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  • My Experience With Tidbyt LED-Based Display

    IMG 4361

    After six weeks of waiting, I finally got this little LED-based display called ā€œTidbytā€, a reference, I guess, to the old Lite-Brite game which came out in 1967 (I had one when I was a child).

    Tidbyt is an intelligent wireless LED-based panel that displays content configured from the Tidbyt app available on a smartphone. Physically, the device feels high quality and well-designed and is framed with real wood, reminiscent of mid-century furniture.

    Content is configured using applets that you put together on a canvas. The display content will switch from one applet to another in the order defined on the canvas. Applets can be set to display only on a specific schedule, but the scheduling options are rather limited. It’s very simple to set this up.

    Tuesday 20 Dec 2022 06 37 07

    Once the display is plugged into power via its USB-C cable, it will wait for the configuration to be done from the smartphone, a six-step process. Bluetooth is required to detect the display, and a Wifi network is required for the display to get its data from the Internet. Tuesday 20 Dec 2022 06 49 36

    The applets catalogue is growing but still is relatively limited. Thanks to an SDK and open APIs, developers constantly add new ones. The display is bright and can be adjusted according to a manual setting or time of the day. There is a night mode, too, if you want to put the device in one bedroom.

    The screen resolution seemed low at first, but from a distance, it is surprisingly good, enough to display small images.

    All in all, the Tidbyt makes a great addition to my home office, and people at work have already noticed it during Teams meetings and are asking questions about this little thing sitting on the shelf behind me.

  • On Twitter's Attention Seekers

    On Twitter, you can get notified when someone starts following you. Sounds great until it isn’t. You know, many people will start following others to get attention about their existence, hoping to get a follow back. It’s easy to know they are seeking your attention because after a few days they will unfollow you. I always despised this behaviour. For this reason, I prefer Micro.blog’s lack of notifications when someone starts to follow me. I don’t pay attention.

  • Rewind: Thanks but No Thanks

    After watching a recent video from Matt Birchler about Rewind, a constant screen recording utility for the Mac, I was excited to give my email address and get onboard the waiting list for early access to the app. I got my invite a few days ago. As much as I would like to test this app, here's this deal-breaker for me: 20 US$ per month to get on the early access program, no thank you. Why?

    I understand Rewind is still in beta, but the developer wants me to pay for testing the application. Shouldn’t it be the other way around so I get a rebate when the app goes out of beta? I mean, even with a 30-day ā€œtrialā€ I still can’t get over this. If it’s 20 US$ a month now for the early access, what will be the price of the final product then? Even more expansive?

    HEY Your invitation to the Rewind Early Access Program 2022 12 19 07 26 04 2x

    Rewind makes me think of CleanShot, and I find Rewind’s pricing overly expansive if I think about the scope of both apps.Ā 

    Rewind is a great idea, even if it pauses many security risks, but I’ll pass for now.

  • The Cost of Twitter

    I could save more than a whopping 400$ annually by shutting down my Twitter accounts. Thanks to the potential removal of a few service subscriptions from my workflow and potentially unjustified without Twitter in my digital life: Buffer, Typefully, Mailbrew.Ā 

    It’s incredible how thinking about my Twitter reliance makes me realize so many things on so many levels in my content creation workflow.

  • Less Than 1%

    The longer you’ve been on Twitter (I joined in 2007), the more likely that most of your followers are inactive accounts. My guesstimate would be that less than 1% of my followers are actually active, and even fewer actually care about what I’m saying or posting. So why on earth, give a damn?

  • Twitter Is Xenophobic Now

    I’m in violation of Twitter’s guidelines because I do promote content coming from other social platforms. I do use Linktree and have my Linktr.ee URL set on @numericcitizen.

    This new "Promotion of alternative social platforms policy" on Twitter deserves memorializing for the pure idiocy of it.

    "Accounts that are used for the main purpose of promoting content on another social platform may be suspended.".
  • Twitter Down, Micro.blog Up

    I would love @manton to speak out about how the current Twitter turmoils, people flocking to Mastodon, and the ability to follow people over there right from my Micro.blog feed is increasing Micro.blog engagement, subscriptions and general usage. Personally, I’m much more active than before.

  • On "Load Bearing Mac Mini"

    Is this true?

    12 years ago, Twitter’s office used a Mac Mini to tunnel into the servers. One day, an IT guy found it in the closet.

