Chris tried letting AI choose his tasks and came away disappointed. Chris and I talk about human judgment, my return to paper journaling, and the work robots can help us do once we’ve decided what matters.
The post Intentional AI 11: AI Task Management appeared first on MacSparky.
MindNode has announced support for the iPhone Duo, with an update scheduled for today. The headline feature is Side by Side, which puts your mind map and outline together on the unfolded display.
You can capture ideas in Outline mode on the outer display, then unfold the phone for a larger mind-mapping canvas. Side by Side lets you work with both views without switching between them.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what productivity app developers do with the iPhone Duo.
The post MindNode Comes to the iPhone Duo appeared first on MacSparky.
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I review Q3 and talk through our plans for the rest of the year. We look at keeping a menu of opportunities without turning every interesting idea into a commitment, and setting quarterly milestones for projects that won’t fit into twelve weeks.
We also compare notes on what we’re choosing to leave undone. There’s an overhead audit, a little forgiveness for plans that changed, and a new creative challenge for each of us.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
The post Focused 267: A Menu of Opportunity appeared first on MacSparky.
As part of the general redesign around here, I managed to screw up the RSS feed for some, but not all, of the posts. If you’ve been following me via RSS and getting truncated posts, I apologize for that.
Fixing it required me to put my hands in the gears of the site’s PHP, which, to me, feels something like defusing a bomb. Nevertheless, the bomb has been defused, and the full RSS feed is restored. Thanks for your patience.
The post RSS Feed Update for macsparky.com appeared first on MacSparky.
I still use TextExpander every day. In addition to all the other jobs I’ve given it over the years, it’s also become an excellent tool for managing and slinging AI prompts at my various robots. It seems the TextExpander team hasn’t been sleeping. There are a few notable recent updates.
For years, I’ve kept a series of snippets that are almost identical, with small differences depending on the circumstances. Now TextExpander has Conditional Sections, so I can put those variations into a single snippet and choose the one I need from a dropdown when it expands. That should let me simplify things a bit.
They’ve also added spelling and grammar checking right in the snippet editor. Currently, it’s just English, but more languages are promised.
It’s nice to see the gang at TextExpander continuing to improve this great little utility.
The post TextExpander Adds Conditional Sections and Spelling appeared first on MacSparky.
I’ve made a new video about where I draw the line with AI. I’m happy to give it the donkey work. Getting a finished post into WordPress or checking customer records against each other frees up time for the work I want to do.
The trouble starts when success at those jobs makes us trust it with judgment and taste. While AI can help me compare options and propose things to consider. I still need to make the call.
I explain it all in the video.
You hold the map. The AI holds the shovel.
The post Let AI Do the Work, Not the Thinking appeared first on MacSparky.
Emmy-winning composer Michael Whalen returns to talk about his Mac Studio, Logic Pro, and the move from making music to directing AI-assisted films. David and Stephen also discuss Apple's new home devices and the apps Michael uses every day.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
The post Mac Power Users 871: AI Can’t Fake Taste with Emmy-Winning Composer Michael Whalen appeared first on MacSparky.
This week, Apple announced some new products specifically aimed at the home. These include HomeView, a shared display for home controls, FaceTime, and Siri AI, along with a new Apple TV 4K and a second-generation HomePod mini. There’s also the Apple Home Collection, with cameras and a smart lock from LG, plus thermostats developed with LG and Schneider Electric. The hardware starts arriving later this fall, with Home Collection accessories following in December and early 2027.
Of these, the most interesting is HomeView, a brand-new product category from Apple, but not a brand-new category in this space. Amazon and other vendors have been making a "speaker with a screen glued onto it" type of product now for several years.
It’s interesting to think about why Apple chose to release this product now. I suspect a big part of the reason is that they finally got their act together with Siri AI. A product like this wouldn’t work without it.
Another data point, though, is where Apple stands with Apple Home right now. It’s always felt to me like a bit of a lukewarm project out of Apple, where they put some effort into it, but just enough. In the first few years after release, it was feature-limited and buggy, so much so that I drifted away from Apple Home integration for a couple years.
In the last six months, however, I have gone all in again with Apple Home, and the second attempt has been a lot more successful. My blinds now go up automatically at sunrise and my lights reliably turn on when I walk in the room. Announcements come through my HomePods and my exterior cameras tell me when someone’s at my door right on the Apple TV.
The automation stack is deeper with Shortcuts support. Home Assistant offers more control, but I think Apple Home is enough for most people. More importantly for my family, Apple Home is something they can control without feeling like they need computer science degrees.
