Feature blog post (more than 1700 words) coming up to Numeric Citizen I/O talking about my main blog optimization in preparation for Google’s May 2021 algorithm update. Stay tuned.

Still relevant.

numericcitizen.me/2021/04/0…

I rarely post pictures of mine here. But, hey, it’s Friday, why not. The structure.

iPhone is getting fatter and fatter (#apple #jonyive)

Since Jony Ive left Apple, a few years ago, the iPhone design adopted an opposite trend of becoming fatter and fatter. It’s not a night and day difference but there is a trend. It is a welcomed one because this gives Apple more “room” to improve the cameras and the battery life. Speaking of the cameras, did you see the camera assembly protuberance on the CAD designs? It is getting bigger too, that I don’t like.

Tonight, using Craft, I’m writing my next piece for “Numeric Citizen I/O” on my 2018 11’’ iPad Pro with the Apple Magic Keyboard. I’m being this multitasking guy as I’m constantly switching between Craft, Soundcloud, Twitter, Safari, Ulysses, etc. Then, suddenly, my thoughts goes toward imagining what can Apple do to make me upgrade to the next iPad Pro.

You see, my current setup is near perfect for my needs and my current use cases. I’m far from maximizing this iPad’s potential. So, ask me again, why should I upgrade to what’s coming next week? I cannot see anything. Maybe Apple has a few well hidden cards, just waiting to be played, one by one at next week’s virtual event. We shall see soon.

At long last, Apple is calling the first virtual event of 2021 for next week. I have mixed up feelings about this one. AirTags, if they are real, aren’t game changer and really are complementary to anything Apple is doing these days.

I wrote a few times that for the iPad, the next major step won’t come in the form of hardware upgrades but in software, with iPadOS 15. And this, happens every year on June at the WWDC conference. So, unless there is a last minute surprise from Apple’s updated iPad Pro, my attention will be for the next WWDC, not this spring event.

Oh, about this rumoured iMac redesign, THIS I will be looking forward to it, but somehow, I think it is more a WWDC thing than anything else.

Upcoming blog post on Numeric Citizen Blog: more than 2800 words 😳 to talk about how I tweaked and made macOS Big Sur a powerful and productivity friendly desktop experience for me with the use of more than 20 third-party utilities. 👨🏻‍💻

Well, if that was the case, this would add fuel to any anti-trust initiative. No?

iMessage Kept Off Android for iOS Lock-in initialcharge.net/2021/04/i…

Why I Love Taking Photos of Abandoned Places. world.hey.com/jf.m/why-…

Consider the following App Store screenshot of a recently introduced game in the Apple Arcades service.

Reviews of this game are really bad because the game doesn’t load on people’s devices. Does Apple really test their stuff before putting them out? Tim Cook et al. brags all the time about being a mandatory gatekeeper for iPhone security and quality control with the App Store. In this illustrative case, and there are many others, Apple is failing big time to play his role. I just can’t understand why this shit is possible.

I should read this every day. Thanks to @gr36.

I rarely comment on rumours from highly speculative reports, but this report from MacRumors is different:

“The Apple Music for Artists app now features a simpler, streamlined icon with a pinkish red music logo rather than the multicolored logo that was used before. The icon also has an embossed look that makes it stand out from other Apple icons.”

and

“App Store Connect in October was updated with a refreshed icon that’s similar to the ‌Apple Music‌ for Artists icon, which means Apple has now updated two app icons with this new design.”

The simple fact that two icons got updated with similar look at several months interval could signal a trend leading to the upcoming design update with iOS 15. I much prefer the right version of these icons, particularly the embossed design. This 3D effect adds some depth and dynamism to the design, and yes I like the fine line marking the icon boundaries.

I wouldn’t be surprised if those two icons were part of an A/B testing program, within Apple. Second, what Apple has done with macOS Big Sur was only the beginning destined to encompass all platforms, in some form or another (icon design wise).

There is a lot to like in the recent Tim Cook’s interview with Kara Swisher (link to Podcast). It’s a must-listen. Here are a few observations and remarks.

1. I love Tim Cook’s stance on issues like privacy protection. But at the same time, I have a hard time understanding how Apple can continue to sign a search deal with Google while advocating privacy protection. This is simply unsustainable and hard to defend if you ask me. I know… $$$. Yet… will they ever try to make their search engine or buy one like DuckDuckGo and kick Google out as the default search engine? That would be such a powerful message to send.
2. Today, Apple under Tim Cook, has never been so well positioned to represent the best corporate defender of many of my core values: privacy protection, careful attention to details in design, openness to diversity, environment protection, sustainable development, great user experiences. Apple is not perfect, far from it. Yet, there is nothing like them these days.
3. Tim Cook is candidly answering the question of where he sees himself in ten years from now. I wonder what are the plans for his or her successor? Does he and Apple’s upper management actively put as much thought into it as Steve Jobs did in his last few years at Apple? I wonder and I hope this is the case.
4. This interview maybe seen as a bit self-serving, yet it is what it is. We, Apple’s customers like me, pay Apple to make calls on issues like encryption and privacy protection, environmental protection, etc. That’s the way I see my voting dollars anyway. As soon as I like most of their calls, I’ll be fine and be one of their customer. I dearly hope it stays that way because alternatives are scarce to say the least.
5. Is Apple playing the same rules for ALL developers? I doubt it. Is Apple’s curation of the App Store perfect? Far from it: 80% of the stuff in there is pure junk.

I think it is important to stay critical about Apple. We must keep them on their toes.

> numericcitizen [numericcitizen.io](https://numericcitizen.io/)

In a word: Pocket. I’ve been rediscovering this application in recent days, and I’m loving it a lot. I no longer read articles within Safari or News Explorer. As soon as I think the article is interesting, I save it to Pocket and continue from there. The reading experience is simple and is frictionless. Being able to tag and highlight each article helps me organize and add value to my readings. Above all, Pocket will become a repository of all my past readings. The recommend feature creates some exposure for the authors. Each of my recommendation is accompanied by some text. I love it.

You can have a look at my Pocket profile here. Enjoy.

Today, I’m remembering things like Turbo Pascal, TRS-80, ResEdit, 6502, LDA #$69, Inside Macintosh, Z-80, TI 99-4A, Logo, Commodore 64, Apple //c, ATZ modem command, eWorld, POKE 63280,0, COBOL 85, PDP-11, Choplifter, Broderbund, Multiplan, 4th Dimension, Sprites, Omni Database, Think Thank, Mac Draw, PageMaker.

These are some of the most significant souvenirs of numeric artifacts of my past numeric life. What are yours?

Today, I have come to realize that, since its introduction, I didn’t see the iPhone 12 lineup in person. It’s the first time that I didn’t go to an Apple Store to see, manipulate and experience a new Apple product release. How big is the Max? How small is the mini? What about this new edge? The same goes for the Mac Pro.

The pandemic has really put a dent in our lives in some unexpected ways, big and small. But, do I really miss something? After all, the iPhone 12 is the return of the beloved iPhone 5, which I owned. I guess I’ll have to wait for the iPhone 13 or whatever it is called.

I’m no musicien. I know barely nothing about music theory. Yet, I always wanted to do some form of music. Synthesizer would be my instrument if I was to do music. Yet, I’ve been fascinated by music, especially electronic music since I was a teenager. I’m a big listener of techno and house music. Recently, I started to use my iPad while exercising on the treadmill to play video on YouTube of DJ doing mixes. This got me curious about the equipments and software DJs are relying on. I downloaded Algoriddim’s Djay app and stared to play with it on my iPad. I was really excited. I started to read more about the world of music mixing. So, I learned about DJ mixer, controllers, DJ software, music sources, digital record pools, file formats, MIDI, etc. Then, yesterday, unexpectedly, while visiting a music instruments store to see these equipments in person, I bought a Pioneer DDJ-400, a pair of small speakers, went home, enabled a trial of Djay Pro AI on my iPad Pro and started to plug all the pieces together. I feel like it’s Christmas time. Will see where it goes from here. Expect more details on my endeavour soon.

So, Pocket + Readwise for one year it will be. Expect a blog post about why I chose Pocket over Instapaper.

I’m thinking about subscribing to Instapaper and Readwise to help me gather and manage text quotes and other tidbits. The former is a “classic” while the later seems a work in progress and not exactly easy to grasp for me. Your thoughts?