Extending Everlog →

Today, I wrote about my expanded approach to journaling in the Club MacStories Monhtly Log:

What I found was that I could turn my journal into something much more than just a place to write. Through a combination of Everlog’s built-in features, Apple’s journaling suggestions, and Shortcuts, I’ve crafted a rich timeline of my life that’s easy to put together, beautiful to look at, and so much fun to revisit.

My excitement for Apple-generated journaling suggestions in Everlog has proven to be well-placed. Over the past few months, my journaling practice has continually grown to incorporate more and more of my life. I love where I've ended up with it, and if you'd like to learn more about my approach, you can check out the column on Club MacStories.

Watch History Journal →

Alongside this week’s Magic Rays of Light—our first as part of MacStories—we debuted Watch History Journal, a shortcut I made for logging what you watch in your favorite journal app.

From my writeup in the latest edition of MacStories Weekly:

Watch History Journal uses your Trakt profile to generate images of titles you’ve watched on a given day and share them to your journaling app of choice. Run it once a day when you’re finished watching (or set it up as a personal automation that runs in the background before bed), and it will create a journal entry that includes everything you’ve watched. It integrates with Day One, Everlog, and the Journal app…

This shortcut rounds out Apple’s journaling suggestions system for me and turns my journal into a true one-stop shop for what I’m doing, experiencing, thinking, and making. I love journaling in this way.

If you’d like to try Watch History Journal for yourself, you can download it here. And for more details about how it works and how it was made, check out MacStories Weekly: Issue 401 featuring my article along with a lot of great writing from my new colleagues.

Thank you for following along with what has been just an incredible week. I’m so grateful to be where I am, and the best part is that this is only the beginning.

MacStories →

Yours truly, writing at MacStories:

Today is an exciting day for Magic Rays of Light. We couldn’t be happier that our show is joining the MacStories family of podcasts. Before the first episode of this new era releases on Wednesday, we thought we’d take a moment to introduce ourselves and the show to you.

I am thrilled to be joining the MacStories team! It’s a site and a team that I’ve revered for years, so it’s an honor to come aboard. Sigmund and I will continue producing the podcast we love to make, now under the MacStories banner.

There are a lot more details up on MacStories now, including our new release schedule and the announcement that Federico and John are making a guest appearance on the show this week. We got to join in on the latest episode of AppStories as well, which still feels unreal.

It’s a great day and the start of an exciting new phase for Magic Rays of Light. My sincere thanks to everyone who’s supported the show thus far by listening, sharing, and offering feedback. It means the world. I’m so grateful for our wonderful listeners, and I’m hoping I’ll get to meet some newcomers to the show this week.

Our next episode comes out this Wednesday, and there’s plenty more to come after that, so stay tuned! This is going to be fun.

The Need for Silence →

Greg Morris, reflecting on a walk he took without headphones:

I find that excessive consumption of content prevents me from fully developing my own ideas. The ideas I do have, influenced by various media, never seem to fully materialise or reach a conclusion if there’s a constant influx of new ones… I need those interludes of silence to explore and expand on them before moving on to the next.

I often find myself nodding along while I read Greg’s blog, but this one just felt like he was reading my mind. It’s important to make space for silence—even boredom—in our daily lives. It gives our brains time to process, synthesize, and form new ideas.

I think I’ll leave the radio off on an upcoming drive and let my mind lead the way.

Apple’s Pro Apps Come to iPad →

From Apple Newsroom:

Apple today unveiled Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad. Video and music creators can now unleash their creativity in new ways that are only possible on iPad. Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad bring all-new touch interfaces that allow users to enhance their workflows with the immediacy and intuitiveness of Multi-Touch.

Today is a day iPad fans have been looking forward to for a long time. Apple’s pro apps are finally coming to the iPad! Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad will be available in two weeks on Tuesday, May 23.

This is great news not only because we now have two new high-quality apps at our disposal, but also because it represents the quality and power that are possible on apps for the iPad platform. Apple is bringing their very best creative software to the iPad for the first time, setting a high standard for professional iPad software.

A couple of interesting details are the hardware requirements and pricing. Final Cut Pro will require an M-series chip, limiting its compability to the two most recent generations of iPad Pro and the latest iPad Air. Logic Pro is less demanding, running on any iPad with an A12 or newer chip. These requirements make sense to me. It’s actually reassuring to know that Final Cut Pro is taking full advantage of the iPad’s transition to the M-series chips on the high end.

When it comes to pricing, Apple is doing something new with these apps: app subscriptions. Of course, subscriptions have been available in the App Store for years, but this is the first time Apple is selling an app (rather than a service) at a recurring price.

Each app will cost $5/month or $50/year after a one-month free trial. Compared to other software in their categories, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad are a steal, and the fact that Apple chose a subscription model signals to me that these apps will be well-supported and developed for years to come.

As a long-time iPad devotee, I could not be more excited about this announcement. I’m not sure that I’ll be using these apps day in and day out, but the fact that they exist is a big deal. The iPad, and especially the iPad Pro, just continues to get better and better. And with this step, it’ll be a viable option for a whole new group of creative professionals.

It’s a good day to be an iPad user.