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I took back the iPad Air that my mom was using a few years ago. I would like to repurpose the iPad as a photo frame. It was updated to the latest iPadOS release the iPad can support, but unfortunately, slide options in Appleās Photos are pretty limited. I wish there were a āPhoto frameā mode in Photos. Synology Photos required iPadOS 13.
How would you reconfigure this iPad, so it becomes a photo frame?
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Tim Cook’s introductory comment on Apple’s latest quarter:
āAs we all continue to navigate a challenging environment, we are proud to have our best lineup of products and services ever, and as always, we remain focused on the long term and are leading with our values in everything we do,ā said Tim Cook, Appleās CEO. āDuring the December quarter, we achieved a major milestone and are excited to report that we now have more than 2 billion active devices as part of our growing installed base.ā
How many devices count as being active if a user has an iPhone and two Apple Watch, two HomePod and an Apple TV? Six. That’s a lot of devices but not as many users.
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DHH’s concluding words about testing an Android phone:
I’m no fan of Google in general. And I still prefer the fit and finish of iOS over Android, but there’s something deeply appealing about having a phone where at least it’s actually possible to install Forbidden Software, like Fortnite, without wild interventions like jailbreaking. The fidelity gap is real, but the freedom gap is bigger. Source: Another Android
His post is a reminder for me that I never tried or used an Android device for real. Never ever. Should I? Why would I? But then I read this article from Gruber commenting about his perception of the Android app landscape:
Android enthusiasts donāt want to hear it, but from a design perspective, the apps on Android suck. They may not suck from a feature perspective (but they often do), but theyāre aesthetically unpolished and poorly designed even from a ādesign is how it worksā perspective.
After all, I might never waste my time testing an Android phone. Life is too short.
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Highly TroublingāOps are Taking Over Apple My Friends
Don’t bother reading too much into the latest Apple financial numbers. They’re not too bad. What you should be paying attention to is this:
Apple is eliminating one of its most high-profile executive positions. According to a new report today, Apple is eliminating the role of āindustrial design chiefā as part of a broader shake-up. This role was once held by Jony Ive, and most recently held by Evans Hankey.
More specifically:
Under this new structure, the design team will report to Appleās chief operating officer Jeff Williams. Source: Apple is eliminating its iconic ‘industrial design chief’ position
This comment by one of the 9To5Mac staff members is not reassuring at all:
I think itās important to keep in mind, however, that Williams has been involved with the design team for several years at this point. Hankey has reported to Williams since 2019. The difference now is that the middle ground between Williams and the rest of the design team is being removed.
Maybe Hankey saw this coming and couldn’t adhere to this direction. Here’s my take: ops are taking over Apple, and design is no longer the top priority. It is utterly troubling to read rumours of Williams possibly replacing Cook which looks like being more of the same if you ask me. Maybe Williams has more design experience, but not as a first-party involvement. Troubling.
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If I had enough time on hand, I would build a one-pager website comparing all Mastodon clients. Then, I would update it as new app releases come out. I can see the feature-by-feature comparison table with an overall score at the bottom. I think it could be helpful for new Mastodon users and developers to better understand their app’s position in the client landscape.
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Some telling excerpt from a recent story in the Globe and Mail about a Canadian helping Ukraine:
āThereās a couple of shots I made that day that will be with me,ā he said. One was a Russian in a T-shirt who was carrying a box of ammunition more than 1,800 metres behind the front line ā a distance Teflon says was the longest shot heās ever made. āHe saw no threat, he thought he was safe. But itās my job to ensure that they know that theyāre not safe anywhere,ā Teflon said. āThe role of a sniper is to ultimately push into the minds of the enemy and make them question everything.ā
And
āThereās allegations that all these Russians must be drugged. Thereās no way. I think itās just lack of training. Because they still act like human beings. Iāve watched guys cry and Iāve watched guys scream and Iāve watched guys try to pull their friends back when they get killed. Theyāre humans but they donāt have an ounce of training when it comes to fighting a war.ā
And
āSadly, itās working. Thatās why theyāre doing it. Weāre defending until we canāt defend that spot any more because they just destroy it with tanks. And they just keep sending another wave. Itās just relentless,ā Teflon said. āSo, theyāve gained 500 metres of dirt, but they just took over a completely destroyed position and lost hundreds of guys to do so.ā
Finally
āThe world deserves to hear the truth and after losing Joe and Greg, they need to understand weāre not stopping this work,ā he said. āThereās no point me dying without telling my story.ā
This a poignant story about a Canadian snipper āworkingā on the front line in Ukraine.
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CarPlay in 2023 will see its most significant upgrade since its launch. I donāt know when weāll actually be able to get this in a real car, but I certainly look forward to it.
I recently spent some travel time in a high-end Mercedes. The Dashboard was very impressive. Still, the future CarPlay version seems a bit pale in comparison.
Why did Apple choose to make this early announcement?
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It is so slow to recharge an Apple Magic Mouse. Considering how we need to connect this thing for a recharge, Apple should have made it much quicker to recharge. š
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Wow, I spent 10 minutes searching for “how to save an email into a .EML file on the iPad”. It’s not in the action menu. The only way is to do a “drag & drop” of the mail into Files.app (or any app that understands this file format, for that matter). Who knew it could be that hard to discover such a simple thing. It should really be in the action menu too.
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Any Little Snitch users here? Thoughts? I’m using NextDNS to block tracking sites, but what would be the added value of using Little Snitch?
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A special message to all the people who expressed their support for the loss of my mother. It really means a lot, even though I don’t know you personally. Thanks.
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Iām back. Mostly. It was an enduring experience to see my mom go as she did. It was an unintentional instructional experience too. Life has many lessons in store for us. We just have to open our minds and our heart. Easier said than done.
Writing is part of the healing process, I guess.
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I donāt have many subscribers to my Ghost-hosted website. I always find it sad when someone unsubscribes the very same day I send out a new edition of my newsletter. If I had hundreds of thousands of subscribers, I wouldnāt notice.
What did I do wrong? Was the content not worth reading? These are the questions that come to my mind every time.
I shouldnāt pay attention to that. š
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Iām no longer spreading Twitter content. Today is a cleanup day in my bookmarks collection, acting as a repository for future editions of my monthly newsletter: Numeric Citizen Introspection. Each bookmark is stored in one of the six ābucketsā in Craft, as shown in this screenshot. What is noteworthy today is the fact that many of those bookmarks were links to tweets. They were all deleted. Quitting Twitter also means stopping spreading references to the platformās content.
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Is there something like Shortcuts on Windows? Iām asking because, with the release of Things 3.17, I made a few tweaks to my blogger workflow, thanks to the addition of many Shortcuts actions. This new Shortcut can run on the iPad, the iPhone and the Mac. Thatās so cool.
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Much More Than Tanks Will Be Needed
Iām super happy to see so many countries contributing to the war efforts. Kyiv has been asking for tanks for a long time. Finally, the last roadblock to a significant contribution has been lifted thanks to the German government, who seemingly found the light and made the right decision. Now for serious questionsā¦
Will those tanks, a few hundred of them, of all sizes, models and with various capabilities, really reverse the tide in favour of the Ukrainians? Iām afraid we will have to face reality sooner than later. Much more will be needed to put Russiaās army on its knees and force them to retreat or be defeated. Fighter jets are next. But again, I donāt see that as being enough. Remember when Iraq invaded Kuwait? We had to send people on the ground, not just boats, tanks or fighter jets.
I guess that, collectively, the west is not ready to accept this fatality. The time will come.
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Well well well, 15-25cm approaching. Winds should be under 60 KM/h. Some blowing snow is expected, more expected along the river. Very mild but snowy winter so far. I’m a weather enthusiast, as you can tell. The map is from Ventusky.
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9to5Mac reporting about a short Financial Times article on a silent war between Apple and Google:
Former Apple engineers say that Apple still holds a grudge over how Android allegedly copied iOS, and is steadily working to remove Google from the iPhone. Source: Apple is engaged in a ‘silent war’ against Google, claim engineers | AppleInsider
If there is something that I’d like to see Apple do: Apple (oops, Siri) Search for the web. No user tracking, no ads, full integration within Apple’s ecosystem. Imagine the possibilities.
