iOS 26.6 Betas: No Thank You

Dear Apple, I don’t want to see a new round of betas, skip iOS 26.6 entirely, and focus all your energy on iOS 27. Since iOS 26.0, I’ve seen many bugs that are still not fixed, nine months later, so I guess iOS 26.6 won’t do it either. I don’t know why some glaring bugs are still among us, poor iPhone users, but it is what it is. I hope that pouring all your efforts into iOS 27 might be the best strategy if coupled with a maturing use of AI to help your engineers in their journey. Who knows. 😑

Open Web + People = ?

Reddit Starts Blocking Mobile Website, Pushing Users to App Instead:

Social network Reddit recently began blocking mobile visitors to its website while pushing them to download the official Reddit app, and it’s fair to say that the move is not going down well with users.

Two things come to my mind about how Reddit was even possible in the early days: the open web and people. Now, Reddit put the first part of the equation in the trash. The second part might already be happening, thanks to AI.

Where is the right balance?

The pace at which I prepare and send my newsletter is slower than I would like. The attractiveness of this newsletter is probably affected by that. So I get anxious about it. Conversely, if I were very consistent, my newsletter could become much more popular. In that case, I would probably also feel anxious, thinking I need to maintain this high publishing rate. There must be a right balance, where anxiety doesn’t rear its head.

Apple, Copy This!

Bauhaus Clock for iPhone and iPad:

Bauhaus Clock for iPhone and iPad is a design-first, utility-second sort of app. It’s simple, doing nothing more than tell the time in one or two locations. But how it tells the time — with its gasp-worthy combination of visual, haptics, and audio features — make it one of those delightful apps you’ll love to have on your device.

I wish Apple offered more stylish and easy-to-read watch faces for the Apple Watch. While the hardware has been lagging a bit, perhaps Apple could improve the watch experience through a better time-reading experience.

An Update About Me

Just in case you didn’t know, I maintain an extensive “Who Is Numeric Citizen” page, built with Realmac Software Elements and hosted on their hosting service, Elements IO.

In recent days, I made a lot of tweaks and updated some details about me and my digital journey. It’s a bit overwhelming, but I guess it’s reflecting what I’m doing online! 😜

Sometimes I wonder if it is a good practice to put so many details about myself online. In the age of AI, I can imagine bad actors using AI and this website to build malicious impersonation tools.

The RODECaster Video: A Downgrade?

Another morning spent digging into RODEcaster Video S setup and configuration. I’m starting to get a better picture of what this device will help me improve, but also what I’m leaving behind if I drop Mac-only video production. One example is the lack of flexibility in dynamically framing the Mac desktop to hide or show the Mac menu bar. High-resolution video recording (4K @ 60 FPS) is also something I must leave behind when using the RODECaster Video; it’s not a surprise, but a reality check.

AirPods Ultra?

AirPods Pro With AI Cameras Reach ‘Advanced’ Testing Stage — MacRumors

The AirPods Pro will have built-in cameras that will feed visual information about the wearer’s surroundings to Siri. While there will be a longer stem for the camera in each AirPod, the device will otherwise look similar to the AirPods Pro 3.

I would take an AirPods upgrade over any pendant-like device for augmented reality with AI twists. I feel this is more socially acceptable than a pendant.