Apple expands cycling directions in US

Justin O’Beirne, who keeps a close eye on Apple Maps, has noted that the company has finally expanded its cycling directions in the US: As of April 15, 2022, Apple has quietly added cycling directions for the parts of the Midwest covered in Expansion #6, including Chicago (pictu … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 403: This Episode is Forbidden

This week we’re imagining the right and wrong improvements for the Apple Watch, speculating about the first wave of M2 Macs, lamenting Apple’s process for replacing a defective product, and buzzing (in a bad way) about CNN+.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Spaces: The final frontier (Member Post)

For as long as the Mac has had overlapping windows, it’s come up with ways to manage them. Everything from zoom controls to window shades to turning folders into tabs at the edge of your windows1—seems like the Mac’s tried it all. But I’m going to take this opportunity to call ou … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: Spaces, Displays, and Baseball

Dan is looking for Focus in all the wrong Spaces. Jason’s Studio Display delivery didn’t go well. That’s baseball!… Become a member to listen to our exclusive weekly podcast and get more benefits. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

‘Rethinking Fandom’ ↦

Speaking of sports, I recently read Craig Calcaterra’s new book Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game, and I really enjoyed it. I’m a happy subscriber to Calcaterra’s Cup of Coffee newsletter, which gives me a hit of baseball news and opinio … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

BareFeats writer Rob Art Morgan dies at 77 ↦

Rob Art Morgan called himself a mad scientist… and what a perfect description. An idiosyncratic writer and enthusiastic technologist who specialized in quantifying Mac speed and determining what was fastest, the man behind the independent site BareFeats has died at 77: The proli … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 387: It Looks Like You’re Writing a Heartfelt Apology

How many people does it take to fill John Moltz’s shoes? Two people. One for each shoe.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 446: Sounds Good, Grandpa

Capturing and editing video on iPhone & iPad, what we think about 8k video, how the Apple Watch’s rumored health features would affect our purchasing decisions, and our thoughts on Apple using Shortcuts as a way to introduce new functionality.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

BBEdit at 30 ↦

Me at Macworld, 10 years ago: Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the venerable Mac text-editing app BBEdit. I’m sure there are other apps not published by a gigantic company that have managed to last as long, but I’m not sure that any app has changed with the times and remai … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

First impressions of Apple’s “Friday Night Baseball”

Francisco Lindor, no!Apple’s now a sports broadcaster. The premiere of “Friday Night Baseball” on Apple TV+, featuring two live games, has come and gone. Any baseball fan will tell you that it’s a long season, and you can’t tell anything from the final score on opening day. But a … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 402: Very Important Developers

Baseball season is here and Jason has a detailed critique of Apple’s first Friday Night Baseball broadcasts. But it’s not all home runs and calls to the bullpen, as Myke goes home to Dongletown and we ponder just what might be announced at WWDC 2022.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

A Stream Deck recording button, with feedback

Last week Audio Hijack 4 arrived, and was I excited about its automation features. I had several people ask me about a simple automation I created, which generates a single button on a Stream Deck that toggles recording on and off and changes its display based on recording status … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: Apple’s Opening Day

When institutional tech lags home tech, Apple’s baseball efforts get underway, and WWDC 2022 is now officially on the schedule.… Become a member to listen to our exclusive weekly podcast and get more benefits. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

When in doubt, push the button (Member Post)

Selecting a channel in Audition. It’s ready for EQ and limiting.​ Among a group of my friends and fellow podcasters, a certain kitchen gadget is known simply as the “cult device.” We enjoy the Instant Pot, but are far too cool to openly admire a mere hunk of metal and circuitry… … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Apple provides new “Friday Night Baseball” details ↦

It’s opening day! And Apple has provided more information about its forthcoming baseball broadcasts, which premiere Friday: Produced by MLB Network’s Emmy Award-winning production team in partnership with Apple, “Friday Night Baseball” will offer a modern and dynamic broadcast e … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 386: Tanks But No Tanks

Welcome to our new feature, Water Heater Talk.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 445: Odd Person Out

Whether we’d put our trust in an Apple Bank, how we feel about editing tweets, our office chair situation, and Plex’s new Universal Watchlist: yea or nay?… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Downstream 14: Quintessential Identity Crisis

Apple TV+ wins Best Picture, “Our Flag Means Death” is… a hit?, why being the fan of a baseball team is going to bring you pain, “Obi-Wan” takes on “Stranger Things” directly, and Jason subscribed to CNN+… for science!… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

WWDC 2022 is (mostly) online again ↦

Apple Newsroom: Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in an online format from June 6 through 10, free for all developers to attend. However, it’s not entirely online: In addition to the online conference, Apple will host a special … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 401: This App May Not Kill You

Myke takes possession of his Apple Studio Display, Jason gets excited about the arrival of Audio Hijack 4, and Apple revises its approach to allowing external links in iOS apps.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: Audio Hijack, automation, and a mounted Mac Studio

Celebrating all the goodies in Audio Hijack 4, the importance of app automation, the Enterprise report card, regulation threats, and a new home for the Mac Studio.… Become a member to listen to our exclusive weekly podcast and get more benefits. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

The Back Page: Five reasons the Apple Studio Display ended up with an A13 processor (Member Post)

Ever since earlier this month, when Apple broke the minds—and bank accounts—of its devoted power users by delivering the unexpected announcement of a new and long-awaited Apple consumer display, the internet has been awash in rumors over one particular quirk of the monitor: Why d … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Automating Audio Hijack 4 with Shortcuts and JavaScript

An Audio Hijack 4 automation switches blocks on and off and starts a session.Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack 4 is here, and while it’s got a bunch of interesting new features, my favorite is its support for automation via JavaScript and Shortcuts. While not quite everything in Audio … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Apple launches Business Essentials service ↦

Apple announced Thursday that it’s launched its Apple Business Essentials program for small businesses in the United States. The company announced the program in November 2021 and has been running it in beta form in the intervening months. The program uses device-management featu … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Audio Hijack 4 arrives: The definitive Mac audio utility just got better

Audio Hijack 4 features a new light interface mode and the ability to manually wire connections between blocks.Rogue Amoeba has released Audio Hijack 4, a huge update to its all-purpose Mac audio recording tool. It’s the app’s first major update since Audio Hijack 3, way back in … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Why the Black MacBook Cost More ↦

On Upgrade this week we were talking about if we’d pay extra for Macs with nice colors, and mentioned the black MacBook, which was more expensive than the white model. Stephen Hackett has a good reminder from Apple history: For every generation of MacBook that it was a part of, … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Apple in the Enterprise: A 2022 report card

Last year, device-management startup Kandji approached Six Colors to commission a new entry in our Report Card series focusing on how Apple’s doing in large organizations, including businesses, education, and government. We worked with Kandji and the hosts of the Mac Admins Podca … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Demystifying that viral iOS copy-and-paste video

There’s a good chance that you’ve already seen that viral video making the rounds over the past week, in which a self-described former Apple employee is blown away by picking up a photo from one iOS device and dropping it on the other. If not, check it out below. PLEASE tell me I … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 385: RAM Doubler

This podcast is really grvy. R… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 444: Go Ahead, Make Me a Cyborg

Our thoughts on the EU’s plans for messaging interoperability, how we feel about smart implants and body modifications, when and why we choose websites over apps for certain services, and long overdue feature requests for products we use each day.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

The first “Friday Night Baseball” games are set ↦

Apple’s first foray into live sports streaming debuts on April 8: Apple and Major League Baseball today announced the first half of the 2022 “Friday Night Baseball” schedule. These scheduled games are available to anyone with internet access, for free, only on Apple TV+. “Friday … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 400: Draft of the Ages

It’s episode 400! We evaluate the forward-looking predictions we made back in episode 300, and then draft stories we’ll be talking about over the next hundred episodes! Also, an Apple TV+ movie won Best Picture and we round up an awful lot of Apple rumors.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Unite 4

