Weeknote: 11 January 2025 – weird tech, Halide, Threads is dead, and Lego scanners

In my Stuff column this week, I wrote about how CES 2025 showcased that tech and gadgets are still weird and bonkers, not boring. This was a reaction to us being a week and change into 2025 and some folks already banging on about how dull the tech landscape is. But that’s only the case when you spend all your time gawping at black rectangles.
I wrote a Halide guide for TapSmart to help newcomers get started with this pro-oriented camera for iPhone and iPad. I’m surprised the default iOS camera hasn’t eaten the lunch of these pro-grade camera apps yet. Perhaps Apple is keen to keep things simple. Or at least relatively so. (Note that Halide isn’t tricky to use, but more features = more features.)
It’s cold in the UK. With daytime highs below freezing, I’m now at the point where two pairs of socks and lined slippers aren’t enough to stop my feet from being in pain, even inside a heated house. Getting older sucks.
Threads is dead to me. That network too often felt like a gaslighting exercise. Threads head Adam Mosseri would patiently explain why the network wouldn’t implement certain features. But when Bluesky gained traction, suddenly Threads lined up many of the things Mosseri previously dismissed. And now Zuckerberg is licking Trump’s boots and obliterating meaningful protections for those that need them, Threads can suddenly push political content, because the network is all about ‘free expression’. Sure. In the sense of throwing the vulnerable under a bus.
It’s also disappointing because Threads promised to federate and this could have been a great step towards decentralised social media. At least Mastodon mods who pre-emptively blocked Threads can now justifiably say, “We told you so”.
I won’t be deleting my social media accounts. I’m not keen on removing information from the internet. There are too many broken links as it is. But I also don’t see any way back for certain networks, and so will focus on the good ones. Right now, that’s Mastodon and Bluesky. If you want to get in touch for some reason, I’m active on both.
I used a Lego minifig scanner and it worked. I like Lego and write about it for Stuff. I despise blind buys. But I always want a few minifigs from each collectable line. That’s a problem. But you can now scan QR codes to see what’s inside a box. Which for me meant no wasted money and being able to support my local toy store rather than buying already opened figures on eBay or Bricklink. Win-win.