https://kottke.org/24/05/0044609-incredible-fact-none-of-t
It's very rare for me to find myself admiring a SUV or MPV. Sure, there are some nice ones on the roads these days but I've never coveted one. Big slabs of metal rolling down the street will never inspire me to drive in the way a well styled sedan (saloon) or hatchback does.
Posted 14th May 2024 @ 10:41
The iPad Pro Reviews Are in, and You Already Know How This Goes
Nick Heer:
I cannot believe Photos cannot even display Smart Albums
I'm with Nick on this one. I can somewhat understand the omission on an iPhone because photo management can be tough to do on a small screen, but on an iPad the Photos app should be so much more capable.
I ran into an issue this past weekend: I had created a 'Holidays' folder through the Photos app on my phone. The folder was created just fine, but there is no way to move albums into the folder on your phone. Or on your iPad. Why let you get half of the way? Omit the option to create if it can't be used.
Generally, the Photos app I found to be just fine. Paired with Photomator I can edit almost as powerfully as I used to on my Mac using Aperture. iPad OS though has a long way to go before it becomes a great OS.
Posted 14th May 2024 @ 08:21
Apple MacBook Air 15-Inch M3 Review
Yeah, pretty sure my next laptop will be a MacBook Air. My current Intel MacBook Pro is ageing, but the Air appears to be more capable. When it happens for me, the jump is going to be massive.
Posted 29th Apr 2024 @ 15:24
'Oh the Humanity'
John Gruber:
Nest is an obvious exception, but Tony Fadell had a very atypical career at Apple.
...
the Nest did exactly what it promised, very well... Most importantly, Nest's thermostat took aim at replacing existing dumb thermostats, which were terrible. Nest's product really was something like 10× better than what it aimed to disrupt.
We have a Nest thermostat, which we picked over the Hive. It is fantastic and at least 10x better than a dumb thermostat.
My only gripe is the learning aspect of the Nest never hits the sweet spot for us. Either it's on too much or not enough. Not sure it has the concept of 'feels like' rather than relying on the actual temperature. Then there's 'away' functionality which is pointless because I don't want to come home and have the heating turn on. I want it to shut off when noone is home but turn back on before I return.
But the reality is that even those gripes make it so much better than we had it before. I despised our dumb thermostat. Genuinely hated it. The Nest delights 9 times out of 10.
While I'm interested in Humane's AI Pin, I didn't see as a device I'd covet. It's in the same territory as Google Glass for me. Interesting, but not for me.
Posted 18th Apr 2024 @ 08:55
More on the EU's Market Might
John Gruber:
Why not mandate that Springboard — the Home Screen — be a replaceable component?
When I last used Android, my cheap (~£100) HTC Wildfire came with HTC's own Android skin which brought a lot of bloat with it. You could turn it off, which I did, giving you the stock Android experience which was far snappier.
Then they shipped an OS update that removed the option to disable it. I ended up finding a different tool in the Play Store to manage the OS interface which was better, but I shouldn't have needed to disable or replace the OS interface at all.
On technology, the EU are getting a lot wrong. Cookie banners are pointless when they just ask for permission; tracking individuals should be illegal.
Now the DMA seems to misunderstand the operating system's role in the experience of using a phone. The hardware components specifically (phone, camera/photos, volume/power buttons and authentication modules) should remain tied to the OS which then allows other apps to leverage them.
I actually couldn't tell you what they're trying to achieve right now. Whatever it is, it's not what they think it is and certainly not what users are crying out for.
If tracking was banned and that spelt the end for Meta in Europe, I wouldn't shed a single tear. If the DMA implementation means that Apple pulls back from the EU I'd be pretty upset about that and wouldn't willingly jump to Android (assuming Google decides to stick it out in Apple's absence). Maybe being in the UK will spare me that fate but they really need to get some more informed people involved who know what they're talking about.
Posted 16th Apr 2024 @ 16:02