Marco Arment:
The dumbwatch industry’s best hopes are either their own successful lines of Android Wear watches, or praying that the overlap between their customers and smartwatch buyers doesn’t get very big.
Oh, yeah, no. I'm guessing Marco isn't a watch person. Which really isn't that hard of a guess to make given that he uses the term “dumbwatch” — a term akin to 'iTouch'.
While on the topic of blogging, I couldn’t agree with this post more.
I’m actually quite tired of talking about what we call blogs, or don’t call them. Or the permalink structure, or who gives a shit.
When people ask me what I do, outside of work, I tell them I write. When they ask what I write I tell them I write a blog. If they laugh I tell them the cold hard stats, just as I tell the world.
At that point they either shut up, or fuck off, either one I am fine with. ((I link to Josh only because that was the tab that was open, and he’s way to nice to use “fuck off” and it really needed to be said here.))
Greg Ferenstein:
In rural Brazil, residents tended to fall asleep around 9:20 and wake up around 6:30. In comparison, the hyper-connected citizens of London went to bed closer to midnight (11:15 PM) and wake up at 8:30 AM.
The OmniGroup has been making a big push of late to make all of their apps universal iOS apps, and that means some apps that were never on the iPhone before, are now making their way to the device. This week it is one of my favorite apps: OmniOutliner.
I’ve been a long time OmniOutliner user, so when OmniOutliner came to the iPad it became my go to way to outline. The biggest missing piece for me was always the iPhone app. Once you find a good tool on one platform, you can’t help but yearn for it on all the platforms you use. ((Yes, that a Ulysses reference.))
Sarah Frier and Eric Newcomer:
Here’s the secret to how Silicon Valley calculates the value of its hottest companies: The numbers are sort of made-up.
That’s basically all you need to read there.
Steven Sande:
I could go on, but I won't. The next time I hear someone refer to an Apple Watch with a price that starts at $349 as expensive compared to the Pebble Time – which hasn't shipped yet either, by the way – I'm just going to shake my head and walk away. There's no fighting stupid.
It appears, if my RSS reader is any indication, that the lack of a MagSafe connector on the new MacBook is a “thing” now (it is replaced by the USB-C port). People are doing lots of math and lamenting over laptop cords they have tripped over in years past.
MG Siegler on the new MacBook:
I can’t recall the last time I used a machine that wasn’t powerful enough to handle everything on the web (insert Adobe Flash joke here), but it was definitely more than two years ago. I’m sure I’ll be fine with this new machine.
Same here.
The wait is over.
Maybe you weren’t waiting, but I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. And most Ulysses users have been waiting for this day for quite some time as well.
Today my favorite writing app, Ulysses III (now renamed to just Ulysses and shipping alongside an updated Mac app), gets a full blown iPad app. Gone are the days of syncing your Ulysses documents through Daedalus Touch (no one will miss that).
I didn’t even realize I came across so hateful to snooze buttons. Live and learn.
Fun interview and I am honored to be amongst the others on that site.
Conor McClure:
Finally—the biggest problem of all—the app’s damn name is so long that is displays as “Google Cal…” on the homescreen, which is absolutely hideous. Unusably hideous.
I watched the event with everyone else and I wasn’t going to post about it. I had nothing to say, but on the drive home something happened. I missed a text.
I didn’t hear it, or see it. When I got home I was annoyed I missed it. And I was amazed at how many calls and text messages I miss daily because I either don’t or can’t hear my phone (or feel the vibration).
It drives me nuts.
And it hit me: that’s the actual problem the Apple Watch solves for me. I’ll feel it. I’ll get my notifications. I won’t miss things I’ve deemed that I don’t want to miss. That’s worth the price of entry, any other features is just the cherry on top of it.
My God is that a thing of beauty. I’ve written a lot about this, but I think I’ll snag one of those. I like every spec about it except the processor, but I’m honestly not sure how much that matters anymore.
My iPad Air rocks and it’s slow by comparison to my Mac. I think I need to realize that for how I use computers the processor doesn’t matter at this point. I’m thinking base model, and I can’t wait to get my hands on one. I had thought about the Air instead, but I’ve heard a few concerning things about them and I’m dissuaded from choosing that for my needs.
It’s just a gorgeous looking Mac. Through and through. The MacBook was the best part of the event for me, maybe it’s nostalgia, but I love new Mac announcements and Apple didn’t disappoint today.
Overall it was a solid event from Apple. The watches were as good as expected. The MacBook was awesome. And the ResearchKit work looks spectacular.
Ingvi Hrannar:
The idea of taking a whole class to a computer room with outdated equipment, once a week to practice their typewriting skills and sending them back to the classroom 40 minutes later, is obsolete.
Computers or technology shouldn’t just be a specific subject, that’s not sufficient anymore but rather it should be an integral part of all the subjects and built into the curriculum.
Sean Sperte:
I’m convinced leaders who develop a habit of thanking those they lead — recognizing sacrifice, effort, and thought — benefit even more than the recipient.
Fantastic post.
Kevin Wild:
Without the iPad, my grandparents would've continued living their lives disconnected from the wonders of the internet and modern technology. It has empowered – not intimidated – them to embrace how technology can improve their lives.
I can echo many of these sentiments over three sets of grandparents in our family. My grandfather spends hours each day looking at new photos we post to iCloud, and prints the ones he wants. He likes stuff all over Facebook, while my grandmother watches Japanese news from her hometown — live.
On my wife's side her grandfather FaceTimes almost everyday at lunch. Another likes and comments on photos in iCloud constantly.
I've spent hours with them fixing routers and computers in the past. But with iOS they've fixed things themselves and have been empowered to try what they want without waiting for me.
I tell them one thing when it comes to iOS (after I get the first backup done in iCloud): don't be afraid to do, press, install, or try anything. There's nothing you can break which I can't easily tell you how to fix over the phone.
I've never been called in to fix something that took more than a moment. I love it, and I know they do.
On Monday there is an Apple event scheduled, and it’s likely to center around the Apple Watch — this post is not about the Apple Watch — there are two far more interesting rumors about the event for me: the 12″ Retina MacBook Air, and the iPad Pro. Both have had their share of rumors of late and both are things that I really want.
While I want a watch, I actually need a computer.
I recently did a clean install on my Mac and I had to move only some system files. Everything else came in via BitTorrent Sync — it's a tool that I absolutely love. It's secure and decentralized and simple well done.
Now it is on version 2.0 and man are there some good changes. First the iOS apps got some love (and it was needed), but most important there is selective sync, which is really cool. Instead of just telling the app not to sync a folder, it shows placeholder files in that folder so your search works.. Double clicking a file downloads just that file and keeps just that file in sync. Amazing stuff, but that's a Pro feature which is $39/yr — chump change.
Everyone should be using this over Dropbox, it's just too good.
There was a recent update to Slack for iOS and it said it paid special attention to the iPhone 6 and 6 plus. This is of particular importance to me because I am a 6 plus user and Slack is my most used iPhone app. Upon opening the app I didn’t notice much, but then I swiped to switch channels.
Woah, they made that wider, now it’s easier to select new channels one handed with my right hand. Sweet!