Anyone who\u2019s been around Irreal for any length of time knows that I\u2019m an Apple user. I like the build quality of their hardware and macOS\/iOS are generally good enough. But the thing that really makes it all work for me is the entire ecosystem. I have an iPhone, an iPad, and (at the moment) two MacBook Pros. That\u2019s just me and doesn\u2019t include other family members. The thing about this is that it all works together more or less seamlessly.<\/p>\n
For example, I keep my memo book in the Apple Notes app. That means that I can make an entry from my phone, iPad, or Mac and have it appear on the other devices essentially instantly. The same is true of my calendar and contact list. The only thing that doesn\u2019t work that way is, sadly, Emacs. If you don\u2019t have this type of integration across your devices, it\u2019s hard to describe what a boon it is.<\/p>\n
Ali Abdaal, whom I\u2019ve mentioned occasionally, has a really nice video up that describes the Apple ecosystem and how he uses it<\/a>. It will be of interest primarily to Apple users but others may find it enlightening too. Even though I am all in on the digital lifestyle, Abdaal demonstrates a few things that I didn\u2019t know you could do.<\/p>\n Most of the integration involves what Apple calls \u201ccontinuity\u201d: the idea that an action you take on one device is reflected on your other devices. The file syncing for things like the Notes app is one trivial example. Another, not so trivial, example is the \u201cUniversal Clipboard,\u201d which makes anything you\u2019ve copied onto the system clipboard on one device available for pasting on the other devices. Abdaal shows how useful that can be.<\/p>\n There are a bunch of other features that Abdaal explores so if you have interest at all in Apple devices\u2014even if you think you\u2019re a master of all things Apple\u2014it\u2019s definitely worth while spending a few minutes watching the video. It\u2019s just over 12 minutes so you can probably squeeze it into a break.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anyone who\u2019s been around Irreal for any length of time knows that I\u2019m an Apple user. I like the build quality of their hardware and macOS\/iOS are generally good enough. But the thing that really makes it all work for … Continue reading