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Itās Was So Fun
This weekend I did some cleanup in my old papers and documents. I found an old bank account statement where I can see a withdraw transaction to help me pay for my Macintosh 128K in 1985: 3460.75 CAN$. š¤ Ouch. I did some research to better document the time when I had a Macintosh SE while studying at the university and remembered about using Think Pascal, Prototyper and ResEdit to build a floppy disks indexer. That was before the Internet. It was so much fun. Itās gives you an idea how old I am. š
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Pausing My Apple Studio Display Buying Decision
Well, after a promising start, following reviews of the Apple Studio display, it seems that Iāll put my buying decision on hold. As I wrote, one of the reasons why Iām considering this display is the integrated camera and speakers for a better video conference experience. It appears image quality is not good at all, judging by the examples posted online. Itās close to being a deal breaker.
Apparently, the Apple Studio display is running a version of iOS 15.4. Yep, sounds overkill, and yet, itās the case, according to Gruber. Apple is promising a software update to fix the problem and bring image quality on par with the iPad Pro equipped with the same camera and essentially using th same software to enable Center Stage.
Hereās something: when we look at preview integrated cameras in MacBook Pro or the iMac and find the image quality to be bad, we try to excuse Apple of fitting a camera in a too-thin enclosure. But we know itās not enough to explain the issue of image quality. Software is the problem. Look no further than the iPhone for an example.
As soon as:
- I can go to an Apple Store to see the Apple Studio display for myself;
- Normal people are publishing their reviews and comment on their experience with the display;
- Apple fixes the camera image quality with an update to the display operating system;
Then, Iāll make a final decision. Now, I canāt wait to see in action the software upgrade process on this thing.
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āThe Mac Studio contains radical innards in a plain exteriorā
Benjamin Mayo in Apple Introduces MacĀ Studio:
āā¦the introduction of a brand new model of Mac is precisely the best time to do something entirely new.ā
And
āThe Mac Studio is a boring box with rounded corners, and has no party tricks to speak of. The trashcan was a truly wild, out-there, design.ā
I share the same sentiment. A new form-factor is a rare thing from Apple. An elongated Mac mini doesnāt do justice the Mac Studio interior, even less to its name. Another missed opportunity. I guess āreal prosā doesnāt give a damn about all of this.
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Peek Performance, Low Interest
Itās now official. Apple will host another virtual event next week, on March 8th. Itās the first Apple event of 2022, but itās far from being the first real event of 2022. Current events happening in Ukraine are troubling and make me pause on a lot of things. Apple-related stuff is one of these. Iām not in the mood for that. My thoughts and energy are diverted, seized. I donāt care if itās a new iPhone SE, a beefed up Mac mini or whatever else. These look so irrelevant in this incredible and terrible era. Low interest indeed.
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Apple is Finally Showing Courage
I asked for this since the beginning of the Ukrainian war (on Twitter: first here, then here, then here), and today Apple delivered. Appleās products are no longer being sold through its online store. While the App Store is still working apparently, Iām ok with their decision. On top of that, Apple will donate money, twice the amount that employees will give to help Ukrainians. Itās a good move, the only move, without using real arms, to make an impact. Itās even more powerful when many companies are doing exactly the same.
Yep, finally.
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On Time Machine Backups Over Network
If you own a desktop Mac, you probably use an external drive for Time Machine. If you use a portable Mac, most likely not, and according to the Tidbits article, youāre not alone. The portability of the Mac is hindered by having an external drive hooked permanently. I, personally, have a different strategy: I use a Synology NAS DS720+ with Time Machine enabled to do my backups over the wireless network. It works perfectly, but I donāt do a full backup of my MacBook Air. Files that are part of iCloud Drive are excluded (read more here, youāll find out why itās a good idea). In fact, most of the files are excluded, except a few critical folders, outside the scope of any cloud syncing services. Applications arenāt backed up either (easy to recover in case of lost). Backups are small but are just what I need to protect my work.
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Old Computer-Related Memories
From 1993 to 1994, I owned a PowerBook Duo 210 sporting a trackball, a low-profile keyboard and a grayscale screen. I didnāt like the trackball as the pointing device. The keyboard wasnāt that great either. But, it was small, highly portable. Coupled with the Duo Dock and an external monitor, it was a cool and novel setup. Itās been a long time ago. This article was written using a M1 MacBook Air, in a coffee shop.
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Health of Developer Relations with Apple in Free Fall
According to this yearās Six Colors Report Card, relationships between Apple and its developers’ community is in terrible shape. The trend isnāt looking good either.
