Tag - Automation
Hands On: Workflow 1.5 (iOS)
When this app first came out, we got it, and completely understood why it was useful, and why people would like it -- we just didn't really adopt it for ourselves. Then it was updated, and suddenly we "got it" in another sense: we really grasped how useful it is. The improvements in the second version made us use the app a few times a week. Now with Workflow 1.5, we're typically using it daily.
Pointers: Use Automator to repeat image editing
Okay, we asked for this one, really. Earlier this month we ran a Pointers about exploiting OS X Services and in it we mentioned how you could create your own such utility. Actually, what we said was that we'd once done this in Automator and it was so long ago that we couldn't remember how we did it. You could've let that pass but, no, apparently you couldn't. So, because you insisted, here's how to build a useful tool in Automator and then install it as a Service that you can run from any other app.
Hands On: Alloy 1.4.1 (iOS)
This is an app for launching other apps or, more usefully, for launching particular functions within those apps. So you get one- or perhaps two-tap access to features that might be buried several levels deep within one of these other apps. If you've looked into speeding up or automating iOS before, then Alloy 1.4.1 is like Workflow crossed with Launch Center Pro.
Utility smackdown: Keyboard Maestro vs TextExpander
We have had rubbish smackdowns before. Really rubbish ones where if we didn't end up recommending every single thing in the fight, it was very close to every single one. It's not that we're too nice, though: it's that we pick excellent hardware and software for these smackdowns. This time, it's one on one. Mano a mano between two apps that have a lot in common and of which neither is so cheap that you'd buy them on a whim. It's Keyboard Maestro 7.0 versus TextExpander 5, both for OS X.
Pointers: How to get better at automating finances
You're rubbish with money, and that's one reason we feel a personal bond with you. However, you and we are also Mac users, and there is a way to get OS X to help us. It won't earn us anything, it won't save us anything, but if we work this right, then it will automate how we record our finances. That's a bigger thing than it sounds, because always knowing where you stand means always knowing whether you can afford that iPad Pro.
Hands On: Workflow 1.3 (iOS)
Once again, this app has had the tiniest of point number updates from 1.2 to become Workflow 1.3 but what it's added is hugely significant. Previously we've reviewed this and we've tried it out and we have completely understood that it is a marvel of automation for your iPhone and iPad. Intellectually, we understood that it meant you could speed up things, make a single button that launched complicated sequences involving different apps. We understood all this intellectually – but now because of just one of the new features, we get it.
Hands On: Keyboard Maestro 7.0 (OS X)
Keyboard Maestro 7.0 is not a showy app. Like every version before it, this new one has ever more power, ever more useful features, but exactly the same problem: it is genuinely so good you forget you're using it. This is a tool for making certain tasks easier to do on your Mac, to make a long chain of jobs be done with just a keystroke or two. It does that, it does that very well, but whatever keystrokes you added immediately seem to be what the Mac should always have done.
Hands On: Editorial 1.2 (iOS)
If you've already used Editorial, just go get this update: we've nothing to tell you you don't know better than us. For you're the expert, and we're at the stage of comprehending -- and maybe even appreciating -- what this text editor is capable of, but not yet being able to exploit it. Editorial 1.2 is an excellent evolution for the app's fans, but perhaps it's also a prod for the rest of us to take another look at it and see what the fuss is about.
Microsoft continues push for home-automation OS
Microsoft has published a new white paper (pdf) on its Microsoft Research site detailing how its HomeOS would work to make home-automation a reality. To explain its concept, Microsoft’s researchers frame the HomeOS as being a ‘PC-like abstraction’ for in-home devices. In this paradigm, consoles, routers, PCs, printers, smartphones, air conditioners and light, for example, would all appear to the HomeOS as peripherals connected to a central interface.
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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit
Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj
Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket
The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]
Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera
Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94
Apple employees testing wheelchair features
New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa
SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards
SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If
Apple's third-quarter results due July 26
Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm
Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users
Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE
