Connected #327: The Rickies (Early 2021) ⇢

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Big week on Connected:

2020 is over. Products have been released, notches have been measured and an Annual Chairman has been named. As if that wasn’t enough, the 2021 Rickies have been etched into a Google Doc for all time.

On Connected Pro, Myke decides to install macOS Big Sur and Federico explores Alfred.

This is one of my favorite episodes each year.

My thanks to our sponsors:

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code CONNECTED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
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  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code CONNECTED to get 30% off. Offer expires on January 31, 2022, and can be used only once.

My 2020 Tasks, by the Numbers

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Thanks to Todoist’s annual reporting, I have found a lot of information about how I worked last year. In total, I completed 4,362 tasks in 2020, which breaks down to these averages:

  • 11 tasks per day
  • 82 tasks per week
  • 363 tasks per month

April was my most productive month, as you can see from these numbers showing how many tasks I completed by month. You can see that March wasn’t very good, and that I put my head down in April to work through the panic:

  • January: 388
  • February: 362
  • March: 192
  • April: 449
  • May: 398
  • June: 400
  • July: 376
  • August: 373
  • September: 400
  • October: 330
  • November: 336
  • December: 358

By far, I tend to do the most work on Tuesdays. I have no idea why, but here we are:

  • Sunday: 245
  • Monday: 553
  • Tuesday: 899
  • Wednesday: 629
  • Thursday: 565
  • Friday: 789
  • Saturday: 682

My most productive time is 5 PM, but I defer more tasks around 6:30 PM than any other time, especially on Fridays.

Go figure.

Facebook Blocks Trump’s Accounts Until Inauguration, If Not Longer (Updated: Twitter, Too) ⇢

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Mark Zuckerberg:

The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.

His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.
Following the certification of the election results by Congress, the priority for the whole country must now be to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.

[…]

We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.

A big move from the world’s largest social media company, but it’s pathetic that it took the events of January 6 to make it happen. Facebook and others have seen incredible user engagement and raked in political ad money since Trump first announced he was going to run in June 2015.

2021-01-08 Update: Twitter just permanently suspended the @realDonaldTrump account.**

Kbase Article of the Week: Mac OS X 10.5.5: USB Connected Printers do not Print; Printer Queue Displays “Printer is currently off-line” ⇢

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Apple Support:

After updating to Mac OS X 10.5.5, you may not be able to print to some USB-based printers. This message may appear in the printer queue: “Printer is currently off-line.”

I remember this bug showing up at a couple of schools I supported back when I was a full-time Mac consultant and it suuuuuucked.

Flashback #11: The Nexus Q and a Sea of Set-top Boxes ⇢

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Flashback is back for a second season:

In 2012, Google announced a sphere-shaped media player that was meant to be used with a TV or sound system. It was a disaster. However, nearly a decade later, set-top boxes are nearly everywhere. How did the market move past a weird Google product to offer a wide range of compelling products?

Quinn Nelson and I have some fun stuff planned for this season, so be sure to check it out.

Sponsor: The 2021 Digital Planner for iPad ⇢

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From my Alma mater, The Sweet Setup, is the new, 2021 Digital Planner built for the iPad and based on a proven system for clarity, margin, and focus.

Use the Planner to:

  • Get clear on the areas of life that matter most to you.
  • Make choices about how you will spend your time and energy each day.
  • Maintain margin and breathing room in your life.
  • Celebrate and recognize your progress.
  • Keep a manageable list of tasks (instead of an overflowing, overwhelming list).
  • Time block your day for maximum productivity and reduced stress.

Download now, and see for yourself. Comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

Mac Power Users #569: Contextual Computing ⇢

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This week on Mac Power Users, David walked me through his concept of “Contextual Computing,” and why it is isn’t as hard as it seems.

On More Power Users, I issued a challenge to my co-host concerning the future of his Mac setup.

My thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.
  • Sanebox: Stop drowning in email!
  • The Intrazone by Microsoft SharePoint: Your bi-weekly conversation and interview podcast hosted by the SharePoint team
  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code MPU to get 30% off. Offer expires on January 31, 2021, and can be used only once.

Flash is Dead ⇢

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Adobe:

Since Adobe will no longer be supporting Flash Player after December 31, 2020 and Adobe will block Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021, Adobe strongly recommends all users immediately uninstall Flash Player to help protect their systems.

I wonder how many Mac users still have Flash on their systems today.

2001 Revisited: A New Series

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2001 was a huge year in terms of Apple history. Just check out this list of some of the announcements and news from 20 years ago:

Software

  • Mac OS 9.1
  • Mac OS 9.2
  • Mac OS X 10.0
  • Mac OS X 10.1
  • iTunes

Hardware

  • Titanium PowerBook G4
  • First SuperDrive
  • White iBook G3
  • Power Mac G4 QuickSilver
  • Original iPod
  • Two iMac G3 revisions

Throughout 2021, I’ll be writing about some of these topics in a new series. I’m looking forward to reliving a wild year in Apple’s history.

iOS Access for All Updated for iOS 14 ⇢

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Shelly Brisbin:

I’m thrilled to let everyone know that the iOS 14 edition of iOS Access for All is now available in ePub format. The book contains more information about iOS accessibility than ever, including details, tips and step-by-step guides covering all the new and updated accessibility features in iiOS 14.

As promised, I’ve emailed new books to those who purchased the ePub edition of the iOS 13 edition after the new book was announced. If you buy the ePub from this site now, you’ll receive the iOS 14 edition right away. Updates for those who purchased the PDF and combo editions are coming soon, and I’m hoping to have an update posted in the Apple Books Store later today for people who wish to purchase it there.

It’s a fantastic book; I always learn a lot by reading through the changes Apple makes to iOS’ accessibility options each year.