January 8, 2020
Very thought provoking essay by paulgraham.com:
What I didn’t notice, because they tend to be much quieter, were all the great moments parents had with kids. People don’t talk about these much — the magic is hard to put into words, and all other parents know about them anyway
With a a few hard punches:
I hate to say this, because being ambitious has always been a part of my identity, but having kids may make one less ambitious.
And a closing slap in in the face:
[…] The fact is, most of the freedom I had before kids, I never used. I paid for it in loneliness, but I never used it.
This one inspired me to revisit a few drafts and put something together.
snippets
January 8, 2020
★★★★★
Foundryside (Founders, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett
Enjoyed this book from the first page. The world it creates incorporates magic incantations with coding, and the results works perfectly for me. The characters are good, and the story is very well timed. It’s the beginning of a series, and I’ll be back without a doubt.
January 4, 2020
Catalin Cimpanu on zdnet.com:
Song said the exposed database — an Elasticsearch system — was not a production system; however, the server was storing valid user data.
Elasticsearch is a really powerful tool, but it loves data. The more the merrier. If you designed a safe(ish) production environment and change management process for it — then things should be ok. But dev environments usually have more relaxed rules - which is ok, they also have less less data to work with - which is a pain to test, which usually leads to “lets just copy prod data for a test” - which becomes the weakest link in your security chain without you realizing it.
Song confirmed that the leaky server exposed details such as the email addresses customers used to create Wyze accounts, nicknames users assigned to their Wyze security cameras, WiFi network SSID identifiers, and, for 24,000 users, Alexa tokens to connect Wyze devices to Alexa devices.
As a big Wyze user: dammit.
snippets
December 16, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 50
- Photo Editor : Pixlr Editor - 2020 version pixlr.com
- I’d buy this Apple TV Remote in second if available internationally. Update: it is just $20! someone in Zürich please buy me this.
- Craigslist Launches Mobile Apps. This AppStore thing might take off. 9to5mac.com
- Plex launches ad-supported streaming service in over 200 countries. techcrunch.com
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December 2, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 48
- Dual-screen Android/Linux Cosmo Communicator is out. I love this modern Psion Series 5 exists, just can’t justify one. zdnet.com
- Add CarPlay to Any Car With an Android Tablet and Adapter redmondpie.com. This is very hacky, but still intriguing.
tidbits
November 28, 2019
Denise Grady on nytimes.com:
A lifelong swimmer leapt into deep water near his lakeside home, and was horrified to find himself completely unable to swim. Had his wife not rescued him, he might have drowned.He had recently received an electronic brain implant to control tremors and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and somehow the signals from the device had knocked out his ability to coordinate his arms and legs for swimming.
What the heck? Just one initial study, but interesting to see where the research leads.
November 27, 2019
Enrico Campidoglio on his blog megakemp.com:
[…] git pull isn’t actually a core command per se, but rather a combination of two other commands: git fetch and git merge; the former downloads any missing commits from a remote repository, while the latter merges them into your current branch.
Very educational post, and great recommendation. I’ve been bouncing off the article here in the office, and even if you don’t go ahead with his reco, the discussions started have been useful.
November 25, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 47
- Looom iPad + Apple Pencil artsy looping animation app. Keeping an eye for when it’s out.
- Legra, render your image using Lego like bricks.
- The 50 best nonfiction books of past 25 years. One down, many to go. slate.com
- Open source illustrations kit, free for commercial and personal use. Good to keep around. illlustrations.co
- Maxtand portable sit-to-stand desk. Very temped to back this. kickstarter.com
- Spark iOS updated with new design and more customizable UI. Will give it another try.
w46Done
tidbits
November 20, 2019
★★★★★
The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World by Charles C. Mann
Some books are hard to put down, this one was hard to abandon. It took me most of 2019 to read it, and although it’s long (~600 pages), the slowness was mostly because some of the ideas had to be digested.
The Wizard and the Prophet was a strange book for me. It’s the typical show-off book to causally mention you’re reading, but I struggled with it silently. It’s surprisingly, or even purposely, not an opinionated book. Even though it deals with many of topics I’d argue loudly with my uncle. It’s a extremely factual book, with the only preaching it hints at being: to always look for some unseen impact in all the simplifications that are required to arrive at these facts.
Above all it’s a calming book. It has a soft cadence that would make me read, stop, think, and picture many of the ideas. Lastly at least for me, it’s a humbling book. Many concepts that I attributed to recent fads, or corporate marketing are shown to have origins decades, and even centuries, in the past. It shows people that died not being rich, even though their work has improved my life even more than a smartphone or an app even could.
I can’t recommended it enough. I even bought a copy for my uncle — not to argue, but because I’m curious if given the facts, we can have a more intelligent argument.
November 18, 2019
Ryan Hanson on medium.com:
With Catalina, Apple made some incremental updates to macOS’s built in window management, including the addition of default menu items for tiling windows left and right in the “Window” menu for an application. Interestingly enough, we can actually configure keyboard shortcuts for these menu items directly within macOS.
It didn’t even occur to me to configure with the default keyboard shortcuts functionality. Giving it a try this week in with a slight modification:
WM Shortcuts
This way I can have both the full Window style and also the simpler move to side of same screen mode.
November 18, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 46
- Drafts Mac Beta with support for actions is out. This post being generated via my Dropbox Action.
- New MacBook Pro 16 is imminent according to Mark Gurman on twitter.com
tidbits
November 14, 2019
Dave Teare, founder on blog.1password.com:
Accel will be investing USD$200 million for a minority stake in 1Password. Along with the investment — their largest initial investment in their 35-year history — Accel brings the experience and expertise we need to grow further and faster.
Hmmm… color me worried. While it’s not a marketing filled PR post, it’s a bit light on details. The one thing that jumped at me was:
Security is a process, not a product. 1Password already has the most modern security design, and Accel will help us take our processes, protections, and research to the next level.
Ok, I buy this. Just like anti-virus apps evolved from static definitions to behavior analysis, I can totally see how the next step in the _password maintaining _toolset is something that requires a lot of investment.
I’ve been a 1Password user for 11 years: it’s the first app I install on any new devices (Mac or iOS) and my trusted app given it’s function.
I’m totally along for the ride, and trust their love for the product. But still, it worries me.
November 13, 2019
Rui Carmo on taoofmac.com:
This oddly shaped, unwieldy chunk of purple plastic (which is around 6cm to a side, if you’re wondering) has been on my office desk for nearly twenty years now, and despite it being fundamentally useless (it doesn’t even make for a good paperweight) I keep it as a daily reminder of how dogma and preconceived notions can turn well-meaning engineering into a massive iceberg of technical debt.
Great story from the dinosaur days of the web on telco infrastructure design and implementation.
November 13, 2019
Press Release on apple.com:
The new Magic Keyboard also features a physical Escape key and an inverted-“T” arrangement for the arrow keys, along with Touch Bar and Touch ID, for a keyboard that delivers the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook.
Great, now I just have to wait for this keyboard to trickle down to the 13in or the MacBook Air. Maybe looking at an aligning of planets next year of new keyboard with ARM processor.
November 12, 2019
aclu.org:
In a major victory for privacy rights, a federal court in Boston today ruled that the government’s suspicionless searches of international travelers’ smartphones and laptops at airports and other U.S. ports of entry violate the Fourth Amendment.
This will go back and forth, but I hope this interpretation holds. It feels very un-American to have your devices searched at the airport.
November 12, 2019
Jason Fried on m.signalvnoise.com:
Basecamp Personal includes 3 projects, 20 users, and a gig of storage space. So kick off a couple projects, invite some friends, family, teammates, or volunteers.
At some point I organized everything on Backpack, the predecessor to Basecamp. Their tools are very opinionated on design and functionality — but if they work for you, they’re extremely well designed.
November 11, 2019
CJ Chilvers, on www.cjchilvers.com:
Every morning, set aside some time to start your day by writing in a stream-of-conscience way. No editing. No censoring. Just keep the pen moving (pen and paper tend to work better for this).
Did this for a while earlier in the year and it felt very cleansing(?) . This time around I’ll try to do some habit stacking ../../kb/Habit Systems for before I grab my iPhone.
November 11, 2019
Rosalie Chan, on businessinsider.com:
Candice Ciresi, GitLab’s director of risk and global compliance, has resigned after less than six months on the job, apparently saying that the $2.75 billion startup is “engaging in discriminatory and retaliatory behavior.”
Mostly a post to self, but this has to be a very uncomfortable situation with Gitlab. Almost all compliance issues that the enforcing bodies investigate result from disgruntled employees — when the whistleblower is the actual compliance director, I can’t imagine the headache.
November 11, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 45
- Airalo eSim data packs store for over 100+ countries. I’ve dreamed of this for years — hopefully I’ll need it again someday.
tidbits
November 7, 2019
Warner Crocker on medium.com:
Each device had a different note count. The MacBook had three copies of the same note, two in the proper folder, one not. The iPad Pro had only the copy that had been Air Dropped. The iPhone Pro had two copies. Edits made to another note on the MacBook earlier in the morning had not synced to either of the two other devices.
I didn’t have time to blog about this, but I’m suffering this right now. By signing out of iCloud on the iPad mini I managed to get the critical Notes I needed for a work trip this week — but there’s 6 notes on the iPhone are not synching:
Notes Sync Fail
I think his closing says it best:
Look I get it. These are big complex systems and sometimes things need to be worked out. So, I’ll grant some leeway for that. But I also get this. Apple has more resources at its disposal than most other companies and it needs to figure this stuff out. It should be embarrassing, but apparently it isn’t embarrassing enough to martial enough of those resources to fix iCloud, which is a system that Apple is relying on more and more as the backbone for services that connect these devices.
I don’t want to rethink my Notes setup. But I have work to do.
November 5, 2019
Malcolm Owen, on appleinsider.com:
Displaying at a 4K resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 pixels at 60Hz, the LCD screen has a contrast ratio of 1,300:1 and a typical brightness of 250 nits.
With 163.2PPI, it’s not good for retina. Still better — and cheaper — to get an iMac 27in 5K.
Apple please, release a 5K iMac monitor without the Mac! Or at least with target mode or sometime.
November 4, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 44
- Piper Announces Autoland Capability on single engine plane. For emergencies, but interesting trend.
- DJI Mavic Mini announced. Luckily (for my wallet) it costs $399 — but soon they’ll drop to a why not? price point.
- Spotify Kids app announced. Sadly it requires iOS 10, so it won’t on work my kids original iPad mini.
tidbits
October 30, 2019
Michael Shafer, on mozzafiller.com:
The bottom line is Spotify’s search is insanely good, the mobile/desktop apps are better and more tightly integrated, and it does a better job at suggesting new music I like. I’m going to miss feeling like I’m actually curating my own private music collection, but it turns out I value those other things more in a music streaming service.
Interesting details given todays news that Spotify Adds More Users Than Expected.
I didn’t renew my latest Apple Music subscription last week, it just doesn’t offer a better experience that Spotify in most areas.
October 28, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 43
- Google Calendar now supports meeting.new and cal.new urls to create events. twitter.com
- Command & Conquer Remaster Update and First Gameplay Teaser reddit.com
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October 23, 2019
Emma Turpin on blog.google:
To kick it off, we created five helpful and even playful digital wellbeing experimental apps. Each experiment centers around a different behavior, offering small ways to help improve your digital wellbeing and find a balance that feels right for you.
Details on each on the Digital Wellbeing Experiments site. They all look very interesting, and I’d try most if available for iOS. Overall this seems like a great initiative.
October 22, 2019
Markus Stange on the Mozilla Gfx Team Blog:
In Firefox 70 we changed how pixels get to the screen on macOS. This allows us to do less work per frame when only small parts of the screen change. As a result, Firefox 70 drastically reduces the power usage during browsing.
It now uses Core Animation, and it seems to show significant improvements.
The post is also very detailed on what uses Core Animation means, which was almost over my head.
October 21, 2019
Raymond Wong, on inverse.com:
Does the two-port situation ruin the Surface Laptop 3? No. But it means Microsoft’s largest notebook is just two ports shy of being the perfect 15-inch laptop.
This is an issue with many flagship laptops nowadays. But other than that, it appears to have great performance with excellent battery life.
At $1,699.00, you get an extremely solid work machine.
October 21, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 42
- The Information will launch Ticker, a tech news app that costs $29 per year. techcrunch.com
- Luna Display introduces Mac-to-Mac Mode. I’ve been convincing myself to buy this since yesterday.
- Any thumbprint can unlock Galaxy S10 phone. bbc.com
- Brave browser reaches 8 million monthly active users. Anecdotally, I’m very surprised how many people at work also use this browser.
- Rectangle free/open source for macOS window manager in the spirit of Spectacle. Fast and light, replaced Magnet and it has been working great.
- Analogue’s $200 Pocket console look unbelievable. It can play any Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games.
tidbits
October 20, 2019
Angus Whitley, on bloomberg.com:
After I first wrote about this upcoming flight last week, one reader emailed to urge me into a stouter mindset. During the Korean War in the early 1950s, he said, he regularly flew 40-hour reconnaissance missions with crew rotations every six hours. “Man up,” the 83-year-old told me. Point taken.
I’m still waiting for a Fifth Element like sleep system.
October 15, 2019
Kara Elder on vox.com:
The point of these open-faced sandwiches is to provide a quick, easy, somewhat nutritious lunch-time meal that provides sustenance without leaving you too full. They typically consist of two or three slices of bread, smeared lightly with butter, each topped with a single slice of cheese or meat, or perhaps a thin layer of jam, liver paste, or tubed caviar.
I never thought much of these while in Oslo — specially since Opera had a great lunch menu. But I’ve come to appreciate the simplicity of it years later.
October 14, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 41
- Brydge sues Kickstarter over “clone” Libra keyboard. It did seem very similar from the beginning.
- reMarkable raises $15M round and has sold 100K tablets. Not bad.
