Kindles can at last display book covers on their lock screens

I was frankly flabbergasted to see a post on The Verge this morning, reporting that Amazon has—finally!—added the ability to show the cover of whatever you’re currently reading on your Kindle… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Project CHIP devices will start rolling out in late 2021 ↦

Stacey Higginbotham of Stacey on IoT has some details on the upcoming launch of products based on the new Connected Home over IP standard that counts Apple, Amazon, and Google as members: Today we … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

1800 Miles in a Tesla Model 3

Last week we visited my mother in Arizona for the first time in more than a year. Driving 1800 miles and trading sitting isolated in one house for sitting isolated in another isn’t the most p… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 394: AR Bologna

What we’d track with Apple Find My, our Samsung Unpacked predictions, what we expect from Apple’s April event, and a rant about Apple TV. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 337: Gene Munster Perks Up Somewhere

At long last, our origin story revealed. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The firm that cracked the iPhone for the FBI ↦

Back in 2016, the FBI and Apple clashed over unlocking an iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook. Things looked tense for a bit, as a showdown over encryption loomed, bu… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The resilience of Tito ↦

I’ve gotten to know Paul Campbell over the past few years because he was the co-organizer of the Apple-focused Úll conference. But he’s also the co-founder of Tito, a company focused on… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

‘Ian’s Awesome Counter’ ↦

David Smith released a new app today. This isn’t news. He’s one of the most productive app developers on the planet. What’s news is that it’s an Apple Watch app he designed … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple may be on the brink of a smart home breakthrough (Macworld/Jason Snell)

Sometimes if you stare at something too long, you begin to see patterns that aren’t really there. I’m worried that this is happening to me when it comes to pondering Apple’s smart home strategy. Ha… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The mystery of “white spots” on Apple trade ins ↦

The Verge’s Nick Statt has an in-depth story on customers who have run into mysterious “white spots” when trading their devices in to Apple via its partner Phobio: The situation s… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

It’s official: Apple Event on April 20

Apple announced (and pre-announced) that it’s holding a virtual event next Tuesday at 10 a.m. “Spring Loaded” is the tagline. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Report: Siri spills on April 20 event ↦

MacRumors reports that the beans have been spilled on the upcoming spring Apple event from an unlikely source: Upon being asked “When is the next Apple Event,” Siri is currently respond… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

We’re cobblers ↦

Ben Smith of the New York Times wrote an excellent piece about the rise of writers building their own businesses, most prominently newsletters based on the Substack platform. This part, about compe… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 347: The Hubris of the HomePod

Apple’s making moves both outdoors (Find My) and in (rumored new smart home products). Apple’s original podcasts continue with another project tied to TV+. And we discuss why some of Ap… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Loopback: Powerful cable-free audio routing

With Loopback it’s trivial to pass audio from one application to another on your Mac. Need to play a recording into Zoom? Add sound effects into a podcast? Include music in a streamed event? … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

First, do no Harmony ↦

Late on Friday, as befits disappointing news, Logitech announced that it would be discontinuing its Harmony remote line: While Harmony remotes are and continue to be available through various retai… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple is running out of chances to get gaming right (Macworld/Dan Moren)

Apple has made several attempts to make a go of the game market over the years—anyone remember when Apple had Game Evangelists? Pippin? Game Sprockets? And each and every time, just like boss battl… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 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 | 3 years ago

6C Podcast: April 9, 2021

No AirTags, driving to the Apple Store, and why you might not need your own wiki. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple adds support for third parties to Find My network ↦

Apple Newsroom: Apple today introduced the updated Find My app, allowing third-party products to use the private and secure finding capabilities of Apple’s Find My network, which comprises hundreds… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 336: Remember ALF?

Tim Cook was on a podcast. But not this podcast. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 393: The Sprinkles of Success

Apple’s latest Arcade updates, LG exits the smartphone market, rumors of an iMac with a bigger display, and our automation and Stream Deck experiences. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The perfect to-do system is a mirage ↦

Here’s Brent Simmons on chasing the perfect organizational system: Here’s what you need to know: it’s a mirage…. There’s no getting out of this fact: these apps are all going to take mo… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Safari is the Loneliest Browser (Member Post)

A few years ago, I switched from Chrome back to Safari, wanting a more fluid experience between my Macs and iOS devices. While I now enjoy having my bookmarks, tabs and history everywhere I go — as… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

When technology won’t let you forget ↦

Really great read from Lauren Goode at WIRED about the persistence of digital memory, even in the face of things you might prefer to forget: Of the thousands of memories I have stored on my devices… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 346: Float It Like a Hologram

