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Deliveries: what’s in for me?
I’ve been a long time satisfied user of Deliveries. They are now switching to a subscription model which isn’t a surprise. I do think the pricing is just about right for the type of app. But, looking more closely to what’s new in the upcoming release, I see support for darkmode which is fine but please, don’t try to sell us this upgrade because you support basic OS features that are available for more than a year. Continue reading →
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Here is a free idea for iOS 14 widget developers
Who can remember the Pinball Construction Set? If you do, or you are well documented or you are probably as old as me. Now, consider iOS 14 and the widgets feature: how long before someone comes up with something like a “Widgets Construction Set” for iOS? What I’m seeing now isn’t close enough to my taste. Continue reading →
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Lost in a see of content
There is way more content online than we can humanly consume. There, I said it. I’m myself part of the problem, as a content creator too, albeit in a very small tiny fashion. To make things worse, I consider myself a writer. It’s not helping as less and less people are reading these days. Continue reading →
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On iOS 14 Widgets: So much untapped potential
We have to realize that we are only at the early stage of widgets support for iOS 14. There is a lot of untapped potential and frustrating design choices. Widgetsmith is having a moment right now but looks like a work-in-progress to me. It is a great idea but it can be tricky to configure and is not fully intuitive. There is so many more data sources the developer could add. Continue reading →
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ok, the widgets experience on the iPad is crippled, so what?
When iPadOS 14 beta came out, we were all quick to notice how crippled the widgets experience was compared to iOS 14. So we got frustrated. I’m still unable to get over it. Apple is holding back the iPad. Again. In the last few days, I tried to understand the possible reasons behind this. To my surprise, it’s not easy and there could be many explanations to why the iPad widgets experience is limited to the Today view. Continue reading →
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Apple’s Upcoming Products #apple #iphone12 #airtags
To get a bird’s eye view of the current Apple’s rumours landscape, check out my daily “Apple’s Upcoming Products” newsletter with all the well known leakers in one place. There is still a lot going on for the rest of 2020 and beyond. Subscribe, it’s free and time saving. You’ll thank me later. It’s the best way to spoil any upcoming Apple events. Trust me. Continue reading →
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A message to attention seekers
Here is something for attention seekers: GTFU. I don’t understand. What do you expect from me by liking 10 photos in a row on my 500px profile page. The same goes for this case (see screen shot) of someone clapping for all my stories on my Medium page. Do you have something to sell? Probably, but I don’t care. You are making noise all around the web, just because you seek my attention. Continue reading →
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Apple’s best general purpose apps...
I wrote about that a long time ago but here it is again: Apple’s iWork suite is probably the best expression of Apple software these days. This week, the venerable suite got updated to take advantage of iOS 14’s latest features (scribble, new import photo library, etc.). Keynote got an outline mode! 😍 Continue reading →
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On increasing COVID-19 cases...
Quick question: when you say “oh my, COVID-19 cases are on the rise!” and you get the following response “well, sure, they do more testing!!”. Is this a valid response? If not, what is the counter argument? I have the feeling there is something wrong with this statement but I cannot put the finger on it. Ideas? Continue reading →
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The Rotten Side of Tim Cook's Apple.
Apple, the everlasting success story has been in troubled water in recent years. From faulty or badly designed products to tense relationships with its developers, more than ever Apple is showing its rotten side, attracting regulators’ attention. The family picture is not pretty. link.medium.com/tcLmxS16V… Continue reading →
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On iOS 14 Widgets - My Observations & Experience so far
Carefully designed and thought out widgets are still scarce. Many developers show a lack of understanding of a widget’s purposes. Every single day, I’m baffled by the lack of flexibility on iPadOS. It’s a crime or a lack of courage, you tell me 🤦🏻♂️. From an end-user perspective, managing widgets can be a frustrating experience. Apple can do better here. For example: in the screenshot below, users should be able to add a widget on an existing stack. Continue reading →
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I'm never satisfied. Why?
Are you like me and never satisfied with your Apple Watch face arrangement? Why is it so? Why is it so hard to come up with a watch face configuration that totally fit my needs and my taste? iOS 14 helped me solve part of my problem, but it isn’t enough. watchOS doesn’t help either as it allows for even more flexibility. A third-party application named “Buddywatch” is super cool, yet doesn’t fix the problem. Continue reading →
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Can Apple pundits see the reality as it is?
I’m working on something that Apple fanboys won’t like at all: a cornerstone piece of more than 4000 words about my personal view of Apple’s less glorious facets. Many Apple pundits will disagree. I don’t care. I worked hard on this one in the last few weeks and my undistorted field perception is finally about to come out. Wait for it. 👨🏻💻 Continue reading →
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No trackers on Apple.com. Really?
After installing Safari 14 on macOS Catalina, I went on Apple.com to see what trackers would be reported. Unsurprisingly, Apple doesn’t use any trackers. Now, the big question: do you believe Apple doesn’t track its main website usage? Continue reading →
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On Developer’s Questionable Choices with iOS 14 Widgets Design
There is something fundamentally wrong with the way iOS 14 widgets are being implemented by many developers. Here is a simple example. The popular Reddit client, Apollo, introduced widgets support, see the following picture. Now, how can a widget with two posts can be useful if you are following many subreddits with dozens of new posts each day? What is the point in doing that? Continue reading →
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Thanks for spoiling today's #AppleEvent
A message to all official and less official Apple leakers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for spoiling today’s Apple event. Without you, I don’t know if I could have taken today’s announcements. You made a big difference, you showed to the world how indispensable you are. Apple must be proud of you guys, think about it. Special thanks to @LeaksApplePro, @jon_prosser, @Jioriku, @markgurman. Continue reading →
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Who's in charge of saying "no, this is shit"?
Look, look closely at this leadership page from Apple. Now, ask yourself, who is directing the product directions part? Who says “no, we won’t do that!” or “come back when it is done!” or “Yes, that’s the direction we will go!”? It used to be Jony Ive and before, Steve Jobs. But, now? How is it possible that someone in charge of “products design” is not on the leadership page? For a company like Apple, it is deeply troubling. Continue reading →
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I'm falling in love, again.
I’m falling back in love with Tweetbot 🥰. For a reason that I don’t remember, I was no longer using since a while ago. I think it was related to the fact that the official Twitter client was getting all the new features while Tweetbot couldn’t keep up (thanks to highly guarded APIs by Twitter. I’m kind of frustrated by the non-chronological timeline. It’s exhausting. I want to focus on a clean UI providing me a clear view on my timeline. Continue reading →
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Warning: doom and gloom ahead. #AppleEvent
On the eve of #AppleEvent tomorrow, I can see a lot of deception on the horizon. The tag line is clear: it’s about time, or the watch. It’s not about the iPhone. It’s not about the Mac. It’s not about the Apple Silicon. It’s about the iPad and the watch. A weird combinaison if you ask me. These updated iPad should be launched with a press release IMHO but Apple needs some stuff to fill the event schedule I guess. Continue reading →
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For what reason do we pay Apple for?
Man I still miss him. Steve Jobs had a way of making his point so damn clear. You could disagree with him, but I least you knew what he was trying to say. No bullshit. Plain and simple. Boom. twitter.com/robcorean… Continue reading →