Superhuman raises $75M Series C

Rahul Vohra, on blog.superhuman.com:

This new funding will enable us to bring Superhuman to everybody, starting with the hundreds of millions of people who use Outlook and Android.

Yes please. I’ve been using a number of Mac and iOS email clients ever since we switched to Office 365 at work — and nothing comes close to Superhuman in terms of speed and design.

The silver lining is that my work sessions have somewhat improved, since doing my email sweep now is something I do less often.

Tidbits for 2021 Week 31

• Mastodon for iPhone: official app is out.

• Alfred workflow for Obsidian: lots of features/keywords to open, search, append from Alfred into Obsidian.

• Anybuffer: newish clipboard manager for iOS.

• TRex: free text extraction tool for macOS. I use TextSniper, but this seems very similar.

• Mastodon Twitter Crossposter: connect a Mastodon account and a Twitter account and cross-post with options. Will be playing with this.

Productivity and Energy

Lorenzo Gravina, on trms.me:

The most crucial element in productivity is not picking the right method. It’s not organizing your calendar. It’s not keeping a to-do list. The important bit is actually doing the thing you need to do. And to do the thing, you need energy.

I tend to go on productivity rabbit holes, this is a reminder of what’s really important.

Tidbits for 2021 Week 28

• Esse: out of nowhere text transformation for iOS and macOS.

• Mailo: Mail to self reincarnated for iOS.

• Brickit: iOS (soon Android) app to get Lego ideas from showing it your bricks.

• Fomalhaut2: nice and free comic viewer for macOS.

• Transloader: start downloads on Macs remotely from iOS, or other Macs.

• Dynamo: Safari extension to control YouTube’s speed and skip ads.

• Moped: full native Notepad macOS, with a touch of modern syntax highlight and themes.

• Fontshare: very nice professional grade fonts free for personal and commercial use.

Universal Actions Coming in Alfred 4.5

alfredapp.com:

Alfred 4.5 brings a new Powerpack feature; Universal Actions. Take any text, URLs or files and perform actions on them from anywhere within Alfred or on your Mac using your Universal Action hotkey.

[…]

With the new Universal Actions, you can select text in your browser, a URL in an email or a file on your Desktop and pop up Alfred’s Actions panel to choose what to do with your content. Start anywhere and jump into action.

I’ve been using Suffix Web Search to get around this in previous version — and it really leveled up my use of Alfred. Very excited about this feature.

Habit Tweaks: Eating

After a few days in Europe, I’m reminded of how easy it is to eat trash food in the US. The key being how processed everything is¹. Choosing to snack on fruits, or have a quick lunch of tomatoes and fresh cheese did help me feel much better — even if I was still eating like a pig on vacation.

Now that we’re back on routine, I need to fine tune my previous eating habits, most of which I was failing. So I’m removing No S Diet, and replacing it with:

• Prime Ingredients: eat/purchase food with the least ingredients in the label (1, 2, 3, 5, 7)

As usual, don’t read too much into the naming. It just needs to be something something catchy that helps you remember and nudge you towards the desired habit.

I still need to support this with another habit. Likely it will be a formal return to interment fasting, with smaller eating window (18/6?).

Microsoft Flight Simulator for Xbox Series X / S consoles

Tom Warren, on theverge.com:

Microsoft Flight Simulator is landing on Xbox Series X / S consoles on July 27th. Available on Xbox Game Pass, it’s the first next-gen-exclusive Xbox Game Studios title as Microsoft Flight Simulator isn’t launching on Xbox One.

I’m fairly close to buying an Xbox S and connecting to my Dell monitor just to play Flight Simulator. But I’m going to wait to see how it performs on xCloud. If it’s comparable, I rather just pay the $10 for the cloud service.

However, the $25 a month for an Xbox S with game pass will sound more justifiable if the gameplay changes a lot. Will have to wait until September it seems.

Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s New Band

Allison Hussey and Matthew Ismael Ruiz, on pitchfork.com:

Performing in a corrugated shed with what appeared to be a parachute as a roof, the Smile ran through eight new songs in just more than 30 minutes, with Yorke and Greenwood shuffling between guitars, bass, a Moog synthesizer, and a Fender Rhodes. Yorke introduced the band with a bit of a riddle: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are called ‘The Smile.’ Not the smile as in ‘ahh!’, more ‘The Smile’ as in, the guy who lies to you every day….”

Just like Star Wars, I rather live in world that still produces Radiohead albums every few years. I need to listen to the set a few more times, but if this the sort of no pressure album 66% of Radiohead will produce, I’m in.

Also, the website is amazing.

Bryan — a Font in Honor of Jon Hicks Dad

Jon Hicks, on hicks.design:

Growing up I was subconsciously inspired by the different aspects of design that he introduced to me, from mid-century vinyl record covers to architecture and signage. In particular, his distinctive architect’s handwriting was very evocative to me, and I decided I should try and capture it as a font. It could be something carrying his name that outlives him, and also something else to talk to him about.

So wish this was my handwriting — I also can see using it designs where some analog warmth is needed. Never mind the great story behind it, from one of the designers I admire the most.

Rethinking Recovery and Re-Installing macOS

Howard Oakley on eclecticlight.co:

Best practice for an M1 Mac is to ensure that it’s fully backed up, Data and external volumes only, to separable external storage. Should a problem arise which require Recovery, then it should be started up in primary Recovery mode. If necessary, it can then have its macOS container erased, a fresh copy installed, and migration performed from the backup. Cloning to or installing macOS on a backup disk serves no useful purpose, and just wastes 15 GB of space.

The rules have have changed. I’ve focused my backup workflow on cloud redundancy for files and photos. This breaks the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, in 2 devices, and 1 offsite. Having two different cloud copies, shouldn’t count. But given the changes in macOS — mostly SuperDuper, I got lazy.

No more, on my calendar is to have have my new backup strategy set by July 31st — a full 8 months before the next World Backup Day.

Tidbits for 2021 Week 25

• WordCounter: tracks your writing productivity on MacOS.

• Calendar Paste 3: iOS event template builder to organize recurring events.

• One Goal: have goal always visible on the menu bar.

• Moodmonk: iOS mood journal that suggest positive content, daily affirmations, exercises, and thoughts.

• Profilehunt: Kanban board for job hunting.

• Catapult: macOS menu-app that let’s you create or open your projects easily.

A Missed Hello Becomes a Lost Goodbye

Last week a childhood friend passed away. The type of close friend where we called each other cousins — and our parents were uncles correspondingly. We drifted away over the years. Can’t remember the last interaction we had other than some BS over WhatsApp.

On Friday I dreamt of him. I knew it was a dream so I just enjoyed his presence. It’s amazing what we can make out of the randomness our cortex throws at us. It was just as I remembered being with him. His brash jokes, his roaring laughter, his inability with staying put, and also his bravery.

It was fighter pilot type bravery. Literally jump out of plane, scuba under rocks, motorcycle up a vertical wall while screaming like a maniac bravery.

He was not fearless. I know, for a very small window of time — I rode in front of him on our enduro trips. But he would get a look of determination, he didn’t allow himself to be the obstacle. He was going to always try. He lead most trips very soon.

I know there’s little we could both have done to stay closer. Paths just diverge, and when both emigrate the common ground fades even more. But it pains me that over the last year I had one thousand awake minutes every day to do a quick call. Ask him what’s up, remember a fall, or a whole weekend fixing a damn carburador.

Too late. He’s gone. But if I’m feeling hollow for missing a minute in a year — can’t imagine what those that are lamenting missing a lifetime with him are feeling.

WWDC 2021

What a great start. The keynote itself was ok, but the overall feeling of a iterative improvements gave us fantastic features and updates. Rapid fire thoughts:

• Shortcuts for Mac: mentally insert a yes! GIF here. Still waiting for details, but having automatization and easy scriptability across the platforms is great news.
• Better iPadOS Multitasking: better as in button based window management — rather than hard to discover and remember gestures — is a huge improvement.
• Safari redesign: in fairness, of course the desktop features Opera did it all first™, and the new design is a close cousin of Firefox’s 89. But the Mobile Safari UX looks sweet.
  • Extensions for iOS/iPadOS: gets a double sweet from me. Hopefully now my favorite extensions will finally come to Safari.
• Live Text: OCR across all your images is a powerful and useful feature.
• Universal Control: is typical Apple, a feature that has existed for years on other platforms/3rd party apps, but done in such an elegant and integrated way it sets a new high bar.
• Focus: very simple profiles for notifications, but happy it’s available across all platforms also.
• iCloud+: confused, all I understood is now I get a free VPN with my iCloud plan.
• Quick Notes: already have this with Drafts on Mac, but useful on the iPad when using the Pen.
• On Device Siri: hopefully means faster Siri for simple tasks. Not holding my breath.
• macOS Monterey:
  • On device Dictation: without 60 timeout will be useful.
  • New Split View Options: minor but great for me, you can now swap full screen split windows or make them both go full screen without having to return to regular size first.

Firefox Redesign

Selena Deckelmann on blog.mozilla.org:

We redesigned these tabs so that they floated neatly, and we added the visual indicators, like blocking autoplay videos until you’re ready to visit that tab. We detached the tab from the browser to invite you to move, rearrange and pull out tabs into a new window to suit your flow, and organize them so they’re easier for you to find.

I really like it. Very clean. Will use it the rest of the week — although I don’t see myself leaving Brave.

Also of note: with the M1, all browsers feel crazy fast. Not sure if the baseline speed of these machines is the contributing factor, but Firefox 89 flies on my MacBook Air.

Tidbits for 2021 Week 22

• McClockface: collection timepiece widgets for the home screen.

• Cloudron: self-hosting app manager and store.

• WidgeTube: YouTube videos widget on the Home Screen.

• SlideMark: Web app for creating markdown slides.

• Trexy: Track Expenses Easily

• Numbr: web currency calculator combined with a notepad.

• UTC Time: Show the time in UTC in the menu bar or a widget.

Square Nears Launch of Checking, Savings Accounts

Mark Gurman, Kurt Wagner, and Jennifer Surane, on bloomberg.com:

Evidence of the still-unannounced plan appeared in hidden code in a recent update to Square’s app for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad. The code references both types of accounts and indicates that the checking version will integrate with Square’s existing debit card for businesses

The closure of Simple and transfer of its accounts to BBVA have been rough. The App, the fees and overall experience have not been great. Hoping Square is an option soon.

4/5

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke

Some books influence you, others are thought provoking — this one I gave as christmas gifts last year to my uncle and cousins-in-law. Which is to say, it’s a great book.

I didn’t buy into every single concept, my notes included lots of questions and counter-arguments. Never in exasperation though, but in a healthy debate with the authors voice in my mind.

Although I read this book about three years ago, the following passage has become part of my operating system, and I revisit it weekly:

Decisions are bets on the future, and they aren’t “right” or “wrong” based on whether they turn out well on any particular iteration.

Like the above, other ideas continue to influence me: the difference between listening to a friend vent versus actually expecting advise, the difference between chess and games, using prospective hindsight for better planning. All these and other great nuggets of ideas could justify books of their own.

In this sense, this is the best sort of self-help book. It gives you a story, a set beliefs, evidence to back them up, and then challenges you to come up with a better answer.

It’s also a tight book, not driving a point over and over with different examples. The overall arc of the book does have a driving idea. But some chapters barely touches it before going down a different rabbit hole. Not all of them are as interesting or convincing. But all them make sense, and I don’t recall skimming over any.

I haven’t heard a lot of positive things about Annie Duke’s latest book — but I’m still going to give it a go. Thinking in Bets ROI has been so high that even a total dud would leave her in good standing with me.

Apple TV+ Is Making a Wool Series

Press Release on apple.com:

“Wool” is a set in a ruined and toxic future where a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Ferguson will star as ‘Juliette,’ an independent and hardworking engineer.

I went through all three books Wool (Silo 1) last year — this could be a great series. And Ferguson as Juliette makes perfect sense to me know.

Kobo Elipsa is a 10.3 inch e-note and eReader

Michael Kozlowski on goodereader.com:

Kobo has just announced the Elipsa, which is their first E INK product that is geared towards professionals. You can freehand draw, jot down notes, edit and make highlights in a dedicated app, and you can also do the same thing in PDF files and ebooks.

Looks a bit chunky to me, but glad the Kindle is getting some competition on the new_ish_ e-Ink reader/note taking category. Personally, the smaller Supernote A5 X seems more interesting, but Kobo’s reach is much more massive.

Update: Turns out the handwriting recognition is done by MyScript, who’s Nebo app is the best HWR software on the iPad. Still not getting one, but it does tip the scale.

Hidden Fantastical Settings

macsparky.com:

There are only so many settings a developer can put in a setting screen. Along the road of development, there are often niche settings that don’t make the cut. For better apps, developers often leave hidden settings to access via Terminal or URL callback.

Can’t believe I hadn’t linked to this. Extremely useful if Fantastical is your default Calendar.

These are the ones I use:

Always Show All: Set to YES (“1”) to have the details always visible in the event and reminder popover.

x-fantastical3://defaults?key=AlwaysShowAll&value=1&type=bool&group=1

Dim All Past Items: Set to YES to dim all events and tasks on days in the past. This affects Mac and iOS, List, Month, Week, and Day View.

x-fantastical3://defaults?key=DimAllPastItems&value=1&type=bool&group=1

Default Event Duration: Specify the default event duration in seconds (gives finer control than the presets in the app). For example, to make a default event duration of 25 minutes, use 1500 seconds.

x-fantastical3://defaults?key=DefaultEventDuration&value=1500&type=int&group=1

1Password for Linux Released

Dave Teare, on blog.1password.com:

But nothing beats a full-featured desktop app that takes advantage of everything the operating system has to offer, especially if it can make the browser experience itself better (spoiler alert: it does).

Nice to have in the hypothetical universe where I need to switch to Linux. Great to have in the current universe where the devOps stores the production environments credentials in a teams account.

Tidbits for 2021 Week 20

• Sleeve: currently playing track from Spotify & Apple Music, displayed right on Mac desktop.

• VitalSigns 3: macOS system monitor for intel and M1 (beta).

• Brave Playlist: Save for later for YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, Soundcloud and nearly any podcast. Interesting.

GTD Advanced Workflow Diagram

Scott Moehring ​on moehrbetter.com:

When I read GTD, there was an existing flowchart, but I wanted to make my own. It was supposed to be just for myself as a GTD binder cover insert. When I was done with the design, I was so happy with it that I shared it with David. He liked it and put it on his site as a free downloadable file.

Not new, but I crossed this great printable PDF before and lost it. Posting mostly as a note-to-self.

How M1 Macs Feel Faster Than Intel Models

Howard Oakley, on eclecticlight.co:

Benchmarks are all very well, but one almost universal comment made about M1 Macs is how much faster they feel, even when performance measurements don’t show as big a difference as we might like.

I tell anyone who asks about the speed: the late 2020 MacBook Air M1 feels consistently fast — not necessarily having a faster top speed — but plowing through every tasks that would slow down the early 2020 MacBook Air Intel.

Since I had two 16GB RAM MacBook Air’s back to back from each architecture over the last year — I was certain the speed difference wasn’t anecdotal over the same tasks. Which is supported by this explanation:

[…] Because those processes are handed over to the Efficiency cores, all they do now is slow other macOS background tasks, to which we’re much less sensitive.

And while there are many more elements, it mostly boils down to optimization:

[…] Because Macs with Intel processors can’t segregate their tasks onto different cores in the same way, when macOS starts to choke on something it affects user processes too.

The chip wars will argue for years if Apple Silicone is faster than other processors — but the integration that Apple now has will make the end result clear: M family will feel way faster.

You Can Take My Hand Coffee Grinder from My Cold, Dead Hands

Tyler Chin, on gearpatrol.com:

Most importantly, hand grinding my beans brings me closer to the hands that farmed them. I try to buy coffee from roasters that are sustainably and ethically sourcing their beans. Coffee farming is a labor-intensive job, sometimes with minimal profit. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel a connection to the farmers who spend their days making sure the rest of the world stays caffeinated.

I used a hand grinder during most of 2020. The above is a great sentiment, but I was so happy to be reunited with my electric grinder — and don’t think I’d ever switch voluntarily.

System76 Launch Keyboard

From system76.com:

The Launch Configurable Keyboard is engineered to be comfortable, fully customizable, and make your workflow more efficient.

Open source, on keyboard settings (works on any PC you plug into) super hackable and … $285.00. Which is about 3x my mental keyboard budget. But for a developer or IT admin that needs to use multiple PCs, this seems like a great option.

I’m very happy with my Keychron slim keyboard(s). Surprisingly the K3 75% has become my daily driver, with the K1 being used less and less. Unsure if I’ll sell it for another K3 when we get back to the office or prefer to have the two different ones.

Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda

This is probably the best book Apple’s internal workings that I’ve read. It is also a great technical manager book with lots of stories and examples. It shows some of the real friction that exists within a perfect company like Apple — which gives you perspective of problems we all encounter.

My agreeable personality also enjoyed that this is an inside baseball book published with some sort of permission/blessing from Apple. This is not a disgruntled employee complaining and airing out the company’s internal failures. Not that that wouldn’t be a great book — but the good nature of the writing doesn’t get in the way of making me question the reasons behind each statement. I felt safe taking the stories at face value.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who likes Apple, the iPhone, and software development in general. Much like Michael Lopp, I hope Kocienda continues to write on these topics. I will be very interested in any other follow up books.

On the iMac 24in M1

The iMac 24in is my perfect monitor — if I squint a little. If you add the M1 computer hidden in its chin, you get my perfect computer… only not so much perfect than my current configuration.

Last summer when I bought my beloved Dell PC2421DC 24in ¹ monitor I accepted its non-retina QHD (2560x1440) resolution because the smaller screen size was less bad than other options. I seriously considered a few 4K monitors, but because of price and didn’t want to deal with scaling and performance hit².

The new iMac M1 24in sent me down a what if? rabbit hole. If switched this MacBook Ait M1 + Dell 24in QHD come for a new iMac — how would my display situation look?

Monitor Size

Mind you, the iMac chin is the computer, which requires we compare…

Viewing Area

Here we see the panels are very close in size, so we can move on to the really important part:

Native Resolution

So close! but, regardless of the quality of the display resolution (PPI) we’re sacrificing area. Unless…

Resolution Scaling

With a little of the scaling I was so allergic before, we arrive at a a close to QHD equivalent resolution with better PPI. In my defense, it’s not quite the same because a 4.5K monitor has more pixels than a 4K monitor. Which means that the UI sizing is going to scale consistently, not having some assets in hi-DPI while others in standard resolutions.

Still, I’m going to wait for the Pro version of the iMac — mostly because of the Display. A 27in 5K iMac would have driving me mad with configuration anxiety on Apple’s website. Luckily, I’m currently my best Mac setup ever — which allows to be a bit responsible.

UnTab Chrome Search Extension

Akash Hamirwasia on getuntab.vercel.app:

UnTab is a browser extension that lets your search through tabs, history, actions […]

Looks great. Will be playing with it. The gold standard for the command palette in the browser is Vivaldi, which I revisit every few months but never stick with it.

The Eesel extension is another option I’ve played with, but UnTab wins big on size: 101KiB vs 1.29MiB. However, Eesel does have a lot more features.

Depending on how people adopt Chrome’s new Tab Search, will these pro-extensions likely grow.

No iPhone 14 Mini Rumor

Benjamin Mayo, on bzamayo.com:

Apple doesn’t really care for the smaller size, they want the price points. By 2022, the components of the 6.1-inch model will have gone down and Apple will be able to sell it as the cheap flagship again.

Bit late, but I think Benjamin nails it: Apple brought the mini size back because the flagship price went to high.

That said, both my wife and I love our 12 Minis.

UX Redesign for Amazon’s Kindle App

Leo Vogel on leovogel.medium.com:

My research found that readers don’t organize their ebook libraries. Users with large libraries have difficulty remembering what is in their library — which results in them browsing their library, but this too is cumbersome. Research also found that users read multiple books concurrently, selecting a book based on their current mood. Readers preferred to read different genes [sic] depending on their current mood—the current genre also determined if a user wanted to see their current reading progress. The last finding was that some users want to have one shared library for their whole family, similar to Netflix or other digital media accounts.

Nice touches all around. Really liked the shelf concept for multiple books you may be currently reading. Says a lot of the lack of competition and vertical integration of the ebook industry that neither Amazon nor Apple need to cater to advance users.

Nuzzel is Shutting Down

Tony Haile on blog.nuzzel.com:

Twitter announced today that they will be acquiring Scroll and this version of Nuzzel will be shutting down on May 6, 2021.

Sad about this, because it was a great way to have good links and tweets surface. Without a doubt I have opened Nuzzel x100 more times in the last year than the official Twitter app.

Tidbits for 2021 Week 18

• Artbox 2: store kids art iOS app.

• Charmstone: open up to 8 apps with a small overlay triggered from a shortcut.

• PolyGit: full powered iOS Git Client.

• Menuwhere: show macOS front app menus at the current mouse location.

Bookmarklet: Markdown Title or Selection to Clipboard

Made a new markdown bookmarklet that:

1. Grabs either any selected text (if any), otherwise the page title
2. Copies it to the clipboard in standard link format.

Code is on Github, and to use simply grab this link 🅫 Link to your Bookmarks Bar:

I find it funny that my preferred Markdown Link format changes with my tools.

A few years back¹ I change all my markdown bookmarklets to reference links format, but my recent love affair with ../kb/Obsidian has brought me back to a more classic output.

Drafts Web Capture Released

agiletortoise, on forums.getdrafts.com

Drafts Web Capture is a web page that integrates directly with your Drafts iCloud storage, allowing the creation of drafts from any web browser on any platform.

This is great, I have a bunch of bookmarklets based on the URL Schemes that I use every day, but I see a few potential uses for this.

Earth Restored Photos

Toby Ord tobyord.com:

Only 24 people have journeyed far enough to see the whole Earth against the black of space.

The images they brought back changed our world.Here is a selection of the most beautiful photographs of Earth— iconic images and unknown gems —digitally restored to their full glory.

Amazing photos on a great looking website. Even the backdrop to the project is great:

I restored these images over many long evenings. During the days I worked on a book, which would consume me for three years.

The book is on philosophy, still, added to my list.

Apple Spring Loaded Event Wishlist

My wishlist for tomorrow’s event:

1. $1.999 iMac that shames any PC for the same price.
2. Magic Mouse 3 with actual (gasp) buttons.
3. $999 Apple Display that shames any PC monitor for the same price.
4. AirPods 3.

There’s a very high probability that none or these will be released, but hey, it’s my wishlist.

Why no iPad stuff? I’m absolutely fine with my new (used) iPad Pro 11in 2018. So I’m happy for some big changes I may purchase (used) in a year or two.

4/5

 

Shorefall (The Founders Trilogy, #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Shorefall is a fun continuation of the previous book Foundryside. I absolutely recommend it and I’m ready to read what’s next in the series. It also falls into the distinct category of books that got me out of a fiction slump, all which always have a special place in my heart.

The whole concept of magic as coding is still there, but is not expanded — which is a bit sad. I enjoyed the story and characters, but was a bit disappointed in the end. While the first book was self contained, this one leaves more open threads and doesn’t give the last act as much closure as I was expecting. It’s a trilogy, so this usually happens in book 2.

Still, I absolutely enjoyed the book. It was fast paced, and had a lot of action. Actually, and this is an observation, it had a lot more action than expected, which made me feel that some of it was writing for a movie or TV show. Not a bad thing, especially when done in a fun way as in this case.

Spotify Launches Smart Player “Car Thing”

newsroom.spotify.com:

Car Thing enables you to play your favorite audio faster, so you’re already listening to that hit song or the latest podcast episode before you’ve even pulled out of the driveway. Switching between your favorite audio is effortless, allowing you to shift gears to something else as soon as the mood strikes. And when it comes to controlling the device, use it in the way that works best for you, whether that’s voice, touch, or physical controls.

Looks very cool, but I think Matt Ronge hits the nail of the head:

It's cool that Spotify is getting into hardware with the Car Thing, but who is this product for?

• New cars have CarPlay or Android Audio.
• In older cars, use a phone mount on the vent

Car Thing needs a phone to work anyway, so it's not like it avoids that hassle.🤔 pic.twitter.com/HJZrIUUI5r

— Matt Ronge (@mronge) April 14, 2021

Who is this for really? Have to confess that I signed up, just for the love of hardware¹_, but since I already have CarPlay — I find it hard to think when it would be useful. Maybe it will be a Wireless CarPlay cheap substitute. Still, it does look nice.

System76 Announces COSMIC Desktop for Pop!_OS 21.04

Alexander Gerber on blog.system76.com:

We’re providing a honed desktop user experience in Pop!_OS through our GNOME-based desktop environment: COSMIC. It’s a refined solution that makes the desktop easier to use, yet more powerful and efficient for our users through customization.

2020-04-28 linux pop os 2004 tiling has some pretty cool UX implementations recently. These seems like a brave logical step for them to own the experience.

If macOS suddenly disappeared, I’d use either Pop!_OS or elementary OS.

Tidbits for 2021 Week 15

• Bird Folder: Name new folders after random birds in macOS. Stupid, yet brilliant.

• See a satellite tonight: ugly but great webapp to try to catch satellites.

• KINTO 600ml coffee server: love the two minimal dots to measure. Added to wishlist.

• Dolt: SQL database that you can fork, clone, branch, merge, push and pull just like a git repository. I want ro use this off something.

• “>Typewriter: Markdown editor for macOS and iOS with syntax highlighting and live preview support.

• Wormhole: share files with end-to-end encryption and a link that automatically expires.

Brent Simmons on The Perfect To-Do System

Brent Simmons, on inessential.com:

[…] these apps are all going to take more constant input from you than you’d wish for. They don’t take away the need for some amount of self-discipline to use them effectively.

Aww crap. So true.

After a month in Reminders, I’m considering going back to Things — but not after discovering (duh) that I currently don’t have a habit for reviewing tasks. My task manager is a black hole where tasks go to die.

If I really have to do it, I remember or react to another input. The only category of items that make me visit my task manager are my payment reminders. Which could be calendar items, only if I don’t forget about them.

What to do? What to do.