(Podcast) #350: A Hunk of Inert Matter

This week, on the 30-minute podcast that’s tautologically 30 minutes, Dan and Mikah welcome special guests Rosemary Orchard and Rene Ritchie to discuss whether we’d use a Mac Upgrade Pr… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple takes the wraps off WWDC 2020 schedule ↦

Apple: Now in its 31st year, WWDC20 will be the biggest WWDC to date, bringing together the global Apple developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented, virtual way, from June 22 t… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

What will the ARM Mac look like? ↦

I really enjoyed this post by Gus Mueller about what’s likely to happen if Apple is indeed transitioning the Mac to ARM processors: With all the recent rumors flying around about the Mac tran… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #293: John Gruber's Footnote

Arm yourselves. There might be a few ARM puns in this episode.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Explaining the law that prevents Internet platforms from being sued ↦

Fantastic explainer by Ars Technica’s Timothy B. Lee about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants immunity to online platforms for content posted on their services: It… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple closes the book on iBooks Author

iBooks Author, Apple’s application for creating and publishing ebooks, wrote its last chapter on Wednesday. The company announced that the app will be discontinued for new users as of July 1, 2020.iBooks Author came out back in a January 2012 ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple will discontinue iTunes U next year ↦

Apple announced today that it’s discontinuing iTunes U at the end of 2021. Apple has been moving away from the iTunes U concept for some time, moving iTunes U content to Apple Podcasts back i… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

WWDC Wish List: HomePod stereo pair as Mac system output

The HomePod has kind of faded into the background since its release more than two years ago, with little in the way of new features, and some notable omissions still remaining. Among all those, the one that frustrates me the most is the inability to u... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

WWDC Wish List: HealthKit on iPad and Mac

Apple introduced HealthKit in 2014, but the iPad and Mac are still left out.Since the launch of the Apple Watch, Apple has become increasingly focused on health technology. As someone who makes an effort to fill the rings on my Apple Watch, I appreciate... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #301: Show Me You're Serious

With WWDC two weeks away, Myke and Jason share their wishes for iPadOS updates. They also analyze why they love certain kinds of games but are repelled by others and discuss Apple’s inevitable move into streaming live sports. ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: June 5, 2020

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@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #349: That Was Chef's Kiss for Me

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that is all out of four letter words, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Anže Tomić and Florence Ion to discuss our use of voice assistants on our phones, mass deleting content from social media, the tech we u... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #292: Thanks, Apps

We’ll be honest: things are not great. But we’ll talk about things and technology and then get to our picks.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #300: It's So Hard to Predict the Future

It’s episode 300! This week we look to the future by drafting stories we’ll be talking about over the next hundred episodes of Upgrade, and then we answer all of your questions about how the podcast got started, how we put it together, and whe... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

A shortcut for texting location and video to a friend when detained by the police

Shortcuts guru and friend of the site Matthew Cassinelli has shared an iOS shortcut for users who are being detained by the police. The shortcut texts a preset message to a trusted contact, before recording a video. Cassinelli’s version tweaks an ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun With Charts: The laptop gets ever smaller

I showed my kids a PowerBook 180 today. They’d never seen one before. In my memory it is a mind-blowingly small and light computer that, for the first time, allowed me to take my Mac with me anywhere I went. It changed my life, and that’s not ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Automating my iPod Hi-Fi's volume control... because I can

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” warned Ian Malcolm in “Jurassic Park.” I can relate. Sometimes I work to solve a problem using technology not... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Plex and Hulu add group watching features

A few weeks back on Clockwise, our guest (and good friend) Jean MacDonald lamented that, in this age of social distancing, there’s no really great way to watch a TV show or movie with someone online. Speaking as someone who’s been recording ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #348: Save Me From My Shame

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that has no time for allergies, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Joe Rosensteel and Shelly Brisbin to discuss tech that helps us sleep, our thoughts on HBO Max, how we’d fix social media if we were in ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #291: Restart Your Damn Phone

Just a warning: this is now a podcast about British TV shows.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #299: My Gut Says Yes and No

There’s a raft of media news this week, as Spotify removes a popular podcast from the ecosystem and Apple TV+ makes more content deals. We’ve got questions about the future of podcasting and whether Apple is committed to a video subscription s... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun With Charts: The march of iOS software

This week’s charts tell the story of how Apple rolls out releases of software for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad—and when the last update of that operating-system cycle finally shipped. In the beginning, a new version of the iPhone OS arri... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #290: Budget Cuts

The Rebound’s promise to you is that we will never accept tons and tons of money to take our podcast behind a pay wall. For various reasons.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #347: The Low Tech Way is The Easiest Way

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that’s worth staying home for, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Casey Liss and Jean MacDonald to discuss our thoughts on Apple possibly not including headphones with the next iPhone, the restaurants an... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #298: Copy Copy Copy, Paste Paste Paste Paste

Apple Stores are reopening in many parts of the world, but should you go? (Not unless you must.) Also, Taiwan Semiconductor plans to build a factory in the U.S., TV shows are being produced remotely during the lockdown, and Apple News+ turns to audio in a... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun With Charts: Time for a change?

