So, I made the decision: **Bye-bye Write.as**👋🏻. It’s fun to move things around on the internet, but I pay the price for being too impulsive and not intentional in some of my decisions. It was an impulsive decision to subscribe to Write.as. There was something seductive in the post editor, and being open source is the way to go. But I have to admit that it was a diversion. Now, focusing on Micro.blog. 😊

Sidenote: I find great satisfaction in simplification. This reminds me of when I was an indie iOS developer: I remember the instants of removing lines of code and making things leaner. It procured a lot of satisfaction.

🌞It’s Sunday, and it’s time for the second edition of the weekly creative summary newsletter! I was late working on this edition and wasn’t sure how it would come out. I’m pretty satisfied with this week’s edition.😀 I’m seeing more and more people heading to the Craft edition of this newsletter, and I’m highly grateful for the interest that this newsletter generates.

Microsoft Office apps for the Apple Vision Pro? Really? Color me surprised. I’m not convinced by the typical productivity use case for the Apple Vision Pro. Judging from what I see, working with things (windows, palettes, etc.) suspended in space doesn’t feel natural. What does it bring that the desktop doesn’t provide? Visualization use cases, sure, though. Being able to manipulate 3D models is a big yes. Is working with a flat spreadsheet in 3D space great? What does it fix that the desktop couldn’t? Maybe the convenience of having the flat spreadsheet besides the 3D model is the right use case. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.

Steve Jobs was incredible in bringing partners on board when launching a new platform. I wonder how different the launch of the Apple Vision Pro would be if he was still among us. Would we have more content available on day one? Or more apps? Even better: a real killer app? 🤔

While many are ordering the pricey Apple Vision Pro, I bought tickets for the Madonna show in Montreal, Canada. It is much cheaper and is a lifetime experience.¹

Each year brings the iPhone closer and closer to be a “real” camera in term of user experience and interaction with it. We have to wonder why it took so long for Apple to add the slight press to focus and zoom in and out using the same button.

One more yearly subscription to my website¹ and one more subscriber to The Craft Bible². It’s a good day for me. I don’t have thousands of subscribers (yet), and they all count as if they were my first one. 😻

9to5Mac reporting about WhatsApp usage in the US:

The fact that more people in the US have been using WhatsApp recently is definitely intriguing. Source: WhatsApp has been getting more attention in the US

iMessage usage in Canada is probably similar to that in the US. I started using WhatsApp when I went to Morocco last summer. I also have a friend who moved from Canada to Mexico, and he switched to WhatsApp, so now I have to use WhatsApp to reach him. I must say that I like it. I also follow some news channels, just for fun. I like the messaging app format to get news; that’s why I also use Telegram for the same purpose: to follow news from Ukraine.

Here’s another reason to be sad this morning. 😔 Over the past two years, I’ve invested much of my time and effort in building my digital space and presence in Craft. I spend numerous hours posting things and answering questions in the user community. I’ve become a Craft enthusiast or ambassador. One day, someone even asked me if I was working for Craft. I’m not. I don’t want to be paid. But what I want is a better collaboration with the team over there. I’d like to create videos about new releases that would be shared simultaneously as they come out. I’ve asked them, and they didn’t accept my offer. I’ve built The Craft Bible. I’ve created The Craft Feature Request Board. I’ve created content that best exemplifies Craft use cases. I get no real support from the Craft team. They fail to take advantage of me being this sort of Craft ambassador, and they could “use me” to help spread the Craft message out there¹. I don’t understand why they pass over this opportunity. Capacities, a direct competitor to Craft, is doing the opposite. They have this woman who creates tutorials and other types of content and gets referenced in the Capacities release notes! That’s cool and useful for the community. But not Craft. Is this a corporate culture issue? Maybe. I just don’t get it. It’s frustrating. Maybe I should let it go and move on.

Sorry for the rant this morning.

This morning, at work, I had the idea of creating a GPT that would act as a virtual resume for me. Colleagues would prompt this GPT about my professional journey with usual questions about my past experience, projects, certifications, abilities, etc. I uploaded a few files, including my resume and some other professional stuff, to try it out. It took me 15 minutes to create this virtual representation of myself. Tested many prompts against it. I’m blown away. The future is here, ladies and gentlemen.

Following the publication of “What If” by Maique, an avid blogger on Micro.blog, his post prompted me to write my own. But before, here’s a summary of his post (thanks ChatGPT): Micro.blog has been hosting maique.eu for years, but there have been some technical issues. Despite some annoyances, … read more

If Mark Gurman is correct, the rumored sale process for the Apple Vision Pro is rather complex and lengthy. Watching a 20-minute video to learn about a product indicates many things: Apple is nervous, and the product has a novel approach requiring potential customers’ education or training so … read more

It’s time for the first edition of 2024 of the weekly creative summary newsletter! Lots of stuff related to projects, writing, articles, etc. Fun fact: putting this summary together takes about two hours per week. This version was created in Craft, which offers the best experience, the email version is coming later to my dear subscribers! Past editions are available on my main website by following this link. Enjoy.

One of the things that is cool with Photomator: the before & after view. If find it helpful from a creative and teaching perspective.

I can’t wait to share my first weekly creative summary of the year tomorrow. So much stuff in there! Meanwhile, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, flash the QR code! Or click this link if you are too lazy! 🤣

Introspection time: I chose to be in IT because I thought it was much easier to deal with computers than humans. I’m not an introvert, though, far from it. But, it happened without explicit thought back in the day. After 30 years in IT, I still think the same, and I often say that the challenge in the information technology field is not about technology per se, but it’s mostly about human issues with technology. Ironically, most of my job today is to build teams of people to make things happen. I’m still focused on technology, but in reality, I try to ensure that all members of a team work towards the same objectives. I’m pretty good about it and people are appreciative of my work. How ironic.

Dan Moyen, writing for MacWorld

The Vision Pro is a brand new platform with a brand new interaction method–so its release needs a new approach. Source: Vision Pro is already changing everything we know about Apple | Macworld

I’m glad to see that he agrees with my personal take on this already controversial product launch.

If the 2024 iPad Pro pricing is what the rumors are referring to, ridiculously expensive, not counting the new Magic Keyboard that would be needed to replace mine, this might be the deal breaker for me. I might not upgrade¹ at all and focus on my M2 MacBook Air. This would be sad because I like using the iPad a lot but can’t convince myself to settle for anything not pro. 😑🤷🏻‍♂️

I feel relieved this morning because I finally moved out of Adobe and wrote an article about it. Spoiler alert: moving out of Adobe is not as hard as you might think, especially if your Lightroom setup is simple like mine. Open to questions. 😃

I’ve extensively used Apple TV (the physical device), Apple TV+ and the Apple TV app during the holidays to play music, videos, movies and series. One thing is clear: tvOS 17 is a regression in terms of usability, for me anyway. I especially don’t like the new left sidebar in the TV app. … read more