The Struggle for Twitter Alternatives
We're less than a week away from Twitter changing their rules for third party apps, changes that will fundamentally change how useful those apps will continue to be, and that can only mean one thing: it's time for Twitter alternatives to have their place in the sun!
The two main ones
Links
Don't Wait For Tech Giants to "Fix" News for You
Thanks, Google!:
It’s been just over five years since Google shut down the Google Reader. I was surprised to see a lot of people are still bitter with them about it, even though ahem independent alternatives continue to exist and thrive.
And:
The problem is that the tech giants are successful because they make
microsoft
Things This Apple Fan Loves About the Microsoft Surface Go
I've made my concerns with the Surface Go clear, so let's talk about some of the things that just make me happy when using this thing.
The Surface Type Cover
Microsoft knows how to make keyboards, and this mini version is no different. As someone who uses an iPad Smart Keyboard
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Shh, Surface is Sleeping (podcast #116)
The Microsoft Surface Go definitely still runs the same Windows we know and love(?).
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Understanding the Surface Pen as an Apple Pencil Fan
https://youtu.be/jgN1vZuRG3I
I love the Apple Pencil and was excited to use a Surface Pen, which gets a lot of love, with my new Surface Go. It’s not exactly what I was expecting, but that’s not to say it’s bad, it’s just…different.
Check out the video above to
microsoft
Microsoft Surface Go Design Details
The design of the Surface Go is currently my favorite part of the device. It’s not quite as nice as the iPad Pro, but it’s certainly a compelling product by any other measure, especially when you consider this is a $399 tablet (plus $129 for the keyboard).
The Go has more ports than
Android
Android Pie Review: Gesture-Based Navigation
Android has never been my favorite operating system, as evidenced by my numerous Android reviews, but I always hold out hope that “this is the year” they win me over. I’ll begin this piece by saying that Google has indeed not won me over in 2018 either. Android Pie is a fine update to
microsoft
Surface is a Go! (podcast #115)
I've spent a couple days with the Surface Go, my first Surface device, and I, of course, have a few thoughts.
Links
Instapaper Relaunches Their Premium Service
From the Instapaper blog:
To ensure Instapaper can continue for the foreseeable future, it’s essential that the product generates enough revenue to cover its costs. In order to do so, we’re relaunching Instapaper Premium today.
Good for them! I subscribed immediately because Instapaper is the only read-later service I can stand and
Android
Let the Android Update Timer Begin!
Every year it's the same story:
1. Google announces new Android version in the summer and says "this time it's different" in terms of software updates.
2. Google launches the new version of Android in the summer/fall for Pixel devices.
3. All other phone makers take 6 to
microsoft
Surface Go: Touch UI and the Type Cover
My first day with the brand new Microsoft Surface Go has been an interesting jump into a whole new world. I got this device because I wanted to see how it matches up with the iPad Pro in terms of productivity, as well as fun & games.
My initial impressions are that this is not
The Final Frontier: Windows
For the past 8 years1 I have written hundreds of thousands of words about mostly one company’s hardware and software: Apple. It’s the company whose products I tend to enjoy the most, so it just made sense to talk about them.
Over the past few years I’ve seen fit to dive into
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An Apple Watch Jailbreak is Probably the Worst Idea Ever (right now, at least)
9to5Mac has a good breakdown of what this jailbreak entails, but I will reiterate that you should not even think about finding this jailbreak. One, I don’t think that watchOS is really in need of a jailbreak community to push it forward right now1, but two, this is an incredibly high risk jailbreak!
watchOS
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Instapaper Removes Their Apple Watch App
This is an all-too familiar headline, and it’s one that lands less hard each time. While the Apple Watch continues to have significant growth and customer satisfaction is through the roof, people’s interest in most third party apps is incredibly low. Some specific apps get good use on the watch (weather and
ipad
Apple Computer Sales Since 2015
Apple separates out Mac and iPad sales in their earnings reports, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that the iPad is a computer, so I decided to combine the company’s Mac and iPad unit sales numbers together to see how their actual “computer” sales have done over the past few years.
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Apple Ends their App Store Affiliate Program (podcast #114)
Apple sent out an email last night that was crushing to a lot of people in the Apple community. They are ending their affiliate program for the App Store. This was a reliable, important revenue source for many creators out there, and this program's demise means that a lot of these people are
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Comparing HDR RAW capture on Lightroom, Halide, and Obscura
I love to shoot photos in RAW on my iPhone. The stock camera app does some excellent magic to get incredible photos, but in some cases I really just want to be old school and get a ton of image data and process things how I want.
One of the situations where I appreciate RAW
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Arguing With Myself About Apple Financials (podcast #113)
Apple will announce their Q3 2018 financials, and I am as mildly interested as always. So instead of talking about the numbers (they're not out yet!) today I'm talking about how those numbers can and can't be used in debates on how good specific products that Apple makes.
The