Back To Work

Discussed: Why Tuesday is the optimistic day; pourover coffee for Dan's wife; confirm shaming; updates on iPad keyboards and covers; approximately annual history of "Bawk Bawk!"; some thoughts on Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart; kids and learning Programming; the things that are difficult to teach anyone. Links for this episode:Jay Little on Twitter: "@danbenjamin if you're still looking for a cheap ipad case, this one has been fine with strong magnets when closed and in the triangle https://t.co/I4DqGljeYi"Amazon.com: MoKo Smart Folio Case Fit iPad Pro 11" 2018 - [Support Magnetically Attach Charge/Pair] Slim Lightweight Shell Stand Cover, Strong Magnetic Adsorption, Auto Wake/Sleep for iPad Pro 11 Inch - Black: ElectronicsconfirmshamingMelitta Coffee Maker, 6 Cup Pour-Over Brewer with Glass Carafe, 1-Count: Amazon.com: Home & KitchenAmazon.com: Logitech Keys-To-Go Ultra-Portable Bluetooth Keyboard for Android and Windows, Black: Computers & AccessoriesAmazon.com: Logitech Wirel

Discussed: Thanksgiving; spatchcock chicken; kids and their stupid eating; Dan's concern about how we talk to each other; Merlin encourages people to try not to be terrible. Also, some odds and sods on iPad Pro updates, and thanks to our nice listeners. Links for this episode:Foobot - it's all about Indoor Air Quality MonitoringFoobot Indoor Air Quality Monitor for Homeowners Renters & HVAC Pros - Measures VOC PM2.5 Humidity Temperature - Works with 120+ IoT Devices via Wifi - Best Protection from Mold & Indoor Air Pollution: Amazon.com: Industrial & ScientificNebo | MyScriptNebo 2.0: Boost Your Productivity – MyScript Apps – MediumWe’re coming with a new version of our note-taking application based on artificial intelligence. It’s super-duper, and it’s super easy. Ztotop Case for iPad Pro 11Use Notes on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple SupportBrought to you by: Molekule (Visit Molekule.com and use the code BACKTOWORK at checkout for $75 off your first purchase). Squarespace (Start

Discussed this week: Dan's MOSH setup on iPad; Dan's new NEW iPad; ease of setup on iOS; some iOS photo editing app recommendations; two things Merlin learned this week; and a little rant about how everybody apparently already knows everything. Links for this episode:welcome home : vim onlineKrissy Brierre-Davis on Twitter: "How come you guys never told me this iPhone trick? I feel duped.… "How come you guys never told me this iPhone trick? I feel duped. Brought to you by: FreshBooks (To claim your month long unrestricted free trial, go to FreshBooks.com/backtowork and enter BACK TO WORK in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section). Care/of (For 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, visit TakeCareOf.com and enter promo code BACKTOWORK50). eero (Get $100 off the ‘eero base unit and 2 beacons package,’ and 1 year of eero Plus by visiting eero.com and enter BACKTOWORK at checkout).

Dan and Merlin talk about their first week using the new iPad Pro. Links for this episode:The Talk Show: Ep. 234, With Special Guest Merlin MannSpecial guest Merlin Mann returns to the show. Topics include the new iPad Pro and the state of iOS as a work platform, the mid-term election results, and holiday parties of yore. 234: ‘Welcome to Dongletropolis’, With Special Guest Merlin Mann — The Talk Show With John Gruber — OvercastAmazon.com: Newly Released Matias Laptop Pro Keyboard for Mac, Version 5: Computers & AccessoriesAmazon.com: Viozon ipad Pro Stand, Tablet Stands 360° Rotatable Aluminum Alloy Desktop Mount Stand for Ipad Pro Ipad Air Ipad Mini Surface and Surface Pro: Cell Phones & AccessoriesBuy iPad Pro 11-inch Smart Folio - AppleBrydge - Award Winning Bluetooth Keyboards for iPad & Surface ProMerlin’s Playlists — Merlin MannSometimes I make playlists, especially for the particularly musical episodes of podcasts I do. I really like making these, so I'll probably do more. In the Penal Col

