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  • On #Glass Appreciation

    Surprise! Today, Glass introduced something I thought would never come: Like! Oops, Appreciation (Announcement on Twitter)! In summary: they are private. They are note at the forefront of the experience. They don’t propels algorithms. They aren’t used to sell targeted ads. They are merely a check box in a database. They are gentle. They are a gift. The team behind Glass is showing sign of lucidity. I like what’s I’m seeing since the start of this special place.

    → 5:38 PM, Dec 9
  • Testing Synology Photos as a digital assets management solution (#synology #beta #dsm7)

    Synology Photos Beta

    I’m currently testing Synology as a storage solution for all my non-personal, non-photographic digital assets that I often use to complement my blog posts. After testing Synology Moments, their previous solution for photo management on DSM 6.2, Synology Photos in DSM 7.x is a step in the right direction, a big improvement. I like what I’m seeing. It’s fast. The ability to use folders as well as albums to organize my collection is a big plus. I’ve yet to find a bug. There is an iPad version of their Synology Photos. It’s not perfect but it works. Lacking is support iPad multitasking, which is a shame but not a deal-breaker.

    In order to test this solution, I’m using my DS720+ running DSM7 beta inside a virtual machine. DSM Virtual Machine Manager allows the execution of a Virtual DSM which is very cool for testing future releases of their software. I’m impressed by the relative speed of this setup running on 6 GB of RAM, 2 x 6 TB SATA drives and a Samsung M2 NVMe 512 GB cache drive.

    Stay tuned for more.

    → 6:01 PM, Dec 3
  • Is the Cost of ProRAW Worth It? #apple #photography #proraw

    I’m still trying to wrap my mind around Apple’s ProRAW. I know, I’m 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 “cost” isn’t worth it. Also, ProRAW images taken with Halide are much smaller than using Apple’s camera app, for reasons I still don’t understand.

    → 1:45 PM, Oct 23
  • A Few #Unleashed Observations About That #AppleEvent

    The less than an hour Unleashed event took place yesterday, I was there… 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 Apple’s 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. We’ll probably get a bigger iMac and beeper Mac mini meanwhile. 2022.
    • There is not much not to like in Apple’s MacBook Pro announcement. These MacBook Pro are technical marvels. Lots of “speeds and feeds” for sure but hey, that was for the pros, right?
    • The M1 Pro / M1 Max branding makes me think of Intel’s.
    • The notch… 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.
    • I’m not looking to buy a new MacBook or any Apple devices for that matter. I’m super happy with my M1 Mac mini and M1 MacBook Air. But, a friend of mine ordered the 14”. Can’t 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 so… 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. We’ll see what the reviewers have to say next week.

    Another solid virtual event for Apple. Oh, Voice plan for Music? That was weird. I don’t 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 that’s ok.

    → 11:30 AM, Oct 19
  • E-Bikes: #VanmoofV — What Is Going on Here?

    Today, Vanmoof announced their latest e-bike, the Vanmoof V model. The announcement video, reminiscent of Apple’s 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.

    We’ll 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. 🧐

    → 6:47 PM, Oct 12
  • The next #AppleEvent is coming!

    Just in time for the upcoming Apple event, my rumours site has been updated to reflect the most recent rumours. New iPhone. New Apple Watch. New AirPods. iOS 15. iPadOS 15. No MacBook Pro updates. That is all.

    → 5:49 PM, Sep 7
  • Google’s openness isn’t enough apparently (#antitrust #security #cybersecurity)

    Wow, that one is close to being hilarious. Big tech companies are the target of hate these days. Google was hit by another antitrust lawsuit by no less than 36 states about their handling of applications side loading on Android. In summary, it is so cumbersome to side load an app on Android, thanks to security measures, that it makes it hard for competing App Store to compete.

    Google makes the sideloading process unnecessarily cumbersome and impractical by adding superfluous, misleading, and discouraging security warnings and by deterring users by requiring them to grant permission multiple times for a single app installation (discussed in more detail in Sections I.C. and I.D. below). The effect of Google’s conduct is to practically eliminate competition in Android app distribution.

    Android is supposedly more permissive than Apple’s App Store and yet, it looks like it’s not enough. This lawsuit is a prime example on why I don’t like the current trend. People want more open platforms but it’s never enough. If Apple is ever forced to make profound changes to their App Store business, it will be the beginning of a worrisome trend that I prefer wouldn’t happen. I recently wrote about not wanting another Android platform. Now, I should say that I don’t want another Windows platform disguised in a mobile device. To me, it is scary and close in nature to the same problem of who should own encryption keys. Raging ransomeware cyberattacks are signs of what is coming on mobile devices if we open them up too much, just like Windows.

    → 5:53 AM, Jul 13
  • What comes before the right to repair? (#apple #righttorepair)

    The next step for Apple is to design for repairability which goes beyond recycling. AirPods are the worst example of this. When the battery life on these is reached, there is no practical way to replace them without throwing it to the trash and buying a new one. So for me, the right to repair goes way beyond having a choice of where I’m going to take a device for repair. It is about buying a device that was designed for and built to use recycled materials, but also it is about buying a device that can be repaired for basic things like battery replacement.

    → 7:37 PM, Jul 11
  • Here is some relief for Safari 15 users who hate the new design… (#ios15beta2 #apple)

    For those like me who despise Safari redesign in iPadOS 15 & iOS 15: here is simple trick to better cope with Safari redesign: keep the number of open tab to ONE. Why do you think Apple thought it was a good idea to include a “Close Other Tabs” in the popup menu while pressing the address bar? With on,y one tab open, this is close to what we had before.

    → 8:25 PM, Jul 4
  • Please… stop… using… ellipsis… for gods sake (#apple #ux #design #iosdev)

    In the following screenshot taken this morning on my iPad screen, how many ellipsis signs to you catch? I highlighted them for you to make it easier. To all developers, to all designers, to Apple: please, stop this shit NOW and find a better way, use your imagination, stop being lazy at design. Thank you.

    → 11:11 AM, Jul 2
  • What if nobody really knows what is going on? (#google #privacy #surveillance)

    What if nobody at Google knows exactly what their data hungry engine is all about? I mean, what if nobody has a global picture, so nobody can say “oh my god, it’s terrible, we must stop it!”. This makes me think of the nazis in second world war: very few had a global picture of what was really going on. It was devised this way so it was easier to “manage” and keep the machine humming.

    → 3:11 PM, Jun 28
  • Another coat of paint to Windows UI mess? (#windows11)

    So Windows 11 is a thing. Is it a revolution to Windows? Maybe, maybe not. It depends if you can install it on your PC, which is far from certain. But let’s say you can, how deep goes the UI refresh? Is it like it was for Windows 10 which was supposedly a redesign of Windows 8 which was tweaks to Windows 7 UI that came before it. Here is a simple question: Did Microsoft really clean up the Windows UI mess that it has become over the years? I don’t care too much about windows transparency level, toolbars, icons. Getting rid of UI legacy feels a more useful and laudable endeavour.

    → 1:16 PM, Jun 28
  • iPadOS 15 beta 2: install or not, that is the question (#ipados15 #ipadod15beta2)

    I’m on vacation. I have some time to spare. My vacation time is spent between my home and a rented chalet. The iPad Pro and my iPhone 11 Pro are my main devices. Beta 2 came late this week and reports are starting to come in. In summary, lot’s of fixes, a bit faster and apparently no big show stopper. I’m mostly using Craft these days and Apple’s stock apps like Reminders and Notes. What could go wrong?

    My situation is similar to James Rogers’ from iPadInsight. Last year, I went all in with iOS 14 betas on my iPad and iPhone. This year? I’m a bit more caution. I’m looking to test iPadOS more than anything. As I write this, I get a feeling that I’m trying to convince myself of either waiting for the public beta of simply live dangerously and make the plunge. But what happens in Photos memories on non-upgraded devices? What about Messages in the cloud? What if I create a new reminder item on iOS 15 but want to check it off on a non-iOS 15 device? So many questions… Help me with this.

    I know that I should put some time in writing my next issue of my monthly newsletter instead of writing this microblog post. 🤷🏻‍♂️

    Just got an idea: have a look at the release notes and see if there are any deal breaker in there. Stay tuned. 😅

    → 2:07 PM, Jun 25
  • Let me repeat it: we don’t need another Android platform (#apple #privacyprotection)

    As I wrote in this essay, we don’t need another Android platform. I understand Apple being on a PR blitz. I know Apple is holding a contradictory position when talking about the iPhone and the Mac. It is well documented that side-loading doesn’t fix the lack of choice issue, quite the opposite actually. I don’t accept the idea of weakening a platform in the name of “choice” for a minority of techy guys.

    → 7:57 AM, Jun 23
  • Full iOS 15 Beta Schedule Revealed! (#apple #ios15beta2)

    As we are probably getting iOS 15 beta 2 this week (today?), here is a probable schedule for this summer betas. RED colour is for developer betas, blue is for public betas. We should get 8 betas for developers, first public beta set for July 7th. Let’s see if these guesses are good or not.

    → 9:20 AM, Jun 21
  • The change that didn’t came (#apple #wwdc21 #developers)

    This take from Gruber “App Store: The Schiller Cut” has a sour taste following the WWDC keynote and Platforms state of the union. Did Apple announce something this week to appease developers relations? Nope. Will they announce something in the coming weeks in regard to App Store commissions? Who knows. If they do, they will do it in a position of weakness:

    If someday down the road we will be changing 70/30, then I think the question moves from “if” to “when” and “how”. I’m not suggesting we do anything differently today, only that whenever we make a change we do it from a position of strength rather than weakness. That we use any such change to our advantage if possible. And thinking about this long in advance can only help to look at an eventual change as an opportunity (with developers, press, customers, etc). — Phil Schiller in 2011

    They missed the opportunity this year. Apple is in a weak position and I don’t see how this could change anytime soon.

    → 6:09 AM, Jun 10
  • Time to move off Apple’s Intel iMac? (#apple #adobe #lightroomclassic #applesilicon)

    With Adobe finally releasing Lightroom Classic for Apple Silicon Macs, This could enable me to move off my 2017 21.5” Intel Mac for once. The prospect of Lightroom catalogs and data migration is not enchanting though. There the issues of plugins migration too. Is it time for me to go all-in cloud with Lightroom CC only? Not sure it is the right time either.

    I have a few incentives for selling my iMac: one being to help me finance a shiny new 2021 12.9” iPad Pro with 1 TB of RAM. This could serve as my iPadOS 15 test bed for the second half of summer. I still have quite some time to think about all this as these devices are back-ordered for at least the second half of July.

    You thoughts?

    → 11:33 AM, Jun 8
  • iPadOS 15 to limit certain features to iPad Pro? (#apple #ipados15 #wwdc21)

    If Apple ups the game with iPadOS 15 (background tasks, better multitasking, external monitor support, etc.), we could see a situation where iPadOS crawls on lower or mid-range iPad while working like a breeze on the iPad Pro. Could Apple limit certain features to the high end only? Quite possibly. Your thoughts?

    → 1:37 PM, Jun 6
  • Popup Menus — Comments About This Relic of iOS 3 — Could There Be A Better Design? (#apple #wwdc21 #ipadOS15 #ios15)

    Consider the previous screenshot showing the popup menu when selecting a word in a document. This menu hasn’t been touched since iOS 3, if I remember correctly. Tomorrow, as we are about to get a peek at iPadOS 15 and iOS 15, I’m wondering if there are better ways to display such a menu. Consider a few design problems and possible improvements.

    This menu doesn’t scale well; it isn’t exactly elegant. In some situations, we have to scroll through its options which is not always obvious and is tricky to do with the finger without selecting the option at touch and scroll time. Also, this design involves too much finder travel to my taste; I would prefer a more condensed version. The design is flat and doesn’t allow for hierarchical grouping of options which could help is situations where many options are available. The design is flat and is not as distinctive as it could be. Adding some depth, contour line would help.

    Do you have any suggestions on how Apple could improve on this?

    → 1:12 PM, Jun 6
  • Count me OUT then - Twitter Blue #twitterblue

    Here is why I won’t subscribe anytime soon (another reason on top of many, btw):

    But what is interesting is one thing that you won’t get with Twitter Blue: an ad-free experience. Advertising is still the biggest chunk of Twitter’s revenue, and they’re not going to replace that with direct subscriptions anytime soon. Source: Twitter Blue subscription launches in Australia, Canada – Six Colors

    Paying to be a beta-tester and give feedback? Can you imagine paying to get beta releases of Apple’s OSes? No way.

    → 11:02 AM, Jun 3
  • Certainly a massive leak... (#apple #iphone13)

    This CAD view of the iPhone 13 shows a bigger than usual camera assembly on the front of the iPhone. It’s massive. Not sure what to make out of this leak. Good news for photography enthusiasts?

    → 4:31 PM, Jun 2
  • One WWDC wish: bring back that loupe! (#apple #wwdc #wwdc21)

    Don’t you find it weird and contradictory to see Apple investing so much in accessibility features at the operating system level yet they thought it was a good idea to remove the loupe in text selection interactions? Is this a typical “one team not talking to the other”? Please, Apple, bring back the loop in iOS 15. Thanks.

    → 6:06 AM, Jun 2
  • Time to move off Google Photos I guess (#photography #googlephotos)

    Time is running out to those using and depending on Google Photos for their online photo library storage needs. The free tier is now capped at 15GB for new stuff added. That’s small. Why not consider moving to iCloud Photo Library if you are already invested into Apple ecosystem? And, if privacy protection is something you care about, now is the best time to switch.

    → 4:17 PM, May 31
  • About those digital attention seekers ... GTFO (#socialnetworks)

    I hate it when people subscribe to my stuff, to my blog, my newsletters, or whatever, just to grab my attention and wish that I’ll follow them back. That is not the way I operate or think. I’m looking for real content, enlightenment, creativity, singularity. I rarely follow back someone unless they meet what I’m looking for online. Just saying.

    → 4:40 PM, May 28
  • Here is a free pro-tip for content creators (#writing #author #protip #tip)

    An easy way to differentiate yourself from the crowd is to persevere with your journey of publishing your stuff out there. There are countless authors who started something only to stop after a while. Be the one who continue and keep it going. Regularity and continuity are key factors to build your online presence. I guarantee you that people will come and stick around if you meet these goals.

    → 4:24 PM, May 28
  • A new home for my best photos (#photography #visualarts #creativity)

    I’ve been more silent than usual in recent days. That’s because I was busy building up my new home for posting online my best photos. I’m also writing about my experience while doing so. As you wait for the whys and hows, here is a peek. Hope you enjoy.

    https://numericcitizen.smugmug.com/

    → 7:18 AM, May 27
  • Where iPadOS Current Multitasking Experience Falls Apart (#apple #iPadOS #ipados15)

    Multi-Tasking on the iPad is Actually Pretty Great - The Newsprint:

    Slide Over is genuinely convenient. Certain apps work better than others inside the Slide Over deck, and when they’re optimized, their convenience is unmatched. I keep a calculator app in Slide Over at all times, I keep an iteration of all messaging apps in Slide Over, and I like to keep an iteration of the Files app available at all times. These kinds of “in-and-out” apps are exceptional for Slide Over.

    At least one person really likes multitasking on iPadOS. The thing about the Slide over feature is that it requires setting it up. It doesn’t happen “just like that”. I rarely find the right app to use in the Slide over view… I need to “bring it in” and this is where the experience falls apart. This is where I want to see Apple improve things.

    → 9:02 AM, May 26
  • Let’s the iPhone Become Android (#apple #android #security #appstore)

    There is apparently no money to be done from having apps on Android; all money being on the iPhone side. So developers are asking for their share of revenues from Apple, by reducing their commission, urging Apple to open up the App Store, weakening the security model along the way, making the user experience worse, making iOS experience more like… Android… we have a full circle.

    → 10:19 AM, May 23
  • iPadOS is holding the iPad back (#apple #2021ipadpro #ipados)

    Daring Fireball: The 2021 M1 iPad Pros:

    The elephant in the room is iPadOS. It’s just not good enough. In the same way that Intel’s chips were holding back Macs, iPadOS has been holding back iPad Pros. With Intel chips, the hardware was holding back the Mac platform. With iPads, it’s the software holding the platform back. This hardware is indisputably amazing, and iPadOS is fine for casual use. But it still feels like I’m trying to do fine detail work while wearing oven mitts for my day-to-day work.

    I like Gruber’s introduction in his review of the M1 iPad Pro. But his review echos other reviews. Nearly all M1 iPad Pro reviews that I have read note the same issue: iPadOS lacks maturity to sustain iPad Pro aspirations. Can’t wait for Apple’s WWDC in three weeks.

    → 11:47 AM, May 20
  • About These Apple Watch Series 7 Mockups (#apple #applewatch #series7)

    According to circulating rumours, the Apple Series 7 will go through a small redesign. The Series 4 introduced a bigger screen but the overall shape stayed the same. This time, a more boxy look is expected. I’m not sure that I like what I’m seeing here on this mock-up. To me, the Apple Watch would loses some of its iconic traits. If this boxy design allows for more internal space, hence probably more sensors or new features, better battery life, so be it.

    → 7:00 AM, May 20
  • About Those Tiny Release Notes (#apple)

    I wonder when Apple will fix the issue of tiny release notes, on the iPhone. I can’t remember since when the issue started, but it’s been a very long time. It’s all the details, Apple, all the details.

    → 5:35 AM, May 20
  • This is so Clever (#apple #applewatch #watchOS8)

    To support users with limited mobility, Apple is introducing a revolutionary new accessibility feature for Apple Watch. AssistiveTouch for watchOS allows users with upper body limb differences to enjoy the benefits of Apple Watch without ever having to touch the display or controls.

    Source: Apple previews powerful software updates designed for people with disabilities - Apple

    The demo on Apple’s Newsroom website is really impressive. Surprisingly, it looks like the feature will work on recent Apple Watch generations (Series 4 and up).

    One question: why announce these initiatives now? We’re 17 days away from WWDC. Looks like WWDC will have more room to announce even more exciting stuff. 😀

    Another question: if you look at the following screenshot taken from today’s announcement, we can see that table cells are narrower than what we have on iOS 14. Is this a first glimpse of what is coming in iOS 15? I certainly hope so because it looks much better, friendlier. It reminds me of the pre-iOS 7 era.

    → 5:30 AM, May 20
  • Keep it Simple, Apple, will ya? (#apple #m1chip)

    For the new MacBook Pros, Apple is planning two different chips, codenamed Jade C-Chop and Jade C-Die: both include eight high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores for a total of 10, but will be offered in either 16 or 32 graphics core variations.

    Source: Apple (AAPL) Readies MacBook Pro, MacBook Air Revamps With Faster Chips - Bloomberg(https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-18/apple-readies-macbook-pro-macbook-air-revamps-with-faster-chips)

    The “one chip SKU to rule them all” won’t last forever it seems. Apple will take advantage of its ability to decide what goes in its chips to help differentiate each models within the same product line. We already witness this with the 7-core vs 8-core variant of the M1 chip in the 2021 iMac, but this variability will increase over time. My hope is that Apple doesn’t try to hard to be greedy with this strategy and keep the product’s differentiation simple to grasp.

    → 6:30 AM, May 19
  • About Apple’s Flaky Bluetooth Devices (#apple #imac2021)

    The keyboard flaked out on me once. I wanted to spend time testing the Touch ID button, so I moved an application to the Trash, which requires authentication. That worked. Then I tried to move the app back to the Applications folder, and … Touch ID just didn’t work. After 30 seconds of trying, I realized the whole keyboard just wasn’t working. I turned the keyboard off and on again, and boom, everything has been normal since — including Touch ID recognizing my finger very quickly.

    Source: Daring Fireball: The 24-Inch M1 iMac(https://daringfireball.net/2021/05/the_24_inch_m1_imac)

    Ah, ah, another moment of Apple’s Bluetooth device not working as expected. Since I got my 2017 21.5” iMac, I’ve experienced unstable Bluetooth connectivity with Apple’s mouse and keyboard. I don’t know when it started, if it’s related to a certain release of macOS, but it is happening all the time. The worst part is the mouse being jerky while moving on the screen. Bluetooth’s instabilities also impact my AirPods usage with the Mac. My AirPods simply drops from receiving the Mac audio while in Zoom meetings. It is infuriating. Eventually, I need to reboot the Mac to reset the Bluetooth stack.

    When I got the M1 Mac mini, I thought Bluetooth connectivity issues would be a thing of the past. I couldn’t be more wrong. It was worst. The mouse and the keyboard are both having instabilities. They need to be turned off and on to temporarily fix the problem, but eventually the Mac needs a full reboot. Again, this is exasperating. It is a well documented issue which macOS 11.1 and 11.2 tried to fix but the problems still happen, albeit a bit less often.

    There is something wrong with Apple’s Bluetooth implementation in general. Is it the driver, the firmware, the chip, a combination of these that is at fault? I don’t know but the fact that this shiny new iMac with the wireless keyboard with TouchID stops working like Gruber experienced is not a good sign.

    → 6:13 AM, May 19
  • About This White Bezel (#apple #imac2021)

    I know a lot of people are concerned that the white bezel surrounding the display will be distracting. In practice, I found that it just disappears. If there can be such a thing as a muted white — a white that most certainly looks white, not light gray, but yet not white white, this white is that white. I didn’t need time to get used to it

    Source: Daring Fireball: The 24-Inch M1 iMac(https://daringfireball.net/2021/05/the_24_inch_m1_imac)

    There is a lot of talk regarding the white bezel of the new iMac. I still don’t know what to think about them. They make it look like if there was a white masking tape all around the display. But the thing is, considering the fact that Apple’s macOS overall user interface is so “white-ish” in general, this should help make the bezel kind of disappear in reality and just be an extension of the user interface.

    → 5:55 AM, May 19
  • Xcode for iPad — Who’s asking for this? (#apple #iosdev #developers #wwdc2021)

    The iPad is a mighty device considering its form-factor. Many people are asking for Apple to make Xcode available for the iPad. I wonder: who are asking for this? Are they serious developers or just hobbyists? I would find it surprising if it was the former because there can be so many tools besides Xcode that is needed I order to build an app, and not all those things are available on the iPad. Serious developers would need to bring in a Mac to complete the development picture. If this is the hobbyists, does it even matter?

    Would it be the full version of Xcode or a diminutive version? If it is the latter, what kind of apps would it be able to create, and what are the others it wouldn’t? Would it be Swift-only with SwiftUI? If that’s the case, are we in the “tech proof of concept” territory or if it is a viable path going forward? What would iPadOS 15 need to make Xcode for iPad a viable solution? Better file management? External monitor support? A link to a Mac for certain tasks and features? Is the 12.9” iPad Pro the only supported device or is the 11” version be supported too?

    If you are a developer reading this post, would you use Xcode for iPad to build your apps if Apple made it available?

    → 6:26 AM, May 17
  • Can't wait for reviews (#apple (ipadpro2021)

    Can’t wait for Apple’s embargo to be lifted this week so we can get a better appreciation of the 12.0" 2021 iPad Pro. Some people got their device, early. I’ll never be able to get an XDR display from Apple, but the one that within an iPad, seems a bargain. The possibility of getting this device just increased a bit.

    → 4:19 PM, May 16
  • Only 17K Apps for the Apple Watch (#apple #applewatch #appstore #apps)

    (…) there are only 17k Watch apps: like Amazon’s Alexa, the Apple Watch is a huge success but has largely failed as an app platform. Source: Benedict Evans' takeaways from the first week of Epic vs. Apple | Philip Elmer‑DeWitt

    Only 17K apps for the Apple Watch?? Calling this a failure is a bit surprising. The Watch is a narrow platform compared to the iPhone, the iPad or the Mac. I don’t expect as many apps to be available for the Watch. This form-factor isn’t obviously suitable for a lot of applications categories. I think 17K apps is quite a lot actually because I don’t get a sense of it when I browse the App Store from the Apple Watch itself or from my iPhone. This is where Apple is failing: discovery of Watch apps is miserable, just like it is in general on Apple’s App Store.

    → 6:02 AM, May 14
  • Be careful for what you wish for (#apple #appstore #monopoly)

    Apple is under so much pressure on so many fronts these days. It is so fashionable to put pressure on them. The App Store is one big target. I’m getting tired of people wishing for changes that I don’t want to become reality. Sure Apple is far from perfect, yet, people should be careful for what they wish for. I decided to express my voice and started to write on the subject. It will be controversial, but it will be honest and true to my beliefs and wishes. I don’t really care if I’m right or wrong. I expect to publish my article just before WWDC. Stay tuned.

    → 7:22 AM, May 12
  • Apple, please, consider us like grown ups (#apple #ios15)

    On Apple’s Shortcuts notifications: I second this! Notifications are not needed for most of us and should be silenced in iOS 15. At least, provide an option to make it quieter. I like the idea of a status bar indicator, just like the localization services when they are trigerred.

    Apple Shortcuts Is Great, but It Needs a Notification Toggle - Initial Charge

    → 10:41 AM, May 10
  • 96%. (#asknottotrack #privacy #privacyprotection)

    I’m so proud of people right now: medias are reporting that 96% of them chose to protect their basic right for online privacy. I wasn’t expecting that many people to select the “Ask Not To Track” option. This is a game changer. This should serve as a clear message to businesses with business models essentially based on personal data mining and online profiling without user consent. Enough is enough. For those who are ok with hyper targeted ads, fine, but not at this cost. I salute Apple for moving forward with this feature in iOS 14.5. Coupled with services like NextDNS, I’m starting to see quite an improvement in my web surfing experience and being more at ease doing so.

    Those who selected “Allow” probably didn’t know what it was all about.

    → 6:53 AM, May 9
  • Where is Adobe Lightroom Classic for Apple Silicon? (#photography #adobe #lightroom)

    That’s a serious question. I mean, we do have Lightroom CC for M1 Macs… (performance is good but not stellar compared to Intel version. There’s still work to be done by Adobe to take performance further). The absence of the optimized Lightroom Classic version is troubling. What does it mean about Lr or even Adobe? Is Adobe relying too much on cross-platforms libraries or components that are much harder to re-compile for the M1 chip? I find this fascinating that such a big company is falling behind compared to much smaller players… I’m thinking about Pixelmator here.

    I’m waiting for this optimized version to complete my migration from Intel iMac to the M1 Mac mini.

    → 7:25 PM, May 5
  • On Apple's Night Shift (#apple #iphone)

    Surprisingly, Apple’s Night Shift does not help in any way to fall asleep, according to a study. Intuitively, I thought of the opposite. When Apple launched this feature, in 2016, they said it would help. It seems it’s not the case after all. Will they backtrack and remove the feature in a future version? I highly doubt it. Many people do like this feature (I do on the iPhone, I hate it on the Mac), others like @Gruber don’t. What I don’t like is when the feature is in action, opening Photos abruptly turn the visual effect off. The effect is brutal as the screen turns blueish and cold because of the contrasting mode. I would prefer a more gentle disabling of the feature.

    → 5:39 AM, May 5
  • What the hell is this? (#apple #appstore)

    One evidence taken out of the Epic vs Apple trial yesterday, the above email. This email from Mr. Schiller shows how unhappy he was with scam apps being #1 on the App Store. His numerous questions are expressing frustrations. He saw what we keep seeing all too often today, nine years later. So, where are the reviewers? What value are they adding to the user experience’s bottom line? Apple could strictly rely on machine-based curation only instead, but they prefer the added touch of human-based curation for the editorial content. Does it make a real difference? On the surface maybe. With the scale of the App Store, cracks are obviously possible, hence bas actors are taking advantage of them, to create scams one after another.

    Apple doesn’t look good because some of their arguments aren’t backed with proven and irrefutable facts. As a gatekeeper of the quality on the App Store, Apple is failing. Big time. From scams apps to badly designed ones, to never updated ones, beneath the front page surface, the App Store feels and look like a junkyard.

    → 5:35 AM, May 4
  • Found! (#apple #airtags)

    Got my four pack of AirTags. Unboxing is simple. Nice to hold and feel in the hands. Easily scratched. Setup is so Apple-esq. Love em! Keys. Backpack. Wallet. On for my wife. For her wallet. Obviously. Tested the Find My to locate my items. Works great. Will report back if I ever lose one of my things and find it back. For real. Can’t wait to use them for traveling.

    → 7:36 PM, May 3
  • My Apple Purchase Plans (#apple #airtag #mynext)

    It’s been a quiet week-end in term of content creation; I took a small break. As the week-end come to an end, I decided to spend some time in creating a web page using Craft. This web page is about my Apple purchase plans. It’s part of my Digital Garden. As you’ll see, my next Apple device is coming tomorrow: AirTags. I bought a four pack. Can’t wait to try these small wonders.

    Happy end of week-end.

    → 6:15 PM, May 2
  • Build it and they will come (#ipadpro #m1chip)

    The way I look at this upcoming M1 iPad Pro is, according to this interview with some Apple’s top brass, Apple thinks that, by building a powerful iPad (not referred as a tablet), developers will find a way to take advantage of it. Like the old saying: build it and they will come. Did Apple create performance headroom for themselves too, not just for third-party developers? Apple certainly wants some form of future proofing with this year’s iterative design. I’m still pondering the idea of buying such big iPad while keeping my “older” 2018 11” iPad Pro, it will depends of iPadOS 15.

    → 5:20 AM, Apr 29
  • Back to the 2005 Internet — Thanks to NextDNS (#notracking #nextdns)

    This is not an ad. I promise. I finally decided to enable NextDNS on all my devices and subscribed to their yearly plan after testing it on my iOS devices. The last configuration applied was on my M1 Mac mini. Oh boy, surfing the web feels like the internet back in the days. Places like CNN or iPhoneInCanada or MacRumors are now without any ads and are crazy fast to load. Now, I can see content without distraction. I feel that I’m back to the 2005 Internet. I feel that I’m winning, for once. Numeric life can be good, thanks to NextDNS.

    → 5:38 AM, Apr 28
  • Happy Apple Updates Day! (#apple #ios145 #notracking #stoptracking)

    To all my followers, have an successful Apple update day! This one has been long in coming! Don’t forget to disable app tracking as soon as you can. Best way to say “🖕🏻” to Facebook et al. Now turning to iOS 14.6 beta which seems to bring new devices support only (2021 iPad Pro).

    → 12:13 PM, Apr 26
  • About these iPadOS 15 rumours (#apple #rumours #ipados15)

    According to the infamous Bloomberg (remember the Big Hack story?), iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 will bring two much requested features. One is, for the iPhone presumably, is a redesigned Lock Screen. I’m in for that one. In fact, I would prefer a customizable Lock Screen, more than a redesign. But, the most interesting part is regarding the iPad. At long least, Apple is about to bring the full widgets experience on the iPad. YES! I do have high hopes for that one. Having full liberty on widgets placement on the iPad screen will be transformative. Even better if they support some form of minimal interactions with the applications behind them. Can’t wait for WWDC 21.

    → 3:01 PM, Apr 22
  • One of those days (#appleevent)

    This is one of those days where it will be hard to stay focused, thanks to the first Apple Event of 2021. I’ve got a pretty busy schedule at work, so I won’t be able to catch the live feed with full attention this time around. I know that all these notifications will spoil the show. Rumours and leaks already made a great job already, though. But, what if there is “one more thing”?

    Tonight, I’ll catch it all up, partially knowing most of the takeaways. It will be weird. Who likes to go see a movie knowing the story line in advance? I hate that. 😒

    → 6:53 AM, Apr 20
  • On Facebook’s pervasive destruction (#deletefacebook #stopmasssurveillance)

    Today I woke up with this idea of hating Facebook and everything they represents. For those who know me, this is nothing new. But today is one of those days where I despise Facebook more than ever.

    Let’s face it, again: Facebook has made massive data collection an ordinary thing. Facebook normalized global surveillance a mundane fact. Facebook is killing the pillars of democracy without fanfare. Facebook has turned most of us a beast feeders. Facebook gave voice to those who should have been silenced because of their toxic and extremist thoughts. Facebook is the source of social cancer.

