There are only two genders/sexes: male and female. They’re not assigned at birth by either doctors or parents. They’re biologically determined by DNA/chromosomes. They cannot be changed.
See what a single photo post looks like on mobile across six different social media apps: Mastodon, Facebook, Instagram, Micro.blog, Twitter, and Threads. 📷
Fresh off the WordPress, my Threads Impressions at Jason Journals.
Blogging about AirPods and a superpower on Jason Journals.
At Jason Journals today: Meet A WordPresser
I joined Mastodon today!
I’m @jasonmcfadden@mastodon.world on #Mastodon! Come follow me at mastodon.world/@jasonmcf…
My latest move in the blogosphere: Jason Journals Relaunches On WordPress.
The new option to share an Apple Note to Pages is live! Didn’t even have to wait until macOS Sonoma releases; I’m on Ventura 13.4. “Open in Pages” results match what copy/paste does, retaining text formatting. It’s just streamlined.
I think there’s more to come for Apple’s text-based app workflows.
Apple Vision Pro has impressed some, but not all. This Wired piece by Kate Knibbs doesn’t pull any punches:
“One can only hope that the unavoidable failure of Vision Pro might clear the company’s sights…”
Wonder what Day One owner, Automattic, thinks about Apple’s new forthcoming app, Journal? Read this:
Random thoughts on Apple Vision Pro:
- The iFixit teardown should be interesting.
- The “killer app” must be…Minecraft?
- 3D full immersion take-over ads will be headset-throwing nightmares.
Wrapping My Head Around WWDC23
Next to the iPhone reveal each September, Apple’s WWDC is one of its biggest and best annual events. The usual keynote is jam-packed with all of the company’s newest ecosystem features and upgrades. This year’s was all of that plus…one more thing: an AR/VR headset. And while that may be the star of the show, I’m more interested in the down-to-earth improvements to Apple’s traditional gadgets.
Vision Pro
I’ve been enjoying the media’s first impressions of the announced virtual reality goggles, dubbed “Vision Pro." There seem to be three basic take-aways about the device:
- It’s by far the most impressive headset of its kind.
- It’s very expensive.
- Its usefulness is unclear.
The Apple Vision Pro is an interesting wearable immersive computer. Apple says it represents what it calls, “Spatial Computing." The intriguing philosophy behind that is something I hope is written and talked about over time.
But since the headset is practically out of my league and is a version 1.0 product, I’m most interested in what Tim Cook referred to in the WWDC23 keynote as “Personal” and “Mobile Computing." You know, laptops and smartphones.
Macs and more
Despite Apple having been busy working on ground-breaking technology, it didn’t seem to take its foot off the gas pedal when it comes to the good ol' iPhone and Mac platforms. Even the Apple Watch is being updated in a big way.
This year’s WWDC might have ushered in the future of computing, but I still prefer its present and what’s coming soon to keep it fresh. A few of my favorite new things to get excited about are:
Notes - link and share
New to Apple Notes will be the ability to link notes to other notes. This sounds like “linking your thinking” in Obsidian. I’ve yet to see how its implemented, so I’m eager to find out and put it to use.
Also new: you’ll be able to directly send notes to Pages via the Share sheet. I often wondered why such a simple feature wasn’t already an established workflow. Though it might be akin to copy/pasting from Notes to Pages, I think it’s an important feature because it promotes Apple’s great word processing app as a destination within the system. I’m guessing Apple has more ideas in mind for connecting the two text-based apps together, creating new and better productivity workflows.
Journal
I wrote about this recently. So, yeah, I’m excited for this, ready to try it out. Apple’s reasoning for it seems sound, and screenshots for it look nice. A whole new Apple app, all about journaling? Count me in!
If it works out, I’ll be able to move my journal entries out of Apple Notes and place them neatly into a dedicated journaling app, much like Day One. But it will be made by Apple, built-into the iPhone, and hopefully span the whole ecosystem via iCloud. No extra charge.
Live Voicemail
I call this one live call-screening. I get very few legit phone calls and always screen all unknown numbers. So this will be a very useful new feature to enjoy, helping me not miss any important calls.
Standby
This turns your iPhone into a nice alarm clock/smart display on your bedside table. I think it’s a sign of things to come, like the iPad morphing into an actual smart display. But even as-is, Standby looks like a very nice upgrade, making the iPhone officially subsume yet another single-purpose device.
Safari - web apps and profiles
This one is a small yet welcome addition. Web apps will now get first-class treatment on the Mac! You’ll be able to keep them in the dock with dedicated icons and launch them in their own browser windows. Nice!
Safari is also gaining something I did not expect: Profiles. You can create broad use-cases for web browsing and keep them siloed from each other. I think it helps with privacy and also with general organization.
