and your edit points magnify. This innovation makes it a lot easier to do detailed work on an iPhone and iPad screen.

4. Fill Effects and Filters

You know all those great new filters and fill effects on the Mac version of OmniGraffle? They are also now on iOS.

There's a lot more so head over to The Omni Group and check it out for yourself. Thanks to OmniGraffle, you can do advanced diagramming and graphics work on the iPad and iPhone.

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Apple Watch Anticipation

Tomorrow Apple is having their "Spring Forward" event to discuss further plans about the Apple Watch and, hopefully, a few other new and shiny things. There's been a lot of speculation lately about pricing. I'm sure looking forward to that being over. How much they may charge for that gold watch is purely academic for me and probably 99% of everyone else reading this. Unless the stainless steel model is remarkably close to the aluminum model (which doesn't make much sense), I will be purchasing an aluminum Apple Watch. I know myself well enough to know that when the tech gets better in a year or two, I'll buy a new one.

All that being said, I sure am looking forward to getting one of these things. Lately I've found myself spending time at the Apple Watch website and re-watching the original videos when it was unveiled. I've also been wearing my Pebble watch again since last October and find that the ability to get notifications on my wrist with my phone in my pocket is really convenient. It will be even better with the Apple Watch that has much deeper ties into the operating system than Apple would ever permit Pebble.

While I am pretty stingy about which notifications I let through on my phone, those that do come through are absolutely essential. For example, I set notifications for nearly all of my appointments. If I don't have my phone reminding me, there's a good chance I will miss it. Because I often stack meetings together, this requires me to take my phone out of my pocket while I'm in a meeting when it inevitably goes off to tell me I have to get to the next meeting. Doing this by just glancing at my watch makes a lot more sense and is a lot less intrusive.

Likewise, I ultimately gave up on the iPhone 6 Plus earlier this year when I was in an elevator and got a message that I could not read because I couldn't unlock my phone with just one hand without risking dropping it. That problem completely goes away with an Apple Watch.

Also, Apple Pay without taking the phone out of my pocket seems like a pretty good idea. While I wish more vendors supported Apple Pay, I find myself gravitating to those that do and use it several times a week.

There are a lot more good reasons to use an Apple Watch including the ability to track fitness, communicate easier, and (hopefully) turn on the lights in your house once HomeKit gets sorted out.

Because I'm an iNerd, there's no way I can avoid buying one of these things. I will also be watching the event tomorrow and look forward to learning more. While Apple has been teasing the Apple Watch so far, I suspect after tomorrow's announcement, the media blitz will really begin.

Jazz Friday - Tivoli

Dexter Gordon is most famous for the way he plays his tenor saxophone. He was also quite accomplished, however on the soprano saxophone. In 1986, Dexter starred in a movie about an aging jazz musician in Paris in the 50s. The movie was called 'Round Midnight and did very well. Dexter received an Academy award nomination for his role. (It was also what my wife and I watched on our first date.)

There was so much great music in this movie that they made two soundtracks. My favorite is the second, The Other Side Of 'Round Midnight.

I used to have a jazz playlist that I often used whenever I was playing with my girls when they were little. I have a vivid memory of playing with my oldest daughter on a windy day with this song playing in the backyard. As a result, I smile every time the song comes on my playlist.

Setting aside my own sentimentality, Tivoli is a sort-of rolling waltz with Dexter Gorden pushing through the melody on his soprano sax and getting the solo just right. Cedar Walton on piano plays a brilliant counter point to the melody and Mads Vinding on bass does this trick as the song gets rolling where he holds the tempo back just ever so slightly, like reigning in a comfortable horse on a country stroll. Tivoli is a really great song and a nice start to your weekend. You can get it on iTunes here.

Home Screen: Kevin Wild

This week’s home screen post features Kevin Wild (Twitter)(website). Kevin writes about technology at the Hungry and the Foolish. Kevin was nice enough to share his home screen. So Kevin, show us your home screen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

It’s hard to narrow it down! 

I love Day One for keeping my journal. VSCOcam is the best camera app I’ve found. I’ve downloaded virtually every podcast app available, but nothing beats the thoughtful UI of Overcast. Reeder stores all my RSS feeds and lets me keep up with our ever-changing world. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to be more organized; Scanbot lets me turn all of those pesky paper receipts into a digital library. Slack is quickly becoming invaluable for keeping up with my work colleagues.

Oh yeah, I can’t forget Tweetbot!

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

I’d have to say it’s Plex. I have my entire media library stored on an external HDD which runs the Plex software. I love being able to access it remotely when I have some downtime. It’s almost like Netflix, but with better content.

Also, Catan.

What is the app you are still missing?

I’m writing my book, Turnover, in Ulysses and would love to edit it using an iPhone app. I noticed they recently announced an iPad app, so hopefully an iPhone version is on the way.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone?

I have purposely avoided keeping track, but I’d have to say I use it more than I should. iPhone separation anxiety is a real. One thing I’ve done recently to reduce my iPhone usage is deactivate all my push notifications (save for the Messages and Phone app). It’s helped me reduce distractions and stay focused on the task at hand.

What Today View widgets are you using and why?

I don’t use the app itself, but I love the Fantastical widget and how it lets me quickly check into my schedule for the day. Yahoo! Sports is key for keeping up with my favorite teams. I also love the Clear widget although (ironically) I don’t use the app itself either. I simply enjoy the random quotes it pulls up every time I check Notification Center.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone?

The camera by far. I purchased a DLSR a while back, but still end up using my iPhone as my main camera. It’s hard to beat the combination of quality, ease of use and portability. Add in a amazing app like VSCOcam and I can’t think of a better all-around camera to have in your hand.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I’d improve the App Store by offering a better search function, free trials of paid apps, and optional paid updates.

What’s your wallpaper and why?

I know it’s dull, but I prefer to have simple pattern-based wallpapers for my home screen. I’m obsessed over how my wallpaper contrasts the app icons. 

On my lock screen, where there are no app icons to contrast, I have a picture of my wife from our honeymoon in California.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’d love to connect with anyone interested in discussing Apple or technology in general. You can keep up with me on The Hungry and Foolish (my blog) and contact me on Twitter (@Kevuhnn).

Thanks Kevin.

Initial Thoughts on Microsoft Word 2016

Today Microsoft released a preview of the new 2016 Office for Mac update. I think complaining about the menus in office and the massive number of features is pointless. Office exists to satisfy IT checklists and every obscure feature has its group of advocates out there … somewhere. Put simply, Microsoft Word is going to be big and ponderous just like the scorpion will always sting the frog. Nevertheless, I spend time in an industry where Word is used often and I, necessarily, must get over it. While I don't like big and ponderous, I'd be able to deal with it, if Word were otherwise stable and stopped messing with my head.

I can't help but feel Office for Mac and I have been in a dysfunctional relationship for several years. When Apple switched over to Intel, Office would toy with me. I'd type a letter and then Word would think about it just for a moment before deciding to put that letter on the screen. In the years that followed, new iterations would get released that would find new and interesting ways to toy with me. The 2011 version, for example, insists on rendering worse on retina screens than virtually any $1 utility app currently available in the Mac App Store.

So when I read about the beta today (which you can download right here), I decided to try it out. I even wrote a rather detailed contract in the new version. My initial impression is that Word is still big and ponderous. However, I also didn't find any terrible lag, poor rendering, or any of the other sins we've seen in prior versions. The new version is based on Cocoa, where all prior versions were based on the aged Carbon.

Granted I'm only a few hours in but I already like this new version better. My initial impression is that Microsoft has pulled Word forward quite a bit with this new release. I'd love for Word to be more stable so I can get back to my old hobby of just complaining about its feature bloat. 

The Safe Mac

Recently, I've seen an increasing number of emails from readers and listeners that stumbled into Adware on their Macs. Interestingly, the bad guys are not just distributing these things through bit torrent and porn sites (as they used to) but instead they are infecting users with "helpful" utilities. Usually it involves a user hitting a website with a pop up that explains it just scanned their system (it didn't) and there are big problems (there aren't) and offers to speed up their Macs with some utility or cleaning application they'll conveniently install with one click. The user clicks, enters their system password, and they are hosed. 

The problem I had was that I didn't have a good recommendation about where to go when you or a friend stumbles into this bramble bush. I do now. TheSafeMac.com is a website published by Thomas Reed, who is on the side of angels. The site posts news on recent adware outbreaks on the Mac and even has a tool, Adware Medic, to de-cruft an infected Mac. I recommend bookmarking both of these links. I expect at some point in the future you or a friend are going to need Adware Medic. Also, if you do use it, throw a few bucks Thomas's way. He is distributing this tool gratis.

New MacSparky Video Field Guide: Workflow →

I've been spending a lot of time with the Workflow app (website) (App Store) as of late. Workflow is one of the most powerful apps available for the iPhone and iPad. Using Workflow, you can combine functions from different applications to make things happen on your iPhone and iPad wicked fast. Because it's so flexible, Workflow is difficult to get started with. That's where this new video field guide comes in.

The Workflow Video Field Guide starts with a few, easy workflows and builds upon them over the course of an hour to turn you into a Workflow pro. By the time you get to the end, you'll be able to roll your own workflows and change the way you work on your iPhone and iPad. 

