My robot vacuum is everything I want in a computer
I don’t usually take part in Amazon Prime Day, in no small part because I don’t tend to buy things unless I have a good reason to, and a sale isn’t a good enough reason on its own. But I have been eyeing a piece of tech for a few months now
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Cyberpunk 2077 hits the Mac in 2 days
John Voorhees writing for MacStories: Cyberpunk 2077 for Mac Arrives Thursday
“For This Mac” graphics presets that are optimized for the Apple silicon hardware running the game, which promises to take the guess work out of configuring graphics settings
The game has been a long time coming, and I hope that the version we get
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What even is "the web"?
Manuel “Manu” Moreale: The Web != the Web via Curtis McHale
when tech reporters say “the web” they don’t mean the web. When these people talk about the web they’re talking about the web they’re part of: they talk about the web that is powered by advertising and by tracking, the web that
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Superman fights for truth, justice, and the American way
Jacob Bryant: Fox News Rips ‘Superman’ for Embracing Pro-Immigrant Themes, Jokes Hero Has MS-13 on His Cape | Video
“We don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us,” Conway said. “I wonder if it will be successful.”
The “ideology” being that Superman
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Design feedback for free?
Louie Mantia: I’ve Got Better Things To Do Than This, and Yet
But my gosh, this is a multi-trillion dollar company that’s getting free design critique from people who love and rely on these platforms the most. For free. Absolutely nothing in return. It’s almost as if we’re all posting
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Nintendo is trying to keep video game budgets in check (but Mario Kart World is still $80)
Andrew Webster for The Verge: Nintendo wants to keep ‘traditional approach’ to development as costs skyrocket
In response to a question during a recent shareholders meeting about the increased costs of making games for its new console, Nintendo president Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa admitted that “recent game software development has become larger in scale and
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It's just a slice
Jay Van Bavel: Are a Few People Ruining the Internet for the Rest of Us?
In a paper I recently published with Claire Robertson and Kareena del Rosario, we found extensive evidence that social media is less like a neutral reflection of society and more like a funhouse mirror. It amplifies the loudest and most
Fake frames?
At the top of this post there is a screenshot I took from Doom The Dark Ages, which I played
Apple
How iPadOS can win me over
Apple's iPadOS 26 update was undoubtedly a significant upgrade for iPad power users. I've heard from a few people surprised that this update wasn't enough to get me to fully embrace the iPad again. Similarly, Federico Viticci’s interview with Craig Federighi have led some to believe the touch-
+ Quick Reviews 2.0 is coming along
Version 2 is ready for testing! More Birchtree subscribers get early access.
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You stay away from my F1 TV!
Dominic-Madori Davis writing for TechCrunch:
Formula 1 could have a new U.S. streaming service home soon. Apple is in talks to purchase the rights as it looks to further invest in live sports
As long as I don't lose access to F1 TV, which is far and away the best sports
Apple
Liquid glass, now with frosted tips
As many now have commented on, today's OS 26 betas tone down the liquid glass effect quite a bit on many elements in the operating system, and I've collected a few that stand out to me.
Ignore any subtle size differences. The beta 2 screenshots are from an iPhone 16 Pro
My F1 movie review
Three of my main entertainment categories are Formula 1 racing, movies, and Apple, and the new F1 movie happen to
macOS still isn't as small as you think
2 years ago I wrote a piece about how the macOS UI isn't as small as you think
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Social media amplifies unpopular opinions
A couple weeks ago I linked to a conversation that discussed how social media services can make us think that everything is a 50/50 issue. It also gives us the impression that the angriest, mots extreme voices represent everyone on either side of every issue. This week, Hank Green talked about a graph that
How to find a good quote for a bad movie
I was watching the Apple TV ads scrolling by on my Apple TV today and I saw Fountain of Youth come up with a quote that made me raise an eyebrow. Apparently Collider called it, "The adventure movie we've been clamoring for".
It's not necessarily a crazy statement, but
Politics
Redistribution of wealth via healthcare
Not-my-favorite-guy-in-the-world Matt Yglesias talking about what Republicans actually mean when they talk about cutting Medicaid:
I think you could see there’s a mismatch in the way Mike Johnson characterizes this. He talks about: We’ve got all these able-bodied young men who are sitting on the couch
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What Microsoft thinks about games
SkillUp discussing the Microsoft layoffs I wrote about as well:
I'm particularly sensitive to this topic because the closure of Tango Gameworks last year, honest to God, fucking radicalized me when it happened. It tore a massive gaping wound in Xbox's credibility as a publisher and it became borderline impossible to
