The discussion with Jeff Gamet on a recent edition of The Mac Show on The British Tech Network finishes off thoughts on the smart assistants we use before turning to why one of us uses Clipboard Managers extensively and one hasn’t found a reason to do so, in spite of the fact that he has one installed.
In a one-on-one conversation from a recent edition of The Mac Show on The British Tech Network, Jeff Gamet and Chuck Joiner talked about smart assistants. The differences in purposes, capabilities, and responsiveness are discussed, along with notification abuse and which devices they each use. (Part 1)
A bonus-sized MacVoices discussion resulted from a virtual visit to the Long Island Macintosh User Group. As with most user group discussions, we start out in one direction and then let the questions and conversation dictate what we cover. The starting point this time was the iPhone 16 and things went from there.
The Internet Archive, its importance, and a recent DDoS attack on it start off a MacVoices Live! discussion with Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden. The panel also gets a chuckle over the UK adopting a USB-C charging standard, and cover some of the little-knowing LLMs that are more specialized than the ones you might be familiar with.
MacVoices Live! covers several recent shifts in major tech platforms, starting with the mass migration of users from X to Blue Sky and its implications for social media competition. The panel of Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Martty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden discuss the challenges Sonos faces regarding device connectivity and user experience as well as Squarespace’s $7.2 billion acquisition, the internal turmoil within WordPress under Automatic, and the possible effect on the web site building industry.
Microsoft wants to provide “AI emotional support?” Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Mark Fuccio look at their plans for user experience and approach, as well as the decision to kill off their headset without a replacement product announced.
We wrap up our conversation with Mike Schmitz about how his latest project, LifeHQ, organizes your projects, to-dos, and your life (hence the name). Mike explains some of the key concepts behind his system, how it integrates with apps that you already are using, and the modularity of his approach. Best of all, you can adopt features as your needs and time dictate, rather than have to learn everything all at once. (Part 2)
Mike Schmitz has been working on his new project, LifeHQ, for a long time. Built on Obsidian, LifeHQ is, “Everything You Need to Run Your Whole Life.” Mike explains his combination of personal knowledge management (PKM) and productivity enhancement and how it turns items like notes and journaling into actionable insights. Inspired by Mike’s productivity projects and studies, LifeHQ brings it all in one place. (Part 1)
Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Mark Fuccio discuss how and why YouTube succeeded in having a Vision Pro app from the App Store when they don’t have one, and what an Apple TV+ success story means for how future content will be released. Along they way the panel shares some of their Prime Day picks and why they made them.
Charlotte Henry and Chuck Joiner use this edition of TV+ Talk to discuss the surprising agreement between Amazon and Apple that will put Apple TV+ on Amazon Prime Video. Are there winners and losers in this development, and what affect will it have on how you sign up for the service? What are the financial arrangements between the two streaming players? Charlotte and Chuck also talk about the new movie that was shot with the Apple Vision Pro in mind and why one of them isn’t interested in seeing it.
The MacVoices Live! panel of Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Mark Fuccio consider New York Mayor Eric Adams forgetfulness when it comes to his iPhone password, and the use cases for Apple’s newest AI model.
Our conversation with Jason Snell about the 4th edition of Take Control of Photos for Take Control Books wraps up with a look at the power of the Photos app for users of all skill levels. Enhancements such as Photographic styles change the game by providing more post-capture options than ever before. Jason also covers getting more out of our photos by printing or making custom books and projects, and how that has become more of a focus in the latest version of Photos. (Part 2)
Jason Snell has released the 4th edition of Take Control of Photos for Take Control Books to cover the most recent updates to the Photos app on all of Apple’s operating systems. Jason explains why Photos has undergone more of a redesign than an upgrade, utilizing machine learning to help you do more than ever before with your photos. Also more unified than ever is the interface across Mac, iPhone, and iPad which helps in overcoming the resistance to adopting new features. Jason touches on how the improved search capabilities and customizable collections enhance the user experience and utilization of photos.
John Brayton of Golden Hill Software has released a Mac version of his popular RSS reader, Unread. Available on iOS and iPad OS already, John explains why he felt it was time to fill out the collection for the desktop, citing the changing ways we work and interact online, the changes in social media and how people get their news, and the thought processes behind his pricing decisions.
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