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  • Privacy, Security, and User Experience

    Could not disagree with you more, sir.

    Dustin Curtis on Apple’s stance on privacy and security, versus Google’s arguing that giving up privacy to Google is a far better solution:

    As long as people understand the potential risks, the answer to the second question is almost always, “Yes.” And with the emergence of artificial intelligence, the answer to that question will become increasingly more clear. The vast improvements in user experience far, far outweigh the potential security risks to private information.

    I obviously disagree with this notion. But I defer to someone with far better knowledge than I, Edward Snowden:

    Technologists have worked tirelessly to re-engineer the security of the devices that surround us, along with the language of the Internet itself. Secret flaws in critical infrastructure that had been exploited by governments to facilitate mass surveillance have been detected and corrected. Basic technical safeguards such as encryption — once considered esoteric and unnecessary — are now enabled by default in the products of pioneering companies like Apple, ensuring that even if your phone is stolen, your private life remains private. Such structural technological changes can ensure access to basic privacies beyond borders, insulating ordinary citizens from the arbitrary passage of anti-privacy laws, such as those now descending upon Russia.

    Once the information is out there, it is out there. You can’t reel it back in. Google has it all and knows how to find it all, which means it can be exploited.

    If Apple isn’t storing it, and even has a hard time making sure I get all my iMessages across devices ((Which I have never had a problem with, personally.)), then that seems like a small price to pay to protect myself in a small way from the exposure I get with Google.

  • Initial Thoughts on iOS 9’s iPad Multitasking

    Federico Viticci: The iPad is on the cusp of becoming a completely new computer. This is not an overstatement. Anyone who uses the iPad enough has known for a long time that the device could be capable of a lot more, and iOS 9 is Apple's answer. Very exciting stuff.

    Federico Viticci:

    The iPad is on the cusp of becoming a completely new computer. This is not an overstatement. Anyone who uses the iPad enough has known for a long time that the device could be capable of a lot more, and iOS 9 is Apple's answer.
    Very exciting stuff.

  • The Apple Watch

    My poor, lonely, iPhone.

    I didn’t know what to expect, and in a lot of ways I still don’t know what to expect, from the Apple Watch. I’m a person who wears a watch everyday, so looking at my wrist for the time is habit. And like many others, I wasn’t sure I wanted an Apple Watch, well I wanted one, but wasn’t convinced I needed one.

    Still, I got one.

    And it is, by far, smaller than I thought it would be. I thought it would be some bulbous G-Shock style gadget, but it’s small and sleek. So sleek that my chronograph automatic sits off my wrist higher.

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  • The World Says No to Surveillance

    Edward Snowden: Yet the balance of power is beginning to shift. We are witnessing the emergence of a post-terror generation, one that rejects a worldview defined by a singular tragedy. For the first time since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we see the outline of a politics that turns away from reaction and fear…

    Edward Snowden:

    Yet the balance of power is beginning to shift. We are witnessing the emergence of a post-terror generation, one that rejects a worldview defined by a singular tragedy. For the first time since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we see the outline of a politics that turns away from reaction and fear in favor of resilience and reason.

  • The Note

    Love this post on Shawn's writing routine.

    Love this post on Shawn's writing routine.

  • Micro Snitch

    Speaking of new apps, this is a great new app that I have been testing. It shows you if there is anything using your microphone or webcam. Love it.

    Speaking of new apps, this is a great new app that I have been testing. It shows you if there is anything using your microphone or webcam. Love it.

  • Re:quest — Get Answers Fast

    Today we (at MartianCraft) launched Re:quest, an app I have been working on for the past two and a half months with a very talented team of people. It’s a free app and very useful. Give it a download and see what you think. UPDATE: We wrote about the launch on the MartianCraft blog.

    Today we (at MartianCraft) launched Re:quest, an app I have been working on for the past two and a half months with a very talented team of people. It’s a free app and very useful. Give it a download and see what you think.

    UPDATE: We wrote about the launch on the MartianCraft blog.

  • Visualize a Photo Before You Snap

    I asked my wife to explain how she took this photo, damn if I don’t see things the way she does.

    I asked my wife to explain how she took this photo, damn if I don’t see things the way she does.

  • Apple’s Tim Cook Delivers Blistering Speech On Encryption, Privacy

    Tim Cook, as reported by Matthew Panzarino: “We shouldn’t ask our customers to make a tradeoff between privacy and security. We need to offer them the best of both,” Cook wrapped up. “Ultimately, protecting someone else’s data protects all of us.”

    Tim Cook, as reported by Matthew Panzarino:

    “We shouldn’t ask our customers to make a tradeoff between privacy and security. We need to offer them the best of both,” Cook wrapped up. “Ultimately, protecting someone else’s data protects all of us.”

  • Capturing Light

    My wife is going to presenting at the San Francisco Apple Store on June 10th, at 6:00pm. Take a look at the linked page to make a reservation.

    My wife is going to presenting at the San Francisco Apple Store on June 10th, at 6:00pm. Take a look at the linked page to make a reservation.

  • The Myth of More (Not Just Another Fuji X100T Review)

    Randall Armor: All of which, oddly, brings me back to the Fuji X100T. This dinky little camera represents an opportunity to spit in the eye of the Myth of More, even though it means you would have to buy yet another camera in order to hawk up a smug gob of gooey austerity of your…

    Randall Armor:

    All of which, oddly, brings me back to the Fuji X100T. This dinky little camera represents an opportunity to spit in the eye of the Myth of More, even though it means you would have to buy yet another camera in order to hawk up a smug gob of gooey austerity of your own. Tasteless, I know, and worse yet, hypocritical. Get over it.

    Damn good “review”.

  • A Shit Storm of Speculation

    The game of random as shit c-level titles.

    The title of ‘Chief Design Officer’ is, at best, amorphous, but most likely: bullshit. That’s not to say that real people don’t hold these positions, but rather that even Wikipedia struggles to conjure more than a vague description of the relatively new role. In fact, Wikipedia knows of only four companies in the world that has someone occupying this position.

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  • Apple Watch Sport Band

    Mike Bates: Many of the early press reviews of the watch threw in a point or two about the Sport Band, but I'm of the opinion that even the cheapest band in Apple's collection is deserving of it's own review. I love the sport band so far. And for what it's worth I find the…

    Mike Bates:

    Many of the early press reviews of the watch threw in a point or two about the Sport Band, but I'm of the opinion that even the cheapest band in Apple's collection is deserving of it's own review.

    I love the sport band so far. And for what it's worth I find the best way to keep it clean is to shower with the watch on. But then again the watch isn't waterproof so maybe mine is special and that's why I've had no problems showering with mine everyday.

  • Quote of the Day: Shawn Blanc

    “If you see money as your biggest challenge, perhaps you’re not being honest with yourself.” — Shawn Blanc

    “If you see money as your biggest challenge, perhaps you’re not being honest with yourself.”
  • Beyond Productivity “LIVE” with Mike Vardy

    Looks like a nice workshop from Mike. He might be the most disciplined guy I know.

    Looks like a nice workshop from Mike. He might be the most disciplined guy I know.

  • The Fujilmfilm X100T

    AKA: God’s camera.

    When I first entered into photography I was never happy, as I didn’t like the delay between snapping an image and waiting to seeing the image after it was developed. I am far too impatient for that. Then digital came about, and while I was slow on the uptake, once I got a dSLR I acquired gear faster than I acquired money. A common problem for photographers, hobbyist or otherwise.

    At the start of 2014, more than a year ago, I had a massive kit of photography gear. I had Canon full-frame gear, micro four-thirds gear, and of course the Fujifilm gear. It was madness. The Canon setup had four lenses, three lenses for micro four-thirds, and just one lens on Fuji.

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  • Those Motherfucking Printers

    I hate the little bastards, maybe because I hate the fact I still need one.

    Since the first time I had to install and setup a printer on my own, I’ve hated the little bastards. A couple of nights ago started me on quite a journey of frustration.

    My wife, she reminds me that she has to take the ferry the next morning to go visit her grandmother. After picking up essentials at the store (milk and toilet paper), I buzz over to the ferry dock to scope out how the line there works. I knew you had to get out of the car to get a ticket, but I want to see how far from the car that would be — my wife needed to know if she would be able to leave the kids in the car while still keeping on eye on them.

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  • Thoughts on the New MacBook

    His thoughts pretty well mimic mine after a week with the computer. Time will tell, but so far the only issues I’m seeing: That up arrow key is impossible for me to reliably hit thus far I keep hitting CMD+Q instead of CMD+Tab, hopefully that subsides. The battery life is about 1 hour shy of…

    His thoughts pretty well mimic mine after a week with the computer. Time will tell, but so far the only issues I’m seeing:

    • That up arrow key is impossible for me to reliably hit thus far
    • I keep hitting CMD+Q instead of CMD+Tab, hopefully that subsides.
    • The battery life is about 1 hour shy of being truly all day for me.

    Aside from all that, this fucking computer impresses and excites me every time I touch it.

  • My Minimal Kit

    I’ve started carrying way too much shit, time to scale it back.

    One of the constant struggles that I face is what do I take with me when I want to, say, go to a coffee shop, or the library for a few hours. Realistically I could take everything, I mean my bag has room. I could also take just my laptop, that would likely cover me as well and would be as minimal as I could get.

    It’s just a few hours, why is it so hard to decide what to bring?

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  • The best calendar app for Mac

    Nice overview of the options. Certainly hard to beat Fantastical 2 on the Mac. Wish the app stayed open in the menubar when you quit though.

    Nice overview of the options. Certainly hard to beat Fantastical 2 on the Mac. Wish the app stayed open in the menubar when you quit though.