Using templates in office work can sometimes be counterproductive, leading to less original thinking, reduced engagement, and fewer creative problem-solving opportunities. Templates can make it easy to fall into a routine of just filling in blanks, resulting in more generic outputs and a checkbox mentality. This reliance on templates can also make it challenging to adapt and innovate when a task doesn’t fit the template. To keep creativity and innovation alive, it’s helpful to use templates as a starting point while encouraging team members to think critically and adapt as needed.

Some of my colleagues are highly dependant on them, I’m not. I’m staying away from them. It’s a creative thinking killer.

The new M4 iPad Pro, with its repositioned FaceID camera, feels like a step backward compared to the 2018 iPad Pro. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I frequently receive prompts to enter my PIN due to failed FaceID attempts. Swiping up to unlock the device momentarily covers the camera and sensors, disrupting the process. While Apple may have enhanced the FaceTime experience, the unlocking experience has become more frustrating. In my opinion, this is a significant regression.

This is my second narrated blog post on Micro.blog. It seems to me that writing for sharing as a text-only post triggers different strings for me than writing for a narrated text post. It feels strange because this isn’t a podcast episode. There is no introduction, no conclusion. No background music either. Yet, I find this cool because this is going to be available also to my podcast subscribers. Because of that, I call this an audiocast since the textual transcription (the writing) is done before the audio recording. Audiocast: this word doesn’t exist, isn’t it? Remember that you read it, and heard it here first.

Mac computers are fast and have impressive battery life. Mac Studio with the M4 Ultra ship can wait. The iPad is fast too, potentially surpassing the performance of many Mac computers. It is thin also. Really thin. We get it. The iPhone is fast, light, thin and features excellent camera capabilities. Enough of incremental updates. That is why I do not want new Apple hardware at the upcoming WWDC conference, even if it was a home router, a la AirPort.

Instead, I think Apple’s software in general requires attention and improvement.

For instance, the iPadOS user interface could benefit from refinements to enhance the overall user experience. Similarly, the macOS notifications center and the iPhone Control Center may need rethinking to improve their functionality and usability. Additionally, the macOS Settings app could undergo further enhancements to provide users with a more streamlined and intuitive interface. These are examples of user-facing interfaces that could benefit from further enhancements to better meet the needs and expectations of Apple’s customers. Oh, and Siri needs even more works to become the real intelligent assistant we are all waiting for. That’s the story I wish for WWDC this year.

No new hardware, please. Thanks you.

The upcoming Windows 11 AI ‘Recall’ feature, which is designed to take regular screenshots of a user’s PC content to help them find past information, has been called a security disaster by a security researcher. According to the expert, Kevin Beaumont, the Recall feature is essentially an “infostealer” that can be exploited by hackers to access sensitive data, such as user interactions, text messages, passwords, and websites visited. Despite Microsoft’s attempts to improve the security of Recall, the researcher claims the feature will “set cybersecurity back a decade by empowering cybercriminals” as the underlying database can be accessed through malware-infected PCs.

I wonder how differently Apple would fare if it implemented something similar. Would it be better?

Hi everyone. I might be late to the party, but I finally sat down for a few minutes to test Micro.blog’s new feature: narrated blog posts. It is strange because this is my first use and I cannot write a full review because as I’m writing this, my audio recording is still not done, and I don’t know how is the audio attachment and processing will actually work. It might be similar to when I post a new podcast episode. In any case, I think this is a clever addition to an already useful and enjoyable blogging service. Thanks to @Manton for this. Now, should I say, “have a great day and see you for another blog post?” Probably not.

[Update #1]: It seems the play button doesn’t show up. Probably a bug with the Cards theme. Investigation started. [Update #2]: I found out that narrated blog posts come out as podcast episodes on Podcasts. I’m not sure this is what I want.

I’m experiencing an rather frustrating issue with my M4 iPad Pro: I’m experimenting with an external displayy (LG 4K UltraFine) with a thunderbolt cable. Everything works fine until the iPad starts acting up and disable the external display. It’s like if the cable was being disconnected and reconnected every few seconds. A restart of the iPad fixes the issue for a little while. Very frustrating to say the least. Probably a bug with iPadOS 17.5. I was hoping to test the external display but I’ll have to wait a little bit more.

After spending half an hour in the Apple Store comparing iPads with and without the nano-texture display, I came to the conclusion to skip the nano-texture display and here are the reasons why:

1. The display doesn’t provide a paper-like sensation when using the Apple Pencil.

2. There is a subtle difference in image sharpness.

3. The blacks are less complete blacks, which cancels the OLED screen advantage.

4. The contrast seems to be a little bit lower on the nano-texture display.

The corollary of this decision is:

a) I’m saving some money.

b) Since I’m settling on the 512GB of storage, I’ll get only 8GB of system memory.

c) This iPad is a little bit less future-proof.

So, that’s it for the decision about this display finish!

Finally got the new iPad Pro: 11-inch, 512GB of storage, which means “only” 8GB of system RAM and no nano-texture display. I made the decision after spending 45 minutes testing the new iPad. The nano-texture display is super nice to the touch, but it does reduce image crispiness. With the Apple Pencil, that texture doesn’t really reproduce a paper-like feeling. That, I could add that later with Paperlike for iPad when it becomes available. Plus, I saved a lot of money. There is a limit to what I can and wish to spend on Apple hardware. 🤷🏻‍♂️ More details, like a mini-review, soon.

I really liked the OpenAI short keynote, especially the few jabs at Google. What OpenAI is doing is simply mind-blowing. I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this. What isn’t clear, though, is as a paying member of ChatGPT, why would I continue to subscribe if I don’t use the live translation? One last thing: Siri looks like a prehistoric bot. Apple has to do something about this, and fast.