How Apple can improve AirDrop (Macworld/Jason Snell)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nine years since Apple introduced AirDrop as a part of Mac OS X Lion and iOS 7. I consider AirDrop to be one of Apple’s best moves of the past decade. It’s a fea… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

‘Blogging from Space’ ↦

David Sparks wrote an article in VR: I recently tried out a new Oculus app that is intriguing. The app is called Immersed, and it is quite a trip. With the app on your Oculus Quest and the host sof… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Automate This: Reading comics on the regular

As a person of routine, part of my morning regimen for the last several decades is settling down with my morning cup of tea and reading some comic strips. As a kid, I’d dig through the newspaper to… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #310: The Opposite of Shiny

Jason reviews the new iMac (with nano-texture display) and the public beta release of macOS Big Sur. Myke thinks Apple’s making a big mistake in keeping game streaming services off of its pla… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #19 – PowerBook Duo

Most of Apple’s early laptops were, like today’s MacBooks, complete Macs. The premise was: “Let’s engineer a Mac that’s like the one on your desk, but put it in a single pac… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

What the iMac refresh can tell us about Apple’s future products (Macworld/Dan Moren)

August tends to be right in the middle of the summer doldrums, the time when everybody goes on vacation and thus news—including tech announcements—are few and far between. Then again, 2020 isn’t yo… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: August 7, 2020

In the summer I love to kick back with an ice-cold beta. Also, Microsoft’s in the news for weird reasons. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) 20 Macs for 2020: Power Mac G5 (#20)

The classic “cheese grater” design of the Power Mac G5 influences the design of the modern Mac Pro, and also represents (in the worst way) the last time Apple embarked on a chip transit… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple, Microsoft spar over cloud gaming against antitrust backdrop ↦

Pursuant to the announcement earlier this week that Microsoft would not be bringing its xCloud game streaming service to iOS, the two companies have exchanged fire over where the blame lies. First,… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

First Look: macOS Big Sur Public Beta

So here we are, at the end of OS X. Two decades ago Apple parked the sixteen-year-old Classic Mac OS and leaped to version 10.0, but four years ago the company rebranded the software that drives th… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

2020 iMac review: The last picture show

This has got to be the end, right? Apple has announced that it’s moving the Mac to Apple-designed processors. The design of the iMac is stale and in desperate need of reinvention–just a… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Microsoft ends cloud streaming beta for iOS, preps Android-only launch ↦

The Verge’s Tom Warren reports on the latest casualty of Apple’s App Store policies, Microsoft’s forthcoming cloud gaming system: “Our Project xCloud preview TestFlight period has… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple’s AI chief on the critical nature of machine learning in the company’s products ↦

Interesting interview (and, I think, perhaps the first major one) with Apple senior vice president for machine learning and AI strategy, John Giannandrea, along with product marketing VP Bob Borche… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

SoundSource 5 adds new features, revamped interface

Given the frequency with which I have to deal with audio, Rogue Amoeba’s apps are amongst the most indispensable tools in my arsenal.1 And one that I’ve grown increasingly fond of in re… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 301: Stunned Silence

This week’s episode, like every week’s episode, features three Apple fellows with a decidedly lower-case “f”. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) 358: What’s It Called? The Yellow One

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that’s always there for you, can Instagram Reels take on TikTok? What are our favorite low-tech pastimes? What do we think of Disney’s Mulan release? Wha… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The Hackett File: When Apple stumbles (Member Post)

With iOS 14 now humming along in beta form, many people (myself included) are excited about the possibilities of widgets. I’m excited to see what the developers of some of my favorite apps do… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Where does the iMac go from here? (Macworld/Jason Snell)

With Tuesday’s announcement of the new 27-inch iMac, Apple seems to be clearing out some of the final major Intel Mac releases in its product pipeline. The big question is, what’s next for the iMac… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Developer’s App Store account erroneously flagged as malicious ↦

Apple’s automated tools mistakenly flagged developer Charlie Monroe’s account as malicious this week, wreaking havoc with his business: This is the message macOS shows to all users who … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #309: Ancient Mac Archaeologist

The summer gets a little more serious as we discuss Apple’s newest iMacs, Phil Schiller’s job transition, Apple emails disclosed by the House Antitrust Subcommittee, and Apple’s s… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Phil Schiller is now an Apple Fellow, succeeded by Joz ↦

Phil Schiller, former senior vice president of worldwide marketing and longtime staple of Apple events, has moved on to become an Apple Fellow, following in the footsteps of other notable Apple per… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Last hurrah? iMacs get Intel processor upgrade, all-SSD storage, T2 chip

At Apple’s developer conference in June, Tim Cook said that the company still had Macs with Intel processors in its pipeline. It must be rapidly filling with Macs with Apple silicon, but on T… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The UX of LEGO panels ↦

Very cool look at the “user experience” of LEGO computer blocks that we’ve probably all seen since time immemorial. Design engineer George Cave runs down the various types of inte… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Astronauts use AirDrop to get around glitch during return voyage ↦

