(Podcast) Clockwise 580: Losing the Competition for Birds

How we read (with or without tech), our favorite pet tech, whether we’d get a HomePod with a screen, and the small cute tech we like.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

2024 Kindle Colorsoft and Paperwhite Review: No perfect choices

The Kindle Paperwhite (left) and Colorsoft (right). The world of ebook readers is in a weird place, but when hasn’t it been? E-readers have always been a strange product niche, not just since that oddball first-generation Kindle, but since our first attempts to make computerized … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 521: The System Does Not Work

Stay for the thrilling conclusion to Lex’s refund odyssey.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Quick Tip: One-touch Screen Sharing

One of the most-used buttons on my Stream Deck is a one-touch connection to the Mac mini server sitting in a closet in my house. I’m frequently popping in to manage files on my RAID, or reconfigure a script that’s fed by my weather station, all sorts of odd jobs.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Report: Apple might ship ‘Home Hub’ in early 2025 ↦

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has been reporting for some time that Apple is planning a “smart display” to be used in the home, but Tuesday he reported a remarkable level of detail: The product has a touch interface that looks like a blend of the Apple Watch operating system and the iP … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock: incredibly private and secure Safari web browsing

Magic Lasso Adblock: incredibly private and secure Safari web browsing Online privacy isn’t just something you should be hoping for – it’s something you should expect.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 537: Square Minus One

Jason’s gotten his hands on the M4 MacBook Pros, the M4 iMac, and a visionOS widescreen Mac display. (And we’re both considering Mac mini purchases.) Plus: Apple’s issues with new products, and the threat of huge EU fines.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) 1Password

My thanks to 1Password for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Imagine if you went to the movies and they charged $8000 for popcorn. This is something like what IT and security professionals feel when a software vendor hits them with an outrageous premium for Single Sign-On (SSO), o … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Review: Belkin Travel Bag and Head Strap for Vision Pro

Ready to go, a more respectable Vision Pro travel case. Belkin has just released two new Vision Pro accessories—a $50 add-on Head Strap that supplement Apple’s Solo Knit Band, and a $100 Travel Bag.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

M4/M4 Pro MacBook Pro review: Brighter, clearer, faster

The latest update to the MacBook Pro is not a radically different laptop than what has come before. Since the product was redesigned in 2021, subsequent updates have been largely the same, at least on the outside.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

M4 Mac mini Review: Phenomenal cosmic power, itty-bitty form factor

Meet the new Mac mini—for the first time in the last fourteen years, not the same as the old Mac mini. The latest iteration of Apple’s most diminutive Mac really earns that superlative in its newest incarnation, only the third in its history.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

M4 iMac Review: Gloriously niche

The iMac, redesigned for Apple silicon in 2021, is a gorgeous reinvention of Apple’s venerable all-in-one. It’s colorful (if you want it to be), powerful (enough), and designed to show itself off at home and in public spaces.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 520: The Tim Cookiness of It

Apple’s AI ads rub us the wrong way.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 579: Live Activities for Bean Sprouts

Our default apps on iOS, how we feel about Genmoji, our favorite end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms, and whether we use Live Activities for news and sports.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

iPads being used on college football sidelines ↦

You may remember Aaron Rodgers throwing a Surface on an NFL sideline, but this year football teams in three college conferences are using iPads, as detailed in this feature from Apple Newsroom: “Having iPad on the sidelines makes coaching way more effective in-game,” says Mike Sa … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 536: The Sleeping Lifestyle

Scoring our very weird draft, The new Mac mini and MacBook Pro announcements, Apple’s latest financial results, our reactions to Image Playground and Genmoji betas, and pondering the actual job of a CEO.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) You want to charge how much for SSO???

Imagine if you went to the movies and they charged $8000 for popcorn. Or, imagine you got on a plane and they told you that seatbelts were only available in first class.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Downstream 81: Reba Reboot

Holiday specials and streaming rights; the questionable future of linear cable channels; Bob Iger’s Endgame gets interesting; Sports Corner with Rob Manfred, Jason Kelce, and Charles Barkley; Behold, the power of CBS; and some TV shows you should watch.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) 1Password

My thanks to 1Password for sponsoring Six Colors this week. The folks at 1Password recently attended the RSA conference in San Francisco and were struck by how infatuated everyone was with the promise of new, shiny solutions to fix new, shiny problems.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple buys Pixelmator ↦

Pixelmator Team, announcing a shocker: Pixelmator has signed an agreement to be acquired by Apple, subject to regulatory approval. There will be no material changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps at this time. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple sinks $1.1 billion into Globalstar’s satellite network, takes ownership stake

If you had any idea that satellite connectivity isn’t a key part of Apple’s strategy, well, the company’s satellite partner Globalstar has disclosed changes to its deal with Apple, including a new influx of $1.1 billion from Apple tied to capital improvements, and $400 million in … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

This is Tim: Apple’s Q4 results phone call, transcribed

Every quarter after releasing financial results, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri hop on a conference call with analysts to detail the quarter gone by, give a peek at what’s to come, and dodge—er, I mean answer—questions from analysts.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple’s Q424 results: $95B revenue–with a twist

Apple reported its financial results on Thursday for its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended on September 28. Revenue was $94.9 billion, up six percent versus the year-ago quarter and an all-time fourth quarter record.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Taking the AirPods Pro hearing test

