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Podcasts Siri Shortcuts Tips & Tricks Video

“Show me this clip” for video podcasts with this Overcast to YouTube shortcut

If you didn’t already know, my podcast Smart Tech Today comes with a video feed now – you can download a full video feed in Podcasts, or subscribe to the YouTube channel to get the episodes every week, or watch live on Twitch every Monday at 4pm PST.

While the show is designed as an audio podcast, our network This Week in Tech produces the video so anyone can watch too – I have lots of fun being on camera with Mikah.

Being a podcast that’s also “video capable,” I’ve always thought it’s a shame that it’s not easier to listen when you want to, or watch when you want to, with a way to switch between both on the fly.

If you’re on Overcast user, you’re in luck – I’ve solved the problem in one direction, taking Overcast’s “Share URL with timestamp” Siri Shortcut and combining it with YouTube’s timestamps feature to let you jump into the video feed at a moment’s notice.1

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Smart Tech Today #16: Smart Tech at the Super Bowl

On this episode of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talk about:

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Smart Tech Today #14: Loads of Smart Tech at CES 2020

On episode 14 of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about what I saw at CES 2020.

But before I get to what we covered in the show, I have exciting news – Smart Tech Today is now available as a video show in addition to our regular podcast feed!

We’ve always had the cameras on for our livestream, but the show’s been doing well enough to add in video production as well.

So, make sure to subscribe on YouTube if you want to watch along afterwards, or add the video podcast feed to get them delivered directly in Apple Podcasts.

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Offsite Podcasts Siri Shortcuts

Smart Tech Today 11: Samuel L. Jackson on Your Amazon Echo

On episode 11 of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I covered a K-Pop rapper’s AirPods problem, Samuel L. Jackson on your Echo, and Sling TV on your Google Nest Hub:

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Smart Tech Today 10: We Want Smart Blinds

On our tenth episode of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talk about these stories:

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Smart Tech Today 8: Goodnight, Sonos: Voice-Controlled Computing

On episode 8 of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about:

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Smart Tech Today #7: Make Your Smart Home Work for You

On episode 7 of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about the following:

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Smart Tech Today #6: Smart Tech: It’s for Everyone

On this episode of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talk about:

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Smart Tech Today #5 – Hearables: AirPods Pro & Echo Buds

On this episode of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talk about:

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Smart Tech Today #2: Mesh WiFi and Voice-First Computing

Mikah Sargent and I have recorded episode 2 of Smart Tech Today, this time over Skype and on the Twitch livestream. Here’s the description from the TWiT page:

  • Mikah reveals he’s now dual-wielding mobile operating systems. Along with his iPhone 11 Pro Max, he’s carrying a OnePlus 7 Pro to better understand and make use of the Google Assistant and Android in general.
  • The two discuss recent discounts on mesh WiFi systems and how mesh WiFi systems can lead to a better smart tech user experience.
  • Matthew explains how Siri and Spotify are working together to provide Spotify users with Siri voice control and the two hosts reveal why they subscribe to both Spotify and Apple Music.
  • Mikah waxes ecstatic over the ultra-wideband chip in the new iPhone 11 and the two dream up a future where UWB controls both the smart home and mobile connected tech.
  • Mikah details how he’s been using Alexa Routines to start his day and Matthew compares this functionality to Siri Shortcuts.
  • Matthew gives us a look at his Google Assistant- and Alexa-controlled Xbox.
    Mikah details how he’s trying to use the Google Assistant and Siri to be a little more voice-first with his devices.
  • Matthew complains about the lack of Google Assistant support for G Suite accounts and Mikah shares how much he enjoys the ETA feature in Apple Maps on iOS 13. The two hosts also try the same feature using Google Maps.

Plus, here’s a set of Siri Shortcuts I created last week for subscribing and listening to the show:

We’ll be live next Monday at our usual 4pm PST – thanks for listening along so far!

Links for the show:

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Smart Tech Today #1: Voice Assistants in Your Ears

On Monday, Mikah Sargent and I recorded episode 1 of Smart Tech Today in person at the TWiT studio. In the show, we:

  • Attempt to create nicknames for the major voice assistants. Be sure to share your ideas for Siri, Alexa, and Google nicknames by emailing [email protected]!
  • Discuss all the products Amazon announced at its recent press event. Matthew gets Mikah to change his mind about the smart oven Amazon launched.
  • Ponder the future of voice-based operating systems given the fact that every company seems to be announcing earbuds that work with smart assistants.
  • Give a brief rundown of their smart home setups.
  • Answer questions about automating alarms using Siri Shortcuts and NFC tags.
  • Give a shout-out to the one-and-only Gemmy the Twerking Bear.

Here’s Mikah and I after recording – had a blast! We’re off to a great start, but any help sharing the show to new people still goes a long way.

Once we hit 30,000 subscribers, we’ll have a full video feed of each episode too, available on our YouTube channel:

Plus, here’s a set of Siri Shortcuts for subscribing and listening to the show:

We’ll be live every Monday at 4pm PST, with the episode dropping later each evening. Thanks for listening!

Links for the show:

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Guest appearances Offsite Podcasts Siri Shortcuts

Guest spot on the iMore show #674: Shortcuts!

The day after iOS 13 launched, I was a guest on the iMore show to talk all about the updates to Siri Shortcuts (and a bit about the new iPhone):

Shortcuts expert Matthew Cassinelli is here with a wealth of information for making life better with iOS 13! He guides Lory Gil and Georgia Dow through the basics of shortcut creation and shares some of his own creations from matthewcassinelli.com.

I had a really great time talking to Lory Gil and Georgia Dow – Lory is the editor at iMore and corrects the mistakes in my freelance articles, and Georgia does a wonderful job as Senior Editor there too.

We also recorded this as a livestream, so here’s the video if you want to follow along – I even turned on my main camera with a top-down shot for part of it:

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Announcing Smart Tech Today, my new podcast

Today, I’m happy to announce a new podcast I’m hosting with Mikah Sargent on the TWiT network – it’s called Smart Tech Today and you should subscribe to episode 0 now!

A couple of weeks ago, Mikah reached out to me and asked if I’d like to host a podcast with him about smart technology on the “This Week in Tech” podcast network, commonly known as TWiT.

We’d be covering all aspects of the “Internet of Things”, automation as it stands in 2019 and beyond, and how to think about using & integrating smart tech into your daily life – naturally, I said yes.

Airing each Monday evening (with a livestream at 4pm if you want to tune in), we want the show to be informative, practical, and fun.

Mikah does incredible work, previously for iMore where I met him through my freelance work, but also for the Clockwise podcast on Relay FM and now also full-time for TWiT.

I am super glad to be cohosting with Mikah, because I think:

  • We’re both well-suited to finding the right news for you
  • We can contextualize it all in a way that’s practical but still critical, and skeptical but not cynical
  • We’ll provide a considered look at what it really means to integrate these products into modern life

I’m also looking forward to staying on top of smart tech outside the Apple ecosystem, because we’ll be talking about all types of brands and products on Smart Tech Today.

There will surely be plenty of Siri Shortcuts talk, but I’ll be experimenting and learning about all of it, and intend to cover everything with the same intentionality I do in all my work.

We’re airing our first episode next Monday, October 7th, but please subscribe to the trailer episode now.

Any new listeners and episode ratings are weighted heavily by Apple Podcasts, so a great launch helps propel the show forward – we appreciate the support!

Here are the links for the podcast:

Looking forward to next Monday! Hope you’ll be listening too 🙂

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See You Later, Nerds

New episode of Supercomputer out:

Alex and Matthew talk about the close of the beta season – and the close of the show.

Today unfortunately marks the end of Supercomputer.

It’s been a privilege to start my first podcast with someone as wonderful as Alex Cox, and I will cherish the opportunity to share with others and learn about myself in the process.

I’m happy to have made 40 episodes of this podcast and it’s been a significant experience in my life.

Thank you for listening.

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Android Just Smells Like Home (feat. Julia Skott)

New episode of Supercomputer out:

Matthew hosts special guest Julia Skott – quite literally in his home. Julia’s all about Android, but uses an iPad and Mac, so the two have a lot to talk about. Plus Julia is just amazing.

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iPad Pros #58: Shortcuts 3 (with Matthew Cassinelli)

Tim Chaten was kind enough to have me back on his podcast iPad Pros:

Matthew Cassinelli and I deep dive into the next version of Shortcuts that is built into iOS 13. Listen back to episodes 41 and 42 for the deep dive into Shortcuts 2. This episode will focus on the changes and additions made to Shortcuts 3.

I always appreciate talking to Tim – he gives a fantastic outline ahead of time, which maps very well to what people are interested in learning about Siri Shortcuts.

As such, this is a straightforward explanation of everything that’s coming in iOS 13. Listen to the episode.

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Interview with Greg Pierce, creator of x-callback-url and Drafts

New episode of Supercomputer out:

While Alex was away, Matthew interviewed developer Greg Pierce, creator of Drafts and the x-callback-url spec that kicked off deeper interest in iOS automation.

I think this may be my first podcast interview?

Greg Pierce was kind enough to come on our show and talk with me about the history of x-callback-url, his plans for integrating Siri Shortcuts into his app Drafts, and what he’s looking to do in the future.

I gushed a bit about how I love Drafts – be sure to check out the show notes for some links related to the app.

Listen to the show:

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No Name Photo Show: #57 – Taking Shortcuts with Photography

My friend Brian Matiash was kind enough to have me on his photography podcast to talk Siri Shortcuts:

When the topic of mobile photography is discussed, it’s almost always with reference to the cameras and sensors built into our phones. However, there is another side of this topic that is as interesting and can be quite impactful for photographers.

Brian is a great guy and I love talking Shortcuts with him because he gets just as excited, if not more so, than me. Especially when it comes to on-the-go photography and the capabilities of iPad, it’s never been a better time to build up a mobile photo workflow.

Listen to the episode and add his show for some good photography talk. Plus, check out his own photography too.

 

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Your Phone, Your Choice

New episode of Supercomputer out:

After a few weeks, Alex & Matthew are back to talk about the beta experiences so far. Matthew hung out in Apple Business Chat, Alex gets excited about Automation triggers, and everyone is assigned a book for summer reading.

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A Billion Pockets, Y’all!

New episode of Supercomputer out:

Alex and Matthew are back from WWDC (for real this time) and are VERY excited about Shortcuts. Alex also briefly shouts about the Mac Pro, and Matthew needs a monitor.