opinion
Wake Up and Do the Work
Sometimes we all get a little frustrated with where we are in life. The prospect of The American Dream seems harder to achieve than it was 40, 30, or even 20 years ago. And even if you argue that it is just as challenging as it's ever been, I think you'd
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iPhone 6S Plus Review
“The new iPhone X is the best iPhone Apple has ever made” is a silly statement and one that we always hear in iPhone reviews this time of year. Of course it’s the best iPhone ever, it would be pretty embarrassing if it wasn’t! It’s also a little silly to say that
opinion
YouTube Red: Should You Pay for It?
YouTube announced that they will be rolling out a paid YouTube service next week on October 28 called YouTube Red. After years of giving it all away for free, they’re finally asking for a little out of their customers’ pockets.
The cost
At $9.99 per month (or $12.99 if you subscribe from
opinion
Better than a "Real Computer"
Federico Viticci has long been expanding on the merits of Editorial, a text editor for iOS. This app plays a big role in his everyday work and enables him to run his business from his iPad. That’s a pretty stunning statement, and one that many people will tell you can’t be done.
Meanwhile,
goodies
Goodies: October 20
Super brief Goodies update today. With new Kanye West music, Tim Cook talking about the future of cars, and a new Star Wars trailer, I’m otherwise occupied at the moment.
I always put my favorite video of the week here, something that I think you may not have seen. I could put some other
podcast
Bite Size Tech #24: PC Does Whaaaaaat?
Flash needs to die, Samsung made a not-terrible smart watch, teenagers love Instagram, Nintendo might be making good decisions again, and the company that brought you the Scroogled campaign is back with something just as bad.
Links discussed:
* Critical security vulnerability on Flash
* Samsung Gear 2 review - Engadget
* WSJ poll of teenagers show what
Game
Dedicated Gaming Consoles Died Long Ago
I have been pretty vocal in my feelings over the prospect of a device like the Apple TV taking away meaningful market share from Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo in the home console market. I really don’t think that those companies have much to worry about in the near future. However, I think that in
iphone
My Favorite 3rd Party Apps That Use 3D Touch
I gave The Verge a little grief for saying that most apps won’t have 3D Touch until the iPhone 7 is released. Well, it’s been 3 weeks and tons of apps have been updated with at least some 3D Touch goodness. Most apps only have home screen shortcuts so far, but others are
photos
A Day in Wheaton, IL
Wheaton, IL is a really nice town with a great downtown area. Beth and I spent an hour there today, most ly on the hunt for coffee and macarrons. We succeded on both fronts, scoring some really good coffee from River City Roasters and some better-than-average macaroons from PompleMousse Bakery. We did get
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5 Years of BirchTree
I have been writing online consistently for the past 5 years. A smart man would have recorded the exact date I started so that I could say “Happy 5th Birthday, BirchTree!” but you’re stuck with me.
Since I only know the year, and it really doesn’t matter that much, I’m declaring October
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Free Podcast Apps Are Nothing New
There was a bit of chatter online yesterday over Marco Arment’s decision to make Overcast free and only make money on it though a patronage program. Essentially, he’s doing the Radiohead model of “pay what you want” for the app. Marco said he did this as a way to make sure all his
Links
Was I Wrong About the Samsung Gear 2 Smart Watch?
I may or may not have said that the new Samsung Gear 2 was a wreck (I did, and the word was “disastrous”), but there’s a chance I was wrong. Dan Seifert just reviewed the new smart watch for The Verge and he didn’t hate it. He actually kind of liked it!
Ultimately
goodies
Goodies: October 13
Whoa, did anyone else forget today was Tuesday? I almost forgot to put this together in time!
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Columbus Day is one of those federal holidays that feel more like a free day off from work
review
Review: Sony PlayStation Silver Headphones
Sony makes a couple headsets for the PlayStation 3 and 4, and Sony loves to boast about them. With simulated 7.1 surround sound and a built in mic, these headsets seem like a pretty good fit for gamers. The Gold model is $99 and is wireless and the Silver model is $69. However, the
opinion
The Tech That Runs My Life
Am I an Apple fanboy? God, I hope not! In the interest of figuring this out, I started to do a mental inventory of the tech and services from the big three tech companies (Apple, Google, and Microsoft) that I use to manage my life.
What I found was that while Apple does dominate the
podcast
Bite Size Tech #23: Ctrl+Alt+Del on a Tablet is a Great Experience
Microsoft's quest to make the new Windows just like the old Windows, Elon Musk on the current limits of the Apple Watch, and why Starbucks supporting Apple Pay is a big freaking deal.
Links discussed:
* PC sales drop again - Gartner
* Elon Musk tweets about his Apple Watch
* Starbucks is implementing Apple Pay ASAP
Ooh, There's a Shiny New Design Around Here!
Well, the site looks different for the second time in the past 2 weeks. I hope you like it.
While the most recent change was basically a proof-of-concept to see if a few code bits worked and if purple was a good color choice (it is!), this should be the last change you
photos
A Day at the Orchard
While this is typically a tech blog, it's nice to break free from that every once in the while. Today I'm sharing a few photos from my wife and my visit to a pretty rad apple orchard here in Illinois (still technically "Apple news", yes?).
I hope you enjoy!