(Podcast) Downstream 5: The Netflix Connected Universe

Diving into Netflix’s brand new global and regional top 10 lists, and all the things they tell us about the global streaming giant. Also, ViacomCBS corrects its Star Trek mistake, and why Net… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 427: Old Man Yells at Fail Whale

The older tech that we can’t justify replacing, what we’d change about Twitter in the wake of Jack Dorsey’s exit, the health tech we’d like to see next, and which retro vide… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Run shortcuts from the Mac command line

I was reminded by Simon Støvring, maker of the excellent Mac and iOS utility Data Jar (which is a persistent data store that’s accessible via Shortcuts), that people may not be aware of just … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

Now Playing in hardware form ↦

Jason Tate: A few weeks ago I started working on a new weekend project. I wanted to build a mini-computer that could sit on my desk and display what I was currently listening to. A simple idea. Aft… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

The Back Page: Tim Cook’s Wishlist (Member Post)

The holiday season is upon us, and what do you get for the man who has literally everything?1 Tim Cook has got to be a hard man to shop for. From outward appearances, all he seems to do is work and… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 383: Dongletown Hotel

This week Myke and Jason are both in Pacific Time, and Myke has some tech travel observations. Meanwhile, Jason’s been exploring Shortcuts on the Mac. Plus: Mac AirPlay quirks and an Apple la… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 2 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 426: Little Bobby Tables

How we charge our devices, the travel tech we’re taking with us this year, our thoughts on Apple’s plans for digital IDs, and an examination of Apple’s newly announced Self Repair… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Display network quality in your menu bar

Last week Dan wrote about macOS Monterey’s new Network Quality Tool, which lets you quickly get a sense of your local network speed from the command line. If you’re a user of ambient Ma… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

A Thanksgiving spread (Member Post)

An Apple Pencil, a Kobo Libra 2, and some creamed corn. This time of year leads to a few inevitable kinds of stories. Giving thanks, and… deals? Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, a… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple sues spyware maker NSO Group ↦

Apple Newsroom: Apple today filed a lawsuit against NSO Group and its parent company to hold it accountable for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users. The complaint provides new information… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Qualcomm has an exclusivity deal with Microsoft for Windows on ARM ↦

Rich Woods reports about Windows on ARM and where it may be headed in the future: Qualcomm actually has an exclusivity deal with Microsoft for Windows on ARM, and speaking with people familiar with… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Shortcuts makes my Mac user automations portable

This week I’m traveling for Thanksgiving, and I’m using this MacBook Pro review unit before I have to send it back to Apple1. One of the things I had forgotten in the years where I larg… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 382: Hey Car, Stop

Apple’s car project is back in the news, but is the company’s ambition in this area unrealistic? Also: Qualcomm spoils it for Apple, Apple employees get a new date to return to work, an… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

David Smith extends his Apple Watch battery ↦

Following up from his post from last fall, developer David Smith has taken his Apple Watch on a three-day hiking trip and figuring out some strategies for extending its life: What gives me some exc… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Tip: Make Shortcuts into Mac Apps (sort of)

This week, thanks to an article by John Voorhees at MacStories about integrating Shortcuts with the Elgato Stream Deck, I discovered an incredibly useful tip about Shortcuts integration on the Mac.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 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 | 3 years ago

Nuphy Air75: A low-profile keyboard that feels a bit cramped

As someone who’s enthusiastic about mechanical keyboards, I was interested in reviewing a prerelease version of the $110 Nuphy Air75. It’s a 75 percent keyboard (a size that’s rig… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

6C Podcast: November 19, 2021

Apple Cars without steering wheels and Apple-branded pentalobe screwdrivers. What a world. (The podcast will be off next week for Thanksgiving. Back in two weeks.) | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

A HomePod mini on my desk

A few months ago I decided to unplug the iPod Hi-Fi I was using as an external speaker for my iMac Pro, and replace it with a stereo pair of $199 Sonos One SL speakers. I’m using my iPad Pro&… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

‘Letterman Bumpers’ ↦

Marc Karzen shot the amazing, award-winning bumpers used going into and out of every commercial break on “Late Night with David Letterman,” one of my favorite television shows of all ti… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple Car: Nobody’s at the wheel? ↦

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple’s focusing on a fully autonomous car for release as early as 2025: Apple’s ideal car would have no steering wheel and pedals, and its interior… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 367: Grist for the Mule

John takes a foray into smart home automation. Dan wonders about Apple’s rumored headset, and special guest James Thomson takes us to programming school. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Downstream 4: Sorry, World!

