512 Pixels

This week, on a pretty wacky episode of the podcast:

Stephen answered Myke’s PopSocket challenge, and Federico attempts to name all of iOS 12.1’s new emoji.

My thanks to our sponsors:

• Pingdom: Start monitoring your websites and servers today. Use offer code CONNECTED to get 30% off.
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Jason really nails this.

John Voorhees, writing at MacStories:

The Hue app received a major update earlier this year, which significantly improved the creation of scenes. Users can pick from pre-built scenes created by designers to evoke a particular mood or create their own using photos or a color picker to control the color and brightness of a group of Hue bulbs.

With the new Siri Shortcut support, those scenes can be triggered using Siri and incorporated as actions in custom shortcuts using Apple’s Shortcuts app.

I am really excited to play with this.

Apple:

If your Apple Watch Series 3 or later is near your iPhone or connected to a Wi-Fi network (or a cellular network, for Apple Watch models with cellular), you can stream podcasts from your podcast library to your Apple Watch.

The example podcast is a pretty good one:

September is my favorite month of the year. Here in Memphis, it’s when we get the first teases of autumn, my favorite season. It means the school year is underway and the family is back into the routine. And, of course, it’s a fun month to be an Apple nerd.

It also means I devote a bunch of time talking about St. Jude, as September was National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

One of my favorite things about the hospital is summed up here:

St. Jude freely shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.

That means that kids treated by other hospitals can benefit from the good work going on here in Memphis. In a city that serves as headquarters for companies like AutoZone, International Paper and FedEx, this is our most important export.

Even more important than the world’s best BBQ.

As I write this, our St. Jude fundraising page is sitting at $64,701. That’s an incredible amount of money for an incredible organization. Thank you. You have made this September amazing.

(If you haven’t donated to St. Jude yet this year and want to, a buddy of mine is raising money as well, and I think it would be cool to help him meet his goal as well.)

This fortnight on Liftoff:

From a Californian satellite and the retirement of the Delta II to Hayabusa and Opportunity updates, it’s been a busy couple of weeks. Plus, a review of Hulu’s The First.

My thanks to our sponsor:

• Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

I love this blog post by Paul Kafasis:

Rogue Amoeba’s 16th birthday is coming up this Sunday, so it seems an appropriate time to take a look back into the past. Join us for a quick tour of the evolution of our in-app License window.

Good software is born out of such attention to detail.

This week on a fun episode of Connected, the world’s greatest podcast:

The guys debate the Mac’s future being tied to the quality of Marzipan apps before sharing their impressions of the iPhone XS Max and the Apple Watch Series 4. Some advice on how to listen to the show correctly is also shared.

New hardware is always an exciting topic. My thanks to our sponsors this week:

• TextExpander, from Smile: Communicate smarter. Use this link for 20% off your first year.
• Pingdom: Start monitoring your websites and servers today. Use offer code CONNECTED to get 30% off.

Apple Support:

macOS Mojave comes with many built-in or downloadable typefaces.

The following fonts are installed and enabled automatically by macOS Mojave. Additional fonts are available for download or as needed by your document or app. New or updated fonts may be added over time.

This week on Query:

What’s the difference between Screen Time and Downtime? Is Apple deleting movies from users’ libraries? Those topics, plus homescreen arrangement, the iPhone XR and more.

My thanks to our sponsors:

• Pingdom: Start monitoring your websites and servers today. Use offer code QUERY to get 30% off.
• Molekule: The only air purifier that actually destroys pollutants. Use query for $75 off.

Yours truly on The Sweet Setup:

macOS Mojave brings with it several enhancements to the core of the Mac experience: the Finder.

More than just a file system viewer, Finder is the heart of the Mac, giving users access to all of their data, programs, and more. With Mojave, Apple has added some genuinely useful features to what some people may consider a product not worth the time.

Those people, of course, are wrong, and Apple is once again showing its commitment to the Mac.

This week on the show:

From World War I to podcasts today, challenge coins makes those who hold them far cooler.

My thanks to our sponsor:

• Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code UNGENIUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.