Software / Apps

Keyboard Maestro Macro to Change Theme in Tweetbot 3.0 for Mac

May 16, 2018 · 12:19

I quickly created this Keyboard Maestro macro, which switches the theme in the new Tweetbot 3.0 [App Store] from Light to Dark and vice versa.

The default shortcut is ⌥⌘L, which I adopted from Ulysses. Feel free to use anything you feel comfortable with. You will also need to make sure that the TweetbotTheme variable is set to either Light or Dark before running it for the first time — I didn’t (yet) bother with a pop-up asking for a correct input if that variable is empty.

★ Tweetbot 3.0 – Switch Theme.kmmacros →

Tweetbot 3.0 for Mac is here!

May 15, 2018 · 20:27

Tweetbot 3.0 for Mac dropped today! I’ve only had a few minutes to play with it so far, but it’s looking like a solid release — I’ve taken to some of the new functionality immediately.

The new 3.0 isn’t a free upgrade this time, which isn’t surprising, since we haven’t paid for the Mac version since 2012 and it’s 1.0 release. Since I practically live on Twitter, I had no qualms about the price, but your mileage may vary.

No complaints or regrets so far — I’m very happy with the new version.

★ Tweetbot 3.0 for Mac — $9.99 / €10.99 / 47.99 PLN →

How to Get Webmention Working Under WordPress

April 26, 2018 · 14:56

I learned about Webmention from Manton Reece, after he launched Micro.blog. Basically, Webmention is a standard for having conversations on the web, between different websites. These can be interpreted as comments or whatever a site’s owner wants them to be, e.g. likes, etc. To get these running under WordPress, you will need to either code Webmention into your theme or take the easy path and install two plugins…

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1Blocker X for iOS — New App, More Rules

April 25, 2018 · 12:15

The guys behind 1Blocker for iOS and macOS are launching 1Blocker X tomorrow, with support for many more rules by combining several content blockers into one app — this rewrite took them 6 months, which is why I completely understand their need to make back their investment. Salavat Khanov wrote up all the new features of 1Blocker X on their blog — it’s an interesting read — and now that I finally understand how it works under the hood, I’m upgrading tomorrow, when the app goes live. You can pre-order it today though…

★ 1Blocker X — $4.99 / €5,49 / 23,49 PLN →

My First macOS Crash on My Macbook Pro Escape (Late 2016)

April 11, 2018 · 14:36

I don’t believe I mentioned this for a while, but I still absolutely adore my late 2016 13″ MacBook Pro Escape1 despite people having problems with the keyboards. The screen is especially gorgeous.

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  1. This is the one without the Touch Bar. I had two of those. I did not like them one bit — the Touch Bar and battery life were the sole reasons for my negative attitude towards them. ↩

Hey Siri, Set the HomePod’s Volume

March 16, 2018 · 13:04

I discovered an interesting tidbit regarding setting the HomePod’s volume:

  1. The buttons on top of the HomePod change the volume in 5% increments on each tap.
  2. The voice command “Hey Siri, louder / quieter”, “Hey Siri, increase / decrease the volume”, etc. changes the volume in 10% increments.

Also, Siri really shouldn’t need to hear the “Hey” in “Hey Siri” every single time I need something from her.

“Siri, just do it.”

Using a Raspberry Pi Zero W to Add a Camera and a Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 to HomeKit via Homebridge

March 1, 2018 · 15:04

I recently purchased a Xiaomi Air Purifier 2, to avoid having dirty air in my apartment. Unfortunately, this product does not integrate with HomeKit. I am generally averse to having my “connected” home accessible from the internet, but I did want to use the HomeKit automation features. Setting this whole thing up just for one air purifier did seem like a lot of hassle, until I found out (from Steven Troughton-Smith) that you can get a Raspberry Pi Zero W with a camera module, which also works under HomeKit. Two-in-one? No need to ask me twice.

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The New YouTube App for Apple TV Is a Disaster

February 20, 2018 · 16:11

I have been using the new Apple TV YouTube app for these past few days and, to be frank… I absolutely hate it. YouTube, with one fell swoop, broke:

  • the ability to touch the edges of remote’s trackpad to skip 15 seconds in either direction;
  • the sounds which accompany navigating the UI via the trackpad;
  • the possibility to scroll the timeline in a very precise fashion, with visible thumbnails;
  • the ability to touch the trackpad to bring up the timeline.

This app is so badly designed and breaks the tvOS UX paradigm to such an extent, that I will not use it until it is fixed. Everything about it is so tragically bad — it’s basically a copy of their web player — that I’m utterly surprised Apple review let it through. At this point, I would prefer to not have the app at all than to imagine people using (and getting used to) this garbage.

Alto’s Odyssey Is Available for Pre-Order!

February 12, 2018 · 09:54

I wrote a short piece on why I loved Alto’s Adventure so much a few months ago:

These weeks were incredibly taxing, ultimately driving me into severe depression, which took me over two years to shake. I did find one way to keep sane at the time, during those long hours in the halls of the hospital my mom was in — by playing Alto’s Adventure [iOS / Android] when my stress levels were particularly high or there was just nothing else to do. I would completely lose myself in the wonderfully calming music, various sound effects, and flowing gameplay, while skiing down the slope of the endless in-game mountain. At one point Alto’s Adventure was the only experience that would calm my frayed nerves.

I don’t know what I would have done without this wonderful game, but I would like to deeply thank the team behind it — Snowman — for their efforts. They will always have a special place in my heart.

This was partly done in anticipation of Alto’s Oddysey — the sequel to that fantastic title. Well, it’s up for pre-order today, which I did, and I can’t wait until February 22, when it’s scheduled for release.

★ Alto’s Odyssey — $4.99 / €5.49 / 23.99 PLN →

I Cannot Disconnect From Wi-Fi Under macOS Sierra

January 4, 2018 · 13:12

Isn’t it ironic that so many people have issues connecting to Wi-Fi networks under various version of macOS on their MacBooks, while my issue is the exact opposite — I cannot disconnect Wi-Fi when tethering from my iPad.

Pressing “Disconnect” from the menu does nothing. Turning off Wi-Fi only reinstates the connection when I turn it back on. The only method that works for me is sleeping the computer1 — it’s disconnected after waking.

Frustrating, as is everything that doesn’t work correctly.

  1. For the record, it’s a 2016 MacBook Pro 13″ without the Touch Bar. ↩

More Christmas App Store Deals — 22/12/2017

December 22, 2017 · 18:32

A few of my favourite games went on sale today, including Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango. Going through this list, I was quite surprised to learn that I have many of the apps listed below — I’d hate to see a tally of my purchases.

See all the deals→

Christmas App Store Deals — 21/12/2017

December 21, 2017 · 11:59

Since posting my deals list yesterday, many more apps have gone on sale, including the wonderful Mini Metro. I also completely forgot that Lucky Clan’s new Artstudio Pro (basically a Photoshop replacement), which launched last week, still has its promotional pricing (it will end soon). Oh, and if you still haven’t tried Alto’s Adventure, make sure to do so — it’s one of the best games of its kind.

  • Artstudio Pro – iOS
    $6.99
  • Artstudio Pro – Mac
    $23.99

See yesterday’s deals→

Black Friday App Store Deals [24/11/2017]

November 24, 2017 · 14:31

Many more apps have gone on sale today, appending the ones I posted yesterday.

Black Friday App Store Deals [23/11/2017]

November 23, 2017 · 14:54

I know what I’m getting. Do you?

  • 2Do – Mac
    $49.99 → $24.99 | €54.99 → €27.99 | 239.99 PLN → 119.99 PLN

 

iOS 11.1, watchOS 4.1 & tvOS 11.1 Are Out — IPSW Direct Download Links

October 31, 2017 · 18:40

iOS 11.1 and watchOS 4.1 is out now and focuses on bug fixes, improvements… and a lot of new emoji. The former also addresses a Reachability bug, brings back the 3D Touch App Switcher gesture on the edge of the screen, and sorts out the KRACK vunerability, while the latter adds Apple Music streaming and a Wi-Fi toggle switch to the Series 3 LTE Apple Watch, as well as GymKit for all other models.

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BBEdit 12 — It (Still) Doesn’t Suck®

October 13, 2017 · 15:53

Version 12 was released yesterday and Bare Bones Software published info on how to upgrade, depending on which version you’re on — you can find it here. It’s probably easiest to just upgrade when they ask you to — completely worth it in my opinion. They also published a complete change log:

BBEdit 12.0 contains many new features, enhancements, and refinements to existing features. It also includes fixes for reported issues. This document describes changes in BBEdit since the previous update (11.6.8).

BBEdit also has a wonderful manual which is totally worth reading. It’s probably the first software manual that I have read in my life.

Fixing Text Shortcuts Sync in iOS and macOS

September 27, 2017 · 07:15

One day, a few years ago, I got the runaround from Apple once again — my text shortcuts stopped syncing and they told me to wait for the next version of iOS. This was right after iOS 8.0 came out. Another year? No thanks. I found my own solution. I had to go through this again, after updating to iOS 10 last year. So that’s twice since the feature was added — not bad, not perfect.

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