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  • September 23, 2023 8:35pm
    Photography Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    The first few iPhone 15 Pro Max images are making their way onto Glass. Mine included. 👈🏻

  • September 23, 2023 2:46pm
    Photography
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Testing iPhone 15 Pro Max telephoto lens. No processing. Shot in HEIF.

  • September 23, 2023 9:36am
    Blogging Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    😏 I’m about to begin something special that I can’t wait to share with you before the end of the week-end. I hope everything works fine1. 👀


    1. Wish me luck. Or, wish “us” look would be more appropriate! ↩︎

  • September 23, 2023 6:46am
    Apple & Tech Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Now it’s confirmed: my Finch Lavalier microphone1 doesn’t work with Apple’s USB-C to Lightning adaptor with the iPhone 15 Pro USB-C post. I repeat: it doesn’t work. It’s the first official and confirmed victim of the transition to USB-C. I’ll have to figure out a new solution for my podcast and YouTube video recording2. 😡


    1. a third-party review here ↩︎

    2. the iPhone’s microphone with voice isolation could be enough. ↩︎

  • September 23, 2023 6:33am
    Apple & Tech Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Well, now one of my Apple Watch1 won’t pair with my new iPhone since the migration was completed yesterday. It’s the one that I wasn’t wearing. Rebooting the watch doesn’t help. Rebooting the phone doesn’t help. Now what? 🤔


    1. I’ve got two: a Series 6 for the night, a Series 8 for the day. ↩︎

  • iPhone 15 Pro Max - First Impressions

    September 22, 2023 10:07pm
    Apple & Tech Longer posts Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    It feels great in hand, similar in fact to the weight of my iPhone 13 Pro (not the Max), which is great. The back is darker than my iPhone 11 Pro, and I love it. I’m quite happy with the darker black. It’s a bit darker than I thought. It’s definitively a finger magnet. It’s very soft to the touch. Rounded contours are really making a difference. The device feels more approachable. The screen is so nice. The setup process is superbly executed. An update to iOS was required before transferring the content from my iPhone 13 Pro. Yet, there were many apps which required reentering my credentials. Data transfer was estimated at one hour1. The data transfer took about 45 minutes. The Always On display is… always on. 😳 I don’t know if I’ll keep that option… on.


    1. At that point, the WiFi logo disappeared and I started wondering if the data was going through 5G instead. That was curious. It’s not possible because my new phone didn’t have the SIM call installed yet. Or maybe it was going through Bluetooth or through a point-to-point WiFi connection? ↩︎

  • September 22, 2023 3:42pm
    Apps & Services
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Here is a weird one: I’m using iCloud+ Custom Domain with an email address (hello@numericcitizen.me). Mail on iOS 17 doesn’t allow me to set the “From:” as the email address for this custom domain. It’s only possible on iCloud.com. Am I missing something?

  • When Journalists Aren't Any Better Than ChatGPT

    September 22, 2023 7:20am
    Apple & Tech Longer posts Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    In the “Craptacular Is More Like It” article, this is @gruber@mastodon.social at its best. I read the original article earlier this week and concluded that Apple had difficult times ahead with its modem development. This morning, in my usual reading routine, I read the article from Mr. Gruber, and I think it succeeds in demonstrating this: the original article wasn’t any better than any ChatGPT-generated content.

    Now I feel that I was deceived by the journalist who tried to fill me with unverified and barely possible facts tied together based on thin air. And you would think journalists can do better than AI-generated work? Not always. Thanks to Mr. Gruber for that one.

  • September 21, 2023 8:40pm
    Misc
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    A better title for episode 4 could have been “The Day I Met John Gruber”. Oh well. I’ll ask ChatGPT the next time.

  • September 21, 2023 8:24pm
    Misc Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    It took way too long to record, process and publish my latest podcast episode. I must tweak my workflow ASAP. It was supposed to be a “quick and easy thing”, but it isn’t. It is unsustainable. 😑 Why is everything so hard for me.. grrr. 😒

  • Episode 04 — Did You Know?

    September 21, 2023 8:14pm
    Blogging Longer posts Newsletter Podcast
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Inspired by a recent podcast episode where Martin Feld interviewed John Gruber, for this fourth podcast episode, I decided to talk about my early years as a blogger.

    Links:

    • Really Specific Stories podcast: https://pca.st/pcp6rwjs
    • Interview with John Gruber episode: https://pca.st/i0xdkxfh, his announcement on his blog: https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/09/20/really-specific-stories-yours-truly
    • A reply to John Gruber about his interview: https://micro.blog/numericcitizen/23822941
    • Search for the “BuildingiPhoneApps” keyword on the internet archive for a glimpse of my very first blog, and locate 2010 and beyond on the timeline.

    Transcript

  • September 21, 2023 2:50pm
    Apple & Tech Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    My expectations for the iPhone 15 Pro Max fit and finish and how it feels in my hands are very high. I’m looking for something similar to the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5 and iPhone 7 feelings… those never were matched by subsequent iPhones.

  • September 21, 2023 7:10am
    Apple & Tech Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    My iPhone 15 Pro Max is still in “Preparing to ship” state. Delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. I’m guessing the device is waiting in a warehouse somewhere near Toronto or in Canada. 🙏🏻🤓

  • I Rarely Visit the App Store

    September 21, 2023 6:38am
    Longer posts Apps & Services Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    I opened the App Store this Monday to see how Apple would promote new app releases supporting iOS 17. Then I realized that I rarely open the App Store except to go and get app updates. When was the last time I went to browse the productivity category? When did I last browse the store for popular photography apps or new utilities? I can’t even remember when I last bought an app discovered in the App Store1. I wonder if this is only me or reflects a more general trend.🤔


    1. I usually make my discoveries by external reference. ↩︎

  • Where's The Magic in Adaptive Audio?

    September 20, 2023 8:10pm
    Apple & Tech Longer posts Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness don’t click for me

    I’ve been using Apple’s new AirPods features for the past week, and I’m sad to say that I don’t really understand either of them

    I’m with Matt here. I fail to find the magic here. I’ve read Gruber’s take on the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C, and I’m afraid I don’t feel anything magical about Adaptive Audio. When activated, I hear too much from the surroundings; I prefer noise cancellation. Can we get adaptive noise cancellation instead? 🤔

    I feel that Apple’s engineers couldn’t figure out which new audio profiles to include and couldn’t decide, and they suggested including both. Then, the marketing guys came in and named these profiles Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness. Boom. I’m half-joking here.

    I’ll keep trying in the next few days to find the magic.

  • September 20, 2023 7:51am
    Misc Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    How I Automatically Include a Blog Description in My RSS Feed

    I’ve been asked a couple of times how I get this short site description to be included in every entry of my RSS feed.

    I’m one of those curious who asked the question. Wondering if this could be addressed via a new plugin by @Mtt or by @manton Micro.blog base service.

  • Review of Reviews: Great Updates to Already Great iPhone but...

    September 19, 2023 10:05pm
    Apple & Tech Longer posts Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Today, I read many iPhone 15 Pro reviews and watched many YouTube videos too. For some reason, I get the feeling of a slight deception mood across many reviewers. Those are great upgrades, but since they are compared to last year’s iPhone, the improvements are dimmed as mostly minor. A mentioned the superiority of the iPhone in the video recording field, but in the photography field, it’s less clear. Sharpening seems a tad less aggressive with more natural tones. The 24MP resolution by default is a welcomed addition, and yet… it’s not a home run. Device physical tweaks are unanimously welcomed, though. Maybe tomorrow, my interpretation will be different. 🤷🏻‍♂️

  • September 19, 2023 9:11am
    Apple & Tech Photography Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    It’s going to be a big phone. Got my Peak Design iPhone case yesterday😃. I like it. Great design1 and nice feeling to the touch.


    1. I worry a bit about the effectiveness of the case buttons when pressed against the iPhone’s buttons. Lack of “travel” will diminish the pressing effect. ↩︎

  • September 18, 2023 1:06pm
    Photography Apps & Services Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Playing with recently updated apps and their respective interactive widgets. They all come out to their default view. Rebooting the iPhone is mandatory to fix this issue. Adding another widget and again defaults to the blank screen.🤦🏻‍♂️ iOS 17.0.1, I guess, will help fix this.

  • Some Thoughts About Apps Support of StandBy Mode and Interactive Widgets

    September 18, 2023 10:21am
    Longer posts Apps & Services Newsletter
    Numeric Citizen Numeric Citizen

    Many apps are getting updates today and this week. Yes! 😃 But, so far, I have found some bugs in iOS 17 to display interactive widget content once they are added. They often stay blank with a white background. Rebooting doesn’t help. I don’t know if it is an iOS 17 bug or an issue with the app. 🤔 One design issue: if an app supports the StandBy mode1, it should also support the landscape orientation, not only the portrait orientation. Tapping a widget to launch the app and the app comes up in portrait mode. It’s bad. WaterMinder is such an example, and… Apple’s Stocks app! The latter is inexcusable. In general, StandBy mode seems a work-in-press, to be honest.2


    1. this is how the StandBy mode is triggered on the iPhone. ↩︎

    2. Make no mistake, I do like it a lot, though. ↩︎

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