I gotta say, I’m excited for Apple’s Writing Tools when Apple Intelligence rolls out later this year. I’ll probably rely on the Proofread option more than anything. I use Grammarly now, but it’s so distracting and I don’t enjoy it.

But at the moment, my only AI-capable device is my Mac…

🔗 Humane’s daily returns are outpacing sales // Kylie Robison // theverge.com

Between May and August, more AI Pins were returned than purchased, according to internal sales data obtained by The Verge. By June, only around 8,000 units hadn’t been returned, a source with direct knowledge of sales and return data told me. As of today, the number of units still in customer hands had fallen closer to 7,000, a source with direct knowledge said.

A meme of a scared-looking Scooby-Doo gulping, captioned “Ruh roh”.

🔗 Apple’s permissions features are out of balance // Jason Snell // sixcolors.com

Apple’s recent feature changes suggest a value system that’s wildly out of balance, preferring to warn (and control) users no matter how damaging it is to the overall user experience. Maybe the people in charge should be forced to sit down and watch that Apple ad that mocks Windows Vista. Vista’s security prompts existed for good reasons—but they were a user disaster. The Apple of that era knew it.

Oh how I love a spicy take! (Emphasis is mine.)

Long days in the mountains are always good days in the mountains! Thanks Lewis family for all the laughs! 📷

Four people standing closely on a wooden path surrounded by dense, green foliage in a forested area under bright sunlight Four people rest on a rocky surface in a forest two seated on backpacks one standing holding a snack and jacket and another eating while sitting on the ground Tree branches with green leaves frame a view of a clear blue sky with a few clouds in a forest setting. Person hiking in mountainous terrain touching a rock while ascending a path surrounded by dense green forest and distant mountain range under a blue sky with scattered clouds. A woman sits on a large rock protruding from a mountain cliff overlooking an expansive forest valley with distant mountain ranges under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. Four people standing on a large rocky outcrop overlook a vast green forest with mountain ranges in the distance and a partly cloudy sky. A hiker stands on a rocky path holding a walking stick in a mountainous area surrounded by green shrubs with vast hills and a blue sky in the background. A cluster of vibrant blue flower buds growing among green grasses and leafy plants in a natural outdoor setting. Four people stand on a rocky mountain peak near a stack of stones beneath a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. The person second from the left wears a shirt that reads DO EPIC SH*T Person standing on a large rock looking at distant mountain ranges under a blue sky filled with scattered clouds. Five people stand on a rocky mountain summit, posing for a photo with one person making a peace sign. Bright sky with scattered clouds and distant mountain ridges in the background. Woman holding hiking poles on a rock next to a beaver dam by a calm river bordered by lush green mountains with a clear blue sky. She is wearing a “Go Epic” T-shirt. Two people sit on a large rock giving thumbs up next to a calm lake surrounded by evergreen trees with mountains and clear blue sky in the background Person walking on a bridge at night in a forest wearing a headlamp with additional lights visible in the background. Stars scattered across a dark night sky with silhouettes of tree branches visible at the bottom creating a serene and quiet atmosphere.

🆕📝 You (And I) Can Do Hard Things

An important reminder for today and every day. #Blaugust2024

🆕📝 I was wrong about the AirPods Max Smart Case

It's really not so bad. Might be good?

It seems that if I happen to stay up until midnight, I’m very likely to stay up until at least 1 a.m. 😣

🆕📝 Crashing Clockwise #565: ‘Friendship Dots’

Blogging fodder on Find My friendship or foe-ship, un-upgraded tech, Siri's second coming, tech travel lessons, time spent abroad, and AI friendship or foe-ship. #Blaugust2024

Jason Sattler, writing for FrameLab, gets so close to jumping on the POSSE train in suggesting that campaigns deprioritize X in order to sap its power and influence:

Go “Twitter Last." Campaigns from Harris for President on down should clarify that they will post to Twitter only after updating other platforms. Steering the media away from Twitter helps democracy. Announcing you will make news elsewhere will send reporters and users to these other platforms, as will every announcement the media makes that says, “As the campaign noted on BlueSky…” etc. Political strategist Murshed Zaheed calls this going “Twitter Last.” A huge announcement – like naming a vice presidential nominee – would be a great time to try this strategy.

I know news outlets don’t feel like they can leave X, but this seems like a good strategy to ween themselves off. But instead of pointing to other social networks as where the news breaks, I suggest campaigns post to their own websites first and then share the link.

(Via Jason Kottke)

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#149]

Just your recommended weekly dose of weblinks! #Blaugust2024

🔗 One Task Minded // gregmorris.co.uk // Greg Morris

That not to say your iPad can’t do much more, and you’re thinking how stupid I am for not having Stage Manager float windows all over my screen, so I can edit videos and listen to background music. I think it’s remarkable that a tablet, albeit a ridiculously expensive one, can be all of these things to different people — but mine is just a full window machine, thank you very much.

My iPad is my favorite writing machine. I use multitasking, but not that often. Likewise to Greg, Stage Manager is too much for how I want to get stuff done here.

🆕📝 Belatedly Grading My Predictions for Apple’s May ‘Let Loose’ iPad Event

It didn't feel right that I never got around to reviewing how I did with my guesses. #Blaugust2024

🆕📝 Overcast’s 10th Anniversary Update

I'm sympathetic to Marco's reasoning behind and results of the foundational rewrite, I still love using Overcast, and, yes, I have some likes, dislikes, and wishes. #Blaugust2024

🆕📝 The Waterhole

Kicking off #Blaugust2024 with a post about one of my favorite places in town.

I finally buckled down and put in the work for the task looming over me for the past month. I’ll probably have to do more to it, but I think I got 85% of the way there tonight. 🤞

My reward? The next big, scary task on the to-do list. But it’s at least, I think, not as big, nor as scary. #LeapYear

Currently reading: Alone on the Wall by Alex Honnold 📚

I’ve read this before, but am enjoying it a second time (as an audiobook this time). Honnold’s soloing and character might not be for everyone, but I appreciate his zero-bullshit demeanor and respect the hell out of his passion for climbing. If you want to know why he solos, it’s hard to beat going straight to the source.

You know how sometimes you look forward to a rainy day because it gives you an excuse to do all the things you’ve neglected at home? But then Mother Nature pulls a fast one and it’s actually a super nice day out and you’re so tempted to go outside and play? Today was one of those days.

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#148]

Apps, music, some hot (but good) takes, and even a gadget. This issue's got it all!

🆕📝 Summer PenPals with Justin and Steve

Chatting with Justin and Steve has been so nice, even if I've been slacking as the host.

I just updated my ‘Generate Alt Text with OpenAI Vision’ shortcut to version 1.2:

  • Updated to use the gpt-4o model (the gpt-4-vision-preview model is being deprecated by OpenAI)
  • Substituted a simple ‘Copy to Clipboard’ as the final action instead of ‘Stop and Output’ because it was creating new text files in the file system for users running it as a Quick Action
  • Updated the instructional prompt to try to cut down on unnecessarily wordy transcriptions

Get it from the HeyDingus Shortcuts Library.

Working moves on Roaches tonight. Devilishly tricky crux, and the top out remains thoughtful. 🧗 📷

Person climbing rock face wearing a green helmet and blue shirt looking at camera cliff edge with trees and a road in the background

Guides’ day off with @andrew_jarvis05 at Poke-O-Moonshine. We snagged a couple of fun onsights in perfect weather (The Sting, 5.8+ for me). Thanks for showing me around, can’t wait to go back! 📷

Climber scaling a vertical rock face in a forested area with dense green foliage and rocky ground below

Climber scaling a steep rock face attaching gear to a rope in a lush, green forest setting below.

A climber wearing a helmet and safety gear ascends a steep rock face while gripping holds and using a rope gripped between their teeth in a forested area with green foliage below.

A rock climber ascends a vertical rock face gripping it tightly wearing protective gear surrounded by a forested area with visible green trees and rocky ground beneath them

Climber ascends a steep rock face gripping a handhold wearing safety gear including a helmet and harness in a forested area.

Climber ascends a steep rock face secured by a rope against a backdrop of a clear blue sky with wispy clouds.

Climber ascending a steep rock face with safety ropes against a clear blue sky with scattered clouds.

It tickles me that I often learn country-shaking news first from That Gay Guy Candle Company. The assassination attempt on Trump, and now Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris are two of the most recent that I discovered from TGGCC in my email inbox. (Their store is chock full of great designs, btw.)

Email with the subject Kamala Harris 2024 from That Gay Guy Candle Co. includes text endorsing Harris for the election.

🔗 Google solves its Pixel 9 Pro leaks by just showing the phone early // Jay Peters // theverge.com

Google has revealed the Pixel 9 Pro following a series of leaks that revealed the phone in great detail, including hands-on videos and comparisons to other recent devices.

A smartphone camera module with three lenses and a flash is mounted on the upper-left corner of a sleek metallic phone against a dark background.

Image credit: Google

I’ve been a fan of the Pixel’s camera bar design for years, but this just looks all wrong. Weird proportions, and it really should be a round-rect.

On the plus side, if Google’s design looks this bad now, I think it opens the door for Apple to do a better version without it being a rip-off. 🙏

🔗 Everybody’s Free (To Write Websites) — Sara Joy

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your site. The most interesting websites don’t even have an introduction, never mind any blog posts. Some of the most interesting web sites I enjoy just are.

What fun! Sara’s excellent blog post is further enhanced by Robb’s and Keenan’s video/voiceover shenanigans. Love it. 🧡