Wow, the Opal C1 camera software is still in beta… after so long on the market?? The last beta dates back to February. I have such a camera… still in my drawer. Happily using the Continuity Camera with my iPhone 13 Pro.

In case you didn’t know: there is a small group of Microbloggers on the messaging app Wavelength. You can get on board and join the other 38 other members. Here is the invite link. The idea behind this group is not to replace Micro.blog, far from it, but to add a complementary option for discussing any subjects that you might find interesting in near real-time.

Have you ever wondered what my typical creative week looks like? Here you go, courtesy of Things 3’s Logbook. As I was completing this week’s stretch, I had a look at the logbook, I thought it could be fun to share with you a behind the scene look. I love Things 3 logbook because it gives me a look at my past work. If you want a closer look at my Things 3 usage in my creative workflow, you might want to watch this video. Continue reading →

Hot AI Summer (or, my practical uses for AI generators)

This is the sort of empowering interaction I love to experience with these new technologies: I’m not being replaced, I’m getting help, much in the way spellcheck and grammar checks in word processors have been doing for decades.

Interesting parallel here with spell checkers and generative AI. At what point the help we’re getting becomes troubling or questionable? The same goes in real life. Suppose there is something that needs your attention in your house, and a fix is required. Either you know from the get-go what to do and fix it yourself, either you go o YouTube and find a visual guide on how to fix it, or you call someone to your house to fix it for you. What’s wrong with the latter approach?

If there is something that generative AI brings to the table is the inevitable discussion in society of what is the human touch and when is asking for help crosses the lines and what those lines are.

Wait what? Even millennials don’t like algorithms 

I don’t fight the future — we need all the help — but as someone who has made the transition from no technology to some technology to always technology — no matter what I do, there is a tiny bit of me that is still holding on to the analog world.

Om Malik is probably my age. And I feel the same all the time. I know what it was like before the Internet. I prefer chronological over algorithmic timelines. I enjoy human curation. I certainly remember and value the “human touch”.

It’s been quite a while since I visited an Apple Store. Last I went for a quick stop after work since I was working at my downtown offices. There are soooo many iPad models to choose from! Too many? The 12.9-inch iPad Pro screen is unbelievably gorgeous!! I wish it would come to the 11-inch version. Maybe next year? Of all the iPad models that I looked at, Stage Manager is not enabled. Continue reading →

I’m a big fan of Raycast, and I cannot wait to get my hands on Raycast AI, but there is one thing that I cannot stand about it: the app icon. 🤢 I’m wondering if @mattbirchler has the same opinion here.

Another YT video for the “Understanding Micro.blog” series coming soon. But, you know already what you need to know, right??

I’m going to Morocco this early summer for two weeks. I’ll bring my big camera gear but I wish I had the iPhone 14 Pro or better yet, the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max for this trip. The iPhone convenience is hard to beat and the big camera gear is heavy and the benefit from me getting this thing around is probably not much worth these days. It could be one of my last trip with the discreet camera. On my to do list: get my captor cleaned!

Who’s actually using Apple’s Quick Notes feature? I never do because I always forget about its existence. It’s probably because it’s not useful or because it is tied to Apple’s Notes.

I own 3 YubiKeys that I have for personal use. There’s one that I keep connected to the USB hub on the desk in my study, another that I keep in my work bag, and a third that I keep in the safe at my mum’s house. Source: I Won’t Buy A YubiKey - Kev Quirk

When I read stories like this one, I’m reminded of how bad I am at managing my security posture. I depend on 1Password (less and less) and (more and more) on Apple’s Keychain. Will passkeys suppress the need for YubiKeys?

So that sales pitch of “it’s just a coffee per month” really doesn’t hold water when you think that most people will subscribe to multiple services. Source: It Only Costs a Coffee per Month - Kev Quirk

This is why I maintain a spreadsheet of my monthly (and yearly) spending. And frankly, even with my recent subscriptions cleanup, you wouldn’t want to know my monthly spending on apps and services. Experimenting is not a free ride. Far from it.

I updated my main website to add a banner at the top, using Ghost’s new “Special Announcement” feature. 🇺🇦👀

I am currently learning to use Hookmark. This thing is so, how I could say that, powerful? It’s the kind of app with a slow learning curve that will take some time to use to its fullest potential.

Thanks @manton for the auto-complete! It works great on the iPad!

I had such a busy creative weekend, to the point where I wonder if I did too much. I mean, I didn’t see most of the weekend. It was raining most of the time, and I had those videos and articles that I wanted to move forward. On the positive side, I feel that my ideas backlog is more than ever in control.

I made my decision. The coffee shop it is. It’s a brand new place near my home. Not too busy yet because there aren’t well-known.

I’m still wondering where I’ll spend my Sunday afternoon for my creative activities. Should I go out to a coffee shop near my house or should I stay home, make myself a coffee and go in my home office? 🤔🙄

I like the ambiance of the coffee shops, looking around me and furtively watching some people in their own bubble, in front of their screen, with their AirPods on, typing, pausing, etc. It’s a stimulating environment.

While spending some time in the Anybox bookmarks manager this morning, I was thinking of restarting my monthly newsletter because they are fun (but time-consuming) to build. I should find a way to better automate the production process, though.

For each video about Micro.blog that I make and share, I lose subscribers.😔 People don’t like the mixing of videos about two different things I guess: Craft & Micro.blog. 🤷‍♂️