Marco Arment said, āAppleās tightening grip on App Store fees, attempts to reach into other parts of businesses that they donāt deserve, and extremely entitled and galling statements on the matter continue to be distasteful and extremely damaging to their reputation. It seems like a huge strategic blunder to inflame developer relations, generate bad PR, invite more regulatory scrutiny, and risk governments imposing much worse changes for such a small percentage of their revenue.ā
Is Apple still able to read the room temperature, or it is blind because of its financial successes? For once, I think Apple should copy Microsoftās leadership.
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On Sideloading on iPhone ā Itās OK, Iām Changing My Mind numericcitizen.me
I’d love to get feedback on this subject, from this community, here on MB…
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Apple is clearly crossing the red line here IMHO. They are being disingenuous.
These guidelines from Apple about external payments are even worse than I expected. So many hoops to jump through, and a ridiculous 27% fee. No one is going to go along with this, which means it doesnāt relieve any regulatory pressure on Apple. Burning more developer trust.
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Replacing (Another) Aging AirPort Extreme Withā¦
In mid-2020, I wrote about my experience of replacing an aging Apple AirPort Extreme with an Ubiquitiās Dream Machine. Today, Iām kind of repeating the experience, but this time with the Amplify HD router, also from Ubiquiti, for my sister. Donāt expect a complete review, but expect a post with a few observations. My sister is having weak WiFi issues in her house and I suggested her to get the kit to form a mesh network. Iāll be taking measure before and after to see if it brings meaningful improvements in her big house. Stay tuned.
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Universal Control ā Finally!
Iām a big fan of Appleās Sidecar. I frequently use it for work. When Apple announced Universal Control at the 2021 WWDC keynote, I was blown away by the technical challenge it might have represented for Appleās engineers. It really makes for great demos. Then, I started to wonder if this feature would enable new workflows, and I failed to find meaningful ones. With Sidecar, the iPad acts like a passive device most of the time, and Iām happy with this configuration. Then, following the release of iOS 15.4b1, videos (like this one from MacRumors) demonstrating Universal Control in action started to pop up. I changed my mind.
Under a Universal Control configuration, the iPad acts like an intelligent extension of the Mac desktop. Itās like Sidecar Pro Max (just kidding here). The iPad becomes a second computing device readily available to the Mac. The user simply and seamlessly can take advantage of this second screen in a matter where the computing power of the device adds up to the Mac, the screen, the system memory. Itās absolutely clever.
I can see myself using Craft on the MacBook Air and Ulysses on the iPad Pro, all using the MacBookās keyboard and trackpad. Or vice versa. Clever. Really.
Iām considering updating my M1 MacBook Air and my iPad Pro to this beta.
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On HomePod mini with a screen - STOP!
Consider this recent article from 9to5Mac: Concept: How Apple could turn HomePod mini into a delightful and adorable smart display - 9to5Mac.
Please, stop thinking that a screen on the HomePod mini makes sense because it just doesn’t. Why? Well, by looking at where we put these devices in our house, most of the time, you wouldn’t be able to see the screen from a distance. What Apple really wishes is that you buy an iPad mini with a Smart Folio cover for that purpose.
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Dear Apple: Bring Back the Dashboard
I want this so much. We have to voice our desire to get back the Dashboard on macOS. As explained by 512px a long time ago:
Jobs pitched widgets as mini-apps that let you look up a quick bit of information without ruining your workflow or train of thought. They allowed for quick interactions. They were present when you needed them, and disappeared when you didnāt.
Why try to imagine new solutions to fix the widgets conundrum on macOS? The Dashboard was the only good solution where you could put widgets anywhere on the screen, then invoke them as needed. Dear Apple, are you reading this? š„ŗšš»
Letās enjoy one more time the Dashboard in its full glory.
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About iMessage - Again
Appleās Messages app, why does it only support iMessage and SMS? iChat had support for AIM, Yahoo Messanger, ICQ, and XMPP. Why hasnāt Apple gone beyond the blue and green bubbles, introducing support for additional protocols with more message bubble colors?
Apple likes control. They didn’t have it with those protocols. How could they implement things like CSAM?
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Green vs Blue Bubbles: The Definitive And Honest Point of View
A few days ago, I wrote a small commentary post regarding the WSJ article on Appleās iMessage, its effects on the crowd of young iPhone users, and how Apple is being evil. Man, itās a pale and superficial perspective compared to Gruberās view of the article, and the controversy that followed. Must read, if this short-lived controversy is picking up your curiosity.
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On iOS 15 Update Conundrum ā Why Apple Is Changing is Mind
Apple finally published the numbers of people who upgraded to iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. While the percentages show the vast majority of users upgraded their devices, there are more people than with previous years who didnāt. Itās probably Appleās fault.
With iOS 15, Apple is no longer forcing users to adopt the latest release to get the latest security updates. A user running iOS 14.7 can stay there as long as he can apply the security patches made available for that version. Itās an entirely new approach for Apple. I wonder why Apple made that change. I think I found one big reason.
If you compare Appleās ecosystem to Android, Apple has a clear advantage here by being able to move the needle much faster for releases adoption, until now. In a single year, Apple can transform its ecosystem of users by adding features that are quickly making their way into peopleās devices. By allowing users to stay on previous releases, Apple is shooting itself in the foot. Now they seem to change their mind, though. Apple could be changing his mind. As reported by MacRumors:
iOS 15ā used to be listed as an optional update on devices running iOS 14, but now it is front and center on devices that still have iOS 14, and it is the only available update option as Apple has now stopped making security updates available for devices running iOS 14. Those who want the latest security fixes need to upgrade to āiOS 15ā, as all devices capable of running iOS 14 also support āiOS 15ā.
I think itās the right move for Apple, since they tend to support old devices longer than other manufacturers. Apple could tweak iOS to be less aggressive is upgrading to the latest release by introducing delays in a random manner. Users eager to upgrade can do so manually, others would randomly get a notification suggesting the availability of the newer release. As time passes, those notifications would increase in frequency. This new behaviour will probably never come to like and not be enough. Here is why.
There might be another reason behind this change of mind on Appleās part. Look at antitrust regulations looming on the horizon all around the world. Apple is probably making sure that all users adopt the latest release faster to comply with possible new regulations imposed by lawmakers, which would need to trigger changes to the operating system.
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Carriers vs Apple
Om Malik writing on the iPhone fifteen anniversary and the carrier companies at the time (emphasis is mine):
These were wireless walled gardens crammed with absolutely rotten apps, games, and everything from mobile backgrounds to ringtones. They were an opportunity for carriers to nickel-and-dime their customers and extracted mafia-like fees from startups. Source: Looking back: iPhone & its impact on mobile industry & us. ā On my Om
I have great admiration for Mr. Malik, but a lot of people, especially developers, would jump in right here and use the same paragraph to describe Apple and its App Store today. You may agree or not with them. I mostly don’t.
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"Itās not just how things look, itās about how things work."
Somehow, I missed David Sparks’ observations regarding the Wallpaper feature of Apple’s Design Team (emphasis is mine):
Instead of quoting Steve Jobs, I would have preferred an explanation from Alan Dye about his philosophy of user interface design and what his north star is when he does his work. Iād like him to make his case. If he explained the thinking behind this minimal approach, it might make more sense. Maybe this article was never meant to be that kind of deep dive on design philosophy, but it feels like a missed opportunity.
Indeed. I’m not fond of Alan Dye’s work.
Source: The Wallpaper* Feature on the Apple Design Team and a Missed Opportunity - MacSparky
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Blue vs Green Bubbles ā Blue is In, Green is Out?
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal created a concerted reactions chain from news sites and people on Twitter. In āWhy Appleās iMessage Is Winning: Teens Dread the Green Text Bubbleā, the WSJ article paints Apple as using highly questionable tactics to keep its users locked in iMessage messaging service. I want to share my thoughts on this.
Peer pressure among teens isnāt a new phenomenon, far from it. Way before the Internet became accessible, when I was a teen myself, I vividly remember the feeling of not wearing the same brand of clothes as my friends. The problem here is teen’s social behaviour, not the technology. They are the one to blame if they reject people using non iMessage messaging service. I would argue that Apple as nothing to do with this. Sure, they like the stickiness of their platform, but I wouldnāt say it’s the defining goal when they add features to it.
Of course, Apple canāt provide the dot-dot-dot feedback showing people who are actually writing a response to a text message because the SMS standard doesnāt provide that. Duh.
When Mr. Hiroshi Lockheimer from Google refers to āstandardsā in one of his tweets to fix the interoperability issues of messaging platforms like iMessage, I wonder what standards he is referring to, Googleās RCS. And if this standard is actually a standard, why is it so hard to take off? Why are messaging services like Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, etc.?
I would also argue that, for a company like Apple, the ecosystem stickiness is part of their differentiating factor. Of course, iMessage plays a major role here. For a company like Google, where massively providing free services with ads, the more people who get to use your services, the more revenues you get. Itās their differentiating factor. Itās easy to say: Apple should open up their messaging service.
My anecdotal experience is to the effect that when something breaks in the conversation between an iPhone user and an Android users, they usually go with Messenger or WhatsApp. People still have access to many alternatives.
WSJās article is a prime example that finding the right angle to portray Apple as the devil in the room attracts numerous clicks.
