Mac Power Users

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

This week, Underscore David Smith joins the show to talk about what life as a developer is like between WWDC and the fall when new versions of Apple's operating system ship.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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 ⛵.

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.

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.

Dr. David MacDonald is a musician and professor with a unique way of using the iPad, Apple TV and GoodNotes together to engage and equip his students.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Writer and director David Wain returns to the show to share how his creative process has changed over the years, and walks Stephen and David through the steps of making a show like *Medical Police.*

The stars and planets are within sight, given the right hardware and software. Andrew Burwell has been honing his astrophotography skills, using Apple products to produce some amazing images of our universe.

In the last decade, the iPad has gone from a brand-new device into a wide-reaching line of products that meet the needs of a range of users. This week, Stephen and David talk about the current state of the platform, and how it fits in with the iPhone and Mac.

Family Sharing means that up to six people can share purchases, media and other Apple services. This week, David and Stephen walk through the features, how to set it up and the possible pitfalls of this Apple service.

From messages and emails to sports scores and social media, our devices generate all sorts of notifications. This week, we discuss how to weed the garden and tame the madness.

Gone are the days of waiting for the evening news to find out the weather for the next day. Now, weather data is accessible anywhere. This week, David and Stephen compare a bunch of different weather apps and services before picking their favorite.

Drafts developer Greg Pierce joins Stephen and David to talk about his move to an iMac, his development career and when it is time *not* to upgrade to a new device.

Mark Hackett runs a small non-profit working in Sudan, named Operation Broken Silence. This week, he joins David and some other Hackett guy to talk about data management so far from home, the power of Apple's apps like Pages and his move to the iPad Pro.

The iPhone has become many people's primary device for many different types of tasks. On this episode, Stephen and David look at the current state of the hardware, software and services that make up Apple's most popular product.

David and Stephen review 2019, and the changes it brought to the Apple ecosystem before talking about their hopes for 2020.

It's feedback time! David and Stephen revisit media management and external drives, then talk about David's 16-inch MacBook Pro, meditation apps and USB-C hubs. Then Stephen makes a confession, which David takes rather well.

David and Stephen interview Thomas Grove Carter, a video editor who has been using Final Cut Pro X on the 2019 Mac Pro with the Pro Display XDR. They talk about the power of the new machine, it's flexibility and how it unlocks new types of workflows for video editors.

Stephen and David are joined by John Voorhees to talk about Mac Catalyst, which allows for iPad apps to be developed for macOS. They review some early examples and talk about the technology and what it could mean for the Mac and iPad in the future.

Stephen steps behind the Genius Bar — or into the Genius Grove, as it were — to provide tips for troubleshooting Macs, iOS device and iCloud. Then, he and David talk about the new 16-inch MacBook Pro and how someone should prioritize features when buying a new computer.

Ken Case of the Omni Group, Greg Scown of Smile and Dave Teare of AgileBits join David and Stephen to talk through Apple's year and the changes it brought for developers. Then, a conversation about app subscriptions, VC funding and more.

It's that time again; the annual MPU Holiday Gift Guide has returned.

Stephen and David are joined by Brent Simmons, who works in marketing at The Omni Group. They talk about the tools of the trade, including social media and content creation before shifting gears to discuss Brent's RSS reader, NetNewsWire and where the Mac could be heading.

YouTuber and podcaster Sara Dietschy joins Stephen and David to share about her video work, from cameras to editing and beyond. They also discuss managing large amounts of data across multiple locations, the role of the iPad and turning creative work into a business.

David and Stephen talk with Ian Elsner, a museum exhibit creator who is using the iPhone SE, iPad Pro and an Intel Compute Stick together in some very interesting and unusual ways to help develop educational exhibits for kids and adults.

Our iOS devices go with us just about everywhere, and pairing them with some select accessories can make them more useful in more situations. This week, Stephen and David talk about some of the products that they rely on when using their iPhones and iPads, from cases and batteries to tripods and keyboard.

Stephen and David are joined by Chris Bailey, an author and presenter with an undying love for TextEdit and getting focused work done with the Mac and iPad.

macOS Catalina is here. It breaks with a lot of the past, while showing us a bit of what the future of the Mac may hold. In this special bonus episode, David and Stephen dive into what's what in this year's release of macOS.

David and Stephen are joined by Dave Hamilton to talk about his work at The Mac Observer and BackBeat Media, his approach to podcasting, how covering Apple has changed over the years and some software tools every Mac user should know about.

In this feedback episode, David and Stephen revisit Alfred and backups and talk about iOS 13's bumpy release and the new iPhone and Apple Watch. Stephen also gives a behind-the-scenes look at the recent Relay FM Podcastathon and closes the episode by reading a list of the iPhones he has broken over the years.