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
feature
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
feature
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!
Game
Why the PS4's New $349 Price Ensures Sony will Win the Holiday Season
It's only October 8 but Sony has just ensured that their PlayStation 4 will win the holiday season. Target accidentally leaked a hint that this was coming, and today The Verge reports that Sony's console will indeed drop $50 starting tomorrow.
Over the past 23 months that they have both been
Android
What Phones are Getting Updated to iOS 9 and Marshmallow?
A few months ago, I made this chart showing how far back different phone makers were supporting the new mobile OS’s hitting the market.
Some things have changed since then and I only felt it necessary to update the chart (different scale and colors, but same point).
So the story isn’t quite as
opinion
Microsoft Releases a Faster Horse
The Surface Pro 4 was just released, and the PC world is basically losing its mind over it. It’s fast, has a nice screen, can be packed with RAM and storage (up to 16GB RAM and 1TB hard drive), and looks relatively nice. On paper, this looks like it blows Apple’s soon to