The Verge’s review of the M5 MacBook Air offers a great close-up side-by-side view of the Neo’s and Air’s chassis. I quite like the Neo’s more rounded lid compared the Air’s flattened one. 👌

Side-by-side comparison of two laptops in three different views. The first image displays the closed laptops from the side, showing their thickness and ports. The second image shows them open, viewed from the hinge, highlighting the slim design and profiles. The third image is a further pulled-back perspective of the open laptops, emphasizing their screens and keyboards. One laptop is pink, and the other is blue-gray, both placed on a neutral-colored surface with a plain background.

David Sparks is teasing something interesting: ‘Half Your Day Isn’t Your Job’

We sit down intending to do meaningful work and spend the first hour sorting email. We open our task manager and burn twenty minutes reorganizing instead of doing. We have systems. Maybe several. None of them talk to each other, and all of them need feeding.

It’s not the work. It’s the work around the work. I call it the donkey work.

I’ve been building something to fix this. It’s a method for using AI to handle the donkey work so you have more time for everything else. I’ll tell you all about it Tuesday.

Nick Heer has identified a through line of Meta’s corporate strategy:

I do not know what is the right number of staff to run Meta’s operations but, whatever it is, there has to be a better way of figuring it out than by luring tens of thousands of people to work for you with promises of a huge salary and benefits, then upending their lives some time later.

Unfortunately, I feel confident that we’ll continue to see this habit each time Zuckerberg loses interest in his latest trendy obsession. At this point, it’s become company culture.

Matt Birchler explains how iOS and iPadOS app binaries are one and the same, so “running an iPad app” is really just a matter of layout. He posits that Mark Gurman’s claim that the folding phone won’t run iPad apps is perhaps misguided:

My expectation is that for apps like mine, which run on the iPhone and iPad, they will run like normal when on the outer screen, as well as when they’re in split view on the internal screen. They will run with their “iPad layout” when running on the internal screen at full screen.

I hope @matt_birchler@mastodon.social’s right.

Toni Schneider: ‘Impressions from my first week at Bluesky’

When people tell me, “I love Bluesky, and I’m glad you’re involved,” I sometimes answer, “I love it too—and did you know that Bluesky is one app of many in a network called the Atmosphere?” This has gotten me 100% blank stares. But yes, it’s true. There are lots of other apps in the Atmosphere. Expect me to talk a lot more about that in the coming weeks and months.

Schneider was brought it as interim CEO when Jay Grabber moved into the CIO role. Sounds like she’s happier there.

Is ‘Atmosphere’ a better term than ‘Fediverse’? Maybe!

Price as marketing. AirPods Max being more expensive than the MacBook Neo (for education) is bold.

The hilarious part of AirPods Max 2 is they don't get an education discount. So if you're a student, you can get a MacBook Neo for $50 LESS

‘Apple introduces AirPods Max 2’

Apple today announced AirPods Max 2, bringing even better Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), elevated sound quality, and intelligent features to the iconic over-ear design. Powered by H2, features like Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, and Live Translation come to AirPods Max for the first time.

The H2 chip finally brings AirPods Max’s feature set in line with the rest of the AirPods lineup. A ‘speed bump’ that probably doesn’t justify calling it “2” as it doesn’t update the design or address the Max’s many other issues. Same high price too.

Stephen Robles laments the tough choices to be made to adopt Apple’s new video podcasts format. There are limitations that affect audio-only listeners, and Apple’s pushing the term “podcast” out in favor of “show”:

But to adopt HLS video in Apple Podcasts feels like a turn away from the kind of podcasting I’ve loved for 20+ years. Of course people will still listen, whether it’s during a commute, going for a walk, or doing the laundry. But the switch from audio-first to video-first feels like podcasting as a word, as a medium, may be changing forever.

As an audio podcast guy, I’m vaguely worried.

😊 Thanks so much for the kind words, @anthony_bonacio. Adventuring with you and @bonacio_th is always a blast!

A five-star review by Anthony Bonacio describes exceptional guiding by Jarrod for ice climbing in the Adirondacks. The reviewer praises his professionalism and knowledge of backcountry, recommending him for guided hikes.

Dunno when this ‘Sync to iCloud’ option was added to the Accessibility settings in iOS, but it’s a fantastic addition. Trying to keep these settings in sync across devices has been a real pain.

The image shows a smartphone screen displaying the “Share Accessibility Settings” menu. The interface includes an option for “Share Accessibility Settings” with descriptive text explaining that it allows temporarily transferring accessibility settings to another device. Below, there is a toggle switch labeled “Sync to iCloud” that is turned on, with an explanation that enabling this syncs settings across devices signed into the same Apple account. The background is a gradient of pink, orange, and purple colors.

Kudos to Anthony and Alex who seized the day to get in a session of ice climbing when we feared the season may be over. Crystal Ice Tower and Harlot were both in excellent shape, and we had a ton of fun on them. Even some new formations I’ve never seen on Harlot that I just had to try!

Climber ascends icy waterfall using crampons and ice axe wearing a brown jacket and helmet with a camera in a snowy mountainous environment. A person climbs a frozen ice formation using ice climbing gear in a snow-covered forest with bare trees and cloudy sky overhead. Climber ascending icy cliff face secured with a green rope surrounded by sparse snow-covered trees on a cloudy day. A person with a backpack uses trekking poles to navigate a steep snowy hillside surrounded by trees in a wintry forest. The sky is overcast, suggesting a cold, cloudy day. Snow covers a flat landscape with scattered tree stumps and dry grass surrounded by a dense forest at the base of misty mountains under an overcast sky. A climber ascends a frozen waterfall with ice axes and crampons amidst a snow-dusted, tree-lined landscape. A person climbs a steep frozen ice wall using climbing gear on a snowy day surrounded by leafless trees. Three people dressed in outdoor gear smile at the camera while standing on a snowy roadside with a forested hillside in the background.