FaceTime on AppleTV
This is another example of Apple’s ecosystem synergy. It lets you use an iPhone as a webcam with an AppleTV so you can FaceTime with the whole family on the couch in front of the TV. This is a big deal to me because, after many years of having no real need for one, I’m now seriously thinking I’ll buy an AppleTV for this feature alone.
Well played, Apple, well played.
Interactive Widgets
Finally, at long last, ever since the debut of widgets on iPhone, Apple is making them interactive! YES! It’s as simple as you think. The Reminders widget will finally let you tap items as complete. The Music and Podcasts widgets will finally let you tap play/pause. So simple. Yet so nice. And yes, Android has had such a thing since the dawn of smartphones, sure. And iPhone will finally catch up. Better late than never.
Silicon Mac Pro
The Mac Pro now has the new M2 Ultra chip inside. And with that, the transition from Intel to Apple silicon is complete.
Bravo, Apple.
15” MacBook Air
It’s like the 13” MacBook Air. But bigger. It’ll sell a lot. Nice.
watchOS
Apple’s watch interface is getting a huge overhaul and looks like it will make the watch more useful. It now uses more widgets and better placed complications to make glancing at info and interacting with it easier. I can’t wait to try it out. Also, the Hiking workout is enhanced; I love hiking.
All the things
There are many other cool and new features coming to all of Apple’s software. In fact, there’s so much new goodness that, even without the Vision Pro reveal, this year’s WWDC keynote was as promising and interesting as ever.
What do you think?
An Apple Journaling App
A juicy guess for Apple’s upcoming iOS 17 is a new app for journaling. When I first heard of it, I thought it might be too invasive or creepy. But now I’m curious to see what it could be. I journal everyday and like Apple’s software design. So an Apple Journal sounds like it could be something worth, uh, journaling about.
With my recent app switching, I’ve gone full-circle in journaling: from Apple Notes to Day One to Obsidian and back to Apple Notes. So now that I’m journaling in an Apple app, I wonder how much better the experience could be if Apple made an app dedicated to journaling. The potential has me excited.1
A question: how could it integrate with Apple Calendar since daily journaling is usually tied to the date like, “What happened today?” And what kind of daily notifications or journaling prompts might Apple use?
Also, how may a widget be useful? Will there be a daily streak feature like Day One has? How would photos be added? And could I dictate a journal entry through my Apple Watch and include my exercises?
It would be sweet to automatically add my daily walk or run stats to a journal entry!
As good as Day One is, I think Apple can make a better journaling app overall, with more polish, using consistent iOS design2. It would also, of course, be super secure and private with end-to-end encryption. That said, would there be a corresponding journaling web app for iCloud.com?
One other definite wish I would have if Apple were to make a journaling app for the iPhone: a version for the Mac as soon as possible.
What do you think?
Super pumped about my new kicks! Puma RS-X T3CH RIZE. Prism Violet-Vibrant Orange. 📷
Putting Apps In The Apple Basket
It seems as seasons change, so does my tech set up. I flip-flopped again. Boredom and “Greener Grass” syndrome are strong factors. Then logic steps in to justify my moving between apps or gadgets. I succumb to marketing, I fancy the shiny, and I mistake novelty as a virtue. In any case, despite my recent misgivings with Apple’s reach and living in a walled tech garden1, maybe I’m an Apple fanboy more than I thought.
After extolling the benefits of computing flexibility and diversifying your tech set up, I’ve done a hard revert. I’m all-in with Apple again. To be fair, though, I hadn’t truly left the ecosystem. Yes, I stopped using iCloud and many of Apple’s apps2, but I still used an iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch3. And given that the company’s software is so well entwined with its hardware, it shouldn’t be surprising that I’ve embraced it all once again.
With all Apple hardware, it just makes sense to use all Apple software.
The cause of this sharp turn-around is mentioned in my recent post about being a creature of convenience. First, I couldn’t resist the ease and elegance of relying on Apple and iCloud Photos. Turning those back on triggered a chain reaction. Next, my gaze was drawn back to Safari and iCloud Keychain, leaving Firefox and Bitwarden in the dust. Quickly following next was a dive back into Apple Notes, Reminders, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.
There are key things that attracted me to once again entrust Apple with all my data:
- Elegance: Apple’s iOS apps and their design language are tailor made for the smartphone. For example, Apple Notes is nicer and more intuitive than Obsidian on iPhone.
- Features: To use Firefox, for example, I gave up Tab Groups and a built-in reading list. With Safari, I regain those nice-to-haves. And iCloud Keychain integration is smoother than Bitwarden.
- Simplicity: Using the default apps on both my Mac and iPhone minimizes the number of third-party apps I would otherwise tack onto the system. For most of my usage, Apple’s apps are all I need.