    ā€œAnyone know who owns this?ā€

    ā€œUnplug it. Someone will show up.ā€

    Everyone lost access to servers. Huge crisis. It became known as the ā€œLoad Bearing Mac Mini.ā€

  • Mailbrew, Typefully and Twitter

    I finally found how to reconfigure my Mailbrew account to log in without using Twitter. Good thing. I don’t log in often in Mailbrew, but this morning I learned that I’d need to adjust many things when I close my Twitter account. As an example, this newsletter setup will need to be revisited to remove any references to Twitter as a data source.

    Mailbrew is an excellent tool for generating newsletters, but it hasn’t been updated for quite a while (October of 2021, according to the change log). The developers behind Mailbrew are too busy working on their other product: Typefully, a web service for writing Twitter threads. I’m subscribing to both services. Typefully was cool when it launched but being entirely dependent on Twitter puts them in danger IMHO. I don’t use Typefully much, preferring Buffer for scheduling cross-posted content to Twitter, something Typefully doesn’t support.Ā 

    It’s sad to see Mailbrew coming to a halt. Typefully will go down the drain with my Twitter account closure next year.

  • The Stars of the Show for 2022 Are...

    Raycast 2022 12 16 08 19 49 2xIf I look back at my software usage in 2022, three stars stand out:

    1. Raycast
    2. Things 3
    3. Screenflow
    Raycast was a revelation. It is so pervasive in my workflow that I feel lost when returning to my iPad for serious work. I underutilize Raycast for sure. It's free and constantly evolving.

    Things 3 returned after more than a year of trying Apple Reminders and Craft Daily notes. It was a futile exercise. Things 3 is beautifully supporting my content creator workflow. Managing to-dos has never been so enjoyable.

    Screenflow is essential to my YouTube video creation workflow. I don’t use FinalCut Pro, Luma Fusion or anything that sophisticated. I could use Screenshot screen recording too, but Screenflow is really the simplest and most focused video creation app out there that clicks with me.

    I love using great software.

  • Twitter — It’s Really Getting Worse

    According to media and users on Twitter:

    Many Twitter users added a Mastodon profile link into their bios as the Twitter alternative picked up steam. Now, any links to blocked Mastodon servers are disabled and accompanied by the text ā€œWarning: this link may be unsafe.

    And

    Twitter on Thursday evening suddenly suspended several high-profile journalists who cover the platform and Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world, who acquired the company just a few months ago.

    Hours after the suspensions took hold, Musk faced off with one of the journalists he suspended in a Twitter Space audio discussion before an audience of more than 30,000 listeners. The suspended journalist, along with several others, found a backdoor way onto the platform through the website's audio function.

    ā€œYou doxx, you get suspended. End of story. That's it,ā€ Musk said, explaining his latest policy to the group, before he left minutes after having joined the discussion.

    Wow. What a shit show. After suspending targeted individual accounts, now it appears it is getting more systematic.Ā Is there an employee at Twitter capable of saying no to Musk even if it means being fired? Or is Musk at the command and personally disabling those accounts?Ā 

    Twitter is turning into USSR with a fake free-speech proponent leader.

  • Hands Down to Hand Mirror Plus

    Just got my notice for the Hand Mirror update today. The latest release offers a paid version, for which I gladly paid. Why? Hand Mirror is a great example of useful software with attributes of the work of great craftsmanship. It was an instant buy because of this. The onboarding screen is simply gorgeous.Ā 

    Hand Mirror Settings 2022 12 15 21 24 36 2x

    HazeOver 2022 12 16 09 28 07 2x
  • Eyeing the Rumoured 15-Inch MacBook Air

    Apple’s rumored 15-inch ā€ŒMacBook Airā€Œ is expected to feature the same general design as the 13-inch ā€ŒMacBook Airā€Œ that was released in 2022 with flat edges, a large Force Touch trackpad, a keyboard with function keys, and more. It will also likely include a MagSafe charging port, upgraded speaker system, and a 1080p camera. Source: 15.5-Inch MacBook Air Expected to Launch in Spring 2023 - MacRumors

    This year, as an M1 MacBook Air owner, I decided to skip the M2 MacBook Air. The differences aren’t significant enough for me to upgrade, performance and design-wise. But getting a bigger display in a light package without going to the Pro line is a different story. It won’t come cheap, for sure. Count me in the line up.

  • Exit Plans are Important — Learning the Hard Way With Twitter

    Exit plans are important. My Twitter exit planning reminds me that we all should have some sort of exit plan for anything we use and depend on online. Every building has an emergency exit plan. Businesses who subscribe to cloud-based services need to plan their exit in case they no longer like their cloud provider. The same should be planned for using services like Twitter. Having a plan is one thing but maintaining it is quite another. I’m learning my lesson the hard way my friends. More to come soon.

  • Twitter Is the Uneeded Intermediary and How I'm Planning to Get Rid of It

    Whenever I want to go to Twitter, I should remember that Twitter is mostly a big dump of content originating from other places. So, why not consume content at the source instead? In my journey to a Twitter-free world, I’ll need to rebuild my habits of visiting the following places:

    * Techmeme: for consuming news;

    * RSS Reader: for consuming news and articles;

    * Telegram: for consuming news;

    * Mailbrew: for consuming content;

    * Hackernews: for discovering content;

    * Reddit: for consuming content, exploring and discovering new content;

    A special mention about Mailbrew is required here: a portion of the content generated in my private newsletters comes from Twitter. I’ll need to revisit this sooner than later. Thankfully, Mailbrew supports RSS feeds as a content source. But then, maybe using my RSS reader will render Mailbrew mostly useless?Ā 

  • On Rumours of Apple Working on Its App Stores Overhaul

    Bloomberg:

    Apple to Allow Outside App Stores in Overhaul Spurred by EU Laws.

    Boom. If true, it’s massive. I can imagine Apple's engineering efforts to make it happen for WWDC 2023. I wrote earlier this year that I Ā changed my mind about sideloading apps on the iPhone. I still stand with my change of heart. I expect the iPhone experience to suffer with increased complexity for ordinary users. Not by much, but somehow, things will have to change to accommodate new workflows. It’s not an easy task to keep things simple. I trust Apple to find a good compromise.Ā 

    I don’t expect to use apps installed from other sources, except if there is a significant pricing difference or if it’s a unique app not available otherwise.Ā 

  • On Apple's Freeform and Tools Palettes

    Freeform, the visual and collaborative application from Apple, is finally out for the iPad, the Mac and… I spent some time with it on the iPad and found it enjoyable and deceptively minimalistic. On the Mac, once updated to Ventura 13.1, Freeform can be used to continue working on the content, albeit with a different set of tools, since there is no Apple Pencil support over there. One question is, why is the tools palette on the iPad different from the one with Apple Notes? I mean, there are pencils or crayons that I prefer on Notes over the available choices in Freemform’s palette. Following is a comparison of both. At the top is the Apple Notes tools palette. At the bottom is Apple’s Freeform. The latter seems a bit childish, too simplistic. I really wish there were more pencil types.Ā 

    IMG 8775

    IMG 8776

    Other than that, I didn’t test the collaborative work with someone else. I see Freemore as more for individualistic creative work. I’m not sure yet if I’ll ever make good use of it. Certainly not at work, as we’re more of a ā€œMicrosoftā€ business. Time will tell.Ā 

  • Starting a Journey to My Twitter-Free Digital Life

    After much thinking and due to recent events on Elon Musk’s Twitter, I’m starting to put together a plan for phasing Twitter out of my digital life entirely. The journey will be long, and I made it to be one of my goals for 2023.

    Twitter is well entrenched in my digital life. One example of this is the Mailbrew service that I’m subscribing to: sign in requires my Twitter account. Duh. Lots of generated newsletter content is pulled off Twitter. Duh.

    I’ll need to be methodical in pursuing a better digital world. I’ll learn a lot about along the way and probably reconsider many aspects of my digital workflows.

    From now on, I’ll use the “Qwitter” category for these posts.

  • Following Mastodon Users From Micro.blog

    [@anildash@mastodon.cloud](https://micro.blog/anildash@mastodon.cloud) I've been improving our ActivityPub support in Micro.blog. Just posted a video earlier today that you might find interesting: www.youtube.com/watch

    Thanks to this video, I understand that I can follow Mastodon users right from Micro.blog.
  • When Ukraine Is Home of Great Software Makers

    I recently wrote my satisfaction about Readdle’s Documents.app on-boarding experience on the iPad. Now I’m reading about Spark’s cleverness take on emails. Without being as opinionated as Hey.com, Spark is a serious professional email client. Readdle’s home is Ukraine šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡¦ too. I’m considering integrating both software in my toolset. All good reasons to show some support to them.