July 26, 2019
Ben Lovejoy on 9to5mac.com:
Handling end-to-end encryption on multiple devices is tricky, as the message is encrypted on the device itself. Apple has a solution for its Messages service, which is also end-to-end encrypted. Instead of a single public key used to identify you to other chat participants, Apple uses a cluster of these: one per device. WhatsApp will likely take the same approach.
There is a slightly increased security risk with this approach, in that a new device could join a chat if it had access to the public key. This is why Apple sends a message to all participants whenever a new device is added to a chat.
Emphasis mine. Not sure how I feel about this new feature yet. On one hand, I would really like the convenience of sending stuff from the iPad, but given the added security risk — it sounds like a spoiled whim. The current desktop implementation works well enough, and it’s inherently safer. Will keep an eye out for a better explanation of what’s sacrificed.
July 26, 2019
Seth Godin, on his blog:
The platforms are built on the idea that the audience plus the algorithm do all the deciding. No curation, no real promotion, simply the system, grinding away.
I feel this way about recommendations on YouTube, Amazon, and even the App Store. There’s no zeal of quality that truly feels trustworthy.
July 25, 2019
From apple.com:
Apple and Intel have signed an agreement for Apple to acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business. Approximately 2,200 Intel employees will join Apple, along with intellectual property, equipment and leases. The transaction, valued at $1 billion, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019 […]
Very rumored and not unexpected. Given how critical modems are for smartphones, I’m sure there’s a story about a big project fail inside Apple that led to this.
July 20, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 28
- The Expanse S04 will be available on Amazon on December 13th. My Prime subscription at work.
- The redesigned new Twitter.com on Desktop seems like an improvement. Lists are exponentially more accessible, which I count as a win.
tidbits
July 16, 2019
Corinne Gretler on bloomberg.com:
This fall in Japan, Nestle will start selling KitKat bars with 70% dark chocolate under the new recipe, which doesn’t include any added sugar […]
Wanna try it and would pay more for it — a winner product already.
July 16, 2019
Scott Snowden on Space.com:
The standard-definition visual effects from the original 1998 release have been replaced with modern computer-generated imagery (C.G.I.) based on reference models from NASA […]
Yep, I’m rewatching this ASAP.
July 16, 2019
Lucas Shaw and Mark Gurman on bloomberg.com:
Apple Inc. plans to fund original podcasts that would be exclusive to its audio service, according to people familiar with the matter, increasing its investment in the industry to keep competitors Spotify and Stitcher at bay.
This is an audio exclusive content. Which is great and I will probably listen to. But, I’ll be the old man shouting:
If it doesn’t have a RSS feed, it is not a podcast.
July 10, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 27
- Fun fake adverts as if the iPhone had been around since 1984.
- Great concept of a sticker for MacBooks, where you place your geek stickers — making it easy to remove for selling and keep a memory of your sticker creed.
- Nintendo Switch Lite in September. No TV connection or detachable controls for $199, which sounds like a great compromise for younger gamers — or those in a budget.
- Dropbox Transfer for sending up to 100GB. Sounds like the old school Dropbox stuff, not for me anymore but I like.
- Seems Apple Pencil tech keeps arriving showing up on third parties pens. The Adonit Note is another cheap(er) alternative, which is great news.
tidbits
July 10, 2019
Jim Salter on arstechnica.com:
With the Ryzen 3000 series, this dynamic changes. AMD’s new 7nm process technology allows it to ramp up the performance to challenge Intel’s higher-end lineup without veering into power consumption profiles that look more like a welder than a CPU, and it’s already shipping the CPUs retail.
The noise of better performance and price from AMD’s lineup agains Intel’s started in E3. Seems it wasn’t just marketing, but an actual win. Is this a new close-race? or is AMD overtaking a sluggish Intel and will start kicking them while down?
Seems like a good time to transition to ARM’s performance/cost S-curve.
July 5, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 26
- Check your Mac for that aren’t 64-bit with Go64. I’m going to be recommending this app a lot over the summer.
- Wavēy is great set of wallpapers for Mac, iPad and iPhone.
- Note taking rabbit whole took me to down the sub-world of e-ink notebooks. Good overview video of the best options.
- Vinland Saga Anime coming to Amazon Prime. I’m enjoying the manga a lot, so will take a look.
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June 27, 2019
apple.com:
[…] Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, will depart the company as an employee later this year to form an independent design company which will count Apple among its primary clients.
End of an era, but it does feel that Sir Jony has been leaving work early for a few years. This is good, I wouldn’t mind a few more daring designs from Apple nowadays.
June 27, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 25
- Secure ShellFish provides SSH and SFTP support in the iOS Files app. Going to find a way to fit this into my workflow.
- New Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is out, and I will add it to the cart multiple times before not buying it — like all the previous versions. Or not?
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June 26, 2019
Peter Wells on smh.com.au:
John Siracusa may not be a household name, but to Apple nerds and podcast fans he is an accidental superstar. Siracusa was first noticed for his ridiculously thorough reviews of Apple’s macOS; reviews so long they were sold as Kindle books.
Nothing accidental about it, I remember saying up late reading his amazing OS X reviews on ars, and listening to every hypercritical podcast when I returned to Venezuela from Norway.
June 19, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 24
- Fixed, but used Nest Cams allowed previous users to watch them under certain conditions. Scary to think what other holes are there.
- Best Buy now being an authorized Apple repair location is very convenient.
- Short OS 13 Beta 2 on iPad observations I enjoyed reading. I’m installing the public beta as soon as it comes out.
tidbits
June 19, 2019
PCMag.com:
The display now features a “color adjustable front light” so you can “customize the color tone from cool to warm to easily transition from daytime to a comfortable nighttime reading experience,” Amazon says.
Warm color light, page-turn buttons, 7 in screen, all sound great. But the $250 starting price is too high for me. Even if my Kindle Voyage disappears today, I’d go for the newest Paperwhite.
June 18, 2019
Cal Newport:
This happens because the hive mind has a way of muddying up internal work into countless informal requests and unstructured conversations, archived haphazardly into ad hoc collections of old messages.
This sounds awfully relatable.
June 13, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 23
- Twitterrific 6 for iOS is out. I’m a Tweetbot kinda guy, but it looks pretty.
- Radiohead stolen 18 minidisks on Bandcamp is a delicious FU to the thieves.
- Soulver is my goto calculator on the Mac. Will upgrade for sure.
tidbits
June 12, 2019
From the guardianapp.com blog:
The initial 1.0 release of Guardian Firewall primarily does one thing, and it does it well: Block those trying to track you, and tell you who they are as well as what types of data they likely tried to collect.
Very intriguing, at $9.99/month (or $99.99 per year) for VPN + Firewall capabilities, it’s competitive but of course not free. I’m very curious to see how speed compare to not having a VPN, and to the upcoming Couldflare Warp — which will have similar benefits, but far from the same control. You could also argue that Guardian is a much more trustworthy provider than Cloudflare.
June 11, 2019
blog.dropbox.com:
Today, we’re unveiling the new Dropbox. It’s the Dropbox you know and love, but better. It’s a single workspace to organize your content, connect your tools, and bring everyone together, wherever you are.
Certainly they’re moving away of being just a feature, and congrats to them. This is a strong play to become a collaboration tool in itself - way more the a folder sync tool.
Sadly I’m not that interested at the moment. It’s not a cheap solution for an IT department, since it needs to work alongside either G-Suite or Microsoft Office 365.
I would have preferred a different path, one where a paid Dropbox account replaced Gmail, Google Photos and other ad-supported consumer tools. For a while with Mailbox and their photos solutions they seems to be headed that way … but the enterprise deep pockets won.
June 4, 2019
Tidbit for 2019 Week 22
- Spotify Stations out in the US. It’s very Pandora inspired but I dig. Basically one touch to get to a mood playlist.
Busy week. Will pick up speed next week again.
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May 30, 2019
Dieter Bohn on theverge.com:
I think Apple should go all in and make nearly all of its consumer Mac apps with the new UIKit / Marzipan frameworks, including Mail, Notes, Messages, FaceTime, Photos, Reminders, and Calendar. Apple should just go for it, sooner rather than later, and ideally right now.
Count me in. This will be painful, but it also clarify what Apple pro users should be looking forward to. If the Mac “is done”, and iPads are what’s next, then make the iPad OS and real alternative.
It’s clear that Apple can’t make both macOS and iOS the next generation system. It doesn’t have the resources, and even if it did, it would be confusing. It seems that the original plan was to have iOS be the large screen future, but the pushback brought Apple back to the drawing board.
I believe that next Monday we will see Apple’s reformulation of the plan, and how macOS and iOS fit on it.
May 30, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 21
- Today I learned that on Chrome/Brave/Opera you can click on a link of text you have highlighted from find by hitting Control + Enter. Life-changing.
- Flotato→ really cool Mac app to create single window website applications. If you always have a tab opened on something, it could be useful.
- The Gnome/GTK community is having an interesting fight requesting its apps not be themed. I tend to agree with devs.
- If you like to check other people’s setups (geek perv), this is a fun gallery.
