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Thoughts on Micro.blog Tags
Iāve been playing with Micro.blogās new bookmark tags. At first, I thought the feature was underwhelming. I don’t think there is a way to add more than one tag to a bookmark. This might be a good thing after all. Still undecided on this. Then, I discovered how you can select a tag to display associated bookmarks. Hoping for the iOS app to receive an update soon. I updated a few dozen bookmarks to add a tag. I’ll see if it makes a difference. My bookmarks are not that many and many are deleted after a while.
Update #1: someone pointed me that we can have more than one tag, simply by adding commas. Update #2: I can see Micro.blog bookmarks as a complement to Anybox, but focused on content originating from people I follow on Micro.blog / Mastodon. I donāt see that replacing Anybox anytime soon.
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The Beginning of My Journey to Midjourney
“A man sitting in front of a retro computer doing some important work”. š
This is my first ever prompt sent to Midjourney. I think this image is an excellent representation of my current state. A guy experimenting with Midjourney in front of my computer. I’m blown away. What a great time to be alive! Discord, as a client of this back-end service, is fascinating. š¤Æ
I subscribed for one month to the basic plan. I’m not sure how I’ll use the service. One example could be to create illustrations for my blog posts on Numeric Citizen Space. Another use case would be for illustration purposes for my work. I’ll see and continue experimenting. I’ll report back here my discoveries and impressions.
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On Articles Size & Twitter
Tweets on Twitter use to be 140 characters max. Later it was increased to 280 characters. Now, apparently, you can post a note with a maximum of 2500 characters.
Now, looking at MacRumors or similar sites, it seems we get shorter and shorter articles, almost the size of a note on Twitter. Isnāt it strange?
People are busy and their attention span has shrunk considerably. Twitter once was very popular and others tried to adjust to its modus operandi. The web is adjusting in unexpected ways.
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I'm Subscribing, Now What?
Now that I’m a subscriber of Tapbots’ Ivory client for Mastodon, what’s up with the updates? Is it because it’s summertime? Why do I feel that the development of new features and improvements has considerably slowed in recent weeks and months? After all, the roadmap is clear here.
Tweetbot followed the same trend. Not all developers or companies follow the same product releases, but regarding Tapbots, the trend is slowing and is a pattern. Now, look at Mastodon’s official client; there is an update nearly every two weeks or at least monthly. Ok, there are more than 40 contributors to the open source project of r the iOS app while Tapbots is a three-person company.
I’m ok with subscriptions, but just like the subscription itself, the commitment from the developer has to keep up. The subscription model is everywhere and is here to stay. The software and services landscape has changed forever. Expectations from customers like me are changing too. It’s too easy to grab my money regularly without showing up in the App Store “Updates” tab.
I’m watching you, Tapbots. Don’t deceive me again.
Yeah, Tweetbot was a great app, just like Ivory is, but it lacked some love in the last few years before its demise.
Ranting off. Sorry.
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On Clipboard Management & Subscription Model
I’m testing Paste, a clipboard manager software utility for Mac, iOS (link). I kind of like it. It has better management features than Unclutter, which also offers some clipboard management. I’m on a 14-day trial period, but 19 $CAN, a year for a utility without a one-time purchase option, is bugging me. Will see where it goes.
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Notion Can Be Impressive
I’ve been working hard with Notion at work for a unique project. It’s a 14-database setup containing 18 database relationships, many calculations as well as a place for knowledge management. I think I’m pushing the boundaries of what Notion is all about. It’s still manageable, and Notion still is speedy. I’m really impressed by what this tool can help achieve. š¤©š¤Æ
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On Data Portability in the Modern Digital World
I recently read about the news that Evernote is currently downsizing its operations worldwide, especially in the US. It’s not the first troubling episode for Evernote. I remember when they “redesigned” their app, which created a massive pushback from the community.
I used Evernote in its early days and was appreciative of its capabilities. For some reason, I left for another solution. But for those who built massive data collections inside Evernote, now might be the time to think about going elsewhere. But there is a big gotcha: after searching for a way to export all the data, I discovered that it’s not that easy. And people are angry. This brings me to the data portability of modern software and services. Evernote’s ENEX export format was not a standard the last time I checked. A handful of apps can import ENEX files; Notion is one of them. HTML is also supported but is far from ideal. Options are limited and are seriously hindering the data portability of services like Evernote. Besides content, metadata is also critical (tags, dates, location, backlinks, etc.).
Is Notion suffering from the same potential issues? PDF, CSV, and HTML are the supported formats. š¤
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Github Offers a Fascinating Look at Software Development
I learned to use GitHub for the repo of my Blot website last year (read more about my experience with Blot here). I didn’t want to use Dropbox. I’m no longer using Blot, but I’m still visiting Github occasionally to keep track of project development like Plausible, but more recently for Pixelfed and a few plugins for Micro.blog. Peeking at change logs, commit comments, files changed, etc. offers an intimate look at software development. It’s also a great way to learn something.
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Feeling Helpless About Climate
Due to Canada’s forest fires and easterly winds, bad air quality is returning to my town for the next few days. With all the bad climate-related news coming up from everywhere on Earth, trying to understand what is happening is essential, so we can better adapt our lifestyle. I like to read many things on a subject that I find interesting, but climate change topic is utterly depressing. The planet is clearly slowly burning. All indicators are going in the wrong direction. How can we not feel helpless? It’s hard to stay informed and keep faith in humanity. Prove me wrong.
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The Apple Vision (Bible | Knowledge Base | Hub)?
I’m thinking of building a central web portal gathering information and everything related to the Apple Vision (Pro). Think of this as something similar to a digital garden but targeted to a specific product line. I do maintain one about Apple rumors (the Apple Rumors Hub). I have a few possible names in mind:
The Apple Vision Bible / The Apple Vision Knowledge Base / The Apple Vision Hub /
The concept of an “information hub” seems popular. Which one sounds better? What other name suffix could I use?
Note: since it is clear that Apple will release a lower-end version of the headset, I won’t include the “Pro” moniker, hence Apple Vision xxx.
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My week-end so far
Exploring Pixelfedā . Producing a 60-minute video about Pixelfedā . Writing an article about Pixelfedā . Learning about Tinylyticsā . Learning about templates in Micro.blog and custom themesā . Adding Tinylytics to my blogā . Subscribing to Tinylytics. ā
Next up: going to see the latest Mission Impossible.
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A 60-minute Video Tour of Pixelfed
I’m finally ready to share my 60-minute video tour of Pixelfed. If you’re contemplating the idea of creating your account on Pixelfed, I encourage you to do so, but after watching this video. You’ll learn about Pixelfed’s capabilities. It’s not a comparison analysis with services like Flickr or Smugmug, though.
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My First (And Unexpected) FaceTime Moment on My Apple TV!
I just had my first experience with FaceTime with one of my sons on my Apple TV. My son called me on FaceTime. I picked up the call. A few seconds later into the conversation, my iPhone suggested putting the call on my Apple TV. I really didn’t expect that. The iPhone instructed me what to do with my iPhone so it could catch me on camera. It was such an “Apple” moment! Flawless. Barely no lags. š¤Æ
My iPhone runs iOS 17 beta 3, and the Apple TV tvOS 17.0 beta 3.
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A New Start: Pixelfed
It didn’t take long. I’m now on Pixelfed (profile page). The reason it was a quick decision: I found a very specific use case for it. Since returning from my trip to Morocco, I have been looking for a way to share my best pictures with my family and friends. I prefer not to use Instagram / Facebook / Glass for different reasons. So here I am. Enjoy.
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Using Day One for Travel Journaling
When I decided to use Day One for my travel journal, I had the following requirements:
- Data portability is paramount (markdown, text, or textbundle);
- It must work offline;
- Integration into my existing workflow to share travel moments on Micro.blog;
- Easy data entry with as much metadata automatically filled out for me as possible;
- Look at my current toolset before using something entirely new.
I tried Craft last year, and it wasn’t up to the task. Apple Notes was a candidate, but it was dropped since notesā metadata is nonexistent. Day One met all requirements. Iāve been using Day One for more than five years. It worked wonderfully for my last trip. Sometimes, the solution is right in front of our eyes.
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Iām Still Liking HEY Email Butā¦
Iāve been using the HEY email service since its introduction. This week I had to search extensively in my email history to find transaction receipts and contracts. HEY email client has a unique take visually on emails and the inbox, and you either like it or hate it. I still like it, but I feel let down by the software for operations like searching, content rendering and attachment processing. This is where I wish HEY had a more standard take on email display and attachment preview. There is a lack of information density in this app which annoys me.
If there was another similar service but with a native client, I think I would switch.
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We Must Do Something About Metaās Monopoly
In my mind, every new platforms should start from 0 user base. Meta, just to name that one, have a monopoly of social graph. This is anti-competitive. Should Bluesky sue Meta? Should the open source community sue Meta? Yes. And yes.
Remember Microsoft and Internet Explorer back in the days? Remember Apple and the App Store?
We are not ready to accept this but here we are. Meta is a monopoly in my book. Time for regulation. I casted my vote: no Threads for me.
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Bad News for Weather in Canada
Yesterday, weather report summary for June in Canada was released and it is ugly. Much higher temperatures in the wrong places and at much earlier time this year. Many records broken by wide margin (since 1871). Lotās of discrepancies in rain distribution with lack of rain in the north of Quebec which then allowed much widespread forests fire than usual.
One month is not a trend but when you look far back, there are many worrying trends.
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Hunting vs ChatGPT
Hunters are not allowed to use drones to locate their prey. It is seen as an anti-competitive measure or an unfair practice. While ārealā hunters who chase their future prey for fun arenāt allowed drone usage, what about those who hunt to eat meat because it is their way of living? Is it still forbidden?
Now, letās do a parallel with LLM-derived tools like ChatGPT. Is it ok for fun but not ok for actual work? When are the lines crossed? Is the content the only determining factor?
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The Bad Side of All Inclusive Resorts
I have spent the last two days at an all-inclusive in Agadir, Morocco. Itās quite busy here with a lot of people everywhere. People are from Morocco and mostly Europe. I donāt see many Russian (none actually).
The worst part of our experience here is at the buffet. People are eating way too much, because, itās free or because they āpaid for itā, so they are entitled. Yet, the amount of wasted food is astronomical. I would argue that 80% of people here are fat, 20% in advanced stage of being fat. Many people are rude with the personal (because they paid for it?). Itās sad. Many people lack the basic sense of why āwaiting in lineā. They skip, they bypass and they donāt give a damn. Itās a circus.
