Author: Matthew Cassinelli

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

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date January 20
1 Comment on 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.

Tags Airia, Anova, Beddr, Belkin, CES, Flic, Instant Pot, Linksys, Miravel, Nanoleaf, Phillips Hue, Smart Tech Today, Studio Neat, WeMo, Withings, YouTube

Links Siri Shortcuts

How far did I walk today?

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date January 7

Today’s new shortcut is How far did I walk today? is designed for CES attendees but is also good for anyone really:

Looks at the Health app for total steps and distance for today, then formats the information to display in an alert or be spoken back from Siri.

Uses only the Apple Watch as the main source of data so no information is duplicated from the phone.

Tags Apple Watch, CES, health, Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts, Steps

Links Siri Shortcuts

Which CES shuttle should I take?

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date January 6

New shortcut “Which CES shuttle should I take?“ for CES attendees:

Pulls from a dictionary of CES hotel names and their associated shuttle #s, lets you choose from the names, then tells you which shuttle to take.

Also opens your final destination in Maps so you can follow along.

Tags CES, conference, Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts

Links Siri Shortcuts

Playing a podcast by time of day using “If” conditionals

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date January 3

This afternoon, @kcjokes asked for a shortcut that can play a podcast based on the time of day:

Tags Actions, Conditionals, Example, podcasts, Request, Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts

Links Siri Shortcuts

Log your sun exposure with an Apple Watch automation ⌚️

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date January 2

Shows a screenshot from the Shortcuts app with “Get Current Weather,” “Get the Device name,” an “If” action set to “If Device Name contains iPad”, then “Show Result,” otherwise “Log Health Sample” and then “Show Alert.”

Here’s a Personal Automation for Apple Watch that I’m running automatically at the start of my Walking workouts – Log UV index:

Gets the current weather at the current location and logs the UV index for the hour into the Health app, then displays it or speaks it back when run via Siri.

Includes “Get Device Name” and an “If” action to account for being run on the iPad, which does not have the Health app and would otherwise fail.

Tags Apple Watch, Automations, Fitness, health, Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts, UV Index, Workouts

Links Siri Shortcuts

Singalong

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date January 1

New shortcut Singalong for Apple Music users:

Turns on the Apple TV, asks if you want to Hand Off music to the TV from the current device, then opens the Music app and shows the Remote on the current device.

Tags Apple Music, Apple TV, Lyrics, music, Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts

Links Siri Shortcuts

2020 Meme generator

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 28

Sometimes you just have to make a meme into a shortcut:

Takes the “2020” meme with a line of text in the middle and uses a find & replace to swap out your own text, then copies it and opens Twitter. Your new input must be less than 30 characters to fit.

Tags Meme generator, Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts, Text

Links Siri Shortcuts

Twitter self-search

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 24

Self-search is a handy shortcut I built for Twitter users:

Using a Twitter username inputted on import and a keyword entered when the shortcut is run, this shortcut takes the info, URL-encodes it into a Twitter link, and opens into the app to show the results.

Tags Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts

Links Siri Shortcuts

Pick random Office episode

If you love The Office and want to have a random episode picked for you, this shortcut is for you:

Using a dictionary filled out with the season numbers and corresponding episode counts for each, this picks a random season, then episode, then displays it in an alert as Netflix opens on the Apple TV.

Works aloud when run from Siri; good for HomePod.

Tags Apple TV, Entertainment, HomePod, Math, Netflix, Shortcuts, Siri, Siri Shortcuts, smart home, The Office

Links Siri Shortcuts

Move from Ulysses to iA Writer

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 18

Just created this new shortcut Move from Ulysses to iA Writer:

Gets sheets from a group in Ulysses, asks which one to use, then adds it into iA Writer via their URL scheme. Only accepts text, so you’ll have to move over any images.

Continue reading “Move from Ulysses to iA Writer”

Tags App shortcuts, Choose From List, Get actions, iA Writer, iMore, Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts, Ulysses, URL scheme, Writing

Links Siri Shortcuts

MacStories releases MusicBot, putting most of Apple Music in one Siri Shortcut

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 17

Federico Viticci, doing his usual excellent work on MacStories:

For the past several months, I’ve been working on a shortcut designed to be the ultimate assistant for Apple Music.

Called MusicBot, the shortcut encompasses dozens of different features and aims to be an all-in-one assistant that helps you listen to music more quickly, generate intelligent mixes based on your tastes, rediscover music from your library, control playback on AirPlay 2 speakers, and much more.

I poured hundreds of hours of work into MusicBot, which has gained a permanent spot on my Home screen. Best of all, MusicBot is available to everyone for free.

MusicBot is yet another one of Federico’s shortcuts that turns a vast number of functions into a single Siri Shortcut for you to use. Plus, look at that custom icon!

I quite literally have over 50 music-based shortcuts that this will be replacing.

Tags Apple Music, Club MacStories, MacStories, music, Shortcuts app, Siri Shortcuts, Toolbox Pro

Offsite Podcasts Siri Shortcuts

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

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 16

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:

Tags ADT, Airfoil, AirPods, Alexa, Amazon Echo, Apple Podcasts, Audio gear, Google Assistant, Linked, Nest Hub, Pixel, podcasts, Sling TV, smart home, Smart Tech Today, Vinyl

Apps Links

Transit’s Apple Watch app returns after two-year hiatus

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 12

Jon Fingas, writing for Endgaget about Transit for iOS releasing a new version of their Apple Watch app:

The popular public transportation tool is now a native app, of course, but it also gives you considerably more detail than just arrival times, including future arrivals and a map indicating where to go.

I’m glad to see more apps slowly returning to the Apple Watch (or adopting it for the first time). Will be trying this out over the weekend ?.

Read the full article.

Tags Apple Watch, apps, Linked

Offsite Podcasts

Smart Tech Today 10: We Want Smart Blinds

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 10

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

Sony brings AirPlay 2 and HomeKit to select 2018 and 2019 TVs
Ikea’s smart blinds won’t work with Apple’s HomeKit until ‘early’ in 2020
Studio Neat Apple TV Remote Stand
Amazon launches new battery-powered Echo exclusively for India
Amazon’s Ring is making its first smart light bulb, FCC documents reveal
Google Assistant supports more bedroom, kitchen appliances
Google Assistant now follows your dietary restrictions when recommending recipes
Google Assistant is ready to give you holiday updates from the North Pole
White balance and color temperature – what it means for your home (and on camera)
Mikah’s pick of the week: Wemo Wi-Fi Light Switch 3-Way 2-Pack Bundle
Matthew’s pick of the week: Philips Hue Smart Button
Continue reading “Smart Tech Today 10: We Want Smart Blinds”

Tags AirPlay 2, Amazon, buttons, Echo, Google Assistant, Holidays, HomeKit, IKEA, lights, Philips Hue, recipes, Ring, smart home, smart speaker, Smart Tech Today, Sony, Studio Neat, TV, WeMo

Offsite

Smart Tech Today 9: Decorate Your Smart Home for the Holidays

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date December 2

On episode 9 of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about:

Smart tech news:
Amazon:
- Amazon’s Echo Show 8 hits the sweet spot for smart displays
- Mother enraged after Alexa blurts out daughter’s present
Decorating your smart home:
Mikah’s pick of the week: Eve Energy Strip
Matthew’s pick of the week: Enable seasonal doorbell chimes on your Google Nest Hello
Continue reading “Smart Tech Today 9: Decorate Your Smart Home for the Holidays”

Tags Amazon Echo, Holidays, lighting, Offsite, podcast, podcasts, smart assistants, smart displays, Smart Tech Today

Links Offsite Podcasts

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

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date November 25

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

Tips & Tricks

Automating how loud Siri replies on the HomePod

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date November 21
3 Comments on Automating how loud Siri replies on the HomePod

Hero image of HomePod in the author's home

I’m a huge fan of the HomePod – after bearing the investment cost, it’s improved my daily interactions with music and opened access to controlling my smart home gear, plus provides a new medium for everything I’ve built in the Shortcuts app.

But one of the nagging problems with HomePod is the way Siri, regardless of the current time of day, will respond loudly at whatever volume you’ve previously set.

Whether it’s the middle of the night or super early in the morning, it’s all too common to ask Siri something and the answer shouted backed at you, only because you listened to music loudly sometime yesterday. Hopefully nobody wakes up, you curse at how dumb your supposedly “smart” speaker can be, and frantically try to turn it down.

Thankfully, iOS 13.2 provides a route to a solution by adding HomePods and AppleTV to scenes and automations – the HomePod didn’t fix this on its own, but, with a Home Automation, you can make it “smart” enough yourself.¹

Tags Automations, Home app, Home Automation, HomeKit, HomePod, Shortcuts, Siri, Siri Shortcuts, smart home

Siri Shortcuts

Opening directly into Watch Later on YouTube with a Siri Shortcut

Post author By Matthew Cassinelli
Post date November 19

After adding a few videos from YouTube to my Watch Later playlist this afternoon, I looked in the Apps section of the Shortcuts app for some Siri Shortcuts from the YouTube app.

I’ve found actions that open the Search and Subscriptions section of the app before, but I wanted to quickly jump into the Watch Later bit which is buried in the Library tab – alas, there was no shortcut.

However, I then realized that YouTube.com links often redirect into the app, and I might be able to use that deep link instead.