life with linux
Life with Linux: Installation and Setup (Day 1)
Well today has been a ride.
Installation
The installation process of getting Ubuntu on my Mac mini was a breeze. Download the installer, create a bootable USB flash drive, boot into the installer and let it run. About 30 minutes later I was in a fresh install of Ubuntu Wily Werewolf (Ubuntu has the best
life with linux
Life with Linux: A Mac User Tries Ubuntu (and tries not to hate it)
I'm trying something new here, and it feels really weird. I installed Ubuntu 15.10 on my Mac mini. I last tried Linux back in 2008 and tried out Ubuntu back then as well, although it was only on version 7.10 back then. It was a miserable experience back then, and I
Retro Gaming Review: Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
I did't have any video games in my life until I was a teenager. Sure, I would play at friends' houses, but I never had any gams I could call my own as a kid. As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I sat mostly on the sidelines as
The Biggest Problem with Smartwatches Isn't Battery Life
According to The Verge, it's battery life:
Battery life is, arguably, the biggest pain point in wearables right now. You could certainly make a case for slow apps, or less-than-compelling software, or just plain unattractiveness being the biggest drawback. But those at least have the potential to change. Battery life is
ipad
My Modest Request for a 20+ Inch iPad
I am doing more work from my iPad than ever before in 2016, and I think my workflows are actually better after having move them to iOS. Hell. I'm writing an entire series on the workflows I'm switched over and how they're working for me.
But I still find
Why Aren't Most People "Computer People"?
It's a question I hear time and time again from nerds, why don't most people feel passionate about their computers? It's a good question, and while this is a question you could ask about any hobby, there's something about computers that makes them unique. Unlike other hobbies
Using the iPad for: Writing
This is part 3 of an ongoing series on BirchTree. Part 1 was about web development, part 2 was about photo editing.
Writing has long been one of the things that the iPad does particularly well. The one-app-at-a-time interface of iOS has been welcomed by writers who appreciate the focus it
How to Stop Tweetbot Links from Hanging in Safari
Hat tip to @mintshows on Twitter for this suggestion!
I really like Safari on my Mac. It's fast, clean, and easy to use. Sure, Chrome has some more features, but Safari just scratches the right itches for me and I want to use it all the time. There's just one problem:
feature
Cupertino Kool Aid or: A Return of the Bad Apple
This is a response to my own piece that I wrote last week about how it's good for Apple to kill old technology and move on to something better. After some further consideration, I am wondering how good a move it really is, since they wouldn't be replacing the audio port
review
Apple TV (2015) Review: Is it "the future of television"?
The new Apple TV is a very good streaming video player, but it is not the revolution in how we consumer media as a people. Because Apple is Apple and they feel like they have to pitch everything as "the next big thing", their tagline for the Apple TV is "The future
Simple TV Logger for Day One on iOS
NOTE: This requires Launch Center Pro and Day One on either the iPhone or iPad.
This bit of code can be entered as an action in Launch Center Pro to easily log, rate, and format individual TV episodes into Day One.
The hard way to do this is by copying the below code into Launch
Kanye West Releases "Real Friends"
Long time readers of the site know I have a soft spot for Kanye West. His 2010 magnum opus, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is my favorite album of all time, and I've basically loved all of his other work. There are few musicians working today who manage to achieve the creative and
I Have Exactly 20 Minutes to Complete This Post
One thing I like to do that freaks some people out is that I very often have my free time scheduled down to the minute. "Free time is for relaxing!" they say, but I can't do that. To me, free time is a tool, an invaluable tool that can be used
Killing Old Tech? Apple has a Record (and that's a good thing)
In 1998 Apple introduced the iMac which suddenly didn't have a 3.5 inch floppy drive. Apple first had a 3.5 inch floppy disk drive in their 1984 Macintosh and it was then in basically every single computer (Apple and otherwise) for the next 14 years. A lot of people freaked out,
How to Get the Xbox 360 Controller to Work on Mac OS X El Capitan
NOTE: This is for the wired version of the Xbox 360 controller. It looks like you need to get an adapter since the controller doesn't use a standard wireless protocol like Bluetooth.
The Xbox 360 controller makes for a great controller for all sorts of games on the Mac, but sadly it isn&
How to Make a Reading Time Calculator for WordPress with PHP
I wrote a quick how-to guide of generating a reading time calculator for your Statamic website a few weeks ago, and I wanted to share how to accomplish the same thing on the biggest platform in the world, WordPress.
There are certainly plugins you can install to accomplish something similar, but I like doing
Microsoft Gives Their Cheap Mouse the Gift of Bluetooth
The new Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Mouse 3600 was just recently released, and it's the cheap mouse I've been waiting for! I can't really explain why, but I've long been a fan of Microsoft's cheap wireless mice. Despite my love, they have always suffered from one
Space Black Milanese Loop Band Leaks, Looks Badass
Well, a Space Black version of the Milanese Loop leaked on the Czech Apple Store website today, and it looks slick. Sadly, as a Sport owner, neither this nor the existing Milanese Loop bands looks good with my model.
Apple, please make a matte silver version of the Loop and I'll be there