(Sponsor) Sponsor: The Lattice Trilogy by Erik Hanberg

In the future, privacy is a thing of the past.Get all three books for $0.99 each.All three of these books managed to surprise me over and over again. In a landscape where so much of our storytelling conforms to templates, it was refreshing to have no ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Scripting a save location within Default Folder X

I’ve been using St. Clair Software’s Default Folder since the days of System 7. It’s a utility that lets you set a different default location for the Open/Save dialogs in every app you use, and provides some other clever features like ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 239: Lady Gaga is on My Side

This week, on the irreverent tech show that spends way too much time on keyboards, we discuss Apple’s latest keyboard—drink!—announcements, the distribution of Teslas amongst our podcast hosts, what we really think of Elon Musk, and the ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #295: Pixie Dust

This week, on the 30-minute show that never has too much time on its hands, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Anže Tomić and Allison Sheridan to discuss Apple’s latest MacBook keyboard update, what other companies might run afoul of US-Chin... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Apple updates MacBook Pro processors and keyboard, extends Keyboard Service Program

Continuing its renewed commitment to update pro Mac laptops on a regular basis, Apple on Tuesday announced an update to its 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro Touch Bar models ten months after the previous announcement. These updates don’t bring any ch... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #246: You Can't Fight the Magnets

With the WWDC draft a week away, Jason and Myke engage in a flight of fancy, discussing all their wishes for iOS and macOS developments that probably won’t happen. Also, Jason has to retrieve his iPad. ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

The ants are my friends, they're blowing in the wind

I’m happy that Apple added lyrics listings to iTunes on the Mac and Music on iOS. Sometimes I hear (or mishear) something in a song I’m listening to, and I want to consult the written lyrics. Internet lyrics databases like Genius, largely ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #294: More Twists Than a Bag of Pretzels

This week, on the 30-minute show that’s always got time for you, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Kathy Campbell and James Thomson to discuss the new Alexa Guard, our swag collection habits, banning facial recognition, and where we’l... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 238: This Math Works

This week on the irreverent tech show that your body rejects, we board the topic train to discuss Apple’s latest iOS update and its new Channels options, the impact of the Supreme Court’s latest decision, and a whole host of payment-related an... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #245: Get Ready for the Sensor Square

It’s a busy week for Myke as Jason as they discuss hanging on to old software, how third-party apps react to Apple’s app updates, the Supreme Court’s ruling on an App Store antitrust case, the struggles of Apple Retail, and new reports a... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #293: An Electric Scooter Is the New Horse

This week, on the 30 minute tech show where we come and go as we please, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Shahid Kamal Ahmad and Jean MacDonald to talk about Google’s I/O announcements, scooters as part of transportation solutions (and pro... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 237: Grounds for Divorce

This week, on the irreverent mini-golf podcast that occasionally discusses technology, we talk Bloomberg’s latest WWDC scoops, Apple’s voracious appetite for buying companies, Intel getting thrown under a bus twice, and the weird story of Warr... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Review: Logitech Slim Folio Pro

Logitech has been making keyboard cases for the iPad Pro since the very beginning. Its case for the original 9.7-inch iPad Pro was close to perfect. With the $130 Slim Folio Pro for the 2018 12.9-inch iPad Pro (the 11.5-inch model is $120), Logitech c... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Review: Brydge Pro 12.9 keyboard

I’ve spent six months using the 2018 iPad Pro with Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio and a collection of external USB and Bluetooth mechanical keyboards. The Smart Keyboard Folio has been a solid traveling companion, and it’s a major impr... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #244: Push All the Sales Buttons

Apple’s financial results lead us to discuss the company bringing a new focus to iPhone sales and throwing Intel under the bus. Then Mark Gurman of Bloomberg swoops in with a huge collection of new and slightly used macOS, iOS, and watchOS rumors fo... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Are we headed for a Mac automation schism?

