Published stuff

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Apple Intelligence. For Stuff, I wrote that Apple Intelligence is very Apple but not very intelligent. And for TapSmart, I ask: Are Apple Intelligence writing, notification and photo tools all they’re cracked up to be?

Thinking about it, I probably should have written those in the opposite order above, since one headline answers the other. Anyway, there is some good stuff in Apple Intelligence, and I’m glad Apple is being deliberate and cautious rather than stamping on creators’ faces. But I can’t help but feel all this effort could be put to better use – and that what this entire industry is delivering isn’t coming close to matching user expectations.

Elsewhere on Stuff, I made everyone feel old by celebrating the Nintendo DS’s 20th. I also updated the best upcoming Lego sets piece.

For TapSmart, I wrote about 16 iPhone apps that are even better on iPad and detailed how I’m using Reminders as my go-to to-do app.

Other stuff

On her Young Vulgarian blog, Marie Le Conte wrote an excellent piece on (some) people’s need to post on social media. For me, it’s always been about human connection. As someone who’s worked from home for well over 20 years, social networking has – at its best – been a great way to feel less isolated.

Where I diverge a little from Le Conte’s take is in her thinking on Meta. She argues that Threads is struggling because Meta didn’t take into account the “posting middle classes” and their needs. I just think Meta can’t help but be anything other than itself. So Threads wants to be different, but Meta’s culture forces it to be little more than another Facebook.

It was notable to see Meta’s Adam Mosseri reveal that the algorithm is being shaken up, presumably because people are getting tired of For You being full of engagement bait. But the ‘rebalancing’ he spoke of only served to annoy people who like For You as it is – and those who hate it. The solution is to give people the option in Threads to default to a chronological feed – or an algorithmic feed of their choosing. But Meta has never been about letting you see what you want to see. Meta wants you to see what it wants you to see.