- SmartCapsLock lets you select text and press Caps Lock to change the case to multiple options. I just remap my
caps lock key to control, but this can be useful.
tidbits
October 12, 2019
Will Thorne on variety.com:
Based on the book by Donald L. Miller, “Masters of the Air” is said to follow the true, deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. The series is being written by “Band of Brothers” alumnus John Orloff, who is also a co-executive producer.
Apple TV+ keeps getting more intriguing shows.
October 8, 2019
Rick Munarriz on fool.com:
In my sixth visit to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge — four to the original Disneyland version this summer and now my second visit at Disney World, but the first since it officially opened — I have never seen the 14-acre addition as busy as it was this weekend.
We went the day before Dorian “hit”, and while the rest of Hollywood Studios was empty, we waited the full 90 minutes for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
I’m biased though, I really want the park to succeed to continue visiting as Robie and Bettina grow.
October 7, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 40
- Windows Virtual Desktop is now available. Need to work out the pricing, but this is very significant for big IT departments.
- Agenda 8 allows drawing and handwriting with Pencil. Darn it, I thought my note taking flow was now somewhat stable.
- YouTube TV is available on Amazon Fire TV. The cordcutter land-grab is over, now the platforms are shifting their fight.
tidbits
October 5, 2019
Alison Gopnik, on edge.org:
[…] the explosion of machine learning as a basis for the new AI has made people appreciate the fact that if you’re interested in systems that are going to learn about the external world, the system that we know of that does that better than anything else is a human child.
Fascinating — and yet another theme that a short story in Exhalation includes without being obvious.
September 30, 2019
Security Research Labs on srlabs.de:
SRLabs researchers investigated the SIM hacking possibilities from two perspectives: Checking how many SIMs are vulnerable, and monitoring how many are actively being exploited.
Overall it appears vulnerabilities concerns are overblown, but they do exists.
One of the findings was surprising:
Most of the messages targeted users in Latin and South America
This analogy really helped me understand that SIM cards are not simply pieces of plastic:
SIM cards are small computers inside your mobile phone. Besides their main role of authenticating you to the network, they run Java applications and can instruct your mobile phone to do various things […]
Good short and sweet overview.
September 30, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 39
- Moon++ is a better lunar Apple Watch complication by David Smith. Instabuy.
- Jura Anchor AirPod charger case clipper thingy on Kickstarter. Backed.
- Penbook is my new default iPad mini note taking app. Love the smart stationary concept.
- Dark theme is coming to Gmail mobile apps. I miss Inbox by Gmail so much.
- The new Mac Pro will be made in the USA — thanks to tariff exclusions.
tidbits
September 26, 2019
From bzamayo.com:
Arcade has value on that axis alone; a simple place to find games that do not have those distractions and borderline casino business models. It also helps that the Arcade games are good.
I’ve been playing What The Golf and Mini Motorways. Both worth 5$ each, and easily something I would have bought over two or three months.
This has cut into my YouTube time significantly, a worthwhile investment by itself.
September 25, 2019
Proceed With Caution On Elegant Solutions
A solution is a deliverable. It can be elegant or obtuse, but these are adjectives. Of course there’s artistry and workmanship, but these are also in addition to the solution.
The weakest link in a process is a danger to your elegant solution. If one of the steps barely works, your downstream magic risks being useless since it could never get triggered.
Sometimes simplicity in the solution is the most elegant one. It likely reduces the scenarios of when the whole thing works — but it gives a consistent result: if you push the button exactly this way, the light switches on.
And if that’s the required deliverable, you are now done with it. Nothing elegant about it.
September 23, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 38
- Descript Podcast Studio Launched. Just watch the video, there’s too much amazingness in it. descript.com
- Google Fi gets an unlimited plan. I’m staying on the flexible plan. techcrunch.com
- NBCUniversal’s streaming service is called Peacock. No, really. theverge.com
tidbits
September 20, 2019
★★★★☆
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
It amazes me how Asimov writes about people set in science fiction worlds. His description of sci-fi is so clear, it makes the human drama taking place in it never look out of place.
I had never heard of this novel before my friend Mauricio recommended it last December — and it was a great holiday quick read.
One of Exhalation’s short stories reminded me of it, and I had forgotten how many ideas were causally in it: para-universes, lunar colonies, alien civilization and culture. While it’s a 70’s book, it holds extremely well, with many sensitivities like the role of gender and the cost of clean energy that could have been written today.
If you haven’t read Asimov before, this isn’t the best book to start — it get a bit slow with long dialogs in the middle. But if you like his other books, or hard Sci-Fi; it’s a must read.
September 18, 2019
★★★★★
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
I’m not usually into short stories, but this science-fiction book was a pleasure to read. On most of them I was hoping they would go on a full book length, that’s how good they were.
While they’re not Three Body Problem level mind blowing, they’re appropriately close for the shorter format — anything more would have felt forced.
Absolutely recommend this book, and I’ll be checking out other from the author.
5typos.net