For this week’s chart 1, I thought I’d illustrate how long Apple has historically stuck with different processor architectures. As you probably know, there are lots of reports that in the next year, Apple will begin to roll out Macs power... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Sponsor) Guardian Firewall

Thank you to Guardian Firewall for sponsoring Six Colors this week. It’s a tool designed to let you take control of your privacy on iOS, by blocking attempts to track you via app data like what happens on the web. Guardian Firewall records what̵... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Brydge releases firmware update, but its trackpad still lags

Last month I was sad to report that the new iPad Pro keyboard/trackpad combination from Brydge, the makers of my longstanding favorite iPad Pro keyboard, was just not good enough. The keyboard and price were both impressive, but the trackpad experienc... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #289: Nothing Means Anything

This week we handle all the existential questions of life. Partly because Dan’s drinking.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Bad Shortcuts: Charting data from a webpage

I’m definitely not a programmer, and I can’t proclaim to be an expert at user automation, but I’m very enthusiastic. My latest project has been figuring out the best way to scrape data from webpages and use it in interesting ways, all on... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Sponsor) Guardian Firewall

Guardian Firewall empowers users to take back control of their privacy on their iOS devices. Blatant exfiltration of very precise geolocation coordinates and data trackers recording your every move in native apps, just like they do on websites, are the ne... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #297: Factual Controller

This week Jason and Myke ponder the mysteries of the 13-inch MacBook Pro(s), including why the Touch Bar is frozen in time and whether there’s a bigger change coming to Apple’s laptop line. Also Jason makes another IKEA order, Myke shares some... | 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 content blocking extension, and blocks intrusive ads, pop up... | 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 content blocking extension, and blocks intrusive ads, pop up... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun with Charty: Generating charts with Shortcuts

My recent walk distance data, charted via a Charty shortcut.When I started Six Colors, I had to start making all my charts for myself. Apple financial charts, product-testing charts, and any other data-visualization I could come up with—all of it ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) review: Two laptops, one keyboard

The most important feature of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is the keyboard.With the addition of the new Magic Keyboard design originally introduced in late 2019 with the 16” MacBook Pro to this model, all of Apple’s current laptop line is u... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #345: Bluetooth Kiss

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that’s always at home, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Jeff Carlson and Aleen Simms to discuss pandemic tech changes we’d like, privacy concerns over contract tracing, the best (and worst) phish... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #288: e-Picks

This week on Taskmaster, we have been commanded to switch chat software in mid-podcast.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Homebridge 1.0: A pleasant face on a smart-home helper

Installing, updated, and configuring Homebridge plug-ins via the web interface is easy.For a couple of years now, I’ve been running Homebridge on my Mac mini server in order to add my non-HomeKit devices, including my Nest thermostat, to my HomeKi... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock

Magic Lasso Adblock is an efficient and high performance ad blocker for the iPhone, iPad and Mac.It allows you to experience a cleaner, faster web - without ads. As a native Safari content blocking extension, Magic Lasso blocks intrusive ads, pop ups an... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #296: You Wouldn't Believe The Stuff I Know

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman joins Myke and Jason to discuss how Apple’s responding to the pandemic, the current state of iPhone development, and how he handles breaking major Apple news. Then Myke and Jason discuss the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, and... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with new processors, Magic Keyboard

If the 16-inch MacBook Pro was too heavy for your liking, but the new MacBook Air too light on power, you’re now in luck: Apple has revamped its 13-inch MacBook Pro with the new Magic Keyboard design, as well as a host of improved processor opti... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Sponsor) SoundSource

My thanks once again to Rogue Amoeba and SoundSource for sponsoring Six Colors this week. SoundSource is a utility that gives you so much control over all the audio on your Mac, right from your menu bar. As Dan wrote about SoundSource about a year ago, ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

From cover to cover: Adventures in self-publishing

Back in the mid-’90s, my friend Jason 1 and I started up an online magazine devoted to fantasy and science-fiction. We originally set out distributing it on local bulletin boards as a self-contained app generated by a program called DOCMake... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

This is Tim: Transcript of Apple's Q2 2020 financial call

Every quarter, Apple releases its financial results and then executives spent about an hour on a conference call with analysts, making scripted statements and then answering a few handpicked questions. This is the transcript of that call.This transcript... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple to release Q2 2020 financial results amid global crisis

It’s Apple earnings day again, but this will be unlike all the other financial results reveals we’ve seen in recent years. Apple will be disclosing how it fared between January and March of this year, which will partially include the period wh... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #295: Leave the Podcast at the Beep

I forgot to post this earlier this week, but this was an especially good episode. Myke Hurley and I are the target audience for Apple’s new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, and we provided our full reviews. (And Myke trolls the Internet with five space ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #287: A Maritime Podcast

In this week’s episode, Lex makes a startling admission, Moltz finally has a new phone and Dan conducts some risky business.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago