MS

Hello, I’m Michael Sliwinski, founder of Nozbe - to-do app for business owners and their teams. I write essays, books, work on projects and I podcast for you using #iPadOnly in #NoOffice as I believe that work is not a place you go to, it’s a thing you do. More…

🍎 Apple

Commentary on Apple Inc. and their late CEO Steve Jobs. I’m both inspired by their products (see: iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch) and their practices. As a true fan, sometimes I’m also critisizing Apple to hold them accountable.


🍎 🏝 🎬 Apple still insists that work-from-home or hybrid is not really their thing

Thursday, November 10, 2022 /apple-hybrid/

I recently watched an interview (embedded below) with key Apple execs - Craig Federighi and Greg Jozwiak - done by the Wall Street Journal and the part that really interested me was their stance on #NoOffice work. Well, it hasn’t changed much since I wrote about it a few months back (the action starts at 23 min 45 sec in):

Read more…

🍎 📖 After Steve by Tripp Mickle - (audio) book of the week

Thursday, October 27, 2022 /after-steve/

It’s been a little over 11 years since Steve Jobs died and to commemorate this anniversary I’m posting here my short review of the new book by Tripp Mickle: After Steve - how Apple became a trillion-dollar company and lost its soul.

After Steve by Tripp Mickle - (audio) book of the week

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🍎 AirTags - why we need them and how I use them

Tuesday, August 9, 2022 /airtag/

When Apple launched AirTags to help us “Lose your knack for losing things.”, many people were skeptical. Some didn’t know why Apple needed to enter this category of devices. Others saw a potential for abuse and stalking. People like me, who were already using similar devices from a competing company of Tile, embraced AirTags quickly. In this post I’d like to explain why I’m a fan of AirTags, why I have so many of them and what I use them for.

AirTags - why we need them and how I use them

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🍎 🤩 On Anything But Idle - WWDC2022 - new stuff from Apple!

Thursday, June 9, 2022 /anythingbutidle-wwdc22/

As it happens, I was invited again to my favorite geeky podcast - Anything But Idle where with my friends - Augusto and Ray - I could geek out and chat about new stuff that’s coming from Apple in the months to come - new iOS, iPadOS, macOS and the new MacBook Air laptop. If you’re into this sort of things, listen up! More info ℹ️

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🍎 🏝 Apple asks employees back to the office while also inspiring them to quit

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 /backtooffice/

I already wrote about Apple’s not-so-good approach to working form home in the past (I also recorded a short video on that), but now as COVID-19 cases are declining Apple is really shooting itself in the foot. On one hand, it’s telling them to go back to the office (or else!) while at the same time it’s producing an ad that they’d better quit:

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🍎 💻 📱 7 lives of a decade-old trusty Apple Thunderbolt Display

Wednesday, December 22, 2021 /display/

On the last episode of No Office FM podcast my co-host, Rafal, asked me about a lonely display hanging on the wall behind me. He didn’t know why I had this display there. I had no good answer, until the weekend came and I figured it out. I gave my good old trusty, 10-year-old Apple Thunderbolt Display another, actually seventh, life! Just check out its history:

7 lives of a decade-old trusty Apple Thunderbolt Display

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🍎 🎬 🎥 Trying out YouTube #shorts with: Apple won’t unleash!

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 /shorts-apple/

One of our strategies for promoting Nozbe indirectly is by promoting our Nozbe.Com YouTube Channel - where we post Nozbe product videos, No Office podcast episodes and shorter productivity videos. We have above 4000 subscribers there (and you should totally subscribe!). Last week we decided to try the new YouTube feature - shorts, and here’s my first short commenting on Apple’s MacBook Pro event and my essay on Apple’s reluctance to embrace #NoOffice work:

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🍎 🏝 🙁 Apple, offices and this new “problematic” flexibility to letting people work from anywhere

Saturday, June 5, 2021 /flexibility/

As a business owner of Nozbe I look up to many bigger and more successful companies for guidance, examples and inspiration when running my company. Recently however, leadership of some of them is making decisions I cannot agree with. First it was Basecamp with their “no politics at work” policy that drove 1/3 of their talented employees away. Now it’s Apple, with their questionable attitude towards us, developers on their platforms. And to add insult to injury, recently Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, told their employees to come back to their office, or else! There are fundamentally two things I cannot agree with here:

Apple, offices and this new “problematic” flexibility to letting people work from anywhere

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🍎 😎 Why I bought the last two remaining Apple HomePods for my living room

Thursday, April 15, 2021 /homepods/

Apple discontinued the HomePod and was selling them “until supplies last”. Instead of getting rid of the HomePod I had in the kitchen, I did something completely different. I listened to Marco Arment praise HomePods on ATP here and then here, especially recommending a stereo pair. So I hunted down two white HomePods for my living room and hooked them up:

Why I bought the last two remaining Apple HomePods for my living room

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🍎 🙁 Apple used to stand for something. Now they stand for nothing. Where’s Steve Jobs when we need him?

Tuesday, December 17, 2019 /apple-values/

Recently I wrote this post on Twitter, in reply to Tim Cook visiting Alabama:

Yes, Rosa stood for something. Yet Apple, the company I used to so highly admire… Recently stands for nothing. Videos promoting Trump campaign? Removing Taiwanese emoji? Removing Hong-Kong apps? Putting Crimea in Apple Maps as “Russia”? Yes please, Tim, do learn from Ms Parks

I’m an Apple user myself. I’m #iPadOnly, I buy a new iPhone every year, I love my Apple Watch and I own lots of Apple shares as well… and I’m so invested in this fruit company not just because of the “design is how it works” thing, but mostly because of their values. Here’s why I’m so disappointed in Apple so much recently:

Apple used to stand for something. Now they stand for nothing. Where’s Steve Jobs when we need him?

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🍎 💼 Stock market doesn’t make any sense to me as Microsoft is more valuable than Apple…

Tuesday, December 11, 2018 /stock-market/

🍎 ✔️ How HomePod turned me into a Siri enthusiast - I finally use voice to get stuff done!

Tuesday, November 20, 2018 /homepod/

⌚️ 🍎 My Tech Gadget of 2015: The Apple Watch

Tuesday, January 19, 2016 /watch2015/

🍎 iPad Pro. iPhone 6s Plus and other things I’m going to buy this year

Thursday, September 10, 2015 /ipadpro/

🍎 👨🏼‍💻 💻 How beauty boosts productivity… or my very biased MacBook One review :-)

Monday, July 6, 2015 /beauty/

🍎 💻 My first iMac makes my Apple device lineup complete

Monday, June 22, 2015 /lastmac/

🍎 ⌚️ 💻 The polarizing Macbook, tempting Apple Watch and… one more thing.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015 /applelive-watch/

🍎 💻 The story of my first Mac - from Thinkpad to Macbook Air… back in 2008

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 /my-first-mac/

🍎 📽 🎬 The power of iOS8 for better productivity - Productive! Show #80

Thursday, September 18, 2014 /ios8/

🍎 ✏️ Apple’s next big thing? iCar. Why Apple buying Tesla actually makes sense.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014 /applecar/

🍎 💻 ✏️ Me and Mac. A “love in the air” story

Friday, January 31, 2014 /mac/

📖 🍎 Insanely Simple by Ken Segall - audio book of the week

Thursday, June 21, 2012 /insanely-simple-by-ken-segall-audio-book-of-t/

✅ 🍎 Nozbe means Productivity on the Mac App Store

Sunday, June 3, 2012 /nozbe-means-productivity-on-the-mac-app-store/

🍎 ✔️ Focus like Steve Jobs

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 /focus-like-steve-jobs/

📖 🍎 Thoughts & Quotes from Steve Jobs Biography by Isaacson

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 /thoughts-quotes-from-steve-jobs-biography-by/

🍎 Final Act of Steve Jobs

Thursday, October 6, 2011 /final-act-of-steve-jobs/

🍎 💼 How Steve Jobs inspired me as an entrepreneur

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 /how-steve-jobs-inspired-me-as-an-entrepreneur/

📖 🍎 The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation - Audiobook of the week

Thursday, July 14, 2011 /the-steve-jobs-way-ileadership-for-a-new-gene/

🍎 💼 Your New Affiliate Partner is Apple thanks to Subscriptions

Thursday, February 17, 2011 /your-new-affiliate-partner-is-apple-thanks-to/

🍎 💼 3 lessons learned from Steve Jobs coming back to Apple

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 /3-lessons-learned-from-steve-jobs-coming-back/

🍎 💻 📱 Dear Apple - iPad is NOT a personal device like iPhone

Monday, November 15, 2010 /dear-apple-ipad-is-not-a-personal-device-like/

🍎 💻 New Macbook Air seduces me again…

Thursday, October 21, 2010 /new-macbook-air-seduces-me-again/

📲 ✈️ 🍎 Apple Store “Waiting in line for iPhone 4” experience

Wednesday, September 8, 2010 /apple-store-waiting-in-line-for-iphone-4-expe/

🍎 📲 💼 Thoughts on iPhone 4 - Apple simply ships

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 /thoughts-on-iphone-4-apple-simply-ships/

🍎 📱 💻 I have to admit this - 5 reasons why iPad is the future of computing

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 /i-have-to-admit-this-5-reasons-why-ipad-is-th/

🍎 📱 7 ways the new Apple iPad will increase your productivity

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 /7-ways-the-new-apple-ipad-will-increase-your/

🍎 On stage like Apple’s Steve Jobs: 3 Mistakes to avoid when presenting

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 /on-stage-like-apples-steve-jobs-3-mistakes-to/

📲 🍎 UX Confessions of an iPhone and Mac paranoid fanatic

Thursday, December 17, 2009 /ux-confessions-of-an-iphone-and-mac-paranoid/

🍎 Removing features, noise and buttons to make your product perfect - like Apple Mighty Mouse

Saturday, October 31, 2009 /removing-features-noise-and-buttons-to-make-y/

💻 🍎 Macbook Air rocks. 5 things PC notebook manufacturers will never understand.

Saturday, December 27, 2008 /macbook-air/