Mac Power Users

At the end of an unprecedented year, Stephen and David take some time to reflect on what it's meant for an Apple user, and what they'd like to see out of 2021 in terms of tech.

In this feedback episode, Stephen and David revisit bookmarks and Mail, M1 Macs and 32-bit apps, note taking and keyboards.

Stephen and David talk through paperless tools, apps, and workflows in 2020. Also, David's released his new Paperless Field Guide.

If you're shopping for a nerd in your life, David and Stephen are here to help.

David and Stephen talk with photographer Austin Mann about his work and his annual iPhone camera reviews, including what sets the iPhone 12 Pro Max apart from Apple's other new phones.

macOS Big Sur brings with it a new design and updated features. This week, Stephen and David wade in to macOS 11, before giving their impressions of the M1-powered MacBook Air.

This week, David and Stephen are joined by Kurt Knight, Senior Director, Platform Product Marketing at Apple to talk about the M1 chip and macOS Big Sur. After that, the guys talk about this first wave of new Macs.

MacStories Founder Federico Viticci joins David to talk about the iPad and its ecosystem of apps for power users. As the iPad itself becomes more capable, what users can do with it continues to expand, but as the guys discuss, there are still pain points.

Stephen and David are joined by Luc Beaudoin, a cognitive scientist, author and developer of the Mac app Hook. He explains how we typically gather, process and use data, and how our computing devices can assist — and detract — in that work.

A few new research applications have popped over the last year, joining some true Mac legends. To see what is what, David went on a quest, and has returned to share with Stephen the wisdom he gained while exploring.

Zac Hall from 9to5Mac and Space Explored joins David and Stephen to talk about the state of the Apple Watch's software and hardware, as well as Apple's new iPhones.

With Apple Silicon Macs coming soon, Stephen plays a montage for David that recaps the Intel era, featuring its highs and lows.

Liana Lehua joins in this week to share the best workflows and gear for improving video conferencing and home audio and video. Liana and David also discuss business apps, widgets, and revisit the iPad vs. MacBook question.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.