    One day, we will wake up. I hope. 😔

    → 6:58 AM, Apr 19
  • HEY World slowly fading... but... (#thoughts #blogging)

    From time to time, I use the « HEY World Shuffle » URL to trigger the display of a randomly chosen HEY World user website. It’s funny as I never know what discovery I’ll make. I see a lot of users who made their first try of the service in its early days by sending random thoughts. The vast majority of users didn’t bother to continue but a few did, and there are a few gems to discover. I’m slowly building a list of HEY World bloggers, like a blog roll, by subscribing through RSS feeds. It is fun. That being said, the question is: was HEY World a fad? The jury is still out on that one. Yet, I see a lot of potential growth in features for this service. Will the owners care to make them happen?

    → 6:36 AM, Apr 18
  • iPhone is getting fatter and fatter (#apple #jonyive)

    iPhone is getting fatter and fatter (#apple #jonyive)

    Since Jony Ive left Apple, a few years ago, the iPhone design adopted an opposite trend of becoming fatter and fatter. It’s not a night and day difference but there is a trend. It is a welcomed one because this gives Apple more “room” to improve the cameras and the battery life. Speaking of the cameras, did you see the camera assembly protuberance on the CAD designs? It is getting bigger too, that I don’t like.

    → 6:58 AM, Apr 16
  • Thinking of the next iPad (#appleevent #apple #ipadpro)

    Tonight, using Craft, I’m writing my next piece for “Numeric Citizen I/O” on my 2018 11’’ iPad Pro with the Apple Magic Keyboard. I’m being this multitasking guy as I’m constantly switching between Craft, Soundcloud, Twitter, Safari, Ulysses, etc. Then, suddenly, my thoughts goes toward imagining what can Apple do to make me upgrade to the next iPad Pro.

    You see, my current setup is near perfect for my needs and my current use cases. I’m far from maximizing this iPad’s potential. So, ask me again, why should I upgrade to what’s coming next week? I cannot see anything. Maybe Apple has a few well hidden cards, just waiting to be played, one by one at next week’s virtual event. We shall see soon.

    → 7:48 PM, Apr 14
  • My Expectations for “Spring Loaded” Virtual Event (#apple (#appleevent #springloaded)

    At long last, Apple is calling the first virtual event of 2021 for next week. I have mixed up feelings about this one. AirTags, if they are real, aren’t game changer and really are complementary to anything Apple is doing these days.

    I wrote a few times that for the iPad, the next major step won’t come in the form of hardware upgrades but in software, with iPadOS 15. And this, happens every year on June at the WWDC conference. So, unless there is a last minute surprise from Apple’s updated iPad Pro, my attention will be for the next WWDC, not this spring event.

    Oh, about this rumoured iMac redesign, THIS I will be looking forward to it, but somehow, I think it is more a WWDC thing than anything else.

    → 1:15 PM, Apr 13
  • On Apple Arcades dubious Games quality (#apple #appstore #applearcades)

    Consider the following App Store screenshot of a recently introduced game in the Apple Arcades service.

    Reviews of this game are really bad because the game doesn’t load on people’s devices. Does Apple really test their stuff before putting them out? Tim Cook et al. brags all the time about being a mandatory gatekeeper for iPhone security and quality control with the App Store. In this illustrative case, and there are many others, Apple is failing big time to play his role. I just can’t understand why this shit is possible.

    → 9:13 AM, Apr 8
  • About those two icons (#apple #iOS15)

    New Apple Music icon design language?

    New App Store icon design language?

    I rarely comment on rumours from highly speculative reports, but this report from MacRumors is different:

    “The Apple Music for Artists app now features a simpler, streamlined icon with a pinkish red music logo rather than the multicolored logo that was used before. The icon also has an embossed look that makes it stand out from other Apple icons.”

    and

    “App Store Connect in October was updated with a refreshed icon that’s similar to the ‌Apple Music‌ for Artists icon, which means Apple has now updated two app icons with this new design.”

    The simple fact that two icons got updated with similar look at several months interval could signal a trend leading to the upcoming design update with iOS 15. I much prefer the right version of these icons, particularly the embossed design. This 3D effect adds some depth and dynamism to the design, and yes I like the fine line marking the icon boundaries.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if those two icons were part of an A/B testing program, within Apple. Second, what Apple has done with macOS Big Sur was only the beginning destined to encompass all platforms, in some form or another (icon design wise).

    → 4:54 PM, Apr 6
  • On Tim Cook’s interview by Kara Swisher (#apple #timcook #privacy)

    There is a lot to like in the recent Tim Cook’s interview with Kara Swisher (link to Podcast). It’s a must-listen. Here are a few observations and remarks.

    1. I love Tim Cook’s stance on issues like privacy protection. But at the same time, I have a hard time understanding how Apple can continue to sign a search deal with Google while advocating privacy protection. This is simply unsustainable and hard to defend if you ask me. I know… $$$. Yet… will they ever try to make their search engine or buy one like DuckDuckGo and kick Google out as the default search engine? That would be such a powerful message to send.
    2. Today, Apple under Tim Cook, has never been so well positioned to represent the best corporate defender of many of my core values: privacy protection, careful attention to details in design, openness to diversity, environment protection, sustainable development, great user experiences. Apple is not perfect, far from it. Yet, there is nothing like them these days.
    3. Tim Cook is candidly answering the question of where he sees himself in ten years from now. I wonder what are the plans for his or her successor? Does he and Apple’s upper management actively put as much thought into it as Steve Jobs did in his last few years at Apple? I wonder and I hope this is the case.
    4. This interview maybe seen as a bit self-serving, yet it is what it is. We, Apple’s customers like me, pay Apple to make calls on issues like encryption and privacy protection, environmental protection, etc. That’s the way I see my voting dollars anyway. As soon as I like most of their calls, I’ll be fine and be one of their customer. I dearly hope it stays that way because alternatives are scarce to say the least.
    5. Is Apple playing the same rules for ALL developers? I doubt it. Is Apple’s curation of the App Store perfect? Far from it: 80% of the stuff in there is pure junk.

    I think it is important to stay critical about Apple. We must keep them on their toes.

    → 11:43 AM, Apr 6
  • My trick to read more (#reading #writing #tips #tricks)

    In a word: Pocket. I’ve been rediscovering this application in recent days, and I’m loving it a lot. I no longer read articles within Safari or News Explorer. As soon as I think the article is interesting, I save it to Pocket and continue from there. The reading experience is simple and is frictionless. Being able to tag and highlight each article helps me organize and add value to my readings. Above all, Pocket will become a repository of all my past readings. The recommend feature creates some exposure for the authors. Each of my recommendation is accompanied by some text. I love it.

    You can have a look at my Pocket profile here. Enjoy.

    → 2:58 PM, Apr 4
  • Remembering... (#techmemories)

    Today, I’m remembering things like Turbo Pascal, TRS-80, ResEdit, 6502, LDA #$69, Inside Macintosh, Z-80, TI 99-4A, Logo, Commodore 64, Apple //c, ATZ modem command, eWorld, POKE 63280,0, COBOL 85, PDP-11, Choplifter, Broderbund, Multiplan, 4th Dimension, Sprites, Omni Database, Think Thank, Mac Draw, PageMaker.

    These are some of the most significant souvenirs of numeric artifacts of my past numeric life. What are yours?

    → 10:07 AM, Apr 4
  • It’s been a long time... (#apple #iphone12)

    Today, I have come to realize that, since its introduction, I didn’t see the iPhone 12 lineup in person. It’s the first time that I didn’t go to an Apple Store to see, manipulate and experience a new Apple product release. How big is the Max? How small is the mini? What about this new edge? The same goes for the Mac Pro.

    The pandemic has really put a dent in our lives in some unexpected ways, big and small. But, do I really miss something? After all, the iPhone 12 is the return of the beloved iPhone 5, which I owned. I guess I’ll have to wait for the iPhone 13 or whatever it is called.

    → 12:27 PM, Apr 3
  • Curiously Entering the World of DJing (#music #dj #mixing #electronicmusic)

    I’m no musicien. I know barely nothing about music theory. Yet, I always wanted to do some form of music. Synthesizer would be my instrument if I was to do music. Yet, I’ve been fascinated by music, especially electronic music since I was a teenager. I’m a big listener of techno and house music. Recently, I started to use my iPad while exercising on the treadmill to play video on YouTube of DJ doing mixes. This got me curious about the equipments and software DJs are relying on. I downloaded Algoriddim’s Djay app and stared to play with it on my iPad. I was really excited. I started to read more about the world of music mixing. So, I learned about DJ mixer, controllers, DJ software, music sources, digital record pools, file formats, MIDI, etc. Then, yesterday, unexpectedly, while visiting a music instruments store to see these equipments in person, I bought a Pioneer DDJ-400, a pair of small speakers, went home, enabled a trial of Djay Pro AI on my iPad Pro and started to plug all the pieces together. I feel like it’s Christmas time. Will see where it goes from here. Expect more details on my endeavour soon.

    → 8:40 AM, Apr 3
  • And so it begins (#apple #wwdc #wwdc21 #wwdc2021)

    Apple just kicked off the 2021 season of high expectations, endless wishes lists, criticism, betas, crashes, deception, no-show products, expected hardware refreshes, iPad deceptions, etc. Again, this year, it will be a digital-only version, thanks to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. I’m happy with that. As I wrote in the past, my hope is that this type of event stays digital. I’ve never been to a real WWDC so I don’t miss anything.

    Now, trying to read into WWDC’s announcement art: sure, there is this reference to last year’s Craig Federighi with its MacBook Air, but it is also clear to me that Apple is set to announce their AR Glasses. Yep. Remember, you read it here first guys. 😜

    → 9:04 AM, Mar 30
  • On Intel’s Tick Tock Strategy (#intel #apple #applesilicon)

    How funny is that? It seems Intel is applying its “tick-tock strategy” to its relationship with Apple. One week, Intel is slamming Apple’s M1 Macs with highly questionable ads featuring Justin Long, the week after Intel is luring Apple’s business to make their future processors.

    So obviously you’ve seen some of the competitive energies resume because there’s a lot of great innovation to be done, and we haven’t seen PC demand at this level for a decade and a half. The world needs more of that, and there is competitive fun going on with Apple and the Mac ecosystem” — Gelsinger

    I don’t know if this competitive landscape is fun like Gelsinger is mentioning, maybe we could ask Tim Cook?

    → 6:24 PM, Mar 24
  • Beyond the HomePod (#apple #homepod)

    AppleInsider:

    Apple needs to release new products to compete in the home. Be it an “Apple TV 6” or “HomeHub,” something needs to change the customer’s perspective in order to get traction in the space.

    The article fails to mention a feature a HomePod replacement could and should include: home networking. I wrote about this many times. Apple left home networking market at a time where it was transitioning to WIFI 6 and home automation really started to pick up pace, thanks to things like HomeKit.

    Mesh networking is something critical these days with the new work-from-home trend caused by the pandemic. Only Apple could create an easy to use networking product, à la Ubiquity or something like the AirPort product line. Speakers like the HomePod mini could evolve to be mesh extenders. I don’t really care if this product does have a screen or multiple mics. Sure it has to be HomeKit integrated. No, I don’T want it to be a successor to the Apple TV. Pricing would be too out of control. It has to be a separate product.

    Leaving the home networking space could be one of the worst Apple decision in recent years. We keep seeing the consequences of it now.

    Image credit: taken from AppleInsider’s article.

    → 5:51 AM, Mar 23
  • Fuck Facebook — Dear Parents RESIST ! (#facebook #masssurveillance)

    From BuzzFeed:

    Executives at Instagram are planning to build a version of the popular photo-sharing app that can be used by children under the age of 13, according to an internal company post obtained by BuzzFeed News.

    Sorry for the bad words, but this is beyond any shit ever spit out by Facebook. They literally scrap anything they touch: Instagram, WhatsApp, society. WTF are Facebook’s Instagram leadership thinking? I’m so tired of this shit! I’m utterly angry! Now, since those people can’t figure out reality, what’s good, what’s bad, this message is for parents: RESIST! You hold the destiny of your children, just say NO! Don’t allow your children on social networks. Period. Enough, already.

    → 7:01 PM, Mar 22
  • Is bloatware coming to iPhone? (#apple #iPhone #russia)

    According to 9to5Mac, users from Russia, upon setup of their brand-new iPhone:

    Apple users will see a dialog box upon initial setup of new devices that features web browsers, antivirus, messenger, email clients, and more to be installed by default. The list of apps is provided by the government.

    At first, I thought it was a bad decision from Apple, to allow this to happen. Bending to state laws from a country like Russia doesn’t look good. Who’s next? China? What about smartphone carriers?

    The headlines are scarier than the reality, though. Users will be able to uninstall those state-sponsored apps. Otherwise, it is easy to imagine many scenarios like the dreaded PC bloatware we had to endure in the nineties from Microsoft’s OEMs. Or even worse, what about state surveillance applications? How will Apple say no to those? Are PCs subject to the same requirements? If not, why?

    On the flip side, I can see some situations where apps could be suggested that would make sense, like contact tracing apps. It could have made a difference if we had this feature implemented before the pandemic. Another case is to suggest a government sponsored app that gives access to services sponsored by the government (immigration, finance, security, etc.). Finally, what are those apps that will make the list when setting up a new iPhone in Russia? I hope someone will share their experience once the law comes into effect.

    Photo credits: Steve Harvey on Unsplash

    → 7:12 AM, Mar 21
  • Something is Going with the iMac (#apple #imac #applesilicon)

    Current iMac design

    Well, rumours abound, changes to the Apple Store options for the iMac, the demise of the iMac Pro, something is really going on with the iMac line. As Apple is currently in the midst of their transition to a full Apple Silicon future for the Mac, we may find what’s coming next, sooner than later.

    I always loved the iMac because it is the most truthful version of the Mac original vision. I owned a 24” 2005 white iMac, then a 2007 aluminum version before my current 2017 iMac, on which I work on every weekday, for my day time work. I’m really looking forward for Apple to inject a new dose of design language in general, but especially for the iMac. The chin, the bezels, the rounded back all feel quite dated and tired. The ultimate form factor is to get a screen, nothing more. Think of it like a big iPad Pro on a svelte stand. The next design has to be iconic. It should differentiate itself from the current iPad Pro or the ProDisplay XDR. Apple’s industrial design team must enter new territories, they have to put a clear mark on Jony Ive’s era. Everything in Apple’s current Mac product lines look and feel like Jony Ive’s team work. We are due for a new beginning.

    Will this new machine come in April? I feel like Apple should use a more important event like WWDC or one of the fall keynote to release such a landmark product. Current movements on the Apple Store and recent discoveries in Apple’s latest beta software points to a sooner than later release. We shall see very soon, I guess.

    → 12:44 PM, Mar 20
  • On the upcoming iPad Pro update (#apple #rumour #ipadpro)

    IPad Pro with Magic Keyboard

    As reported by MacRumors:

    “Apple has tested ‌iPad‌ Pros with a Thunderbolt connector that would make them compatible with additional external monitors, hard drives, and peripherals, plus it brings faster data syncing speeds. Apple’s Mac machines have featured Thunderbolt technology for years now, but current ‌iPad Pro‌ and iPad Air models have standard USB-C ports.”

    Such an iPad feature has to come with much improved operating system support for external devices, like external monitors, which is currently very limited under iPadOS 14.4. Expect an iPadOS 14.5 surprise support (something along he line of mouse support with iPadOS 13.4 at around the same time last year) or iPad 15 with profound improvements compared to iPadOS 14 which was limited in new features.

    Personally, the key for a possible upgrade from my 2018 iPadPro lies in the software, not only the hardware. Also, rumours all points to the 12.9” iPad Pro, what about the 11”? I highly wish that Apple will make the 11”, just a smaller version of the 12.9” version.

    → 5:43 AM, Mar 18
  • Dear Justin — You’re So Funny (#apple #intel #ads #advertising)

    Honestly, I like these Intel ads with Justin Long. The one with the dongle, at the very end, is priceless. These ads are fun. Not as fun as the “originals”, though, but still. Intel hits the nerves. Intel is playing the Apple playbook, simple as that. It’s an interesting moment, a blip, in the advertising world. Nothing more. Will it make a difference? I doubt it.

    → 7:30 PM, Mar 17
  • RIP iMac Pro, HomePod (#apple #imacpro #homepod)

    What does the iMac Pro and the HomePod, two entirely different products, have in common? It’s not the fact that they are no longer being sold. The iMac Pro and the HomePod were created by Apple when they were caught off guard by market trends. In the case of the iMac Pro, Apple tried to answer pro users who were demanding a replacement to the aging trash can Mac Pro. Apple didn’t read the temperature room correctly. They acted urgently and responded with the wrong answer, the iMac Pro. The right answer would have been to fix the Mac Pro instead by creating another more modern version of the expandable Mac Pro, which they finally did later in 2019. The HomePod was created when Apple (finally) realized the smart speakers market was a thing. Apple misread the room temperature again with a high-end smart speaker which wasn’t that smart but sounded good. In such a market, pricing is everything.

    Apple is at its best when they create products they want to use for themselves, just like they did with the iPhone. The Apple Car is such a thing really exists), the AR glasses (if such a thing really exists) are a potential case of such products. The Apple Watch was also built on the same principles of the iPhone: something they really want to use themselves.

    I own two HomePod, paired together and two HomePod mini, placed in two different rooms. I love them all, but I prefer the mini for hard to explain reasons. It is sad to see the HomePro go. It could have played so differently.

    What’s the next Apple product to be killed? The iPod touch?

    Afterthought: what is Apple comes out with a new HomePod with an integrated wifi 6 router and maybe some storage, something along the line of the AirPort Extreme a few years ago? A new HomePod mini could also be released with wifi extender built-in. I would buy that in a heartbeat.

    Image credit: Basic Apple Guy. I love this guy’s blog.

    → 7:41 AM, Mar 14
  • Not one but two newsletters (#news)

    For those who didn’t know, I have two newsletters. One available from Substack available at https://numericcitizien.substack.com on a monthly basis and the other one entirely made with Mailbrew. On every Saturday morning, a newsletter is built using the RSS feeds of my blogs as a source to create a summary of all my publications in the last week. So, take a look at the latest issue of “Numeric Citizen Newsletter”. There are currently 30 subscribers to this newsletter.

    If you plan to subscribe to Mailbrew to build your own newsletter, please, do me a favour and consider using the affiliated link to do so.

    → 8:13 AM, Mar 13
  • Guilty of Digital Consumerism (#apps #services #workflow)

    Greg Morris on digital consumerism:

    The level of consumerism and marketing tricks being used to sell apps and services is growing over time. They all promise to fix that gap in your work life, just like adverts promise to fix the one in your love life, or improve your happiness, or whatever it is. It’s all lies.

    I cannot talk for others, but for me, when I’m jumping on another service or a new app, it’s because it offers a seizable improvement. Going from Notion to Craft is my latest example of such move. I’ll elaborate on this at length in a feature post in the very near future.

    I recently wrote “Are we digital nomads?” My answer is yes. It seems we cannot stay in one place for a very long time, looking for the new, the latest and greatest, all the time. We’re bored. This is what it is. Form takes over function. Or is it? Again, my blogger workflow is full of moving parts and I consider it is an ongoing experiment.

    → 8:08 PM, Mar 11
  • About those WebP images (#google #usertracking #nonstandard)

    WebP image format goal, according to Google:

    WebP is a modern image format that provides superior lossless and lossy compression for images on the web. Using WebP, webmasters and web developers can create smaller, richer images that make the web faster. WebP lossless images are 26% smaller in size compared to PNGs. WebP lossy images are 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEG images at equivalent SSIM quality index.

    I’ve seen more and more WebP images in recent months when I try to download an image from Safari. It’s frustrating. It’s not a standard. Making the web load faster so tracking scripts can run more easily, that the reason behind all those “initiatives” from Google. WebP is a terrible idea. AMP pages was a terrible idea. And FLOC is a terrible idea. Google is full of terrible ideas. Even for searching, Google is bad. Boy, I hate Google.

    I’ve been using WebP Converter recently.

    → 7:18 AM, Mar 7
  • HEY World, it's now official! (#hey #heyworld #blogging)

    They flipped the switch to ON. HEY World is LIVE! I’m so glad, curious and already excited to use this other channel to share my written content with the world. I’m already thinking about my first post on this new platform. Furthermore, I think this addition brings even more value to an already useful service, on which I depend every single day. Recently, I asked: How many websites can a blogger have? Well, as soon as a newcomer doesn’t add too much friction when publishing content, it’s ok to have many. HEY World seems to be such a service. Count me in.

    → 2:49 PM, Mar 4
  • On Spoonbill (#twitter #mailbrew)

    I recently published a long piece about transforming your Twitter experience by using Twitter lists instead of following a bunch of accounts. As noted in the article, one side effect of this approach is that services that look for your Twitter account’s list of people you follow won’t really work. That’s the case for a new service called “Spoonbill”.

    Keep updated on your friends' and family members' bios, websites, locations, and names.

    Spoonbill will send you a summary of changes that occurred on Twitter’s bio of people you follow. I wonder if this service can be tweaked to use Twitter’s lists instead. What about Mailbrew, maybe they could come up with a similar feature, which would be really cool.

    In the meantime, I’m not coming back to following two thousands people.

    → 6:42 AM, Mar 4
  • On iCloud Photo Library migration (#keyword)

    In a surprising move, Apple starting today allows people to export their iCloud Photo Library to Google Photos. Why not provide a download to a local computer, outside the Photos app. I can see many use cases for doing so: backup purposes or simply to dump photos in a structure of directories for archiving purposes.

    → 8:12 PM, Mar 3
  • Bye Bye Weather Line (#weather #weatherapps #iOS #iosdev)

    Breaking news from 9To5Mac, but official announcement here:

    In recent months, we were approached by a buyer. They saw the uniqueness of Weather Line and the strong foundation we’ve built. While we aren’t able to provide further details on their future plans for the app, we hope you can understand, and will look forward to it.

    I’m kind of in shock right now. I recently posted an article about my “go-to” weather applications. Weather Line wasn’t part of the line up, but I did have it installed on my iPhone, and I’m currently a paying subscriber. Too bad to see the application go. But, why? The same happened to Spend Stack recently.

    What’s going on? How many developers invoked paid subscription model as being the only road to sustainability? Does it work or not? Is this the start of a new trend? There is something going on here.

    When, as users, invest money and time in using applications or service, the last thing we want is to see our beloved apps go like this. I’m currently heavily investing in Craft (coming from Notion). What if the same happens to Craft?

    → 4:53 PM, Mar 1
  • Dear Google, this time you win (#google #YouTube)

    This shouldn’t be this way. Thanks to the numerous ads, my YouTube experience was a calculated nightmare. As my usage grew in the last few weeks because of my daytime job, my time on YouTube felt light a nightmare with no end. I decided to put an end to all this by subscribing to YouTube Premium. I feel in full contradiction to my values.

    YouTube Premium so much better. But it shouldn’t be this way. Yet, it is. I feel that I’m sleeping with the enemy. Tell me that it is ok, will you?

    → 1:49 PM, Mar 1
  • The state of non-optimized apps on my M1-Mac mini (#m1chip #applesilicon #universal)

    Here is the current state of yet to be updated apps to fully support Apple Silicon Macs. It’s been close to six months now and yet, those apps aren’t yet universal. Surprising to see things like 1Password 7 still not there yet. Notion, an Electron-based app, not surprising. The Mac client for HEY hasn’t been updated for a while. Many of those apps are subscription-based, a model toward development sustainability. Can we say they are failing to meet their obligations, now?

    → 6:49 AM, Mar 1
  • Apple’s impressive traction (#apple #ios14 #ipados14)

    Two very telling graphs from Apple’s development portal:

    A few takeouts. First, iOS 13 is close to become a bad souvenir. Second, people keeping their iPad longer, it is reflected in the percentage of people still using devices with iPadOS prior to version 13.

    → 7:51 PM, Feb 28
  • Quick Poll on Writing During the Pandemic (#blogger #writer #poll)

    Today, I would like to do a quick poll among my blogger / writer friends here on Micro.blog. How did the pandemic influence your writing habits? Do you write more? Less? What could be the reasons behind the change of habit?

    To help you out and start the thread, I’ll answer to my own poll. The pandemic brought me closer to be what we call “a writer”. I write a lot more. I do put more efforts into each piece. I use more tools to help me. My research goes deeper. I have many pieces in the works, all the time. I spend around 5-10 hours for writing each week.

    Now, why do I write more? Because there is less noise in my life in general, thanks to the restrictions (no travels, curfew, work from home: no commute). This “silence” created a pool of free time. My creativity took over. So, I write. And I love it.

    Tell me your story? Let’s discuss.

    → 7:24 AM, Feb 28
  • I Tested HEY World! (#hey #heyworld)

    Today, I tested HEY World. This is my non-review. It could have worked great, but it’s not ready yet. One could say “Nice try, buddy”.

    I love their response to my test message. One thing stands out from their response, though:

    “For now, HEY World is just an experiment. …

    “Assuming there’s demand, we’ll begin opening it up for more people soon. And then, hopefully, for all HEY for You customers. Personal blogs will finally be as easy as sending an email.”

    It seems to me that they are on the fence. They already have their tag line. They keep the door wide open. Could it be closer than we think or want to say it?

    Now, what I’d like to see is how many emails like mine they get each day and what are they saying?

    If they actually turn the switch on, count me in. I’ll find a use of it. For sure.

    → 6:58 PM, Feb 25
  • Ghost’s Killer Feature (#ghost #blogging)

    After reading “Ghost on the iPad, a Review” from Tablet Habit, I tried to remember my experience when I tried the service myself. It wasn’t a good one for the thing I wanted to do with it: create a photography-oriented blog.

    In recent days, it seems that the “Ghost” name is gaining traction in the blogging arena. I have to wonder if Ghost is better at this than what I experienced for photography. I don’t think I’ll try it again, but I think they do have one killer feature that other platforms don’t have: the combination of a blogging platform and a newsletter publishing tool. They really look to be well integrated.

    One could argue that the difference between blogging or sending a newsletter is small (Think of HEY, World). I could easily agree. But sometimes, the actual implementation of the integration between those two features can make a real difference.

    I’m currently using Substack for my monthly newsletter (Numeric Citizen Introspection Newsletter) and WordPress as well as Micro.blog more my blogging needs. Sometimes, I do wish there would be less friction when I’m publishing my work. A single platform doing all of this in a basic manner would be certainly very enticing.

    → 6:36 PM, Feb 25
  • How many websites can a blogger have? (#blogger #blogging #bloggerlife)

    How many websites a blogger can have? Good question. I do have (too?) many, each filling their own niche. On that subject, something caught my attention yesterday in the public announcement of HEY’s experiment: “Hello, World!”. Jason Fried explaining why he never had a blog:

    “It was primarily because setting up a personal blog was just too much of a hassle. It felt formal, it required yet another tool, yet another place to write, yet another platform to pay for just one feature. I had to pick a template, I had to think up a name, I had to make the relationship official.”

    Sure, setting up a blog can be a hassle. For me, it is some kind of challenge and an exercise in creativity. This brings me to something I want to share with you. I’ve been working on something new in the last few days. I’m very excited about it. I started a “metablog”. Yes, another place to publish content. What is it? Well, it is a blog about blogging.

    Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about the word “meta”:

    Any subject can be said to have a metatheory, a theoretical consideration of its properties, such as its foundations, methods, form and utility, on a higher level of abstraction. In linguistics, a grammar is considered as being expressed in a metalanguage, language operating on a higher level to describe properties of the plain language (and not itself).

    Why do I feel the need to create yet another numeric space? Well, I believe in focused channels in general. I wanted a dedicated space for writing about being a blogger, using tools and services to put things together and out to the world. In other words, it is more about the “how” than anything else. I believe people like to get a look behind the curtain. I certainly do. So, I created this space where I’ll post my updates to my blogger workflow, in more detail.

    So, there you have it: Numeric Citizen I/O. You’ll be able to comment on each individual post (I’m using Commento, a privacy-friendly commenting service.). I dearly encourage you to engage in discussion, ask questions or leave your comments. Thanks for visiting!

    → 7:02 AM, Feb 25
  • Happy birthday, Steve. (#apple #stevejobs #remembering)

    Steve would have been 66 years old today. Even if I love what Apple has become over the years since he died, I miss him dearly. What a great picture of him. It is nice to see Apple and Tim Cook paying a small tribute each year.

    → 5:09 PM, Feb 24
  • Hey, World (#hey #newsletters)

    Each day, it seems there is always something new happening in the world of newsletters. When it’s not someone famous who joins Substack, a company out of nowhere offers a brilliant idea built around supporting newsletters in one way or the other. I’m thinking of Hey in particular.

    “Email is the internet’s oldest instant self-publishing platform. Except you have to define a small audience every time you write. But what if you didn’t? What if you could just email the web to reach the world? Introducing the HEY World experiment” - Jason Fried from HEY

    Yesterday, the company behind the popular HEY email client tentatively announced a new service for their customers. The idea behind is to allow any HEY users to create newsletters and publish them just by sending them to world@hey.com. The service would then post these newsletters on the web, complete with the author’s name. A simple static page, no tracking, no nothing more. I call this: simply brilliant.

    The service is not currently available, only in some form of alpha-stage for internal use only. They announced it to read the room and see if there is some interest in something like this that could become some soft of hyper-distributed publishing platform.

    I’m personally interested in this kind of service simply because it removes friction in the publishing process. What could be simpler than just writing the newsletter like we do with emails and then hit “send”!? Simply brilliant. For the reader, they can subscribe by email or by using the available RSS feed.

    You can read the announcement here. I like the simplicity of this implementation. Very clean. Very lean. I’m in love. Too bad this isn’t available — yet.

    → 5:43 PM, Feb 23
  • What’s next for the iPad Pro? (#apple #ipadpro)

    9to5Mac published a nice comparison between the iPad Air and the 2020 iPad Pro. The latter still hold the crown with its 120Hz ProMotion display and LiDAR. Rumours are pointing to an update for the Pro line in March. The question that comes to my mind is: what’s missing from the iPad Pro, from the hardware point of view? I mean, speed, screen, form factor are just close to “perfect”. The main challenge for the iPad line is on the software side. To me, iPadOS 15 and Apple willingness to cross boundaries can’t come soon enough. Better multitasking and external screen support would really help fix long standing issues with the iPad.

    → 9:25 PM, Feb 22
  • HEY, Hey just got updated (#hey)

    My go-to email client got an update today. Hey version 1.2 brings a few tweaks in the compose mode. In recent weeks, updates are more frequent as they finally delivered support for corporate email. Now, the other thing I’d like to see is a collapsible view in the feed view. I don’t see how pinch-to-zoom can be added without implementing the opposite to bring a collapsed view.

    → 8:56 PM, Feb 22
  • Crafting something with Craft (#craft #rumours #apple)

    In my quest to better understand the full potential of note taking application « Craft », I’ve come up to something different, a website about Apple’s related rumours. You can hit this link to have a look. You can leave comments, no registration required. Enjoy.

    → 7:53 PM, Feb 21
  • Are we digital nomads? (#blogging #internet)

    In the last few months, on Twitter and on Micro.blog, I’ve been witnessing something that takes the shape of a small phenomenon: people are moving from one place to another in the digital space. Many are writing about their experience of moving from one hosting site to another. Some are leaving WordPress to return to Ghost. Others are proudly putting together their hosting solutions. The same happens in the newsletters hosting space: people are leaving Mailchimp to go to Substack or Revue. People are looking to get better return on their investment both in time and money. Others are simply trying to optimize their blogging workflow. There is a myriad of reasons why people decide to leave a place for another one.

    I find these numeric movements quite fascinating. Are you one of those guys?

    → 4:33 PM, Feb 21
  • Learning Blot.im the hard way (#blot #selfhosting)

    So I started another experiment involving Blot.im. For those who don’t know Blot.im, it is a static web site generator that seems popular among the crowd here. On paper, the process of publishing is very simple: you drag and drop files on a specific folder on your computer and they get instantly published on the web. Sound great, right? That’s what I thought.

    My goal with Blot.im is to do some “meta blogging”; a place where I could write about the tools, services and my blogger workflow. So I registered a new domain with GoDaddy: numericcitizen.io. Then, I opened my Blot.im account and stated experimenting. The initial setup is pretty simple. And then challenges pretty quickly started to emerge.

    First, I wanted my new domain to point my Blot.im domain. Tried to follow the Blot.im instructions to make it work but all attempts failed. GoDaddy doesn’t support ALIAS DNS records as Blot.im ask me to create. I asked for help from Blot.im support. Still a work in progress.

