Mac Power Users - podcast cover

Mac Power Users

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Learn about getting the most from your Apple technology with focused topics and workflow guests. Creating Mac Power Users since 2009, one conversation at a time. Hosted by David Sparks and Stephen Hackett.

Episodes

555: iOS 14 Extravaganza

iOS 14 is here, bringing new features like widgets, the App Library, increased privacy and a lot more. This week, David and Stephen review the release and talk about how Apple could take some of these features farther in the future.

Sep 27, 20201 hr 35 minEp. 555

554: Read-it-later Services

Read-it-later services can be a great way to save and enjoy an article later, away from the noise of social media or an overflowing RSS client. This week, David and Stephen talk about some of the popular choices, and how to keep them from becoming just another thing to check. Then, a recap of Apple’s recent media event.

Sep 20, 20201 hr 40 minEp. 554

553: Sparky's Wrong ... Again

On this feedback episode, Stephen and David talk more about HomeKit, Dropbox, photo management and much, much more.

Sep 13, 20201 hr 25 minEp. 553

552: HomeKit in 2020, with Mikah Sargent

Since its introduction, HomeKit has steadily grown into a wide-reaching ecosystem for smart home devices. This week, Stephen and David talk with Mikah Sargent about HomeKit hardware and software, as well as ways to extend what Apple allows it to do in its default app.

Sep 06, 20201 hr 54 minEp. 552

551: Writing Music for the Picture Business, with David Metzger

David and Stephen are joined by orchestrator and composer David Metzger, whose resume includes *Frozen,* *Muppets Most Wanted,* *The Avengers,* *Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2* and more. He shares his setup, which includes multiple Macs networked together, numerous music applications and (eventually) a full-blown orchestra.

Aug 30, 20201 hr 39 minEp. 551

550: The World of RSS

RSS can bring news, blog posts and even podcasts to you, without needing to visit a bunch of different website. This week, Stephen and David talk about the rise of numerous RSS services and apps they've seen over the last few years, and share how this web technology makes their lives better.

Aug 23, 20201 hr 22 minEp. 550

549: Brett Terpstra's New Robe

Brett Terpstra returns to the show to talk about the Touch Bar, regular expressions, Markdown and what Apple Silicon Macs will mean for macOS applications and utilities.

Aug 16, 20201 hr 17 minEp. 549

548: Jumping Into Markdown

From jotting quick notes to writing for the web, Markdown has become a very popular choice for formatting plain text. It's syntax is human-readable and easy to learn. This week, David and Stephen teach Markdown 101 covering the more complex things the language can do.

Aug 09, 20201 hr 13 minEp. 548

547: Of a Certain Age, with Jim Metzendorf

This week, the editor of Mac Power Users, Jim Metzendorf, talks to Stephen and David about his background in audio and photography, and how the gear and workflows have changed in those fields over the years.

Aug 02, 20201 hr 31 minEp. 547

546: The Best Listeners

On this feedback show, David and Stephen go through some listener email, revisit notes apps and discuss remote troubleshooting iOS devices.

Jul 26, 20201 hr 39 minEp. 546

545: State of the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch has undergone massive changes since its introduction in 2014. This week, Stephen and David review some of that history, then launch into a conversation of the platform's strengths and weaknesses and how they use their Watches.

Jul 19, 20201 hr 43 minEp. 545

544: The Notes Roundup

The market for note taking applications is huge. There are options that just deal in plain-text, apps that serve as "everything buckets," and still others focused on automation. This week, David and Stephen cover some of the better options out there and share how they keep up with various bits of digital information in their lives.

Jul 12, 20201 hr 31 minEp. 544

542: Beta Tales

It's beta season, and David and Stephen have reported for duty with reports of new features and general thoughts on macOS Big Sur, iOS and iPadOS 14 as well as watchOS 7. Plus, a brief announcement about something coming in July.

Jun 28, 20201 hr 16 minEp. 542

541: WWDC 2020

Recorded just a few hours after the WWDC keynote, Stephen and David share their reactions to iOS 14, macOS Big Sur, and the Mac's transition to Apple-designed processors.

Jun 23, 20201 hr 37 minEp. 541

540: Subroutine in the Brain

On this feedback episode, David and Stephen talk more about email and working from home, but also get into what it takes to make a MacSparky Field Guide and some weird problems they've recently encountered with their tech.

Jun 14, 20201 hr 37 minEp. 540

539: Back to Email

David has finally roped Stephen into talking about email. Topics include email services, apps and strategies. Later in the show, they are joined by Rosemary Orchard and Myke Hurley to hear about two specific apps they use every day.

Jun 07, 20201 hr 53 minEp. 539

538: I Predate the Home Computer, with James Thomson

PCalc developer James Thomson joins David and Stephen to talk about his background with the Mac, and what it take to build and maintain the same application over multiple decades.

May 31, 20201 hr 55 minEp. 538

537: The Photos Field Guide and Apple Photos

From the early days of iPhoto to now, with Photos.app and iCloud, Apple has offered increasingly-robust photo management tools for its users. This episode, David and Stephen walk through the features and tools you should know about.

May 24, 20201 hr 33 minEp. 537

536: Our Bags

A nerd's bag can say a lot about them. This week, David and Stephen empty theirs to talk through their choices and how they've changed over the years.

May 17, 20201 hr 11 minEp. 536

535: State of the Platform: Apple Services

From iCloud to Apple TV+, Apple's range of services is broader then ever, but how do they all stack up? Is this shift to services changed how users should view the company?

May 10, 20201 hr 34 minEp. 535

534: The Business of Emoji, with Jeremy Burge

Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge joins David and Stephen to talk about emoji, how they're made and why they've found such huge success. Then, he explains how tech needs change when one lives on a ⛵.

May 03, 20201 hr 27 minEp. 534

533: Feeling Frisky with my Money

On this feedback episode, David shares some about an upcoming studio move, and Stephen talks about recent experimentation with a teleprompter. Also on the docket: connected home cameras, more on working from home and the iPhone SE.

Apr 26, 20201 hr 24 minEp. 533

532: BetterTouchTool

BetterTouchTool takes a Mac's input devices and turns them into automation triggers. It can transform the Touch Bar into a customized set of tools and make a Trackpad or Mouse much more powerful. This week Stephen and David dive into this utility and what it can do.

Apr 19, 20201 hr 20 minEp. 532

530: Working From Home

All of a sudden, many people are working from their homes for the first time. This week, Stephen and David tap into their combined decade of experience to share some of what has worked well for them at home.

Apr 05, 20201 hr 17 minEp. 530

529: State of the Mac

For many of us, the Mac is the center of our computing lives, and it's no secret the Mac has had its up and downs over the last decade. This week, David and Stephen discuss the current hardware and software that makes up our beloved computing platform. As a bonus segment at the end, they talk about the 2020 iPad Pros.

Mar 29, 20201 hr 39 minEp. 529

528: The Merlin Awakens

MPU Hall of Famer Merlin Mann returns to discuss using plain text, home automation, the Apple TV and more.

Mar 22, 20201 hr 55 minEp. 528

527: Dictation and Text Capture

Much of computing revolves around writing and text input, but most of us don't think about how to make that process more productive. This week, David and Stephen explore tools and techniques that make text easier to work with.

Mar 15, 20201 hr 33 minEp. 527

526: I Don’t Aspire to Anything Else

It's feedback time! David celebrates his 5th year of being independent, while Stephen has settled on an application to manage his tech history research. Then, more on Do Not Disturb and a whole bunch of listener questions.

Mar 08, 20201 hr 30 minEp. 526
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