It’s a big news week! Myke and Jason break down Tim Cook’s podcast interview with Kara Swisher, and discuss some big changes at Apple Arcade. There’s also WWDC 2021 and Apple’s rumored augmented-re… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Kara Swisher interviews Tim Cook ↦

Kara Swisher of the New York Times interviews Tim Cook on her podcast this week: In this episode of “Sway,” Ms. Swisher presses Mr. Cook on the motivations behind Apple’s privacy push, the power th… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock

Want to browse the web quickly, smoothly, and anonymously with no advertising? Then get the ad blocker made for you – easy to setup, easy to keep up to date and now with native support for the Appl… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

These three annoying Apple problems finally have fixes on the way (Macworld/Dan Moren)

Let’s all say it together: Apple’s not perfect. As good as the company is at creating products, even the folks from Cupertino are not immune from the occasional misstep. Nobody bats a thousand. Som… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) For All Mankind S2E7 Review: “Don’t Be Cruel”

As the season builds to its climax, there’s an awful lot to process. A real-life tragedy intervenes in Ellen’s story. Margo needs to communicate information from another tragic event that didn’t ha… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Kandji

My thanks to Kandji for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Kandji is building the future of Apple device management. Drawing on decades of experience in Apple IT, the founders of Kandji saw the need … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Startup wants to enable ‘pay per person’ home viewing ↦

The Palo Alto startup Xcinex announced a streaming box with an interesting twist–it’s got a built-in camera designed to notice how many people are in a room watching the television: In … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

6C Podcast: April 2, 2021

Apple Arcade, User Automation, and baseball caps. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple bolsters Arcade catalog with classic games ↦

Apple’s vice president of the App Store, Matt Fischer, in a press release today: “Today we’re launching our biggest expansion since the service debuted, now offering more than 180 great games… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

PSA: The MLB iPad app works on M1 Macs

Being a baseball fan who watches games on a Mac hasn’t always been easy. For years, MLB’s website showed live games in a Flash-based interface, though that’s recently been rectifi… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

TripMode appears on the Mac App Store ↦

David Dudok de Wit: What you may not know is why TripMode wasn’t available on the Mac App Store. TripMode was released almost 6 years ago, after all. So why are we on the Mac App Store now? The rea… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Keyboard Maestro’s most mind-blowing feature

In my recent piece about automation on macOS and iOS, I mentioned the witchcraft that is possible on the Mac with Keyboard Maestro: Keyboard Maestro has been the solution to almost every this-seems… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Amazon sued over price fixing with Big Five, anticompetitive behavior ↦

Writing at Ars Technica, Tim De Chant reports that a class-action lawsuit is underway over Amazon’s deals with major publishers: The suit seeks to compensate independent booksellers for Amazo… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

HoverBar Duo: The MacStories Review ↦

John Voorhees reviews the Twelve South HoverBar Duo: There is no shortage of iPad stands. Search for one on Amazon, for instance, and you’ll be met with page after page of results. Most stands are … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 392: Baaaaaa

Apple TV remote changes we’d like to see (and what should stay the same), our tech spring cleaning habits, whether in-person WWDC should return, and what other tech products should be ruggedi… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 335: The Dealmaster

What’s the deal with the Dealmaster? | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The Mac needs Shortcuts

I’m a big believer in user automation. Not everyone is a programmer, but most of us perform repetitive tasks on our devices that can be eliminated by a judicious application of automation. Wh… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The Back Page: Brow Beaten (Member Post)

Dear Tim, It is my deepest pleasure to report the satisfactory conclusion of Phase One of Operation PETARD. When you came to me last summer and gave me the goal of publicly humiliating a purveyor o… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Siri’s voice will no longer default to female as of iOS 14.5 ↦

TechCrunch’s Matthew Panzarino: Apple is adding two new voices to Siri’s English offerings, and eliminating the default ‘female voice’ selection in the latest beta version of iOS. This means … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

WWDC 2021 kicks off June 7 ↦

Apple Newsroom: Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 7 through 11, in an all-online format. Free for all developers, WWDC21 will offer unique in… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 345: Hovering Over My Desk on New Years Eve

We’re celebrating 20 years of OS X with a discussion of how we use our Macs today and what we might upgrade later this year! Also, the future of Apple events, the future of movie theaters, an… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) For All Mankind S2E6 Review: “Best-Laid Plans”

At last, the Soviets. We loved this whole episode, from the pointed conversation about Laika to the docking system designed out of coasters. Who makes Houston’s best borscht? Who cares! Let’s have … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Kandji

This week, Six Colors is brought to you by Kandji. Kandji is building the future of Apple enterprise management. The use of Apple devices in the enterprise is growing rapidly. Drawing on decades of… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago