Web Finds for June 11, 2018

Web Finds are from my web surfing travels. You’ll find some unique and informative news, apps and websites that you may have never known existed. Enjoy!

17 Basic macOS Terms Every Mac User Needs to Know and Master
Whether a newbie or veteran, you have a whole lot of Apple-specific glossary to pick up and master. But don’t worry, it’s not all that difficult.
Via Makeuseof

10 Strikes and You’re Out — the iOS Feature You’re Probably Not Using But Should
For many years now, iOS has offered an option in the Passcode section of the Settings all: “Erase all data on this iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts.
Via Daring Fireball

How to Request a Copy of Your Apple ID Account Data
Apple now allows its customers to download a copy of their personally identifiable data from Apple apps and services. This can include purchase or app usage history, Apple Music and Game Center statistics, marketing history, AppleCare support history, and any data stored on Apple servers, including the likes of calendars, photos, and documents.
Via MacRumors

4 Ways to Generate a List of Apps Installed on Your Mac
I ran across this the other day. It’s not something that I would use often but in the right situation it could be very helpful.
Via Makeuseof

Previous Web Finds are here.

My Mac Menu Bar – June 2018

Visible

1Password: For my passwords
Copied: For syncing clipboards.
Fantastical: For quick access to my calendars.
Screenfloat: For taking or accessing screenshots.
TunnelBear VPN: For private browsing.
Bartender 3: For hiding the menu bar items that I don’t want to see.

Hidden

Alfred: For efficiency and productivity.
Keyboard Maestro: For efficiency and productivity.
PopClip: For managing selected text.
Yoink: For drag and drop.
Oversight: For alerting me when my internal mic or webcam is being accessed.
Time Machine: For backup to an external USB drive.

Podcasts I listen to

A few weeks ago I wrote about RSS feeds that I follow. Today I’ll share some of my favorite podcasts.

Podcasts are a cool way for me to get other peoples perspective on a variety of subjects. They are also a way for me stay informed and educated on subjects that I’m interested in as well as a way to be entertained.

The great thing about podcasts is that I listen to them in Overcast on my iPhone while I’m walking, running, cycling, driving, or working out. All of my favorites are available in Overcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

Here are a few of my favorites.

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

Accidental Tech Podcast
A tech podcast we accidentally created while trying to do a car show. Featuring Marco Arment, Casey Liss, and John Siracusa.

The Committed
A weekly tech podcast focusing on Apple products and other technology. Ian Schray, Rob Griffiths, and Kirk McElhearn look at how to remain sane in a world of constantly-changing technology.

Connected
Connected is a weekly panel discussion on Apple and the impact of technology on our lives. With each co-host having a unique background — and accent — Connected provides a perspective that no other show can. Hosted by Federico Viticci, Myke Hurley, and Stephen Hackett.

The Axe Files
David Axelrod, the founder and director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, brings you “The Axe Files,” a series of revealing interviews with key figures in the political world.

The Forward
The Forward Podcast with Lance Armstrong gives the audience a rare and revealing listen into Armstrong’s conversations with an eclectic range of personalities—some well-known, others simply with intriguing stories to tell. Above all, The Forward Podcast is a personal, honest, engaging and always entertaining dialogue that leaves the listener with new insights and perspective.

The Move
Co-hosted by Lance Armstrong and longtime Austin radio personality JB Hager, The Move presents a singular perspective on the world’s most iconic cycling races, including the Tour de France and the Classics, as well as the broader endurance sports scene. Not your typical cycling or sports podcast, The Move brings listeners deep inside the racing action, imparting insights from someone who knows the suffering and splendor like no one else.

Back into the swing of things

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here on my blog, so it’s time to get back into the swing of things with this post.

Here’s what’s been going on. We sold our house in Southern California and moved across the country to our house in New Jersey. The entire process has been all consuming and stressful. If you’ve ever sold your house and moved across the country you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’ll spare you all the grisly details.

We are sort of settled into our New Jersey house. It has been mostly empty for the past 15 years so we have a few fixer-upper projects both inside and out. We’re tackling them one by one. We are still waiting for the moving company to deliver our belongings. It should only be a few more days.