Steve Jobs introducing Automator in 2004 (left) and Craig Federighi introducing Shortcuts in 2018.User automation is important. Giving users the power to eliminate repetitive tasks and connect apps together in ways the app designers never anticipated ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #292: The Drums are the Worst Part

This week, on the 30-minute show that is always on time, no matter where you are, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Lory Gil and Matthew Cassinelli to discuss how we distract ourselves with tech while traveling, our thoughts on the new Luminary p... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 236: More Than Just Cursory

This week, on the irreverent tech show that is never quite what you think it’s going to be, we talk about the latest rumors that support for pointing devices is coming to iOS, Dan makes the latest case for a touchscreen Mac (and John makes the count... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Apple's financial results: Learning to sell the iPhone

Tim Cook loves satisfied customers.There was a time—a very long time, in fact—when Apple didn’t need to make much of an attempt to actually sell iPhones. I don’t want to imply that the act of creating new iPhone models and new ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

This is Tim: Transcript of Apple's Q2 2019 call with analysts

[Every quarter Apple’s CEO and CFO talk to financial analysts on an hourlong call. This is the transcript of that call from Tuesday, April 30, 2019.]Tim Cook: Thanks Nancy, and good afternoon, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. This ha... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Apple second-quarter 2019 financial results

Apple’s quarterly results are here. The company posted revenue of $58 billion, down 5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. iPad revenue was up 22% and Services revenue was up 16%, but Mac revenue was down 5% and iPhone revenue was down 17%.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #243: Fiddling Around With Folders

Jason struggles between the Mac’s insistence on file management and iOS’s lack of it, Podcasts take a step toward going viral with some help from Overcast, and we prepare for the Upgrade Summer of Fun with a new arrival from Dongletown. ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #291: My Fingers are My Meese

This week, on the 30-minute show that just keeps getting older, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Heather Kelly and Jeremy Burge to discuss rumors that the iPad will add pointing device support, our favorite tech flops, drone deliveries, and our ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 235: Any Phone Is Foldable

This week, on the irreverent tech show that sometimes takes lengthy digressions, we discuss the debacle that is the Galaxy Fold, John’s pulling back from Instagram, Lex’s daughter’s surprisingly macabre game of The Sims, and Dan’s ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #242: Myke and the Modems

What’s next for macOS and iOS? This week we discuss all of last week’s reporting by Guilherme Rambo about the future of Apple’s platforms, from Find My Friends to support for external displays and pointing devices, to the complicated fut... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Review: Kindle Paperwhite (2019) and Kindle (2019)

In the last few months Amazon has released two new Kindles, the $130 Kindle Paperwhite and the $90 base-model Kindle. Both of them are notable improvements on their previous versions, making it harder for me to declare which Kindle you should buy. The bas... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 234: Webdings!

This week, on the irreverent tech show where nobody is innocent for long, we discuss Disney’s new streaming service—aimed directly at John and Dan—and what it means for Apple TV+, plus iOS 13’s rumored improvements, Lex’s too... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Restoring Mojave's "missing" VPN server with VPN Enabler

I recently updated my Mac mini server to macOS Mojave after a long and troublesome ordeal. 1 While the update has been mostly positive, one of the features I was sad to lose was the ability to configure my own VPN server. As you may recall, the VPN s... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #241: The Tweaky Features

Disney finally unveils its streaming service at a price that makes us wonder just what game Apple thinks it’s playing; we get a sneak peek at some possible new iPad features for iOS 13; and Jason and Myke ponder the major changes due for the Mac thi... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Download #99: My Memory is Beyond the Event Horizon

Netflix ties its own hands, new Kindles arrive, Amazon gets criticized for cozying up to oil companies while touting its own green-energy efforts, web accessibility is trickier than you’d think, and… is that a black hole? ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

2019 iMac review: The best of a bygone era

The 2019 iMacs are a contradiction. They are brand-new computers that somehow feel like the last members of a dying order. They are shells designed in 2012 that somehow contain 8th- and 9th-generation Intel processors. They represent Apple’s bro... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #289: Down to the Level of Atoms

This week, on the 30-minute show that is a flat circle, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Shelly Brisbin and Jeff Carlson to discuss whether our downloading of new apps has slowed, what we’d like to see changed if iTunes is broken up, smart... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Seeing a black hole with half a ton of hard drives

That’s a black hole. Source: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.In a legitimately amazing achievement for humanity, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration announced that it has directly imaged a black hole for the first time 1. There ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 233: All Those Penguins

This week, on the irreverent tech show that asks the hard questions about government security, we discuss Apple’s 5G pickle, Netflix’s most recent decisions on technology and pricing, the hopefully inevitable disruption of iTunes, and how Grea... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #240: Dance on the Grave of iTunes

John Siracusa joins Jason to discuss how 2019 is potentially an enormous year for the Mac in both hardware and software. Also, we make time to swap TiVo stories and generate John’s Hierarchy of Mac Pro Needs.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

BBEdit is back in the Mac App Store

Back in 2014, Bare Bones Software’s Rich Siegel announced he was pulling his app, BBEdit, out of the Mac App Store. It was a bad sign for the viability of the store, and Bare Bones wasn’t the only major Mac developer to realize it didnR... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Download #98: Important Business People With Ties

Apple’s News+ pitch failed with key newspapers—but Facebook might value news curation now? Future iPhones come into focus, but Apple’s 5G timeline is called into question. Dell’s new XPS laptop is a winner. And the “hearables... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #288: Facebook Is Gonna Facebook

This week, on the 30-minute tech show where time is always on our side, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Aleen Simms and Rene Ritchie to discuss mundane tasks we think voice assistants could improve, living the multi-pad lifestyle, tech movie tr... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 232: Ray Romano

This week, on the irreverent tech show that goes where even we least expect it, we talk AirPower’s demise, some fallout from last week’s Apple event, the good and bad of April Fools Day on the Internet, and our latest much-anticipated picks. P... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #239: Fighting Against the Laws of Physics

This week we say goodbye to AirPower, ponder the place of the new iPad Mini, speculate a bit about Apple Arcade, and take a hard look at Apple News+. Also, Jason literally sits in the iMac Pro Gap. ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Updated: Which Mac laptop to buy for a student? ↦

[Updated March 27, 2019.]As a parent of children aged 17 and 14 who writes and talks about technology all day, all of a sudden I find myself being asked all the time by fellow parents for advice about buying laptops for their kids. Some of them have... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #287: The Opposite of What They're Doing

This week, on the 30-minute podcast that’s also a half-hour sitcom, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests John Moltz and Megan Morrone for an M-filled extravaganza. We discuss whether gaming subscription services are worth our money, what would... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound 231: Steven Bielberg

Finally, some real honest-to-goodness Apple news…about Apple News? Plus, a whole lot of stuff that isn’t shipping yet, which gives us plenty of time to dissect the methodology of Apple’s announcements, whether it’s wise to not show... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Initial thoughts about Apple's services event

It was an unusual Apple event on Monday. No hardware, not much in the way of software, and a whole lot of services. Plus, a bunch of famous Hollywood types standing on a stage in Cupertino talking about their TV shows. Here are some quick-hit reactions... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Rogue Amoeba updates SoundSource

The audio mavens over at Rogue Amoeba have updated their SoundSource utility for macOS to version 4, bringing a ton of new features and a brand new interface. Think of SoundSource like a supercharged version of the system audio widget that lives in ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #238: The Future of TV Was Apps

Apple spent two hours on stage unveiling a bunch of new services, and now it’s time to break them down. We discuss the method of the Apple TV+ rollout, whether Apple Channels and a revamped TV app will change Apple’s fortunes, what Apple Arcad... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Apple Event: "Show Time" at Steve Jobs Theater

I’ll be posting live from the Steve Jobs Theater on Twitter at @sixcolorsevent, which is embedded below.Tweets by sixcolorsevent ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago

Find video files that won't survive the 32-bit Mac apocalypse

A spotlight codec search.In future years we’re going to cling to macOS Mojave. Not because of any particular love for desert desktop images, but because it’s the last version of macOS to run 32-bit applications. If you rely on old software... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 5 years ago