What Apple needs to focus on now is stability and privacy. Put simply, we need the lights to turn on (and off) when we expect them to, and we need to feel like our camera systems aren’t being converted into a small-market television program on the other side of the world. Apple has something to offer here if they’re willing to put more wood behind the arrow.
With the release of this new hardware, I feel like the pieces are falling into place. I’ve given Apple Home a second chance. Now Apple needs to stay committed to making it reliable and private for everyone in the house.
The post Apple’s Second Chance in the Home appeared first on MacSparky.
Below you’ll find the week’s new videos and podcasts, a few of the conversations happening in the member community, and what’s coming next week. Most of those links lead straight into the Labs community on Circle, so they’ll only open if you’re a member. If you’re a Labs member who hasn’t set up your Circle access yet, send me a note and I’ll get you in. For members, this is your week at a glance. If you’re not one yet, it’s a peek at what you’re missing.
Post · October 12 · all tiers
I shared a pass through notification settings, starting with the apps that haven’t earned the right to interrupt you. The post covered promotional alerts, badges, and when an app should be allowed to make a sound.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Video · October 13 · all tiers
I showed how I used Siri AI for everyday questions and kept a conversation going with follow-ups. The examples ranged from why stars twinkle to woodworking and planning a museum visit.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Announcement · October 13 · all tiers
I posted an update about moving Labs billing from Memberful to Circle. It explained what members should expect during the transfer, including keeping their membership price, renewal date, and Labs access.
Post · October 14 · Pathfinder & Insider
My camera discipline needed some help. I shared the larger Elgato prompter I’d been using to keep my eyes on the lens, with photos of the clamp and mount it took to get it onto my desk.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
Video · October 15 · Pathfinder & Insider
After Monday’s notification cleanup, I showed how to give the useful Mac alerts their own sounds. TrillMark also offered visual alerts, and I walked through setting it up for Shortcuts and avoiding double sounds.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
Live Deep Dive · October 15 · Pathfinder
Thursday’s Deep Dive was about running AI on your own Mac, with a beginner’s look at models, memory, and what local tools could realistically do. The link below leads to the event page; the recording will follow.
Podcast · October 16 · all tiers
I covered Apple’s new HomeView and the rest of its home announcements, including the app limits and extra costs of putting HomeView on a wall. My editorial asked whether a smart home would work for the people who didn’t set it up, and my media pick was the Blue Planet series.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Secure Input Blocking Snippets (Labs Discussion Board)
A member followed up on the October meetup with notes about Secure Input interfering with TextExpander and Alfred. The thread looked at background apps and Input Monitoring permissions, with more troubleshooting notes promised as the member reconstructed the steps.
Synology – Personal Cloud w Chat and Meetings (Labs Discussion Board)
Could a Synology replace a paid Slack group for a family partnership? A member started exploring its chat and meeting tools and asked for experience from others. The replies included another chat option and requests for a report on how the experiment went.
iPhone 18 Pro Buzz (Labs Discussion Board)
A member heard static during calls on a new iPhone and asked whether anyone else had the same problem. Replies offered a different experience on a Pro Max and raised possible hardware or carrier issues. The thread hadn’t settled on a cause.
If you’re a Labs member and haven’t joined the Circle community yet, let me know and I’ll get you set up.
Next week, I’ve got a miniature Macintosh clock to show you, along with an AI assistant you can reach by text message. There’s also time to read along for our next book club.
Labs Book Club – Meditations for Mortals · October 29, noon Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Labs November Meetup · November 7, 10:00 AM Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
The videos, podcasts, and live sessions above are inside MacSparky Labs. Join at macsparky.com/join.
The post This Week in the Labs — October 16, 2026 appeared first on MacSparky.
For years, a recurring topic on Mac Power Users has been the travel router product category. Folks want to bring their own router with them when they go on a trip, and there have always been a lot of good reasons for it, but it’s also always been really fiddly.
I recently got the original UniFi Travel Router, and it is by far the best implementation of this product category I’ve ever seen. Setup is easy, and you can set up your own home Wi-Fi, in essence, from anywhere. It’s particularly good if you’re already invested in UniFi networking products, but you don’t need them.
UniFi’s now followed that up with a new edition, the Long-Range model, with a high-gain antenna. It still just uses Wi-Fi 5, and it’s thicker than the original model, but for Wi-Fi on the go, Wi-Fi 5 is, in my experience, just fine. Hotel networks, frankly, don’t need any more than that. If you’re looking for a travel router, this one’s worth checking out, assuming you can find it in stock.
The post UniFi Takes Its Travel Router Long-Range appeared first on MacSparky.
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