Put anything in your Mac’s menu bar with BitBar

Three BitBar plugins in action. I really can’t recommend Mat Ryer’s BitBar enough. It’s a free Mac utility that lets you put more or less anything you want in your menu bar. I kee… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The changing face of David Letterman ↦

Don Giller is the unofficial archivist of David Letterman’s talk show career. It’s a crying shame that a curated sample of Letterman’s output from his NBC and CBS shows isn’… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Command Performance: Easy shortcuts (Member Post)

One of the secrets to being an efficient computer power user is mastering the use of keyboard shortcuts. When you can tap a couple of keys and kick off something that otherwise would’ve requi… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #311: Summer of App Store Problems

Epic takes on Apple and Google’s dominance of smart phone app stores with an app update and corresponding legal filings and publicity campaign. What’s Apple’s next move, and more … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #18 – Xserve

It’s 2020, and Apple is shipping a rack-mountable Mac Pro. It’s the latest chapter in a decades-long flirtation between Apple and the machines that dwell in the server closet. Even thou… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

What’s in store (and in stores) for Apple this fall (Macworld/Dan Moren)

Though it might still only be mid-August, fall is rapidly approaching. That’s not only significant because it will hopefully mean the end of the heat that’s been barraging my home for the last seve… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: August 14, 2020

Just another sleepy week in August, other than an Epic showdown. Jason gets to play Spider-Man and Dan doesn’t. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) 20 Macs for 2020: PowerBook Duo (#19)

The very first time Apple made a laptop that compromised in numerous ways, all in the question of being as thin and light as possible. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Tired of paying fees to platform owners, Epic Games goes to court ↦

Epic Games, the makers of the popular game Fortnite, doesn’t appreciate that mobile platform owners–we’re talking Apple and Google–demand that if you use their app stores, y… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Service Station: Headspace (Member Post)

It’s kind of tough out there right now, so if you’ve been finding it challenging to get through the days and weeks with some semblance of normalcy, you’re not alone. For my part, … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Bloomberg: Apple service bundle on tap for this fall ↦

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple may be ready to unleash a bundle of subscriptions alongside the iPhone this fall: There will be different tiers, according to the people, who asked not to be… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 302: A Mess of Complications

We return to our Apple Watch roots this week and it turns out it’s Moltz’s turn to get picked on for some reason. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 359: Confused and Full of Starch

This week on the 30-minute tech show that has had a little too much gluten, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Paul Kafasis and Lory Gil to discuss Microsoft and Apple argue about cloud gam… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

How Apple can improve AirDrop (Macworld/Jason Snell)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nine years since Apple introduced AirDrop as a part of Mac OS X Lion and iOS 7. I consider AirDrop to be one of Apple’s best moves of the past decade. It’s a fea… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

‘Blogging from Space’ ↦

David Sparks wrote an article in VR: I recently tried out a new Oculus app that is intriguing. The app is called Immersed, and it is quite a trip. With the app on your Oculus Quest and the host sof… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Automate This: Reading comics on the regular

As a person of routine, part of my morning regimen for the last several decades is settling down with my morning cup of tea and reading some comic strips. As a kid, I’d dig through the newspaper to… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #310: The Opposite of Shiny

Jason reviews the new iMac (with nano-texture display) and the public beta release of macOS Big Sur. Myke thinks Apple’s making a big mistake in keeping game streaming services off of its pla… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #19 – PowerBook Duo

Most of Apple’s early laptops were, like today’s MacBooks, complete Macs. The premise was: “Let’s engineer a Mac that’s like the one on your desk, but put it in a single pac… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

What the iMac refresh can tell us about Apple’s future products (Macworld/Dan Moren)

August tends to be right in the middle of the summer doldrums, the time when everybody goes on vacation and thus news—including tech announcements—are few and far between. Then again, 2020 isn’t yo… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: August 7, 2020

In the summer I love to kick back with an ice-cold beta. Also, Microsoft’s in the news for weird reasons. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) 20 Macs for 2020: Power Mac G5 (#20)

The classic “cheese grater” design of the Power Mac G5 influences the design of the modern Mac Pro, and also represents (in the worst way) the last time Apple embarked on a chip transit… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple, Microsoft spar over cloud gaming against antitrust backdrop ↦

Pursuant to the announcement earlier this week that Microsoft would not be bringing its xCloud game streaming service to iOS, the two companies have exchanged fire over where the blame lies. First,… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

First Look: macOS Big Sur Public Beta

So here we are, at the end of OS X. Two decades ago Apple parked the sixteen-year-old Classic Mac OS and leaped to version 10.0, but four years ago the company rebranded the software that drives th… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

2020 iMac review: The last picture show

This has got to be the end, right? Apple has announced that it’s moving the Mac to Apple-designed processors. The design of the iMac is stale and in desperate need of reinvention–just a… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Microsoft ends cloud streaming beta for iOS, preps Android-only launch ↦

