Audio Hijack update on the way–with scripting ↦

Rogue Amoeba has announced that my favorite audio utility, Audio Hijack, is getting a huge update: Perhaps the single most notable change, however, is something making a return from years back: scr… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Downstream 9: Little Crown Jewel

Netflix’s latest quarterly report makes us wonder: Is it a tech company or an entertainment company? Julia experiences live sports streaming success–and failure. HBO Max takes a victory… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

A WebKit feature was crowdfunded. Let the dunks begin? ↦

Most of Apple’s software is proprietary. Some of it, though, is based on open-source projects. WebKit, which powers Safari, is an open-source project. Which means that Apple is not the only s… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 391: They’re Great Uphill

Myke and Jason discuss the mysteries of Apple’s car project, and express confusion about Apple’s 2022 product release schedule. And at last, France makes a big box-related move. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Kolide: VC-backed remote-first startup is hiring

Kolide provides teams unprecedented ground truth across their Linux, Mac, and Windows devices.  Powered by osquery, our honest approach to obtaining device visibility via informed consent, opt-in s… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

The 5G airline controversy ↦

James Fallows has essentially built an FAQ file about what’s happening between airlines and wireless companies that could have a huge impact on the U.S.: This post is a basic who-what-why pri… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Kolide: Device management for teams that value honest security

My thanks to Kolide for sponsoring Six Colors again this week. Kolide believes that the key to unlocking a new class of security detection, compliance, and threat remediation is the “average&… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: January 21, 2022

When to repair and when to retire old tech, networking adventures, and green bubbles. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

More podcast workflow tweaks

With the advent of Shortcuts on macOS, automation on the Mac has become more accessible than ever. There is no part of our workflows that we can’t automate and thus there is no part of our wo… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Seventeen years later, my weather station is retired (Member Post)

The decommissioned weather station, with cloudy solar panel, spiderwebbed shield, and mossy anemometer. It’s rare that a piece of technology lasts so long and serves you so well that it’… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Apple names Kristin Huguet head of PR ↦

John Paczkowski at Buzzfeed: Apple has tapped a new head of PR: longtime company spokesperson Kristin Huguet. She’ll replace Stella Low, former communications chief at networking giant Cisco,… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Dashboard, come back! ↦

Stephen Hackett at 512 Pixels thinks Apple should bring back Dashboard: Apple killed off Dashboard at exactly the wrong time. Just one year after Catalina killed Dashboard, Apple started allowing d… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

End of the road for Google Apps for Domains ↦

9to5Google: In an email to administrators this morning, Google said it “will now transition all remaining users to an upgraded Google Workspace paid subscription based on your usage.” A… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Ten great movies you can’t legally stream ↦

Ty Burr, former Boston Globe film critic, writing at his Substack about movies that can’t be found online: The problem, in 9 cases out of 10, is a rights issue. Who owns a movie, particularly… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 434: ChatBoy110Pedia.com

The streaming services we use regularly, creating or augmenting a tech product, the messaging apps we use, and our NFC experiences. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 375: Stupid Technology Topic

How much would you pay to drive out of here in an Apple headset today? | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

More notes on Podcast Notes automation

If I’ve learned anything about automation, it’s that projects are never really finished. After I wrote about my solution to taking notes during a podcast recording, Dan followed up with… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Button Creator: Quick icons for Stream Deck

Using a Stream Deck doesn’t just increase your productivity–it also increases your appetite for custom icons to label all those buttons. Via John Voorhees of MacStories, I found out las… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 390: 🦓🦅🦜

Apple seems to have a settled on a strategy for handling demands to open up payment processing and external web links, and we’re frustrated by the decision. Following a silly Wall Street Jour… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Kolide: Device management for teams that value honest security

At Kolide, we believe the supposedly Average Person is the key to unlocking a new class of security detection, compliance, and threat remediation. So do the hundreds of organizations that send impo… | 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 … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

That question again: iMac or external display?