Some of the workflows in the video include:

  • Build your own animated GIF and share it.
  • Automate notifications to family and friends when you're running late.
  • Send a message to your family so they know when to expect you home.
  • Get a Google Street View picture of the address of your next appointment.
  • Have your phone automatically give you the travel time and directions to your next appointment.
  • Share your location with friends and family with one tap.
  • Easily send screenshots to your Mac via AirDrop.
  • Automatically send photos from your phone to your Mac.
  • Have your iPhone show the location of your photos on a map.
  • Upload images to Dropbox.
  • Convert images to different file formats automatically.
  • Resize and send photos.
  • Blast photos out to multiple sharing services with one workflow.
  • Share your most played music.
  • Get walking directions to the nearest coffee or tea shop.
  • Have your iPhone or iPad look at your calendar for a given day and prepare a message displaying your availability.
  • Create custom iOS extensions
  • Save documents, websites, and other data directly to PDF
  • Create a custom workflow to take a picture of a receipt, give it a custom name, and save it to Dropbox.
  • Build your own tip calculator app. (Yup. Tip calculator.)
  • Set up a workflow to check your battery level, adjust your screen brightness, and send you a message.

Workflow has over 200 available actions that you can mix and match to make your iPhone and iPad dance for you. Don't you want to see that? This screencast is fully bookmarked, an hour long, and engineered to make you a Workflow master. You can download it for $9.99.

Did you say you'd like to see a sample? Then here you go.

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Sponsor: SaneBox →

I'm pleased to welcome back SaneBox as this week's MacSparky.com sponsor. I've been using SaneBox for over a year now and it still saves my bacon every day. There are so many great benefits to SaneBox. First and foremost is filtering. SaneBox looks at all of my incoming email and filters it for me to appropriate mailboxes. That way, the first thing in the morning I see are only those emails that are most important.

Another feature I use every day is the clever way I can defer email with SaneBox. I can put mail into a defer mailbox for hours, days, or even weeks and put it out of my time until I see it again. This is another game changer. 

SaneBox can do even more with its Black Hole service that makes unwanted email go away, forever. There is also an ingenious reminder system where you can blind copy an email to 1week@sanebox.com and the service will remind you if you don't get a response to the email within one week.

There is a lot more to SaneBox. If you get a lot of email, the service can really help. You can learn more at SaneBox.com. Note the links in this post will get you $5 off your subscription.

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Home Screens: Sam Montooth

This week’s home screen features Sam Montooth (website)(Twitter) In addition to being an extraordinarily talented bassist and photographer, Sam has, quite possibly, the coolest picture in the history of the home screen posts. I got to spend some time with Sam this year at NAMM and you should definitely check out Sam’s music and photography. So Sam, show us your home screen.

What are some of favorite apps?

I really like Downcast, Camera+, iReal Pro, Google Maps, Tweetbot, Instagram.

Downcast I use on a daily, almost hourly basis. I’ve tried all of the other podcatchers out there and it holds up and works perfectly for me. 

I use Camera+ in conjunction with Instagram. If there’s something I’ve taken a shot of quickly with the Camera app that I need to fix and share, then I edit in Camera+ and share via Instagram. 

Tweetbot is the only way to use Twitter. Like Downcast, I’ve tried all of the Twitter clients for iOS and I’ve spent a lot of money looking for some new way to manage my Twitter life, but I always come back to Tweetbot, it’s just great!

Being a musician, iReal Pro is invaluable. It’s a chord sheet manager. Fully editable and you can use it as a practice tool as well. For those familiar with the term Music Minus One, it is exactly capable of that, except you can change keys, tempos, styles, etc. I mostly use it on my iPad, but the iPhone version is just as good (but small).

Google Maps is important for my work as well. Getting to gigs on time is what your reputation is built on and Google Maps makes that happen.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Touch of Modern. I’ve bought so much there it’s embarrassing.

What app makes you most productive?

I haven’t found an app that’s made me more productive yet, but I am trying out the revamped Coach.me an so far I like it.

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

Triage. It’s great! I just don’t use it enough as you can see by my Inbox count. (sorry inbox zero people, I don’t want to give you a panic attack.)

What is the app you are still missing?

The original Siri app was great and I was using it to it’s full potential. Still not the same since Apple bought it.

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

More than I can count. More than I should. But, in my defense, many of my friends are not local and are in other countries, so the only way to chat with them is via chat clients, twitter, etc.

What Today View widgets are you using and why?

