New options for Ambient Sounds? I don’t remember all these in iOS before. I’ve always been a ‘Rain’ guy myself, but might have to try something new tonight.
Speaking of deals, my sister put me onto this one. A $250 solar-powered bird feeder with smart identification camera for just $80 after a $170 discount code (70ZCYUN7). There’s probably something terribly wrong with it, but I’ve wanted to try one, so I guess I’ll find out! Coupon expires Dec 18.
Ugly!? These are just gorgeous.
Ugly Christmas Sweater Wallpapers 🎄🎅🏻
https://basicappleguy.com/basicappleblog/ugly-christmas-sweater-wallpapers
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If you’ve got a holiday party or gathering coming up, Nanoleaf’s Essentials Matter Smart Holiday String Lights will help set the mood without putting a dent in your wallet. Typically $119.99, right now, the 65-foot string lights are only $44.99 at Best Buy, which is significantly cheaper than they were on Black Friday and a new all-time low.
Damn, now that’s a good deal!
The sky from the other evening was unreal. I can’t get enough of imposing cloud shapes. 📷
One of the best pieces of writing advice is not to overuse the word “that.” If a sentence still makes sense without it, don’t put it in. It’s glorious.
I needed to hear that.
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It won’t cost you a thing, but that simple phrase sends $5 to your most recent Amazon delivery person and will ultimately require the company to pay its fleet of US drivers an extra $10,000,000. The return of Amazon’s tipping program began a few days ago and will continue until it gathers two million thank yous. You can also type “thank my driver” in the search bar on amazon.com or the shopping app.
Very cool! Just did it.
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I fear this one will feel very real.
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A Threads user, Kevin Beaumont, shared screenshots of Adam Mosseri’s account on the Mastodon client Ivory, and on Mastodon, Beaumont shared screenshots of following Mosseri’s Threads account from his Mastodon account. It’s happening!
Good on Meta for making good on their promise. I can’t wait for all this stuff to work together.
So Apple has done real emoji Tapback-style reactions...
...for collaborative playlists in iOS 17.3 🙃
Can we have these in iMessage too, please?
Hard to overstate how pointed this feels after all the consternation about emojis/tapbacks in Messages. Hopefully the Messages team will get the (heh) message that this is a way better solution.
It’s winter again, so it’s time to remind you that you’re doing yourself a disservice if you live somewhere snowy and don’t have one of these. You’ll be glad you don’t have to stretch across the car anymore and other drivers will be glad you actually pushed all the snow off your roof before driving.
My Subaru’s software updated this morning (lol) and they did a great job with it. More stuff can be done with just one tap on the screen (seat warmers and other climate controls), and they unburied the Auto Vehicle Hold from the car settings. Total win.
Won’t someone think of the Apple Store Geniuses?
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For especially sensitive actions, including changing the password of the Apple ID account associated with the iPhone, the feature adds a security delay on top of biometric authentication. In these cases, the user must authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID, wait one hour, and authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID again. However, Apple said there will be no delay when the iPhone is in familiar locations, such as at home or work.
My first thought regarding this bit is that it’s sure going to slow things down at the Apple Store, where password resets are very common support issues. I’m guessing that Apple has thought this through, though, and has a solution. The online self-service tool, for example, might not require a time delay or biometrics, which might be damaged.
And if not, well, that’s why this will be an opt-in feature.
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What’s odd about this story is that you have two sides completely at odds, both saying entirely correct things. Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky has been telling anyone who will listen that SMS is insecure, that Apple is doing its users a disservice by requiring them to use such old and crummy tech to communicate with the vast majority of the world’s smartphone users, and that Beeper’s solution is both a better user experience and a better privacy solution. […]
But here’s another way to look at it […]: Who the hell is Beeper? This tiny company has effectively hacked a closed protocol, and now millions of iPhone users are potentially having their messages handled by a company they’ve never heard of. What’s worse, since they’re sending blue-bubble messages, those users will assume they’re sending encrypted messages through a trusted source — Apple — and they’ll never know about this intermediary that promises it’s trustworthy, but who really knows?
David’s piece here is a nuanced look at what’s happening with Beeper, and echos my thoughts on why it’s difficult to choose a side here.
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It still costs the same $15.99 per month that you’d pay anywhere else, but the key benefit is that you can stream Max shows and movies right from YouTube itself after subscribing — no need to open the Max app anymore.
I wonder if they’ll go back to being an Apple TV Channels partner too. That was the best HBO/Max experience so far with it all in the TV app.
Spent most of the day with the power out, but luckily our wood-burning stove was up to the task of keeping us warm enough. Even got out to play in the snow a bit, making a snow penguin and tossing snowballs for the pup! ❄️
Late, but not forgotten!
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In late May, Wedel became the first ovarian cancer survivor to summit Everest. Her team raised more than half a million dollars for research, but she says hearing from other cancer survivors might have been the best part of the experience. For instance, one woman said she followed Jess’ journey while in the hospital completing her own treatment; watching Jess gave her strength and hope to keep going. For Jess, having that impact is an honor.
Jess was my guide up Rainier, and she was an inspiration there too!
Things feel a little better in the world after a long-overdue airing of the grievances about the Apple TV interface from @hotdogsladies@mastodon.social and @siracusa@mastodon.social on RecDiffs. It’d sure been feeling off-kilter over here. 🎙️
IKEA's blue *FRAKTA* shopping bags are one of life's low-key power tools. They fold ridiculously small, so they can live unobtrusively in places like automobiles or even other bags, like suitcases. Because, some day you may suddenly wish you had *freaking nineteen gallons* of extra bag with you.
Slipping one into a suitcase is next-level genius.
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We wanted [the] guidelines [to serve as] temporary scaffold to support your writing without causing distraction. The design had to reflect the core spirit of iA Writer: simple, clean, uncluttered. The use of ink had to be exclusively reserved for the owner’s handwritten text. After exploring different approaches, the decision to adopt delicate watermark guidelines became clear, even though its implementation demands high technical expertise and attention to detail.
Is this a bit much? Yes. But does it reflect a software company’s core principle made physical? Also yes.
🆕📝 Crashing Clockwise #532: ‘Oh, My Poor Nose!’
In which I shamelessly bum off the Clockwise podcast (one of my favs) for blogging ideas.
🆕📝 Letters with Austin #1, December 2023
It’s a new month, which means a new pen pal to chat with!
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Imagine having to use not one, but two or three extensions just to make any other app work the way it’s supposed to. Imagine having to click on cookie banners every time you open a new Finder window. Imagine the Instagram app becoming slow or behaving differently on some account pages. Imagine your email client obstructing your view with a banner when you write back to someone. Imagine your text editor looking like this.
I don’t necessarily agree that all web browsers are shit. But he paints an evocative scene.
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Project Ellmann […] will take users’ search results and photos to […] present a “bird’s-eye” approach to a person’s life. […] For example, the “college” chapter or the “becomes a parent” chapter. People could use Ellmann to ask questions like “did I have a pet,” or “when did my sibling last visit.”
Personally, […] I have a good enough memory of my life that I wish I could forget certain moments.
My memory is terrible so I could use this but the method makes me supremely uncomfortable.