- 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.
Pilot Episode #2 — Testing, Testing, Testing, 1-2-3
This is the second pilot episode of my brand-new podcast (“Thoughts & Tribulations of a compulsive creator”). I made many changes to the recording setup. I like the results. 😊 My support templates are ready (one in Screenflow, Things and Craft) for the first real episode that should be coming soon. One last note: I discovered yesterday that Microblog will automatically generate a transcript of each episode. This is so cool! 🤯
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.
Testing Synology Photos as a digital assets management solution (#synology #beta #dsm7)

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.
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.

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.
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.
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. 🧐
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.

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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
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. 😅
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.
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.

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.
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?
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?
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?
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.
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?

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.
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.

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.