For Mac Eyes Only

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Darren are joined by special guest Marty Jencius of Vision ProFiles podcast to discuss Apple Intelligence. What is it, who needs it, and what features can we expect on our devices if we enable it? Marty and Darren share their favorite cool uses of Apple Intelligence. And Marty helps close the show with his pick for Essential App: TextExpander!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Darren discuss the end of the Whisky project. Who needs something like Whisky? What does this mean for its users and what alternatives are out there for playing Windows games or other apps on the Mac? We share some listener feedback from Brian on Shortcuts. And Darren picks this episode's Essential App: TinkerTool!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Darren dig into Shortcuts, Automator, and even a touch of AI as they seek to help a listener format images and text for different outlets on the internet including social media, websites, and email newsletters. Darren closes the episode with this week's Essential App pick: MakeMKV!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Darren offer listeners advice on moving from one cloud service to another using only the Mac's built in apps to easily transfer Contacts, Calendars, Notes, and Email — and even a few tips on how to fix a misbehaving cloud service! Mike closes the episode with this week's Essential App pick: Rapidmg!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike, Eric, and Darren share some of their favorite ways of getting the most from your Mac with tips on Finder navigation, Reminders, better Mail organization, working with multiple displays, PDFs in Notes, file templates in the Finder, plus little bonus tips sprinkled throughout! Darren closes the episode with this week's Essential App pick: Pearcleaner!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Darren discuss the revelations of a recent switcher and examine what stops people from moving to a Mac including fear of the unknown, software requirements, discoverability, perceived cost, and general misconceptions of what a Mac is and what it can do. Mike closes the episode with this week's Essential App pick: Loop!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Darren some of their top reasons to switch to a mail client like Apple Mail including Mail specific features such as Focus-based email, sending large attachments with Mail Drop, Rules, and even some unique mail sending features not found in the typical webmail service! Mike and Darren answer listener questions from Andy and Alex on Finder's Recents and legacy System Extensions. Then Darren closes the episode with this week's Essential App pick: Ghostery!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Darren dig into the Mac's Applications folder and discuss some of the more overlooked and misunderstood apps that ship with every new Mac including some you may know about...and some you may not! Mike shares listener feedback and questions from Lisa, Scott, and Cindy. Then Mike closes the episode with this week's Essential App pick: Biscuit!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: What tweaks do you make when setting up a new Mac? Mike and Darren kick off the New Year by sharing some of the tweaks they make to the Finder, Settings, the Dock, and even the apps they install...whenever they set up a new Mac. And Mike closes the episode with his Essential App pick: LinearMouse!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike, Eric and Darren kick off the holiday season by digging into their treasure trove of holiday gift ideas to share some favorite last minute gift picks for the Apple user in your life.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric provide their Retro Reactions to Apple's debut of three new M4-based Macs including an updated iMac, two new MacBook Pros, plus the newly redesigned Mac mini. Mike asks if Apple buying Pixelmator could be the beginnings of a new pro photo management app from Apple. Final Cut Pro 11 debuts with its amazing new Magnetic Mask feature. Mike and Eric cover a Mac migration question from Listener Michael who wants to avoid a lot of Intel garbage. And they wrap the episode with Mike's Essential App pick: DeskPad

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric share more on Sequoia's Screen Recording Permission issue and how to work around it using the Terminal or with an awesome new app, Amnesia! Tackling Mac migration questions from Listener Lisa, Mike and Eric cover how long you can safely keep using that old Mac, Photo library management including migration, moving, and merging your libraries, as well as keeping large libraries on external drives. Mike shares a tip to help you keep mousing when your Magic Mouse needs a charge, and they wrap the episode with Eric's Essential App pick: DisplayBuddy

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric dig into macOS Sequoia and discover a few surprises including the usefulness of iPhone mirroring, some Passwords app confusion, Window Tiling vs Exposé, a fantastic new Extensions Management tool, Messages newfound parity with the iPhone, and a new Dynamic Wallpaper celebrating the Mac's history. We wrap the episode with Mike's Essential App pick: FuzzyTime!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by Darren, Dave, and Chuck to provide their first-hand reactions* to Apple's It's Glowtime event where Apple announced the Apple Watch 10, the updated AirPods 4, the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Pro and a software update for the AirPods Pro 2 that enables a new Hearing Aid feature!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric are joined by special guest, Darren Davies to share their Top 5 new features coming to macOS Sequoia including seamless drag & drop, new summarization and transcription features, Safari's new reader mode, iPhone mirroring, plus a few extras including improvements coming to Messages and the new Passwords app. Mike dusts off his soapbox for a good old fashioned rant that leads to a discussion on Sequoia's new privacy and app permission features. And we wrap the episode with Mike's Essential App pick: BananaBin!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric are joined by special guest, Dave Ginsburg to share Dave's memories of Macstock plus his Top 5 favorite new features coming to our iPhones with the release of iOS 18. Closing the show, Dave provides this episode's Essential App pick: MacUpdater.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric are joined by special guest, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, to discuss things you may need to consider before cutting the cord including live sports, special events, Mike's antenna option, hardware and software requirements, as well as cost considerations. And we wrap with Brian's Essential App pick this week: MacUpdater.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by Eric, Darren, and Dave to provide their first-hand reactions* to Apple's WWDC 2024 Keynote Presentation where Apple announced macOS Sequoia, iOS 18, watchOS 11, and VisionOS 2, plus a peek at the new AI initiative called Apple Intelligence!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Are desktop Macs dead? Mike and Eric discuss Macworld's suggestion that Apple Silicon has left the future of the desktop Mac in doubt. Nick wonders the best way to get pics from his cellular security cam. And we wrap with Eric's Essential App pick this week: Tot.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by Eric, Dave, Chuck, and Gazmaz to provide their first-hand reactions to Apple's Let Loose iPad Event where Apple announced the new M4-powered iPad Pro, the 13″ iPad Air, and the all-new Apple Pencil Pro.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by special guest Darren Davies to discuss myths and misconceptions about the Mac and Apple products including batterygate, availability of business apps for the Mac, Macs and malware, file management on iOS, and the ever popular myth that Macs are more expensive than PCs. Darren's Essential App pick this week: Handbrake.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric continue their discussion on Shortcuts when Mike sets out to solve a problem using Shortcuts, but runs into problems of his own. In news this week, Eric laments the loss of his flying car while Mike laments the sale of Affinity to Canva. Mike's Essential App pick this week: Reminders MenuBar.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric cover the basics of automating tasks on the Mac with an overview of Shortcuts, Automator, Keyboard Maestro, and AppleScript as well as a couple “helper apps” to make Shortcuts more powerful. Eric steps us through a real-world example of a time-saving workflow created in Shortcuts. Mike's Essential App pick this week: Free Ruler.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric discuss some of the latest stories happening in the World of Mac including the release of macOS 14.4 and problems encountered with it, Apple's new Windows Migration Assistant, Nikon's acquisition of RED, and playing movies on your Atari 2600. Eric's Essential App pick: JPEGmini

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric are joined by special guest Darren Davies to discuss the state of gaming on the Mac. They discuss porting games with GPTK, running native Windows games on Apple Silicon, Classic Computing on the Mac, gaming remotely, and the cost differences between Windows gaming rigs vs a new Mac. Darren picks this week's Essential App: CleanMyMac X.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric continue their migration series with a discussion for those who might have an old or dying Drobo and are wondering how to migrate to something newer like a Synology NAS. And Eric wraps the episode with another bonus Essential App for 2024: Soulver!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by special guest Barry Fulk who shares his early experiences with Apple's Vision Pro including the purchase and set up experience, his early experiments with Vision Pro, killer apps and the Vision Pro ecosystem, as well as things that might be missing in Apple's first gen device. Mike shares a quick follow up on his personal migration away from Evernote and announces this year's dates for Macstock! Barry picks this week's Essential App: Setapp.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike shares some of the headlines of the week including the release of Sonoma 14.3, an update to Firefox, 12 Years of Ubuntu LTS, and an 18×18 Digital Camera. Mike and Eric begin a new migration series with a discussion on migration away from Evernote. And they wrap up with the first bonus Essential App of 2024: PopChar.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric present FMEO's 11th list of Essential Apps for Mac users and announce a new Essential Apps segment for 2024! Delving into the news, Eric shares thoughts on the AirDrop crack, Apple's case for selling the Apple Watch 9, and checks out Apple's new patent for using light to secure AirDrop.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric discuss some of the headlines of the week including a new open source Finder replacement, the Apple watch 9 oxygen sensor issue, plus another look at the Apple Silicon memory controversy. They then wrap up the year with some favorite Finder and Settings tweaks they like to make to macOS whenever setting up a new Mac.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric discuss the 8GB vs 16GB debate that resurfaced last week, then kick off the holiday season by sharing their last minute gift picks for the Apple user in your life.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric discuss some of the headlines of the week including the false dangers of NameDrop, a new Bluetooth flaw threatening all modern devices, Google deleting inactive accounts (and how to save yours), and a new take on an ergonomic Magic Mouse. In the spirit of the season, Mike and Eric then wrap up with a list the macOS features they're most thankful for.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric are joined by special guest Guy Serle to discuss Apple's decision to not move forward with a 27″ iMac, and whether 8GB of memory is enough on today's Macs. They wrap things up by asking if M1 and M2-series Macs are obsolete (they're not) and what might push someone who owns one to upgrade to an M3.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by Dave and Eric to provide their first-hand reactions to Apple's Scary Fast Mac Event where Apple announced the new M3-powered MacBook Pros and iMac.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by special guest Dave Ginsburg to share Dave's favorite new features of iOS 17, discuss some frustrations in the first week after the upgrade, steps to prep your iPhone or iPad for the latest OS, and even share a couple quick tips for those new to iOS 17. Mike then wraps up the show with a couple listener questions on home design software and the new iPhone 15!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by Dave, Chuck, Gaz, and Eric to provide their first-hand reactions* to Apple's Wonderlust iPhone Event where Apple announced the new Apple Watch 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, plus an all new initiative to make Apple carbon neutral by 2030.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric revisit last episode with news of a new XLoader variant and listener feedback from Darren. Then, inspired by a talk at Macstock VII, Mike & Eric dig into their Applications folder to uncover seven “hidden” apps in macOS that you should be using!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric discuss recent Apple headlines including how long the last Intel Macs will be supported, an argument for open source macOS (but settling on Linux), Firefox 117's “Babel Fish”, PoE Mac minis?, plus a Mac app you should probably uninstall. Then Mike & Eric offer 10 Basic Security tips for keeping your Mac safe — plus two bonus security tips never shared on the show before!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and special guest Chuck Joiner give a preview of Chuck's presentation at Macstock VII. Then they take a look at some recent headlines including layoffs at Plex and Evernote, Firefox 115 and what it means for older macOS users, the release of Thunderbird Supernova, a “demake” of Myst for the Atari 2600, plus a special sneak peek behind the scenes at MacVoices!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric discuss some of the top headlines in the weeks since WWDC including a whether Siri is a “disaster”, Apple's new Game Porting Toolkit, other new features coming to macOS Sonoma, the end of Photo Stream, and a new linking feature coming to Apple Notes. In “Listener” Feedback: Mike asks how to share select information in your contact card.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike is joined by Dave, Chuck, Jeff, and Eric to provide their first-hand reactions* to Apple's WWDC 2023 Keynote Presentation where Apple announced the new 15″ MacBook Air, an updated Mac Studio, the first Apple Silicon Mac Pro, previews of macOS Sonoma & iOS 17, plus a glimpse at the new Vision Pro headset coming our way in 2024!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric take a look at some of the top headlines for the week and then explore caring for your Digital Legacy when gone including; shared password vaults, gathering Apple information in one place, important documents and recurring payments, plus instructions to care for your digital life when you no longer can. Finally, Mike and Eric discuss Legacy Contact access to your Apple ID and steps you can take as a last resort. Listener Feedback: Another bug to report!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric take a look at some of the top headlines for the week. Mike shares his own Mac buying decision process. And, in a follow up to episode 407, listener Jill files a “bug report”, Mike & Eric discuss types of variables in Swift, and Mike creates a better example of coding in Swift with variables and the print statement.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: What should first time Mac buyers or folks who've been holding on to an older Mac think about when looking at Apple's current line up? Mike and Eric look at common questions like laptop vs desktop, which processor: M1 or M2, how much memory and storage to get, refurbished vs new vs used, and even why someone should consider an Intel Mac.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric speculate on Mac and other Apple rumors, discuss gaming on the Mac, software easter eggs, and the new Steve Jobs memoir. Then dip their toes into the world of Swift on the Mac as they share a great environment to practice coding in and say Hello to Swift's syntax with a timeless snippet of code.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and special guest Jeff Gamet share some favorite tips and tackle listener questions covering Siri on the Mac's menu bar, sharing photos with family while traveling, checking your network quality via the terminal, network interface priority, quickly accessing settings in Ventura, a favorite app for managing audio, quickly navigating open/save dialog boxes, and the browser plugin that Jeff can't live without!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: What happens when travel plans become semi-permanent? Mike and Eric welcome FMEO's Roving Reporter Barry back to the show to share travel adventures of a different sort. What do you do when new opportunities arise, but you aren't quite uproot your entire life? What lessons can be learned when preparing for this type of move? What adjustments to daily living need to be made and, more importantly (to us Apple nerds), what tech helped play a key role in making the move a success?

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: You might be interested in learning to code, but where should you start? Xcode? Visual Studio? Swift Playgrounds? Or maybe it's best to start with scripting or playing with Shortcuts! In this episode, Mike and Eric share a little personal history and then dive into tools and languages that might be a good place to start if you're looking to get started with programming on the Mac.

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric explore some of the misconceptions and problems with macOS that switchers sometimes have and run down a few ways to make a typical Mac switcher's life easier and help them embrace the Mac. Some of the problems they cover include issues with file management, mousing and keyboard issues, task switching, and more!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric touch on the new M2 Pro/Max Macs, debate the future of the Mac Pro and all-in-one desktop Macs like the 27" iMac, and hand the show over to the listeners in another ListenerPalooza where they tackle questions on upgrading macOS, how to fix a crashy Safari, what to do when your Apple Watch no longer unlocks your Mac, and how to disable the Mac's startup sound!

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike and Eric present our Increasingly Inaccurately Named 10th Annual list of Essential Apps for Mac users, plus a few bonus essential apps that just missed landing on this year's list.