512 Pixels

This week on Connected:

After talking about pen podcasts and the biting lip emoji, Federico, Myke and Stephen give each other a tour of their smart home setups.

Apple Support:

Nokia N70 phones have a “Mark as not done” option for To Do items. If the “Mark as not done” phone option is used on a synced iCal To Do item whose status is “completed,” the status will not change in iCal.

Apple’s solution was … less than helpful:

Change the “completed” status of To Do items in iCal instead of on the phone.

Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.

It’s always fun to part in this, and to read what others in the field think about Apple’s previous year.

Update: Don’t miss the follow-up post with charts!

Coherence X4 allows you to turn any website into a chromium-powered app on your Mac. Simply pick a site, enter a name, and pick an icon, and Coherence will turn the app into an isolated application separate from your main browser.

Unlike resource hogging Electron apps, Coherence apps are fully powered and completely customizable. You can use the vast majority of Chrome extensions, customize app assets, and even use features like whitelisting to turn websites like Gmail into an email client that will bump links to your default browser.

Coherence X4 includes a number of significant new features, including:

• Microsoft Edge & Opera Support: You should never be forced to give your data to someone you don’t want to. In addition to Chrome, Canary, and Brave, X4 adds support for Edge and Opera.
• Incognito apps - You can now combine the isolation benefits of Coherence with the privacy benefits of Incognito. Incognito apps always launch in Incognito, and will clear your data between sessions.
• Quick Resume - Coherence X4 is the first Chrome-based SSB tool that behaves like a Mac app should. If you ever close a window in Coherence, it will return to where you left off when you click on the dock icon, as opposed to requiring a restart.
• App Library - A new way to quickly install apps and manage created ones.
• M1 - Coherence X4 is the first Chrome-based SSB tool built for M1.

You can use Coherence to do things like:

• Create a Google Drive app that works as well as Chrome without having to use Chrome as your default browser
• Create a desktop app for Roam Research, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet
• Make a customizable app for Slack, Whatsapp, or any other electron-based app with the ability to add extensions or customize
• Create isolated, incognito workspaces for multiple sites like your banking applications or email and messaging.

Readers get 20% off this week when you purchase Coherence X4 or when you use the promo code 512Pixels at checkout.

In this feedback episode, David and I revisit Dropbox, photo management, calendar sets and more. More Power Users members will enjoy an ad-free show with an added segment in which I talk to Sparks about the first month of his post-legal career and how MacSparky Labs has gone so far.

Elgato recently announced the Stream Deck Pedal, offering yet another way to trigger automation workflows for those of us addicted to using the mouse as little as possible. My buddy Matt has a nice review up on his blog:

The first thing I noticed when the package arrived was how much larger the box was than I was expecting — the Pedal has a 10"x7" footprint and weighs a surprisingly-chunky two pounds, owing in no small part to the rigid steel sheet forming its bottom plate. The rest of the Pedal is made of hardy matte plastic with a pleasant texture on the top surface, so your (hopefully-socked) feet have something grippy to register on. One subtle yet essential design element in an otherwise-uncomplicated three-button pedal is the slight elevation of the left and right pedals over the middle button sandwiched between them — about a quarter-inch of tactile feedback that makes tapping the wrong button pretty difficult to do.

My thanks to Rogue Amoeba for sponsoring 512 Pixels this week. Their app SoundSource lives in your menu bar, and provides you with superior control over all your audio. As you may imagine given the company’s reputation, it’s very, very good.

Download the free SoundSource trial, then purchase today. Through the end of February, 512 Pixels readers can save 22% with coupon code 512SS22.

As pointed out by MacRumors among other sites, Apple has updated its developer website to include details concerning payments outside of the App Store, which are now available for dating apps in the Netherlands, via a court order.

I didn’t think Apple would make this process easy for developers. It wants to keep as many of these apps in the App Store as possible, but some of the details here are just ridiculous.

Check out the text the company is going to require developers to show on a modal sheet prior to allowing users to go outside the App Store to make a payment:

Title: This app does not support the App Store’s private and secure payment system

Body: All purchases in the App Name app will be managed by the developer " Developer Name." Your stored App Store payment method and related features, such as subscription management and refund requests, will not be available. Only purchases through the App Store are secured by Apple.

Ticci nailed it:

This is perfect* – it’s implying-without-technically-saying-it that other payment services aren’t “private and secure”.

Apple mastering the art of legalese is where we’re at in 2022. Proper regulation can’t come soon enough.

*ridiculous and downright user-hostile https://t.co/RglO0FjcUX

— Federico Viticci (@viticci) February 4, 2022

This week on Connected:

Before Federico guesses the names of this year’s new emoji, the guys talk about Apple’s recent betas and deal with some follow-up. Pour a glass of bean juice and enjoy!

On the ad-free ( and longer!) version of the show, the full story of Myke’s emoji creation is told.

The newest release of Carrot Weather incudes a huge overhaul of the app’s radar feature. In addition to looking amazing, these changes mean there’s a new level of customization and information in this tab of the app. I’ve really enjoyed using it on the beta, and if you’re a Carrot Weather user, you should go update. If you aren’t, now’s a great time to start using the best weather app for iOS.

John Voorhees has more over on MacStories:

The entire maps UI has been redesigned and expanded with the same sort of deep customization options found throughout the rest of the app. It’s an excellent update that’s all about visual design, so get ready for a bunch of screenshots.

Don’t miss this Twitter thread outlining the new features.

Apple Support:

Apple Remote Desktop 1.1 for Mac OS 8.1 - 9.2.2 can be downloaded from this document.

The Apple Remote Desktop client update improves reliability and delivers enhanced support for Copy hard Disk on computers running Mac OS 9.

The Apple Remote Desktop v 1.1 administration software must be used to manage any computer running this new version.

Apple Remote Desktop 1.1 Admin can only administer Apple Remote Desktop 1.1 clients. If clients are still running 1.0 or 1.0.1 the ARD 1.1 Admin will show that clients are either “– unavailable –” or it may say “– Old ARD Software –.

In case you were wondering, Apple Remote Desktop is still around. Version 3.9.5 is $80 in the Mac App Store, where it has a 2-star rating.

This week on Mac Power Users, YouTuber and podcaster Austin Evans drops by the show to talk about his content business, how Apple is competing in the wider marketplace and the gear he uses to get work done with a growing team.

I’ve been a fan of Austin’s channel for a long time, and it was great to have him on the show.