Over at Space Explored, Zac Hall writes about a glitch during the recent re-entry of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule that was mitigated thanks to some low- and high-tech Apple features: The issu… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #20 – Power Mac G5

After Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the late ’90s, he famously simplified the company’s product line by drawing a four-product grid: consumer desktop (the bulbous, brightly colored G3… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: An Introduction

I’ve been a professional observer of the Mac for three-quarters of its life. Sticking around that long–27 years–has given me a deeper perspective on its history. I remember the Ma… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Time for Apple to reevaluate how the App Store does business (Macworld/Dan Moren)

If there’s a segment of Apple’s business that seems to fly in the face of the company’s philosophy—not just in terms of making a product that is substandard or lackluster—but in terms of actually b… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: July 31, 2020

Reading the tea leaves from Apple’s financial results. More speculation about Apple silicon processors and future Mac roll-out plans. And Jason reveals the secret project he’s been work… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The Back Page: Patently obvious (Member Post)

Notoriously secret as Apple is, there are but a limited number of ways to discover what exactly the company is developing. Thanks to our current ongoing pandemic, my surefire proprietary methodR… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

For once, the Mac and iPad lead Apple’s record financial results (Macworld/Jason Snell)

One of these quarters, Apple’s going to announce financial results that don’t result in some sort of record. Perhaps as soon as next quarter, even. But on Thursday, Apple announced the results of i… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The new iPhone won’t ship until October

On Apple’s quarterly call with analysts Thursday, Apple CFO Luca Maestri made it official — the new iPhones won’t ship until October this year. Here’s what he said: As you k… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

This is Tim: Apple Q3 2020 results call transcript

Here’s a live transcript of Tim Cook and Luca Maestri’s conference call with analysts, currently in progress…. Tim Cook: [Very beginning of call missing, TBD.] Care and adaptabili… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple Q3 2020 results: Everything up

Apple’s results for its most recent financial quarter are out and they’re really good. The company was up in pretty much every category. It was, once again, a record for Apple’s t… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Mac OS 8, implemented via JavaScript ↦

Developer Felix Rieseberg has written a JavaScript virtual machine emulating Mac OS 8 running on a 1991 Macintosh Quadra. Wild. And because it’s an Electron app, it runs on pretty much any pl… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound #300: 300

It’s The Rebound 300th Episode Extravaganza and we’ve got guests, songs, dancing and…  | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #357: Not Yet and Also Never

This week on the 30-minute tech show that’s live with no audience, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Heather Kelly and James Thomson to discuss streaming services’ Watch Together fea… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Brent Simmons provides some App Store reality ↦

I love a good fisking, and Brent Simmons has done a number on a Cult of Mac piece about the App Store: [That the App Store was a much better deal for selling software than what came before] is enor… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Dr. Icon and the Icons of Big Sur

This week’s Upgrade is a walk through the many icons of macOS Big Sur. Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley and I picked our favorites and least favorites. Staring at an icon at full size makes you q… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #308: The Adventures of Dr. Icon

This week Stephen Hackett joins Myke and Jason to consider the best and worst changes to app icons in macOS Big Sur. What makes a good icon? How are books shaped? What is the origin of the term … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Automate This: How hot does it feel?

It’s hot. How hot is it, Dan? So hot that apparently I’ve taken to creating temperature-related shortcuts? It started out with a relatively simple idea: I wanted to know if it was coole… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The biggest question about the next iPhone: What’s in the box? (Macworld/Dan Moren)

Few products exert the kind of gravity on rumors and speculation as Apple’s iPhone. Every year, the process repeats itself: websites and tweets full of conjecture, hypotheses, and more about what t… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Regis Philbin dies at 88

Regis Philbin was David Letterman’s most frequent guest, and by a lot. Letterman made a statement on Saturday about Philbin’s death: “In the same category as Carson. Superlative,” Lette… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Regis Philbin dies at 88 ↦

Regis Philbin was David Letterman’s most frequent guest, and by a lot. Letterman made a statement on Saturday about Philbin’s death: “In the same category as Carson. Superlative,” Lette… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock

My thanks to Magic Lasso Adblock for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Magic Lasso Adblock is an efficient and high performance ad blocker for the iPhone, iPad and Mac. It runs as a native Safari co… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun With Charts: Entirely speculative charts about Apple Silicon

Last week I stared directly into the Apple marketing content and speculated about the information it was trying to impart with a WWDC slide. This week, prompted by reader David Hovis, I’d lik… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: July 24, 2020

A commercial that features a song for a phone number that provides vehicles to children. Hot mustard and product packaging. So many puzzles. And if Apple builds a Safari extension feature, will dev… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

How Seattle’s NHL team became the Kraken ↦

Seattle’s expansion NHL franchise is now officially the Kraken. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan has the story of how the branding was executed: When NHL Seattle first installed signage on its downt… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Zach Gage returns with Good Sudoku ↦

I love Zach Gage’s games, especially Flipflop Solitaire and Really Bad Chess. He’s just released a new game, in collaboration with Jack Schlesinger: Good Sudoku. Now, I am not a Sudoku … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago