Pedometer++ 5.0

Earlier this week, Underscore David Smith launched version 5.0 of his excellent step-tracking app, Pedometer++, which I have used (and loved!) since its debut back in 2013. Here’s David on his blog, writing about about the new features: There is a delightful freedom in building a … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Tweetbot and Twitterrific Updated One Last Time

Dan Moren: When Twitter shut down third-party clients in January, it not only left out in the cold the users of those apps, but the developers too. Many of those apps were significant sources of revenue for the teams behind them, and that income was cut off capriciously, without … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Connected #439: People Like You are Killing Blogs

This week on the podcast: Federico has launched Apple Frames 3.1, Myke is worried about a secret plan set in motion by Stephen and Bing has thoughts on Apple’s Books app. On Connected Pro, two very embarrassing stories from my life. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Chromium Boasts Battery Gains for MacBook Users

François Doray, a software developer on the Chrome team: With the latest release of Chrome, we’ve made it possible to do more on your MacBook on a single charge thanks to a ton of optimizations under the hood. In our testing, we found that you can browse for 17 hours or watch You … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Kbase Article of the Week: Apple Adjustable Keyboard & Compatibility with A/UX 3.x

Apple Support: Is the Apple Adjustable Keyboard compatible with A/UX 3.x? No, the Apple Adjustable Keyboard does not work completely with A/UX 3.0 or 3.0.1. Because the CommToolbox tool(s) are built into the kernal with the keyboard IDs, some of the keys, such as arrow keys and ‘ … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Sponsor: TextExpander

TextExpander’s customizable and shareable snippets of text allow your team to fly through repetitive tasks quickly by expanding the things you type regularly — all you have to do is type a short abbreviation and TextExpander does the rest of the work for you. Here’s How It Works: … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

25 Years Ago, Apple Killed the Newton

When Steve Jobs made it back to Apple, the company had dozens of products that would not survive the company’s move to a much simpler product matrix. In a sea of forgettable Macs and accessories, the biggest loss was the Newton. Here is the announcement itself, in its entirety: A … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Mac Power Users #681: Cloudy with a Chance of Beachballs

In the 12 years since its debut, iCloud has grown from a relatively simple service to one that is the glue holding the Apple ecosystem together. This week, David and I talk about the various components of iCloud, how they work, and what to do when they don’t. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

What Do You Get When You Combine a ThinkPad 701C and Framework Laptop with an iPad Display?

You get something wonderful. Karl Buchka writes: I’ve been working on this project on and off for the last six months or so. There’s still lots left to do, but I did the first major mock-up today and I’m pretty pleased with the outcome so far. TL;DR summary: Framework powered Thi … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Connected #438: The Jeremies (February 2023)

New emoji are coming with iOS 16.4, so it’s time for Federico to guess their names. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Bluetooth Database Spills the Beans on New Macs

Rumors about that new 15-inch MacBook Air and the future Mac Pro keep heating up, as Joe Rossignol reports: Apple this week filed a new listing in the Bluetooth Launch Studio database, a move that sometimes foreshadows the launch of new products. The filing does not mention any s … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Kbase Article of the Week: iWeb: Menu Items are Unavailable After Reinstall

Apple Support: Symptoms When iWeb is opened after a reinstall of the original disc, many of the menu items may be unavailable and new page creation may not be possible. Also the theme selection screen may not appear if there was no existing site in iWeb. Note: These issues could … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

KeyboardCleanTool

This weekend, I was using someone else’s MacBook Pro and wanted to clean their keyboard. I didn’t want to shut it down, as it was downloading a macOS update. This prompted me to look for an app that could lock the keyboard for me to wipe it down. This led me to KeyboardCleanTool, … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Sponsor: DEVONthink of DEVONtechnologies

Whether you’re in the harbor or at high sea, you need to know where you are or where you’re sailing. If you have all the maps, books, and documents. DEVONthink for Mac and DEVONthink To Go for iOS will not let you down on your mission and help you navigate the “seven seas of info … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Mac Power Users #680: Workflows with Marco Arment

This week on Mac Power Users, developer and podcaster Marco Arment joins the show to talk about his desktop-laptop setup, the current state of development on Apple’s platforms and what the company may do in 2023. It is always a treat to record with Marco, and I love how this epis … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Meta Announces Verrification Program, Complete with Blue Badges

Mark Zuckerberg: Good morning and new product announcement: this week we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Considering the Next Mac Pro

Jason Snell, writing at Macworld: So what makes a Mac Pro a Mac Pro? If it’s a tower enclosure, Apple’s got a relatively fresh one from 2019 that it can just roll out again. (Gurman says that’s now the plan, which is also a little disconcerting when you consider that the original … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

On Login Items, Background Items and macOS Ventura

Howard Oakley: There was a time when the great majority of apps consisted of just an app bundle, created their own settings file in ~/Library/Preferences, and that was that. For various reasons, this became steadily more complicated, with some apps assembling arrays of files and … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Microsoft Blesses Parallels as Official Way to Run Windows on Apple Silicon Macs

Andrew Cunningham, writing at Ars Technica: In the absence of a version of Boot Camp that runs on Apple Silicon Macs, the best way to run Windows on them has been to use a virtualization app like Parallels or (more recently) VMware Fusion. The problem is that, until now, the Arm … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Connected #437: Mr. Nice Wrist Guy

This episode of Connected is very good: This week, the guys roast each other’s Apple Watches and things get weird. On Connected Pro, Myke announces his newfound interest in golf. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Kbase Article of the Week: Applications With Calendars Cannot Add March Events With Abbreviated Month Name

Apple Support: You may experience difficulty when adding events for the month of March in applications with a calendar feature, such as Microsoft Entourage v. X. This occurs when the date region is set for Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, or Switzerland (Italian). Note: This issue oc … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Quinn Nelson Reviews the new HomePod

This is the video I’ve been waiting for: | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Mac Power Users #679: Our Menu Bars, Docks & Startup Apps

On this week’s episode of Mac Power Users, David and I take each other on a tour of their Mac setups, stopping at the Dock, menu bar and startup items. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Report: 15-inch MacBook Air Coming Soon

Chance Miller, writing at 9to5Mac: Apple’s highly-anticipated big-screen MacBook Air is nearing a launch, according to a new report. DSCC analyst Ross Young reports today that the 15.5-inch MacBook Air has started panel production this month, suggesting an “early April launch.” A … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Sponsor: Boom 2

Boom 2 is a professional audio app that transforms the sound quality of your Mac. With its cutting-edge 31-band equalizer with 20dB Gain Control, Volume Booster, and unique Audio Effects, it offers a personalized and unmatched audio experience. The 31-band equalizer gives you com … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Second Russian Ship Springs Leak at ISS

Eric Berger, writing at Ars Technica: Russia’s state-owned space corporation, Roscosmos, reported Saturday that a Progress supply ship attached to the International Space Station has lost pressure in its external cooling system. In its statement, Roscosmos said there was no threa … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Connected #436: Satya Nadella, He’s a Stone-Cold Killa

This week on the show: While Federico is off wrangling Ethernet cables, Stephen and Myke explain their usage of Mastodon before talking about AI, firmware and Apple’s 2022. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Twitter Blue Customers Can Send Tweets up to 4,000 Character in Length

Huge news for those paying for Twitter Blue: Twitter has launched a longer tweet feature, giving Blue subscribers in the US the ability to post up to 4,000 characters at once. If someone you follow uses the feature, the tweet in your timeline will have a “show more” button to kee … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

My Full Answers to the Six Colors Apple Report Card

Yesterday, Jason Snell published the 2022 Apple Report Card over on Six Colors. This year, I saved my full answers for publication here as well. The Mac: 5/5 Apple is entering the third year of its two-year transition to Apple silicon. While the company has been tight-lipped abou … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Kbase Article of the Week: iChat AV: Does Not Recognize DV Camera on Computers with Powerpc G3

Apple Support: iChat AV cannot use a DV camera as an input device on computers with a PowerPC G3 microprocessor. Digital camcorders are the most common type of DV camera. iSight is not affected by this issue. However, iSight does require a 600MHz G3 processor or higher. See http: … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

The Six Colors Report Card

Jason Snell: It’s time for our annual look back on Apple’s performance during the past year, as seen through the eyes of writers, editors, developers, podcasters, and other people who spend an awful lot of time thinking about Apple. This is the eighth year that I’ve presented thi … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Sponsor: MarsEdit 5

MarsEdit 5 is a major upgrade to the preeminent Mac app for editing WordPress, Micro.blog, Tumblr, and many other types of blogs. The new Microposting feature makes it “as easy to post to your own blog as it is to post to Twitter.” When MarsEdit 5 is running on your Mac, just pre … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Mac Power Users #678: Sales and Studies, with Kerry Provenzano

This week on Mac Power Users: Relay FM’s VP of Sales drops by the show to talk about her Apple gear, keeping multiple projects going at once and why she has built much of her workflow around Airtable. Kerry is an integral part of Relay FM, and I’m glad we finally got her onto a [ … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Ultra, Indeed

Emma Roth, writing at The Verge: Apple’s exploring the possibility of launching a more expensive iPhone “Ultra” above the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models, according to Apple tracker Mark Gurman. The high-end device could arrive as soon as 2024 with the iPhone 16 lineup. Last Septem … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

On Art and Stage Manager

Federico Viticci, writing at MacStories: There is no doubt in my mind that the essence of iPadOS – how menus appear, lists scroll, buttons are tapped, heck, even what a pointer should look like – has been designed with more taste, thought, and care than anything in Windows 11. Th … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Speaking of the Mac Pro…

I was wondering how the 2019 Mac Pro’s lifespan was holding up compared to older models, and it’s not great. I can’t imagine Apple is happy that the Intel machine is still around. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Apple Looking at Delaying Updating High-End Mac Desktop

The Mac Studio may follow in the Mac Pro’s footsteps with a longer-than-average lifecycle, according to Mark Gurman. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

92 Moons

Geeze, Jupiter, take a break. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Taking Stock

Richard Fausset, writing at The New York Times: Keedran Franklin, a community organizer and social justice activist, runs a South Memphis food truck these days called “The Check-in.” The idea, he said, is not only to feed the people of Memphis, but also to ask them how they are g … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Apple Reports Q1 Earnings

As usual, Jason Snell is on top of things over at Six Colors: Apple on Thursday announced its fiscal first-quarter results, and it was a step backward. The company’s year-over-year revenue fell $6.7 billion, though with total revenue of $117.2 billion it was still the company’s s … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Twitter Replacing Free API With Unknown ‘Paid Basic Tier’ Next Week

Jess Weatherbed, writing at The Verge: Twitter will no longer provide free access to the Twitter API from February 9th. As announced by the official Twitter Developer account late Wednesday night, Elon Musk’s social media hobby will stop supporting free access to the Twitter API … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

PodSearch

Underscore David Smith: Back in 2017 I had created a site which took the the audio of some of my favorite podcasts and tried to make them searchable by passing them through an automated speech-to-text engine. In the original version of this the transcription was done with very ro … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Connected #435: I’m So Fedi Sorry

This week on Connected: Stephen talks a bit about what has been going on in Memphis, Federico gets folded up over rumors and Myke has a surprise. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Looking Back at Columbia, Twenty Years Later

Two decades ago, the space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry. I was in high school, and remember it well, feeling the connection with the shuttle disaster that took place the day I was born. There’s a lot of great stuff out there marking the anniversary: Eric Berger: Two … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Kbase Article of the Week: Boot Camp: FireWire Devices May Affect Windows 7 Responsiveness if Connected to an Apple Thunderbolt Display

Apple Support: When using Boot Camp and Microsoft Windows 7, FireWire (IEEE 1394) devices may affect system responsiveness if they are connected to the FireWire port of an Apple Thunderbolt display. Apple includes directions on how to update the FireWire driver within Windows. | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Last 2001-Era Apple Store Getting Renovated

Michael Steeber: Updates are coming to Apple Tice’s Corner in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. The store will be temporarily closed from January 31. I’m a little bit nervous about this renovation because Apple Tice’s Corner is the last location in the world with an original 2001 store … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Sponsor: Record Anything With Audio Hijack

With Audio Hijack, you can record any audio on your Mac. Whether you want to save audio from individual applications like Safari or Skype, hardware audio devices like microphones and mixers, and even the entire system audio output, Audio Hijack can handle it. Simply put, if it ca … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago

Mac Power Users #677: Software Club: Fantastical

This week on Mac Power Users, David Sparks and I return to our “Software Club” episode format and talk about Fantastical before being joined by one of the people behind the app. Michael Simmons discusses Fantastical’s history and the changes he’s seen in the Apple software ecosys … | Continue reading


@512pixels.net | 1 year ago