What I got up to this week…

Published stuff

For my Stuff column this week, I grumbled about the robotic and prescriptive nature of streaks in I lost my Apple Watch streak – here’s why it should have more humanity. Judging by the response on social media, I’m far from alone in this. It’s quite something how systems designed to engage and maintain interest lack the flexibility to avoid making people instantly demoralised – not least since, as I note, games creator Eugene Jarvis solved this problem in 1980 (and the third-party iPhone Streaks app has solved it today). Elsewhere for Stuff, I updated its list of upcoming Lego sets. Banchu the Bunny looks the business.

Over at TapSmart, Soulver is the latest entry in my classic apps series. I also bring my five-minute wonders up to date and ask What is the point of Apple Vision Pro, and who is it really for?

Upcoming stuff

I’m still surrounded by boxes. For Stuff, I’m digging into interesting hardware. One item is an audio controller unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. It resembles a games controller from 1983. And I also have a massive pen display, which mini-G (8) fell in love with and asked if we could buy. Sorry, kid. Have an Apple Pencil and Procreate instead.

Other stuff

Mini-G’s birthday is imminent and so we decided to get her a Switch. I’m true to form in this, buying a console as it nears end of life. But I’m sure we’ll love it. What I didn’t love was the process of setting the thing up. I think I’ll write a quick second piece on that though…

The UK’s still an oven. But I’ve heroically managed to avoid melting and managed to smash words into shape over the past seven days…

Published stuff

Apple Vision Pro has unsurprisingly impacted on my work. Not in the sense of first-hand experience (I wasn’t one of the lucky few whisked out to WWDC), but in terms of the device’s wider impact. For TapSmart, I outline ways in which lessons drawn from the Vision Pro interface could make iPhone and iPad feel alive again. And over at Stuff, I head ten years into the future, with ‘How Apple’s Apple Vision vision came to pass after WWDC33’.

For TapSmart, I also explored whether you should install Apple’s 2023 betas and wrote up my pick of the best music players for iPhone. (If you’d like to support our work there, please consider subscribing to our iPhone indie mag, Swipe.) And for Stuff, I celebrated the 45th anniversary of Space Invaders with a touch of snark and a look back at some of the best sequels.

If you like that piece, also check out my article on the upcoming Space Invaders Quarter Arcades (Stuff) and my interview with the game’s creator, Tomohiro Nishikado (Wired).

Upcoming stuff

I currently exist in a world of boxes as I work on pieces for Stuff. Very early next week, my Mac Studio review should go live. The Studio a lovely desktop unit, which 99% of people absolutely don’t need. For the 1%, however, it’s compelling – and my review unit was noticeably quieter than last year’s M1 Max model. That said, it’s odd to me these days when a Mac isn’t silent when idling.

I’m also about to delve into pieces on kit for creativity, specifically illustration/design and music-making. Given that these pieces demanding new (well, newish) hardware, this one’s been challenging. Release schedules for graphics tablets and MIDI keyboards are hardly hectic. And in the music realm, it’s strange how certain companies make it almost impossible to get in touch with them. (Hey, Akai! If you’re reading this, please email me…)

Other stuff

Having been mostly WFH for over 20 years, I place a lot of value in online communities. They can keep you sane when you’re otherwise working alone. But lately, it really does feel like the heart is being torn out of such places by rich white men with the temperament of spoiled toddlers.

Twitter was the first to go, with Musk making good on his promise to relegate to ‘spam’ any input from those who wouldn’t pay. My ‘For You’ feed is now at least 50% AI grifters and Tory MPs. And the number of posts from people I enjoyed hearing from has dropped precipitously. Mastodon, alas, has not filled the void, since only a smallish fraction of folks I know made the jump – but it (for me, at least) has been a largely pleasant experience. I am on BlueSky also, but have no idea what to do with that.

Reddit’s rapid implosion, though, has hit me hard. I ended up spending more time there after Twitter went splat, and crafted a great feed of uplifting and fun content. So of course a rich idiot CEO decided to set fire to everything. A long-time friend and colleague suggested with Twitter I’m finally at the acceptance stage – and I think that’s true. With Reddit, I suspect I’m pinging back and forth between anger and bargaining. Here’s hoping whatever comes next will be decentralised to the degree that one rich white guy can’t bring it all tumbling down on a whim.

Having nearly melted yesterday, I am now hiding from the sun and typing these words.

Published stuff

Over at Stuff, I wrote Dashboard is reborn in macOS Sonoma. Apple: bring back these lost Mac features too. It’s a listicle, but a… not entirely conventional one, as you might expect from me.

TapSmart reprinted my round-up of best calculator apps for iPhone and iPad, along with a piece exploring why sideloading was not announced at WWDC23.

For my blog, I also published a short piece on passport control and the folly of Brexit.

Other stuff

As per the blog post above, I recently spent a week or so in Spain. We were in the south east, which was mostly sunny, fairly warm, and suffering from a plague of what appeared to be a fusion of mosquitos and terrifying flying demons from a B-list horror movie. Still: a nice trip, bar the bites.

Back in the UK, after the relentlessly grey year so far, I wasn’t sure what to expect. So an actual summer came as a surprise, not least when it almost hit 30 degrees yesterday (86°F if there are any Americans reading). At which point we quickly found how ineffective “leaving a window open” is. Oh well. I imagine it’ll be chilly and rainy again soon enough (it’s already very grey today), and so we should enjoy the heat while it’s here.

I’m also mulling over tech, mostly for the child. She turns 9 soon and so we’re thinking of finally getting a Switch. But she’s also a voracious reader and so on holiday ran out of books in about eleven seconds. So we may well soon grab a Kindle for the first time in years. Pretty soon, this entire house will be mostly comprised of mobile rectangular screens…

In recent weeknotes, I’d mentioned taking a break. That’s because our family for the first time in three years had a proper holiday. It was quite surreal actually leaving the UK once again.

But it was also sobering. This is the first time since Brexit I’d experienced a split queue at passport control. My wife and daughter, both with EEA passports, zoomed through the fast lane, while I waited in the queue specifically labelled for Brits, in a tiny airport. (I’m aware that in some cases, passport control allows families to go through together, but that seems pretty random. I erred on the side of caution.)

To the credit of the Spanish passport officers, they got the Brits through at speed. They were terrifyingly efficient. Even so, there was grumbling in the queue. “Why are we made to queue up?” moaned one person. Another offered: “Brexit. We’re not allowed through the fast queue now.” Rumbles of discontent followed, before one person piped up with: “I think it’s good. At least I get a stamp in my passport now”. Staggeringly, he wasn’t joking. He was proud. Fortunately, he appeared to be in a minority.

I reached the front, felt glum as my passport was stamped, said “gracias” and went to rejoin my family. In the grand scheme of things, this wasn’t important – spending an extra 15 minutes in a queue. Brexit has caused far worse problems. The world has far greater issues. But it was nonetheless a stark reminder of how the most stupid decision a country could possibly collectively make has ramifications that are both big and small.

Having been staring out of the window at some clouds, one floated by that looked just like a weeknote. Or something. So I will now write this week’s…

Published stuff

My Stuff column this week is Air today, obsolete tomorrow? But my ancient iPad still has value. This looks at Apple adding the first iPad Air to its list of obsolete devices, and how vital I still find mine as a gateway to the early days of App Store games.

Speaking of, the superb Space Invaders Infinity Gene is the latest addition to my classic apps series over at TapSmart/Swipe, for which I’ve also written a toolkit feature on how to navigate the world.

Upcoming stuff

I’ve been getting back into Duolingo, for an article that will explore 30 days with the product, much like the one I wrote about Yousician.

So far, I’ve been enjoying the experience, despite Duolingo’s somewhat user-hostile free tier. But I do fear I’m one of those people who can read and translate well, but who then finds languages vanish without a trace the second recall is needed.

Beyond that, I’ll soon be digging into music and digital creativity pieces for Stuff. Proper home turf, there, and I remain constantly amazed by how much you can do these days with even modest hardware.

Other stuff

During my week off, I think I learned how to relax again. In part, that was down to not having to even think about work at all, rather than doing that typical thing of doing a ‘bit’ of work now and again, and thereby keeping the work and stress brain active. Another lesson for the future.