Discussed this week: coffee water, voting, inertia, new iPads on the way, difficult buying decisions, returning merchandise (as a thing), some TV suggestions, Dan's new ODROID, 80s video game nostalgia, asking for your iPad-at-work input, plus seeking suggestions for apps for new joggers. Links for this episode:Building A Better Ballot Box — To the Best of Our Knowledge — OvercastBrydge - Award Winning Bluetooth Keyboards for iPad & Surface ProCREATE - Logitech SupportBodyguard (TV Series 2018– ) - IMDbstart [ODROID Wiki]Amazon.com: ODROID-GO open source gaming console : Assembly and learning WHY, CODING CAMP: Video GamesODROID-GO Game Kit — ameriDroidODROID | HardkernelGorf - WikipediaLG UltraFine 4K Display - AppleLG UltraFine 5K Display - AppleLindsey Vehlewald on Twitter: "1/[Thread] Storytime. Listen up. It’s a long one. But it's important, I promise."LG Corporation - WikipediaEp. 312: “Always is How” - Roderick on the Line - Merlin MannThe Problem: John hasn’t earned a chair. Reconcil

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about Apple's Fall event in Brooklyn today. They liked the event. Brought to you by: Molekule (Visit Molekule.com and use the code BACKTOWORK at checkout for $75 off your first purchase). GreenChef (For $50 off your first box of Green Chef, go to GreenChef.us/backtowork). Care/of (For 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, visit TakeCareOf.com and enter promo code BACKTOWORK).

Discussed: nailing it, the optimistic valence of Tuesdays, difficulties finding replacement parts on Amazon, headphone preferences, Alexa's service outage and new whisper mode, Austin's big water crisis and what it says about epistemology, reason, and society, plus 20 years of The Big Lebowski. Links for this episode:Jeff Bridges, John Goodman And Steve Buscemi Talk ‘The Big Lebowski’ In Extended Inteview | TODAY - YouTubeJeff Bridges Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters | GQ - YouTubeAmazon.com: Twisted Veins HDMI Cable 30 ft, 2-Pack, Premium HDMI Cord Type High Speed with Ethernet, Supports HDMI 2.0b 4K 60hz HDR Except with Apple TV 4K and Xbox One X Where it Only Supports 4K 30hz HD: Home Audio & TheaterAlexa whisper mode rolling out to Echo starting today, here's how to enable it - 9to5MacAmazon.com: Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone: Musical InstrumentsAmazon.com: Audio-Technica ATH-M50xDG LIMITED EDITION Professional Studio Monitor Headphones: Musical InstrumentsAmazon.com:

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the FitBit Charge 3 and where it fits into their worlds—as well its place in the larger tracker and smart watch ecosystems. Excursions also include: BroBot, weather stations, weather apps, some TV and movie talk, some space talk, plus children's failures to understand how time basically works. Links for this episode:Dew point - WikipediaAmazon.com: AcuRite 01014M Weather Station with AcuRite Access for Remote Monitoring, Compatible with Amazon Alexa: Home & KitchenFirst Man (2018) - IMDbAbove and Beyond: NASA's Journey To Tomorrow (TV Movie 2018) - IMDbThe Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) - IMDbAbove and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow | Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to TomorrowVoyager 1 - WikipediaVoyager 2 - WikipediaFSNotes Appglushchenko/fsnotes: Notes manager for macOS/iOSBrought to you by: FreshBooks (To claim your month long unrestricted free trial, go to FreshBooks.com/backtowork and enter BACK TO WORK in the “How Did You Hear About U

Discussed: the tyranny of earliness, the benefits of timeliness, an interesting horology episode about Apple Watch, more watch talk, a blog recommendation, a quick look at Merlin's new FitBit, an update on home WiFi options, Merlin raps a little, Dan gets wired for Ethernet, what we'd like so see in an updated Mac Mini, some listener followup on Bear export and (deliberately) slow interfaces, considering oneself touch-ed, skeuomorphic sounds, and various Florida wildlife encounters. Links for this episode:Fitbit Charge 3 | Advanced Health and Fitness TrackerMichael Tsai - Blog - Why Matthew Green Is Done With ChromeGoogle is losing users’ trust.I used to trust some of its products, like Chrome. I increasingly don’t. Apple And The Future Of Watchmaking — HODINKEE Radio — OvercastThis week we’re talking all things Apple Watch. Stephen sits down with Ben and Jack just a few hours after they received their Apple Watch Series 4 sample units to get their first impressions and to hear what else they had to say about

This week: some TV and movie stuff, Dark Mode and accessibility, OS stability and beta temptation, Merlin has an anecdote, the powers and frustrations of Siri via Apple Watch, updates to the Fitbit family, tech that does enough, Dan tried Bear, updates on the Chrome login thing, and an intriguing listener comment about Apple's ASP/inch3. Links for this episode:Shop Fitbit Charge 3™ Advanced Fitness TrackerFitbit Charge 3 Hands-On Preview | Digital TrendsFitbit Charge 3 hands-on: Better controls come with a trade-offCary Fukunaga - WikipediaBear - Notes for iPhone, iPad and MacAtomHow to Turn Off the Auto Sign-In Link in Gmail and ChromeInside Amazon’s Warehouse, Human-Robot Symbiosis - MIT Technology ReviewOn the other side of the warehouse, workers pack products into boxes for shipping with help from Amazon’s central computer systems. Items retrieved from storage shelves are automatically identified and sorted into batches destined for a single customer. The computer knows the dimensions of each product and

This week, Merlin's got a LOT going on. Full Catastrophe Living! Discussed: booger colors, some tv and movies, a dream deferred, various X-Persons, loving GoodTask 3, plus Dan and Merlin just cannot remember many, many things. Next, your hosts dive into their first day with Mojave and reminisce about the days when you could make your Finder look all steampunk. This leads to a deeper dive on what the future of Macs might be and why they feel how they do (hint: they are both kind of old). They also both want to know what the heck is going on with Chrome, and Dan pitches a movie. Links for this episode:Canvas #70: Task Managers in 2018 - Relay FMThis week, Fraser and Federico take a look at the "Big Four" task managers on iOS - Things, OmniFocus, Todoist and Apple Reminders - and consider how the iOS ecosystem has changed since the early days. GoodTask 3 - Task Manager with iOS Reminders & CalendarsUngainly X-Mann Meetup #24 — Merlin MannMERLIN MANN (Back to Work, Roderick on the Line, Reconcilable Differ

A classic odds-and-sods episode, featuring important discussions about sleep tracking, the Apple Watch, Succession, sound bars, Chris Nolan's Batman, and Nintendo Online. Links for this episode:Amazon.com Help: About AmazonSmileUngainly X-Mann Meetup #24 — Merlin MannMERLIN MANN (Back to Work, Roderick on the Line, Reconcilable Differences, Do By Friday, You Look Nice Today, et al.) invites you to drop by Two Cats Comics on the evening of Thursday, September 27th to hang out, talk about comics, and just say, “Hi.” It's free and it's fun. Ep. 305: "The Hostess" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin MannThe Problem: John has more of a comment than a question. Sleep Watch App — Apple Watch Sleep Tracker AppApple drops official Apple Watch Link Bracelet price, some already sold out | 9to5MacWatch - AppleMarvel Studios' Captain Marvel - Official Trailer - YouTubeSuccession: Roman Roy Doesn’t Know How Chairs WorkPricing Plans – Nintendo Switch Online – Nintendo Switch™ Official siteNintendo Entertainment S

Discussed: upcoming Apple announcements; do people with bigger screens use more apps more often?; some follow-up on adaptive testing; and comics for kids. Your hosts answer a listener question about knowing when it's time to quit something. Links for this episode:Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #24 — Merlin MannMERLIN MANN (Back to Work, Roderick on the Line, Reconcilable Differences, Do By Friday, You Look Nice Today, et al.) invites you to drop by Two Cats Comics on the evening of Thursday, September 27th to hang out, talk about comics, and just say, “Hi.” It's free and it's fun. Project Jupyter | HomeThe Jupyter Notebook is an open-source web application that allows you to create and share documents that contain live code, equations, visualizations and narrative text. Uses include: data cleaning and transformation, numerical simulation, statistical modeling, data visualization, machine learning, and much more. Do By FridayApple to Broaden Its iPhone Screens -- WSJBone (comics) - WikipediaBrought to you by: Kiite

Skype gets way too ambitious; sprinkling sauce on a service; a mandatory social network for doorbells; Dan acquires a new deity; some excellent listener follow-up on Computerized Adaptive Testing; Dan takes his boy to see a bona fide cinema classic; Dan has some great TV recommendations; Merlin reports in from the deep weeds of a fraught smart speaker ecosystem. Links for this episode:The Podcast Digest: TPD 156 - Merlin Mann "An Old Man's Reframe"For the 4 year anniversary episode of TPD, it was my pleasure to have been joined by one of my favorite podcasters of all time - Merlin Mann!  I talk with Merlin about his history in podcasting, working with his co-hosts, the difference in his shows and some of his favorite podcasts!   The Podcast DigestAmazon.com: All-new Sonos One - Smart Speaker with Alexa voice control built-In. Compact size with incredible sound for any room. (black): Home Audio & TheaterThe Dude Abiding kit5by5 | Back to Work #389: Butt BakingCA Parent Opt-OutChain of Comman

Discussed: homework and testing; wallets and wallet philosophies; things to learn from wallet philosophy; how to fall asleep; watching Star Trek; Dan's new smart speaker; Merlin yells at Alexa several times. Links for this episode:How to Fall Asleep in 120 Seconds – Member Feature Stories – MediumDonorsChoose.org: Support a classroom. Build a future.Google’s Mark Risher changes our passwords — Converge with Casey Newton — OvercastComputerized adaptive testing - WikipediaCan a Test Ever Be Fair? How Today's Standardized Tests Get Made. | EdSurge NewsAre You Smart But Scoring Low on the SAT/ACT? What To DoFall Asleep Fast — In 2 Minutes or Less | Art of ManlinessCombating Fighter Pilot Fatigue | GO FLIGHT MEDICINEBison Leather Front-Pocket Wallet / Bison Leather Front-Pocket Wallet -- OrvisAmazon.com: Taxi WalletColorful Mini Card Book v2 | mochithingsStar Trek: The Next Generation In 40 Hours – Maxistentialism Blog – MediumAmazon.com: All-new Sonos One - Smart Speaker with Alexa voice control built-In. Co

Discussed: courting a vegetarian; The Information Problem; FU on Dan's new slide remote and keyboard; also, belts; travel pre-screening options; a recommended article on hypocognition; Dan saw IT; thoughts on Twiki and Erin Grey; and Dan's recent home problem. Links for this episode:Episode 75: I Set Up a Fake Child – AppStoriesJohn is joined by Merlin Mann to discuss managing family tech use and the upcoming iOS 12 Screen Time family features. Guide - Grey - Arcade Belts | Arcade BeltsUnknown Unknowns: The Problem of Hypocognition - Scientific American Blog NetworkWe wander about the unknown terrains of life, complacent about what we know and oblivious to what we miss PsycNET Record Display - PsycNETTwiki | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia#83 Voyage Into Pizzagate — Reply All — OvercastA conspiracy theory, a pizza related map, and a website fighting for its very soul. This episode originally aired in December of 2016.save in overcast Amazon.com: Logitech R500 Laser Presentation

Discussed: tech that's gotten so much more dependable (and, yeah, so much less dependable); Dan needs a new presenter remote; Marvel's First Family (finally) returns; who would win if The Hulk fought The Thing?; Merlin introduces Dan to the Ponyverse; some camp equipment follow-up; and Merlin goes off on the awesomeness of libraries with some hot new service recommendations. Links for this episode:Kanopy - Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Film and Top DocumentariesLibby, by OverDrive - an app for library ebooks and audiobooksShop | Arcade BeltsFantastic Four (2018-) #1 - Marvel ComicsGuide – Grey | Arcade BeltsAmazon.com: Jackery Portable Travel Charger Bar 6000mAh Pocket-sized Ultra Compact External Battery Power Bank Fast Charging Speed with Emergency Flashlight for iPhone, Samsung and Others - Orange: Cell Phones & AccessoriesPortable Power Supply Solutions – Power Outdoors | Jackerykeep your volkswagen alive - Google SearchAmazon.com : Kensington Wireless Presenter with Red Laser Pointer (K33374USB) : Pre

Discussed: Merlin sounds like a saxophone, keyboards are extensively discussed, pros and cons of various MacsBooks Pro, Dan likes using one monitor, pining for best-of-class hardware from Cupertino, Merlin has dorky and boring follow-up, recommending an Apple Watch sleep app and an iOS location tracker, some excellent ice replacements, Dan's favorite bespoke cooler, a disappointing belt, a very good belt, Dan gets a creepy email, Merlin did NOT forget something, Cash gets more cool stuff, and Merlin recommends a Zelda tome. Links for this episode:Gyroscope · The new OS for the human bodyA new operating system for the human body Sleep Watch App — Apple Watch Sleep Tracker AppTrack sleep with your Apple Watch automatically. No buttons to press. Just wear your Watch to bed and wake up to AI-powered, personalized insights about your sleep. Automatically log your data and follow your sleep trends with powerful charting tools. Amazon.com : 3 Pack Large 18°F Cooler Ice Packs 10" by 14" - No More Ice! Repla

Discussed: current monospaced font preferences, experimenting with text sizing, getting on the sucker list, old McDonalds had some styrofoam, new tech that would kill old stories, kids bewilderment with old tech, the bonkersness of Face/Off, wonderful listener gifts for Cash, a book about anxiety Merlin likes. Dan and Merlin also answer listener questions about mise en place and doubting one's future after college. Links for this episode:The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety: Alan W. Watts: 8601300190136: Amazon.com: BooksMise en place - WikipediaMise en place: setting the stage for thought and action Stopping the Noise in Your Head : the New Way to Overcome Anxiety and Worry: Reid Wilson: 9780757319068: Amazon.com: Books5by5 | Back to Work #222: Full-Stack ObsessiveMerlin and Dan use The Aviator as a jumping-off point to talk about OCD as it relates to perfectionism, creativity, and drive in the workplace. They discuss rituals and their consequences, the importance of mise en place, and

Merlin really likes the ones where Dan prepares. Discussed: four-twenty in The Mile High state, some tv and movie recommendations, the creativity that comes from constraints, The Information Problem, plus thanks for some lovely gifts to Cash from listeners. Most of the episode focuses on a provocative new article about whether podcast hosting should be "free." Merlin nerds out on iOS Trackpad mode, and Dan drops a Science Corner about heat versus temperature. Also: Star Trek. Links for this episode:Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #23 — Merlin MannMERLIN MANN (Back to Work, Roderick on the Line, Reconcilable Differences, Do By Friday, You Look Nice Today, et al.) invites you to drop by Two Cats Comics on the evening of Thursday, July 26th to hang out, talk about comics, and just say, “Hi.” It's free and it's fun. Why You Should Never Pay For Podcast Hosting – Nir Zicherman – MediumWe don’t want a podcaster to ever pay for hosting again. We believe real change in this space is long overdue, and we can’t wait to show