Me too re: PDFPen, ugh, and yay Touch Bar!
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I like Evernote a lot.
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They won’t be able to sell stuff and get sponsors this way. In the end, MPU does not force us to buy anything.
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I typed on the new scissor keyboard and the butterfly keyboard at Best Buy today, and I think I prefer the butterfly.
I bought my last Mac laptop in 2010, and just replaced it with a refurb iMac this year so I’ve never had to use either keyboard on a daily-driver laptop.
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This is an interesting question, though: to what degree do commentators actually love the products that sponsor their shows?
I think this thread is about the non-sponsored discussions that happens on MPU (and elsewhere). It would be odd if PDF Pen gets the spotlight even when they’re not sponsoring, in lieu of non-sponsored alternatives (like open source software).
Not saying that this is the case. In general, for me, though: if a product is a sponsor of some media channel, I ignore anything they say about the product outside of the ads.
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I can only speak to how we do business at Relay FM. Sponsors cannot but any endorsement; it’s simply not for sale. If we, or any other Relay hosts endorse a product in an ad, it’s because we genuinely do like it.
As far as sponsors’ products making it into content — once again that’s not for sale. If a sponsor’s product comes up in conversation, it’s of the hosts’ own doing. It’s why we go out of our way to disclose a sponsor when they come up in conversation.
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I think MPU as far as I know and in my experience is about as honest as one can be regarding products that have sponsored them. It is one of the things that really stands out about the show and one reason I like it.
TE is a good example of an app I am not sure about, has some things I don’t like and, as I say quite often, I can use Keyboard Maestro for my snippet needs: however I don’t think I would disagree with anything that the MPU team have ever said about TE though it is in their ‘sponsor universe’. One of their first sponsors in fact.
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The MPU hosts always seem to have endorsed products they have used, regardless of sponsorship. I’ve always trusted them and have never felt that anything has been misrepresented. Now there is another famous tech podcaster with a long background in broadcasting – I enjoy listening to him but I don’t trust anything he endorses and have been burned several times in the past. I won’t mention his name, but I suspect most people here know who I’m talking about.
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If you’re ever looking to lower those standards, give me ping. My rates are very reasonable and I have absolutely no scruples 
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For sure! I hope my point doesn’t sound like an accusation of MPU or Relay. Not the intention. Just advocating that it’s good practice to be critical of information quality—and to make decisions based on many sources.
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Being retired, my automation and time management needs are minimal. As someone mentioned, Calendar is more than adequate for scheduling. Omnifocus would be a huge waste for me. My repetitive typing tasks aren’t there so text expander is too much. I can use the built in text substitution for the things I type often like my email address.
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Another thing I don’t get that just popped up after listening to the latest episode of MPU: the obsession with the new new thing.
I make my living in IT. Still I can do my job (which includes, but is not limited to programming) without buying a new Mac - laptop or desktop - every other year. Actually, if I look back, I only bought a new machine every 4 years on average. Probably even less.
The fact that a lawyer buys a new 16" MBP to do some work during vacation sounds a bit ridiculous to me. Of course, everybody is free to spend his/her money the way (s)he wants, but don’t make it sound like it was a necessity.
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I love this thread. Here’s my two:
- I don’t actually build and use time saving automations to save time. I do it for the endorphin hit I get when I get it working, and when every time I fire them off and feel proud of myself for being so clever.
- Turns out I miss the MPU Facebook group, and the ability to just scroll through and read posts, without having to click on each topic.
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There’s a lot of software that’s good enough and chasing the perfect one app that does everything (or several things instead of using multiple apps) perfectly is a fool’s errand (but a lovely time-wasting hobby). Nothing wrong with checking out out a well-regarded, intriguing app, but it’s overall better to habituate oneself to a really good app or two than be so critical and demanding that much time/money is spent evaluating alternatives then switching and switching and switching.
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I use a work VPN fior work because I trust the provider. When I considered a personal VPN, I felt I could be giving access to all my data to the VPN company. Who would I trust? So far no-one. Mike Wuerthele of AppleInsider/ Space Javelin shares my opinion, which is enough for me to go no further.
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This thread should form the basis of the annual MPU Grinch award.
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I´ve never seen a Star War movie (aside from a few random scenes). Most weird thing about it: I believe I would enjoy it. 
Not exactly the most contrary MPU opinion, but I don’t frequently exchange hardware. Almost everything is thoroughly used until it becomes too slow, its battery dies (and the replacement is too expensive) or it’s no longer updated.
I rocked an iPad 2 from 2011 to 2017 and am currently using my beloved iPhone SE from 2016 and hope to nurse it until 2021 (hopefully!). I guess I’m a cheapskate!
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