I don’t use any of them. I barely check the notification screen as I’ve disabled almost all notifications because my phone has to be silent about 90% of the time. (including no vibration)

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

The Camera hands down. Being able to take a decent shot nearly instantaneously of my daughter is the killer feature for the iPhone. The fact that I can get a decent quality shot so quickly is still amazing to me on a phone.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I would first license (not buy and absorb) Dropbox and make it a part of iCloud so it would actually work correctly. Apple’s ecosystem is great, but it shouldn’t be an all or nothing proposition. They should allow their iCloud integration to natively live on other devices because sometimes people have to have Windows in certain situations and why be locked out of your stuff for that? I would also start production on a Mac Pro mini tower. 

Somewhere between the old Mac Pro and the current design that would allow for an internal RAID. Lastly, I would fund the Pro app development to continue to have actual Pro apps and allow them to be developed. My biggest disappointment was the news of Aperture being let go. The PR says it’s because Photos is enough, and it may well be, but they killed Aperture over a year ago and just didn’t let us know. The Pro user is still important to Apple and if I was in charge I would establish an entire department just for Pro development, consultation, and service.

What’s your wallpaper and why?

My current wallpaper is a Stop sign from Seal Beach, CA. I took the photo with my DSLR and imported it specifically for my iPhone and iPad. It’s significant to me as I was there at the beach making a big decision for my life and I saw this sign and it simplified everything I was trying to resolve within myself. So, every time I notice that image behind my icons, I’m reminded of all the things that led up to that decision. It’s an empowering image to me and it’s great to be reminded daily of my resolve.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I have the Star Trek Communicator app in my dock on my phone because I’m a huge Star Trek fan, and I love using it to call people. It would be great if Apple would allow skins to be installed over the Phone app natively so I could actually use that app the whole way through a phone call. It’s a fun app with great sound clips from the original series.

Also, I have to mention that on my iPad, I’m a huge user of the Unrealbook app. It’s a PDF aggregator for musicians and it allows me to carry 20 fake books in my bag and has allowed me to save my back. :)

Thanks Sam.

Apple Pay is Gaining Altitude

Chase Bank today announced over 1 million customers have provisioned their credit and debit cards using Apple pay (via AppleInsider). Even though Apple Pay is gaining altitude slowly, it is gaining altitude. I know from my own experiences with Apple Pay that it is my preferred method for purchasing anything and that is not just because I’m an Apple geek.

Of all the credit cards and electronic payment forms I’ve used over the years, Apple Pay is the fastest and, since it generates a new number for every transaction, the safest method I’ve ever used. In 2014, my credit card was replaced three times due to fraud.

I fully expect more banks to join in. (My local credit union even now supports Apple Pay.) Moreover, I expect even more retail establishments to install NFC machines making Apple Pay more useful as we go about our days. Now add to that the fact that all future Apple mobile devices will support Apple Pay and you can see where this is going.

This will all take some time but I suspect in a few years we are going to look back at the introduction of Apple Pay in 2014 as a much bigger deal than we realized it was at the time.

Upgradeable Apple Watch

Serenity Caldwell writes for iMore about what happens in year 2 of the 18K gold Apple Watch Edition that a lot of smart people think will sell for something north of $10,000. Specifically, if you had a tech gadget that is a year or two (or three) old but made of gold would you be happy or would you drop another great big pile of money to get the latest and greatest version in gold. 

Serenity's post contemplates a replaceable core, which could work but seems so unlike Apple in 2015 that I find it hard to believe. If I had to bet a nickel, I'd say that they'll have a trade in program. The gold in those watches is valuable and Apple could give you a significant discount when upgrading. Also, I'm sure there will be a thriving third party market for those gold edition watches even when they are a year or two old.

Either way, Apple really doesn't have to answer this question until 2016 when they will presumably release the generation 2 Apple Watch.

Sponsor: PopClip for Mac →

This week I'm pleased to welcome a new sponsor to MacSparky.com, PopClip. Do you know how when you select text on your iPhone or iPad that handy little menu pops up to let you perform actions on that text? PopClip brings this to the Mac, only better.

Not only can you use the the built-in PopClip tools, there is an extension system and lots of smart people have built clever little extensions I use every day. For example, using PopClip I can select a phone number on screen and display it in large type or, better yet, dial it for my iPhone. I also use extensions to convert text to all caps and paste and match style in Pages. PopClip also gives me a word count for selected text, searches Google, Wikipedia (and more). Go check out this list of extensions and you'll realize how this app can help you out with your own workflows. One of my favorite extensions takes selected text and turns it into a TextExpander snippet.

There is a free trial so go check it out now. PopClip is one of my favorite utilities and, after trying it, I bet it will be one of your favorites too. 

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