Disney+ came out of the gate strong, but its growth is waning. What does it need to do to reach a broader audience? It’s all about the ‘Hamiltons.’ Also, ViacomCBS pulls the rug o… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 425: Neither Ultra Nor Fine

Our computer speaker setups, the latest apps we’ve installed, whether we’re experiencing NFT FOMO, and the smart home gadgets we’d like to get this holiday season. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple launches a consumer “Self Service Repair” program, starting with iPhones ↦

In a move that I would wager almost nobody saw coming, Apple has announced that it will now allow consumers to buy official parts and tools to repair their own devices: Available first for the iPho… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Qualcomm expects to lose Apple’s business ↦

Qualcomm, a company with no real interest in trying to appease Apple, told the world today that Apple will probably be shipping Apple-made cellular chips in devices at scale by 2023: At an investor… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The future of the TV app is still unclear (Member Post)

It’s been five years since Apple announced the TV app–auspiciously on the same day it unveiled the first-generation Touch Bar MacBook Pros. A year earlier, Tim Cook first declared that … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 381: Get Used to Disappointment

This week Apple revises a child-protection feature, tries to avoid links in apps, launches a new business service, and welcomes some Netflix… games?… to the App Store. Oh boy! | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

macOS Monterey’s new network quality tool ↦

Developer Dan Petrov has a quick write up of the new command line network quality tool included in macOS Monterey: It seems that Apple has quietly added a new tool in macOS Monterey for measuring y… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 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 | 3 years ago

Rebuilding my smart home: Sensors active (Member Post)

Being able to control your lights from your devices or enjoy audio in every room are great goals for a smart home, but smart tech isn’t just about the things you can do, but what your smart h… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

6C Podcast: November 12, 2021

Shortcuts, services, and self-promotion. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Joanna Stern embarks upon 24 hours in the metaverse ↦

Delightful video from the Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern about trying to spend 24 hours in the metaverse.1 My eyes hurt just from watching. Long story short: the metaverse is a ways from … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

2021 e-reader roundup: Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Paperwhite reviews

Left to right: Kobo Libra 2, 11th-generation Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Sage. I love e-readers, which explains why I write about them a lot. Earlier this year, I abandoned my Kindles and took up with … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Panic’s Playdate delayed until early 2022 ↦

Global supply chain issues strike again! The first units of Panic’s Playdate handheld gaming device were scheduled to ship before the end of the year, but they’ve now been delayed to ea… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 366: We’re All Legacy Nodes

A surprising amount of discussion of a Tom Hanks movie. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The Template Gun meets Shortcuts

I’ve written a couple of times about Template Gun, a hot-dog cannon of an AppleScript that I use to automatically expand zip archives of Logic Pro templates to use in editing projects. The sc… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 424: Who Doesn’t Love Sensible Scissors?

Our thoughts on Twitter’s new subscription service, the keyboards we’re using, how we feel about smart locks, and some thoughts on Apple’s new Communication Safety features for Me… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple’s request for a stay denied in Epic case ↦

The Verge’s Adi Robertson: Epic v. Apple judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers says Apple must comply with an order to let developers add links and buttons to external payment options, denying the com… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple reaches out to small businesses via new Business Essentials service

Apple extended its service offerings to businesses on Wednesday by announcing Apple Business Essentials, which rolls together device management, support, and iCloud storage into a single subscripti… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Take Control of Photos, version 2.2 ↦

Take Control Books recently released version 2.2 of my book about Apple’s Photos app. It covers changes in macOS Monterey and iOS/iPadOS 15, including the revamped Memories feature, new shari… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Twitter Blue arrives, with news aggregation inside ↦

Twitter announced its premium Twitter Blue subscription service back in June, but it has just launched in the United States: We’ve launched Twitter Blue in the US, Canada, Australia, and New … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

‘The iOS App Icon Book’ ↦

Michael Flarup just launched a Kickstarter for a book all about the art of iOS app icons: The iOS App Icon Book features hundreds of works of art from individuals and teams around the world. It ser… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Review: Lutron Aurora bridges the gap between Hue bulbs and wall switches

Much as I love some good smart home lighting, there’s nothing worse than running into a problem that is singularly dumb. Recently, I detailed the smart home lighting setup in my new house, an… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 380: Hey Self, Don’t Do It!

Now that the M1 Pro and M1 Max have arrived, we turn our attention to the future of Apple silicon in 2022 and beyond. Will there be new chips every year, or is that too rapid a pace? | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

6C Podcast: November 5, 2021

Better late than never, the big three: Charts, canyons, and clever automations. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Help a Mac automation find Focus ↦

I’m intrigued by the new Focus modes in macOS Monterey and iOS 15, but frustrated by the fact that there’s no easy way for an automation tool to detect the current Focus status. Except!… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Monterey’s new screensaver is probably a trip through an underwater canyon

Amongst the additions in macOS Monterey are a couple new screensavers—I know, try and contain your excitement. One is the retro “Hello” module inspired by Steve Jobs’s introductio… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago