March 13, 2024
Craig Hockenberry, on Iconfactory Blog:
An app that can monitor your device is a great thing to have when you need it, but can get in the way when you donāt. On iOS we solved this problem by using Picture in Picture technology. iPulse for iOS/iPadOS literally creates a movie of whatās going on inside your device and updates it every second. You can resize the display to fit well on your screen, or slide it out of the way completely. We were careful to use minimal system resources, such as CPU (3% usage) and memory (only 1 MB in size), while making the video.
Sweet solution to use a PiP movie to display stats. In the Apple Silicone era, Iāve almost never need to question where my resources are going, so almost never open iPulse for Mac anymore. Still, this was an instabuy. Some interesting stats, but it did seem to give me an incorrect storage number.
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March 6, 2024
Paul Campbell, on vi.to:
It wasnāt necessarily better in the past. Videos were the size of postage stamps. Everything took a long time to load. Being able to jump into YouTube these days and learn anything about anything. That was just a dream in 1997. But when, oh when did it all get so noisy? Thereās just so much noise. Noise in every sense.
This resonated. The web has changed and it doesnāt fit as it used to. Maybe those of us that experienced it since 90ās are getting old and just shouting at a cloud. Question is: should we push for the pendulum to return to a more boring web?
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March 6, 2024
Office of the Commissioner, on FDA:
The Stelo Glucose Biosensor System uses a wearable sensor, paired with an application installed on a userās smartphone or other smart device, to continuously measure, record, analyze and display glucose values in people 18 years and older that are not on insulin and who do not have problematic hypoglycemia. Users can wear each sensor up to 15 days before replacing with a new sensor. The device presents blood glucose measurements and trends every 15 minutes in the accompanying app.
On Amazon Pharmacy, a month of Dexcom G7 Sensor/Transmitter shows as $50 with insurance and $377 without. Once the monthly price gets to $100, this is something weāre considering testing on our household.
I hope this is something the Apple Watch will have eventually, but itās likely a long way off.
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March 5, 2024
Vladimir Prelovac, on blog.kagi.com:
To further enhance our search capabilities and address the issue of potentially misleading AI-generated answers, we have partnered with Wolfram|Alpha, a well-respected computational knowledge engine. By integrating Wolfram Alphaās extensive knowledge base and robust algorithms into Kagiās search platform, we aim to deliver more precise, reliable, and comprehensive search results to our users.
This is great news. Kagi keeps getting better, and is now my default search on the desktop. Iād be more bullish it werenāt with how much I now user Arc Search on iOS. Not sure what search will look like in year at this point.
In addition, we are very pleased to welcome Stephen Wolfram to Kagiās board of advisors.
Someone Iād love to have on my board of advisors without a doubt.
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March 3, 2024
Tobias Whetton, on Supernotes:
Over the past few months weāve been designing a friendly new typeface called SN Pro. You can experience it in Supernotes and beyond — itās open-source and free to use for all your personal and commercial projects. Read on to explore our journey with type and our design considerations, or download here.
I never change the font on Obsidian, but this new font really looks nice. For sure Iām taking a look around Supernotes when I get a chace.
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March 1, 2024
éęé¤ (Ming-Chi Kuo), on Medium:
Amazon (the worldās largest e-reader brand) will likely use E Inkās color e-paper, Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP), starting in 2025 and launch about 7ā and 10ā color Kindle e-readers.
Demos for the ACeP technology are very impressive — but looked very R&Dish 2 years ago. If Amazon is taking it to Kindle, it must be ready for prime-time.
The main drivers of shipments will be the launch of new color e-reader models by Kobo (mass production in 1Q24) and reMarkable (mass production in 3Q24). It is worth noting that reMarkable will also adopt about 12ā ACeP color e-paper with a high unit price.
Some nice spoilers here regarding reMarkable3. My frustration with the remarkable2 are less with regards to the hardware, and mostly with the software. But I can see the appeal of the color version, specially if they keep it as thin.
The market share of color e-readers will increase significantly in 2024, being one of the main reasons why Amazon will aggressively use color e-paper in 2025.
W00t, thereās something very PalmPilot about this category, and Iām happy that itās not going the way of the MP3 player, but finding the niche were it can grow.
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February 29, 2024
Allen Pike:
This is true, in my experience. I would say, further:Ā the best way to start actually doing something is to try doing it once a month.
While monthly is not frequent enough for most work habits, it can be unreasonably effective when the activity is atelic — that is, for its own sake. Something you enjoy and find worthwhile, but donāt yet do regularly.
He has some great examples that go beyond writing, really made me think.
However, it also brought me to writing on this blog, for which a quick data dump and visualization showed:
5typos.net posts by month
I can see my children being born, getting married and international moves in the data. But overall, not terrible — and a nice upward trend. Also fun to look at the posts by year:
5typos.net posts by year
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February 28, 2024
Apple, on Apple TV+ Press:
Apple TV+ announced today that it will expand its acclaimed slate of science fiction offerings with āNeuromancer,ā a new 10-episode drama based on the award-winning novel of the same name by William Gibson.
Acclaimed Sci-Fi slate indeed: Foundation, Silo, upcoming Murderbot. I never got into For All Mankind, but I appreciate that they let it go for 4 Seasons.
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February 24, 2024
2024 Coffee Daily Driver
A bunch of stuff arrived of the past few months to justify sharing a new coffee daily driver setup. Iāve been looking forward to these for most of last year, and Iām very happy with the results.
My new approved corner in the kitchen.
Finally arrived earlier this year after a long Kickstarter wait. Was worried for a while after using my Dadās Fellow Opus, but those concerns are now gone. I really love the design and build quality. For my AeroPress, Pour Over and (no press) French Press needs, it works great. Big quality of life improvement from my manual 1Zpresso JX
Another delayed and recently received Kickstarter. Iāve had all Subminimal NanoFoamer products, and this one finally delivers of the promise of amazing milk foam without much fuzz. Iām very curious about the upcoming Meticulous Milk Steamer, but for now, I think this is the best you can get — save for the the real thing.
Meh. Got his for the novelty of the clear AeroPress and because my original AeroPress lettering was all gone. Works fine, but the details are a bit off, and itās more expensive.
Crap. Only reason I use it is because the Clear AeroPress doesnāt fit the Fellow Prismo, but itās worst in every way. Looks like thereās an updated version which fixes most of the complaints, Iāll give a try at some point.
The best carafe for AeroPress hands-down. Cheap, tough, small — been using it for years, and still have no better alternative. Get a nicer one for when you have people over, but this is your daily driver.
It has almost doubled in price in the 6 years Iāve had it (still a reasonable $40), but every time I attempt to replace it, I end coming back to it. Itās minimal has survived daily use without one spot of rust. Size is perfect for our use. I widened the hole a bit an use a Target thermometer.
Build quality is atrocious (it leans to a side), but extremely convenient way to store the AeroPress when not in use.
Got this at on a sale, and enjoy them. Sadly Ana is not crazy about the weight, so she prefers our brown glass set, which — even sadder — only one cup is left.
February 22, 2024
Juli Clover, on MacRumors:
Rock Paper Pencil combines a screen protector and a uniqueĀ Apple PencilĀ tip so that writing on the āiPadā feels like writing on a piece of paper. The new version of Rock Paper Pencil has a NanoCling Screen Protector that attaches to an āiPadā using static cling rather than a magnetic edge like the prior version.
I almost got the original one, but the comments of the separation between the screen and the protection held me back. New version seems to address this.
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February 21, 2024
Apple, on Apple Newsroom:
Apple today introduced Apple Sports, a free app for iPhone that gives sports fans access to real-time scores, stats, and more. Designed for speed and simplicity, the appās personalized experience puts usersā favorite leagues and teams front and center, featuring an easy-to-use interface designed by Apple.
Looks nice, itās really fast but ā¦ no tennis.
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February 15, 2024
Nitin Khanna, on nitinkhanna.com:
My blog sits idle most of the time, until I have something I want to write. This may be private or public. But writing goes here. (Journaling, of course, goes into Day One.)
Absolutely love the phrase: but writing goes here. Will try to practice this over the next few days.
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February 14, 2024
The Team at System76 Blog:
Weāre on approach towards an alpha version of the new COSMIC desktop environment for Pop!_OS and other distros. Meanwhile, COSMIC testing has expanded to more users around the office. This month, weāre providing updates to the checklist we published in January on remaining tasks for releasing the alpha.
This is looking better and better. I donāt see myself switching to a Linux distro anytime soon, but I do hope this starts a new crop of apps or features for macOS.
Please Apple, give developers public APIs for Stage Manager and let them do their magic.
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February 9, 2024
Tim Urban, on Wait But Why:
Iām writing this on a 30-foot screen on top of a 10,000-foot mountain in Hawaii, at a table in an Austin coffee shop where Iām pretty sure other people are taking photos of me to send to their friends so they can all call me a piece of shit. In the last week, life has gotten weird.
Of all the Apple Vision Pro reviews, this one has tempted me the most to do something stupid.
Iām gonna do a demo for sure the next time I visit the US but I feel fairly certain Iāll be able to hold off until v3ā¦ but not much longer.
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February 6, 2024
hoakley, on The Eclectic Light Company:
Lightweight virtualisation of macOS on Apple silicon does deliver performance thatās impressively close to that of the host
Iām seriously considering setting up a virtual Mac in my work MacBook Air to separate my personal time at the end of the day.
Tried Bunch as a way to more clearly break within the same desktop, but without success.
Before virtualizing, I should try creating separate users. However, that feels inefficient. Or at least more inefficient.
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January 31, 2024
Posted by Castro Team, on castro.fm:
We are excited to announce Castro has been purchased by Bluck Apps. Castro is a great app with a long history on iOS and many passionate fans, and it will continue to operate in its current form. This is a return to its independent roots.
I really hope this works out. Been hoping around podcast apps since for a month or so, but nothing follows my mental model like Castro.
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January 22, 2024
The Day One Team, on Day One | Your Journal for Life:
Today weāre excited to introduce Shared Journals in Day One, a new way for you to safely share lifeās moments with friends and family, while upholding the privacy and security you trust.
Theyāve been testing [[[snippets]/2023-09-28 Shared Journals Waitlist|for a while]], and Iām happy to start using it. First use is a Kids shared journal with Anaā¦ of stuff only a parent would find fascinating.
I already had a personal journal for this, and copying all the notes wasnāt flawless — it gave an error on media attached, but I donāt know which ones didnāt make it.
Shared Journals are available with Day One Premium. Those you invite can access your Shared Journal with a free account.
Great a approach, I feel confortable suggesting we use this for family trips this way.
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January 16, 2024
Apple Vision Get Ready
Iād like anything that starts with Gene Wilder yelling get ready. And with iPhone Hello commercial vibes from 16 years ago, this reaches back into my geek nostalgia like nothing else:
Right now Iām enjoying the introduction of a new category. I do think the Apple Vision is going to be something. Rational me clearly states publicly: Iāll wait for the Apple Vision Air, or whatever the Gen 3(?) at $1.999 of this will be.
Still 16 years ago, I basically said the same thing while holding my Sprint Palm Treo 650, and less than I month later, I had an iPhone in my pocket.
January 11, 2024
From Apple Support:
You can add up to 32 items in Find My. In addition to AirTag and the third-party Find My network accessories in the Items tab, AirPods Max count as one item, AirPods and AirPods Pro (1st generation) count as two items, and AirPods Pro (2nd generation) count as three items.
Good to know. This will put a tamper in my current obsession with getting Find My devices every time thereās a sale.
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January 5, 2024
Tom Warren, on The Verge:
Microsoft-designed mice will continue to be available too, including the Bluetooth Ergonomic Mouse and the Modern Mobile Mouse. Incase will also offer Microsoft-designed speakers, audio docks, headsets, and the Modern Webcam. There are 23 products in total that will be available later this year.
Sadly, my Microsoft Precision Mouse doesnāt appear to have survived the transition.
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January 2, 2024
Mike Rockwell, on initialcharge.net:
This is actually a screenshot of a virtual machine running Ubuntu 22.04. The MacBook is primarily a work machine and I had previously setup a separate user account on it for personal stuff. This year I decided to move that to a virtual machine instead, which makes it easier to switch back and forth for quick breaks throughout my work day.
Basically a note-to-self post. Currently I only have my work MacBook Air M2 — although Iām thinking of purchasing an used M1/M2 MacBook Pro 14in sometime this year.
I found this concept by Mike worth considering. Even as a way to segment my work and personal workspaces.
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December 17, 2023
A Farewell to (my) Cable Bags
Many years ago, a young man bought three Muji mesh pouches: white, black and greenish.
Being an Apple fanatic, the man filled the white pouch with cables of the newish Lighting connector. Still, many 30 pin cables were also added to the bag, because well, he had many around. The prize possession of this pouch was a chimera: an Apple micro USB to lightning adapter.
The mesh bags in questions
Then came the black bag, for which black cables were the natural occupants. Surprisingly, the color of the cables wasnāt really what conditioned their brotherhood. No, this bag was filled with two different yet similarly common connectors: micro and mini-USB.
Lastly, the green bag. This held a special place in the manās heart. He was actually proud of having to even need a bag for this sort of cables: audio cables. It included everything from adapters to extensions, and even replacement earplugs.
The man collection grew over the years. He moved countries. Met people. Started a family, and it also grew. This required even more cables. But still, the three pouches remained a useful constant in his life.
Things were good. The man could satisfy all cable requests done under his roof. But then, things started to change. A newcomer cable started to show up. Occasionally at first, a Wifi router here or a smart speaker there. But suddenly, it invaded his domain. The manās wifeās iPad started to use this new USB-C cable — and then his beloved Mac laptop. The man couldnāt visit the Muji store, so he bought some cheap mesh bags. But his heart was not in it: āIāll sort it out soonā he said, but it never happened.
Now the time has come for the man to face his bagās obsolesce. Two new iPhone 15 devices await under the Christmas Tree, and the realization hit him that theyāre filled with antiquities.
He wonāt be able to use any of the cables in his faithful 3 pouches with his new everyday device.
Yes, thereās his trustee AirPods and his young daughter old iPad. But the time has come to decide: are the bags themselves tied to their contents fate? or is it a time for inner-renewal? Or ā¦ should the man just visit Muji again and shut-up about it?
These are the struggles of this post-modern man.
December 15, 2023
Yawman team, on Yawman News:
The Yawman Arrow is the fusion of a traditional handheld gaming controller and the unique flight controls found on aircraft of all sizes. Designed for precision and versatility, the Arrow brings together a traditional joystick, desktop throttle quadrant and rudder pedal capability — and more — all into a handheld form factor that has never been available for flight simulators before
I still havenāt figured out how to plan how to play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 with needing to buy a new computer or console, but when/if I do, this $249 seems like a great option.
The Arrow is fully compatible withĀ Microsoft Flight SimulatorĀ on PC,Ā Infinite FlightĀ for Android,Ā Laminar Research X-PlaneĀ on PC and macOS,Ā Lockheed MartinĀ Prepar3D,Ā DCS WorldĀ ā and more — as well as non-simulation games that support joystick controls.
This will be in my 2024 wishlist for sure.
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December 15, 2023
Matt, on Matt Mullenweg:
Iām not going to label it all, just posting for posterity.
I enjoy these sort of post, especially from someone known to travel a lot. Didnāt add anything immediately to my wishlist, but did bookmark for future reference.
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December 14, 2023
Andrew Liptak, on Transfer Orbit:
Apple has announced that it will be adapting Martha Wellsā acclaimed Murderbot stories for its streaming platform, Apple TV+. Directors Chris and Paul Weitz have been tapped to helm the 10-episode adaptation, with Alexander SkarsgĆ„rd set to star and produce. David Goyer will also be producing.
Appleās streaming corner is looking pretty-good Sci-Fi wise. Silo and Foundation Season 2 were two of my favorite TV shows this year.
I havenāt read all of Murderbot books (will do now), but the few I have were funny and very TV action friendly.
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December 12, 2023
The Day One Team, on Day One Blog:
Journaling Suggestions in Day One provide personalized journaling recommendations inspired by your photos, locations, activities, and more, bringing a whole new level of introspection and discovery to your daily reflections.
Nice to have these prompts. However, the way I journal at the end of each day, I usually have either a photo — or a screenshot from the Mac — that I can use as a starting point. Still, excellent to have this feature parity with Appleās Journal app.
