Notable

Very much looking forward to the StandBy feature, contact posters and improved autocorrect. We don't have visual voicemail here in the UK so I'm not holding my breathe for voicemail transcriptions which I assume is built on top of the former.

The update is actually tonight and I'll be updating as soon as I can!

Posted 18th Sep 2023 @ 09:08

This is more like it. Saloon, hatchback and fastback cars are the most sensible shapes to me and this just looks great.

Posted 12th Sep 2023 @ 15:43

We're subtitle fans in our house. Even my eldest asks for subtitles to be put on sometimes. Especially when it comes to films, despite having a fairly decent 5.1 setup, dialogue isn't always the clearest so it can make the world of difference to following the story.

Why it matters: TikTok helped normalize captions for young media consumers, who are turning regularly to subtitles as part of their streaming habits.

This is so relevant too, unless I'm using headphones I rarely have my phone unmuted so having subtitles has been very useful when viewing content on social media.

I have some stuff in the works for my own YouTube channel so it will be interesting to see how far down a subtitle rabbit hole I go myself!

Posted 7th Sep 2023 @ 08:35

Glad I'm not the only one who struggles with Time Machine. I have a NAS device that can act as a Time Machine server and does so effortlessly the first time. Subsequent backups go from flaky to impossible. I considered replacing it only to find out that the network cable had been unplugged. Rookie mistake on my side but reconnecting, restarting and all the rest of it made no difference, it's basically unreachable.

Like Nick, I will get around to setting it all up again. It's a very useful bit of functionality but the only time it ever really worked for me was when I used an 8GB memory stick around 15 years ago as a micro-Time Machine that snapshot certain folders. Beyond then it's been tough to get on with.

Posted 6th Sep 2023 @ 19:16

This is probably the right thing to do but I will say that Apple's leather iPhone case is the best case I've ever had. Comfortable to hold, weathers uniquely and withstood years of use admirably.

Posted 6th Sep 2023 @ 17:00

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, I still have a bit of regret not buying a metal Optimus Prime Transformers toy about 20 years ago. Mainly to display but this many years later it would have been something really nice to pass on to my son.

Posted 5th Sep 2023 @ 08:21

I think Tesla have achieved their purpose. I am not a fan of their owner. The Cybertruck and Roadster are nowhere to be seen, even though the latter was announced in 2017 as a 2020 release.

Self driving is a lie.

Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Porsche are all catching up. CarPlay is a huge success and I'd guess that the same is true of Android Auto.

Model 3 facelift

I digress... overall the changes look small, but I saw a current Model 3 this past weekend and the headlights already look dated. The Model Y is basically a tall Model 3 so I wonder how this all looks when applied to that form factor.

If I had the money to drop on an EV, I wouldn't be spending it on a Model 3. It's not honest enough to quell range anxiety and Musk deserves no more of anyones money.

I'd opt for one of the following instead:

• BMW i4
• EQE (although larger than I'd like, where's the EQC Saloon, Mercedes?)
• Vauxhall Astra (today the plug-in hybrid might help quell any range anxiety)
• VW ID.3 (saw the ID.5 yesterday and it's an oddly shaped car, IMO)
• Kia EV6 (looks fantastic but looks very big in the flesh, so not at the top of my list)

Like I said, Tesla have achieved their stated purpose and unless they start delivering on their promises then I don't know how they can be taken seriously for much longer.

Posted 4th Sep 2023 @ 15:58

There are so many aspects of our lives that are being over-engineered and this is definitely one of them. The one thing gasoline has going for it at the moment is that you can pull up, fill up for a few minutes, pay and you're gone. It cannot get much simpler than that. In contrast, EV charging seems to involve apps. App after app after app. We don't have a full EV at the moment, but even just for parking I have three apps on my phone.

Dumb charging is where it's at. I'm sure an EV future isn't far away but any and every barrier should be removed to get us there quicker.

Posted 4th Sep 2023 @ 14:29

It took me way too long to figure out what the difference was between the 'old' and new logo. It's the white outline which is applied universally and there's now no negative version.

The motion graphics for the change in identity confused me because they show the vector point handles moving but nothing changes but it's probably for the best that there's a singular version rather than multiple.

The other part to this rebrand is that the outline is offset a bit so where it meets the eye of the lion, the outline can't be seen (or very subtle in some cases) and it gives the logo some depth.

Extremely subtle update, but a good evolution and simplification of the brand.

Posted 18th Aug 2023 @ 07:26

Posted 15th Aug 2023 @ 13:43