goodie
Wallpaper Tuesday: Rays
It’s time for some new wallpapers, everyone! Below is a new wall I’ve made for myself, which is Kinda of a sharp look, if I do say so myself.
I’m partial to the orange myself, but you may be interested in some other options. If so, please check out my Patreon where
podcast
What’s the Motivation for USB-C on iOS? (podcast #112)
There have been people asking Apple to switch the iPhone and iPad to USB-C for years now, and Apple seems as uninterested as ever in actually doing this. Today I pondered why that is and if we can expect to see them change their tune in the near future. I’m skeptical, to say
homepod
A Few Strong Smart Speaker Opinions
One: Amazon got this whole “voice in a can” revolution going, and they deserve tons of credit for figuring that out. When the original Echo was announced, we all thought it was going to flop. Instead, it has heralded a wave of innovation (and $$$) in this new category. This extends to making “flash briefing” style
Links
Redesigning the macOS Font Picker
Sam William Smith - Rethinking the macOS Font Picker
I love this simple redesign. The ability to set up a list of “favorite” fonts is a great idea; I have hundreds of fonts on my computer, but I really only use 5-10 most of the time.
Links
The Desktop Web Gets a Little Closer to Mobile
Page Lifecycle 1
This proposal attempts to define what the lifecycle of a web page is and add needed extensions to enable web applications to respond to two important lifecycle events commonly performed by user agents:
Tab discarding (for memory saving)
CPU suspension (for battery, data, CPU saving)
This feature was added in Chrome 68
Links
One More Thing on the Hammer
Uninformed Purchases - Initial Charge
I try to avoid making purchases like this, though. I know that my life will be more pleasant if the items I’m surrounded with represent the best in their category. The less friction that these objects introduce into my life, the more time I can spend on what matters most.
tech
Buying a Hammer
Imagine you are doing some work around the house and realize you need a hammer. You don’t have one yet, and you need to get something; what do you do?
Odds are you will probably drive down to your local hardware store and buy the first hammer you see that is a good price.
iOS is the Best Platform for Google Apps
https://twitter.com/mattbirchler/status/1021545830585495553
I saw that story go by today and I got me thinking again: if you want the best Google software, iOS is really the place to be.
That sounds crazy, and maybe for some people it is, but as someone who relies heavily on Google’s software in both
opinion
Identifying Bias in Yourself and Others
We all have our our biases. If you read that sentance and thought “not I!” then you’re just fooling yourself. We all have things we believe to be true or to be better than other things, it’s just a fact of life. At best we can resist those biases when we talk to
The Tech Press Loves a “Nasty Surprise” from Apple
There is a trend in reporting on the new iPhone line up, and it’s calling tons of things a “nasty surprise.” Here’s a couple I found from a quick Google search:
You can even go back to last year for more examples of this term being thrown around.
To be clear the things
ios
Using an iPad for “Real Work.” No, Not Blogging, my Actual 9-5 Job.
Can I let you in on a little secret? When it comes to “iPads can do real work,” I’m putting my money where my mouth is. I have been using an iPad for 99% of my website and design work at home (including the redesign of this website a few months ago), I have
microsoft
Microsoft’s Surface Go: iPad Killer?
I’m going to spoil the question in the headline1 right up front: no, I don’t think the Surface Go is going to “kill” the iPad. Will it outsell the iPad? No. Will it be just as niche a product as the other Surface computers? Probably.
Too often, people view products as dollar signs
What Automation Means on iOS and Android (Podcast #107)
People have different ideas for what "automation" means on iOS and Android, and it can have a negative impact on how we talk to each other about our respective automation services. As someone who lives in both worlds, hopefully I can clear things up a little.
Sharecuts.app for all your Shortcuts needs.
Links
Twitter Shares Fall, and That Might Actually Make Sense
Twitter shares fall after report says account suspensions to cause user decline
Shares of Twitter Inc fell 9 percent on Monday after a report said the social media company had suspended more than 70 million fake accounts in May and June, which could lead to a decline of monthly active users in the second quarter.
Links
It’s Not TV, It’s…Well Now It’s Basically Just TV
HBO’s next year will be ‘like childbirth,’ AT&T media CEO tells employees - The Verge
The bigger picture seems to be that Stankey is talking about turning HBO into more of a direct Netflix competitor — something that doesn’t just focus on prestige content, but also includes a wider variety of shows and
Links
The Mental Burden of Voice Interfaces
9to5Toys has a review of the Amazon Fire Cube and this bit stood out to me:
In theory, having complete voice control over your home theater feels like the way of the future. Siri and Apple TV have dabbled lightly in this area when it comes to surfacing content, and eliminating the need to dig
watch
The Apple Watch Continues to Transform the Watch Industry
Why Men Are Wearing Watches That Don’t Tell Time - WSJ
With smartphones practically glued to our palms at all times and smartwatches muscling in, traditional timepieces are just no longer as vital as they once were in any practical sense. Fears among watch execs that the Apple Watch, introduced in 2015, would snatch up