Monthly Archives: November 2016

We at Pad & Quill and the Bindery Blog want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving this year. 2016 has been quite a year for us, growing and adapting to new iPhones and MacBooks and trying to understand the Air Pods. It’s been a crazy year but we wouldn’t be where we are today without you!

We’ve grown from a little company in Mr. and Mrs. PQ’s basement to a full-fledged small business that works hard to make crafted art. When we started those many years ago, we were just a little company with big dreams. With plenty of hard work and wonderful customers, we've been overjoyed with getting to continue to grow our brand. We are thankful for magazines like the New York Times and Wired for reviewing and featuring us, helping us grow each and every day.

Sure, Apple gave us courage this year. But we’ve also learned the importance of adapting our products for everyone in our ever growing family. We've been pushed to be more creative and intuitive with each new release from Apple. From pencils to missing headphone jacks, we've been excited to design new products for each new step in innovation.

It’s our busiest time at Pad &

So you’ve brought home a brand new MacBook Pro. Now, what? While Apple’s laptops are known for being user-friendly, there’s a whole host of MacBook Pro tips and tricks waiting to be discovered. We’ve gathered together some of our favorite tips and tricks so you’ll be almost as competent as your favorite TV hacker. No cool music or crime labs required.

The magic toolbar. That weird touchy thingy. Revolutionary tech. All words used to describe the Touch Bar for MacBook Pro released by Apple in October. While gorgeous in design many were left wondering what functionality it would serve. The MacBook Touch Bar offers great opportunities for anyone working in the creative field. It also, offers plenty of great features for the casual user. We’ve scoured our favorite sources and found some of the best insider knowledge to help you in getting the most out of Apple’s latest tech.

With the release of  macOS Siri via the Sierra update, users noticed the ability to enable the helpful little voice  on their MacBooks. While Siri for the iPhone is useful, it’s full of problems from misunderstanding questions to shorting out, it has its benefits.

How To Install and Use Siri for MacOS

Before you read the rest of this article, it’s best to make sure you’ve downloaded the latest version of MacOS, Sierra. It will take around 45 minutes to download so whether you're stuck in an airport or binging Netflix, give yourself some time to be laptop free. You can get the link to download here.

After you have set up MacOS Sierra, simply enable Siri when prompted and you’ll be on your way. Your shortcut key will be automatically set to ‘command-space’ but you can easily edit this to whatever you’d like via Preferences.

Siri for MacOS does not yet support voice activation like the iPhone. However, MacWorld has a handy guide  here to help you set up the ‘Hey Siri’ method via the Accessibility section.

How to use MacOS Siri

But after all this work, what really is the point of having Siri on your MacBook. Siri makes sense for your iPhone when hands-free activity is needed. Holding kids, driving,

Laptops have been through quite a journey. With the introduction of new 2016 MacBook Pro from Apple, we've doubled down on our leather MacBook bags. When a device is as integral as this to your daily life, travel-ready laptop bags are a must. Sadly, carrying your MacBook can become a cumbersome task, especially with all the dongles... Here at Pad & Quill, we've crafted a line of luxury leather laptop bags, folders, and carryalls to help you travel with your laptop easily.