Some questions are perennials. This week on Upgrade we answered a question from a listener named Kiran: Assuming that the display quality of an Apple external display is the same as the upcoming iM… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

What’s in my menu bar, 2022 edition (Member Post)

I’m kind of a sucker for menu bar apps. I’m not sure why, but there’s tons of software that I would never just leave running in my Dock, but I’m more than happy to reduce to… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: January 13, 2022

“Shortcuts: Name That Tune” and other puzzles. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 374: More Like a Lexorcism

What is listening to a podcast if not being haunted by ghosts? | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Podcast Note workflow, now with Shortcuts

Last week, Jason wrote up his new podcast note workflow, using Keyboard Maestro and an AppleScript script. The end goal was to create a text file that contained notes about things to fix while edit… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 433: My Work Nest is Pretty Well Feathered

The last tech we bought for our home workplaces, the tyranny of choice with subscription service content, non-smartwatch wearables we’d like, and the state of printers in the year 2022. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Downstream 8: Everyone’s Talking About Bruno

It’s a new year! Disney has moved another Pixar movie out of theaters and onto Disney+. Why “Don’t Look Up” was the perfect movie for Netflix. “Yellowstone” is a… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Massachusetts offers digital vaccine records to all residents ↦

Just as a follow up to my post about digital vaccine cards, I was pleased to hear this week that my home state, Massachusetts, is now following in the footsteps of California and offering digital v… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Apple to allow alternative App Store payments in South Korea ↦

The Korea Times: Apple said it plans to provide an alternative payment system at a reduced service charge compared with the current 30 percent charge, as the tech giant turned in its compliance pla… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 389: I Have Extra Buttons

We discuss why it’s useful to take time every once in a while to pull back and look at the big picture instead of getting bogged down in the day-to-day grind. Also, Jason built himself a tool… | 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. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

NightWatch: An Apple Watch stand, if you want it

This is a tricky one. On the one hand, the NightWatch Apple Watch stand is ridiculous. It’s an $85 hunk of plastic. No hunk of clear plastic should cost $85. And yet… I bought one in Ju… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Kolide: Slack-powered device security

My thanks to Kolide for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Kolide connects device security and Slack together in a clever way–by sending people important, timely, and relevant recommendations a… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: January 7, 2022

Zoom and FaceTime are weird. Apple and the home (again). The G4 iMac turns 20. It floated above your desk like a VESA-mounted iMac. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: iMac G4 ↦

Speaking of the iMac G4, here’s my look back at that great, weird, beautiful computer from my 2020 tour of the most notable Macs of all time. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

TV for Picky Eaters (Member Post)

I’ve noticed that folks who write about cord-cutting tend to be maximalists: “How can I get the most of all the things available?” Fair enough. A lot of people like lots of TV. Bu… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

In case of podcast problem, push button

Tell me how the panelist caused you extra work. Last year I decided I was spending too much time doing jobs because I could do them, not because they were an essential part of my job. (My friend My… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 373: I Need More Underwear

We’re easing back in from our post-holiday comas. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 432: By “Read” I Mean “Listen”

How we turn our digital photographs into physical media, our experiences with external monitors, our thoughts on an audiobook service from Apple, and the AR/VR headset features that would appeal to… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 388: The Year of the Headset

We spend our first episode of 2022 discussing what we think Apple will do this year. Is it finally time for an Apple product you put on your face? Jason and Myke also discuss changes they’re … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Kolide–Slack Powered Device Security for MacAdmins

Kolide is a SaaS app that sends employees important, timely, and relevant security recommendations concerning their Mac, Windows, and Linux devices, right inside Slack. At Kolide, we think end-user… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

David Sparks goes all in on MacSparky ↦

My friend David Sparks has been leading a double life for a while now. To his law colleagues and friends, he has had a strange side hustle writing and talking about tech. To the rest of us, he̵… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Microsoft Exchange finds a Y2K22 bug ↦

Microsoft Exchange admins felt a great disturbance in the Force last night as it became 2022: The “long” type allows for values up to 2,147,483,647. It appears that Microsoft uses the first two num… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

The Back Page: Perennial Predictions, 2022 Edition (Member Post)

Some predictions are like sweet denim jackets or A-Ha’s “Take On Me”: they never go out of style. As 2021 draws to a close, you’ll see tech pundits from across the Internet … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

2021 Favorites: Books

We conclude our 2021 Favorites series with this list of books we loved this year. You might know this about us, but we read a lot. These were the cream of the crop. Piranesi My favorite book of the… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

6C Podcast: December 31, 2021

Millennials / Terminal / ls -al / What’s your shell? It’s the last Six Colors podcast of the year. Let the molting begin! | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Sponsor) Kolide: VC-backed remote-first startup is hiring

My thanks to Kolide for once again sponsoring Six Colors this week. Kolide focuses on honest, user-focused device management and security, with informed consent, opt-in style enrollment, and commit… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago