Why my movie reviews seem a little harsh
I've watched 101 movies so far this year and I reviewed them all in this thread on Mastodon (I'll be doing this on Bluesky as well starting soon). Now,m truth be told, I love movies, and I think most movies I choose to watch are a pretty good time, but
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It’s a horse! It’s a browser! It’s both?!
The one and only Niléane on MacStories: Horse Browser Tries Its Hooves at a New Take on Tabs
As you
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Ads killed the web so now we need AI. Also, we need to pay for AI, so we’re going to put ads in the AI 🙃
Matt Rosoff writing for TechCrunch: Marissa Mayer Just Laid Out a Possible Business Model for Ad-Supported AI Chatbots
In the AI era, Mayer imagines that when people ask about tickets for a specific concert, “they actually want to see exactly what seats are available, where they are in the stadium, the pricing. They want
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Digital Foundry helped me learn why some games felt “wrong” (members post)
In which I try to explain why I find Digital Foundry so compelling in a way Apple fans might appreciate.
One of the many ways modern operating systems help you
One of the things that bothers me about how many people use their computers in the modern era is in
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I’ll eat an AirPod if I get this prediction wrong
Ryan Christoffel writing for: Apple’s Hitting Its AI Stride Right as Competition Is Slowing
It happens all the time. Tech giants ship exciting new technology while Apple’s projects stay veiled in R&D, leading to the constant narrative that the company is ‘behind’ in that area.
With AI, that story may have
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This iPad line makes up half of all iPad sales (but it’s not what you think!)
Michael Levin and Josh Lowitz: Thank Goodness for iPad
iPad Pro remains the most popular model, with almost half of all iPad sales in the most recent quarter (Chart 1). This is about the same share of sales compared to the year-ago quarter.
Combine this with the fact that the iPhone model that sold
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Accessibility is for everyone (members post)
The world isn’t static, and you never know when your needs are going to change. When they do, the software you use to live your life should adapt to you, not the other way around.
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I have no use for an M4 Mac Mini, but I sure want one
Dan Moren: M4 Mac Mini Review: Phenomenal Cosmic Power, Itty-Bitty Form Factor
When it comes to desktop Macs, it’s quite possibly the best one Apple offers.
This is an amazing metric and does seem to check out. The Mac Studio and Mac Pro specced out with M2 Ultra chips still hit higher performance
The iPhone 16 camera controversy that wasn't
Have you heard about the iPhone 16 camera fault that's a massive issue and makes upwards of half
Actually “more Birchtree”?
When I launched the More Birchtree subscription back in January of this year, I made the commitment that it would mean access to more posts, not just an excuse to put existing stuff behind a paywall. With 86% of the year behind us, I wanted to check in on how I’m doing towards that
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A late contender for my favorite blog post of 2024
John Gruber: How It Went
But he’s an optimist at heart. You’d like him. I, of course, don’t know who you are, dear reader, but I know you’d like my dad, Bob Gruber, because everyone likes Bob Gruber.
It’s exceptionally rare for me to tear up reading a blog post,
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Why Mac gaming has such a hard time getting off the ground (members post)
A hard look at the numbers and why it seems like such a challenge to change the narrative about gaming on Macs.
The un-sexy aspects of “professional” tools
The word “pro” gets appended to a lot of products, and that tends to simply mean some combination of more features and better build quality. But I think there are (at least) 3 aspects to products, both hardware and software, that make them good professional tools.
1. Reliability
2. Predictability
3. Flexibility
Professional tools must
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Invalidating
John Gruber: The Brutal Clarity of This Result
I realized this year — or perhaps over the last four years — that for me, belief in the merits of democracy is quasi-religious. It’s more than a philosophy. It’s a fundamental belief. I have faith in democracy, and part of that is accepting the results
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A nice link on a bad day
Jeremy Markovich: Tony Hawk Wanted to Track Down a Mysterious Skateboarder From 1979. We Found Her.
Folks, we love two things around here: Tony Hawk and decades-old mysteries.
On a shitty day, it’s nice to have something pleasant to link to.
Politics
I’ve never felt worse about my country (but the fight continues)
I despise Donald Trump. I think he’s a lying, racist, fear mongering, transphobic, sexual abusing, convicted felon, incompetent, and dangerous person who is driven by hate and resentment.
Yes, I think Trump is a bad person, but he’s not what I’m most riled up about. What bothers me more is that half
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Substack continues their pull away from the open web
Sarah Perez for TechCrunch: Substack Is Giving Out Free Subscriptions to Boost App Installs
Publishing platform Substack is now pushing users to install its mobile app by offering gifted subscriptions. While Substack itself is available across platforms, including the web, those who want to take advantage of the free subscription offer can only do so