    Second, I chose to use Git as the “client” to push content on the service because I don’t want to use Dropbox, a service I despise. By using Git, I need a Git client on my Mac. I’m tentatively settled on Nova. So far so good. After cloning the Git repo from Blot.im to my local machine, I can then use Ulysses to write my posts and push them with Nova. The workflow is very geeky: create .MD file in Ulysses, “commit” within Nova then hit “push” to publish. Not as seamless as I would like. But here another issue: inserting images with a Markdown file is not as easy as it seems. Again, trying to figure out instructions on Blot.im site doesn’t work. The other thing is that if you drop an image within a folder, it will trigger Blot.im to create its own blog post, something that I don’t want. Not cool. Again, I’m asking support to help me here with this supposedly trivial task.

    Third, I would like to use Github as the source of truth. Setting up a new repo is simple and cloning it to my local machine too. But, now, how do I make Blot.im to use the Github repo as the source of content? Again, trying to figure out Blot.im instructions but failing to make it work. Still trying to figure that out.

    Fourth, tweaking the visual appearance is not as easy as I would have liked. There is a theme editor and I still need to be pretty knowledgeable in HTML and CSS. I did fork one of the theme to make it mine and started to do some tweak but it is a painful trial-and-error process.

    All in all, I’m far from positive about Blot.im right now. I spent way too much time on these issues. I’m not sure where this is all going. If you are using Blot.im, please, do me a favour and chime in!

    → 8:13 AM, Feb 21
  • Testing, testing, 1.2.3. (#webmention #indieweb #openweb)

    I’m still new to the Indieweb world. Today, I’m learning about webmentions. I like the idea of linking reactions back to the origin. So, after enabling a plugin on my main blog, I’m trying to link back to one of my recent post and see what happens. One day, I wrote “The Journey is the Reward”. I don’t post personal things very often. Thanks for your feedback.

    → 8:28 AM, Feb 20
  • Love and hate (#microblog)

    I’m in love with Micro.blog. It’s simple, not too busy. Based on open web standards. But today, I’m a bit frustrated with the bad sad of being too simple. My most important grievance is the lack of design flexibility. Built-in themes are too basics and unappealing. You have to be a HTML and CSS expert to try to figure out how to make simple tweaks. This frustration is behind my recent desire to look elsewhere for hosting the whole thing. I’m willing to invest quite a bit of my time to gin control of the appearance of my online presence. I’m patient. The guys behind Micro.blog are working on the next features and I hope they will address some of my complaints.

    → 7:09 AM, Feb 19
  • Looking behind the scene. (#blogging #Hugo #html #git #github)

    It all started with the idea of tweaking my micro.blog visual theme. I don’t like it, but this is the best that I could find from the included themes. After reading for a while and seeing people writing about their blogger workflow, I found out that Micro.blog is using Hugo, a static website generator. Then I started to learn about Hugo by searching for introduction videos on YouTube. Then, I learned about Hugo themes and how they are constructed, and at the center of how a website is displayed. Since static websites need a place to be stored, GIT and Github came into the picture. So, I started to read about GIT and Github. Git and Hugo both can be installed on my Mac mini to locally create content and generate a microblog from that. It a great experimentation place to learn and dig a bit deeper. Github is also a place to find new Hugo-based visual themes. Then I learned that I can import one of those themes on my machine so can change the visual appearance of my local Hugo microblog. Then, came the idea of publishing this content on the web, on Github, for free. To close the loop, services are available to take Github content and generate a static website, again using Hugo, behind a domain name of my choice. Then came the question: why do I need Microblog then? I could own the whole widget! It’s not that simple.

    All this because I’m not satisfied with my current Micro.blog visual appearance. The next step is to dig within Micro.blog custom templates and see how I can update them. I’ll have to refresh my memory about HTML and learn a bit of CSS. The latter seems a bit an arid subject. Oh well.

    → 7:22 AM, Feb 18
  • Dear Micro.blog, where do you plan to go next? (#microblogging #microblog)

    Thought of the day for @manton and @jean: there is something that could be improved regarding micro.blog: opening up the evolution and improvement roadmap of the platform. I do appreciate when a service do put out their roadmaps so the community get a better look at where things will be going in the future. Mailbrew, Plausible and Craft are very vocal about their future plans, you just have to find the place where they talk about it.

    So, where is Micro.blog heading? In particular, how do you plan to expand on themes support and customizability? Why the web editor doesn’t allow support for Grammarly? Do you plan an opt-in option to see how many followers a user have? Those are just a few questions that I have regarding Micro.blog future plans. Thanks in advance.

    → 7:17 AM, Feb 17
  • Welcome back to the Mac computer club @mattbirchler (#apple #macbookair #applesilicon)

    As much as you can like to work on the iPad, there are edge cases where the iPad falls short. Since I got an Apple Silicon powered Mac, and thanks to many nifty Mac utilities, I rediscovered what it really means to be productive and efficient on a computer platform. This blog post by Matt Birchler is an example of an edge case being better served by a traditional yet powerful computer.

    On the subject of small and focused Mac productivity utilities, The list of application purchases I made since moving to this Mac mini is pretty long. Here it goes, in no particular order.

    • HazeOver
    • Unclutter
    • Keysmith
    • Bartender 4
    • DefaultFolder
    • Hush
    • StopTheMaddness
    • Alfred
    • Hazel
    • CheatSheet
    • PopClip
    • Downie
    • Permute
    • SafariMarkdownLinker

    There is something those utilities have in common: in one way or another, they augment the macOS experience. Such things are not quite possible, yet, on the iPad.

    → 7:03 AM, Feb 17
  • This could be my next... (#iphone #apple #rumors)

    As reported by MacRumors, the next major revision of the iPhone looks promising for me:

    “Weinbach claims that the always-on display will look like a “toned down Lock screen,” where the clock and battery charge are always visible, and past notifications are shown through “a bar and icons.” When users receive a notification, the notification will “pop up normally except that the screen will not entirely light up.” Instead, “it will display it just like you’re used to right now, except dimmed down and only temporarily,” according to the leaker.”

    An always-on display is on top of my wish list. How would Apple take advantage of this, at iOS level, is more interesting. Then comes the return of the Touch-ID. I would love to see go in the power button. A smaller notch? What notch?

    As shown above, 9to5Mac ran a poll where more than 7000 people chose what feature are the most interesting to them. The return of Touch ID was #1 request at the time of casting my vote. Does COVID-19 have something to do with it?

    Last year I skipped iPhone 12. This year, with iPhone 13, things could be different.

    → 9:15 PM, Feb 15
  • Two simple yet really useful tricks using HomePod mini (#apple #homepodmini #ios144)

    Here are two simple but very useful tricks using an iPhone with a U1 chip, iOS 14.4 and an HomePod mini.

    Trick #1: set a timer with Siri on your HomePod mini to, let’s say, 10 minutes. Then, bring your iPhone close to the HomePod mini, the iPhone will show how much time is left on the timer (make sure the iPhone screen is on).

    Trick #2: let’s say music is playing on your HomePod mini, and that you want to, silently, see what’s playing. Again, bring your iPhone close to the HomePod mini, the iPhone will show the currently playing title.

    What a great example of: the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. This is Apple at it’s best.

    → 7:50 PM, Feb 14
  • Bye Bye Spend Stack - I barely knew you (#apps)

    Spend Stack Screen Shots

    It is a bit of a sad day: I decided to delete the excellent expense tracking app Spend Stack from my devices and revert to using a simple Numbers spreadsheet to track my subscriptions. Why did I delete this app?

    First, the developer sold the app to somebody else. Since last September, no more updates. Second, there is no clear roadmap announcements by the new owner. Nothing. I can’t rely on ephemeral applications even for simple things.

    Sadly, this is something that happens all the time these days. Some developers are building great stuff but on the wrong business model. Others are just finding new priorities in their life which have side effects on their personal development projects.

    I’m back to Apple’s Numbers and a simple spreadsheet. Sometimes, the best is still in the most basic form and function.

    → 3:10 PM, Feb 14
  • Who remember Motorola 68000 Assembly? I do. (#apple #history #macintosh)

    I dug out my ancient Inside Macintosh reference books from storage. Remember when Apple’s developer documentation came as paper books? Volumes I-III on the original Mac APIs, IV on Mac Plus, V on color Macs, and the truly massive volume VI on System 7. 📚

    Inside Macintosh reference books

    Inside Macintosh reference books

    Inside Macintosh reference books

    Inside Macintosh reference books

    Inside Macintosh reference books

    David Sinclair https://dejus.com/2020/12/21/0927/
    I did some 68000 assembly using my 512Ke Mac back in the days. Can't remember what was the development environment, though. And I remember these Inside Apple Macintosh books so well. That was a lot of stuff to learn. Time flies.
    → 8:36 AM, Feb 14
  • Looking for Micro.blog friends (#microblog #socialnetwork)

    Yes, the title says it all: I’m looking for new friends to follow on Micro.blog. After my big Twitter cleanup, the noise in my numeric life has dramatically decreased. I feel zen and I think this is what Micro.blog is all about: a zen place to meet virtual friends sharing the same passions.

    So, I’m looking for friend suggestions. Let’s call this “the community-fed referrals day!”. To help you make such referrals, please do remember about my passions: Apple, photography, privacy protection and climate change.

    This brings me to something that I’d like to see improved about Micro.blog: discoverability. When looking to discover new people to follow, we do see a posts count on each user profile, but we don’t know « how recent » the last post is. We know about stale accounts on Twitter, I don’t want to follow stale accounts here. Next, I’d like to see some kind of « behind the scene » analysis of how someone could be interesting for me. I do understand that this is entering a dangerous territory of « algorithm fed reality ». I guess it is har to strike a balance in that respect. Finally, the categories are lacking a bit of breath. Where is “Tech” or “Privacy” or “Climate”?

    So, I’m waiting for your referrals. Thanks for taking some of your time to do so. 🙂

    → 8:17 AM, Feb 14
  • What happened to my Twitter usage? (#twitter)

    I don’t know what happened to my Twitter usage. It fell off the cliff recently. Since I’ve completed my Twitter experience transformation as fully documented here, I barely open Twitter once a day. Do I miss it? Nope. Why? Probably because I’m getting a distant view by using Mailbrew which draws the most relevant tweets for me on a daily basis.

    → 8:56 AM, Feb 13
  • On Apple’s rumoured VR headset (#apple #rumours)

    A mockup of Apple’s VR headset based of rumours

    Here is a simple one: Apple, please, no.

    I don’t get the idea of such product. The audience for this seems to be too small for Apple. I do understand that Apple research in VR can have broader ramifications, but to build such a limited appeal product for the mass, I don’t get it.

    I think Apple’s interests has much more potential in augmented reality products, services or features. Their work is already bearing fruit with AirPods spatial audio and transparency mode. These are much more appealing to the mass than a VR headset.

    → 7:01 AM, Feb 12
  • Mapping Apple’s mapping efforts (#apple #maps)

    Apple Maps is so much better than it was when it first launched back in 2012. It’s my go-to apps when in comes to finding my way. I never use Google Maps. Over the years, Apple upped its game. Recently, Apple added the detailed mapping and the look around feature for Canada, and it made such a big difference. But how much different? Well, look no further than Justino Beirne’s latest essay: “WHY DOESN’T “LOOK AROUND” COVER MORE AREAS?”. It is a massive piece of work detailing Apple’s every advances regarding its mapping efforts. I wonder if anyone at Apple ever looked at his work. It’s just mind blowing how much details and analysis goes into this essay.

    → 7:26 AM, Feb 11
  • Giving without asking in return (#bloggerlife #blogging #writing)

    Greg Morris recently on his blog about trying hard as a blogger to make something out of all this:

    “I asked, I’m giving, and I am still blogging — now more than ever.”

    Strangely, pure coincidence I guess, I wrote this last week-end “The journey is the Reward” in which I said:

    “It doesn’t really matter if nobody comes and reads my stuff here or there. What matters is the process and the thinking that took place behind my writing. It’s all the small moments where I had to pause, think, read, learn and write. It’s about feeling creative. Alive. The rest is just another tiny drop in the numeric ocean. A few will taste it, and most won’t. That’s the life of a blogger and a writer in a sea of abundance. So, I’ll keep doing it, no matter what.”

    The journey is really the reward for me.

    → 5:55 PM, Feb 8
  • The look of desperation (#intel #benchmark #m1chip #apple)

    I think Intel could have done better than this in a world without the M1 chip. But the problem is that the M1 chip is among us. Obviously, the carefully selected benchmarks results are published to people who doesn’t know about Apple. It’s an issue of perception manipulation. Apple is only getting started. Intel is freaking out and look desperate. 2021 will make matters even worse.

    Another one with a look of desperation: Facebook because of iOS 14.4 tracking exposure to the users.

    → 7:02 AM, Feb 8
  • The iPad legitimacy (#apple #iPad #computer)

    Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash

    Matt Birchler is writing yet another post about the iPad. The last paragraph (emphasis is mine):

    “We live in a world where we’re surrounded by computers. People have a home computer, a work computer, a phone, a watch, a smart TV, and smart speakers. Hell, even the iPad’s harshest critics often have one that they use for watching video and playing games. The iPad is the only device in that list that some people mandate has feature parity with another item on that list.”

    That is so true. I never thought about it this way. Why do we need to constantly compare the iPad to other computing devices to find its legitimacy? For me, the iPad is one of the best computing device of all time. There is nothing like it, it is singular.

    → 3:56 PM, Feb 6
  • It’s Rosetta 2’s fault (#apple #rosetta2 #bigsur)

    According to a recent small survey by AppleInsider, 53% of apps are running natively on M1-powered Macs. What about the remaining 47%? Well:

    “Without native support, they’re run in Rosetta 2 emulation. That may conceivably turn out to mean that they run faster than they did on old Intel hardware, but it’s not why you’ve bought an Apple Silicon Mac.”

    One of the problem is that Apple’s Rosetta 2 is too good at running non-native apps. It’s so good that they can run faster than on an Intel-powered Mac.

    A lot of things are on developer’s shoulders. There are enthusiastic developers and then there are the lazy one. The former rush to add M1 support for their apps even if the performance gain is negligible. The latter either doesn’t care, think it’s good enough or they don’t have full control of the software stack they use to build their apps. Think about the Electron framework. It does support the M1-powered Macs. Developers need to upgrade their apps to take advantage of the latest Apple technologies. An example if the email client for HEY. The last update came in September of last year.

    As someone who use both, native and non-native apps, on my M1-powered Mac mini, I don’t see much difference, most of the time. Apps like Lightroom CC or Pixelmator Pro do show a big improvement in many operations. But for the rest? Again, Rosetta 2 is doing a marvellous job and the whole experience on Big Sur with M1 is really good.

    → 1:47 PM, Feb 6
  • On the Lack of Safari’s extensions support (#apple #safariextension #browserextension)

    It’s becoming quite frustrating to see Apple’s Safari not being supported for browser extensions. Safari is now reportedly supporting standard web extensions but with an Apple twist making it cumbersome for developers to add support. Apple being Apple, I think it is related to the requirement of having to download an application in order to be able to expose an extension to Safari’s engine. Thanks to privacy protection, Apple is forcing the game here, but this has real consequences.

    → 8:44 AM, Feb 5
  • Apps cannot be installed errors (#appstore #apple #bug)

    Since running macOS Big Sur, I quite often get these “Unable to Download App” error when trying to update my apps on my M1-based Mac mini. I need to try a few times or even reboot the machine in order to fix this issue. The app is being downloaded, but the installation phase is failing at the very end. Version 11.2 of Big Sur didn’t fix the issue. And it’s not related to an app being open or in use.

    Is anyone getting these too? It’s kind of annoying.

    → 6:55 AM, Feb 5
  • Desktop vs Laptop vs Mobile vs Tablet (#blog #bloggerlife #analytics)

    Here is something absolutely fascinating and surprising to me. According to my main blog’s visitors statistics, thanks to my recent switch to Plausible, over the last thirty days, the distribution of devices type used to visit my blog puts the tablet far behind the desktop, the laptop and the smartphone. One would think the tablet form factor to be much more popular.

    The iPad is massively popular. I’m still in love with this form factor after all these years. These numbers doesn’t jive.

    → 9:29 PM, Feb 4
  • Apple’s macOS Big Sur updates on the path of iOS updates? (#apple #macos #bigsur)

    After the release yesterday of macOS Big Sur 11.2, Apple today released the first beta of macOS Big Sur 11.3. It does look like macOS is following the trails of iOS with updates that brings many small features, improvements and tweaks. We’re not used to that, as before Big Sur, macOS updates used to be mostly about bug fixes. I’m happy to see Apple change course for macOS, if this update is any indication.

    → 9:37 PM, Feb 2
  • And here goes beta 1 of iOS 14.5 (#apple #ios14.5)

    iPadOS 14.5 and iOS 14.5 beta 1 is out!

    iOS 14.5 beta 1 is out today with a slew of new features and small tweaks. Unlocking your iPhone while wearing a face mask, thanks to your Apple Watch, falls in the category of “finally” moments. In the tweaks category, the Apple logo of an iPad booting up iPadOS “finally” follows the device’s orientation. Updates to Apple Card too to support shared cards. Now, if only this could come to Canada!

    → 8:01 PM, Feb 1
  • Our secret? Optimizing workflows (#blogger #writer #tools)

    I like to see other people talk about their own writing or blogging workflows. Here’s an interesting tidbit from Greg Morris about using Apple’s Shortcut to publish to WordPress:

    “Shortcuts is a really robust way to publish to WordPress and not have to use the WordPress app or third-party app.”

    Apple’s Shortcuts are also an important part of my blogger workflow. Since I’m using Ulysses, which supports publishing directly to WordPress, I don’t need a shortcut for that. But for many other small things, it is a valuable tool in my arsenal. Shortcuts are an interesting technology within the iOS and iPadOS ecosystem.

    → 1:24 PM, Feb 1
  • Design is how it works (#apple #design #ux #ui)

    From John Gruber’s Apple report card:

    “I’m reminded of all the UI and interaction designs and changes in iOS and MacOS that are just bad. There’s a real sense that _ Apple’s current HI team, under Alan Dye, is a “design is what it looks like” group, not a “design is how it works” group_. Exhibit A: What MacOS 11 Big Sur has done to document proxy icons. Arguably it looks better to hide them. (I disagree, but I can see the counterargument.) Inarguably, they work far worse now — harder to use for people who use them, and much harder to discover for people who don’t yet know about them.”

    Gruber often has an effective way of putting out his take on Apple’s issues. If you look and use macOS Big Sur for a while, you should get a feel that only the visual parts were redesigned, not the way it works in response to the user behaviour. Big difference.

    → 8:09 PM, Jan 31
  • Apple in 2020 (#review #apple #appletv)

    Really insightful score card report from Six Colors. Take out for me: Apple TV is the new 2013 Mac Pro.

    → 8:50 PM, Jan 30
  • What the hell is going on with Flickr? (#Flickr #photography)

    This morning I got the most recent update to the venerable photo sharing service: Flickr. The only addition to this update, support for iOS 14 widgets. Finally! It’s quite a change from the usual “Bug fixes and improvements.”. Even if I’m no longer actively using Flickr, I was happy to see that widgets were finally supported. So, I frantically updated the apps to have a look at the possibilities. What a let down. Sure, all three sizes are supported, but we cannot change any widget settings! How about being able to set the source for pictures or even stats or anything! Nope. I call this pathetic.

    No wonder why I left Flickr and services like Unsplash took over the world. Over the years and during its tumultuous history, Flickr was a series of promises left without real and deep actions to transform the platform. They brag about having two million groups. It takes just a few minutes to see that a vast majority of these groups are ghost towns. And don’t get me started with the general design of the app and the website.

    → 9:24 AM, Jan 30
  • Today is about data privacy (#privacy #dataprivacy #privacyprotection #apple)

    Today, January 28th, is data privacy day. I didn’t know that. Now I know, thanks to Mr. Phillip Schiller. I paid a visit to Apple’s privacy web page. What I found is a super nicely designed page with highlights of Apple’s ecosystem privacy focused features. To me, Apple’s privacy stance is a product, not a feature.

    “Privacy is a fundamental human right. At Apple, it’s also one of our core values. Your devices are important to so many parts of your life. What you share from those experiences, and who you share it with, should be up to you. We design Apple products to protect your privacy and give you control over your information. It’s not always easy. But that’s the kind of innovation we believe in.” — Apple

    → 7:11 AM, Jan 28
  • I could play with this forever (#snowflakegenerator)

    Please, do yourself a favour and go to this website, a snowflake generator. If you like winter, it will make you smile a bit.

    → 7:52 PM, Jan 27
  • What is worst than Facebook? (#privacy #privacyprotection)

    Apple made mandatory privacy protection “nutrition” labels on its App Store. One guy refuses to update its apps since then: Google. Maybe they are even worst than Facebook if such a thing is even possible. Was Google caught by surprise? Highly impossible. They had many months to prepare for that. When your business model highly depends on sucking all users data, it’s hard to escape suspicion.

    → 7:22 AM, Jan 27
  • On Tweetbot 6 update (@tweetbot #update #subscription)

    Tweetbot 6 for iOS

    Really nice update (and unexpected) to my preferred Twitter client. Tweetbot version 6 received a refreshed design, full support for Twitter APIs v2 and cleans up unsupported features with latest APIs. Tweetbot startup is much faster than Twitter’s client and exposes a few features that aren’t available otherwise. Design-wise, Tweetbot contains a lot of nice touches throughout the app. Compared to that, Twitter’s own client feels uninspired.

    Like a growing number of apps recently introduced or updated, Tweetbot 6 now is subscription-based. I expect a few angry users but I’m not one of them. I find the pricing quite reasonable. I chose to go with the yearly subscription at 50% price reduction, a no brainer to me.

    Tweetbot has recently returned as my go to Twitter client during my recent Twitter reset and I’m very happy with it.

    → 8:12 PM, Jan 26
  • Being robbed, again (#stealing #robbing)

    Someone stoled my most recent article. I hate when this happens. I guess my article was good enough for this guy to bother.

    This morning, I got a pingback on WordPress for an article being published elsewhere as shown below.

    Someone copied my latest article “The Ultimate Twitter Tips and Tricks for Mastering Your Twitter Experience”. By doing so, he forgot to remove one of the URL pointing back to another previously published article, “My Review of Mailbrew: a Powerful and Time-Saving Internet Information Aggregator”, I was notified via a pingback. I paid a visit to the “publisher” and sure enough, 90% of my article was reproduced. The guy removed the screenshots but left the captions (weird). The title was modified too. The conclusion was removed. Here is what I wrote to the “published”:

    I also posted the same thing on the comment section but comments being moderate, I don’t think the guy will republish them. I will see what happens. This is the second time this happens to me.

    Meanwhile, The Startup magazine on Medium accepted my article submission. More than 750K followers can see it from the magazine homepage. 😃

    → 7:22 AM, Jan 26
  • The challenges with online speech and publishing (#socialnetworks #socialmedia #platforms)

    A recent article by Benedict Evans exposes how hard it is to “fix” social networks.

    “The internet and then social platforms break a lot of our definitions of different kinds of speech, and yet somehow Facebook / Google / Twitter are supposed to recreate that whole 200-year tapestry of implicit structures and consensus, and answer all of those questions, from office parks in the San Francisco Bay Area, for both the USA and Myanmar, right now. We want them to Fix It, but we don’t actually know what that means.”

    I often think about issues that platforms like Facebook brings to our society. I don’t pretend to have any solution. I can’t quite define what Facebook is actually from a societal point of view. That being said, a lack of definition and understanding cannot prevent me to wish for things to be done differently. And I have one simple wish.

    I want the eradication of algorithm-based feeds. I want them to be regulated, prohibited even. At the very least, it should be an opt-in “feature”. I want the return of chronological feeds. No tweaks, no tricks, nothing more. Nothing less. I want all people to have a look at the same reality. Two people having the exact same followers and following the same guys should give the same timeline. Period.

    Without hyper-manipulated feeds, we have to wonder about the usefulness of all gathered data about us and our behaviours. Maybe ads targeting doesn’t make as much sense in tact hypothetical context.

    If two people don’t see the same thing, it’s because the choice was made by an individual wishing to control his or her exposure, not by a corporation’s algorithm or an arbitrary group of people.

    That’s my wish. Let’s try it and see if things change for the better.

    → 4:02 PM, Jan 24
  • If true… (#apple #timcook #theclown)

    … I want to scream, I want to puke. Not Tim Cook’s best gift.

    → 3:55 PM, Jan 24
  • That one was hard (#blogging #writing #article)

    I just published one of my most difficult to write article in a long time. It is about transforming your Twitter experience to make it more focused, enjoyable, tailored to your personal interests. I’ve been working on it for the last few months. Along the way of writing this long piece, my Twitter experience was profoundly changed. I’m pretty happy with the end results. If you’re on Twitter, consider giving a look to this guide. Hope you’ll like it.

    “The Ultimate Twitter Tips and Tricks for Mastering Your Twitter Experience”

    → 9:48 AM, Jan 24
  • @numericcitizen on Clubhouse (#clubhouse)

    I’m always curious to try new things, especially in the numeric world. In the case of Clubhouse, I don’t know if it’s a good idea. I’m curious to try it out, anyway. I wonder how it will compare to Twitter’s Spaces, currently in limited beta. Now, waiting for an invite.

    → 8:25 PM, Jan 22
  • Dear bloggers, let’s not forget about the link posts (#blogging #writing)

    In “A Love Letter to the Link Post”, CJ Chilvers lament the lost of link posts from the blogosphere. Link posts marked the debut of so many websites raison d’être back in the nineties:

    “At that time, they weren’t even called blogs. You’d simply update the front page of your website every day with a few interesting links you discovered since the day before.”

    I love link posts. I follow many bloggers just to have a peek at their discoveries and comments about them. A big portion of my monthly Numeric Citizen Introspection newsletter is built around sharing a curated content of links that I find interesting. They generally fit within the boundaries of my deep interests. Link posts within newsletters = 🥰

    In summary := Link posts > comments on a social network.

    → 7:02 AM, Jan 21
  • My daytime job reality (#IT #computerscience #tech)

    Countless meetings

    First, do me a favour, watch this YouTube video (less than 8 minutes of your time), then come back. You probably know that I’m working in IT as my official day jobs. I’ve been working on a project in the last 18 months to assist and direct one of our customer to implement a disaster recovery plan. This is not a trivial thing, generally speaking. In that particular case, it was an exercise of extreme frustration all along. If you did watch this YouTube video, this is me, the expert. So spot on. No wonder IT projects can’t be finished on time with so many bozos around the table.

    → 8:02 PM, Jan 19
  • Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication (#apple #airpodsmax)

    AirPods Max disassembled

    iFixit completed their usual teardown of one of Apple’s latest product. This time, the AirPods Max were taken apart. This thing is so complicated! No wonder why we pay $550 for. It is fascinating to see how such a device from the outside is so complicated in the inside. This makes me think of the Apple Pencil exterior beauty but interior complexity. I still love mine, even if I’m not an audiophile. 🤓

    → 7:44 PM, Jan 19
  • Another Massive Update to @CraftDocsApp (#craft #writer #writing #blogging #tools)

    New export options in Craft 1.2.2

    What a pleasant surprise today: a big update to Craft was released. Version 1.2.2 brings a lot of improvements on the table. This release should have been numbered version 1.3, not 1.2.2! All platforms (iPad and macOS) received attention and improvements. One of the most important thing for me being the addition of direct export to Ulysses, DayOne, OmniFocus among others. We could already export in TextBundle or PDF and Word but these exports options, I feel my data can freely move out of the platform. My blogger workflow is simplified.

    I’m still working on my review of Craft by the way. It takes longer than I would have liked. Stay tuned.

    → 7:38 PM, Jan 18
  • Apple is Undoing the MacBook Pro (#apple #macbookpro #rumours)

    Photo by Bram Nau - Unsplash

    Bye bye dear TouchBar. Hello MagSafe power connector. Here’s some more ports. Rumours are pointing toward the same thing. Apple will revert many of its controversial decision of the last five years. Many will be pleased. Function is winning over form. I think Apple is following the trend they started with the 2019 Mac Pro which essentially erasing five years of non sense with the 2013 Mac Pro. Apple is fully back to the Mac. And down on earth, with all of us.

    Clearly, actual creatives and professionals disagree with Apple’s soul-searching because if all of these rumors come to fruition, Apple will be returning to what was already considered the MacBook Pro’s zenith. Coupled with Apple Silicon and Apple could experience Mac growth that it ceded to PC laptops during these past years of stumbling. — Raymond Wong for Input magazine

    Something we won’t get, though: a touch screen. We can’t have it all, right?

    → 8:02 PM, Jan 17
  • Improving my Apple Watch Heartbeat Readings (#applewatch)

    A different way to wear the Apple Watch

    Since getting my Apple Series 6 last fall (see my review here), my heart readings aren’t working as expected. I’m not alone who is experiencing this problem (just google it!). During a workout, heartbeats readings are not available for the first 5 to 10 minutes into the workout. On a 30-minute workout, it can make a big difference.

    I think I found a way to greatly improve the heartbeats readings. Simply by wearing my Apple Watch as shown on the picture above. I must say that it is not perfect. As shown below, I do get a few minutes of lost readings, though, but not as much as before. The problem could be related to the presence on some fur on my front arm. Also, always making sure the Apple Watch band is tied close enough to the wrist is a must.

    A few minutes of lost heartbeat readings

    Are you experiencing the same issue? Let me know if you permanently fixed it.

    → 4:29 PM, Jan 17
  • The Insurmountable Problem for Intel (#intel #apple #applesilicon)

    Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger

    Let’s start with a quote from Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger (as reported by The Oregonian)

    “We have to deliver better products to the PC ecosystem than any possible thing that a lifestyle company in Cupertino. We have to be that good, in the future."

    The fundamental problem with Intel is that they will never make the whole widget (the products) like Apple does. That’s the key for insanely great products. Intel’s CPU are small enablers at best. The vertical integration of the whole stack (hardware, OS, apps, services) makes what Apple is all about. There is no way for Intel to emulate that by cooperating with hundreds of OEMs.

    Sorry, Pat, nice try.

    → 7:43 PM, Jan 16
  • Telegram a Signal to iMessage, Please (#messaging #privacy #apple #parler #signal #telegram)

    Telegram on macOS

    DHH on Twitter seems happy that the messaging app, Signal, finally has its moment. I don’t really know about Signal, but I do know about another one, Telegram. Now that Parler is out of this world, I’m wondering if people prefer Signal over Telegram. Is Signal more secure than Telegram? According to this website, Telegram, is apparently not as secure as its maker pretends it is.

    Now, I’m wonder how these movements between messaging platforms would be affected if Apple decided to make iMessage cross-platform: on iOS, on macOS, on the web and on Android. Maybe this year the dynamic is different enough for Apple to make the move? Are they afraid that people will leave the iPhone if iMessage is available on Android? What is more sticky for the Apple ecosystem: the Music app or iMessage? In my opinion, iMessage is much more powerful than Music for keeping people inside Apple’s walled garden.

    Reminder, you can find me on Telegram here.

    → 7:57 AM, Jan 16
  • Persistent Rumours about Upcoming MacBook Pro Redesign (#apple #macbookpro #m1chip #applesilicon)

    MacBook Pro

    The latest report from MacRumors about Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro redesign is quite interesting and intriguing.

    First, the removal of the TouchBar and the return of the MagSafe technology is utterly surprising. If this is the case, Apple would be undoing five years of design decisions. A side effect of the TouchBar removal would be a more competitive pricing of the MacBook Pro line.

    Second, the rumour about Apple opting for an all-out flat edge design makes me think the new MacBook Pro would be similar to two iPad Pro linked together with a hinge. Obviously, the screen parts would be thinner than the lower body of the MacBook Pro. Intriguing.

    Now, if these rumours materialize, to me, it would mean that the current 13” MacBook Pro would be no longer necessary with a 14” model in its place. If that’s the case, the 13” MacBook Pro was only a transition and temporary move from Apple.

    We are at the beginning of another exciting year for Apple.

    → 7:23 AM, Jan 15
  • Apple’s Big Moments (#apple #m1chip #intel #transitions)

    Apple’s M1 chip

    I like this quote from Ken Segall:

    “In 2005, Apple moved to Intel to gain equality. In 2020, it’s moved away from Intel to gain superiority."

