Apple begins to tweak iOS AI summaries ↦

Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports that in the latest iOS 18.3 betas, Apple has changed how it handles summaries, presumably in response to criticism of inaccurate headline summaries: When you enable notification summaries, iOS 18.3 will make it clearer that the feature – like all … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Compress folders into separate archives ↦

Sometimes a solution is simpler than you think it’s going to be. I was trying to figure out a way to write a shortcut to take a folder and have all of its sub-folders compressed into individual archives—i.e.,… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Counting almost-duplicates in very long lists

In the past couple of weeks, two different projects of mine have been released that were powered, at least in part, by a Python script that eliminated enormous amounts of labor from a process that used to take hours of drudgery.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 529: More People Should Be Fired

Sticking it to the man.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 588: Neither, But Sorta

Our use of CarPlay, Android Auto, or other systems for navigation; creative AI problem-solving cases we’ve encountered; thoughts on Sonos’s struggles and future as a customer; and whether we use TikTok amid its potential US shutdown.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple wrote checks Camera Control can’t cash

The Camera Control button control on the iPhone 16 family seemed like a good idea, but the devil’s always in the details, isn’t it? Apple made too many promises, all of them in conflict with one another because they all rely on using the same tiny hardware feature to function.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 546: Headline Snob

Bonnets off to the BBC, the trouble with headlines, Socrates on mountain skis, some slight existential dread about Mac software, irrational love of old computers, Apple’s smart home strategy for 2025, and the long wait for some AI features.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Watch Duty, the crucial wildfire tracking app ↦

The Verge’s Abigail Bassett profiles Watch Duty, the remarkable nonprofit app that’s become a must-download utility during the Los Angeles fires: Watch Duty is unique in the tech world in that it doesn’t care about user engagement, time spent, or ad sales. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Quick Tip: Prevent a disk from auto-mounting

One of the consequences of switching to a laptop from a desktop is that my old method of cloning my disk daily has been thrown out of whack.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Downstream 86: Fubulunu

Will Carroll joins for a mega Sports Corner: Fubo meets Hulu to enable Venu, Netflix goes full force into live sports, how football dominates American TV, NFL announcers, and our TV picks!… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 587: I’m on the Fear Side

Meta ditches third-party fact-checking, making unsightly TVs more attractive, the tyranny of always-on phone displays, and the robot vacuum of your nightmares.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 528: I Picked The Wrong Week To Have Morals

We’re not mad, Tim, we’re just disappointed. Also, we’re mad.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Building a new treadmill desk setup for 2025

Lex Friedman’s dual-desk setup, now (again) with treadmill. I’m writing this article at 2.6 miles per hour. Fifteen years ago(!), I wrote an article for Macworld about upgrading to a standing desk.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

After 30 years, Script Debugger is being retired ↦

I was literally using Script Debugger yesterday to inspect variables. Mark Alldritt & Shane Stanley of Late Night Software: We are announcing the retirement of Script Debugger as a product. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

LLMs aren’t always bad at writing news headlines

On Monday I complained about Apple’s response to Apple Intelligence making mistaken summaries of news headlines. But here’s the funny thing: large-language models are actually pretty good at writing news headlines.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Apple Intelligence summaries might get warning labels. That’s not enough.

The BBC, following up on two reports of Apple Intelligence summaries that transformed its own headlines into factually inaccurate text, got a public response from Apple: Apple has said it will update, rather than pause, a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that has generate … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 545: The Bee Bonnet Company

A new year dawns! We consider what it has in store for Apple and why the company’s A.I. features need to be judged critically. Then we turn back the clock to 2000 and consider the moment when Mac OS X changed everything.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

25 years since the Dock’s debut ↦

Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of the unveiling of Mac OS X, and yeah, I wrote the cover story for Macworld. While I was working on a forthcoming piece celebrating that anniversary, I asked my friend James Thomson if he had a good link about his time working on the Dock, which … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) PowerPhotos

My thanks to Fat Cat Software’s PowerPhotos for sponsoring Six Colors this week. I spend a lot of time using and writing about Apple’s Photos app.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Golden Apple Awards celebrate apps for blind and visually impaired users ↦

AppleVis has announced its 13th Golden Apple Awards, recognizing apps and games designed for (or useful to) people who are blind or visually impaired. The awards also honored a developer and included a new award for ongoing achievement.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Quick Tip: Which USB devices are currently attached?