We now have internet. It was installed yesterday so now I’ll be able to get back to my writing and blogging.

Ugh! – Drafts app for iOS goes subscription

Another one of my favorite apps has gone subscription. This is very disappointing. I refuse to support any more subscription apps. I’m already on subscription overload. One has to draw the line somewhere.

It does appear that Drafts version 4, which is now called Legacy, will continue to be supported but with no further development. I wonder how long that will last?

David Sparks announces the MacSparky – iPhone Field Guide

David Sparks also, known as MacSparky, has released the iPhone Field Guide.

I’m a big fan of MacSparky. I’ve gotten a lot of useful tips and learned many tricks reading his blog and listening to the Mac Power Users podcast that he hosts with Katie Floyd. I’ve also watched a number of screencasts that he has done for apps that I use. They are wonderful. A screencast series that comes to mind is the one he did for the iOS app Drafts.

Here are David’s own words:

With the iPhone Field Guide, you’ll learn to get the most from your iPhone with this media-rich book that is sometimes user guide, sometimes opinionated app recommendations, and sometimes iPhone sensei. This book was built entirely in iBooks Author and includes all of the multimedia goodness including screenshots, photo galleries, and video screencasts all engineered to make you an iPhone power user. There are over 50 screencasts adding up to over two hours of video instruction, 450 pages, 44 chapters, and over 65,000 words to help you learn how to squeeze every bit of awesomeness from your iPhone.

The material is accessible to beginners and power users alike with a thoughtful, fun, and systematic approach to iPhone mastery. Moreover, this book is beautifully designed and a joy to read. This is the seventh book in the MacSparky Field Guide series.

MWeb markdown editor for Mac and iOS

I came across MWeb from a Medium reader comment suggesting it as a Ulysses replacement. Not being familiar with the app I checked in with the king of markdown text editors macosxguru. I figured he would know about it and sure enough, he did.

He has been kind enough to do a nice review of the Mac app.

macosxguru, writing for Bicycle for Your Mind

Product: MWeb
Price: $14.99

Loren of ldstephens asked for a review of MWeb. So here goes.

MWeb is a surprise. It is a deep product which improves on both Ulysses and Bear in some areas and brings some unique skills to the Markdown editor genre.

It is the usual three-pane Markdown based text editor. Similar to LightPaper, TextNut – A CommonMark editor for Mac, Bear – Notes for iPhone, iPad and Mac or Ulysses to name a few. This category is a competitive category in the macOS marketplace.

Continue reading the review here.

Web Finds for March 28, 2018 – Apple’s education event

Apple introduced a new entry-level iPad that is pencil compatible and 200 GB of free iCloud storage for students at their educational event in Chicago this week.

Here are a couple of event related articles that I found worth reading.

How to choose between Apple’s iPad and iPad Pro
If you look at an iPad and an iPad Pro side by side, you won’t notice much of a difference. The Pro is a little bigger, it has slightly thinner bezels, there are some metal dots on one edge — and that’s about it.

With Apple’s update to the entry-level iPad on Tuesday, the two full-sized tablets are surprisingly close together in both appearance and spec sheet. There are some notable differences between them, but if you’re planning to buy one for casual use — or for a student, like Apple hopes — there’s not a ton you’re missing out on by getting the $329 iPad instead of the $649 iPad Pro.
Via The Verge

Where’s the iCloud storage bump for the rest of us?
Look, it’s lovely that Apple has decided to give 200GB of free iCloud storage to any Apple ID associated with a teacher or student. It’s a nice gesture, and one that probably makes things a lot easier for those in school environments.

But, come on, Apple—you’re really going to leave the rest of us at 5GB?

The standard 5GB of free iCloud storage has been in place for years now, and, frankly, it’s starting to wear thin. When most iOS devices come in 32GB configurations at the smallest, and many start at 64GB, 5GB feels pretty paltry. Especially when the next step in the upgrade tier is to pay $0.99 for 50GB of storage space. I realize Services has become a moneymaker for Apple, but it just feels cheap.
Via Six Colors

Previous Web Finds are here.