- Consistency: I like Apple’s common UI design language and iCloud persistence.
- Affordability: While the hardware can be costly4, the software is “free,” built into every Apple device. I don’t need to pay for Affinity Photo or Day One, for example, when Apple Photos or Apple Notes gets the job done well.
Sure, there are pros and cons to going all-in or being cross-platform. I was aiming for the ideal in principle a was trying to be practical. But while my family uses a mix of Apple, Google, and Microsoft apps and devices, I personally own all Apple gear. So for me, it makes plain sense to use the company’s holistic ecosystem.5
I’m not addicted; I can quit any time.
If owning only Apple tech means the company owns me, fair enough. But I know I can switch away despite the costs. Maybe I just needed that reminder. It’s nice to not feel trapped by platform lock-in. Yet Apple’s walled garden sure is a nice one to be locked into. Just don’t throw away the key.
What do you think?
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This was partly because I was brooding on the weak points in Apple’s ecosystem. ↩︎
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Thankfully, I didn’t switch from using Apple Mail, Calendar, and Contacts. But I came close to adopting Microsoft’s versions of these. ↩︎
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I did go so far as to consider a Garmin fitness watch, a Windows laptop, and an Android phone. ↩︎
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I rarely buy new Apple gear, instead buying used or refurbished yesteryear models. ↩︎
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My family also relies on the Apple One subscription bundle, so we share iCloud storage, Apple Music, etc. ↩︎
I’ve had a Tom Bihn Small Café Bag for EDC about 2 years now.
Nintendo's Next Switch
In case you haven’t noticed, the Nintendo Switch has been around for over six years now. That’s relatively old in tech age. The system is great, but there’s concern over its longevity. Console generations in gaming don’t last much longer than six revolutions around the sun. But the epoch of Switch could be an exception. In any case, I have thoughts about what “The Next Switch” should be.
Don’t switch out
First and foremost, the Switch…must still switch! That should be obvious. But since Nintendo tends to radically try new things, I think the obvious should be declared just in case.
The Switch hardware sells itself simply because it can switch between both handheld and docked. It’s no gimmick but is super practical. And while targeting handheld specs limits the power scope overall, it is apparently a fair trade-off, judging by the numbers of Switch units sold. Given the success of the Switch, why switch out an obviously winning formula? Play the safe bet.
A slab of glass — with joycons
In fact, Nintendo Switch is like Apple iPhone. Nintendo makes both the hardware and software. 1 And it’s a long-running success.
Most of all, like Apple fundamentally nailing the iPhone design paradigm and then iterating over many years, I think Nintendo should keep the fundamentals of the Switch as-is and iterate, make it more powerful, over time. The company made a gaming machine — and games to go with it — that most people love. That’s exactly what people want; give them more of it.
I myself wanted more, so I switched my original Switch for an upgrade to the OLED model; it’s great! Yet the current Switch can be noticeably laggy sometimes. Even in Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake, I saw dropped frames too often. The Switch could use a more powerful chip inside to drive games better. Strangely, though, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Tears of the Kingdom both run surprisingly well overall, with little to no frame drops.
Software sells hardware
In any case, even if “The Next Switch” is merely 1080p 60fps, not 4K, I’ll buy it because it will have the next Zelda, the next Animal Crossing…the next Nintendo IP.
Overall, the “Switch 2,” “Super Switch,” or “Switch Pro” should be the same as the current Switch but have a more modern, advanced processor in it. Simple as that. This means it would also be backwards compatible, able to play all previous Switch titles plus next-gen ones. Current Switch players don’t want to lose access to their huge libraries of games they’ve invested time and money in. The new hardware should still run the old software.
Three Switches
An example of new hardware running current software is the Switch Lite. It doesn’t actually switch; it’s handheld only. Yet many players prefer this. The main reason it works in the current Nintendo lineup is because it plays all current Switch games. There are not entirely different game libraries unlike previous generations. This gives me an idea.
Nintendo could extend this idea for it’s “Pro” version of the Switch. There would be three Switches — think small, medium, and large — but only the middle one would actually switch between handheld and docked mode. It’d look like this:
- Switch Lite: Handheld only. Plays all Switch games. Max output: 900p 30fps
- Switch: Handheld and docked. Plays all Switch games. Max output: 1080p 30fps.
- Switch Pro: Docked only. Plays all Switch games. Max output: 4K 60fps.
As a bonus, a Switch Pro should upscale 1080p games to 4K-like resolution, similar to how Blu-ray players could improve standard definition DVDs.
More Mario and Zelda gameplay is a good thing. Adding more frames and pixels to Nintendo’s titles would make the next Switch — one that still switches — more appealing.
What do you think?
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Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Animal Crossing are popular Nintendo franchise titles. ↩︎