watch
New RPG from Square-Enix for Apple Watch
Square-Enix just put up a page for an upcoming RPG titled Cosmos Rings. Normally this wouldn't be big news to me, as I don't really play many RPGs these days, but when you tell me that game is for the Apple Watch...well then you've got my attention.
watch
A Watch that Just Tells Time?
I really like the design of this watch face, but my Apple Watch has trained me to think a watch that only shows this information is a waste of space. Any simple watch can tell you the time, but the big appeal of the Apple Watch to me is that it does more than that.
goodie
Circuits iPhone Wallpapers
It's been a little while since the last Wallpaper Weekend here on BirchTree, but I think you'll enjoy these.
Tap/click on the wallpaper you want to download the full-res version.
As always, you can also download a ZIP with all these packaged together right here.
Execution Matters a Hell of a Lot More Than an Original Idea
One trap I see a lot of people fall into is thinking that their work needs to be "original" or "unique." They obsess over coming up with that one brilliant idea that no one else has thought of, and once they have it they will be successful because their idea was
watch
Fixing Media Controls in watchOS 3
Apple's watchOS 3 is a pretty excellent update overall, but there are a few things were Apple is missing the mark in my opinion. The first one was with the new Timer app's interface, which they have already partially addressed, but now after using the beta for a few weeks another
Links
Intentionally Slowing Down the User Experience
The UX Secret That Will Ruin Apps For You - Fast Company
Facebook actually slows down its interface to make users feel safe, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed in an email. "While our systems perform these checks at a much faster speed than people can actually see, it's important that they understand what we
Links
Pinboard Turns 7
Pibboard just tuned 7:
I did almost nothing on the site this year except keep it running. Mainly I spent the year fomenting and profiting from online drama. But lately a kind of coding mood has descended on me, and I hope I can spend some time later in the summer figuring out how on
watch
Apple has Already Partially Fixed My Big Apple Watch Concern
I either jumped the gun a few weeks ago when I called the new Timer app in watchOS 3 a disaster or Apple heard my complaint and has addressed it already. It's certainly the first possibility, but I like to think it's the second. Either way, the second beta of watchOS
feature
Why I'm Not Crazy for Making Safari my Default Browser
If all you knew about me was that I was a web developer and designer and I asked you what browser you think I use day-to-day, you'd probably say Chrome. Chrome is a massive force on the web, and for good reason. Google's now dominant browser started life as
Links
Dreamweaver Tries to Buck its Reputation
Adobe showed off some new features in Dreamweaver lat week:
Dreamweaver is undergoing its biggest transformation ever to become faster, leaner and completely modernized for anyone who works with code.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEsABVpiB1E
In a world were us web designers have moved our workflows to dedicated text editors like Sublime Text
Should You Install the iOS 10 Public Beta?
Maybe, but be careful
Apple has shipped iOS 10 beta 2 to developers and a public beta to the, well, public, and I've had some time to spend with the new release on my iPhone 6s Plus and iPad Air 2. In my original post on beta 1, I emphatically stated NO to
Links
How Someone Deaf and Nearly Blind Uses the Apple Watch
This piece over on Molly Watt Trust is a delightful read:
Learning to live with sight loss, when you are already deaf, can be pretty inconvenient. The world just isn’t designed with deafblind people in mind. It’s the little things that are most stressful. The things that most people wouldn’t think of.
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Don't You Dare Remove My Ethernet Port!
I found this article sitting in my drafts folder from 2012 and decided to publish it today. Any similarities to current port removal arguments is completely coincidental.
You know, I really like this new laptop from Apple, but the fact that they took away Ethernet, which is clearly superior to WiFi in just about every
Game
Sony Continues to Thrive on PlayStation Revenue
That damn home console market continues to refuse to die as yesterday Sony talked about the state of their "Game and Network Services" division of the company. It was essentially a victory speech as the company outlined all the things that are going well in this part of the company. You can read
NSShadowcat on My Favorite Product, the Apple Watch (sponsor)
How a Rolex snob learned to love the Apple Watch:
The Watch isn’t — and never will be — the ‘next iPhone’; neither, perhaps, will the (presumed) Car. From what I’ve read, the brilliance of Watch has stood out clearer to people who’ve previously been involved in the watch industry than technology folk at
watch
Clearing Up a Major watchOS 3 Misconception
I've been hearing a lot of chatter about watchOS 3 on the podcasts and blogs we all follow, and there has been something we don't usually hear: positive talk about the Apple Watch. Yes, it's true, the Apple Watch is getting new life in watchOS 3, and even the