    I remember so well when Apple announced their move in 2005. It is a privilege to have witnessed all these big Apple’s moments. Many interesting thoughts about these transformative transitions in this article. Must read.

    → 6:50 AM, Jan 14
  • Mailbrew is getter better and better (#mailbrew #newsletters)

    My Mailbrew profile page

    Mailbrew received a big update this week. The change log is pretty extensive. The most important change is that the home page and the whole user experience for that matter is now more about reading your digests than the brews edit view. I like this change a lot. Digests are presented in the order they were received. You can go from one issue to another easily for a specific brew. You can also select a specific brew to see associated digests. The reading experience is better overall compared to HEY’s Feed view. The only missing thing is a “save clip” option.

    Beside links to external content, within a digest, when it is appropriate, there is a button for entering a reader view. In this view, a minimalist browser will let the reader immerse himself to limit distractions. It reminds me of the Safari reader view. There is always the save button available to put aside an article in case you don’t have time to read it at the moment. Mailbrew provides a separate list for those saved items.

    There are a ton of other small change and improvements. Sharing our brews is easier. Sharing a digest also is closer at hand. All in all, this is a solid update to an already excellent service. You can read my initial review of Mailbrew here. If you want to subscribe, please do me a favour and use this link.

    → 7:18 AM, Jan 13
  • Optimizing my blogger workflow (#writing #tools #workflow)

    This is a test with (redacted) currently in alpha, which introduces support for posting to Micro.blog. I’m a big user of (redacted). This new feature alone could significantly enhance and simplified my blogger workflow. I’ve been waiting for this feature for a long time. When the update is ready, on iPad or the Mac, it means that I’ll be able to start the initial writing in Craft, then export to (redacted) using the TextBundle format, finish the editing in (redacted), then publish to Micro.blog. On the Mac, the same sequence applies, rendering MarsEdit unnecessary. How cool is that? Optimizing my workflow is very satisfying. 😎👨🏻‍💻

    _This is a first post with (redacted), things could break. _

    → 9:41 PM, Jan 12
  • A fix is coming (#apple #M1macmini #bluetooth)

    Clay banks PXaQXThG1FY unsplash

    At long last, relief is in sight. My M1 Mac mini is not able to keep a stable Bluetooth connection with Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse. It’s very frustrating. While waiting for a permanent fix, I’m using a USB PC mouse, and I keep my Magic Keyboard connected via a USB-C to lightning cable connected on my LG Ultra Fine 4K monitor. What a messy experience for such a small performance wonder.

    → 11:36 AM, Jan 12
  • Mac sales booming but the best is yet to come (#apple #m1mac #applesilicon)

    Wesson wang y0 vFxOHayg unsplash

    Thanks to the small wonder, the M1 chip and the Apple silicon transition, Mac sales are booming. According to a recent IDC report, Mac sales are up by nearly 30% compared to the same period, a year ago. Apple’s market share increased globally by 1%, which is quite impressive for Apple.

    My take: I have the feeling that we ain’t see nothing yet. As the work-from-home trend continues, with the rest of the MacBook Pro line still to transition to the M1 chip, a long-awaited redesiged iMac, 2021 could be a monster year for the Mac and Apple. And beyong 2021 and the pandemic? Ask Horace Dediu.

    → 9:58 AM, Jan 12
  • Programming, mathematics and brain activities (#research #computers #computerscience)

    Florian olivo Ek9Znm8lQ1U unsplash

    What does it take to be a hood programmer? Or better yet, what does it take to like programming hence writing or reading algorithms? Math? Language? Arts? A combination? When I started in computer science at the University, my friends thought that I was good at maths. It wasn’t the case. Before deciding which field I would like to study, I was afraid of computer science, thinking myself that we had to be really good with mathematics. My experience shows that it is not the case. I’m average at maths but good at programming and in computer science in general. Is it surprising? According to this article, no. In fact, computer programming isn’t the same thing as doing maths from a brain activity perspective. It is more like something very demanding where a totally different part of the brain is solicited. Fascinating. It may (or may not) explain why you can be good in computer science but not as good in mathematics. Who knows.

    By having a better understanding of what parts of the brain are solicited, we may find common ground with other disciplines. It is really hard to attract people in computer science and knowing what it takes from a brain perspective could help direct efforts of recruiting the right people who will like to read and write algorythms but are not good at maths!

    → 6:47 PM, Jan 11
  • Ten Reasons to love RSS feeds (#rss #openstandard)

    Piotr bene P3w6VgaRaFI unsplash

    Alan Ralph, in a blog post, exposes ten reasons why he loves RSS feeds. I agree on all accounts. When I look closer, it all comes down to: control. Control is something we don’t have these days on social networks and social media. We live in a numeric world full of algorithmically-generated feeds and content. We lose control of our feeds. George Orwell was right.

    RSS feed, a simple and open standard, is the key, within an RSS reader, of a more open and user-centered and mostly ads-free Internet. RSS feeds are important.

    → 8:09 PM, Jan 10
  • On the original iPhone, back in 2007 (#apple #iPhone #blackberry)

    Steve Jobs with original iPhone

    Thirteen years already. Gosh, time flies. Steve Jobs announces the iPhone. One of his best presentation. I remember it so well. At that time, I was a huge user (and fan) of the Blackberry. After using a RIM two-way pager for a while, I upgraded to Blackberry with a bigger screen with a monochrome display. But, with the iPhone, I knew, deep within me, this would be a real game-changer. My feelings were the same as with the launch of the Macintosh. What I didn’t know, though, was how profound and long-lasting the iPhone-effect would be on the rest of the tech world. We still feel its effect these days. I had to wait until the iPhone 3GS, in 2009, to get my hands on one for my personal use. I was still using a Blackberry for the office. Yep, I had two smartphones with me all the time.

    → 9:01 AM, Jan 10
  • How to turn me off big time (#signin #services #facebooklogin)

    Signin with Facebook

    What’s out for 2021? These “Connect with Facebook” screen. Please, stop doing that. It’s 2021. If a service, in order to create a new account, offers a “Connect with Facebook”, it is a no go for me, no mather if alternatives are provided. Facebook is like cancer. Period.

    → 9:53 PM, Jan 9
  • Unsplash is growing fast — and I like it even more! (@unsplash #photography)

    Cleanshot  Safari app  2021 01 08 at 12 06 48

    Unsplash started the year 2021 with a bang; they are introducing a visual search feature. How cool is that! Use cases for this feature are aplenty. Imagine you come across a great picture on Unsplash and would like to see if there are any more variants of it. Here comes the new visual search feature. Here is another one that could be a game-changer. Suppose you happen to find a picture online that is tied by a very restrictive license. Copy this image URL and paste it in the visual search of Unsplash to see if there are any similar pictures. Voilà! As the Unsplash library doubles every year, the probability of finding an alternative image increases. Lastly, the visual search feature helps you determine if a specific image on the way comes from Unsplash. It is useful to find the creator of the image when no credits are given.

    → 12:08 PM, Jan 8
  • Next week - back to a "normal" day job (#blogging #writing #personalnews)

    Annie spratt DnbWWWTclSM unsplash

    Next week marks the end of a three-week vacation. I’m lucky. Three weeks where I forgot about my work and became a full-time blogger, writer, content creator. Time flies. There is a need for normality, I guess, and this means returning to work.

    Expect a less frequent publishing schedule. Don’t worry; I won’t go very far, thanks to our new confinement and curfew starting this very Saturday. Oh well.

    → 5:21 PM, Jan 7
  • About My Friday Notes on @Medium (#writing #blogging #medium)

    Siora photography kY6HbkiauSc unsplashToday, I decided to remove my Friday Notes stories from Medium paywall. In other words, you can read them without paying a penny to Medium. They can be found here, in my Numeric Citizen Tidbits Newsletter. Please, if you like ‘em, give ‘em some hands claps! Thanks.

    → 12:21 PM, Jan 7
  • Use case for multi-user support on iPad (#apple #ipadOS #iPad)

    Daniel romero C9wxJJIdycg unsplash

    In his predictions for iPad in 2021, iPadInsight puts multi-user support on top of its list for iPadOS 15 without mentionning a real use case beyond the obvious. Let me explain.

    Do we ask multi-user support on iPad because it is something we take for granted on “traditional” computers? Or is because there is a real use case for that feature, beyond the classroom or the conference room? Does the multi-user support solve the problem of your friend borrowing your iPad while keeping him or her from seeing your stuff?

    Enabling multi-user support on the iPad has profound implications. How would the instant-on, instant-use experience be impacted by having multi-user enabled? Is the security enclave capable of holding more than one user FaceID? How iCloud Drive data be handled if users both have their data in icloud, the same way as on macOS? What about apps collections being different from one user to the other, how the iPad homescreen change upon logoff-logon? How fast? What kind of pressure does this feature put on the iPad system memory? Would this feature enabled on the Pro line only?

    For me, the iPad is a personal device, just like the iPhone. Apple likes it this way, for their bottom line. That’s my guess.

    → 10:20 AM, Jan 7
  • Another wild Microsoft rumour about Outlook (#microsoft #rumours #outlook #office365)

    Microsoft converts Outlook website into a progressive web app

    Here is another wild one: Microsoft is reportedly working on making Outlook a progressive web application for all platforms. Progressive web application isn’t new and Microsoft already makes a version of Outlook in this format. What is new is that it would replace all native versions of the Outlook client: no more are native versions of Outlook for Windows or the Mac.

    I’m not sure if this is good or bad news. I’m always wary about cross-platform tech. There is always something lost in translation. The other question that comes to my mind, why is Microsoft moving way from native applications in its ecosystem?

    Yet, not all is lost, a good side effect of this move would be to reduce memory consumption on the client. As use can see in this tweet, the native version of Outlook can use large chunk of your computer memory.

    → 1:54 PM, Jan 6
  • The port-less iPhone is coming (#apple #iPhone #rumours)

    6a0120a5580826970c0263e98616d4200b

    With patents like this, we can see clearly into Apple’s vision for the future of the iPhone. Apple is committed to remove the Lightning port from its iPhone line. I don’t expect them to go through USB-C. This is Apple. By adding more ways to charge without contacts, Apple removes the friction points off the user experience in a world of port-less iPhone.

    → 10:33 AM, Jan 6
  • About this rumoured big Windows visual overhaul (#microsoft #windows)

    Newwindows10startmenu png

    If only Microsoft could finish the job started with Windows 7. Windows 10 user interface is a bunch of previously used visual elements that Microsoft doesn’t care to clean up. For example, consider the computer settings area. On the surface, the iconography speaks the recent visual langague defined by Microsoft. But, as you try to go deeper to change a less frequently used setting, you’re back to a pre-Windows 10 era. I don’t believe Microsoft will do this “major” refresh as recently reported by Windows Central, not in a way they refused to do in the last ten years, anyway.

    As a side note, colour me Apple fanboy if you want, but many pundits will grumble when Apple is actually refreshing the user interface like they did with macOS Big Sur (or iOS 7, remember?). At least, it is either consistently clean or consistently ugly, depending of your aestheticism tastes. You won’t as easily find a macOS Yosemite visual asset in macOS Big Sur or even macOS Catalina. Inconsistencies do exist in macOS but they are usually limited to very specific visual tweaks (like to trafic lights placements).

    → 3:52 PM, Jan 5
  • Wordpress.com: six years already (@wordpress #blogger #bloggerlife)

    Six years anniversary on Wordpress.com WordPress ExactMetrics

    I got this notification in the Wordpress.app this morning. Six years already. Over the years, I became a paying subcriber of their Business plan. Automattic offers great support when you need it. But in the least year or so, I noticed a change in the way they do business with us, paying members. There are a lot of reminders about additional services available to us. which aren’t free, by the way. They keep advertising their ExactMetrics service that I don’t need with tricks that I don’t appreciate as shown in the second screen shot above. Recently, they started to advertise WordPress courses on the main admin page on WordPress.com. I really don’t like the trend. And this story by Alan Ralph doesn’t help either.

    → 1:31 PM, Jan 5
  • Thoughts on Flash and the iPad (#apple #iPad #adobeflash)

    Steve Jobs iPad 2010

    I want to pick from this blog post from Initial Charge. I remember a small story when the iPad came out in 2010. After a few days of playing with it, I went to the office to show it to a few of my coworkers when I got my iPad. After a few minutes of demonstration, I got two remarks. One was about the lack of a USB port. The second was about the lack of support for Flash-enabled websites. On that one complaint, I remember arguing about the simple fact that moving your mouse cursor around would trigger some flash-based animations like making a button bigger or showing up a menu on many websites. There was no such thing as a “mouseover” event on the iPad, so those websites that were dependant on this would break the interaction experience. At this very moment, I thought Adobe Flash was doomed. More than ten years to get rid of this crasp. That was long.

    → 1:11 PM, Jan 5
  • Don't forget about RSS feeds (#blogger #rss)

    RSS Feed

    Paolo Amoroso writes on his blog:

    Back in the early days of blogging, the tech press bashed RSS out of existence as it was supposedly too complex for ordinary users. To the point new bloggers don't even know what RSS is, some recent blogging platforms don't support RSS, and the blogs of new startups sometimes don't provide RSS feeds.

    It’s a shame in a world where open standards are on the way out. RSS feeds are another important part of Podcasts, another open standard where big tech would like to monetize, i.e. make it proprietary.

    Amoroso continues:

    The readers who subscribe to your RSS feed always see all of your posts. No matter what Google, Facebook, or Twitter decide.

    A long time ago I decided my blogs feeds would push the complete content of the articles. As I don’t have ads on my blogs, I don’t really care if the readers consume the content from the RSS feed only. RSS feeds are conduits who escape any algorithm-based feeds. It’s the most direct connexion between a blogger and their readers.

    For the best part, Amaroso nails it:

    They are the readers you want. The superfans who share your work. They may be bloggers themselves and link to your posts from theirs, or enable other opportunities such as guest blogging or podcast interviews. Those few RSS subscribers are much more engaged and valuable than the many who don’t even click links on social media.

    If you know how to use RSS, you’re my best friend, you are more then welcome.

    You can find my main blog feed here. For my micro blog, the feed is here. Hope you enjoy.

    → 2:26 PM, Jan 4
  • A new kind of goal for me - writer engagement (#writing #blogger #bloggerlife)

    Silvan arnet PFqfV5bn91A unsplash

    Writing is an important part of my life. It’s all about feeling creative, thinking, taking a pause of everything else. As a blogger, I like when people stop by and take the time to read my blog articles and then response with a comment. It doesn’t happen as often as I would like. I would say, one percent of my visitors will do it.

    For 2021, I decided to set a new goal for myself: stopping by, taking the time to drop a meaningful comment on a blog post or an article from someone else. I call this goal writer engagement. Some platforms are easier to interact with than others. I like both Medium and Substack for this. Responding to an article or a newsletter is just a few clicks away.

    So, today, I dropped two comments. One comment to a post from MG Siegler about writing more often on medium. The other comment about a way to consider the iPhone 12 Pro Max as a tool for photography, from a too technical point of view.

    So, will you drop a comment today? Feel free to engage too and maybe start a conversation, why not!

    → 12:12 PM, Jan 4
  • Why I didn’t write a personal year in review for 2020 (#blogger #bloggerlife #writing)

    Journaling space for my future year in review for 2021

    The year 2020 came to an end without me posting my personal year in review. You might wonder why. I read many reviews in the last few days. Most of them are delightful to read as they contain gems about personal lessons learned, personal discoveries, etc. To write those reviews, you have to be prepared for that particular intention to write about it later. Without notes, it’s nearly impossible and takes too much time to prepare. It also would be too easy to miss essential tidbits.

    What about 2021? Good news, for 2021, I want to be ready. Now it’s the best time to get organized. All year long, I’ll be using the excellent notes taking application called Craft. I already started to put things down. The picture at the top of this post is a glimpse at my journaling space structure, where personal notes will be confined all year long. I’ll use a monthly section for each domain or theme I want to touch on in this future year in review. I’ll see where it goes.

    → 8:52 AM, Jan 4
  • Pinboard, Pocket, Raindrop, Instapaper, Notion? Which tools is best for you? (#blogger #bloggertools #writers)

    Denise jans J4coHtrn24A unsplash

    Alan Ralph on Why I Use Pinboard As My Reading List

    I’ve mentioned before that I use Pinboard for bookmarking webpages of interest so that I can refer to them later. I realize this might seem like an odd choice, given that there are more obvious candidates such as Pocket or Instapaper, so I’ve decided to summarize my reasoning

    I could add other apps and services like Raindrop (which I tried) or even Notion (which I love) as places to save bookmarks. It’s tempting to use more focused tools to fill a very specific part of a workflow. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of preference or workflow optimization (you can read about my recent workflow update).

    → 8:21 AM, Jan 4
  • I'm afraid your maths are right, @brentsimmons (#covid19 #vaccination #usa)

    COVID-19 Virus Rendering

    Brent Simmons trying to determine where the US should get back to normal. After some maths, he asks:

    “(Is any of my math wrong? There’s no point in being overly-precise here — but please tell me if I’ve made some error that changes things significantly.)”

    I’m afraid his maths are right, even if they aren’t precise. Things could change, though, after Biden is officially in his Office. Even though, change of government takes a lot of time in the US.

    I said it in the past: COVID-19 shows how weak the US is as a country to fight this non military war.

    → 1:36 PM, Jan 3
  • So many questions lefts unanswered (#apple #iCloud #death #legacy)

    Cemetery2

    In What to do about Apple devices and iCloud content when the owner dies from AppleInsider, there are so many unanswered questions. For example, are the requirements from Apple different from one country to another? Something critical when someone dies, having access to his or her smartphone with a PIN. Without it, the challenge is close to impossible to meet. That is one of the many requirements explained in A Guide for Preparing to Leave Your Numeric Legacy.

    → 1:28 PM, Jan 3
  • Bluetooth issues is killing the M1 Mac mini wonder (#apple #applesilicon #m1ship)

    M1 Mac mini

    Two times today, I had to restart my M1 Mac mini because of the bluetooth devices being unresponsive. macOS 11.1 came out late in December without a fix to this issue. My hope is that this can be fixed via a firmware update from Apple. I’m not alone. No fix in sight. Very frustrating. 🤬

    → 9:47 AM, Jan 2
  • Grading Apple's response to COVID-19 (#apple #covid19)

    Harry cunningham cPMRltmUls8 unsplashFrom Basic Apple Guy’s top 5 of 2020:

    “I appreciated the stewardship Apple has taken this year in balancing their product interests while also supporting the fight to respond to COVID-19.”

    Two things. First, Apple’s response to COVID-19 was and continue to be faultless. Some governments should take notes. Second, the closing-reopening-closing dance of their physical stores didn’t impact their bottom line, not in a significant way, apparently. In a way, Apple is not only making and selling products, they are the product, it’s not only how they look, it’s how they work.

    → 9:02 AM, Jan 2
  • Microsoft + ARM: Why it took so long? (#microsoft #arm #surface #intel)

    Bram van oost soFr1hofDfU unsplash

    About Microsoft being Years Late to a Party They Tried to Start on iPadInsight:

    “According to a recent Bloomberg report, Microsoft is finally getting into the custom silicon business. It looks like they are starting down this road primarily to aid their cloud and server business, but it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t have future plans to bring these new ARM-based chips to their Surface Pro X and other future models, replacing Qualcomm’s SQ1 and 2 processors.“

    and

    “The $10,000 question is, why did Microsoft wait this long? Why did they bother messing around with Qualcomm to produce ARM chips for the Surface Pro X only to get mediocre results from a chip that still isn’t fine tuned to both the hardware and Windows 10? Those results were completely and totally predictable. They took the easy way out and the Surface Pro X, while a really slick looking device, isn’t going anywhere because of it. Who wants to pay more and still have to make compromises in both performance and compatibility?”

    Maybe Microsoft didn’t want to piss off Intel?

    → 8:32 AM, Jan 2
  • Documenting our numeric life (#journaling #tools)

    My DayOne Journal for blogs

    Basic Apple Guy on DayOne, a popular journaling app:

    “My current journaling habit is to make one entry per day, typically at night. However, I may add multiple timestamps to the entry throughout the day to capture a specific occurrence or thought. This daily journal is currently on a 2,668-day streak, with 4,325 total entries, and 3,297 photos.”

    A streak of 2,668-day to capture thoughts, events, etc., manually? Consider me impressed. I used to write my thoughts too in DayOne, but eventually I stopped as I couldn’t keep up because of all my writing projects. Yet, I found a way to keep using DayOne, by automatically documenting my numeric life. I wrote a piece about it in 2018 that is still absolutely valid today: “Documenting my Numeric Life”. I’m using IFTTT as the engine to push updates into my many journals, inside DayOne. Works like a charm.

    → 8:26 AM, Jan 2
  • The Substack "clique"? (#substack #writers #newsletters)

    My current newsletter subscribers count

    Is Substack the Media Future We Want?

    “on Substack, the most successful newsletters are almost always written by people who have already cultivated an audience at traditional publications or built up a following elsewhere.”

    and

    Substack is a natural fit for the influencer, the pundit, the personality, and the political contrarian.

    Starting from scratch on Substack is quite a challenge. From the graph shown above, this is the curve of my subscribers count. It plateaued. The new reader feature coupled with the discovery tab didn’t move the needle at all. We have to wonder if Substack is just a clique in disguise.

    You can read my past newsletters by visiting my Substack page. Be sure to subscribe, it’s free!

    → 9:46 AM, Dec 31
  • Not the best way to build brand loyalty, @LGUS (#smarttv #airplay2)

    LG 4K OLED Smart TV

    According to an article from MacRumors, LG is rolling out a software update to its 2018 Smart TVs to enable AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support. I personally own a 2016 model and I don’t expect to receive such update anytime soon. As a software-only solution, I don’t see why they couldn’t make it happen for 2016 models too. When you think about Apple supporting iPhone models dating back to 2015 with iOS 14, we have to wonder who’s playing programmed obsolescence here. As someone who’s looking to upgrade its 2016 LG Smart TV to a 2020 model, which will support HDR, Dolby Atmos, AirPlay 2, HomeKit and have a 120 Hz refresh rate, I don’t appreciate LG approach to brand loyalty building.

    → 8:47 AM, Dec 30
  • I don't care about the Apple Car (#apple #applecar #rumours)

    Robin benzrihem 9uxJt LtqKU unsplash

    According to Goldman Sachs, Apple doesn’t care about the car itself. I don’t care either. I’m fed up of these rumours. M.G. Siegler is fed up too according to a recent Medium article. Period. Enough. A car is the least personal product Apple could ever make. Apple’s products are about exhencing experience, life.

    I can see Apple investing in in-car experience and selling it to cars manufacturers. But wait, there is a big gotcha: cars manufacturers doesn’t care about the user experience. Maybe Tesla, but that’s it. I cannot see them coming in drove to Apple to add the “Apple Experience” as an option anytime soon.

    → 3:44 PM, Dec 29
  • Thinking of closing my Google Analytics account − who knew (#googleanalytics #privacy @mailbrew @plausiblehq)

    Micro.blog stats on Google Analytics

    Mailbrew shared a blog post about the services they use internally for their needs. As a die hard fan of Mailbrew (see my profile here), it’s interesting to see what SaaS they use for their internal use. Especially interesting to me, Plausible, a privacy-friendly analytics. I’m currently using Google Analytics which is free but, you know, it’s Google and it’s too complex for my needs. On the eve of a new year, it would be a nice time to start fresh in that regards. I’m currently testing the service as I write this! I never thought closing my Google analytics account could be a thing. Every new year is the occasion to do things differently, don’t you think?

    → 1:58 PM, Dec 29
  • A visual reference to the iPod in iOS 14.3? (#apple #ipodclassic #applehistory)

    IPod Classix and iOS 14 3 mediaplayer controls

    Someone on Twitter thinks iOS 14.3 mediaplayer control is a nod to the iPod Classic. I think this redesign was introduced in iOS 14.2. Up until now, it didn’t came to my mind the design was similar to the iPod Classic. Nonetheless, it a step up compared to the previous version both in design and features. As Gruber puts it, it’s probably the best way to layout music controls on a small screen.

    → 1:43 PM, Dec 29
  • The original iMac — best of them all? (#apple #iMac #history)

    Original iMac

    When the original iMac came out, in 1998, a first tangible and public sign of Steve Jobs return at Apple, I was perplexed yet intrigued. It was so unique compared to everything else, just like for the original Mac, in 1984. There was a retro look to this machine that was seducing to me, especially when looking at it right in front of it. I never owned the iMac G3 and any of the following designs. I came back to the Mac in 2005 after a 10 years pause. This concludes the long series of “20 Macs for 2020” from SixColors.

    → 12:25 PM, Dec 29
  • Thoughts on my first contact with Disney+ on Apple TV (#appletv #disneyplus #streaming)

    Disney Plus App 2

    Yesterday I had my first real experience with the Disney+ streaming service on my Apple TV 4K. In a word: wow! I wanted to see the latest movie from Pixal: Soul. I decided to try Disney+ for the occasion. It’s the best streaming experience I ever had. From the mandatory signup process to browsing content and watching movies, I’m sold. Rightfully, Apple named the Disney+ Apple TV app the best of 2020. Not only Disney knows how to create great movies, they also know how to create great user experience for the Apple TV. Apple should take some notes here. Google, with its crappy YouTube app should just start over. Now the 9$ a month question: will I keep the Disney+ subscription?

    → 10:50 AM, Dec 28
  • On Apple Fitness+ Launches (#apple #services #fitnetsplus)

    Apple fitnessplus treadmill workout 12142020

    Benjamin Mayo on Apple Fitness+ Launches

    “They did a good job with this. It’s not a deeply technical proposition but sometimes simple ideas and good execution are all you need. Fitness+ is high quality and well produced workout videos overlaid with live metrics readouts from a connected Watch. Straightforward, technologically trivial, but effective.”

    I started to use the service since day one. For now, I’m doing treadmill workouts ranging from 10 min to 30 min. I like the whole thing so far. The next thing I’d like to try is the dance workouts.

    → 9:04 AM, Dec 27
  • Was this lab setup real? (#apple)

    Internal Apple Lab

    In 2020, we started to get a better peek at Apple’s labs, at least, this is what Apple wanted us to believe. My question: was this setup a real lab or was it entirely made up? I tend to think they were real. If that’s the case, in this particular image, can you spot a very old Macintosh?

    → 8:38 AM, Dec 27
  • I don’t buy commercial Christmas cards. (#adobe #sparkpost #creativity)

    Adobe Spark Post

    Every year, a few days before Christmas, I spend some time to create all my own and original Christmas cards for my beloved ones. It’s a pretty simple process involving two different apps. One is Unsplash and the other is Adobe Spark Post. I usually start by browsing Unsplash for finding the right photo for inspiration. Once I settle on one picture, I download it and launch Adobe Spark to create the initial montage. I make sure to reserve some space for the best wishes text. This year, I’ll do things a bit differently as my cards will be digital-only. I’ll send them via iMessage. Some people would prefer to have a printed version, but 2020 being… well… 2020, I’ll go ahead with a digital version only.

    I’m a big fan of Adobe Spark Post. For some reason, I don’t see a lot of noise around it on the web. I use it for many other things than creating Christmas cards, as the picture above can show. You can read my review of Adobe Spark Post here on my main blog.

    → 11:08 AM, Dec 24
  • Learning by example can be addictive (#photography #adobe #lightroomCC)

    LightroomCC Discover Feature

    After installing Lightroom CC on my M1 Mac mini, I spent some time with the Discovery feature. It’s a place where you can see other photographer’s photo edits. I find it fascinating and very helpful in learning how artists decide to process their photos. There are probably as many ways to edit a photo as there are photographers. The discovery feature has been introduced this year and can be very addictive. Be aware.

    You can one of my many edit session by hitting this link.

    → 3:42 PM, Dec 23
  • ProRaw and the Gradual Gradation of Grays – On my @Om (#photography #iphone12promax #proraw #apple)

    The steel sider Late in the night

    ProRaw and the Gradual Gradation of Grays – On my Om:

    When reviewing these images on a big iMac Pro screen, I was gob-smacked by the details that were visible to the naked eye. I was able to get my shades of black and whiter whites from the files. The gradual gradation of grays is part of my editing process, and I didn’t need to do anything much to achieve that. You can feel the fog dancing among the trees. You can feel the sunshine trying to fight its way through the damp.

    Man, I wish I had an iPhone 12 Pro Max, right now. From this article, my favourite pictures are the ones with trees, proudly standing. And yes, black & white is often my favourite way to look at a scene. The pictures above are mine.

    → 1:05 PM, Dec 22
  • Tempted by Vimeo, again. (#vimeo #YouTube #experiment)

    My Main Vimeo page

    I have too many projects on my plate to complete and experiments that I want to try. Today, I’m thinking about subscribing to Vimeo, again. I used to have an active account where I would publish photo processing session recordings with voice over. These sessions are still available by the way (one example here). I stopped doing those because they were time consuming to create and publish.

    Subscribing to Vimeo’s first paying tier is not cheap. I know what you’re thinking, why not use YouTube which is free!? First, I don’t like YouTube and the business model behind it. I don’t like to depend on Google for my stuff. Vimeo is better in my opinion as a video content platform, for what I want to do. I prefer their embedded video player compared to YouTube’s. I don’t want ads on my feed and on my content. For all these reasons, Vimeo > YouTube.

    My Vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/numericcitizen

    Now you know. 😎

    → 9:55 AM, Dec 22
  • My current Applications folder on my M1 Mac, what is yours? (#apple #m1chip #applesilicon)

    My current Applications folder

    I’m mostly done with the re-installation of all my most used and mandatory apps on my Mac mini. To give you an idea of my apps collection, here is a screenshot of my applications folder. Most are universal apps or Apple Silicon only.

    I’m curious, what is yours?

    → 5:32 PM, Dec 21
  • I'm less and less using my Intel-based iMac. And that's ok. (#m1chip #applesilicon #apple)

    Thomas q m2zuB8DqwyM unsplash

    As more and more applications get the universal binary treatment to support M1 Macs, my iMac usage outside of my daytime job has decreased significantly. The list of apps that I cannot use on my M1 Mac mini is shrinking every week. It’s a good sign. Things are moving faster than I initially thought. Yesterday, I decided to let go the weird idea of not installing Intel-only applications on my M1 Mac mini, and everything is really working just fine.

    → 11:35 AM, Dec 21
  • What do you use as a shortcut menu utility on macOS? (#apple #macOS)

    instant bar Mac App Store page

    I’m currently writing a piece about the tools and services I use to help me be more efficient in my blogger workflow. Currently looking at Shortcut Bar - Instant Access on the Mac App Store. I had this utility in my list that I never bought but the features are exactly what I would like to get. Is there any alternatives to this utility? It’s a bit on the expansive side and is not yet updated for M1 Macs and Big Sur look and feel.

    → 10:59 AM, Dec 21
  • My still pristine M1 Mac mini is a thing of the past 😔 (#apple #m1chip #macmini #rosetta2)

    Install Rosetta 2 dialog box

    Can you believe it, up until today, I was still resisting the installation of any non-native applications on my M1-based Mac mini. I refrained myself from letting in any Rosetta-dependant apps to run. I shouldn’t have made a big story about this non-issue, but it’s was more psychological than anything else.

    The list of non-native apps is small, but it started to negatively affect my ability to complete specific tasks. These apps waiting in line were: SafariMarkdownLinker (Safari Extension), Grammarly (Safari Extension), Adobe Creative Cloud installer (required to install the native version of Lightroom CC), 1Password.

    Today, I finally let it go and went ahead with installing these remaining pieces of my application landscape. I feel good, and everything is working just fine, as expected.

    → 3:36 PM, Dec 20
  • A few thoughts on Twitter's Space feature (#twitter #experience #audio)

    Experiencing Twitter Space

    Today, unexpectedly and for the first timr, I had a chance to experience Twitter’s Space. It’s a virtual room of twitter users who can speak to each other. When there is an open space, a small icon appear at the top of your timeline among twitter fleets. Tapping on it allows you to enter the space. By default your mic is disabled. You have to request permission first in order to be able to speak. There is a speaker who controls people’s requests to speak. People who are listener can react using emojis. It’s pretty interesting, much more interesting than audio tweets in fact.

