View profile

📱💻 Finer Tech Newsletter ⌚️📺 Reminders, Procreate, Halide, Safari, and more

📱💻 Finer Tech Newsletter ⌚️📺
📱💻 Finer Tech Newsletter ⌚️📺 Reminders, Procreate, Halide, Safari, and more
By Finer Tech Newsletter • Issue #75 • View online
Here’s the post-WWDC ‘21 issue everyone! Except, I won’t cover any iOS 15 or macOS 12 stuff until they get public betas. That’s been my rule the last few years and it’s saved me a lot of wasted time troubleshooting. 
However, I am collecting a lot of great tips to cover once I can jump on board the new hotness. For this issue, I have a handful of tips for iOS and macOS.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this issue via email and Twitter.
You can also find me on Mastodon, Tumblr, and Micro.blog. If you know people who would enjoy my newsletter, I’ll owe you a beverage if you recommend it to them.
Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi
If you like this newsletter and/or the website, please consider supporting me on Patreon or Ko-fi. Patreon offers recurring support, Ko-fi does one-off contributions. All are awesome.

💡 Tips
📱 Drop a Reminders list on another to create a group
Did you know Reminders supported groups (basically folders)? I didn’t. An easy way to create a group is to drop one list on another. You’ll be prompted to name the group.
From testing this, the other way I found to create a group is to tap Edit—the ‘New Reminder’ button becomes Add Group.
📱 Siri can delete all your alarm at once
Like a lot of people, I have a laundry list of alarms in the Clock app. If you could use a fresh start on alarms, just ask Siri to “clear all my alarms.” It’ll ask if you’re sure, and then you’ll have a nice clean slate for waking up.
📱 Procreate: Drop a photo on the color palette to sample its colors
The top-most palette was made from the photo I’m dragging over
The top-most palette was made from the photo I’m dragging over
Procreate is a popular drawing app for the iPad (and iPhone) that can create a color palette from any photo. To use this trick:
  • Place the app with your photo in Slide Over on the left above Procreate
  • Tap Procreate’s color tool in the upper right
  • At the bottom of this panel, tap Palettes
  • Drag a photo from the Slide Over app onto Procreate’s palettes
Of course, these colors are usable in Procreate. But if you tap the Color tool > Value tab, you can also grab the HEX and RGB values for use in other apps.
📱 Safari: Search to switch tabs
A quick CMD + L and a few keystrokes can search all your tabs across all open windows. Just check the headings in the search results, tap the tab’s name or use arrows and Return to switch.
📱 Halide for iPad: Use the focus loupe to sharpen your photos
The best camera is the one you have with you.
—Plato
Since the iPad is easily one of, if not the, largest camera viewfinders I can think of, it makes sense that Halide, a pinnacle of camera apps, recently arrived on it. 
Among its many great features for crafting a great shot in both automatic and manual modes is a focus loupe. If you tap the AF (auto focus) button at the bottom, you can dial in focus on your own. 
To ensure a sharp image, tap the plus (+) button in the focus tool for a sort of super magnifying glass in the middle of the viewfinder. This zooms in on a small detail of your subject so you can make it’s in focus.
💻 Safari: Customize your start page
You can toggle a decent selection of sections on Safari’s start page like your favorite bookmarks, Reading List, iCloud Tabs from other devices, and more. 
Open a new tab or window and click the settings icon in the lower right to see all your options. You can also choose a background wallpaper from Apple’s supplied images or pick your own.
🔗 Good Links & Reads
When does sharing become oversharing?
When does sharing become oversharing?
I’m a chronic oversharer on social media — and usually an intentional one. Mostly, I write about my severe mental health struggles and things that deeply enrage me, but that constant oversharing can be hard to maintain.
www.theverge.com  •  Share
A giant private company is doing the work governments should be doing on regulation of user data. That’s not a good thing.
www.theguardian.com  •  Share
The Upcoming Remote Work Company Culture War
The Upcoming Remote Work Company Culture War
This weekend’s new character, if not the main character, was Kristen Anderson, CEO of a startup that claims to “[rebuild] the safety net to serve everyone.
ez.substack.com  •  Share
Your Brain Doesn't Work the Way You Think It Does
Your Brain Doesn't Work the Way You Think It Does
A conversation with neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett on the counterintuitive ways your mind processes reality—and why understanding that might help you feel a little less anxious.
www.gq.com  •  Share
🤩 Thanks for reading
How did you like this issue? Was it useful and bite-sized enough? Are there certain kinds of tips or apps you’d like to see here? Let me know what you think via email and Twitter.
You can also find me on Mastodon, Tumblr, and Micro.blog.
Did you enjoy this issue?
Finer Tech Newsletter

Get smarter with your apps and Apple devices, served with a side of humor, links, and videos across culture, science, and more.

In order to unsubscribe, click here.
If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.
Powered by Revue