Behind the scenes, Day One now integrates with the Apple Suggestions API to bring Journaling Suggestions directly into Day One.
Even better is that as more applications add support to the suggestions API, more things can be used.
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November 27, 2023
NeilĀ Gaiman, on ruv.is:
The process of writing, is always a process of trying to trick my brain of into thinking that what Iām doing is not important.
This is just one tidbit of a great short interview in an Icelandic TV show. Really worth a listen.
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November 27, 2023
Matt Gemmell, on Matt Gemmell:
And my dear reader, since it arrived, I havenāt been without it. I also havenāt charged it since then either, and it only just dropped below 80% after four days. As for my wife, her Scribe has gone from couch to bed to kitchen to greenhouse to desk, and Iām pretty sure sheās started reading on it too. Sheās used it even more than I have.
Heās really loving it and has a found a place for it alongside his iPad.
I wantĀ oneĀ notebook and one pen, and to never be afraid of sullying a beautiful, virginal piece of stationery with my unworthy marks. I also love new toys, and Iām too old to pretend otherwise or to apologise for it. I absolutelyĀ love this gadget.
If e-ink tablets are able to hit the $299 with pens, I suspect a whole lot of more people will start using them.
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November 24, 2023
Black Friday 2023 Software Purchases
Here are my software Black Friday purchases this year:
These I didnāt buy — mostly because I already own — but I recommend:
November 14, 2023
From opalcamera.com:
Introducing the Tadpole the Smallest Webcam Ever Built. With a Category-First Directional Microphone, a Mirrorless Sony Sensor, and the Easiest Way to Mute Your Call With a Tap Itās the Perfect Webcam to Take With You Everywhere
The Opal C1 was intriguing, but this portable version is a bit more justifiable. Since Continuity Camera holders are way less convenient on laptops, I see this a good solution.
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November 9, 2023
From new.superhuman.com:
No need for time zone math or back-and-forth threads. You can now instantly see when your team is free, and schedule meetings right from Superhuman.
Been waiting ages for this. Many will roll-their-eyes, but I find it very useful to take threads that are going nowhere and scheduling a quick call to push the task forward.
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November 7, 2023
Dan Seifert, on The Verge:
Apple PR representative Starlayne Meza confirmed the companyās plans to The Verge. The company encourages those who have been holding out hope for a larger iMac to consider the Studio Display and Mac Studio or Mac Mini, which pair a 27-inch 5K screen with a separate computer, compared to the all-in-one design of the iMac.
While sad from the history perspective, it makes sense when you look at the current Mac Mini and Apple Studio display.
Personally, unless they bring back the ability to use the iMac as a screen for other Macs, I donāt see myself ever considering an iMac.
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November 6, 2023
Reset Screen Recording Permissions on Mac
Every so often, my Mac screen recording permission screen System Setting decides to completely ignore whatever setting is in the UI. Steps below have helped me a couple of times
Locate the bundle ID of the affected application:
osascript -e 'id of app "App Name"'
Reset privacy database for affected application:
tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.BUNDLE.ID
As always with the Terminal, be careful.
November 3, 2023
Mark Wilson, on Fast Company:
[ā¦] Derek Robson, CEO of Ideo, on the morning of October 2 as he announced widespread layoffs, office closures, and a restructuring of operations at whatās been one of the worldās most storied design firms for the last three decades, collaborating with companies ranging from Apple to Coca-Cola.
You could argue that Design Thinking has become commonplace and Ideo is the victim of its own success. However this still feels off. While getting my masterās in Boston, IDEO was one the places I dreamt of working on.
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October 30, 2023
John Voorhees, on macstories.net:
The experience of using the new Pencil tips along with the cover is the closest thing to paper that Iāve ever tried on the iPad. Iāve spent time taking notes in a variety of apps.
My preferred screen-cover on my last two iPadās has been the Moshi iVisor, mostly because I like the fact itās removable/washable (not that Iāve ever done it), which means itās much less stressful to apply. Previously I used Paperlikeās cover, but it always ended up with some sort of bubbles — and the screen sensation wasnāt that amazing.
Very sure this will be the cover of my next iPad. Good news is that an iPad mini 6 version will be available soon.
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