    I spent maybe ten minutes chatting with the space owner about things like COVID-19, confinement in Christmas time and how to use Twitter space. Others in the room were just listeners. It was pretty cool. I can see myself using this instead of doing a podcast for example. It’s easier to setup up, doesn’t require a distribution platform to maintain. I could setup a space to talk about Apple, photography, privacy or climate change. Can’t wait to try it out with my followers, once the feature officially rollout.

    → 2:26 PM, Dec 19
  • Where does our data go when we die? (#digitallife #death #legacy)

    Nikko macaspac 6SNbWyFwuhk unsplash

    What happens with your numeric assets when you die? I mean, think of your online presence: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Where all that stuff ends up a few years after you die? That’s the type of question “Where Does Our Data Go When We Die?” tries to answer. It’s something that I find interesting and a big challenge, something that I wrote about in my piece titled “A Guide for Preparing to Leave Your Numeric Legacy”. Long read yet very important subject.

    → 11:28 AM, Dec 19
  • On Apple's ProRAW: extending the range of possibilities (#apple #proraw #photography)

    Picture in ProRAW format

    From “ProRAW Is Here!" By Austin Mann:

    I suggest turning on ProRAW when you are shooting in extreme conditions of any kinds (extremely low light, extremely high dynamic range with super bright highlights and dark shadows, mixed light temperatures, and so on). Also, use ProRAW if you plan on enlarging the images (on screen or in print).

    ProRAW is about extending the possible scenarios where you can take great looking pictures. Just like in traditional photography gear, adding different lenses allow for more possibilities. It’s incredible how far iPhone photography has come since 2007. I’ll have to wait for fall of 2021 before being able to take advantage of all this as I’m not planning to upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro. If all goes well, I should be able to bring a shinny iPhone 13 (or whatever name they give for next’s year iPhone) with me on my next trip to Europe, on October of 2021.

    → 11:11 AM, Dec 19
  • Time for something. Again. (#me #avatar)

    My 2021 Avatar 1000x1000 72DPI

    Introducing my new avatar for 2021. It was made by hyxcreations, available on Fivrr. I wanted something along the lines of this one. I’m very happy of the end results. It is a blend of the previous avatar and the other one I use for @numericcitizen, my official Twitter account.

    Expect a slow rollout over the next few weeks. ☺️

    → 3:18 PM, Dec 18
  • The shear power of Apple on its install base (#apple #ecosystem #installbase #iPadOS #iOS)

    iOS and iPadOS Usage Chart

    Is this new? I mean the format in which Apple is presenting the current iOS and iPadOS usage? The last time I paid attention to this, Apple was using a pie chart. I prefer this level of details. A few thoughts about these numbers are in order.

    First, iPhone users are quicker to update their devices compared to iPad users. Second, Apple makes a clear distinction between devices recently introduced (in the last four years) from the rest. In both categories, the numbers shows that a vast majority of users adopt the latest release of the operating system. Third, even though people keeps their device longer than before, Apple keep supporting older devices (older than four years). All of this helps keeping the adoption rate at very high levels. Kudos to Apple.

    These numbers also tell another story: Apple’s shear power over its install base is impressive. Apple has the ability to move it in new directions pretty quickly as users are quick to embrace new features, either by buying new devices or by updating their current ones because they are still supported by Apple. Will 2021 bring a different tone to this story with iOS 15? Maybe, maybe not.

    → 1:36 PM, Dec 17
  • The big problem with Sign in with Apple (#apple #security)

    Sign in with apple jpg

    Here is an issue that I ran into yesterday with “Sign in with Apple”. I suspect I’m not alone in that situation.

    The excellent website building tool, Universe, came out with an update that introduces Sign-in with Apple. After updating the application on my iPad, I launch the app. I’m welcomed with a sign-in screen. The Sign-in with Apple option is prominently displayed. I tap on it. I’m then presented with the typical panel to decide if I expose my real email address and my real name. Now the troubles begin.

    I’m already a user of Universe, which email did I use to create my initial account? I can’t remember. What if I choose the wrong one? I try one of my email address that I decided to reveal. Hit sign-in; after a few seconds of working progress, I’m met with welcome screen for new users. Duh. I’m trying to get back, to no avail.

    This issue reveals a big flaw in Sign in with Apple: when you are already a user of a service, switching to the more secure sign-in option makes it hard to associate this login to your existing account. I ran into the same issue with most of the services where I tried to make the switch. I suspect this is hindering the adoption of an otherwise secure upgrade to traditional authentication service. Too bad.

    → 7:43 AM, Dec 16
  • My first contact with Apple’s Fitness+ 😍 (#apple #fitnessplus #service)

    Fitness+ Workout Summary

    Yesterday Apple launched their latest service offering: Fitness+. I gave it a try, and I fell in love. The first step was to update all my supported devices: the iPhone, my Apple Watch and my Apple TV. After spending a few minutes glancing at the different type of workouts, I elected to do a twenty minutes treadmill workout using my iPhone and my AirPods Pro. For this session, Jamie-Ray was my coach. As you can see, I think I made pretty well. I liked everything about the experience, from onboarding to the actual workout session with on-screen feedbacks and the finale. The music choice was good too! After my session, I gave a look at the Apple TV Fitness application. Upon launching the app, you have to select the Apple Watch associated with the person who will interact with the service. One note, if your Apple Watch name is too long, spacing on the screen won’t allow you to easily see which Apple Watch is which; you’ll have to wait so see the text to scroll, it’s a bit of an annoyance. I checked a few workout previews and sure enough, the video quality is exceptional on the Apple TV 4K.

    All in all, this is a great start for Fitness+. It’s probably the best example of the whole being larger than the sum of its part. The combination of great devices, great content, great user experience, impeccable execution are the ingredients and enablers for the best experience. Bravo Apple.

    Oh, I’ll try to exercise five to six days a week.

    → 5:11 PM, Dec 15
  • Thanks, Apple (#apple #privacy #privacyprotection)

    Application Privacy labels

    Thanks to all the teams at Apple for putting this App privacy feature together. Just like food labels, application labels were long overdue. Apple is far from perfect, I wrote about that a few weeks ago, but at the very least they do move the needle quite a bit. Bravo.

    → 10:46 AM, Dec 15
  • What happens when an M1 Mac starts up? Fascinating. (#apple #m1chip #applesilicon)

    M2 chip logo

    What happens when an M1 Mac starts up? – The Eclectic Light Company:

    You can learn a great deal from the unified log entries of a system startup, and that for an M1 Mac is even more fascinating for the insights it gives into the hardware in the M1 system-on-a-chip (SoC). These were obtained from an M1 MacBook Pro with 8 CPU cores and 8 GPU cores running macOS 11.0.1 fairly clean, and in full Secure Boot.

    I always liked low level stuff in computers. I learned 6502 assembly language (if we can call this a “language”) when I was a teenager. If you’re into these type of things, it is a fascinating short read that opens the door to what is going on in your M1 Mac.

    → 8:01 PM, Dec 14
  • The unexpected good side effect of COVID19 on me as a blogger (#writing #blogging #blog)

    Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

    Who knew COVID-19 would have a very positive side effect on me. It started on March 13th of 2020, and it’s still going on nearly uninterrupted. What is it? I have more time than ever to focus on my writing and publishing activities. Why?

    As I’m working from home from mi-March of this year, I no longer have to commute. I save countless hours per week just because of this. On top of that, consider many activities on the weekend that no longer can take place because of the on-and-off restrictions in place.

    I never wrote or published as much stuff in the last nine months as in the last year or so. I have a lot of projects in my head, small and more significant. I did spend quite a lot as I no longer travelling on software, services, work-from-home equipment. I also have more time for reading than before, it makes a difference.

    COVID-19 is transformative at the society level but also a personal level. There are things that I don’t want to return when COVID-19 is no longer among us. Time is a precious resource, once you have it, you don’t want to mess with it.

    → 1:14 PM, Dec 14
  • Remember de Macintosh Quadra 700? (#apple #vintage #Mac #Macintosh)

    Macintosh Quadra

    Working from home at 25MHz: You could do worse than a Quadra 700 (even in 2020) | Ars Technica:

    The '040 was a substantial upgrade over the '030 that had previously been used by Apple. It featured 1.2 million transistors, over four times as many as its predecessor. This processor increased the L1 cache size by a factor of eight to 4096 bytes, and it was the first 68k processor to have an on-board floating-point unit (FPU). While not without its drawbacks, the '040 processor was an obvious candidate for Apple's next line of premium workstations at the time. And this line would become known as “Quadra,” starting with the Quadra 700 and 900 models in late 1991.

    In 1990-1991, I was working for an Apple authorized dealer. I remember the Quadra line, in particular, the 700. It was the most popular machine among desktop publisher. It was fast. I liked its vertical and boxy look. It was different. What is interesting is the description of the Motorola 68040 processor. Compare this to the Apple Silicon, it’s simply unbelievable. The M1 chip comes from an alien world.

    → 8:31 AM, Dec 14
  • Uniformity across diversity (#youtubers #YouTube #design)

    YouTubers Channels

    Recently I spent more time than usual on YouTube for different reasons: to look at AirPods Max first impressions, to learn more about Synology DSM 7.0 beta, etc. After a while, it’s easy to see a trend that bugs me: design uniformity across the board. See the previous image gathers a few popular YouTubers channel content pages. They all look about the same or at least designed by the same designer. On top of that, there seems to be a trend where the weider you look, the better. When did that trend start?

    → 7:37 AM, Dec 14
  • When no new features was a feature (#Apple #macOS #snowleopard #2009)

    Leopard launch

    Published by BasicAppleGuy, a short survey of his experience with MacOS Snow Leopard, back in 2009. I remember Steve Jobs talking about this release of MacOS as a pause in new features introduction in order to build the foundations for the next decade of MacOS (now spelled macOS). In fact, I would argue that, no new flashy feature was a new feature in itself. Something Apple could do these days. Their operating systems are muc more complex and feature rich, Apple is not standing still either. I cannot see them doing this.

    → 12:39 PM, Dec 13
  • The Apple Health Index (#apple #finance #marketplace #products #expectations)

    Apple Health Index Table

    For a while, I used to maintain a table of measures related to Apple that were in four categories: Finance, Products, Expectations, Market Landscape. Each attributes had his own ponderation. I wold give a scope from 0 to 10 on each of them. A formula would calculate something call the Health Index. I would revisit this table four times a year. It was obviously totally subjective but it was fun to do. Today, their score would be 9.140 out of 10. Not bad.

    → 11:21 AM, Dec 13
  • It's time to call out @iphoneincanada (#tracking #ads)

    Ads

    Wait for the previous gif to load and animate. What the fusk is wrong with the owners of iPhone in Canada website? This animated gif shows how wrong the web can become. There are 21 trackers on this website. The more trackers, the more ads, the less content there is. What a pity. For this reason, I don’t visit their website, I only subscribe to their RSS feed and Safari notifications. They should know that at some point, they cross the inflexion point where too much is like not enough.

    → 9:54 AM, Dec 13
  • Here is a throwback... (#Apple #iOS6 #iPad)

    iOS 6 on iPad

    During my digital assets cleanup this weekend as I’m preparing a move to Synology, I came across this screenshot of my iPad running iOS 6. Looking carefully to this image, it’s fascinating to see all the things we lost since then. First, many of those apps no longer exist. Second, design.

    Enjoy in all its glory.

    → 9:08 AM, Dec 13
  • Did you know... ? (#apple #iOS #tips)

    UntitledImage

    When you get an update from the App Store stating a size of, let’s say 179.4 MB, this doesn’t represent the actual amount of data that will be downloaded. In fact, depending of your device, the size will be much smaller. If you want to see this in action, turn on Low Data Mode. Then, go to the App Store and download an application update and look at the actual size of the download in the alert box. Tadam!

    → 8:48 AM, Dec 13
  • A broken Apple timeline (#apple #history #myarchives)

    I use to keep a time of all the news and announcements emanating from Apple, Cupertino. It was fun but time-consuming. I failed to find a good use of it, so I stopped updating it. Maybe I should have continued, as a blogger, it could have been really useful. Apple Timeline

    → 6:00 PM, Dec 12
  • Detailed Apple Maps comes to Canada 🇨🇦🗺! (#apple #applemaps)

    At long last, Apple’s detailed maps is now available for Canada! Not only we get more details in maps and better driving directions, we also get guides and the look around which is, in my opinion, way better designed than Google’s street view. I wasn’t expected them but they are certainly nice bonuses! Detailed maps were first introduced in iOS 13, more than a year ago.

    Now, if only we can get rid of COVID-19, I may start to use Maps more frequently. 😔

    → 10:34 AM, Dec 12
  • The end of the “hackintosh” era? 🥷🏻 (#apple #applesilicon #m1chip)

    Ernie Smith writing on Tedium about the hackintosh necessity in a world with the M1 chip for the Mac:

    ”I hope, now that Apple has a chip architecture that doesn’t get in the way, it ramps up its industrial design … and more importantly, it reads the reviews and iterates more thoughtfully and consistently.”

    That’s exactly what I’m hoping too. The iMac and the MacBook design in general were highly influenced by the thermal pressure the Intel chip was imposing. The next iMac design revision will certainly take advantage of the Apple Silicon low thermal dissipation and put Apple in a more creative mode when it comes to imagining what a desktop computer should be.

    → 9:35 AM, Dec 12
  • Too bad @AppleNews, this could have been fun 😔 (#applenews #blogger #bloggerlife #writer)

    Now it’s official, Apple is no longer accepting blogs on their news platform, Apple News. I got my rejection mail today (read about my original submission). I understand Apple News as being a… news platform, yet I think Apple is missing an opportunity here. Why? One word: Substack. Another word: Medium. Apple could have done to the written space what they did for the audio world with podcasts. Apple could have created a special place on Apple News for individual writers, not only bloggers per se. This would have been a message of inclusion, diversity and openess. Instead, Apple is again sending a message about begin a walled garden, exclusion, elitism. Too bad.

    → 9:12 AM, Dec 12
  • Where are you all? 🤔 👀 (#blogger #bloggerlife)

    Fridays are always slow, it seems. Are people simply taking time off social networks, blogs, etc.? Maybe. In any case, I want to send a “have a nice week-end” to my dear readers and followers. 👈🏻 I do have a lot on my plate for this week-end: writing, writing, writing. And some time off too.

    Photo credit: Jonas Jacobsson / Unsplash.

    → 3:56 PM, Dec 11
  • What came before the diagram (#blogging #tips)

    I use Apple’s Notes app to jot some ideas, all the time. When the concept is clear in my head, I go ahead and select my tool for the next phase. In this case, it was Apple’s Keynote which proves to provide a quite capable environment for diagramming. The subject: how I process information that eventually will enable me to write blog posts. More details here.

    → 9:57 PM, Dec 10
  • Dear Adobe... (#adobe #lightroom #creativecloud)

    Wanted to give a try to Lightroom CC on my new and still pure Mac mini (no Rosetta installed). Guess what? The creative cloud installer needs Rosetta as it is not yet native. I know, it’s no big deal, it will be fine. If that wasn’t enough, Adobe installers put a lot of things on your system that I don’t like. Then, I remembered about “Suspicious Package” utility which inspect an installer and show what it is actually doing. But, again, this software has yet to come in a universal binary. It will be hard to resist longer. AdobeCreativeCloudApp

    → 9:31 PM, Dec 9
  • I'll take the blue ones, no, the white ones, no, the black ones (#apple #airpodsmax)

    The AirPods Max is exactly the kind of product that needs a visit to the Apple Store before making a final buying decision. Photos don’t always do justice to Apple’s colour choices and textures. The weight of the AirPods Max are also an important factor to consider if you plan to wear them for long period of time. In other words, I’ll wait to buy one of these, if at all. Demand will ease, production will catch up and eventually we’ll be able to return to Apple Stores, like we used to, a not so long time ago. Apple Airpods Max color black 12082020

    → 8:57 PM, Dec 9
  • Remembering Desk Accessories (#apple #macosbigsur #iosapps)

    I’m currently trying a few iOS or iPadOS apps on my M1 Mac mini. I came across the Castro Podcast player for with I pay a subscription. Castro doesn’t support the iPad, yet, which is a bummer. On Big Sur, the application looks like what we used to have on very old versions of MacOS: Desk Accessories. Depending of your age, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I kind of like the use of small apps like this. Castron-on-BigSur.png

    → 4:29 PM, Dec 9
  • A Substack reader, really? (#substack #mailbrew #hey #newsletters)

    From Chris Best, Substack CEO: “Something that we think about a lot is readers tell us, ‘Hey, I’m subscribed to six different Substacks now, and I want to read them all, and it sucks that they’re in my email inbox along with all my other stuff,’" 😳🤦🏻‍♂️

    A reader app from Substack would certainly be a good idea. I’m already on the private beta. I wonder if Mr. Best knows about Mailbrew? Or Hey? While waiting for such a reader app, Mailbrew is certainly capable of doing just that: consolidating newsletters in one place. Read my review of Mailbrew on my blog. https://linktr.ee/numericcitizen

    → 8:26 AM, Dec 9
  • We’ll certainly take speed gains we can possibly get (#adobe #lightroom #photography #m1chip)

    Adobe Lightroom 4.1 is now available with native M1 support. We didn’t see a lot of comments about the speed increase beside Apple’s during their “One More Thing” special event. Adobe’s software on the Mac is not always the best in class in regards to pure performance. So, this release for the M1 chip will hopefully bring a meaningful increase in performance. I didn’t test it yet on my M1 Mac mini as I’m still slowly installing my stuff, one app at a time. I’ll certainly report on that subject later in the month. Stay tuned.

    → 9:44 PM, Dec 8
  • Someone had to do it! 😍 (#apple #airpodsmax)

    There is a maximum of 25 combinaisons available. Someone on MacRumors forums posted an image of them all. To get a different color, you’ll have to lay more money on the table. Anyway, I expect Apple will sell a boat load of these in the coming months. Are you planning of buying the new AirPods Max?

    → 7:28 PM, Dec 8
  • Oh I love their retro look! 😍 (#apple #airpodsmax #design)

    Many were expecting an update to the aging and expansive Apple TV 4K. Instead, we got a brand new retro-looking and expensive AirPods Max. I can see people already calling out how absurd it is, and the lack of charger or any cables, bla bla bla. Put that aside and enjoy their lovely retro look. Oh, and since their ear cushion can be replaced, I guess they don’t have to match the colour of the over-ear “cups”, right?… Lots of possibilities here. Shipping dates are already slipping in 2021… expect to see them everywhere next summer, when covid is behind us (most of it) and people can return to a simili normal life.

    → 12:43 PM, Dec 8
  • How Synology NAS can improve my blogger workflow (#synology #nas #storage #blogger #tools)

    As an IT guy, looking at what Synology has in store for 2021 makes me pretty excited. I wrote about that yesterday but I took a deeper look at what is coming in DSM 7.0, their NAS operating system. I didn’t pay too much attention to their photo management software that comes with a Synology NAS, but that might change. In my blogger workflow, there is something I can optimize is the use of a photo management to store all my screen shots, stock photos, visual assets, etc. Synology Photos could be the tool I was looking for for a long time. I don’t want to use Apple’s Photos application as I don’t really like to see screenshots intermixed with family pictures. If Synology Photos is as solid as it looks, if their mobile application is much improved to their current version, I’ll certainly give it a serious try. On top of that, this photo feature also enable remote access to the photo library. Very interesting.

    I’ve been shopping around for a home NAS for a long time and only made the plunge this year. After much thinking and reading, I settled on Synology because I saw a mature company offering mature products with a solid reputation. Again, DSM 7.0 brings a lot of new features and improvements which makes me feel happy about my choice of going with them. Can’t wait to try what’s new.

    → 7:40 AM, Dec 8
  • 1.0 vs 14.0 - So different, yet similar (#apple #iOS #iPhone)

    Jordan Singer on Twitter posted this picture showing the iPhone with iPhoneOS 1.0 side by side with an iPhone 12 running iOS 14.0. The original iPhone home screen design was durable and endured the test of time. Some people will find it depressing to see so little changes but I do think it is a sign of an initial good design. iOS 14 brought the most significant upgrade, even more profound than the iOS 7 disaster.

    → 8:57 PM, Dec 7
  • Massive update coming to Synology NAS users 😍 (#synology #dsm #update #nas)

    I’ve been using a Synology DS720+ NAS for a few months now and boy do I like it! On my blogger to do list is a review of this device. The breath of features never stop to impress me. I’m a big fan. I use it for archiving, space reclamation on my Mac and much more. It’s fast and reliable as I had a chance to test the repair feature after losing a hard drive (yes, already!). It worked flawlessly.

    This week, Synology will make DSM 7.0 available for beta testers, the braves. Looking at the announcement web page, it looks like a massive update. Refreshed screens, more cloud integration, admin rights delegation and added feature like Active Insight will certainly be exciting additions. One question: I think Synology is about to add a subscription for this, which I’m not sure I’ll pay for, depending of its usefulness in its final form. We’ll see.

    → 12:32 PM, Dec 7
  • Here is a stressful user experience (#apple #iphone #ux #ui #design)

    See that UI of the iPhone when you receive a call while being on another with someone else? Pretty confusing, right? You stress out to understand what to do while hoping you’ll have enough time to not miss the call. it is a stressful user experience. Why is Apple not giving any attention to this very specific UI is beyond me. They made notable change in iOS 14 with the notification-like interface for incoming calls, which was more than welcomed.

    The way I came over this challenge is to concentrate on the icon labels instead of the icon itself. It does help a lot in my case.

    → 12:15 PM, Dec 7
  • Of course they do! Duh (#apple #applesilicon #m1chip #macpro #imacpro)

    An article today by the infamous Bloomberg news site reports that Apple is working on much more powerful Apple Silicon chips for higher end machines like the Mac Pro and the iMac. We all know 2020 was in fact the entry point for next year’s act two of this transition. From what we can read in the article, Apple could make high-end PC obsolete from a RAW power perspective with as many as 32 cores. Does anybody wonder if Intel has good sleep these days?

    → 11:14 AM, Dec 7
  • Apple's Sidecar to the rescue (#apple #macos #sidecar)

    I’m currently using an iMac with a 23.7” LG UltraFine 4K external monitor (read my review here). With the M1 Mac mini coming today, this setup will have to change. The LG screen will transit to the Mac mini and I’ll lose the pleasure of the second screen working environment. Using the macOS virtual desktop feature is nice but not always the best solution when working on many different things at once. This is where Apple’s Sidecar comes into play. Prior to this, I rarely used Sidecar, but not anymore. I’ll use it with the Mac mini or the iMac, depending of the current work session. As a bonus, I get to use a “soft" Touch Bar at the bottom of the display, which is cool because I love the Touch Bar.

    → 8:20 AM, Dec 7
  • The modern business card? (#blogger #writer)

    Over the last two years, I expanded my online presence. Maybe a bit too much; it’s hard to keep up. I came across something interesting recently: Linktr.ee. According to their website, the purpose of the service is to “Connect audiences to all of your content with just one link”. It’s exactly a case of “you don’t know you need it until you see it!”. Building the mini-website is quick and easy. There are enough layout options to make your page look like your own. I opted for the paying tier which enables more design choices and better analytics. Hope you like it and pay a visit to learn the breath of my online presence. I think of it as some form of a modern business card.

    I started to replace my links to the following one which makes things simpler in places like my Twitter profile page. Check it out: https://linktr.ee/numericcitizen

    → 3:05 PM, Dec 6
  • The Unifi Dream Machine gets a major update! (@ubnt #udm #update)

    My home router got an update this week, version 1.8.3. I’ve been running the Unifi Dream Machine since spring without any issues. This update was long in the works and highly expected. Among the changes, a redesigned and simplified controller dashboard with real-time statistics which are really helpful. The device management UI also received a redesign. Some of the previously available information has been removed or moved around. CPU, Memory consumption and internal temperature are higher than before (around +10%-30%), though. Overall, its’a solid update. Oh, and it is running an 4 cores ARM processor.

    Remember, this router replaced an aging Apple AirPort Extreme. If you are still looking for a great home router, please, do yourself a favor and buy this one. This post is not sponsored.

    → 1:08 PM, Dec 5
  • Getting ready for the M1 Mac mini (#apple #applesilicon #m1macmini #m1chip)

    How do you get ready for an M1 Mac mini when you’re a power user of a 2017 21.5" Intel-based iMac? First, I know the M1 Mac mini speed will make the iMac seem slow in comparison. That, I’m ready. I’ll keep my iMac for a while as my gateway to my legacy software and apps for my work. Second, upon the first boot of the Mac mini, I’ll set it up as a brand new machine. No Time Machine restore. I can’t remember the last time I started fresh on a new Mac. I’ll depend on Apple’s iCloud to bring back all my stuff on my 1 TB SSD drive. Then, I’ll meticulously pick which app will make the cut for installation on this shiny and speedy machine. I’m building a list of universal apps I want to install on it, but I’ll also need the help of the excellent website, “Is Apple Silicon Ready?”. Only “Universal” apps will be allowed on it. Even if Rosetta 2 is a technical marvel, I don’t want it to contaminate my Mac. I want the pure M1 Mac experience. Oh, one last thing, if an application’s icon is not good enough, I can search for a better one of places like https://macosicons.com/ and https://www.macosicongallery.com/ or Michael Flarup’s excellent icons pack.

    According to Deliveries, my M1 Mac mini will arrive this Monday.

    → 7:53 AM, Dec 5
  • Using Twitter Fleet, why not! (#twitter #creativity)

    As you know, Twitter came out with « Fleets », its clone of Snapshat’s Stories. People don’t really like it. Or do they? My timeline is constantly filled with my followers posting fleets. I guess some do like them. I decided to give it a serious try. I think they add another dimension to Twitter that I happen to find interesting for highlighting purposes. It’s simple to use, just enough design flexibility. There are is one drawback: they only show up on the iPhone (not the iPad or the web), which I find strange and somewhat arbitrary.

    Following are screenshots of my experiment. Let’s see where it goes from here.

    → 12:38 PM, Dec 4
  • Oh I love that one from @gruber (#apple #applesilicon #m1chip)

    Gruber publishes a piece today about how hard it can be for some people to accept that Apple is yet again did the unthinkable.

    This one is simply priceless: “Intel and AMD have learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make decent PC chips. Apple hasn’t just magically figured this out. They’re not going to just walk in.”

    It’s a liberal transposition of a famous quote on how Apple, a PC guy, just can’t walk in and make a great phone. With the M1 chip, yes, Apple just walked in and did it. Again.

    Many pundits were quick to jump the gun on software compatibility issues, the translation layer called Rosetta, the meager 8 GB of RAM, the lack of ports, etc. As proven by the numerous independent reviews, none of these “issues” are affecting the value of what Apple just did.

    It will take a few years before Intel and their friends finally realize what just happened in late 2020 and recover from it. Years.

    → 8:16 AM, Dec 3
  • Dear Microsoft... (#microsoft #privacy #privacyprotection #surveillance #office365)

    Following this statement from Microsoft, here is one question for you, Microsoft: why haven’t they thought, at the very beginning, that this Office 365 feature wasn’t a good idea to begin with? Here is another question: Who do you think you are to devise a “Microsoft Productivity Score”? “a tool that helps organizations measure and manage the adoption of Microsoft 365” — Microsoft

    There is a difference in semantic here: measuring adoption vs measuring productivity score. What is “being productive” anyway? The road to hell is paved with good intentions, as they say.

    → 5:31 PM, Dec 2
  • What is holding back the hardware, again? (#apple #iphone #ios)

    “…until there are some changes with either iOS, the iPhone or both, bigger isn’t really better. It’s just bigger.” — James Rogers writing for iPad Insight about the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Things like picture-in-picture is a step in the right direction on the iPhone. The situation is obviously better on the iPad, yet there are still many low hanging fruits.

    → 10:48 AM, Dec 2
  • I'm already afraid (#apple #m1macmini #applesilicon #intel #imac)

    Just saw that tweet today. It’s too late. I’ll be installing my new M1 Mac mini along the side of my 2017 iMac. Thwy will be both in direct competition. I’m afraid that I’ll find my beloved iMac too slow. I’m not there yet. I’m still waiting for my new thing to get delivered. I’m getting myself mentally ready for the shock. I’ll have to keep my iMac for a while for my daytime job.

    → 9:33 AM, Dec 2
  • About those iOS Apps screenshot on the App Store (#apple #appstore #iosdev)

    I hate those screenshots montage. They lack emphasis on the application itself, the product. They waste precious space. At the very least, why not put a video showing the application in action. People don’t like to read long application description page. Is it Apple’s fault. Probably. Not sure. Apple is not enforcing their own rules on these screenshots.

    This post was triggered by another Matt Birchler post.

    → 9:11 AM, Dec 2
  • Don’t touch this screen (yet!) (#apple #mac #macos)

    Steve Jobs once downplayed flash memory based MP3 players when the iPod was just beginning its ascension. We know what came after the iPod with a small drive. The iPod nano, an MP3 player using flash memory. If you see a stylus, they blew it. The iPad eventually came with support for a stylus… oops, a pencil. What came after that? Support for a mouse with iPadOS 13.4. See the trend? Are you getting it?

    Now, about the Mac. Sure Apple could have used this historic moment to a add touch screen to the M1 MacBook. It didn’t happen. I, myself, was one of them, thinking it was about to happen as exposed in this blog post. My short experience with macOS Big Sur updated design screams out loud that we are far closer to a touch supported Mac than Apple is willing to admit.

    I don’t know when, but it will come, in a perfectly chosen moment by Apple. Apple likes to move forward, one step at a time. The next window of opportunity is next year with a redesigned MacBook body. This year’s was about the internals while keeping familiarities: performance, battery life and transition. Next year is about redefining the way we look at the MacBook and enhance the way we always knew how to interact with it. The Big Sur update this year is just the first step toward a touch friendly operating system. In a typical Apple way, they will have thoroughly thought about all this and we will be amazed about why it wasn’t done this way before. Next year has the potential to be exciting.

    This blog post by Matt Birchler triggered this one you just read. 👀😎

    → 8:10 PM, Dec 1
  • The Mac mini renaissance? (#apple #applesilicon #m1chip #macmini)

    I don’t know if this is because I’m eagerly waiting for mine, I’m in a distortion of reality, but the Mac mini seems on the verge of a major regain of popularity. Sales of the little box are booming in Japan and now AWS is offering an Intel version as an EC2 instance… while waiting for the real deal, a M1-based version. The latter brings renewed interest in a platform a lot of pundits were considering dead a few years ago, thanks to Apple’s apparent lack of interest.

    → 1:40 PM, Dec 1
  • Apple’s Reminders is so underrated (#apple #ios #ipados)

    How many To Do apps are available on the App Store? A lot. They all have a different take on how we should create, manage and check our To Do. The best one maybe just in front of your eyes, on your iPhone and iPad: Apple’s Reminders. Here is why for me it does the job quite well.

    I’ve been using OmniFocus and Things in the past, but after Apple redesigned Reminders in iOS 13, I came back to using it. Besides supporting basic things like URL, images and notes, you can group To Do lists in folders, lists can be shared with others, Shortcuts are supported, it synchronizes seamlessly across my devices.

    Apple’s Reminders is one of the app at the center of my blogger workflow to help me process information and publish content online.

    → 9:02 AM, Dec 1
  • Why getting a Mac Pro can still make sense (#apple #macpro #applesilicon #mac)

    In light of all the raving reviews about the M1-based Macs, you might wonder why someone would still need and buy an Intel-based Mac Pro? For many reasons. First, some high-demanding pro software might not be compatible on M1 Macs. Second, if you run software who takes advantage of multiple cores, the Mac Pro with its Xeon processor is hard to beat. Example of this is VMware Fusion. Other use cases demand the most powerful CPU you can get, and they come in the Mac Pro, for now. Third, the Mac Pro is still the most expandable Mac out there. I’m one of those contemplating the Mac Pro for my SDDCbox project, but I must say that my priorities shifted a bit. I’m a few days away from receiving a M1 Mac mini. It will keep me busy until the beginning of 2021.

    → 7:15 AM, Dec 1
  • Did Apple just killed the Mac resale value? Oh yes. (#apple #applesilicon #intel #mac)

    The M1-based Macs ramifications are far reaching as we are still pondering about their impact on the future. Reading this tweet from Parker Ortilani, we have to wonder if Apple, with its M1 chip introduction, just killed the resale value of any Intel-based Macs. Credits: Tables from the author. Simple answer: YES.

    → 5:43 PM, Nov 30
  • AppleOne - Expired or Tired? (#apple #appleone #subscriptions)

    My AppleOne signup went weird when it was announced by Apple. I was billed for some of the individual services as well as the bundle. I’ve been looking for credits since then, which are still yet to come. I think it will be a mess to fix unless Apple gets their act together before then. Now, it looks like my subscription has ended and I cannot renew it. Something bad is really happening. I’m not alone feeling the pain, according to MacRumors.

    → 12:52 PM, Nov 30
  • Building his ideas and pushing boundaries on the way (#apple #iosdev #developer #designer @jsngr)

    A few weeks ago, I wrote about the TestFlight App Store and how cool it was. The guy behind it, Jordan Singer, is also on Substack. I’m already a big fan of his work.

    As a former indie iOS developer (2009-2013), I find it interesting to see other people’s ideas, work and initiatives. This guy is on a roll and tests some App Store review process boundaries, which is more than needed these days. I wish him success with Airport.

    → 7:04 AM, Nov 30
  • Apple is no longer doomed. Intel is. (#apple #intel #applesilicon)

    Who is winning between Apple’s M1 chip and Intel’s Tiger Lake chip? Well, if benchmarks are to be believed, Apple is winning, by a wide margin. The results are pretty worrisome for Intel which seems incapable to go beyond a 10 nm process. Intel will become the emblematic image of inefficient processors for years to come. Dell, HP et al. should be worried too because they are in the exact same position Apple was just before their M1 announcement. The only thing now favouriting the Wintel world is the need for Windows for a vast majority of users.

    → 5:26 PM, Nov 29
  • Shortcuts to frustration (#apple #shortcuts #ios #ipados)

    Let’s put it straight: Apple’s Shortcuts are the weirdest, most cumbersome and utterly frustrating thing to build, test and eventually use. I cannot count how many hours I spent trying to understand their intricacies and most useful use cases. As much as I want to get empowered by them, it often ends in frustration. Here is why.

    You cannot disable old shortcuts that are no longer used but that you want to keep as a reference. There is no way to export them in a clean and readable PDF format. There is a lack of some form of runtime debugging tools. The editor doesn’t scale beyond a few dozens instructions. There is no way to write shortcuts in a text editor à la AppleScript. Share sheets bad design and organization make shortcuts invocation a trial and error experience. As your shortcuts collection grows, it hard to remember which shortcut does what in what context and what is required to launch it. And the list goes on and on. Documentation within the Shortcuts editor is lacking, very limited. A big part of the story is dependant on the willingness of developers to support them. It’s so frustrating to see an app lacking any form of exposure to the shortcut engine.

    Make no mistake, I like the idea of automation on the iPad or iPhone. I’m happy to see Apple improving on them with each release of their operating systems. But, there is so much left to cover.

    → 3:17 PM, Nov 29
  • On using Lightroom on a Mac (#apple #adobe #applesilicon)

    Let’s set the tone: Adobe software, Lightroom in particular, is not a very efficient piece of software to use on the Mac… even on a higher-end configuration. Recent updates in the last year or so tried to improve things a little bit, but there is still a long way to go. It’s not clear why Lightroom Classic is so bad. Is it because it is a multi-platform software? Probably. If so, we pay the price at every single use.

    Does the M1 chip in a Mac can change the game? Well, yes and no. The following YouTube video compares Lightroom Classic running on an Intel-based MacBook Pro to an M1-based MacBook Pro. With Rosetta 2 translation layer running to support the non-optimized version of Lightroom Classic, we could think the experience would be awful. In fact, not only it isn’t, the M1-based Mac makes the experience a bit better. Who would have thought.

    Now, Adobe is working on a native or universal version of Lightroom for the M1 chip. Note that I’m referring to Lightroom CC here, the cloud version of Lightroom, not the Classic version. Depending of who you are and what is your relation to photo processing, it may be a good or a bad news. Nonetheless, the prospect of a universal of Lightroom CC is certainly exciting. Will Adobe take advantage of the GPU cores or the ML cores of the M1 chip? I highly doubt it. If the iPad version of Lightroom CC is any indication, though, not all is lost. We’ll see.

    → 9:50 AM, Nov 29
  • Selling a piece of my Apply history (#apple #imac #2007 #elcapitan)

    Today I sold my oldest Mac in the house: a 24 inches 2007 iMac running El Capitan. When I look at this computer, I see many similarities with the current iPad Pro design: round bezels, boxy frame. I hope Apple will return to this design, albeit in a refreshing way, for their upcoming M1-based iMac.

    Now, waiting for my M1-based Mac mini. 24 days before adding another piece to my long story with Apple products.

    24" 2007 iMac
    → 2:04 PM, Nov 28
  • A must have utility for Mac: HazeOver. (#apple #mac #utility #minireview)

    Just bought a Mac utility: HazeOver! How come I didn’t know about this one?? What is it? It’s a small utility which helps bring better focus to the active application on your Mac. It does this by dimming the out-of-focus application windows. It works with multiple displays. If you prefer to work in Light mode over Apple’s Dark Mode, it will make things a lot easier on your eyes. Think of it as a visual compromise. Makes Big Sur even better. Highly recommended.

    → 11:53 AM, Nov 28
  • The M1 chip never cease to amaze (#apple #applesilicon #m1chip #tech #amdryzen)

    Another excellent Twitter thread about the M1 chip. This time, it is a comparison with the AMD Ryzen. From a thermal design power, the M1 chip is simply unique and unmatched. On a per-core basis, top of the line AMD Ryzen chip and Apple’s M1 chip are of equal performance. On top of that, the M1 chip is much more than a standard CPU. Oh, and it is only the beginning. Who thought 2020 was such a bad year.

    → 4:45 PM, Nov 27
  • The future of widgets on iOS (#apple #ios #ipados #widgets)

    There is a lot to like from this short video showing vivo’s OrigiOS in action. Expandable widgets, user-adjusted widget size, dynamic content, super clean animations, a few touches of skeuomorphism where it counts, dynamic icons, immediate feedback on touch, all those things which are lacking on iOS home screen could see the light if Apple choose to. Widgets 1.0 were long to come for us, iPhone and iPad users, but here they are. Yet, there is still so much untapped potential.

    What are your thoughts?

    → 4:32 PM, Nov 27
  • The future of the iPad, according to an M1 chip (#apple #ipadpro #applesilicon #mac #m1mac #ipados)

    In a blog post “Your Move, iPad”, by Becky Hansmeyer, the author asks “So if raw power isn’t enough, and new display tech isn’t enough, where does the iPad go from here? Will it be abandoned once more, lagging behind the Mac in terms of innovation, or will Apple continue to debut its latest tech in this form factor?"

    In light of the massively successful M1-powered Macs, what can we infer for the future of the iPad Pro?

    Apple doesn’t need to add touchscreen to their MacBook line if they unleash the iPad with a much more complete iPadOS experience. I think Apple missed the occasion with iPadOS 14 by not adding a more flexible widgets experience, by refusing to improve external display support and by not revisiting the multitasking interaction model. See? It’s not only a matter of adding 5G wireless support or LiDAR or a second USB-C port. These will only be as good as the software will allow them to be useful. The just begun new era for Mac with the M1 chip combined with Apple’s tight software integration should give us answers on why the iPad Pro future lies in the software.

    → 8:14 AM, Nov 27
  • A fascinating Twitter thread about Apple Silicon Wizardry (#apple #applesilicon)

    Here is a super fascinating Twitter thread that I reproduce here. Find the original tweets here. It’s is about Apple Silicon wizardry. For techy people only!

    “In case you were wondering: Apple’s replacement for Intel processors turns out to work really, really well. Some otherwise skeptical techies are calling it “black magic”. It runs Intel code extraordinarily well. The basic reason is that Arm and Intel architectures have converged. Yes, the instruction sets are different, but the underlying architectural issues have become very similar. The biggest hurdle was “memory-ordering”, the order in which two CPUs see modifications in memory by each other. It’s the biggest problem affecting Microsoft’s emulation of x86 on their Arm-based “Surface” laptops. So Apple simply cheated. They added Intel’s memory-ordering to their CPU. When running translated x86 code, they switch the mode of the CPU to conform to Intel’s memory ordering. With underlying architectural issues ironed out, running x86 code simply means translating those instructions to the Arm equivalent. This is very efficient and results in code that often runs at the same speed. Sometimes there isn’t a direct equivalent, so the translation results in slightly slower code, but benchmarks show x86 being consistently at least 70% of the speed. In any case, a surprising number of popular apps already run on it. Apple seeded developer systems a few months back, allowing people to get their code ready. Normally, that wouldn’t have been enough time. When you recompile code for a new architecture, it usually breaks. But as I said above: Arm and Intel architectures have converged enough that code is much less likely to break, making recompiling easier. Apple has made surprising choices. They’ve optimized JavaScript, with special JavaScript-specific instructions, double sized L1 caches, and probably other tricks I don’t know of. Thus, as you browse the web, their new laptop will seem faster and last longer on battery, because JavaScript, even though other benchmarks show it roughly the same speed as Intel/AMD. The older MacBook Air had a dual core CPU that ran at 3.8 GHz, but when in low-power mode, 1.2 GHz. Switching between fast and slow modes is how it conserves power for mobile. But it’s ultimately inefficient. The Intel CPU is designed to run at 5 GHz. Downclocking to 1 GHz saves power – but not as much as if you’d designed the processor to run at 1 GHz to begin with. Apple’s strategy is to use two processors: one designed to run fast above 3 GHz, and the other to run slow below 2 GHz. Apple calls this their “performance” and “efficiency” processors. Each optimized to be their best at their goal. When they need to conserve power, they turn off the “performance” processors and run code on their “efficiency” processors. They have 4x performance processors (twice that of their older Macs) plus 4x efficiency processors. All 8 can be active. When doing something that can use 8 processors, such as compiling code, it goes real REAL fast. 8 processors vs. 2 processors in their old notebooks make a difference. A big part of this story is that Intel is about 3 years behind on Moore’s Law. Apple Silicon uses the latest 5nm tech from TMSC, while Intel uses the older 10nm/7nm generation. Much of Intel’s product line uses the even older 14nm/10nm generation. None of this is actual “black magic”. It’s all pretty understandable. It’s just all the various things have been executed really well, leading to a combined result that is a great leap forward. Another “magic” trick is how their “Swift” programming language uses “reference counting” instead of the “garbage collection” in Android. They did something in their CPU to double the speed of reference counting. …even when translating x86 code, all that reference counting overhead (already more efficient than garbage collection) gets dropped in half. Yet another weird performance enhance to add to all the others."

    → 7:05 AM, Nov 27
  • Overwhelming reactions — When Apple makes history, again (#apple #applesilicon #m1chip #mac)

    After Apple announced their M1-based Macs and people started to get their hands on them, reactions were enthusiatic and unanimous. At one point, I wanted to create an archive page that would have gathered the most interesting reactions, but it was too late and overwelming. Well, someone else did it. Here is a great blog post: “Apple Silicon M1: Black. Magic. Fuckery” gathering reactions to these new machines from Apple. There are many gems in there. Check it out! I really have the feeling that Apple is making history, again.

    → 7:25 AM, Nov 26
  • Apple's worst ad in years? (#apple #applead #advertising #christmas)

    Apple this year is back with a long and… weird (?) Christmas ad. I must say that’s a quite different and ordinary one compared to previous years. It’s no longer about touching hearts but just having fun and selling you something. This doesn’t reasonate as much with me as it used to. Contrary to previous years, Apple is focusing on one product, the HomePod mini. Again, I prefer when they don’t try to sell us something this way. There is plenty of other companies who do just that. Please, Apple, no.

    → 12:43 PM, Nov 25
  • Mac nano (#apple #applesilicon #m1macs #macmini)

    Following my read of this article published by Macworld, the propect of a Mac nano looks more than possible. It is inevitable. Apple’s focus this year was on the internals but I expect them to switch to the outside on the next iterative evolution of the Mac mini. Besides physical compatibility reasons, a much smaller Mac mini, close to the size of an Apple TV for example could be in store. One possible constrain is the number of ports Apple will have to squeeze on the back. If they keep the same number of ports, the newly redesigned Mac mini could be something in-between the current one and the Apple TV. We’ll see. Meanwhile, I’ll patiently wait for my own M1-based Mac mini to arrive in 28 days. Its external size won’t matter much to me.

    → 7:30 AM, Nov 25
  • Better recovery options (#apple #applesilicon #m1macs)

    According to an article published by SixColors, M1-based Macs offer a much different and improved boot and recovery options. Looking at the picture below, and I noticed the same while testing Big Sur, the icon for the boot disk is one showing an old mechanical HDD, not an electronic SSD. Was Apple feeling nostalgic when they designed this icon?

    → 6:57 AM, Nov 25
  • How ironic (#apple #ios14 #widgets #android @notionhq)

    Read on Twitter today: “Notion widgets are only for iOS 14 for now. We’ll get there, Android 😓 Our mobile team is heads down on offline mode right now, but we learned a lot during development that we can use for an Android widget down the road. Thanks for your patience in the meantime 🙏” - Notion.

    Widgets came to Android in 2008-2009. What am I missing here? How ironic is this? A lot if you ask me. I’m not calling out Notion, far from it. My observation is all about the fact that, despite Android having widgets for so many years, they were probably not as good, well designed and useful as there are now on iOS 14.

    → 7:18 PM, Nov 24
  • Saving at least 2 Billions a year (#apple #applesilicon #intel #m1chip)

    A lot has been written on Apple switch to their own processors already. But one side of the story is still lacking some insight. Apple is probably saving a lot of money by putting their own Apple silicon in each Mac they sell. According to this Medium article, Apple could save at least $2 billion a year with just three entry level MacBook sporting the M1 chip. We can only try to approximate the amount of money Apple is no longer paying to Intel. We can also start wondering the amount of money Apple has directly invested in developing the M1 chip and how fast they wil recoup their investments. My gut feeling says that it will be fast.

    → 7:06 AM, Nov 24
  • My prediction for next year's MacBook (#apple #macbook #applesilicon #m1chip)

    Here is a simple theory. This year’s MacBook didn’t bring an upgrade to the FaceTime HD camera, and unanimously, people is complaining. But what if this lack of attention to the very specific feature from Apple is part of a bigger plan for next year’s MacBook? Here is my guess.

    Apple is targeting next year for the real deal: the full redesign of the MacBook line to be announced around WWDC 2021. Part of this plan would include much better FaceTime HD camera assembly that would include Face ID, a highly expected feature for M1-based machines. Offered in sizes of 12", 14" and 16" with an impossibly thin screen bezel, Apple wanting to keep the size of these machines the smallest possible as the power sipping CPU can handle smaller batteries yet providing long battery life. I would expect the M1x chip as the more powerful M2 one would go to the iMac, iMac Pro. The new MacBook, to be named MacBook X, will will mark the first year of the Apple silicon transition.

    Until then, keep enjoying your Apple Silicon Mac, version 1.

    → 6:54 AM, Nov 24
  • A fascinating possibility coming to the Mac, next year (#apple #applesilicon #m1macs)

    On Substack, I recently stumble on an interesting article from https://apple.substack.com: when Apple introduces a new round of Macs next year, what if they keep previous generation around but at a lower price point?

    It’s a highly possible scenario considering how Apple under Tim Cook operates. The iPhone models multiplication, same is happening with the watch…. next, the Mac? Probably. Is this a good thing? For their bottom line probably, yes, but for the customers? Yes and no.. yes, it makes the brand more accessible but it makes the buying experience a little bit more complicated than it should be with fewer models available. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

    → 8:02 PM, Nov 23
  • Which is faster, then? (#apple #applesilicon #m1macs)

    Following of new round of benchmarks from MacRumors, my take outs are: 16 GB is (much) better than 8 GB from a speed point of view (well, duh!), the Mac mini is the best most of the time with a few exception (slower than MBP on SSD write speed is one such exemple, hard to explain). Adobe Lightroom Classic doesn’t take advantage of the RAM difference, which is not surprising to me (thanks to multiplatforms Adobe’s software) You can get all the details from MacRumors website: here and here. Graph from MacRumors.

    → 7:07 PM, Nov 23
  • Apple is not what it used to be (#apple #analysis)

    Someone on Twitter shared this YouTube video in which the guy tries to explain why and how Apple is not what it used to be. In a few words: now, they actively compete with others. It’s a massive difference where before they seemed to act alone without caring about the surrounding competitive landscape. Highly recommended.

    → 12:58 PM, Nov 23
  • He should go work for Apple (@michaelsteeber #apple #applestore #appleretail)

    Have you seen this short YouTube video on the Apple Store holiday shopping experience? Take a moment because it is a masterpiece of execution in visual quality, content and execution in general. 9To5Mac published an article about it and I thought they were referring to Apple’s material. It took me quite a while to get it: the author of this clip is Michael Steeber, a well known Apple enthusiast and writer for 9To5Mac. His focus is directed to Apple retail in general but from a design point of view most of the time. I like what this guy is doing, I’m a bit jaleaous of his talent, and he should work for Apple already. Congrats!

    → 10:38 AM, Nov 22
  • Publishing on Apple News, soon? (#apple #applenews #publishing #writing)

    After months of silence, I’m finally getting some response from Apple regarding my submission to publish on Apple News. I can’t remember when I first submitted my Numeric Citizen Blog for publication on the Apple News platform. In a unexpected twist, they got in touch with me and asked to fill a questionnaire, which I promptly did. They are putting a new review process in place. I also updated my selection of articles submitted for review to use more recent ones. We’ll see how fast they respond and if they open the gate!

    → 9:06 AM, Nov 22
  • The list is growing (#apple #macosbigsur #iOS14 #iPadOS14 #M1Chip)

    Surprisingly, the list of iOS 14 and iPad OS 14 apps that are made available or updated to work better on the M1-Based Mac is growing. Here is my current list: Newsify, Ferrite, Luma Fusion, Castro, Buffer, Opener, Apollo Reddit Client, Darkroom, Darknoise. The thing that I should do now and glance my current iPad apps and mark those that I want on the Mac too.

    → 2:58 PM, Nov 21
  • Is It Apple Silicon Ready? (#apple #applesilicon #m1chip #macOSBigSur)

    It took a while but here is the first and most comprehensive list of application compatibility with Apple’s M1 Macs. You can search and sort the list easily and use the category filter too to locate application in the list. Well done. Design or photography applications compatibility level is high but productivity isn’t, which is not surprising. Most of my apps are already universal binaries. https://isapplesiliconready.com

    → 7:44 AM, Nov 21
  • The era of customization comes to the iPhone (#apple #ios14 #widgets)

    Seeing this level of high interest in iPhone homescreen customization holding on since the launch of iOS 14 tells me that people really want to make their device more personal. Is it too far fetched to imagine Apple bringing system level customization a basic feature of iOS? I don’t think so. Maybe in iOS 15. Image from idownloadblog.

    → 7:41 PM, Nov 20
  • For Icons lovers (#macos #ios #apple #design #ui #ux #visualarts)

    I’m a user of Timing for Mac, and recently the app got updated in order to support macOS Big Sur. The update brings a fresh and entirely new app icon to better fit the visual style of Big Sur, and I love it 😍. The icon has been designed by Matthew Skiles. Looking on his Twitter profile, I discovered two interesting web sites: https://www.macosicongallery.com/ and https://www.iosicongallery.com/. These are catalogs of the best icons for macOS and iOS of well known apps. Check them out. These sites made me realize how much we lost in design quality over the years, great icons are hard to come by these days.

    → 6:56 AM, Nov 20
  • It’s overwhelming and unanimous (#apple #applem1 #applesiliconmacs #m1chip)

    Following Apple’s “One More Thing” event, I wanted to gather positives reactions to Apple’s M1-Based machines. It’s simply overwhelming. I just can’t keep up. It’s all over the place. I can only imagine Apple’s marketing department current putting a press release doing just that.

    “I can’t remember the last time reviews for an Apple product were so universally positive, especially considering these are machines that look the same as the previous-gen. Apple simply excelled themselves with the ARM transition.” — Benjamin Mayo

    It’s not only overwhelming but unanimous. What a great time to see history being made.

    → 11:52 AM, Nov 19
  • Is 8 GB of RAM enough? (#apple #macbookair #applesilicon #M1chip ) 🤔

    Many are asking if they should go with a 16 GB RAM configuration for their new M1-based MacBook Air. Some others think Apple should have made a 32 GB of RAM configuration for the 13” MacBook Pro. According to this informal benchmarking video, 8 GB seems enough for most people. During his tests, the user opened many different apps and documents in Excel, tabs in Chrome, Photoshop and the MacBook Air stayed cool and never ever started to fall on its knees. At no time the idle CPU metric went down below 60%. The fan-less computer never got hot. Why? Three letters: SoC.

    The M1 chip gathers many different components close together on the same chip so they don’t have to go through the PCI bus to move data around. I think it plays a big role in Apple Silicon Macs efficiency. We can no longer compare the RAM configuration of an Apple Mac with a Wintel machine, just like we cannot compare a 12 GB of RAM Android phone to a 6 GB of RAM iPhone. It’s just two different worlds.

    Yet, I ordered a 16 GB Mac mini. 😳

    → 7:27 AM, Nov 19
  • The Rosetta 2 tax (#apple #m1chip #applesilicon)

    One of the best take on Apple’s new M1-based Mac is from TechCrunch. What I learned in this review is, thanks to Apple’s Rosetta 2, the cost of running an un-optimized app on these machines: 26% performance hit. The more interesting thing is the fascinating fact that, even with this hit, apps can still run faster than on Intel-based Mac counterparts.

    I can’t remember the last time I didn’t mind paying taxes.

    → 8:45 PM, Nov 18
  • Pixelmator Pro 2.0 — A Small Wonder (@pixelmator #applesilicon #m1chip #universalapp)

    I’ve said it before, Pixelmator Pro is one of the best app in the Apple ecosystem for three reasons. First, the Pixelmator team is always fast to take advantage of Apple’s latest software and hardware technologies. Second, it’s a real native app, designed and built for the Mac. Third, Pixelmator Pro is close to how Apple’s own apps should be designed. Make no mistake, I love Apple’s iWork. Pixelmator feels familiar and Apple-ish, something that I like. They probably read the HIG documentation dozen of times. Congrats to them.

    Oh, and look at this “What’s new" welcome page when you first launch the app after upgrading to version 2.0. Look familiar to you? Can’t wait to install this on my upcoming Mac mini.

    → 12:55 PM, Nov 18
  • Microsoft already feeling the heat (#microsoft #apple #m1chip #applesilicon)

    Carefully look at this add by Microsoft bellow. The phrasing of this ad clearly shows the roots of the company making the product. “Pen supported” is one example. Why not write something like “Touch interface” or “Touch screen”. The word “supported” sounds wrong and makes me feel Microsoft is not fully confident about the real nature of this computing environment. The other thing is the removable SSD option. That’s typical geeky-PC-world-thing. Do we really care in a world of cloud-based storage being an extension of our devices? Really bad ad.

    Clearly, Microsoft is already feeling the heat and is on the defensive. It’s only getting started. Others will follow.

    → 7:33 AM, Nov 18
  • If Rev(Y-1) < 1M$ Then Comm=15% otherwise Comm=30% (#iosdev #apple #developers)

    Big news today by Apple. It’s a step in a (new | right) direction. Some are already applauding the move, others are vehemently calling it a tactical one. Apple will never satisfy everybody, except when launching their new M1-Based Macs. Apple can change when they feel the pressure, just like any big corporations. They’re not different on that front. We tend to forget this.

    → 7:17 AM, Nov 18
  • 11.1. Beta. Already. (#macosbigsur #apple #beta)

    Apple is on a roll with the release to developers of [version 11.1 of macOS Big Sur](11.1. Beta. Already. (#macosbigsur #apple #beta)). My hope for this update is for Apple to tweak the UI a bit and make it faster on Intel MacBook Pro. (Notifications, low contrast, etc.). The other thing, I hope it will be ready by the time I’m getting my Mac mini (mid-December).

    → 1:30 PM, Nov 17
  • About this crappy FaceTime Camera. (#apple #m1chip #macbook #facetimecamera)

    “We really considered giving these machines 10 out of 10 review scores, but this camera is bad enough to keep that from happening, especially on a pro laptop that costs more than the Air.” - The Verge

    “Unfortunately, that similarity extends to the webcam, which is still 720p resolution and still terrible. Apple has tried to borrow some of its real-time image processing from the ‌iPhone‌ to try to spruce up the image — and I do find that it does a better job evenly lighting my face — but mostly what I notice is that it looks bad (only now it’s a more processed version of bad).” - The Verge

    Here is a real comparison. It’s less crappy but it is not good.

    Take that, Apple. It was a near perfect moment.

    → 10:25 AM, Nov 17
  • Dear M1 Macs reviewers… (#M1chip #applesilicon #mac #review).

    Here is what I’m hoping to see from reviewers of the M1-based Macs today. How fast is the machine booting? Is wake from sleep that much better? When you start a non-optimized app, how does Rosetta 2 kicks in? How long does it take? What happens when you start the same app a second time after a while? Was Rosetta kick out and has to relaunch? How is window resizing doing, we know that was never really fast on Intel-based machines. How is scrolling speed in Photos? Can you really feel the difference on an optimized app compared to their Intel counterpart? Does installing 11.0.1 update was faster than on previous macOS release on Intel? Is the Mac mini the fastest among the three? Does GPU intensive tasks are really that much faster? What about SSD speed for reads and writes compared to an Intel Mac? is it much improved? Is macOS Big Sur buggier than on Intel? Is 8 GB of RAM enough or 16 GB is really a must? Have you tried Pixelmator Pro, how fast is it now?

    Hoping for a few answers today.

    → 7:55 AM, Nov 17
  • Podcasting (#podcasting #blogging #writer #blogger)

    My podcast adventure was too short (The Numeric Citizen Podcast). I prefer written words over audio. I prefer photography over video. There is something about moving content that I find difficult to grasp, as a creator. I’m may be too old for podcasts creation or YouTube, I don’t know. I loved creating those episodes (in French), though, using Ferrite.

    → 8:04 PM, Nov 16
  • While waiting for "real" benchmarks... (#m1chip #applesilicon #mac #apple)

    These “behind the scenes" benchmarks of the M1 GPU are again impressive to say the least. Is the Mac bound to become a gaming machine?

    → 9:20 AM, Nov 16
  • My Growing List of Universal Apps (#m1chip #apple #macos #macosbigsur #macmini)

    Here is the list of apps that I use and that are ready for my upcoming M1-based Mac mini. The list is growing almost on a daily basis. I didn’t expect it would go that fast. The prospect of much faster Macs could trigger an even faster adoption by developers. Apple’s bet is paying off.

    U = Universal. U-C = Universal, Catalyst-based port from iPadOS. U-S = Universal SwiftUI based app, C = Non universal but compatible.

    My wish is to install Universal apps only as I don’t want to trigger Rosetta 2.

    • [U] Omnigraffle
    • [U] Pixelmator Pro
    • [U] Affinity Photo
    • [U-C] Universe
    • [U] Transmit
    • [U] Little Snitch
    • [U-S] Aviary
    • [U] Darkroom
    • [U] Apple’s iWork
    • [U] Apple’s iMovie
    • [U] NewsExplorer
    • [U-C] Twitter
    • [U] Screens
    • [U] Ulysses
    • [U] Things
    • [U] Fantastical
    • [U] AirBuddy
    • [U] CleanShot
    • [U] Reeder 5
    • [C] iStats Menu
    • [C] DayOne
    • [C] Carbon Copy Cloner
    • [C] Timing
    → 8:07 AM, Nov 16
  • It will be (much) faster (#apple #macmini #imac #m1chip)

    Comparing the performance of a 2017 iMac to a M1-based Mac mini, based on Geekbench numbers. Sometimes, a picture, oops, a graph is worth a thousand words.

    My current experiment of macOS Big Sur on a 2017 MacBook Pro is not very impressive. I can feel the difference compared to Catalina.

    → 4:59 PM, Nov 15
  • Universe on macOS Big Sur (@onuniverse #macosbigsur #apple #catalyst)

    One of the best “side effect” of macOS Big Sur release is the ability to run iPadOS applications on the Mac. The first to cross the border that I really care about is Universe, a site builder app. I use it to build My Numeric Citizen Visual Space. The following screenshot is the application running on my 2017 MacBook Pro upgraded to Big Sur. The end-result is really good.

    → 2:48 PM, Nov 15
  • Here is why Microsoft should start to worry (#microsoft #surfacego #macbookair #apple #m1chip)

    In light of Apple’s recent products introduction, consider the recently introduced Microsoft Surface Go. A Windows laptop that starts with 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB SSD, 12.4” touch screen using the Intel Core i5 which will get you 13 hours on battery for 550$. If you want a 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD, the price goes up to 899$, but you keep the same lame CPU.

    Now, compare this to the new MacBook Air (a much more powerful laptop) for 899$ (education pricing), same amount of RAM and SSD, 5 hours more of battery life, a much better non-touch display.

    How is Microsoft supposed to compete against Apple in this market now?

    They simply can’t, and they should start to worry.

    → 9:09 AM, Nov 15
  • What's wrong with Medium's stats…? (@medium #writing #bloggerlife) 🤔

    What’s wrong with Medium’s “reading time" stat? Here, this story “Thoughts on ‘One More Thing’ - The Ultimate Mac Transition”, got 34 views so far, 12 reads, 2 two responses, 4 fans, 53 claps but the total reading time is 50 seconds? What’s wrong with that? 12 reads x 11 min estimated reading time = 132 minutes. Someone wrote: “very informative talk”! Did this guy really read my story or he is trying to get some attention? 🤨

    → 7:16 AM, Nov 15
  • Exposure Notification and battery life (#apple #covid19)

    Why is exposure notification taking so much battery power? Do you experience the same thing? I’m running on iOS 14.3b1 but it was the same behaviour under previous iOS releases. I’ve been monitoring this for a while. I don’t want to turn that off. Oh, and by the way,amI alone who doesn’t find very intuitive these graphics?

    → 5:46 PM, Nov 14
  • The list is growing... (#apple #universalapps @elemanssoftware)

    My favorite RSS reader News Explorer (read my review here), is already supporting macOS Big Sur, M1-based Macs. The updated News Explorer UI on Big Sur is much cleaner in general. I’m on the list to test the iOS 14 friendly version, adding support for Widgets and I can’t wait to see their implementation.

    → 12:20 PM, Nov 14
  • Big. (#apple #bigsur #macos #macosbigsur #update)

    Big Sur update is certainly big. Full of goodies and the enabler for the next decade of excitement for the Mac.

    → 10:12 AM, Nov 14
  • Massive Big Sur Review (#macos #bigsur #macosbigsur #apple #review)

    Ars Technica put together a massive review of Apple’s macOS Big Sur. It is quite impressive. It’s exactly the kind of review that I’m looking for. Visuals and internal architectural features are exposed, explained but rarely justified, only when it serves a purpose of contextualizing the matter. Kudos for the author: Andrew Cunningham

    Now, I’m so anxious to get this thing running on my upcoming Mac mini. Big Sur is not only a refresh of the user interface but also an important sum of things under the hood that is being upgraded and modernized.

    → 10:08 PM, Nov 13
  • On Big Sur - Maybe I was wrong (#apple #macosbigsur #widgets #design)

    Maybe I’m wrong with my perception of the disaster Apple created with the introduction of widgets in combination with notifications center (read my comment here on micro.blog). After reading the excellent MacStories.net review of Big Sur, I finally saw the combination in action. Notifications are see big improvements and look closer to what we get on iOS.

    Still, Apple lost the opportunity to make widgets available in their own space, something like what we used to have, the Dashboard. It’s ridiculous to confine widgets in such a small space, considering modern screen sizes. Oh, and I hope the interaction feels much more fluid on M1-based machines because the last time checked on a 2017 MacBook Pro, with Big Sur beta 10, it was super laggy

    Picture credits: from MacStories’ review of Big Sur.

