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Glass Profile Page ā Finally?
After a successful initial launch, categories support addition, now here is profile page support. Glass is maturing, one step at a time. The web experience wasnāt part of the initial launch and I think it is fine. This is my profile page. Works great on iPhone, and on iPad which is cool. To join, you need to download the application. Works great on iPhone, not available on iPad. Oops. Next? Like support? I donāt think so. Hoping to meet you there!
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Computational Photography Meet Traditional Cameras
But I wonder, where is photography headed from here? Surely, computational photography will play a big role in the short term. In my opinion, smartphones are not the future of photography, but they are hinting at where standalone, interchangeable lens cameras have to go in the next few years. I canāt wait to see whatās coming next. Source: Where is photography headed? ā aows
What if Canon or Nikon were developing computational photography features in their cameras, just like Apple does for its iPhone? Imagine a “real” lens, a much bigger CCD captor, algorithms coupled with machine learning running on a powerful CPU. I wonder if this is the only way for Canon and Nikon to survive.
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Understanding Halide Pro+ Capture Format
Iām still learning new things about shooting in ProRAW on my iPhone 13 Pro. The latest tidbits that I learned is not directly related to ProRAW usage, but to a setting in Halide related to photo capture modes.
When using what is called āPro+ā setting, Halide will take two photos for each shot. One is taken in HEIC format, the other is taken in ProRAW. Both photos are tied together and stored in Appleās Photos library as one image. Here is the thing that I learned: when browsing previously taken photos from within Halide, metadata is shown in two different panels: HEIC and DNG (see above screenshots). Each component is taking a certain amount of space. The former being the smallest one. The latter, being the ProRAW version, is usually ten times bigger. But, when browsing the same photo in Photos, only the HEIC size is shown, as depicted in the following screenshot.
In summary, for pictures taken with Halideās Pro+ format, donāt be deceived by Appleās Photos showing only the HEIC size. The actual space consumed by this image is actually the sum of the HEIC part + ProRAW part (in DNG). Thatās big, for only one image. Is it worth it? It depends, as I recently wrote about this.
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Is the Cost of ProRAW Worth It? #apple #photography #proraw
Iām still trying to wrap my mind around Appleās ProRAW. I know, Iām late to the party. Image size can be as much as 10x the size of a jpeg. I think that for non-edge cases (optimal lighting), ProRAW ācostā isnāt worth it. Also, ProRAW images taken with Halide are much smaller than using Appleās camera app, for reasons I still donāt understand.
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Hey guys! I’m still around! Been busy on Twitter recently, using Typefully. I’m still in love with Micro.blog even though I’m publishing less from here. I’m reading my timeline from time to time and I’m happy to report that it’s still a vibrant community. Keep it up!
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Big Update to Timery ā I Love It!
Timery received a major addition in this weekās update: REPORTS! As I wrote recently, Iām tracking the time I spend on my blogging and content creation activities. Timery is my go-to client for Toggl, a time tracking service. Having access to reports within the application, instead of heading to the Tooglās website is really helpful. Now, looking forward for Timery to support macOS Montereyās Shortcuts!
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A Few #Unleashed Observations About That #AppleEvent
The less than an hour Unleashed event took place yesterday, I was thereā¦ watching on my Mac mini. I had these observations.
- The opening sequence with the man in its garage building a song based on sound from Apple devices, like the Mac startup sound was different, some sort of Mac celebration. Is this garage setup intentional and a reference to Appleās beginnings? Probably.
- Today, I would argue that Apple completed 80% of its transition to its Apple Silicon. The Mac Pro will probably be the last to get the Apple Silicon treatment. What a monster it will be. Weāll probably get a bigger iMac and beeper Mac mini meanwhile. 2022.
- There is not much not to like in Appleās MacBook Pro announcement. These MacBook Pro are technical marvels. Lots of āspeeds and feedsā for sure but hey, that was for the pros, right?
- The M1 Pro / M1 Max branding makes me think of Intelās.
- The notchā¦ comes with a bonus, more screen estate. Is there room to complain? I wonder how good apps with many menus will look like. Yet, with all the hardware prowess Apple is capable of, I still wonder why they cannot put the FaceTime camera in the bezel, even that thin. Center Stage? Nope. Requires a better camera for that.
- Iām not looking to buy a new MacBook or any Apple devices for that matter. Iām super happy with my M1 Mac mini and M1 MacBook Air. But, a friend of mine ordered the 14ā. Canāt wait to have his comments.
- This design changes are more or less subtile and it is quite interesting to note that it is reminiscent of the PowerBook G4 Titanium. I love it.
- The keyboard, without the Touch Bar, with its black background, looks soā¦ pro. I love it. The best combination to me is with the silver version of the MacBook Pro, the contrast is even higher, more pro.
- Now, am I alone to think that the iMac / Mac mini could be the next to receive the M1 Pro and M1 Max treatment?
- The ProMotion display, which is based on the Liquid Retina Display, looks impressive. Weāll see what the reviewers have to say next week.
Another solid virtual event for Apple. Oh, Voice plan for Music? That was weird. I donāt get it. I thought Siri was bad as an interface to search for music. Apple must have a different take with that one. Now, the big question, is there any new stuff left for Apple this year? I think so. And thatās ok.
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Going to the movies still sucks
We went to the movies yesterday night. The first time in two years. āNo Time To Dieā was good. As much as other types of business has evolved in this time frame, buying tickets, bad quality lighting, flaky sound systems are still part of my usual subpar experience at the movies. No wonder why this is a dying business.
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I’ve been playing with my iPhone 13 Pro last weekend. On the following diagram, the picture on the left was shot with the telephoto lens, while the picture on the right was shot in macro mode, in the area shown on the left. Both pictures were processed in Adobe Lightroom CC.
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Where Should Glass Go? A Debate About Likes
Matt Bircher on the lack of āLikeā on Glass:
Maybe this is a terrible idea and I’m in the minority here, but I really do think that I would enjoy the app more if I was able to give lower-friction reactions to people’s photos. I still like Glass quite a bit, and I browse it everyday, but I do often feel like I don’t have the energy to comment on all the photos I like, and that’s a shame.
Lee Petersonās take on his blog:
Not having follower counts and likes is a great way to stop the comparison to others and help to reduce the stress of feeling bad about myself for not making engaging content.
Itās not an easy thing to consider. Mattās point of view also echos mine. If Glass added likes, does that put them on the path of Instagram, ads, and algorithm-based feed? I donāt think so. Glass is a paid service. Thatās the key.
What if the decision of enabling likes was delegated to the photographer posting photos? I would enable it, Matt probably would too, but not Lee. The same goes for seeing and showing the followers count on the profile page. What if those decisions were put in the hands of the content creator? Let the platform have it builtin and the content creator decide what to do with it. Twitterās Revue offers such a feature of showing the subscribers count on the Revue profile page. I like it, and it is enabled, even though I only have two subscribers.
On Micro.blog, the situation is pretty much the same. We donāt get likes to our posts, we donāt get to see how many followers weāve got. I made requests to the guy behind Micro.blog for the ability to see the followers count on Micro.blog without much success. This data could be made private, and we could enable to show it on our profile page.
Why is the platform the only one making those decisions? Let the content creators decide. You can find me on Glass under the Numericcitizen moniker, here is one of my shared photo.
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Google, Are You Kidding Me?
Google, recently on Twitter, announcing their adoption of Appleās UIKit design language instead of using their Material design:
āDoes a switch really need to be built custom in alignment with a generic design system? Or might it be sufficient to simply use the system solution and move on?ā
I donāt buy Googleās explanation. Google is trying to say that UIKit wasnāt good enough for them, so they went their own way. Bullshit. The other way to look at this: building native apps is a better way to go than trying to build apps on unifying frameworks.
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E-Bikes: #VanmoofV ā What Is Going on Here?
Today, Vanmoof announced their latest e-bike, the Vanmoof V model. The announcement video, reminiscent of Appleās product reveals, is light on details. The singular design, in white, is both intriguing and looks heavy on the look. Some specs are impressive, on paper. But, there is something absolutely troubling: the V model is going to ship near the end of 2022. Yep, in more than a year. What is going on here? What this premature announcement could mean for Vanmoof? Well, obviously they are trying to gain mind share among potential e-bike buyers, and they are afraid to lose market share.
Weāll be developing the VanMoof V over the upcoming year, and will keep you updated with news and features as the bike comes to life.
Can you imagine if Apple were to announce a new flagship product iteration, the next iPhone, more than a year in advance? I wonder if Vanmoof is aware of the Osborne effect. š§
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šš» This game was destined for the iPad. I’m in love. š„° Bye bye Steam! Currently in beta and pre-orders are open. Works great! Read my comments about this game here: A Simple Review of Townscraper - Numeric Citizen Blog
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On the way back home
I’m on my way back home from a weekend in the Niagara Falls region. I put my iPhone 13 Pro to the test. I’m quite happy with my experience. Most of my photos are in ProRAW format. I’m not sure how I’ll process them: with Pixelmator? Lightroom CC? If the latter, the import process is putting me on the break instead of a more integrated experience with Pixelmator.
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Am I missing Notion? @notionhq @craftsdocsapp
Been thinking about Notion recently. Before using Craft, I was a fan of Notion. I spent a few moments today on Notion to make some cleanup. I think Iām still a fan. Craft feels better for me as a writer tool. Yet, Notion is features rich. They keep improving it. I donāt know if they do it at a faster pace than Craft. They are certainly more mature. The team behind Craft being smaller, they donāt have the same resources. Many features are missing. But there is something to it that is missing in Notion. Craft being native on the Mac (itās a Catalyst app), it makes a big difference. Anyway, Iāll keep an eye on Notion. Who knows if Iāll come back.
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The Read Later Syndrome
Pocket. Refind. Readwise. Matter. Safari Read Later. When is this going to stop, so I can make up my mind? If you do a search on my Micro.blog page, youāll see how tormented I can be about saving web stuff stuff to read later. Iām not very good at reading later. Yet, Iām eager to read more. Iām watching Readwise Reader to come out (I signed up for an early access), but just yesterday I stumbled on Matter, which looks really interesting, but still a bit limited.
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Itās Becoming Harder and Harder to Sell Second Hand Apple Gear
After many weeks of trying, I finally sold my 2017 21.5 inches iMac. Even though Apple is currently selling M1 iMac at a competitive price, I thought that it would be easier to get rid of my Mac. It was a maxed out configuration, which helped me ask for a higher than usual price compared to other sellers. Yet, it wasnāt easy. As you might guess, Iām not the only one trying to sell an Intel-based iMac.
The next device put on sale was my iPhone 11 Pro with 256 GB of storage. One week before the officiel launch of the iPhone 13 Pro, I put up my older iPhone for sale. I got quite a few people interested in it, but the problem was the price they were willing to offer. It was way under my asking price, closer to what Apple is offering as a trade-in value. I think this is part of the problem. Many people are looking to get rid of their older devices to help pay for the new one, but potential buyers are comparing to what Apple is offering, which shouldnāt be used to fix the value of the second hand iPhone. Apple will refurbish the device or recycle it. This cannot be used as a comparison. After a week of getting my trade-in kit, I decided to return my iPhone instead of bothering to sell it.
When I bought my MacBook Air back in August, it came with a free pair of AirPods. I didnāt need them, so I put them on sale too. That one was easy to sell, though. It took less than half a day to find someone willing to get them.
Itās true that Apple hardware keep their resale value, but I think itās not what it used to be. Apple is no longer the underdog, their devices are everywhere, which puts pressure on pricing.
Whatās Iād like to see come in Canada is the iPhone upgrade program available in the US. I think I would pay a monthly price to always get the newer iPhone.
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Dear @Viticci, Iām Not a Professional Reviewer, So What?
This podcast episode from MacStories featuring Viticci triggered quite a few reactions. Why? Because of these two sentences in the first moments of the episode talking about the iPad mini:
āYou wouldnāt want to read/or watch a review by someone who is not a professional reviewer. It wouldnāt be enjoyable.ā
Yep. Viticci said that. In āThe value of a non-reviewerās perspectiveā from Mere Civilian:
āI agree, a review from a person who does not write for a living may not be enjoyable. However, I strongly disagree with the first sentence. ā
What? Really? Then, I read this reaction from Lee Peterson on his blog:
āMacStories posts some great stuff but not everyone wants to read long articles, some like smaller easy to digest articles from independent writers, I like to think I do that here. I get to the point and try to respect my audiences time, does that make my opinion invalid or not enjoyable?ā
And here is my response. Viticci comments make him look full of himself. Period. Iām happy for him if he can live from writing reviews. I would rather read review from real end-users because the point is to get comments and observations from real use case scenarios. Sure, I like reviews from Marques Brownlee because he has well-balanced and critical point of views on a lot of stuff. It also touches the subject of what makes someone a blogger or a writer. If you write constantly, then you are a writer. Are you Shakespeare? Probably not. There is a starting point for everyone. Some will fall along the road, others will thrive. I tend to think of reviews by professionnel reviewers as synthetic reviews, where there is a lot of speed and feed talk. At some point, we want to go beyond that and have comments coming from experience. So, sure, Iād like to read comments from pilots about the real usefulness of the iPad mini. They are the one who can make a judgment on the subject.
Last year I wrote āIām not an audiophile, but here are my thoughts on Appleās AirPods Maxā which is not of āreviewā but a collection of observations. I concluded with this:
āSo, do I like the sound quality of my AirPods Max? Yes. Do they sound better than my Bose QC25? Yes. By a wide margin compared with the price difference with my Bose Q25? No. But, hey, they are wireless, convenient, comfier, have transparency mode, spatial audio and they fit within Appleās walled garden.ā
Is there any value in this? I think so. Should Viticci care? Certainly not. I do have genuine thoughts and opinions, and this is my ultimate right to share them with the world for exactly what they are: thoughts and observations. Nothing more, nothing less.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
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Appleās Maps ā Nine Years of Iterative Updates
Today Apple is publishing an article on its newsroom website about all the new thing that comes with Maps in iOS 15. There is a lot to like in this update, like the 3D detailed views in some major cities like San Francisco. These 3D views remind me of SimCity, a game on which Iāve spent countless hours playing. Maps as matured over the years, following the iterative nature of Appleās approach to everything they do. Some donāt like it, others see the value in it. Iām one of those who think this is the best approach as each iteration helps build the next one with good cumulative experience. Todayās Maps, nine year later after a rocky start, in 2012, is impressive and as good as other popular alternatives, in my area at least.
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The waiting combo. Itās the story of a lonely couple waiting for something to happen. Tomorrow they will come together at last.