The hearing test first checks your fit and environmental noise (left). During the test, you tap the screen when you hear a tone, as the screen image throbs (center). … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 578: Sadly, No Taste for Blood

Our use of tech in Halloween celebrations; the smallest tech we regularly use and the small gadget that wowed us; which Apple Intelligence features we’re using and looking forward to next; and the one item we’d give up this week, tech or non-tech.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 519: Maybe: Kamala Harris

Where would you put a charging port?… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

16GB for everyone: MacBook Air joins the RAM upgrade party

This guy gets more RAM now. This week, all of Apple’s Mac announcements have featured one trend beyond the arrival of the M4 processor family on macOS: The lifting of base RAM configurations from 8GB to 16GB across the board on new models.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple introduces new MacBook Pros with M4 chips, brighter screen

Apple’s week of Mac reveals rolls on with Wednesday’s announcement of the M4 MacBook Pro line. In some ways this is the smallest update of the week, but I’d wager that Apple sells far more MacBook Pros than iMacs and Mac minis put together.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Why Alexa hasn’t yet become the real computer of the future ↦

Great piece by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy at The Verge about the evolution of the Amazon Echo and how an exciting project turns into a boring one: Alexa is still mainly doing what it’s always done: playing music, reporting the weather, and setting timers. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

The M4 Mac mini: Tricks and treats

Just in time for Halloween, Apple has delivered a new version of its smallest Mac, which you could probably even fit into one of those plastic pumpkins.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

New Mac mini shrinks down, gains M4 and M4 Pro chips

Apple’s big week, featuring a new iMac and the launch of Apple Intelligence, just got smaller. A lot smaller. Just in time for Halloween, it’s a Fun Size Mac mini.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 535: Little Spicy Peppers

We kick off a busy week by analyzing the new M4 iMac, the arrival of two different waves of Apple Intelligence, and Jason’s review of the iPad mini, but we’ll have to wait a week to score our draft because there’s more yet to come!… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) The infinite loop of security

I recently attended the RSA conference in San Francisco–security’s biggest event of the year– and I was struck by how infatuated everyone was with the promise of new, shiny solutions to fix new, shiny problems.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple Intelligence .1 Review: A small start of something big?

With the release of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, Apple is hopping aboard the generative AI train. Apple Intelligence is a suite of disparate features, first announced earlier this year at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, that the company is gradual … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple introduces M4 iMac with revamped colors, nano-texture display option

Begun, the week of Mac announcements has. Apple on Monday unveiled revamped iMac models, powered by its new M4 processors, in a series of bold new tints.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

You can use Clean Up with a clear conscience

Next week, the first round of Apple Intelligence will be loosed on the general public, including the Clean Up feature in Photos that lets you alter images to remove unwanted elements.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock

My thanks to Magic Lasso Adblock for sponsoring Six Colors this week. With over 5,000 five star reviews; Magic Lasso Adblock is simply the best Safari ad blocker for your iPhone, iPad and Mac.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Use a cloned drive to recover from Mac failures

Last month, my Mac Studio stopped working. It went quickly from a bizarre error message to the inability to install software updates to a failure to reinstall the base operating system to a trip to the Genius Bar.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Choose your coding font ↦

Over on Mastodon, I was embroiled in a whole conversation about fonts we use for writing. I write exclusively using monospaced fonts, and have done so for decades now.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 577: Witches Are Doing it for Themselves

All the Apple devices we use, the risks of switching to the Apple Password app, the games we play on our phones, and whether tech plays a part in our hobbies.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple releases second wave of Intelligence features via new developer betas

Apple Intelligence just keeps on coming. The first batch of features in Apple’s much-hyped entry into the artificial intelligence boom will be released to the general public sometime next week, but the company is already moving on to the next one.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 518: Stop Trying to Make Soda Pressing Happen

The jokes write themselves and sometime it shows.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

iPad mini 2024 review: A familiar friend gets an A.I. refresh

Getting my hands on a new iPad mini always feels a little bit like a happy reunion. I use an iPad Pro all the time, so I haven’t handled an iPad mini since I gave back the 2021 model three years ago.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 534: The 2024 October Event? Draft

This week we recommend some TV shows, differentiate between types of vaporware, and break down the new iPad mini and Amazon Kindles. Then, Myke and Jason try to predict exactly what Apple might announce later this month.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock: 2.0x faster web browsing in Safari

Magic Lasso Adblock: 2.0x faster web browsing in Safari Want to experience twice as fast load times in Safari on your iPhone, iPad and Mac? Then download Magic Lasso Adblock – the ad blocker designed for you.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Sponsor) 1Password

My thanks to 1Password for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Strings of data breaches and other cybersecurity failures have forced greater investment in vulnerability management. The SEC now requires companies to report on how their managers and board of directors deal with vulner … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

Apple’s strong but “easy” password generation algorithm ↦

Apple’s Ricky Mondello recaps how the company’s password generation system tries to come up with easy to type—but still very secure—passwords: To make these passwords easier to type on suboptimal keyboard layouts like my colleague’s game controller, where the mode switching might … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) Downstream 80: Shifting Landscape

Apple TV+ comes to Prime Video, and the Diamond bankruptcy continues to disrupt the entire economy of sports. [Downstream+ listeners get: ESPN Flagship, Paramount and the NFL, the future of sports rights, and in praise of narrowcasting.]… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago