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This is an Audiocast — A Narrated Blog Post
This is my second narrated blog post on Micro.blog. It seems to me that writing for sharing as a text-only post triggers different strings for me than writing for a narrated text post. It feels strange because this isn’t a podcast episode. There is no introduction, no conclusion. No background music either. Yet, I find this cool because this is going to be available also to my podcast subscribers. Because of that, I call this an audiocast since the textual transcription (the writing) is done before the audio recording. Audiocast: this word doesn’t exist, isn’t it? Remember that you read it, and heard it here first.
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For the first time since joining Mastodon, I wanted to get an idea of what was happening with ChatGPT1. I conducted a search using the #chaptgpt tag to see the live updates. This was something I used to do frequently when I was on Twitter while big events were happening.
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ChatGPT suffered major downtime in recent hours if not days. ↩︎
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I just created a quick poll on my Ko-fi page! I want to know, “how did you discover me?” Please, fill it in, the post is public! Thanks.
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Dear Apple, No New Hardware Please
Mac computers are fast and have impressive battery life. Mac Studio with the M4 Ultra ship can wait. The iPad is fast too, potentially surpassing the performance of many Mac computers. It is thin also. Really thin. We get it. The iPhone is fast, light, thin and features excellent camera capabilities. Enough of incremental updates. That is why I do not want new Apple hardware at the upcoming WWDC conference, even if it was a home router, a la AirPort.
Instead, I think Apple’s software in general requires attention and improvement.
For instance, the iPadOS user interface could benefit from refinements to enhance the overall user experience. Similarly, the macOS notifications center and the iPhone Control Center may need rethinking to improve their functionality and usability. Additionally, the macOS Settings app could undergo further enhancements to provide users with a more streamlined and intuitive interface. These are examples of user-facing interfaces that could benefit from further enhancements to better meet the needs and expectations of Apple’s customers. Oh, and Siri needs even more works to become the real intelligent assistant we are all waiting for. That’s the story I wish for WWDC this year.
No new hardware, please. Thanks you.
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Windows 11 AI Recall Recalled?
The upcoming Windows 11 AI ‘Recall’ feature, which is designed to take regular screenshots of a user’s PC content to help them find past information, has been called a security disaster by a security researcher. According to the expert, Kevin Beaumont, the Recall feature is essentially an “infostealer” that can be exploited by hackers to access sensitive data, such as user interactions, text messages, passwords, and websites visited. Despite Microsoft’s attempts to improve the security of Recall, the researcher claims the feature will “set cybersecurity back a decade by empowering cybercriminals” as the underlying database can be accessed through malware-infected PCs.
I wonder how differently Apple would fare if it implemented something similar. Would it be better?
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The new narrated posts feature of Micro.blog has an unexpected twist. Since my blog also hosts a podcast, any narrated blog posts will end up on Apple’s Podcast directory. I’m unsure if this is what I want, but I appreciate the possibility for those who prefer to consume my content as an audio file.
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I’ve been relying on Raycast AI more and more in recent days to help me summarize the articles I read through my RSS feeds in Inoreader. I’ve also found it useful for improving the quality of my own writing. I’m quite tempted to upgrade my Raycast AI subscription so that I can fully leverage its capabilities, despite the fact that I’m already subscribing to ChatGPT. However, the cost of the upgrade is something I need to weigh carefully before making a decision.
Side note: why do I keep thinking that Apple will introduce Siri+ this summer?
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Apple may be overhauling Spotlight in macOS 15, and potentially on other operating systems as well. This suggests the company is focusing on enhancing the user experience when interacting with AI-generated responses to user requests. I’m really curious as to how it will come out.
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When I launched my weekly creative summary newsletter, I wanted its structure and format to remain consistent for a long time. However, after 17 editions, I’ve decided to refine the newsletter’s structure. I’m never fully satisfied with my tools, workflows, and past decisions about how to do things.
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HEY World is probably “mostly” dead. Each week, I hit the dice to visit a random HEY World site and 9 out of 10 sites were last updated in 2021, around the time HEY World was launched.
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I really have to finish my weekly newsletter edition… but I just came back from a 60KM bike ride! 😅 Now, back at it! Coming out soon.
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First Narrated Blog Post Experiment
Hi everyone. I might be late to the party, but I finally sat down for a few minutes to test Micro.blog’s new feature: narrated blog posts. It is strange because this is my first use and I cannot write a full review because as I’m writing this, my audio recording is still not done, and I don’t know how is the audio attachment and processing will actually work. It might be similar to when I post a new podcast episode. In any case, I think this is a clever addition to an already useful and enjoyable blogging service. Thanks to @Manton for this. Now, should I say, “have a great day and see you for another blog post?” Probably not.
[Update #1]: It seems the play button doesn’t show up. Probably a bug with the Cards theme. Investigation started. [Update #2]: I found out that narrated blog posts come out as podcast episodes on Podcasts. I’m not sure this is what I want.
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I’m getting really tired of the West being afraid of conflict escalation and of Russia. The more we wait to really get our act together, the worse it will get.
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Lock him up NOW. Lock him up NOW. Lock him up NOW. Lock him up NOW. 🤡 #trump
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I still have my Medium account and content. I’m not sure what to do with it. I still get trafic to my posts. I updated my profile page this morning to remove a reference to my Linktr.ee page that I’m phasing out later this year.
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The last day of May 2024 is here. It’s hard to believe that June is just around the corner and that in 10 days, we’ll get a new iteration of Apple’s operating system at WWDC. I don’t have high expectations for Apple this year, so let the surprises unfold.
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iPadOS on the M4 iPad Pro is full of weird visual glitches. 🤷🏻♂️👀
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Today I decided to cancel my subscription to Toggl time tracking service and to Timery, a wonderful Toggl client. I used to track my time as a creator but I think it’s time to move on and leave those behind. You can see my reports in each weekly creative summary. It’s quite a chore to always think to start and stop timers. I feel relieved now.
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With the new M4 iPad Pro, when using the Apple Folio at the lowest position, if the iPad is in my hands in portrait mode, when putting the iPad on the table, the screen won’t rotate in landscape mode unless I play with the iPad to force a rotation. That’s not exactly a tuned up experience.
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This Microsoft Word bug is really starting to get on my nerves. It’s been going on for weeks now.
