Things 3.5, launched earlier this week, introduced the ability to update existing items in the app – both tasks and projects – with a new update command of the URL scheme. As I wrote on MacStories: I’m happy with the work Cultured Code has put into building the update command for Things 3.5. Every...
Connected, Episode 189: Nah, Hummus!→
Stephen and Myke are still recovering from a trip to Atlanta, and it shows in this discussion of the future of iOS and digital magazines. Federico thankfully saves the episode by sharing some about Drafts 5.
On this week’s episode of Connected, we try to understand the role of digital magazines in the modern web landscape and talk about Drafts 5. You can listen here.
Sponsored by:
- Linode: High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit with promo code ‘connected2018’
- Pingdom: Start monitoring your websites and servers today. Use offer code CONNECTED to get 30% off.
- Hover: Show the world what you’re passionate about with 10% off your first purchase
Things 3.5 Brings UI Refinements, Tagging and Automation Improvements, Clipboard Integration
It’s been a busy 2018 so far for Cultured Code, makers of Things for Mac and iOS. Earlier this year, the company shipped Things 3.4, which, thanks to app integrations and a toolkit for third-party developers, propelled the task manager into the elite of automation-capable apps on iOS. It doesn’t happen very often that a task manager becomes so flexible it lets you build your own natural language interpreter; Things 3.4 made it possible without having to be a programmer by trade.
Today, Cultured Code is launching Things 3.5, a mid-cycle update that refines several aspects of the app and prepares its foundation for other major upgrades down the road. There isn’t a single all-encompassing change in Things 3.5 – nor is this version going to convince users to switch to Things like, say, version 3.4 or 3.0 might have. However, Things 3.5 is a collection of smaller yet welcome improvements that are worth outlining because they all contribute to making Things more powerful, intuitive, and consistent with its macOS counterpart.
TMI: Saving Content for Later
John
Serenity Caldwell’s 2018 iPad Review→
Serenity Caldwell, writing on iMore:
To me, the 2018 base-model 9.7-inch iPad is a special beast: It hits a line drive right through the company’s fabled intersection of technology and liberal arts — and at the right price point. The iPad Pro did it first, but at a cost unattainable for all but the tinkerers and serious artists, and without iOS 11’s crucial multitasking features. At $329, the iPad offers a low-end tablet experience unlike any other on the market. Add an extra $99 for Apple Pencil, and Apple has created the best device for all-purpose education, period.
But it’s easy to make that claim, and a whole other thing to explain why I believe it so whole-heartedly. As a result, I decided to try and prove it: Starting with a blank page in Procreate, I created an entire iPad review video by just using my 2018 iPad, Apple Pencil, and third-party apps. My Mac came into play only once — when I uploaded my video to YouTube.
I know what you’re thinking – the new iPad is “boring” compared to the iPad Pro and you don’t need to watch another video about it. But trust me, you’ll want to watch Serenity’s review because it’s unlike anything you’ve seen for a new iPad. Only Serenity could put this together – including the music, which she composed in GarageBand; everything was drawn, assembled, and edited on a “boring” 2018 iPad. You can watch the video below and read Serenity’s technical notes here.
Contextual Actions for the Dropbox File Provider in iOS 11
If you use the Dropbox file provider extension in iOS 11’s Files app, you may not be aware of the existence of two contextual actions available for selected files. With iOS 11, Apple has given developers the ability to enhance their file provider extensions with custom actions that appear when users select an item...
App Experiments: Finances 2
As I noted in a short post on MacStories last week, I’ve been considering Finances 2 as a replacement for the bookkeeping system I built in Numbers last year. I’ve spent the past week moving all my accounts and 2018 transactions to Finances, and I wanted to report back on how the experiment is...
Connected, Episode 188: A Better Thing Than a No Thing→
Apple has launched a (kinda) new iPhone, discussed the Mac Pro and saved the world. Big week!
A variety of topics on this week’s episode of Connected, including a discussion on what “pro” means on different platforms. You can listen here.
Sponsored by:
- Warby Parker: Quality eyewear at a fraction of the usual price. Order your FREE Home Try-On kit today
- Casper: The Internet’s favourite mattress. Get $50 off select mattresses with the code ‘CONNECTED’.
- Simple Contacts: Contact lens prescriptions from home: Use offer code CONNECTED for $30 off your contact lenses.
Eventail 2.2: A Compact and Customizable Calendar Widget
Eventail, developed by Jozef Legeny, is a handy utility for visualizing upcoming calendar events in a widget. Instead of building an alternative client to compete with Apple’s Calendar app, Fantastical, or Week Calendar, Legeny created just a widget that you can use as a companion app alongside the calendar client of your choice.
Eventail has been updated to version 2.2 today, which brings a new vivid color scheme for events, a true black theme for the iPhone X, and other visual tweaks. I’ve been testing the updated app for a couple of weeks and I liked it so much, it’s now got a spot at the top of my widget list on both the iPhone and iPad. In a compact and customizable widget, Eventail tells me everything I need to know from my calendar at a glance: which days are going to be busy and the time of my first appointment. There’s a fair amount of personalization that you can apply in the app’s settings (the app itself – pictured above – is a list of preferences): you can choose the number of days to display, whether you want to highlight weekends or not, and even if you want to display reminders alongside calendar events. Then, once you’re looking at the widget, you can tap individual days to expand them and tap again to go back to the main column view. It couldn’t be simpler.
Eventail’s widget will not scale for busy individuals who have dozens of events going on each day. However, as someone with only a couple of appointments on a daily basis, I find Eventail’s approach to be good enough for my needs and pretty to look at. I’m still using Week Calendar as my primary iPhone calendar client, but I now frequently open the Eventail widget when I need to know what my week looks like in a couple of seconds.
Eventail 2.2 is available on the App Store.