The Verge’s Tom Warren reports on the latest casualty of Apple’s App Store policies, Microsoft’s forthcoming cloud gaming system: “Our Project xCloud preview TestFlight period has… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple’s AI chief on the critical nature of machine learning in the company’s products ↦

Interesting interview (and, I think, perhaps the first major one) with Apple senior vice president for machine learning and AI strategy, John Giannandrea, along with product marketing VP Bob Borche… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

SoundSource 5 adds new features, revamped interface

Given the frequency with which I have to deal with audio, Rogue Amoeba’s apps are amongst the most indispensable tools in my arsenal.1 And one that I’ve grown increasingly fond of in re… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 301: Stunned Silence

This week’s episode, like every week’s episode, features three Apple fellows with a decidedly lower-case “f”. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) 358: What’s It Called? The Yellow One

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that’s always there for you, can Instagram Reels take on TikTok? What are our favorite low-tech pastimes? What do we think of Disney’s Mulan release? Wha… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The Hackett File: When Apple stumbles (Member Post)

With iOS 14 now humming along in beta form, many people (myself included) are excited about the possibilities of widgets. I’m excited to see what the developers of some of my favorite apps do… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Where does the iMac go from here? (Macworld/Jason Snell)

With Tuesday’s announcement of the new 27-inch iMac, Apple seems to be clearing out some of the final major Intel Mac releases in its product pipeline. The big question is, what’s next for the iMac… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Developer’s App Store account erroneously flagged as malicious ↦

Apple’s automated tools mistakenly flagged developer Charlie Monroe’s account as malicious this week, wreaking havoc with his business: This is the message macOS shows to all users who … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #309: Ancient Mac Archaeologist

The summer gets a little more serious as we discuss Apple’s newest iMacs, Phil Schiller’s job transition, Apple emails disclosed by the House Antitrust Subcommittee, and Apple’s s… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Phil Schiller is now an Apple Fellow, succeeded by Joz ↦

Phil Schiller, former senior vice president of worldwide marketing and longtime staple of Apple events, has moved on to become an Apple Fellow, following in the footsteps of other notable Apple per… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Last hurrah? iMacs get Intel processor upgrade, all-SSD storage, T2 chip

At Apple’s developer conference in June, Tim Cook said that the company still had Macs with Intel processors in its pipeline. It must be rapidly filling with Macs with Apple silicon, but on T… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The UX of LEGO panels ↦

Very cool look at the “user experience” of LEGO computer blocks that we’ve probably all seen since time immemorial. Design engineer George Cave runs down the various types of inte… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Astronauts use AirDrop to get around glitch during return voyage ↦

Over at Space Explored, Zac Hall writes about a glitch during the recent re-entry of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule that was mitigated thanks to some low- and high-tech Apple features: The issu… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #20 – Power Mac G5

After Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the late ’90s, he famously simplified the company’s product line by drawing a four-product grid: consumer desktop (the bulbous, brightly colored G3… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: An Introduction

I’ve been a professional observer of the Mac for three-quarters of its life. Sticking around that long–27 years–has given me a deeper perspective on its history. I remember the Ma… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Time for Apple to reevaluate how the App Store does business (Macworld/Dan Moren)

If there’s a segment of Apple’s business that seems to fly in the face of the company’s philosophy—not just in terms of making a product that is substandard or lackluster—but in terms of actually b… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: July 31, 2020

Reading the tea leaves from Apple’s financial results. More speculation about Apple silicon processors and future Mac roll-out plans. And Jason reveals the secret project he’s been work… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The Back Page: Patently obvious (Member Post)

Notoriously secret as Apple is, there are but a limited number of ways to discover what exactly the company is developing. Thanks to our current ongoing pandemic, my surefire proprietary methodR… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

For once, the Mac and iPad lead Apple’s record financial results (Macworld/Jason Snell)

One of these quarters, Apple’s going to announce financial results that don’t result in some sort of record. Perhaps as soon as next quarter, even. But on Thursday, Apple announced the results of i… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The new iPhone won’t ship until October

On Apple’s quarterly call with analysts Thursday, Apple CFO Luca Maestri made it official — the new iPhones won’t ship until October this year. Here’s what he said: As you k… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

This is Tim: Apple Q3 2020 results call transcript

Here’s a live transcript of Tim Cook and Luca Maestri’s conference call with analysts, currently in progress…. Tim Cook: [Very beginning of call missing, TBD.] Care and adaptabili… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple Q3 2020 results: Everything up

Apple’s results for its most recent financial quarter are out and they’re really good. The company was up in pretty much every category. It was, once again, a record for Apple’s t… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Mac OS 8, implemented via JavaScript ↦

Developer Felix Rieseberg has written a JavaScript virtual machine emulating Mac OS 8 running on a 1991 Macintosh Quadra. Wild. And because it’s an Electron app, it runs on pretty much any pl… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound #300: 300

It’s The Rebound 300th Episode Extravaganza and we’ve got guests, songs, dancing and…  | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago