Comfort Zone

Niléane has a new webcam, Chris is drowning in keyboards, and everyone installs some web-ass web apps.

• Insta360 Link 2C
• Keychron Q1 HE
• Keychron K2 HE
• Nada Panda 65

• BusyCal
• Niláne’s camera setup Photo 1
• Niláne’s camera setup Photo 2
• The Continuity Camera and ‘Unlock With Apple Watch’ Conspiracy
• Lemokey L4 keyboard

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Bluesky

Matt felt like bringing an intentionally controversial topic, Niléane refuses to admit she’s created a sticky note-based task manager, and everyone gives the iPad some much needed love.

• Raycast
• CleanShot X
• Final Cut Pro
• Google Chrome
• Stickies app
• Audio balance feature

• MacStories Selects 2024
• Delta skins commissioned by MacStories
• Ice development is slowing down
• Timery
• Procreate
• focusedOS
• Ferrite

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Bluesky

Niléane has taken to the skies in Flight Simulator, Chris wants to talk about yet another Mac, and the gang all looks for the best open source app (or web app!) they can find.

• Flight Simulator 2024
• M4 Mac mini

• [Flight Simulator documentary](URL
• Shadow PC Gaming
• BetterTouchTool
• Accents
• CleanShot X
• Klack
• Ghost
• Kodi
• Ice
• Raindrop.io
• Readwise Reader

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Bluesky

The gang has so much to be thankful for, including you, dear listeners. ❤️

Oh yeah, and they find new ways to listen to music before being revealing their absolute favorite Apple app.

• M4 iPad Pro
• M2 MacBook Air
• Libby
• hoopla
• Legion Go
• Steam Deck
• AirPods Max
• Sony WH-1000XM5
• Peloton Row

• Meross
• Find a library near you
• YouTube Music
• Bandcamp
• Nintendo Music
• Spotify

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Bluesky

Matt brings his latest obsession, Niléane wants to talk about Bluesky, and Chris challenges the gang to automate something.

• Supercharge
• Bluesky

• Comfort Zone Podcast
• Niléane
• Chris
• Matt
• MacStories starter pack

• Matt’s first Supercharge video
• Matt’s second Supercharge video
• Deckblue is Tweetdeck for Bluesky
• Tech Press Bluesky starter pack
• Pic of Chris’s “on-air” sign
• Pic of Chris’s smart plug
• Tim Cook “Good morning!” shortcut
• Hyperduck

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Bluesky

Niléane has a fancy new way to block ads and annoyances, Chris has our first look at a bunch of Final Cut Pro updates, and then we all judge the best apps on the App Store with Orange icons.

Inoreader: Build your own newsfeed with Inoreader

• Wipr 2
• Apple announced new Final Cut Prto updates

• Chris on AppStories
• Calendr Mac menu bar app
• Waterfield’s new Vision Pro case
• 1Blocker
• Synology Photos
• Home Widget
• HomePaper
• Comet

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Chris breaks down Apple Intelligence, and while Matt is under the weather, he brings the good Nintendo vibes. Then we all do our best to speak a different language, with delightful results.

• Apple Intelligence
• Nintendo Music

• Niléane’s AppStories appearance
• Omnivore is shutting down
• The Verge full-text RSS feed
• Lego mugs
• Nintendo Alermo
• Apple Translate app
• Duolingo

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Matt buys his first ereader, Niléane has moved to a new calendar app, and for the challenge everyone did something with Stage Manager.

• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
• Fantastical

• The House on Mango Street
• Kobo ereaders
• Phanpy for Mastodon
• Libby
• Goodreads
• Readwise
• Dato menubar calendar (Mac App Store)

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Chris has the brand new iPad mini, Matt made a big change to his RSS, and Niléane introduces a new segment: Our Tech Stories. Then we get fun, weird, and thirsty in the game picks.

• The new iPad mini

• Okay…?
• Vampire Survivors
• Gubbins

• Lichess
• Balatro
• Zenless Zone Zero
• Sonos updates the Arc and Sub
• The Apple Pencil situation is healing
• BasicAppleGuy’s colorful MacBook Air concept
• “Margin” blog post
• Razor Kishi Ultra

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Niléane is fired up about the state of tech, Chris is enjoying the sweet, sweet sounds of a V12 engine, and Matt is really into a new web browser.

Some general examples of things sucking.

• Sonos Arc
• Sonos Sub
• Zen Browser

• Matt’s northern lights over NYC photo
• Sonos Beam
• Arc browser -Amazon Astro

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Niléane is back and she’s brought the long-awaited Mastodon 4.3 update, Matt brought Omnivore, and Chris rounds out his new Apple product reviews with the Apple Watch Series 10. Then we see who took the best photo with an iPhone and introduce a fun new, accessible challenge.

• Mastodon 4.3 is out
• Omnivore
• Apple Watch Series 10

• Niléane’s photo
• Matt’s photo
• Chris’s photo
• Tangerine UI 2.0
• Chris’s Nomad watch band
• Matt’s Nomad watch band
• MacStories watchOS 11 review

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Surprise! Matt got a new iPhone (you’re shocked 😅) and Chris brings the new AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (yes, that’s the name!). Then it’s time for movie corner and a review of 2023’s film, Ferrari.

• iPhone 16 Pro
• AirPods 4

• Chrome uses a ton more battery than Safari, right? Right???
• Matt’s iPhone 16 Pro review on YouTube
• Chris on Letterboxd
• Matt on Letterboxd
• Ferrari

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

With Niléane out on assignment, Matt and Chris are joined by MacStories’ own John Voorhees! Chris and John bring brand new, embargoed products, while Matt brings…checking my notes here…a Thunderbolt dock from years ago (but he swears it’s cool).

• OWC Thunderbolt Dock
• iPhone 16 Pro
• Logitech MX Creative Console

• VIA
• Tailscale
• Longplay
• Things Logbook (opens in Obsidian)
• GoodTask

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Matt needs to praise the iPad, Chris drops some iPadOS knowledge, and Niléane is intrigued by what window management on other tablets looks like.

• M4 iPad Pro
• Chris’s complete iPadOS 18 walkthrough
• The MacStories iOS and iPadOS 18 review
• Video of Android 15’s windowing mode

• Retro Gameboy case not linked due to…well…legal issues. You can find it if you want 😉
• Nick Cage case
• Bang!Case
• Clicks keyboard case

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

It’s all challenge this week as the gang brings (and defends) their phone home screens. Rules were followed by all, but of course there’s a little twist this time as well.

• Niléane’s home screen
• Chris’s home screen
• Matt’s home screen

• Matt explaining his iPhone on Home Screens

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Niléane and Chris have upgraded their desk setups, but Matt didn’t get the memo and brought a hard drive or something. Then we see who can bend the rules the most to survive the challenge.

• Twelve South HiRise Pro
• BESIGN LSX6 Computer Holder Stand
• Synology DiskStation DS923+

• Photo of Niléane’s desk setup
• Photo of Chris’s stand
• Microsoft Remote Desktop
• Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition
• Microsoft Start
• Doom (2016)
• SpaceRex is a Synology guru
• MONOKEI keyboards
• lofree Flow84
• Synology BeeStation

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Matt is trying to find the right temperature, Chris is floating on Air(table), and Niléane finds out if she’s feeling lucky about getting 10 blue links.

• Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen)
• Airtable
• Lucky for Safari

• Matt’s wallpaper
• Chris’s wallpaper
• Niléane’s wallpaper (dynamic version)
• Niléane’s variant 1
• Niléane’s variant 2
• Niléane’s variant 3
• Niléane’s variant 4
• Niléane’s variant 5
• Niléane’s variant 6
• Matt’s bonus 1
• Matt’s bonus 2
• Matt’s bonus 3
• Matt’s bonus 4

• Ecobee Thermostats
• Things 3
• Notion
• SwitchBot

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

The gang shares their very sane, and not at all controversial 👀 notification preferences. Then they explore some new and interesting Obsidian plugins you might not have heard of.

(links open directly in Obsidian)

• Projects
• Commander
• Cards View
• Image Captions
• Paste Link
• Home Tab
• Trash Explorer

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Matt has to apologize for the things he said last week, Chris tries to find out if we’re smarter than Apple Intelligence, and Niléane has a quiz nobody could predict.

• Pocket Casts
• Apple Intelligence

• Overcast
• Raycast
• Pixel Pro Golf
• Pile-up-Poker (Puzzmo)
• Star Wordle
• Coffee Golf
• Mini Metro
• Mini Motorways

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon

Chris is absent for mysterious reasons, Niléane finds clever ways to watch the Olympics, and Matt explores his podcast app feelings.

• Plex
• The Olympics
• Overcast

• HDHomeRun
• Channels app
• Infuse
• VLC
• Marco on the Overcast update
• Accidental Tech Podcast with tech details
• Pocket Casts
• Castro

• Chris on YouTube
• Matt on Birchtree
• Niléane on Mastodon
• Comfort Zone on Mastodon