    → 12:00 PM, Nov 13
  • It's happening! (#macos #catalyst #universalapp #macosbigsur)

    The movement of iPadOS apps crossing the boundaries to come to the Mac is starting, thanks to macOS Big Sur. A surprise addition to the Mac App Store is @OnUniverse which is now available for the Mac. The app has been rebuilt on iPadOS to better fit the Mac platform. It’s a great example of Apple’s bet starting to payoff. I used to use this app on my iPad to build my Visual Space. It’s only the beginning.

    As I don’t have macOS Big installed yet, I couldn’t play with the app. Can’t wait to try it on my upcoming M1 Mac mini.

    → 6:39 AM, Nov 13
  • One Computer, Three form factors (#apple #macbookair #macbookpro #macmini)

    “The new M1-based MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini are best thought of not as three different computers, but rather three different manifestations of the same computer.”

    Astute observation by @Gruber in his commentary post on “One More Thing" event. People are trying to figure out why there is so few differences between the three Macs Apple announced this week. Sometimes, the answer is simple.

    → 1:26 PM, Nov 12
  • PC Gimmicky features rarely used (#windows #windowslaptop #microsoftsurface)

    PC laptops introduced pencil support, touch screen, screen-based touchpads, et. al. because these are the only things they could do to try to stay on top in a commoditized technology platform. I will take in a heartbeat 3X or 5X performance gain and 6 more hours of battery life over the gimmicky features. This is one of the many reasons I’m so upbeat with the M1-based Macs.

    Photo credit: Alexander Andrews on Unsplash.

    → 9:14 AM, Nov 12
  • When the low-end beats the high-end... (#apple #macbookair #M1processor)

    Twitter is ablaze since yesterday when first benchmarks of the MacBook Air were published. They show the M1-based and fan-less Mac to surpass the top of the line iMac! It’s impressive if not mind-blowing!

    Now here is a simple theory: native apps will certainly perform really well but non-native apps will run under the Rosetta layer, which happens to consume CPU cycles. This performance room being consumed by Rosetta, the actual performance of a non native app will probably fall down to a more reasonable level.

    Impressive nonetheless.

    → 7:12 AM, Nov 12
  • Hourra, Ulysses ! (#macosbigsur #writingtools #blogger @ulyssesapp)

    My go to app for blogging, Ulysses, is now ready for macOS Big Sur. Yeah! I’m doing my part, as I’m going to order this M1-based Mac mini today so I can run Big Sur on its own machine and experience the future now. And that icon is lovely, not too iOS-ified, enough Big Sur-ified to feel at home! Ulysses 21, Pt. 2 - Ulysses Blog

    → 7:00 AM, Nov 12
  • Another experiment: Mac mini (#apple #macmini #m1processor #macosbigsur)

    Recently published benchmarks of the upcoming M1-based Macs are impressive enough for me to take a deep breath and make a decision. A week ago, I didn’t think of this as a possibility. But here we are.

    I’m going to make the plunge into the world of Apple Silicon-based Mac, Big Sur and universal apps. It’s the beginning of a new era, and I want to be part of it, experience it. I’m not waiting for the reviews next week.

    I’ll get a Mac mini equipped with 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TD SSD. Expected delivery date is mi-December at the earliest, just in time for Christmas holidays. I never owned a Mac mini, BTW.

    I’ll use my 4K LG display that is currently plugged into my iMac. I’ll be testing universal apps as they come out. Applications like Adobe Lightroom CC, Omnigraffle and Pixelmator Photo will certainly take advantage of the M1 processor.

    → 9:59 PM, Nov 11
  • Tim Cook's Apple: not perfect but utterly impressive (#apple #timcook #2020)

    I recently wrote and published a very critical view of Tim Cook’s Apple. It’s not pretty, but it is my honest take. Now, looking at Apple’s strategy execution for 2020 which is close to an end, I must confess that I’m really impressed. Apple delivered. On all fronts. There are a lot of unknowns, for sure. Yet, I have the felling that Apple set the stage for its next phase of growth for the next decade.

    → 4:01 PM, Nov 11
  • On M1 based Macs Unified Memory Architecture (#apple #mac #m1processor)

    Here is the thing: the new M1-based Macs use the new “unified memory architecture” that is at the center of our iPhones and iPads. If you plan to buy one of these shinny new Mac, my recommendation would be to go with 16 GB of RAM, not 8 GB. Why? Consider this: Rosetta 2 is a new emulation software layer that will consume memory, something that is not present on Intel-based machines. On top of that, memory will be consume for video processing. My guess is: the biggest monitoring, the higher the resolution, the more memory will be consumed. What’s left for the applications? Even if SSD is fast on reads and writes, application launches are fast, nothing equals the speed of RAM. I’m afraid 8 GB of RAM is the new meager 5 GB iCloud storage tier for M1-based Mac. We’ll see with the upcoming reviews and benchmarks.

    → 10:52 AM, Nov 11
  • Intel: shit. (#appleevent #m1processor #apple #intel)

    The graph put together by Anandtech is a wakeup call for Intel and the Wintel world, for that matter. These trajectories are incredible, impressive for Apple, worrisome for Intel. We are on the verge of a major shift in the portable landscape. Apple seems unstoppable.

    → 7:37 AM, Nov 11
  • Lingering Questions… (#appleevent #apple #mac #macbook)

    Why no clock-speed information about the M1 processor? How are iOS-based apps be presented on the Mac App Store? Why so little difference between a MacBook Air configurations, CPU-wise, RAM-rise compared to MacBook Pro? What “virtualization technology support" actually means for normal users and tech enthusiasts? Why not bring back the 12" form-factor, an ideal candidate for power-efficient M1 processor? Will there be updates to Intel-based iMac Pro and Mac Pro? Why no 32 GB RAM configuration option for the MacBook Pro? What kind of performance levels should we expect to reach for non-Metal optimized graphic apps? Why does Apple can’t understand the need for an updated FaceTime camera in 2020?

    → 8:53 PM, Nov 10
  • What's missing? A lot. 😳 (#appleevent #apple #applesilicon #mac #macbook)

    No touch screen. No pencil support. No 5G or 5G wireless option. No high-quality FaceTime camera. No Face ID No redesign, no slim bezels. No 12" MacBook. No clock speed specs. No eGPU support. Fewer ports options. Third-party native software support still to come.

    Am I missing something?

    That’s the new Apple MacBook using Apple’s M1 silicon ship.

    Still excited?

    → 8:19 PM, Nov 10
  • History repeats itself (#appleevent #apple #applesilicon #mac)

    From rewatching Steve Jobs announcing Apple’s transition to Intel processors, here are a few interesting observations, just in time for tomorrow’s #AppleEvent.

    Steve Jobs reminds the crowd of transitions in Mac history: 68K to PowerPC, OS 9 to OS 10 then introduces the third transition: going to Intel. Each time, he uses the expression “to set Apple for the next 10 years". It’s all about the CPU roadmap’s ability to enable the Apple’s vision. Also, even at that time, power consumption was an issue. He also repeatedly mention great updates still coming to the PowerPC-based Macs.

    Can’t wait for tomorrow’s version of the very same playbook.

    → 8:05 PM, Nov 9
  • Honest iPhone 12 Pro review. (#apple #iphone12pro #review @basicappleguy)

    I love those balanced review, even partial, of the iPhone 12 Pro. They feel credible, and I tend give them high credence. We should get more of these these days of highly nuanced upgrades offered by Apple, year after year. Photo by the article author.

    → 3:10 PM, Nov 9
  • When Software Holds Back the Hardware (#apple #iphone12promax #ios14)

    This quote from the Wall Street Journal’s review of the iPhone 12 Pro Max is priceless as ti summarize one of the biggest issue, in my opinion, about Apple’s current state of its software in general:

    “It is crazy to me, however, that Apple hasn’t enabled us to do more on a phone that is practically iPad-size. Why can’t I view my inbox on the top half of the screen and my calendar on the bottom, like Samsung allows with its Multi-Window mode? Why does the tiny iPhone Mini allow the same number of rows of home-page app icons and widgets as the iPhone Giant? Why can’t I use an Apple Pencil to take notes on the notebook-size device?”

    These are all valid questions. Even before the iPhone 12 Pro Max, these questions were valid. Software, like for the iPad, is holding back the iPhone. Is it a ressources issue being spread too thin? Is it something about product differentiation? I hope the answer is the former, not the latter.

    Photo: The Verge.

    → 11:32 AM, Nov 9
  • Deception waiting to happen? (#appleevent #apple #applesilicon #mac)

    I have a feeling that we are in for some deception tomorrow at the “One More Thing” keynote. Is this a natural mental process, some sort of auto-regulation of my own expectations, currently happening so I can be pleasantly surprised, tomorrow?

    Yet, reading my Twitter feed today and people are expecting 15 hours of battery life while beating current Mac equivalent performance. And then what? The Apple Silicon story is more about the unification of software platforms at Apple than enabling endless hardware innovations on the Mac.

    Change my mind.

    → 8:13 AM, Nov 9
  • Another iPhone 12 “Virtual” Experience by @MichaelSteeber (#apple #iphone12 #experienceapple)

    After spending sometime with the virtual experience from Apple, I found out another one by the well known @MichaelSteeber that is built with Adobe’s XD. The experience is quite similar, and I’m still not able to find a fully satisfactory combinaison of the iPhone, the MagSafe case and the wallet. Really, the iPhone 12 is not for me.

    → 8:17 AM, Nov 8
  • My iPhone 12 « Virtual » Experience (#apple #iphone12 #experienceapple)

    Apple launched a webpage to experience the selection and visualization of different MagSafe cases and wallets for the iPhone 12. I played with it for fun from my iPad Pro. It’s an interesting way to try different combinaisons of iPhone, cases and wallet in a world where going to a real store to do the same is challenging.

    This year’s iPhone and cases prove to be hardly satisfactory, though. The colours options are not really in line to my tastes. After spending a while, I found two probable configurations that I would buy if I was on the market for such things. Because of bad reviews of the wallet, I would skip this one as I would fear losing my three most important cards. I hope Apple will fix the issues with next year’s round of the products.

    → 8:05 AM, Nov 8
  • I can breath. (#bidenharis2020) 😀🇨🇦

    Well, I can breath a little bit better now that this clown is on the way out. Good riddance. As a Canadian, I’m so happy to see this clown go. If there was a way to start fixing 2020, it would be it. Yeah, I know, he won’t concede victory, he probably won’t do a concession speech. Who cares.. we knew all that, already. Now, let’s hope Americans start to unite a little bit and fix their shit, because, it’s pretty ugly out there.

    → 12:54 PM, Nov 7
  • The transition iPhone (#apple #iphone12 #iphonepro)

    A recent tweet from @LeaksApplePro made me think about the significance of the iPhone 12 in the grand scheme of things.

    Apple is about to remove the last port on the iPhone, so they are training us with the MagSafe. Next year’s version will fix many of the issue we’re facing today. 5G may not be ready, but next year it will be much better. LiDAR is fascinating, but next year we will depend on it. We tend to forget about the notch, next year it will be Apple who will forget it by putting it to rest.

    We’re still in the middle of the pandemic. We’re not out of the woods. We’ll continue to work from home for a long time. Trips are not really a thing right now. But, in the fall of 2021, can we hope that most of this will be behind us and return to normal life? It would help a lot to enjoy the portless iPhone 13 or whatever stupid name they will name it. Right now, I’m a bit tired of not being able to go out and use the cameras to build my visual memories.

    The iPhone 12 is the transition iPhone that will lead us to a better world, a year from now. I hope.

    → 8:20 AM, Nov 7
  • The battle of the leakers... (#apple #leaks @jon_prosser @onleaks @maxwinebach @appltrack) 🗣

    On Twitter, a battle of the leakers is taking place is taking place nearly every day. It’s fun to read the claims and counter-claims of who had it right, who had it wrong, who stole from who, who lied, who’s fake, who’s real. There is even a website who tracks their “performance”.

    You know what? We shouldn’t care. They all have something in common: they more or less depend on highly questionable ethic and look more and more like a bunch of losers. There, I said it.

    → 7:43 AM, Nov 7
  • The screen computer. (#apple #imac #mockup)

    I want this to be the next iMac, running an ARM-based CPU. That’s what a computer should look like: a screen. On a stand. Nothing more. We’re close to this. Consider the iPad. We are already there. I don’t expect such a computer to be revealed next week, though. We will have to wait a bit more.

    Mockup credit and more available here: https://svetapple.sk/english/imac-2021-exclusive-renders-from-svetapple-sk/

    → 5:52 PM, Nov 6
  • On the Mac pivotal moment (#apple #appleevent #applesilicon #mac)

    The Mac has gone through many transitions in the past and I was there for each of them. From the Motorola CPU, to the PowerPC and the Intel processors, Apple’s execution was almost flawless.

    At the upcoming Apple Event, Apple will unveil their highly anticipated Apple Silicon Macs. When thinking about what Apple could do for this pivotal moment for the Mac, there is two possible roads Apple can take in regards to the general design of these machines.

    First, Apple could choose to do the same they did when they switched to Intel processors back in 2005. Apple kept the same designs. There are a few advantages to this approach. By going the conservative way, Apple sends a “don’t worry, this is a Mac, everything will work just fine” message. This would probably helps keep the confidence level about the expected compatibility of these machines with current software. But there is one big drawback from a marketing standpoint: Apple chose to switch to its own CPU in order to enable new things on the Mac that wasn’t possible before. I’m not sure that keeping the same external design of the Mac is the best way to do it; it would be too conservative.

    The second approach, the one that I prefer, would be for Apple to introduce a refreshed and modernized design. This could take the form of new materials, new textures, new tones. Screen bezels could be dramatically reduced in order to bring the machine down in size. On top of that, better FaceTime camera with 4K resolution, always-on Siri could also make their debuts. If battery life can show major improvements, Apple would have a winner here. Such a move by Apple would help mark the turning point for the Mac, a new era, just like they did in 2012 when they introduced the unibody design. The Mac is in need of such refresh and this is the right time to do it.

    If Apple is really aiming to produce 2.5 million Apple Silicon MacBooks by February 2021, there has to be something special besides a powerful and power efficient A14X CPU. Let’s see which strategy Apple decided to chose.

    Side note: it is fascinating to see that the PC never went through these transitions like the Mac did. It is something unique in the technology world. No other company ever did this, that many times. Now, we might wonder if this Apple Silicon transition will spark a similar move in the Wintel world. Why? Because Intel is no longer a synonym of real platform evolution, ARM-based design is.

    → 8:12 AM, Nov 6
  • On Apple Watch “unique” requirement (#applewatch #iphone #apple) ⌚️

    In the last few weeks, I repeatedly got a simple question regarding the Apple Watch: does it require an iPhone? One person expected to “pair” the watch with an iPad. The other is an Android user. These questions tell me something interesting. One, the Apple Watch is gaining traction among non-Apple users. Two, the quicker Apple can remove the iPhone requirement to get an Apple Watch, the better it will be for their bottom line. This could be something as important as the iTunes for Windows was back in the days.

    Photo credit: Brina Blum on Unsplash.

    → 11:57 AM, Nov 5
  • About those "one more things"... (#appleevent #onemorething #history)

    On the eve of another “one more thing” moment, please read this interesting article on Medium. The author spent time to review all previous cases of “one more thing” announcements. They were not all game changers but the following ones were turning points: MacBook Air reveal, Apple Watch. Can’t wait for the next one as I expect it will be another game changer moment for the Mac.

    → 7:26 AM, Nov 5
  • How old are they? (#apple #macosbigsur)

    Here’s a quick and unrelated question: how old, on average, are people who love the design language of macOS Big Sur? Seriously, my bet goes to a much younger crowd than those who prefer macOS Catalina. Why? People who grew up with the iPhone and iPadOS has a much different design reference frame that those who grew up with macOS. The latter group seems to see Big sur as some sort of iPadification of macOS.

    You’re thoughts?

    → 8:50 PM, Nov 4
  • Updating my Apple purchase plans (#appleevent #apple #macpro #onemorething)

    As it becomes clearer what Apple won’t announce next week, an update to their Mac Pro, my purchasing plans needs to be updated accordingly. It makes no sense for me to go with an Apple Silicon Mac in the near future as I need Vmware Fusion to run Windows virtual machines in my SDDCbox project. Only an Intel-based Mac Pro can do it for me as we speak. Still, I can’t wait for next week’s announcements.

    → 1:26 PM, Nov 4
  • Please, come to Canada (#apple #iphoneupgradeprogram #iphone)

    I wish the iPhone Upgrade Program would come to Canada. I’m not holding my breath, though. I think carriers here wouldn’t let it happen because they know they suck at selling their shit, and this would greatly affect their bottom line. In any case, if it does come to Canada, I would upgrade my iPhone every year, for sure.

    → 1:11 PM, Nov 4
  • Pray. (#vote2020 #electionnight)

    I rarely if ever post political stuff here. As a Canadian, my sincere hope is that the American people make the furst step in order to put an end to this endless nightmare.

    On a side note: I’m using  News to follow election night. So far, I like what Apple is doing here. Results are quick to be reflected on the maps, which can be drilled down up to the state level.

    → 8:09 PM, Nov 3
  • Facebook is bad at everything. Period. (#facebook #privacyprotection #design #privacy)

    Interesting post from @Gruber about Facebook application design. The lack of support for basic things like dark mode, more than a year after its introduction is a simple example, but very telling about something: Facebook doesn’t give a shit about those things. They don’t give a shit about privacy protection either. They don’t give a shit about democracy. They are are bad at design. They are bad at everything. And their growth is slowly declining which is a bit of fresh air to know.

    → 8:21 AM, Nov 3
  • Widget Radar (#widgets #ios14 #weatherapps @rjonesy)

    Another wonderful and really useful widget is finally available for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14: a precipitation radar. I’m a big fan of MyRadar but the app wasn’t yet updated to support widgets. Widget Radar, which is free by the way, is simple and minimalist yet effective. It is proudly sitting on my homes creen now, on the weather page.

    Side note: Weatherline is another useful weather app, but it doesn’t allow the placement of the radar image as a widget, yet.

    → 6:52 AM, Nov 3
  • Mac Pro mini (#apple #rumours #macpro)

    Surprising rumors by Bloomberg about Apple working on a new Mac Pro, about half the size of the current model:

    “Apple engineers are currently developing a new Mac Pro that looks like the current design at about half the size. It’s unclear if that Mac will replace the current Mac Pro or if it’s an additional model.”

    As someone who is seriously contemplating to buy a Mac Pro, this information makes me pause a bit. My use case is for virtualization software which requires an Intel chip for running Windows versions in virtual machines. Windows on ARM is not on the horizon. I will enjoy an Intel Mac Pro for quite some time.

    → 8:27 PM, Nov 2
  • The "real" One More Thing... (#appleevent #apple #macosbigsur #macbook #onemorething)

    There is a difference between what I expect and what are the things that I would really like to see. Here is a short list for this last Apple Event of 2020.

    I hope for an Apple Silicon Mac with a full physical redesign of the Mac it is replacing. The re-introduction of the 12" MacBook with a refreshed design language, something that would be start of something new for all the upcoming MacBook updates in the future. I want Apple to mark the beginning of a new era for the Mac, not something in the form of continuity. I want Apple to turn the page and move beyond the Jony Ive’s era. Let’s start fresh, be forward thinking. Go past Microsoft’s Surface. Oh, this brings me to another wish: Touch support on macOS Big Sur and Apple Silicon Mac. Signs are pointing to this. That would be the real kicker of this year. Please, Apple, make it so. Impress me.

    → 1:35 PM, Nov 2
  • One More Thing. (#appleevent #mac #applesilicon #macosbigsur)

    Big surprise today, it came early, Apple sent their invites for a November 10th Apple event. Rumours were pointing to November 17th date. Happy the wait will be shorter than anticipated.

    I love this tag line; it was used at many occasions by Steve Jobs to show something that could be a game changer or of high significance.

    This early invite adds credence to those who think macOS Big Sur 11.0 is already being put on unreleased new Macs. Expect 11.0.1 to follow pretty quickly.

    Here is what’s on the menu for this last Apple event of 2020.

    • macOS 11.0 “Big Sur” make its official debuts (100%)
    • Universal apps running simultaneously on iOS, iPadOS and macOS are now supported (100%)
    • First round of Apple Silicon Macs are release: MacBook or MacBook Pro (100%)
    • Side announcements of updated configurations for 21.5” iMac and 27” iMac Pro still on Intel (70%)
    • Apple TV refresh using Apple Silicon and new game controller (40%)

    Can’t wait for next week.

    → 12:47 PM, Nov 2
  • Troubling rumours about the Mac (#apple #mac #imac #applesilicon)

    According to AppleTrack.org, there is a shortage of many different Mac models. Some shipping dates are slipping into December. It the case for the 21.5” iMac and iMac Pro. Troubling.

    When Apple announced they were transitioning their Macs to use the new Apple Silicon, they also said they would keep updating current Intel-based models for a while. I don’t know this will translate in reality. If the iMac Pro is being updated this month, it could be for an updated configuration with an Intel CPU, not an Apple Silicon. The case of the 21.5” iMac is more interesting, tough. The 27” iMac was updated recently but not the 21.5. I’m not sure it is the first prime candidate for the Apple Silicon. I’m thinking more about the MacBook or the MacBook Pro which would highly benefit from the Apple Silicon.

    It’s interesting to note that the Mac Pro is still in stock. This could signal that it won’t get updated this fall. The Mac Pro wasn’t updated since its release in 2019. As I’m looking to get one for my SDDCbox project, I’d would love to see a refreshed configuration in time for me to consider and pickup.

    → 7:10 AM, Nov 2
  • On iStat Menus 6.5 (#macosbigsur @bjango)

    One of my favorite macOS utilities, iStat Menus, just received an update to version 6.5 which adds support for macOS Big Sur. I know, yesterday I wrote that I was done with Big Sur… but it was for testing… I still have time in front of me to convince me this is the best release of macOS Apple has ever done.

    iStat Menus will be ready when I’m doing the switch to this Mac Pro for my SDDCbox project. It will play an important role in giving me insights on the CPU and SSD access. For now, there are a lot of tweaks which will make this utility even better. Even their release notes is art!

    There seems to be less and less high-quality apps and utilities like this these days…

    → 6:45 AM, Nov 2
  • I’m done with macOS Big Sur (#apple #macos #macosbigsur)

    Since the beginning of September I’ve been testing macOS Big Sur. I’m still undecided about how I like or hate this release. I’m unable to get over the way Apple messed up the notifications center with widgets. Clearly, it is a regression. There was no good reasons to merge them on the same space. Widgets should have gone in their own area, taking full advantage of the big screen. I just don’t understand it.

    I’ll reuse this 1 TB SSD USB-C drive for something else: put my SDDCbox project virtual machines on it.

    → 11:11 AM, Nov 1
  • Release Candidate (#iosdev #apple #iOS)

    Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of an era. Apple is leaving behind the term “Golden Master” in order to adopt “Release Candidate” to refer to a version of its operating system sent to its developers that will probably be released to the general public. An an IT guy, I’m used to the term “release candidate”, “golden master” was such an Apple-only thing. I’m glad they make this change as it reflects the state of a release.

    Photo credits: Photo by Tirza van Dijk on Unsplash

    [twitter.com/_inside/s...](https://twitter.com/_inside/status/1322288679604363264?s=21) Tirza van dijk I8OhOu wLO4 unsplash

    → 7:39 AM, Oct 31
  • Edge cases (#iphone12 #iphone12pro #photography #apple)

    I’m an iPhone 11 Pro owner. Photography-centered reviews are interesting to me because they tend to compare this year’s iPhone with last year’s. MacRumors published such a comparison. Judging from it, if I could summarize the iPhone 12 Pro photographic advances, it would be like this. The iPhone 12 Pro improvements are mostly about edge cases because in normal situations, improvements are much more subtle. The addition of Night Mode on the Ultra wide camera is part of features uniformisation across cameras which is welcomed, though.

    Photo credits: from MacRumors article. Iphone12prowideanglehill

    → 7:24 AM, Oct 31
  • Measuring my success (#blogger #writer #newsletter)

    As a blogger and a content-creator, how can I measure my success? Well, it’s not an easy one to answer. Each blogger could have its own way at looking at this. Personally, I could pay attention to my blogs visitors statistics, but there is one thing that I keep an eye on these days. I recently started publishing a free monthly newsletter on Substack. The membership is increasing, but what I'm looking for is easy: following a new issue of my newsletter, how many are unsubscribing? None, so far. To me, it’s some form of success.Substack newsletter banner

    → 4:22 PM, Oct 30
  • It's a deal! (#apple #appleone #applemusic #fitnessplus)

    Sometimes in your life you come across some deals that you cannot refuse. Apple One is one of them. As a Canadian, by subscribing, on top of Apple News+, 2 TB iCloud storage and Apple Music,  I’m getting Fitness+ and Apple Arcade and… to my surprise, now I have 4 TB of iCloud storage. How good is that? Can’t wait to try Fitness+ and maybe help me go through these enduring times this coming winter while getting in a better shape?

    Now, what comes next Apple One? Apple //? AppleOne

    → 11:41 AM, Oct 30
  • Optimized for Mac (#apple #applesilicon #ios #ipados)

    Here is one of the most fascinating part of upcoming Apple Silicon Macs: the implicit support for iPhone and iPad apps on the Mac (as long as the developers care to update their apps, obviously). I wonder how massive this change will be. How will it change the third-party applications landscape on the Mac? How will it influence the pricing of both iOS/iPadOS apps and macOS apps? We tend to take for granted that software on the Mac is always more expensive compared to their iPad counterpart… The next year sure will be interesting to watch for Mac lovers like me.

    1 on 1 lab

    → 6:36 AM, Oct 30
  • Fascinating times (#apple #microsoft #google #amazon)

    Here is a fascinating chart: brand value calculated by Interbrand. Apple is on top again this year. They have been there since 2012. What I find interesting is the first row is occupied by companies reflecting our new way of life as we depend on smartphones (Apple, Samsung), online shopping (Amazon) and the cloud (Microsoft). What about Google you might ask? Well, first, as we don’t like to pay for online stuff, we prefer to be the product of advertisers. Second, we stopped using bookmarks a long time ago, we prefer the Google search field.

    → 6:19 AM, Oct 30
  • We’re humans — Tim Cook (#apple #timcook)

    “Work can’t solve for all the things we’re missing right now, but a shared sense of purpose goes a long way. A belief that we can do more together than we can alone, that people of good will, driven by creativity and passion and that certain itch of a big idea, can still do things that help other people in our own small way to teach, to learn, to create, or just to relax at a time like this. Even as the things we make require us to operate at the very cutting edge of technology, in materials, products, and ideas that didn’t exist just a few years ago, this year has forced us to face plainly the things that make us human — disease, resilience, and hope.” — Tim Cook

    → 5:57 AM, Oct 30
  • Apple is doom! (#apple #iphone #mac #ipad)

    Poor Apple, iPhone sales are 20% down compared to last year’s quarter. Look, people, it's 2020 and we are in the middle of a pandemic. Stores are closing, opening, then closing again. Yet, Apple is able to pull it off big time. Thanks to the Mac, iPad and services, Apple is able to come out with a great quarter! That’s what is interesting: when one product line is performing poorly, others take the lead. September quarter is going to be a monster one as the iPhone 12 and Apple Silicon Macs sales takes over the stage. 

    Jp valery lVFoIi3SJq8 unsplash

    → 7:17 PM, Oct 29
  • Apple's Clips is Underated (#apple #clips)

    Apple this week updated their strange application, Clips, to version 3.0. Clips looks like a technology demonstration to me. I hear it is popular among the young crowd. Maybe.  I’ve played with the new version a bit and really like the new design which is cleaner and more enjoyable to use. After playing with, boy this app is power hungry; my iPhone 11 Pro get’s very hot! Still an interesting ting to play with. IMG 6680

    → 4:56 PM, Oct 29
  • On Apple Search (#apple #siri #search @parkerortolani)

    Here is an interesting design concept of a possible Apple Search service. What I find interesting is the use of the Siri branding. I don’t know if Apple would use it or simply call the service: Apple Search. I would prefer the latter as Siri is not known to sound like “good” more like “good enough” or “behind the reste of the crowd”. 

    Apple Search Mockup

    → 2:50 PM, Oct 29
  • 11.0.1 beta, really? (#apple #macos #macosbigsur)

    This curve ball wasn’t expected: Apple comes up with beta 1 of macOS Big Sur 11.0.1. Why? Why now? Does this mean 11.0 GM is really around the corner and will ship soon on new Macs, including the first Apple Silicon ones? Why do I keep thinking Big Sur (based on Beta 10) was far from ready? Something is clear to me, I’m not upgrading my iMac anytime soon, but I understand that my upcoming Mac Pro could come pre-installed with it.

    → 6:24 AM, Oct 29
  • Third edition is out! (#newsletter #blogger #writing #apple)

    After much writing and compositing, the third edition of the Numeric Citizen Introspection newsletter is out! I’m quite happy with the end results. It’s getting better with each release. It’s still free. Can’t wait to build the next edition!

    Please, read, share and like! 👈🏻 🙏🏻

    Comments are welcomed!

    → 6:28 PM, Oct 28
  • That was fast! (#apple #ios14 #ios13)

    I’m always impressed by the turn over speed of major new releases of iOS. iOS 14 adoption rate is already surpassing iOS 13 after less than six weeks of availability. Wow.

    Apple’s iPhone ecosystem is running at blazing speed to adopt new technologies. There is nothing like that in tech. Even if people are keeping their old iPhone longer, by supporting old devices, Apple can set the bar for new privacy features and make them available to a vast portion of the users. This is something we rarely talk about.

    → 6:55 AM, Oct 28
  • Twisted dialogue (#apple #iphone12 #environment @mattbirchler)

    Matt Birchler in a funny post hightlights how twisted Apple’s stance can be when it comes to pushing their agenda: in this cas, the protection of the environment.

    I think it is a mandatory thing to openly challenge something Apple does even if you like their products as much as we possible can. I did it in my long article “The Rotten Side of Tim Cook’s Apple“ and l’ll continue to do it.

    → 6:03 AM, Oct 28
  • Basic Apple Guy but gorgeous! (#apple #blog #discovery @basicappleguy)

    Thanks to an article from John Gruber’s website, Daring Fireball, I discovered a new Apple-centric blog yesterday: Basic Apple Guy. After spending a few minutes on it exploring the content, I kind of fell in love with it and and started to wish it was mine. I’m impressed by the simplicity and the content quality. RSS feed already added to my collection.

    → 10:22 AM, Oct 27
  • It's all about the story, right? (#apple #mac #applesilicon)

    Here is what I’ll be looking for at the Apple Silicon Macs introduction: the story they will tell for their introduction. Remember when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone or the iPod? There was a story to hit so people could understand the “why’s”. Now, in the age of smartphones, what is the relevancy for Apple Silicon Macs? Why now? What pain points do they address? Can’t wait for November. Photo credits.

    → 6:00 AM, Oct 27
  • I kind of like what I’m seeing (#myblog #blogger #bloggerlife)

    This is my Micro.blog.

    Using the popular Newsify RSS feed reader, I used my own feeds to see how it would look through it. I was pleasantly surprised by the end results. It’s been a while since I found the best way for me to post on Micro.blog. All posts have a title, hashtags, a picture and use at least 280 characters so the boundary where a title becomes available. Without it, Micro.blog cross-posts the whole text on Twitter which I don’t want to happen; I prefer a summary titled.

    → 8:43 PM, Oct 26
  • Everyone has their price (#apple #google #privacy #privacyprotection)

    According to the New York Time regarding the antitrust lawsuit in the works, Google is paying between 8 to 12 billions $ a year to be the default search engine on iOS. That is a lot of money, but apparently, that’s the price to pay for Apple to bend over their privacy stance.

    If there is one reason why Apple should get out of this deal and build their own search tech or buy DuckDuckGo altogether: put the walk behind the talk.

    → 6:11 PM, Oct 26
  • The master in action (#stevejobs #ipod #apple #history)

    This short clip showing Steve Jobs introduce the iPod is a pure joy to re-watch. It is 9m 11sec of presentation mastery. The way he set the stage, draw attention to pain points, show the “solution” is perfect. This is how you do it. This clip should go in tech and marketing history books.

    Now, let’s try to imagine how he would do it for the introduction of the first Apple Silicon Mac in a few weeks.

    → 6:34 AM, Oct 26
  • The more I read... (#iPhone12 #iphone12pro #apple)

    The more I read comments on Twitter about the iPhone 12, the more I’m happy to skip this upgrade cycle: wireless network performance (spotty), battery life (highly hit by 5G usage), finger prints magnet (Pro edges), mildly controversial colours (not as unanimous as last year’s colours), weak cameras upgrade (from the 11 Pro), MagSafe design and performance (too weak magnets). I’ll be waiting for the iPhone 13 patiently.

    → 7:07 PM, Oct 25
  • iPhone heritage (#apple #design #iphone #iphone12)

    _“Enduring design doesn’t need constant reinterpretation. It needs tweaking, polishing, and subtle improvement” _— Om Malik

    Great take by Om Malik on the the significance of timeless design in “Why great design is timeless”. As I wrote in my previous post, to me, the iPhone 5 was the best Apple design before the iPhone 12. Om Malik refers to the iPhone 4 as being an example of timeless design that was later only tweaked, refined and polished in following iPhone iterations. I find it a bit surprising as the iPhone 4 metallic edges never really came back after the iPhone 4S.

    Looking back at the iPhone design genealogy, we can infer six major groups of iPhone design language: the original iPhone up to the iPhone 3GS is group #1, the iPhone 4 and 4S is group #2, the iPhone 5, 5S and SE is group #3, the iPhone 6 and 6S is group #4, the group #5 encompasses the iPhone 7 up to the iPhone 11 including the SE 2. Finally, group #6 is the iPhone 12. I expect Apple to iterate within that group for at least another year.

    The iterative polishing, refining process of Apple is in full glory since the iPhone 7. The latter is heavily based on the iPhone 5 heritage. The iPhone 12 is heavily inspired by the iPhone 5 era and the group #5 of designs.

    If Apple plays their card well, next year’s iPhone could surpass this year’s line up by fixing the Pro glossy edges, removing the notch (it won’t happen), thinner bezels and less controversial colours selection, just to name a few attributes.

    → 8:21 AM, Oct 25
  • Apple did it again. (#iphone12 #apple #design)

    In my opinion, this year’s black iPhone 12 is now their best design of all time, surpassing their previously best design, the black iPhone 5. It took them 8 years. I can’t wait to see that in person, for now, this tweet by Brian MacDuff is enough to convince me. Blacks are deep blacks, the edges mat finish is way better than on the Pro models. What could come next to beat this? A notch-less design. Maybe next year or in 8 years. Who knows. Picture from Mr. MacDuff.

    → 7:09 AM, Oct 25
  • Staying home... (#iphone12 #apple #applestore)

    For as far that I can remember, I won’t go to an Apple Store to see the new iPhone this year. Thank’s to… well.. you know, it’s 2020. Twitter threads like this one I’m sure is not doing justice to the look and feel of these new devices.

    → 8:26 AM, Oct 24
  • Exposure notification (#iphone #apple #google #covid19 #pandemic)

    I recently got this notification on my iPhone. I didn’t know the exposure feature would keep the user informed about its “behind-the-scene” work. Interesting.

    I wonder how Apple will remove that from iOS in a post-pandemic world. Will they keep it and make it usable for other types of highly contagious deceases? My feeling is that they will generalize it and keep there.

    → 8:19 AM, Oct 24
  • They're here. (#iphone12 #iphone12pro #apple)

    I don’t remember seeing Apple posting photos of behind-the-scenes workers working at distribution centers to make it all possible and magic for the first day of availability of a new iPhone. It’s an interesting move. We tend to forget how massive the required logistic is needed for these roll outs to happen smoothly, year after year. This year is special, the pandemic is certainly increasing the difficulty level quite a bit for Apple. We’ll see how Apple’s bottom line is affected, later this year.

    → 5:58 AM, Oct 23
  • On 2021 iPad Pro (#ipadpro #apple)

    Is it a question of a few more months before the iPad Pro line distance itself from the 2020 iPad Air. This will put the 2021 iPad Pro in a league of its own. Features like mini-led display, faster A-series processor… but what else? More system memory at 8 GB? Bigger screen? Wifi 6? 5G option? daringfireball.net

    The 2020 iPad Air

    → 7:33 PM, Oct 22
  • Jony Ive working with Airbnb. Who knew. (#jonyive #apple #lovefrom #airbnb #design #UI)

    In a surprising move, Airbnb has a new partnership with Apple’s former designer chief, Jony Ive. As much as I like this guy’s work, something quite surprising struck me: Airbnb doesn’t sell any form of hardware. The last time I check, Jony Ive’s reputation is not about crafting the best user interface designs in the world, far from it. Who remember the switch to iOS 7? I do. Jony Ive was quite instrumental in the design of iOS 7 and it was a disaster. We are still paying the price today. It will be interesting to watch what comes from this partnership. Press release here.

    → 6:03 AM, Oct 22
  • SDDCbox project - update #2 (#macpro #apple #vmware #vmwarefusion)

    My possible future Mac Pro configuration is taking shape. It all started here btw. Reading carefully the spec sheet, the base configuration sets the memory clock speed at 2666 MHz while the 12 cores CPU configuration is at 2933 MHz. Considering my use case, virtualization with VMware Fusion, I’ll take any non-GPU improvements possible. Speaking of GPU, I’m not sure about the performance difference between the base GPU card, a AMD Radeon Pro 580X, and the more powerful AMD Radeon Pro W5500X. I’ll probably keep the entry-level one saving memory for a bigger SSD. Maybe.

    I’m not close yet to make the plunge and I’ll have to wait for November announcements as configuration updates, price changes or something else could greatly affect my buying decision. Stay tuned for update #3.

    → 5:52 AM, Oct 22
  • RIP. Remote.app (#apple #appletv #appstore)

    Great story about the start of the Apple TV remote app that was removed today from the App Store. Reason? Duplicate functionality with iOS Control Center. Time to move on I guess. I love those stories from the inside. Can’t get enough of them.

    Photo credit: @badashproducts on Unsplash.

    twitter.com/accannis/…

    → 5:53 PM, Oct 21
  • Waiting for iPhone 13. (iphone12 #iphone12pro #apple)

    Thanks to iPhone 12, I can’t wait for the iPhone 13. The MagSafe is cool but is not perfect. 5G is nice but comes with a spotty coverage and puts a lot of pressure on battery life. The iPhone 12 Pro is a powerful monster but with fingerprint magnets and fragile glossy edges. Bezels are thinner and thinner but this big notch is still there. I’m skipping this year’s iPhone 12 and anxiously waiting for iPhone 13. Or whatever name they call it. Maybe just: iPhone Pro?

    → 6:13 AM, Oct 21
  • This is a drill (#iphone12 #apple #magsafe)

    With the iPhone 12 and MagSafe, is Apple training us for a port-less iPhone 13? I think so. The removable of the Lightning port and skipping USB-C would be so Apple, an act of courage I guess. If they do remove all the ports from the iPhone, how do we deal with CarPlay? What about developers who use testing and development devices which requires the fastest transfer speed possible? Is there something in the works at Apple that would mitigates these challenges for the users? Another type of adaptor? Or maybe Apple is just waiting for a more drastic iPhone redesign (no notch?) to bend themselves to USB-C?

    → 5:49 AM, Oct 21
  • Stairway to “heaven”? (#apple #iphone12 #iphone12pro)

    Tim Cook once said that all products Apple sell can fit on a table. Well, depending of the table size, maybe. But, you will have to remove products variants from the equation, though. Look at the iPhone product line. Now, think about how it will look next year.

    twitter.com/asymco/st…

    → 7:20 PM, Oct 20
  • These edges... (#iphonex #iphone12 #iphone12pro)

    As much as I like what the iPhone 12 brings to the table in general… edges got my attention. Up until now, I didn’t really like rounded edges since the iPhone 6. I much prefer the square edge on the iPhone 12… but not on the Pro models… they are way too much polished and are probably finger prints magnets.

    I want a Pro iPhone with the matte version of the non-Pro iPhone edges.

    twitter.com/msfslm/st…

    → 8:16 PM, Oct 19
  • Stucked on the phone (#magsafe #iphone12 #apple #design #UX)

    When I first saw the MagSafe snapping into the iPhone, I asked myself: how about taking the iPhone away? Is it hard? Is it gentle? Do we need two hands to separate them? Now listen to the video segment from a guy asking a few troubling questions… should we worry or just wait for the iPhone 12 to ship and see how the whole thing actually works?

    → 6:52 AM, Oct 19
  • A14: from the iPhone to the Mac (#apple #A14 #applesilicon)

    I love those feature highlights. Apple started to use them recently (September of last year?). If you look closely at the A14 feature highlights, I wonder what features aren’t required in a Mac? There is so many things that make sense on an iPhone, like everything related to ML. But, on a Mac? I’m not so sure. And, what features should be added to the A14 that doesn’t make sense on an iPhone? Increase high-performance CPU cores? And then what? What features are Mac specific that aren’t already handled by the T2 chip?

    → 3:54 PM, Oct 18
  • The 5G Enabler (#iPhone12 #apple #5G)

    Last year, the iPhone 11 lacked 5G networks support. Apple was doomed. This year, the iPhone 12 does support 5G networks. Now the operators are doomed because of spotty coverage. There is something bad to look for if you want to get clicks.

    I think 5G is more marketing than anything else at this point. The iPhone 12 will be the enabler of 5G network. People will demand it (even if their use cases don’t require it). This will in turn force operators to accelerate their deployment.

    → 3:24 PM, Oct 18
  • A wild dream (#apple #macpro #vmware #virtualization #lab)

    I’ve been thinking of something really wild recently, for me at least: replacing my 2017 21.5 inches iMac with a Mac Pro. Here is why.

    I work in IT (information technologies) as a data center related technology architect. Server virtualization, storage area networks, networking technologies are at the center of my professional universe. In the coming months, I’ll have to invest in self-training and experimentations a lot around VMware-related products and services. How can I do that efficiently while working from home? Here comes the Mac Pro idea.

    In order to be able to run many virtual machines, a powerful physical computer is required: lots of memory, powerful CPU (more than 6 cores) and fast storage. My current iMac doesn’t meet these basic requirements (it is maxed out at 32 GB of RAM and it has a relatively modest CPU). A Mac Pro with the following specs would easily meet the challenge: at least 128 GB of fast memory, 8 cores CPU, builtin SSD and expandability.

    Virtualization will required VMware Fusion Pro running on top of macOS. Then, the sky is the limit as I can then install ESXi hypervisor which will allow me to branch into more complex setup. This type of environment do require a lot of memory (a typical VM is about 4-16 GB each) and multi-cores CPU. Installing ESXi directly on the Mac Pro is not an option as I will need to have macOS running for all other tasks (I’m not even sure if it is att all possible).

    How do I get there? Well, I’m still thinking about how I’ll buy that machine and get the additional RAM (I won’t go with Apple’s because $$$). Stay tuned.

    Technical datasheet can be found on Apple’s website, right here in PDF format. I don’t want to switch to a Windows machine BTW, I’m too much invested in Apple’s ecosystem for that to happen.

    → 8:48 AM, Oct 18
  • A follow up to @mattbirchler on why opting for Newsletters instead of a blog? (#blogger #blogging #writing #substack)

    In a recent blog post, the well known blogger and content creator, Matt Birchler, wants to understand why so many people are opting for emails (newsletters) over the web. I want to give my perspective on each of his questions.

    What about writing in a newsletter is more enjoyable than writing for a blog?

    My Numeric Citizen Introspection newsletter is a monthly one. I start writing the next issue at the beginning of each month. I hit “Publish and send” at the very end of each month. It gives me four weeks to nurture its content. When the end of the month approaches, the newsletter content is mostly complete and I like how it evolved from the beginning. It is a satisfying process. Then, I take a pause and look forward to start the next one. I like the regular beat of all this process. I wouldn’t do a weekly newsletter, though, as it requires much more time to do.

    Are newsletter audiences more engaged than blog subscribers?

    I’m not sure about this one in general. For me, it is too early to tell. My gut feeling is that people are more or less engaged the same way as they are with blogs. I’d like to be wrong, though, and have people engage more with newsletters.

    As a reader, do you prefer reading in your email app to an RSS app (or just the web in general)?

    I use Substack to build and send my newsletters. Each of them are also available via an RSS feed. Depending of the client used, the reading experience can be enjoyable on both type of clients. Personally, I do subscribe to Hey and reading newsletters with their client is really nice and provides a nice clipping feature which is very handy.

    Do you not miss things like link posts and “going viral” which are much harder, if impossible to do with emails?

    Link posts can be done in newsletters and they won’t go viral for sure. But, I’m not really looking for this kind of fame to be honest.

    Is it easier to get people to sign up for a paid subscription compared to the web?

    I’m still building this stuff and my newsletter is free for now. I get new subscribers regularly but not as much as I would like. I guess I still have to get the word out and be more “famous”.

    → 2:07 PM, Oct 17
  • A simple wish (@ulyssesapp @microdotblog #writing #blogging #tools)

    You know what I would like that would be really really cool and useful for me and probably for many others? I’d like to see Ulysses add support for Micro.blog as a publishing destination (Ghost, Medium and WordPress are already supported). That would be really nice. 👌🏻I kind of like Micro.blog native app for the iPad but it’s not a writing tool in my opinion. My fingers are crossed. Please, share this post if you think you would benefict from this as a writer and Ulysses user.

    → 1:41 PM, Oct 17
  • Look who’s in town (#rssreader #rss #reading @reederapp)

    The venerable RSS reader app « Reeder » turned to version 5 yesterday. I don’t know how I missed that one. Maybe because I moved from Reeder to News Explorer. I pay a lot of respect to the developer of Reeder. I’ve been using it for a long time. I wanted to have a look at version 5 so I bought it. Here is why.

    Widgets. News Explorer hasn’t been updated to support them yet. Reeder now does. I love them. Read Later. Sending URLs to Reeder Read later is interesting and provides a better experience than in Safari Read Later. Tracking my own RSS feed for quality control. Oh and Shortcuts are also supported, something News Explorer don’t.

    I think I’ll have to update my blogger workflow. 🤔

    → 10:02 AM, Oct 17
  • Is this called “Evolution” or “Modernism"? (#apple #ios7 #UI #design)

    An image is worth a thousand words. We are still paying the price of this shift in design, every single day, for every single interaction we have with our iPhone… who asked for that? Why? Will we return to normalcy? I’ll never forget the “before” it was so shitty. Never.

    → 3:16 PM, Oct 16
  • Software is art (@airbuddyapp, #macOS)

    If you have a Mac, many battery-powered Apple devices, you need AirBuddy. Version has been in the works for a very long time and it is a major update. I’m so anxious to get my AirBuddy updated!

    We don’t get to see this level of craft on computers these days. This reminds me how dire the macOS native application landscape has become over the years. With macOS Big, Catalyst, Apple Silicon Macs and universal binaries, one can hope for a brighter future.

    Am I alone who think the AirBuddy logo is upside down?

    → 5:44 AM, Oct 16
  • Is there a pattern? (#apple #airpower #magsafeduo)

    With the (re)introduction of the MagSafe for iPhone, Apple is trying to redo their AirPower introduction of 2017. On paper and on video, MagSafe looks cool, MagSafe Duo seems even better (more useful, transportability), but no word on availability and pricing, just like with the initial AirPower announcement. Is there something Apple didn’t learn here? Whatever happens, it is on my wishlist even if I’m not going to upgrade to the iPhone 12 this year.

    → 11:58 AM, Oct 15
  • Secured. (@medium, #blogger, #blog)

    A word about my other home: Medium, which I love. Following their latest update, they now offers publishers to secure their own domain name as well as allows better customization of publisher’s profiles. This is mine).

    Im still pondering how I’ll make use of Medium’s new love for bloggers.

    → 6:27 AM, Oct 15
  • I’ve been robbed by... @duggu24 (#bloggerlife #blogger)

    For the first time in my numeric life (at least, from what I’m aware of), one of my article has been robbed by another guy. After discovering it, I asked for immediate removal but without success. So, today, I’m calling him out.

    The robbed article is the one about upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 4 to Series 6 published on my main blog on October 3 of 2020 and on Medium. You can see the stolen article there. This article was then pushed on this fake Twitter account with 1628 followers. This Twitter account is apparently owned or operated by this guy, the thieve who is following four people and has only one follower (poor guy).

    This hosting website seems to enjoy quite a bit of traffic. Good for him. All his articles is stolen stuff without any mention of the source. He must be proud of himself, I wonder if his parents are, though?

    The main take out: I’m must be a good writer after all so people are starting to notice and copy my stuff.

    → 7:19 AM, Oct 14
  • I won't upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro (#iphone12pro #appleevent #apple)

    As great looking and powerful the shinny new iPhone 12 Pro might be, I’ll skip the upgrade this year. Sure, I tend to skip a few generations but there is one unexpected reason not to do so and another one more obvious. First, the problem is because of the current pandemic, I cannot see when I’ll return traveling around the world. Traveling is the best photography opportunity for me. Without travel, working from home all the time, there is no need to get the latest smartphone technology. Second, 5G networks maybe powerful, but the coverage is spotty at best. I prefer to wait a year for this coverage to increase before making the jump on the new iPhone.

    Last year I upgraded from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone 11 Pro and I was delighted.

    → 5:56 AM, Oct 14
  • On newsletters rising popularity #blogger #blogging #writing #writers

    The rising popularity of paid newsletters is good news for many reasons. First, it’s a signal that people are willing to pay for great content without ads all around it. Second, some people value the direct relationship feeling with the writer compared to a traditional website. Third, the popularity of independent writing is rising which is giving back control to the writers.

    In a recent article by Nick Heer on Pixel Envy, the author writes:

    Yet, despite all of these clear advantages, I still find it difficult to think of my email inbox as somewhere I will go to find something enjoyable to read.

    I find newsletters a wonderful medium that cut the noise from social networks. The reading experience can further be improved with a great email client like Basecamp’s Hey which provides a specific reading mode for newsletters call The Feed. You can read my review of this email client here.

    Read more comments from Mr. Heer in his blog post. I started a newsletter a few weeks ago. For now and the foreseeable future, it will be free. I have to prove myself that I can meet the deadline every month with quality content. I’ll see how it goes.

    Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

    → 3:48 PM, Oct 12
  • Is this a sunset or a sunrise? #apple #appleevent

    We should never read too much in Apple’s invite graphics. They rarely have anything to do with the content of the event itself except maybe with the iPad with Retina Display invite a few years ago. Remember the finger on the screen?

    Besides the obvious, an iPhone 12 line up announcement, what’s in store? AirTags? Updated Apple TV with Apple’s own game controller? HomePod mini? Don’t expect Apple Silicon Macs until November. I don’t expect Apple to talk about these next week. Apple Silicon Macs need their own stage time in their own event.

    Funny is the fact that iOS 14.1 is held back by Apple to fit this event. Probably contains a lot of hints of what is coming down the line.

    The year 2020 can be an exciting one after all. I guess.

    → 11:51 AM, Oct 6
  • Apple’s Upcoming Products #apple #iphone12 #airtags

    To get a bird’s eye view of the current Apple’s rumours landscape, check out my daily “Apple’s Upcoming Products” newsletter with all the well known leakers in one place. There is still a lot going on for the rest of 2020 and beyond. Subscribe, it’s free and time saving. You’ll thank me later. It’s the best way to spoil any upcoming Apple events. Trust me.

    → 7:20 PM, Sep 24
  • Thanks for spoiling today's #AppleEvent

    A message to all official and less official Apple leakers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for spoiling today’s Apple event. Without you, I don’t know if I could have taken today’s announcements. You made a big difference, you showed to the world how indispensable you are. Apple must be proud of you guys, think about it. Special thanks to @LeaksApplePro, @jon_prosser, @Jioriku, @markgurman.

    Tara evans DAY5kuDvsU unsplash

    → 9:19 AM, Sep 15
  • Warning: doom and gloom ahead. #AppleEvent

    On the eve of #AppleEvent tomorrow, I can see a lot of deception on the horizon. The tag line is clear: it’s about time, or the watch. It’s not about the iPhone. It’s not about the Mac. It’s not about the Apple Silicon. It’s about the iPad and the watch. A weird combinaison if you ask me. These updated iPad should be launched with a press release IMHO but Apple needs some stuff to fill the event schedule I guess.

    → 6:57 AM, Sep 14
  • Viticci on iPadOS 14 - when iPadOS is Influenced by macOS #iPadOS14

    Good insights by Federico Viticci of MacStories about iPadOS 14. One theme stands out: with iPadOS 14, Apple is no longer taking it’s inspiration from the iPhone but from macOS to push the iPad in its very distinct path.

    Exhibit A: the Sidebar in applications like Music, Photos, Files. Exhibit B: the redesigned Search bar.

    Still to be improved, though: multitasking. Next year.

    www.macstories.net/stories/t…

    → 8:22 AM, Jul 11
  • « Don’t assume discreet GPU always offer better performance » #apple #applesilicon

    I’m one of those who was thinking discreet GPU would provide much better performance. When watching Apple’s transition to Apple Silicon, I asked myself about discreet GPU options in future Macs. This article goes on to report that not only integrated GPU (thanks to SoC) will be faster, it could be easier to support and help Apple reduce costs. Apple never offered discreet GPU in iPad Pro. Why would it be different with Apple Silicon-based Mac? Will future Mac support external GPU? Probably but performance gain will be marginal.

    ARM Mac graphics performance could beat discrete GPUs - 9to5Mac

    → 12:00 PM, Jul 8
  • A Visual Comparison of Catalina & Big Sur - Who Wins? #apple #macOS11

    Excellent visual comparison between macOS Catalina and Big Sur (see link below). Here are a few observations:

    • Big Sur design is a step back in clrity in many areas. Ex.: Icons and segmented controls in top portion of windows.
    • More padding around items lists. I’m not sure why. I prefer Catalina’s version.
    • Dark Mode is slightly better looking in Big Sur.
    • Battery panel in Settings is horrible.
    • Gone are popup alerts at the top of windows, they now look to be centered within window content and movable. Catalina is better.
    • Menu bar is translucide. Catalina is better too.
    • Safari is much better looking in Big Sur.
    • Notes is much improved in Big Sur.
    • Big Sur icons shapre are much more uniform. Advantage to Big Sur here.
    • Big Sur Side Bars in many apps like Maps is better looking too.

    Who wins? Well, the jury is still out.

    www.andrewdenty.com/blog/2020…

    → 6:28 AM, Jul 8
  • Which Mac will go first to ARM? My take. #apple #armmac #applesilicon

    Which Mac will transition first to Apple Silicon? Will Apple start with the desktop or the portables? That is the question. I would say, the desktop, but…

    On the first Mac to be converted to ARM: my bet goes on the Mac mini, a lower volume, utility orientated machine for the Mac enthusiasts. Next, the iMac redesign where any perf discrepancies with the MacBook is more easily explanable (desktop versus laptop, you know). But…

    …my confidence level in this theory will be negatively impacted by the actual release of a rumoured redesigned iMac but with an Intel processor instead. Rumors are circulating about a published benchmark with a 10 cores Intel CPU in a new iMac design. If Apple did release this machine, it would send a clear message: they will continue to support Intel machines for a long time. But…

    …launching an iMac redesign with an Apple Silicon inside would make a much better marketing story: something like a powerful Apple Silicon powering a brand new design with unique features (fan-less design, FaceID, or even… touch input support?). But…

    …I concede the fact that price/watt ratio is much more useful and lends much more practical advantages on a portable product than on the desktop where space and energy are less constrained which puts some doubts on my take.

    Finally, about the Mac Pro conversion to ARM. My gut feeling is that it will be the last to be converted… with A16 CPU? Who knows.

    PS: I would expect Apple to re-introduce their illuminated logo on the MacBook. A sign of Apple’s enthusiast returning to the Mac.

    Daring Fireball: On Ming-Chi Kuo’s Report of a 24-Inch ARM iMac

    → 8:05 AM, Jul 4
  • A bizarre upcoming fall schedule for Apple? #iphone12 #ios14

    If iPhone 12 launch is effectively delayed by a few weeks or months, could Apple decide to release iOS 14 for currently shipping devices while we wait for iPhone 12? It would be a first for Apple, but I certainly hope so. #iphone12 9to5mac.com/2020/07/0…

    → 6:31 AM, Jul 1
  • On Siri updated design #wwdc #wwdc20 #wwdc2020 #ios14

    I like the new Siri design but I don’t like it after all. The animated sphere placement feels wrong as it leave space on top of it on which we cannot interact. Siri answers and feedbacks onscreen position feel very inconsistent. Sometimes it will appear at the top with another smaller banner at the bottom. Sometimes only a banner at the top.

    → 12:16 PM, Jun 28
  • iOS 14 Widgets and Anxiety #wwdc #wwdc20 #wwdc2020

    Following the reveal of widgets support on iOS 14, I’m feeling anxiety over how I’will “design” my home screens coming this fall. The same kind of feeling related to my Apple Watch watch face design, btw.

    What role will play the App Library? Will I reduce my reliance on folders for organizing my apps and add more pages that I can hide as needed? How many pages reserved for widgets only will I create and for which use case?

    Decision, decision, decision.

    → 11:39 AM, Jun 24
  • The Secret Feature of Upcoming ARM-Based Mac #wwdc #wwdc20 #wwdc2020 #apple

    Wild dream of the day: what if a silent yet unannounced feature of the ARM-based Mac is touch support? Looking at one of the WWDC session video called “Adopt the new look of macOS Big Sur”, spacing of many UI elements certainly feels in preparation of touch support introduction. Plus, iPhone apps running unmodified on these machines would feel at home with touch support.

    → 11:32 AM, Jun 24
  • On macOS Big Fur surprising visual and design attributes #wwdc #wwdc20

    Taken out of one of @gruber recent post. In red: the Cancel button looks like being disabled. Very bad. The menu bar transparency, why? Is Apple trying to make us forget about this distinctive UI element? In yellow: the window title being no longer at the center, to make room for buttons (that look less and less like buttons)…
    In green: a depth effect with surrounding shadow, thumbs up. General look of the refresh popup dialog, very iOS is refreshing on the Mac.

    → 9:43 PM, Jun 23
  • Apple moving to ARM: another game changer move in the works #wwdc #wwdc20 #apple

    Today, it will be interesting to see how Apple is positioning its move from Intel to ARM.

    To me, one thing is clear: this could be another game changer move. Apple has proven many times in the past that you don’t need to own a market (PC sales) to create new inflection points on its trajectory. Remember when Apple legitimize the use of the USB ports in its original iMac? Now, they could legitimize the use of ARM on traditional computers.

    If I was Intel, I would be scared.

    → 6:36 AM, Jun 22
  • When Brent Simmons speaks, Apple should listen #wwdc20 #wwdc2020 #wwdc

    From Brent Simmons:

    The best part of the App Store, years ago, from this developer’s point of view, was that it was easy to charge money for an app. No need to set up a system — just choose the price, and Apple takes care of everything. So easy!

    And

    for many developers, the very best thing about the App Store — the thing that actually helped their business — is gone.

    And this

    I can’t reconcile in my mind the tension between Apple as the think different company, the pirates, the rebels, the company at the intersection of tech and liberal arts — and Apple the company that runs this legalistic, nitpicky, greedy, inhuman, happy-face Kafka App Store.

    And finally this

    If I could distribute my iOS app outside of the App Store, I would. I’d switch in a heartbeat. Even though it’s free and money isn’t my issue. It would make my work as an app maker easier.

    Ouch. Coming this guy, it means a lot.

    WWDC20 already has a special feel to it, even before the start… not only because it is digital only, but also because I feel (many) developers are simpky fed up with the Apple way.

    → 8:14 PM, Jun 21
  • Apple's passive-aggressive attitude... #wwdc

    Apple’s ARM-based Macs (aggressive) transition plans… these rumours seems to point to a much more aggressive transition than I was expecting… Apple must know a few things that we don’t which could explain such an expedited transition. #wwdc2020 #wwdc www.macrumors.com/2020/06/2…

    → 11:40 AM, Jun 21
  • Hey, HEY & Apple - Settle down already! #apple #appstore #hey

    I’m not very optimistic on the outcome of the “HEY vs Apple” battle. Both, in their own ways, are arrogant, blinkered and calling out each other. Each will lose their face with a concession, even if it’s small. Big egos against each other here.

    Meanwhile, potential users on iOS will suffer from the lack of much needed app updates. This could be a deal breaker for many users like me. HEY is losing, Apple is losing, users are losing.

    What a mess. ☹️

    → 8:45 AM, Jun 20
  • HEY, what’s next? @DHH #apple #appstore

    Now, as a potential customer of HEY!, what I want to hear or read from @DHH is: what’s next? How are they tackling the problem in order to comply? Will they comply? I want to support their new platform AND their cause, but from a user standpoint, they have to put out a plan and communicate it ASAP.

    My 14 days trial will end on July 1st. I want to know before making a 99$ commitment.

    Hey, you’re turn now.

    → 7:23 AM, Jun 19
  • Hey Apple, you are in deep sh** #wwdc #wwdc2020 #appstore #iosdev

    As an Apple observer for more than four decades (yep!), I rarely seen such a public relation mess like the one this week, a week before WWDC. Apple messed up big time with the worst possible timing by alienating their developers. On top of that, their definition of apps that doesn’t work upon startup is already being smashed by so many counter-examples. This is a complete mess and I don’t know how Apple will get out of this shit. If goes far beyond the 30% commission.

    **This is not the Apple that I want to see, promote and embrace. **

    → 7:02 AM, Jun 19
  • BREAKING NEWS #2: Now iTunes U is being dismantled.

    iTunes U is the next victim after iBooks Author. I’m not sure Apple’s Classroom and Schoolwork are fully replacing iTunes U’s features set. Let’s wait and see.

    Also, this change of direction from Apple creates a big opportunity for Google which is already well established.

    → 2:30 PM, Jun 10
  • Expectations Too High for #WWDC? Probably...

    In my recently published wish list for WWDC 2020, I think I under-stated how anxious I am about the “virtual keynote”.

    I wish for something closer to a movie than a keynote. Not too much on the info-pub side, something entertaining while being informative and enticing. I want to see Tim Cook at the main character, Craig Federighi in a supporting role. Don’t be too “general public”, be geeky as hell. Impress me, delight me. Show me the future, now!

    My expectations are (too?) high for WWDC 2020. I know.

    → 2:52 PM, Jun 1
  • Day #4 of my Ghost experiment

    Ghost.org has been under attack in the last few days, prompting them to force a password reset. It leaves a sour taste. I'm currently writing down my thoughts and findings. Expect a blog post in the coming days. Spoiler alert: it's not good.

    → 6:16 AM, May 8
  • On iPhone 12 Pro Max Design Leaks - woah #iphone12 #leaks

    Major design mockup of the iPhone 12 Pro Max. All based on CAD files in the wild. These guys 3D printed it so they could get a feeling of the device in their hands. The boxy design seems to be really nice to handle. Looking forward for more details. And the bezels will be much smaller too, making it a real full screen device. youtu.be/ZUXwDpGyl…

    → 6:22 AM, Apr 17
  • Apple, you are playing with words. #iphoneSE

    Thanks Apple but this is not an iPhone SE. Ask every previous iPhone SE owners and they will confirm. To call it an iPhone SE, you have to change one thing: its size. You are playing with words here. it is an iPhone 9 (looking at this is enough to be convinced). My guess is that we will never see the return of the previous iPhone SE screen size.

    BTW, I never ever liked this iPhone SE naming. It is utterly ugly. I cannot come over this one.

    → 2:41 PM, Apr 15
  • Anxiety over #COVID-19 (follow link for details)

    Are we at a turning point where there will be a before & after world as we know it? I mean, this shit is here to stay among us for a long time… right? This long streak of economic growth (since 2008) really look to be coming to an end. Young generations will find things, economically speaking, to be harsh from now on and will have to get their shit together when looking for jobs as unemployment will start to be on significant rise… I’m Gen X, I do know what is it like when future is uncertain from a jobs perspective… in case you asked. Full employment may be a thing of the past from now on. We’ll see.

    → 5:43 PM, Mar 6
  • Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro: the perfect companion for urban exploration #urbex #shotoniphone

    Today’s session of urban exploration was the first since I bought the iPhone 11 Pro last fall. As you might expect, going in with such a phone makes a great difference while shooting quick shots in dark places. This device is simply amazing (you can read my lengthy revew here btw).

    → 1:29 PM, Feb 23
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