My thanks to BZG Apps for sponsoring Six Colors this week. BZG makes Unite 4, which allows you to turn any Website into a Mac app. Using a lightweight, WebKit powered browser as a backend, you can easily create isolated, customizable apps from any site. Unite 4 includes dozens of … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: External displays and the Taco Bell problem

Managing Zoom windows, Apple’s cycle of listening to (or ignoring) its customers, and the disadvantages of Apple re-using its technology.… Become a member to listen to our exclusive weekly podcast and get more benefits. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Alto’s Adventure gets a spirited Apple Arcade expansion

Last year, I revisited one of my favorite iOS games, as Team Alto updated Alto’s Odyssey, bringing it to Apple Arcade with new levels, music, and artwork. It turns out that Alto’s Odyssey: The Lost City was only half of Team Alto’s Apple Arcade project. The new Alto’s Adventure: … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 384: I Love Wacky Hijinks

Hopefully you wanted to hear about digital goods.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 443: My Strategy is Ehhhuuuhhh

Big tech outages, our data backup strategies, the tech wisdom we’d impart to the masses, and the last time we felt out of our depth.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Downstream 13: The South Park Equation

Is Wall Street souring on the streaming wars? Is Netflix coming for your shared passwords? Both issues are way more complicated than they might seem.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

‘Explaining the Mac Studio’s removable SSDs’ ↦

So the Mac Studio has two SSD slots. They’re proprietary and you can’t just swap them in anyway. But why? Ars Technica’s Andrew Cunningham has an excellent overview: Deeply sympathetic as I am to the goals of the right-to-repair movement, and deeply frustrated as I am by Apple’s … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

A cowboy roping an iMac? Stop the presses! (Member Post)

Back in late 2000—unfortunately, I don’t have any email archives from this period—we were planning a cover story about Mac customization. Written by Christopher Breen, it recommended utilities like James Thomson’s DragThing and St. Clair Software’s Default Folder. In the era of O … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 399: The Mysteries of Thunderbolt

Jason’s got the new Mac Studio and Studio Display and it’s time for his complete review. We also discuss where the M2 chip might appear, and what the Mac will look like in 2023.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Unite 4 – Turn websites into apps on your Mac

Unite 4 for macOS allows you to turn any website into an app on your Mac. Using a lightweight, WebKit powered browser as a backend, you can easily create isolated, customizable apps from any site. Unite 4 includes dozens of new features, including support for native notifications … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

An update about Studio Display rotation

In our YouTube video on Thursday, Dan relayed a question from a listener asking if the Studio Display supported automatic rotation. I grabbed the screen and twisted — and nothing happened. Oh well! Maybe it’s a VESA mount thing. But, being right-hand dominant, I had chosen to lif … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Power off accessories with a smart switch

I wasn’t expecting one of the bigger reactions to my Mac Studio review to be my aside about the power strip I’ve been using for more than a decade, but that’s what happened! Here’s what I wrote: Funny thing about Apple silicon: Apple’s not kidding about power consumption. For 15 … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

The iPhone SE: An upgrader’s guide

When it comes to iPhone upgrades, Apple is incremental. So are iPhone reviews. Those of us who review iPhones are, for understandable reasons, focused on what’s new between this year’s model and the last. Fortunately, Apple’s release of a new iPhone SE in March 2022 is an opportu … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: Studio Display reviews, Mac Studio, and Dan’s iPad

Jason’s spent a week with new Apple products. Lots of opinions about what’s wrong and right with the Studio Display. Jason third-thinks his Mac Studio purchase and comes out ahead.… Become a member to listen to our exclusive weekly podcast and get more benefits. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Matter debut pushed until fall ↦

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, writing at The Verge: Matter, the new smart home interoperability standard being developed by Google, Apple, Amazon, Samsung, and others, has been delayed. Again. Expected this summer, the launch has been rescheduled for fall of 2022, Michelle Mindala-Fr … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Live with Mac Studio and Studio Display

On Thursday Jason and Dan went on YouTube and talked about the new Mac Studio and Studio Display and answered your questions. Here’s the video in case you missed it: … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago