Hi Reader, Years ago, I encountered a fascinating concept in a book by the Dalai Lama: every seven years, human beings transform into entirely new versions of themselves. This idea stems from the biological principle that our bodies replace virtually all their cells over a seven-year cycle. The person you are today doesn't share a single cell with the version of you from seven years ago. (This is, of course, a generalization as some cells regenerate much faster and others a little slower.)...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, There's a rumor that Apple is working on an on-device medical AI. The idea is that your iPhone or Apple Watch could use its onboard silicon to privately analyze your health data and offer recommendations, without sending that sensitive information to the cloud. The general vibe I'm seeing in response to this rumor is justified skepticism. Plenty of folks out there think there's no way Apple can pull this off, but I think this is exactly the kind of thing they should be doing. This...
29 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Friend, I recently shared my current iPhone home screen over in the MacSparky Labs, and it generated a lot of interesting responses accusing me of both genius and madness. Let me explain… The default tools for managing the iPhone home screen are fine, and I’ve used them for years. But in my never-ending quest for increased intentionality, I started to wonder—what if I took some of the sexiness out of the iPhone home screen? You’ve probably heard about these minimalist or “distraction-free”...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hi Friend, I recently took a flight and following touchdown, a crew member made a surprise announcement: this landing marked our captain’s final flight after 30 years piloting aircraft. We all applauded. As we disembarked, the captain stood in the aisle, offering each passenger a farewell. When it was my turn, I congratulated him. I actually thought about what I’d say. “I hope your next adventure is as exciting as this one was.” His eyes met mine, serious and somber, as he quietly replied,...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Friend, If you listened to the most recent episode of Mac Power Users, you heard me struggling with a decision: should I upgrade my Mac? As you may know, I've been happily using an M2 Mac Studio with 8TB of internal storage. It's a powerhouse, and it fits perfectly in Endor Studios (my home studio). I'm a big believer in contextual work, and when I sit at my desk, I'm instantly in production mode. My workflow is optimized for this machine, and until recently, I hadn't seriously considered...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi friend, One of the best features Apple has added in recent years is Focus Modes. I use them every day across all my devices, and they have become an essential part of how I manage my attention, my work, and even my personal life. At its core, a Focus Mode is a filter between you and the rest of the world. Instead of being bombarded with every notification, email, or message the moment it arrives, Focus Modes let you decide what gets through based on what you're doing. They are powerful and...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Friend, For years now I’ve been writing and talking about the trouble with Siri. This problem became even more acute for Apple with the rise of large language models (LLMs) and the world’s collective realization at just how useful a smart artificial intelligence can be. Last June, it seemed as if Apple finally found religion about making Siri better. At WWDC 2024 they outlined the “Apple Intelligence” strategy that made a lot of sense. While I never expected Apple to build something on par...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Friend, This week, Apple unveiled a bunch of new hardware, including the M4 Mac Studio, M4 MacBook Air, and the latest iPad Air. There’s a lot to discuss: M4 Mac Studio Apple’s new Mac Studio has two primary configurations: one with the M4 Max chip and another with the M3 Ultra chip. The M4 Max variant boasts a 16-core CPU and up to 40 GPU cores, delivering substantial performance enhancements over its predecessors. Notably, this model introduces Apple’s latest-generation graphics...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Friend, I've been spending a lot of time with Claude 3.7 Sonnet lately, and I wanted to share some thoughts on the new "Gen3" AI models. Claude 3.7 is trained with a massive leap in computing power compared to its predecessors. What's Different About These New Models? These new AI models aren't just incrementally better; they represent a significant jump in capabilities. There are two reasons for this: Training Scale: These models use 10x more computing power in training than GPT-4 did....
3 months ago • 1 min read