I can’t stop thinking about the MacBook Neo in regards to its power performance. I come back to the fact that when the M1 MacBook Air debuted, @marcoarment@mastodon.social happily swapped a lot of computing to it from his iMac Pro. The A18 Pro-powered Neo is at least as good as the M1. So customers buying the Neo are getting a computer that can outperform pro-level Macs from just a few years ago. It’s a good Mac, full stop.

David Sparks: ‘Apple Should Buy Anthropic (But Likely Won’t)’

There’s also an ideological alignment. Anthropic has taken a principled stance on AI safety and responsible development. Apple has always positioned itself as the company that cares about how technology affects people. Those values aren’t identical, but they rhyme.

Sparks sees alignment, whereas I see entanglement. It’s the not the $380 billion valuation that’s the deal-breaker, it’s the myriad of contracts and programs that Anthropic is involved with. Anthropic said no to the Pentagon. Apple would have rolled over.

I was catching up with my buddy, @rsilvernail, who’s the tech director for a school system in Michigan. We got to chatting about the MacBook Neo. He’s seriously considering it to replace Chromebooks in his schools. Even with AppleCare, the cost’d be comparable — but with way less maintenance! 😯

I fancied myself a Text Replacement afficiando, but after this segment in the @mpu@relayfm.social interview of @davidpogue.com, I realize I’ve been an imposter this whole time. He’s reducing whole words and phrases down to single keystrokes! You can hear @stephenrobles@mastodon.social’s disbelief. 🤯 🎙️

Jason Snell has also latched onto the absurdity that the Studio Display has a more powerful chip than the MacBook Neo — but also has a wish:

It is something to think that the Studio Display has more computing power and memory than a MacBook Neo… and yet you can’t do anything with that. Wouldn’t it be nice if it did something, like maybe offer an Apple TV mode so you could watch videos on it without needing to attach a Mac?

As someone who’s thinking about putting one of these in their spare bedroom/office, I’d be delighted to have a dual-purpose TV solution in this monitor for guests to use.

Matt Birchler blew my mind when he noted (in his new A Better Computer solo podcast) that the MacBook Neo would have cost $399 in 2010 dollars. Why is that so significant? The original iPad, released that year, was $499. The sheer value in the Neo is astounding. 🎙️

Ever need to prevent your phone from going to sleep while you’re monitoring something onscreen? Just add this shortcut as button in Control Center. With one tap, it’ll bring you straight to the Auto-Lock pane in Settings where you can set it to never sleep, and then back to the previous app.

I really can’t fathom what led to the iPhone Mirroring app using this iPhone 4-era device icon. 🙄

A message on a screen with a notification saying “Timed Out.” It explains that iPhone Mirroring timed out due to iPhone use while connecting and advises to lock the iPhone before connecting. There is a blue “Connect” button below the text. The background shows a forest with tall trees and sunlight filtering through.

It’s been over a year since I mentioned it, so here’s a reiteration of my love for (new) Reeder as my Micro.blog timeline client of choice!

Just gotta reiterate that I love reading my social timeline (Micro.blog via [@sod](https://micro.blog/sod)’s experimental feeds) through the new Reeder app. Super fast, timeline position sync, great design and conversation view…it’s awesome!

A digital interface displays a conversation about an app called PhotoSync. Participants discuss its versatility for transferring photos. Background features abstract, colorful landscape art.

Now that’s a Mac-assed settings window!

Some updates to my PCalc scientific calculator!

Consider this the "new features that should have shipped last year" release. Includes some frequently requested things like woodworking fractions, support for the Indian numbering system for separators, and three new conversion categories, "Flow Rate", "Jewelry", and "Typography".

I've also tried to unify a lot of features that were only on iOS, or only on the Mac.

Mac:
pcalc.com/store/pcalcmac

Everything else:
pcalc.com/store/pcalc

Enjoy!

A screenshot of the theme settings window of PCalc, with arrows highlighting some of the new features.A screenshot of the conversions window of PCalc, with arrows highlighting some of the new categories.A screenshot of the key editing window of PCalc, with arrows highlighting the new image support.mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/116217403826097920

Stephen Hackett, 512pixels.net: ‘Tim Cook, on 50 Years of Apple’

As the company turns 50, its achievements should be celebrated, and its failures should be noted. Apple’s shortcomings in the world of politics, App Store policies, and more dim the company’s light. The value of its products is often the result of dedicated app developers doing their best work atop Apple’s platforms. In the world of big tech, I think Apple still leads in many areas, including privacy, environmental impact, and the not-so-simple matter of taste.

Well said, @ismh86@eworld.social.

The Verge: ‘You can now ask Google Maps ‘complex, real-world questions’ — and Gemini will answer’

Ask Maps lets you describe your plans conversationally, including as much or as little detail as you want, and Gemini will sift through your query to provide as detailed a response as you need, often using personal details you’ve provided through your past interactions with Google Maps.

I’ve been experimenting with Google Maps (its CarPlay interface is quite good), and will be interested to try this out.

But I’m more intrigued by the fully-redesigned map that’s coming too. Examples in the post.

We’ve no lack for simple blogging platforms lately!

And that’s just what I can name off the top of my head! Manu Moreale has a more complete list with not-so-simple ones too.

Just stumbled across @simonbc’s Jottit via @manton’s post. Very cool project — as is his tinypost.blog (example).

If you just need a place to quickly publish something to the open web, Jottit seems like an ideal tool.

Here’s my kicking-the-tires post: https://jottit.org/ro72tl