Comfort Zone

The MacBook Neo is my Mistress

A budget laptop is the hot tech product of 2026, and the whole gang has thoughts. Then, everyone evangelizes Vivaldi with varying levels of success. This week's Cozy Zone, Chris and Matt teach Niléane the real rules of the road right before her driver's test. They're pretty sure it was a lot of help. Want more from the gang? Cozy Zone is a bonus podcast every Monday where we let loose on all sorts of fun topics. You can get cozy with the Comfort Zone crew for just $5/month [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138191] or $50/year [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138195], which not only makes the bonus episodes possible, but supports Comfort Zone, too. How would you have done our challenges? How would you answer the question at the end of the show? Let us know [https://giant-smash-219.notion.site/2d235e3fe8d880129f22fb81cdd47acc]! Things discussed * First, Last, Everything Season 2 [https://www.macstories.net/news/first-last-everything-season-two-launches-today/] * MacBook Neo [https://www.apple.com/macbook-neo/] * Niléane pitches Vivaldi [https://nileane.fr/@nileane/116213314605295934] * Matt pitches Vivaldi [https://mastodon.social/@matt_birchler/116219609390087609] * Chris pitches Vivaldi [https://mastodon.social/@ChrisLawley/116219539113133098] Follow the Hosts * Chris on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisLawley] * Matt on Birchtree [https://birchtree.me] * Niléane on Mastodon [https://nileane.fr/@nileane] * Comfort Zone on Mastodon [https://mastodon.macstories.net/@comfortzone] * Comfort Zone on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/comfortzone.macstories.net]

I Need My Turn to Pop Off

Niléane is replacing Discord with Slack, Chris has the new iPad Air in hand, and everyone found something nice to say about password managers. This week's Cozy Zone, we tier-listed app icons, and opinions were stronger than anticipated (probably should have seen it coming). Want more from the gang? Cozy Zone is a bonus podcast every Monday where we let loose on all sorts of fun topics. You can get cozy with the Comfort Zone crew for just $5/month [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138191] or $50/year [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138195], which not only makes the bonus episodes possible, but supports Comfort Zone, too. How would you have done our challenges? How would you answer the question at the end of the show? Let us know [https://giant-smash-219.notion.site/2d235e3fe8d880129f22fb81cdd47acc]! Things discussed * Back to Alfred [https://rknight.me/blog/back-to-alfred/] * Apple Introduces M4-Powered iPad Air [https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-introduces-m4-powered-ipad-air/] * mood.camera [https://www.mood.camera/] * KeePass [https://keepass.info/index.html] * Bitwarden [https://bitwarden.com/] * Vivaldi [https://vivaldi.com/] Follow the Hosts * Chris on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisLawley] * Matt on Birchtree [https://birchtree.me] * Niléane on Mastodon [https://nileane.fr/@nileane] * Comfort Zone on Mastodon [https://mastodon.macstories.net/@comfortzone] * Comfort Zone on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/comfortzone.macstories.net]

I Paid for Those Pixels

Matt demands we roast his home screen, Niléane drops some knowledge on SSDs, and (almost) everyone has fun with Pokémon. This week's Cozy Zone, we played Geoguesser, and it has a better ending than we could have even scripted. Want more from the gang? Cozy Zone is a bonus podcast every Monday where we let loose on all sorts of fun topics. You can get cozy with the Comfort Zone crew for just $5/month [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138191] or $50/year [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138195], which not only makes the bonus episodes possible, but supports Comfort Zone, too. How would you have done our challenges? How would you answer the question at the end of the show? Let us know [https://giant-smash-219.notion.site/2d235e3fe8d880129f22fb81cdd47acc]! Things discussed * Swipe to type on the Mac [https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1qzlr13/os_swipe_typing_for_your_mac/] * Sharge USB-C cable [https://sharge.com/products/l-shaped-usb-c-cable-data-charging] * BILRESA [https://www.ikea.com/fr/fr/p/bilresa-kit-de-reglage-a-distance-bouton-double-multicolore-90604166/] Ikea buttons Follow the Hosts * Chris on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisLawley] * Matt on Birchtree [https://birchtree.me] * Niléane on Mastodon [https://nileane.fr/@nileane] * Comfort Zone on Mastodon [https://mastodon.macstories.net/@comfortzone] * Comfort Zone on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/comfortzone.macstories.net]

Pizza is an American Invention, and it Involves Pineapple

Chris has a Mac-related confession to make, Matt has to admit something about his Apple Watch, and Niléane is like, "boys, I don't think you can even handle taking your phones off silent." (She was not wrong.) This week's Cozy Zone, we roast home screens again, and this time there weren't any hidden codes…we think. Want more from the gang? Cozy Zone is a bonus podcast every Monday where we let loose on all sorts of fun topics. You can get cozy with the Comfort Zone crew for just $5/month [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138191] or $50/year [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138195], which not only makes the bonus episodes possible, but supports Comfort Zone, too. How would you have done our challenges? How would you answer the question at the end of the show? Let us know [https://giant-smash-219.notion.site/2d235e3fe8d880129f22fb81cdd47acc]! Things discussed * Helium [https://helium.computer/] * Apple will kill iPadOS [https://birchtree.me/blog/apple-will-kill-ipados/] * Quick Subtitles [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/quick-subtitles/id6747410609] Follow the Hosts * Chris on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisLawley] * Matt on Birchtree [https://birchtree.me] * Niléane on Mastodon [https://nileane.fr/@nileane] * Comfort Zone on Mastodon [https://mastodon.macstories.net/@comfortzone] * Comfort Zone on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/comfortzone.macstories.net]

Execute a Leveraged Takeover of MacStories

Chris wants to know what the heck is going on with Discord. Niléane has a massive backlog of things to talk about now that she's back. And everybody does their best with Apple's Creator Studio. This week's Cozy Zone, the gang discusses what they'd do if they couldn't use Apple products anymore. We are releasing this just days after ATP did the exact same thing, but we swear we recorded this a couple weeks ago! Want more from the gang? Cozy Zone is a bonus podcast every Monday where we let loose on all sorts of fun topics. You can get cozy with the Comfort Zone crew for just $5/month [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138191] or $50/year [https://macstories.memberful.com/checkout?plan=138195], which not only makes the bonus episodes possible, but supports Comfort Zone, too. How would you have done our challenges? How would you answer the question at the end of the show? Let us know [https://giant-smash-219.notion.site/2d235e3fe8d880129f22fb81cdd47acc]! Things discussed * Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month [https://www.theverge.com/tech/875309/discord-age-verification-global-roll-out] * iPhanpy for iPhone [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/iphanpy-for-mastodon/id6755365082] * Vivaldi [https://vivaldi.com/] * Thaw [https://github.com/stonerl/Thaw] * Itsyhome [https://itsyhome.app/] * Our pitch deck [https://birchtree.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/2026/Matts-presentation.pdf] Follow the Hosts * Chris on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisLawley] * Matt on Birchtree [https://birchtree.me] * Niléane on Mastodon [https://nileane.fr/@nileane] * Comfort Zone on Mastodon [https://mastodon.macstories.net/@comfortzone] * Comfort Zone on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/comfortzone.macstories.net]