I’ve recently switched from using two computers in two different offices (the hard-to-heat garage and my well-heated back bedroom) to using one computer (a MacBook Pro) docked in either location.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

The state of passkeys ↦

Ars Technica’s senior security editor Dan Goodin breaks down where we are with passkeys going into 2025: The security benefits of passkeys at the moment are also undermined by an undeniable truth. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 527: Trying To Make It To Midnight

An electric episode for the New Year.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 544: The 2024 Upgradies

It’s time for the 11th Annual Upgradies! Myke and Jason discuss their favorites of 2024, take the input of many Upgradians, and hand out awards in numerous categories!… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Our 2024 favorites: TV, books, movies, and podcasts

Vince Vaughn in “Bad Monkey” (Apple TV+) TV Bad Monkey A surprise hit, this Vince Vaughn vehicle on Apple TV+ is based on a Carl Hiaasen novel of the same name, following Florida cop Andrew Yancey—suspended from duty for…reasons—as he gets embroiled in a fishy case after a fisher … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Sponsor) PowerPhotos – the ultimate toolbox for Photos on the Mac

PowerPhotos is the ultimate toolbox for Photos on the Mac. It works in conjunction with the Apple Photos app, filling in missing features that Photos itself doesn’t provide.… | 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

Listen to Dr. Jones ↦

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” is one of my favorite movies (and Stephen Spielberg’s best, in my opinion), but I never knew about this “loose end” until I read about it in a compilation of deleted scenes: A plot element involving the Ark of the Covenant was cut from the film and is on … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 586: Face IDea

Our likelihood of investing in smart home tech with Apple’s entry, our technology goals for 2025, our end/start of year tech rituals, and predictions for how technology will improve the world in 2025.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Downstream 85: A Holiday Visit from Tim Goodman

Down the chimney comes Tim Goodman, reuniting with Jason to discuss his super-secret insider TV reviews, streaming’s influence in the rise of international TV here in the U.S.,… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

Our 2024 favorites: Apps and games

Runestone on Vision Pro, framed by Shareshot. Tailscale One of my persistent quests over the years has been making it easy to access all my devices no matter where I am.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 1 month ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 543: In the Pocket of Big Turkey

To celebrate the season we discuss Christmas lights, tech gifts, favorite holiday food items, holiday TV and movies, and answer some holiday-themed listener questions. Happy holidays to all Upgradians!… | 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

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

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 | 2 months ago

Our 2024 favorites: Hardware

[As the year comes to a close, those of us who write for Six Colors have decided to share some of our favorite things of the past year.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 585: Way Too Spatial

Rumors of a foldable iPad, spatial computing on the Mac, how often we use Street View-like features, and the iOS 18 features we’ve turned off.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

iOS 18.2 Mail is a misfire

Out of all the new features in iOS 18.2, I really didn’t expect that I’d be writing about Mail of all things. And yet, given how many times a day I use Mail on my iPhone, the changes in Mail in iOS 18.2 might be the worst thing about the release.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 526: Instantgram

Keep watching the clock. Wait, wrong podcast.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

Acorn 8 brings subject selection, Live Text, Data Merge, more

Not unlike text editors, image-editing software is a category that provokes strong feelings from its users. There are your Photoshop fans, Affinity users, and those who adore Pixelmator.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 542: Wellies on the Ground

Myke prepares the way for a big arrival (including of many Upgrade guest hosts), we’re deeply puzzled by reports of a large folding Apple device, and Myke gets out the conspiracy yarn regarding what Tim Cook is up to in the United Kingdom.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Sponsor) 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. You should ensure your browsing history stays private and is not harvested by ad networks.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

The long, strange story of Audio Hijack ↦

Audio Hijack is a thing of beauty. And we almost lost it. Back in the early Apple silicon era, must-have Mac audio tool got a serious downgrade via a new installation process that required many steps and multiple reboots.… | 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

The iPhone-as-computer experience ↦

So many words spent handwringing on whether you can do “real work” on an iPad and yet nobody ever stops to ask the actual question: can you do real work on an iPhone?… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

Appearance: Apple Intelligence’s generic humans

Choose from three different collections of appearances. On Wednesday iOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2 were released, and we wrote about it here. One of my complaints is that you can’t just make generic figures of people—you have to choose actual people in your library.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 584: Hush, We Don’t Have Time

Our interest in current smart glasses, the smart tech we use to monitor our homes and pets, our thoughts on iOS 18.2 features like Genmoji and Image Playground, and how we organize and manage holiday gift-giving lists for ideas and tracking.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 525: I’m Wrong But I Feel Like I Should Be Right

We’ve all got problems.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago

(Podcast) Downstream 84: The Hulu of It All

How Disney’s strategy has led to ESPN inside the Disney+ app, Disney and Netflix content strategies, Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast make a deal, the ramifications of Comcast’s “SpinCo,” crafting a theatrical hit out of a Disney+ TV show, and TV picks!… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 months ago