If you are combining your Stream Deck with Keyboard Maestro, you’ll want to check this out.
StreamDeck + Keyboard Maestro with KMLink — MacSparky
Just purchased a Stream Deck to help facilitate a number of automations in my workflow, and couldn’t agree more.
Try KMLink: https://github.com/Corcules/KMlink
For some reason being able to pick up my controller and play on my phone, iPad, or on my TV whatever the situation really fits into my life.
♥️ Stadia – Greg Morris
I received a free Stadia package from Google for being a YouTube Premium (or YouTube TV) subscriber. To quickly recap my previous life as a gamer:
I never thought to try Stadia until I saw it supported the latest Madden. That, and NHL, was the driving force of my game-playing days, so I decided to give it a shot. A couple tries later and my brother-in-law and I are hooked.
I haven’t kept up to date with cloud gaming, but being able to go from one TV to another or play on my iPad or computer monitor amazes me. I just pick up my controller and play wherever, whenever I can. It fits into my life perfectly as well.
There’s no longer friction in my video game playing. You know, except for that whole working and having a family thing.
Prior to using YouTube over RSS, I would open the YouTube app on my iPhone or iPad, browse the subscriptions tab and save any video I wanted to view in my Watch Later playlist. Then I’d start watching from there.
YouTube Over RSS – Initial Charge
Reading this piece from Mike hit home. I love YouTube. I subscribe to a ton of content, and even pay for YouTube Premium. However, my usage would oftentimes follow the above, except after something was pushed to Watch Later I’d forget about it.
I usually consume YouTube on Apple TV and just scroll through my subscriptions list. Basically, if I get to it I get to it, which meant I missed out on a lot of good stuff.
Starting today, I’ve pushed a lot of my must watches (Chris Lawley & A Better Computer to name a couple) into my RSS reader of choice, Reeder. With using Reeder’s iCloud option, I just input the YouTube URL and it automatically grabs the feed for me. Even better.
Just today I starred two videos from those above to watch later. It works perfectly, because I actually to peruse my starred articles daily. Time to go watch!
Overcast is a really good app, and I used it for years, but it doesn’t seem “fun” to me, and when it comes to apps, I like it when the design has a bit of character.
Castro’s New Queue Widgets
Couldn’t agree more with Chris on the above. However, I still can’t leave Overcast. There remains a space for Castro in my workflow, and that’s offloading YouTube audio via the amazing Sideload to Castro extension.
I’ve tried to switch in the past and just couldn’t escape how Overcast audio sounds just enough better for me to tell (can we combine the audio of Overcast and design of Castro?). Also, I listen a lot on my iPad at my desk, and I’m still waiting for Castro’s iPad app.
Regardless, these widgets do look great.
Put the building blocks of IFTTT in your own hands. Go beyond if this then that with queries, conditional logic, multiple actions, and more.
IFTTT Pro
I’ve been using IFTTT for free since its inception. I’ve always hoped they’d do a pro level to help sustain them a bit longer and provide more value (much like Zapier), so I’m happy to contribute. I rely on both IFTTT & Zapier for a lot of automation in my daily life.
If you use it at all, I suggest heading over there and subscribing. Early adopters can get in for as low as $3.99/month.
via Tools & Toys:
The next time you’re thinking of buying a stuffed animal for a special kid or baby in your life, check out Jellycat’s shop.
Doing what I can to share the Jellycat brand. My daughter turns 18 months today, and has absolutely loved each of her Jellycat plushes, as well as the If I Were Books. Enjoy.
Also — and this is a complete guess — it feels like a good opportunity for Apple to repurpose its siri.com domain, doesn’t it?
Apple Once Again Rumoured to Be Working on a Web Search Engine — Pixel Envy
Certainly does.
However, and to link to the original post by Jon Henshaw, I think what Apple may – or may not – be building is a different kind of search engine. You are seeing points of that in spotlight, Siri suggestions, and the advanced search coming to iPad OS (which I hope makes its way to iOS proper).
By not having a simple search starting point, they wouldn’t face scrutiny for favoring their own products & services. I see a Safari start page that functions a lot like the Siri face on Apple Watch. It’s useful, could be so much more, and gets a tad bit closer with each revision.
Parlay that beyond the wrist, with advanced Siri capabilities everywhere, and now you’re talking.
When watching the well-executed keynote in late June, it hadn’t dawned on me that the new Spotlight Search on iPad would be more representative of an app like Alfred and less representative of Spotlight Search on the Mac. Spotlight Search on the Mac is somewhat underpowered, and bringing that to the iPad seemed natural, evolutionary, and sensical.
Apple clearly opted for a more powerful rendition of Spotlight Search for the iPad, however, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Two Weeks with the iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 Public Betas – The Sweet Setup
Spotlight Search is probably what I’m most excited about in iPadOS 14. I’m at the point where my mind is trained to operate a Mac based on numerous Alfred workflows and searches. If it’s more designed towards that on the iPad, then I’m all in – especially with the running of shortcuts directly.
Meanwhile, thanks to everyone for using the site for another year! Not everyone gets to be around long enough to have to do major upgrades, and I am grateful to be in that position, thanks to all of you.
Pinboard is Eleven (Pinboard Blog)
Pinboard is a fantastic service that never fails. I have almost 900 bookmarks captured from over the years, and use it to automate various bookmarking tasks every single day. I also pay for the archiving feature, so I know I’ll always have a copy of what I was looking at specifically.
I’m hopeful the updated API lights a spark in Pinboard iOS app developers. I’ve relied on a few in the past, but they haven’t been updated in a year or two.
I’ve been busy, so I’m behind on WWDC news. However, MacStories, as always, has a great rundown of everything that’s changing in iOS and iPadOS 14. Most notably the first-party Notes and Reminders apps.
No more texture. At long last, Notes’ textured background has been put to rest. The new flat background looks great in light mode and even better in dark mode, where OLED iPhones display true black.
Everything Changing in Apple Notes and Reminders in iOS and iPadOS 14 – MacStories
I use various notes apps (more on this some other time), but I’ve always wanted to swap one with the Apple Notes app. I just could never bring myself to look at that background. Finally, that is being replaced. I will need to test this in the upcoming public betas.
As for Reminders, again, I use different task managers for different things (more on this later, too). In Reminders, I keep all personal items that have nothing to do with my work. It helps my brain to have everything in its own spot, so any additions and refinement here are welcomed.
