Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created a guide to the past week’s happenings:
Up Next
On Wednesday, April 12th at 11:30 AM Eastern US time, we’ll be holding a special Automation April workshop for Club MacStories+ and Premier members where we’ll cover a range of Shortcuts topics, including how to come up with new automation ideas for Shortcuts on Apple’s latest platforms, some of the new actions you should consider in the Shortcuts app, and some of the shortcuts we’re working on. We’ll also be taking member questions about Shortcuts from members.
This week, John explains his new link management workflow, combining a series of apps and shortcuts, and Federico shares more about his S-GPT shortcut that integrates ChatGPT with Apple’s OSes.
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Kobo announced a new 10.3-inch e-ink reader that will be available on April 19 for $399.99, which includes an improved stylus and software refinements to its note-taking and highlighting features. (Link) Speaking of e-ink readers, Engadget had a nice roundup of the options available this week if you’re looking for one to take to the...
Here are the highlights from the Club MacStories Discord this week:
This week we reactivated the Automation April channel in Discord, which has been active with members sharing tips and their shortcuts One of our moderators, Lachlan, asked members to name the one app they couldn’t live without, which led to a great discussion....
Pockity This new budget and expense tracking app by Nikhil Nigade is marketed as a simple, privacy-focused, native-feeling utility built specifically for iOS and iPadOS. You can organize your expenses with categories (in a grid layout that reminds me of Shortcuts), set up recurring expenses, open multiple ledgers with separate windows on iPadOS, and...
One of the worst automation experiences on Apple platforms is also the one that needs automating the most: email. There are many reasons for that, but probably the biggest is that email messages come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are plain text, while others include rich text or HTML. Some have attachments,...
This week on MacStories Unwind, mini topics on Phoebe Bridgers and Mario, plus John picks the new Apple TV+ movie Tetris, and Federico loves Shrinking.
Links and Show Notes
John’s Pick:
Federico’s Pick:
Jack Wellborn, one of our Automation April Shortcuts Contest judges, has a great post on his website that’s perfect for Automation April.
As Jack explains, apps built for a general audience require some features to make way for the ones that most people use. While the approach is understandable from a design standpoint, it can be frustrating if any of those semi-hidden features are ones you rely on. However, as Jack explains, there’s a solution:
This is where personal automation comes in. Personal automation gives individuals the ability to choose which of their features should be most easily accessed. I used Shortcuts and AppleScript to elevate star ratings using dedicated keys on my Stream Deck. Now I can rate songs regardless of what app I am currently using, and in one step instead of five. Using personal automation, I have also changed how Time Machine works, streamlined pasting links from Safari, and made joining Zoom meetings practically effortless.
Personal automation doesn’t need to involve expensive third party hardware, or require scripting. It can be something as simple as customizing keyboard shortcuts or defining text replacement macros. Apple’s Shortcuts app is completely drag-and-drop, and makes building personal automation easy enough for even basic users. On top of the many automation apps and features included with Apple’s platforms, there are also a slew of great third party apps that unlock even more possibilities.
I love Jack’s perspective on automation. He was the winner of our Best Overall Shortcut in last year’s Automation April Shortcut Contest. It wasn’t the most complex shortcut we received, but it had the perfect combination of originality, thoughtful design, and everyday utility that our judges look for. As Jack points out, personal automation is about making your devices work for you and not the other way around, which is what Automation April is all about.
To learn more about how to submit a shortcut to the Automation April Shortcuts Contest, be sure to check out my story with all the details that was published on MacStories yesterday.
You can also follow MacStories’ Automation April coverage through our dedicated hub, or subscribe to its RSS feed.
Links are the currency of information overload and distraction. There’s more media available than we could ever get to in a lifetime, and more things we might want to buy, places may want to visit, and other things to explore online than can be fit into a day.
The same problem exists in our work lives. That’s especially true for the kind of work I do. Links are part of everything. Whether I’m researching, writing, or preparing to record a podcast, I’m collecting, managing, and sharing links. I could follow all those trails as they cross my path, but I’d never get anything done.
Instead of flitting from one online discovery to the next with no plan, wasting precious time, I save links for later, putting them aside until I have time for them. I’ve been doing this forever, but I’ve also never been happy with my system. So, it was inevitable that I’d begin tinkering with my setup again, both with the apps I use and the shortcuts that support them.
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Federico
