Undigital Podcast

Jason and Jess talk about their smart home setups and whether Google, Amazon, or Apple have the best smart home ecosystems. We also cover our favorite smart devices, and what you should know about Matter. Off topic, we discuss the best travel apps, and Jess has a gadget that she's very excited about. 

Links from the episode:

Alexa vs Google Assistant vs Siri

What's the Matter? (via MacRumors)

Google's smart home product page

Amazon's smart home product page

Flighty

Jess' favorite "gadget" Find us on Twitter:

@undigitalfm

@jasonaten

@pingitup

In this reboot episode, we talk about what has changed over the past year, and what is changing moving forward. That includes a brand new name for the Podcast starting next week (you don't have to do anything, it'll just appear here as usual). Starting next week, the show will be called UnDigital and it will continue to appear right here, with a focus on having practical conversations about tech and what actually matters to your life.

We also talk about when and why people should start thinking about updating their smartphone, and whether the iPhone 14 is worth it. Then, we chat about the new Apple Watch Ultra and Series 8. Finally, we explore why the best snack foods only exist in other places. Links from this episode:

This is the iPhone 14 you should buy

It's all big phones from here on out.

The Apple Watch Ultra's orange button

The Verge Amazon Event Liveblog

Salted Carmel Popcorn KitKat New York Style Cheeseburger Pringles

Jason and Jess are returning with new episodes every other week, starting March 2nd. 

Jason talked with Evernote's CEO, Ian Small about how the company is reinventing its app by going back to its roots. 

Anyone who has used productivity software is likely familiar with Evernote. Over the past few years, however, many people moved on as it seemed like Evernote "lost its way." After rebuilding the entire thing from the ground up, the company is adding features like task management and calendar integrations in the hopes that it might again become "an extension of your brain." 

Jason and Ian talked about how Evernote got here, where the company and app are headed next, and why the whole thing just might work.

Jason and Jess talk through Apple's recent announcements, including the purple iPhone, AppleCard Family, the new iPad Pro, and the colorful new iMac. They also touched on the controversy at Basecamp, including the problem with taking sides. That's a lot for one episode, but I think we made it through.

Jason talks with Tamar Yehoshua, who is the head of product for Slack. Everyone knows what Slack is, especially if you work remotely. In this conversation, Jason and Tamar talk about how Slack handled its own shift to being fully remote this past year, as well as how it has adapted to help its customers do the same.

Plus, Tamar shares a few super helpful power-user tips for using Slack to be productive.

One of those ways is Slack Connect DMs, allowing you to DM anyone, even if they're outside of your organization. 

Slack Connect

About Tamar

Jason interviewed author and Entrepreneur Donald Miller about his new book, Business Made Simple, as well as what it was like to completely transition his company and team of 40 to working remotely. 

Also, be sure to check out my review of the book for Inc.com

(Apologies for the Zoom-meeting quality audio)

You can find Donald Miller on Instagram, or check out the book on Amazon. 

Jason and Jess get caught up after taking a week off. They also talk about what comes next--you know, after the world gets back to "normal," whatever that means. Specifically, what will working remotely look like when people start heading back to the office. 

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3599140/the-work-from-home-employee-s-bill-of-rights.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/lifestyle-overhauls-take-full-advantage-remote-work-2021-2

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/01/05/jobs-home-29-professionals-would-quit-if-forced-go-back-office/4142830001/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurathomas/2021/02/03/more-ways-to-succeed-at-remote-work-in-2021-and-beyond/

Yes, we skipped last week. Life happens. To make up for it, this week, we've got a piece of Jason's interview with David Smith, the developer behind Widgetsmith, which was the top free app in the iOS App Store for weeks last year. 

You'll have to forgive the audio difference, we recorded the interview for a piece I wrote, but there some great stuff and David was kind enough to give permission to use it in this episode. That said, we didn't record it with all the high tech gear you'd normally use for a podcast. 

Widgetsmith

Pedometer++

David Smith

With More Than 50 Million Downloads, Widgetsmith Became an Overnight Success 12 Years in the Making

To be more productive in the morning, do these 2 things at night.

Jason on Twitter

Jess on Twitter