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May 22, 2019
Panic on play.date:
It’s yellow. It fits in your pocket. It’s got a beautiful black and white screen. It’s not super cheap, but not super expensive. It includes brand new games from some amazing creators. Plus it has a crank.
I’m not a gamer, but this makes me wanna be one. What an undertaking — the more I read the press release the more I think how impossible it sounds. If it weren’t Panic, I’d be sure this was a bad April Fools joke. Wish them the best of luck.
Press Release
May 22, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 20
- Remind Me Faster is an iOS app to add reminders with as few taps as possible. Faster than correcting Siri™.
- cmd+space is a newsletter dedicated to keyboard shortcuts. Learned something in the first issue.
tidbits
May 20, 2019
Max Read on nymag.com:
You don’t “check” chats the way you check an endless feed: Conversation flows when enough people want to have it, but there’s no algorithm to find and surface an unseen chat message that you might engage with.
Great point. I specially like the next sentence.
What you get instead is distraction the old-fashioned way: with intention.
We’re not machines. It’s human to be distracted, seek entertainment, daydream. The problem nowadays is that we’re being trained to stay in a continued state of attention.
Without algorithms fulfilling the dopamine rush after every click/corner, it’s easier to take a step back.
May 19, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 19
- Huawei will not be able to ship with Google’s apps (including play store) anymore. This is huge and unnerving.
- The benchmarks of Intel’s Clear Linux shows that it’s fast and the rolling upgrade design is very modern.
- I still get exited about eInk readers and the Xiaomi iReader T6 at least is new. My wish would be in an ePub based device that syncs with iOS apps.
- WhatsApp vulnerability via audio call is very scary. Everyone should update now.
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May 13, 2019
Sam Byford on theverge.com:
None of that changes the fact that the 2019 iPad mini is a fantastic product that I would recommend to anyone. I might have preferred a more ambitious redesign, sure, but what’s here is hard to criticize. It’s never less than a delight to use, it’s the only good product in its category, and it’s earned a permanent spot in my tote bag.
I’m really enjoying mine. If it had a more natural way to carry the pencil — Logitech Crayon in my case — it’d be perfect.
May 7, 2019
variety.com:
[…] Disney announced that a trio of untitled “Star Wars” entries that will come after “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” brings the Skywalker spinoff saga to a close this December. The first of the new three films will hit the big screen on Dec. 16 2022. There will be two other follow-ups to during the Christmas corridor on Dec. 20, 2024 and Dec. 18, 2026.
I can totally live with that. Robie and Bettina will be 7 and 5 years old… they will be ready.
May 6, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 18
- I first thought this was Android bashing, but in videos it’s clear Q’s gesture language is exactly the same.
- Downlink: real-time satellite imagery on the Mac desktop. Installed and launching on login from now on.
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May 5, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 17
- Seems a certificate lapse killed all Firefox extensions on Friday. It happens to the best of us.
- Verizon is selling Tumblr. Pornhub says it’s interested, I suspect half-jokingly. I really hope it doesn’t die forgotten, it was a nice blogging platform — hosting this blog for a few years.
- Pushcut combines iOS notifications, Shortcuts and webhooks. Don’t know what for yet, but I’m going to play with it.
- Amazon moving into shipping sounds scary as hell for those of us in the logistics industry.
- Burger King is rolling out the Impossible Whopper in the US. Really want to try this one out.
- Streaming was supposed to be the cord cutters dream, it’s not the case. Still, I rather decided between streaming services than cable packages.
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April 29, 2019
Mike Hoye on his blog exple.tive.org:
In the next small number of months, Mozilla intends to deprecate IRC as our primary synchronous-text communications platform, stand up a replacement and decommission irc.mozilla.org soon afterwards. I’m charged with leading that process on behalf of the organization.
I’m going to follow this closely — more for the process than the actual end result. But even the first post offers a learnings in the clarity of the requirements, and no-nonsense managing of expectations.
It’s not going to be an easy job, and if he shares even the highlights, we can all learn from it.
April 25, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 16
- Reeder 4 Is available for Mac and iOS. Insta-buy.
- Nobody works more than 60 hours a week. You know that they know, that we know it.
- DNS over HTTPS is the worst sort of privacy solution except for the rest. This is why I’ve been using Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 app non-top now.
- The upcoming Reeder app supports Bionic Reading, and it sure gives interesting results.
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April 23, 2019
Macs carry the flame for the revolution. They’re the computers we own, right? They’re the astounding, powerful machines that we get to master.
Except that lately, it feels more and more like we’re just renting Macs too, and they’re really Apple’s machines, not ours.
Is a nagging feeling, but it’s there.
April 19, 2019
Guilherme Rambo on 9to5mac.com:
It’s also likely that the Shortcuts app — a result from the acquisition of Workflow — will be available on macOS, the inclusion of system-wide support for Siri Shortcuts on macOS 10.15 strongly suggests it.
If it has decent AppleScript/Automator like support, my mind will be blown.
April 19, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 15
- Soylent Squared 100-calorie mini meals miss the boat with me. The snacking concept behind it doesn’t ring true to the original brand.
- A rumored new Nintendo Switch this Christmas. Smaller and cheaper, for sure Robie will want one.
- Apple and Qualcomm settled. Intel cancels its 5G chips. There’s such an inside baseball story behind all of this.
- Twitter needed a textshot ages ago. Not sure what it needed to acquihire Highly to get something similar.
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April 18, 2019
blog.bbm.com:
Though we are sad to say goodbye, the time has come to sunset the BBM consumer service, and for us to move on.
Full circle in this blog, from arguing that Twitter DMs should be able to replace BBM, to rolling my eyes at BlackBerry not releasing iOS/Android apps soon enough.
The saddest thing is how irrelevant the goodbye is.
April 12, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 14
- Disney+ might become my second TV subscription after Netflix. For 7 month, it sounds like a great deal.
- Curious if the rumored WhatsApp for iPad version will be a stand-alone version or how it will deal with encryption if it’s a companion app like the web.
- Haven’t heard anyone mention this Zello walkie-talkie app in my friend and family circles.
- At $99 the Ikea Symfonisk bookshelf speaker is something I see myself owning to complement the Sonos Play 1. Specially since it even supports AirPlay 2.
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April 9, 2019
Steve Troughton-Smith on twitter.com:
I am now fairly confident based on evidence I don’t wish to make public at this point that Apple is planning new (likely UIKit) Music, Podcasts, perhaps even Books, apps for macOS, to join the new TV app. I expect the four to be the next wave of Marzipan apps.
I still pay for iTunes Match, so usually when on a deadline I’ll close everything but iTunes and the task at hand — only listening to my brain circa 2012.
But even the webish chimera of Spotify on the desktop is a better music app than iTunes. I don’t think an Apple Music on the Mac app will never get the love and attention that iTunes once got, but if it’s an iPad based version, it might me good enough.
April 8, 2019
Adam Grant on the nytimes.com:
A better option is attention management: Prioritize the people and projects that matter, and it won’t matter how long anything takes.
Which sound very kumbaya, but when carefully defined it becomes a bit more defendable in real life:
Attention management is the art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places and at the right moments.
And the money quote for me:
If you’re trying to be more productive, don’t analyze how you spend your time. Pay attention to what consumes your attention.
This last one made me pause, I’m deep into the if you don’t measure it, it doesn’t exist camp, and tracking what you’re up to is a given. But this suggest that should put more effort into where you attention wanders towards… a mindfulness concept that I can buy into.
I love articles like these which make me question my current truths. Will probably digest for a few more weeks, but it’s to bookmarked to reread in a few months.
April 6, 2019
Tidbits for 2019 Week 13
- Geeks can daydream, but the battery world runs on lithium-ion, and there’s no replacement in sight.
- HomePod is now $299, down from $349. Don’t doubt it’s the best sound for the price, but without Spotify is not even an option for me. Maybe at $199…
- Amazon’s Project Kuiper would make my father-in-law so happy. Broadband satellite based internet for remote areas would make many millions of lives better. Go Bezos.
- The Powerbeats Pro are the AirPods sporty me would have wanted. The actual me finds the case too big.
- Simplify for Gmail Chrome extension brings a little of Inbox to Gmail. Code on GitHub and made my former Google lead designer. Update: works on Opera, and it’s really great.
- Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 App with Warp VPN makes an intriguing case: more secure and faster than without. In waiting list.
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April 2, 2019
Ron Amadeo preserves for future generations, this is what Google Inbox was like:
The Sweep button and at-a-glance info cards represent my favorite bit of design philosophy in Inbox: by default, it treats emails as groups of disposable garbage.
Bundles, sweeps and all the features added to my favorite email app since Sparrow. Its ability to deal with a lot of noise and finding the signal still doesn’t exist in Gmail.
April 1, 2019
Burger King’s chief marketing officer, Fernando Machado, said that in the company’s testing so far, customers and even employees had not been able to tell the difference between the old meaty Whopper and the new one.
Not sure this is a feature of Impossible Foods, or a bug of Burger King. Still, I’ll try this as soon as I get a chance.
5typos.net