tech

  • Can’t help but be intrigued by what Humane and others are doing in trying to refine personal computing. Of course, Humane might not succeed with their science fiction inspired ai pin, or at all, but I see more companies embracing the ethos of their mission:

    We believe in building innovative technology that feels familiar, natural, and human.

    But for me, today, a more compelling, evolutionary product in this space is the Rabbit R1. With natural language processing and Playdate-esque whimsy in their hardware design. I just hope it’s as functional as it is cute.

  • Apple’s iOS 17 Preview:

    The new Journal app looks interesting, but from the limited demo it seems entirely local, with no sharing - unless I’ve missed something?

    No one but you can access your journal.

    With the integration with Shortcuts, and the potential for third party apps to contribute via the Journaling Suggestions API, all it needs is a little love for ActivityPub and it would be a powerful source for (micro-)blogging platforms like micro.blog.

  • šŸ•¹ Casual Birder - Playdate Season 1, Game 1

    The first title is a groovy PokĆ©mon-esque throwback for twitchers - gotta snap ’em all! PokĆ©mon games were never my thing, but they might be yours.

    But, holy cow, the text is small for my old eyes. Playdate XL, Panic?

    Casual Birder title screen - a game for Playdate
  • iPhone Screen Sizes (iOS 16)

    When developing for iPhone today, if you can set a minimum version of iOS 16.2 then you need to be prepared to support the following phones and their respective screen sizes.

    That’s ten different screen sizes from an iPhone 81 to an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

    Device Logical Dimensions Scaling Factor Physical Dimensions
    iPhone 14 Pro Max 430 x 932 @3x 1290 x 2796
    iPhone 14 Pro 393 x 852 @3x 1179 x 2556
    iPhone 14 Plus
    iPhone 13 Pro Max
    iPhone 12 Pro Max
    428 x 926 @3x 1284 x 2778
    iPhone 14
    iPhone 13 Pro
    iPhone 13
    iPhone 12 Pro
    iPhone 12
    390 x 844 @3x 1170 x 2532
    iPhone 13 mini
    iPhone 12 mini
    375 x 812 @3x
    (downsampled)
    1080 x 2340
    iPhone 11 Pro Max
    iPhone XS Max
    414 x 896 @3x 1242 x 2688
    iPhone 11 Pro
    iPhone XS
    iPhone X
    375 x 812 @3x 1125 x 2436
    iPhone 11
    iPhone XR
    414 x 896 @2x 828 x 1792
    iPhone 8 Plus 414 x 736 @3x
    (downsampled)
    1080 x 1920
    iPhone SE (3nd gen)
    iPhone SE (2nd gen)
    iPhone 8
    375 x 667 @2x 750 x 1334

    Comparing devices for “how much they can show on the screen” you should look at the Logical Dimensions column.

  • šŸ•¹ Playdate - initial impressions: perfectly cute, beautifully engineered

    Kudos to Panic for bringing artisanal whimsy back to the world of video games.

    Playdate handheld game system, in standby mode with open purple cover
  • Found myself writing only the slightest of AppleScript snippets tonight. The language is now over 38 years old, and still supported in macOS 12.1 (Monterey). It doesn’t get a lot of public-facing love. A lost opportunity, or feature overdue for retirement?

  • My trusty 2014 MBP is still an amazing machine, but the temptation was too great. šŸ‘€

    āœ… M1 Pro
    āœ… XDR display with Promotion
    āœ… Touch ID
    āœ… macOS Monterey
    āœ… skipping all the models with no ports and keyboard issues

    Here’s to the next seven years. šŸ»

  • Not sure why, but it catches me every year. Repeat after me:

    WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
    WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
    WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
    WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
    WWDC keynotes are not really forā€¦

  • I am trying to burn command line Git into my brain, rather than using a graphical tool. The options are fine, but I need to actually get the command correct…

    zsh: command not found: got

  • God of War - Santa Monica Studios
    šŸŽ® #microreview

    Kinda-open world romp through norse mythology and parenthood from the perspective of a Greek God. Lots of lore and humour courtesy of Mimir. Recommended.

    God of War
  • Ghost of Tsushima - Sucker Punch Productions
    šŸŽ® #microreview

    Beautiful open-world drama set in feudal Japan in the face of a Mongol invasion. Minimal HUD allows the environmental detail to shine. Sublime wind-based navigation system. Highly recommended.

    Ghost of Tsushima
  • Death Stranding - Kojima Productions
    šŸŽ® #microreview

    Easy-paced action adventure set in a beautifully crafted post-apocolyptic USA. The novel and captivating storyline is driven by a full movie’s worth of cut scenes. Recommended.

    Death Stranding
  • Gary Hustwitā€™s beautifully made documentary, Rams, about the highly influential designer Dieter Rams is very much worth watching. In Dieterā€™s own words:

    Less, but better.

    Rams - currently streaming for free

  • Great intro to P vs NP-Complete from Jade at Up and Atom:

    Is this thing that doesn’t look like this other thing really that thing?

  • Mac App Store - Guilty Pleasure

    I feel bad when I read tales from developers such as this:

    As a Mac App Store developer whose apps have been in the store since the beginning, itā€™s not a great feeling to know that any critical update might be held up because Apple decided to get more uptight about something that was OK for the past 8 years. - Daniel Jalkut on Micro.blog

    I feel even worse because it was the same weekend that Daniel emailed me to say he had changed some code which would hopefully remove an image uploading issue I was having with MarsEdit. And I had opted to purchase MarsEdit via the Mac App Store that very same day.

    It hadn’t even occurred to me to purchase via his web site, even though he might have made a few extra dollars or cents that way. Like I have done so many times, I checked where it was available and defaulted to my purchase via Apple.

    Woe is the Store of Apps for the Mac

    I have read many an article telling us why the App Store is broken. And I am on board with those for the most part. I am sure it’s not perfect. Okay, I know it’s not perfect.

    From the 30% cut that Apple takes from all sales, reduced to 15% for subscriptions lasting more than 12 months, to the technical restrictions with iCloud, sandboxing, etc. Not to mention1 the lack of contact developers have with their customers. The list is long.

    There have been well publicised cases of high profile companies leaving the Mac App Store, and then equally well publicised stories of some of them returning - no doubt, one has to think, with a little encouragement from Apple. I am sure this to and fro will continue for some time.

    But…

    Let’s hear it for the Mac App Store

    The Mac App Store provides users with security. Of different sorts:

    Not every Mac app is the greatest example of app development, and there is an argument that a greater degree of quality checking should be included in the app review process, but at least I can be reasonably assured that anything I install will play nice with my system and other applications. This means I am less likely to be installing a keylogger, virus, etc. I am less likely to putting the data on my Mac at risk to unexpected appropriation. My system and my data is safer.

    I can more or less trust Apple with my banking details, at least in so far as I can trust anyone. Financially - compared to the wide range of developers that they represent who have not built up any relationship with customers - I am confident sharing credentials with them.

    And as much as developers the world over would love to have a database of thousands of potential customers to leverage for marketing upgrades, their other apps, or other services, I am glad that this is something I have to opt into by signing up to a mailing list or otherwise connecting with the developer.

    None of this is to suggest that Mac developers should not be trusted to write software, process payments, or manage a mailing list. Just that there are millions of people out there making software, and I think it’s good to have a proxy in place that can be trusted. I mostly don’t have to consider who the third party developer is.

    And for those Mac owners who are new to the platform, or who lack confidence in the complexities of installing computer software, the App Store model offers all of the above alongside a unified search system2 and one-click installation.

    Thanks to Daniel

    I would like to see changes to App Store policies, for both developers and users. But on balance, where possible, I will mostly likely continue to support developers through via the App Store rather than purchasing direct.

    While we wait until Apple lowers their fees and is more transparent their app review processes, I am grateful to the developers who jump through the hoops to keep their software available in the Mac App Store. Thanks, Daniel.


    1. Sorry, I know, I mentioned it. ↩︎

    2. Okay, yes, the App Store search tool is not the best, but it’s what we have and for many people it’s all they use when looking for software. ↩︎

  • AR - Supremacy or Hellscape?

    The Coming Supremacy of AR - Allen Pike

    Leaving aside whether any company can be entrusted to curate our Augmented Reality experience without it being a ā€œhellscapeā€, I did think the potential of AR could only be unlocked when John Gruber had his previous question addressed:

    Why would people who donā€™t need glasses want to wear thick glasses all day? And they think it will replace phones in a decade? Do we really want our phone display in front of our eyes all day? I just donā€™t get it.

    However, I share Allen Pikeā€™s optimism that the technology will mature to the point of being useful for consumers:

    Apple may be optimistic in thinking that the timeline will be only 10 years long, but it seems clear to me that if physics really do make a good AR headset possible ā€“ glasses that can usefully and practically render information interleaved with our natural vision ā€“ it will change everything.

    And his two dozen potential AR features sure sound compelling.

    So, the question is not can we build it, or even will they wear it? Rather, what are the minimum set of features the average user will trade a ā€œhellscapeā€ for?

  • Creating content?

    Answer the questions people have, in the order they have them, using the language they use, and you will help your search engine rankings, usability and those with visual or cognitive impairments.

    Accessibility is usability ā€“ Public Digital

  • Having used simulations at uni, when I first worked with a specialised hardware neural net in ā€˜94 it felt like unleashing a superpower - and yet now our phones have capabilities almost unimaginable to 25 years ago me.

    The Beauty of Deep Neural Networks - Art of the Problem

  • The inverted-T laptop for the rest of us:

    It feels a bit silly to be excited about a classic arrow key layout

    Daring Fireball: 16-Inch MacBook Pro First Impressions: Great Keyboard, Outstanding Speakers

  • Off to Edinburgh today, to meetāœ Vint Cerf.

    āœ Meet (vb.) to be within acceptable tolerances of the same GPS identifiable location.