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About My Numeric Citizen Introspection newsletter
My next newsletter issue is nearly done. On Substack, I’m not a big name in the blogger sphere or a journalist dropping from places like the New York Times. Yet, I enjoy putting together this monthly newsletter, and I generally like the end results. Subscribers are staying and keep increasing over time. It’s a good sign, I guess. Are you one of them? https://numericcitizen.substack.com
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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 āšš»ā to Facebook et al. Now turning to iOS 14.6 beta which seems to bring new devices support only (2021 iPad Pro).
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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. Iām 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. Canāt wait for WWDC 21.
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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. Iāve got a pretty busy schedule at work, so I wonāt 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 āone more thingā?
Tonight, Iāll 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. š
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On Facebookās 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.
Letās 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. š
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HEY World slowly fading... but... (#thoughts #blogging)
From time to time, I use the Ā«Ā HEY World ShuffleĀ Ā» URL to trigger the display of a randomly chosen HEY World user website. Itās funny as I never know what discovery Iāll 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 didnāt bother to continue but a few did, and there are a few gems to discover. Iām 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?
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HEY World missing button
I wish there would be a āReply to the authorā button on HEY World user website. As it is now, I cannot find an easy and quick way to respond to a past post. I prefer to consume HEY World content through RSS feeds, not by subscribing via email.
Iām on HEY World, by the way. https://world.hey.com/jf.m. āš»šš»
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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. Itās not a night and day difference but there is a trend. It is a welcomed one because this gives Apple more āroomā 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 donāt like.
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Thinking of the next iPad (#appleevent #apple #ipadpro)
Tonight, using Craft, Iām writing my next piece for āNumeric Citizen I/Oā on my 2018 11āā iPad Pro with the Apple Magic Keyboard. Iām being this multitasking guy as Iām 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. Iām far from maximizing this iPadās potential. So, ask me again, why should I upgrade to whatās 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 weekās virtual event. We shall see soon.
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My Expectations for āSpring Loadedā 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, arenāt 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 wonāt 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 Appleās 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.
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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 doesnāt load on peopleās 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 canāt understand why this shit is possible.
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About those two icons (#apple #iOS15)
I rarely comment on rumours from highly speculative reports, but this report from MacRumors is different:
āThe 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.ā
and
āApp Store Connect in October was updated with a refreshed icon that’s similar to the āApple Musicā for Artists icon, which means Apple has now updated two app icons with this new design.ā
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 wouldnāt 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).
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On Tim Cookās interview by Kara Swisher (#apple #timcook #privacy)
There is a lot to like in the recent Tim Cookās interview with Kara Swisher (link to Podcast). Itās a must-listen. Here are a few observations and remarks.
- I love Tim Cookās 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 knowā¦ $$$. Yetā¦ 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.
- 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.
- 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 Appleās 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.
- This interview maybe seen as a bit self-serving, yet it is what it is. We, Appleās customers like me, pay Apple to make calls on issues like encryption and privacy protection, environmental protection, etc. Thatās the way I see my voting dollars anyway. As soon as I like most of their calls, Iāll be fine and be one of their customer. I dearly hope it stays that way because alternatives are scarce to say the least.
- Is Apple playing the same rules for ALL developers? I doubt it. Is Appleās 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.
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My trick to read more (#reading #writing #tips #tricks)
In a word: Pocket. Iāve been rediscovering this application in recent days, and Iām 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.
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Remembering... (#techmemories)
Today, Iām 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?
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Itās been a long time... (#apple #iphone12)
Today, I have come to realize that, since its introduction, I didnāt see the iPhone 12 lineup in person. Itās the first time that I didnāt 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 Iāll have to wait for the iPhone 13 or whatever it is called.
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Curiously Entering the World of DJing (#music #dj #mixing #electronicmusic)
Iām 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, Iāve been fascinated by music, especially electronic music since I was a teenager. Iām 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 Algoriddimās 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 itās Christmas time. Will see where it goes from here. Expect more details on my endeavour soon.
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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. Iām happy with that. As I wrote in the past, my hope is that this type of event stays digital. Iāve never been to a real WWDC so I donāt miss anything.
Now, trying to read into WWDCās announcement art: sure, there is this reference to last yearās 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. š
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My micro.blog instant joy
Friday thinking… I find is so refreshing to be able to have decent conversations on the open web. There is no drama here, everything seems so… simple. It brings back some confidence about humanās capabilities to engage in respectful conversations…. Thatās be because there are lots of nice guys here on Micro.blog… it is lacking elsewhere (no finger pointing here, I wonāt name a platform… but, well, ya know, right?).
Returning to normal programming.
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On Intelās Tick Tock Strategy (#intel #apple #applesilicon)
How funny is that? It seems Intel is applying its ātick-tock strategyā to its relationship with Apple. One week, Intel is slamming Appleās M1 Macs with highly questionable ads featuring Justin Long, the week after Intel is luring Appleās business to make their future processors.
So obviously youāve seen some of the competitive energies resume because thereās a lot of great innovation to be done, and we havenāt 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 ecosystemā ā Gelsinger
I donāt know if this competitive landscape is fun like Gelsinger is mentioning, maybe we could ask Tim Cook?
