'Oh the Humanity'
John Gruber:
Nest is an obvious exception, but Tony Fadell had a very atypical career at Apple.
...
the Nest did exactly what it promised, very well... Most importantly, Nest's thermostat took aim at replacing existing dumb thermostats, which were terrible. Nest's product really was something like 10× better than what it aimed to disrupt.
We have a Nest thermostat, which we picked over the Hive. It is fantastic and at least 10x better than a dumb thermostat.
My only gripe is the learning aspect of the Nest never hits the sweet spot for us. Either it's on too much or not enough. Not sure it has the concept of 'feels like' rather than relying on the actual temperature. Then there's 'away' functionality which is pointless because I don't want to come home and have the heating turn on. I want it to shut off when noone is home but turn back on before I return.
But the reality is that even those gripes make it so much better than we had it before. I despised our dumb thermostat. Genuinely hated it. The Nest delights 9 times out of 10.
While I'm interested in Humane's AI Pin, I didn't see as a device I'd covet. It's in the same territory as Google Glass for me. Interesting, but not for me.
More on the EU's Market Might
John Gruber:
Why not mandate that Springboard — the Home Screen — be a replaceable component?
When I last used Android, my cheap (~£100) HTC Wildfire came with HTC's own Android skin which brought a lot of bloat with it. You could turn it off, which I did, giving you the stock Android experience which was far snappier.
Then they shipped an OS update that removed the option to disable it. I ended up finding a different tool in the Play Store to manage the OS interface which was better, but I shouldn't have needed to disable or replace the OS interface at all.
On technology, the EU are getting a lot wrong. Cookie banners are pointless when they just ask for permission; tracking individuals should be illegal.
Now the DMA seems to misunderstand the operating system's role in the experience of using a phone. The hardware components specifically (phone, camera/photos, volume/power buttons and authentication modules) should remain tied to the OS which then allows other apps to leverage them.
I actually couldn't tell you what they're trying to achieve right now. Whatever it is, it's not what they think it is and certainly not what users are crying out for.
If tracking was banned and that spelt the end for Meta in Europe, I wouldn't shed a single tear. If the DMA implementation means that Apple pulls back from the EU I'd be pretty upset about that and wouldn't willingly jump to Android (assuming Google decides to stick it out in Apple's absence). Maybe being in the UK will spare me that fate but they really need to get some more informed people involved who know what they're talking about.
Week 338: I should use my DSLR more
For context, here's the first photo I took of a tulip back in 2016. The angle isn't great, but best I could do to avoid a terrible background. Composition is still something I need to work on a lot, but while it has lots of bokeh and a shallow depth of field, I wouldn't say it was the best photo of a tulip.
Week 337: Selvedge Denim Update
Almost two years ago, I wrote about selvedge denim. At the time, I had just brought a fresh new pair of jeans that needed breaking in.
I didn't do anything extreme with them, just wore them quite a bit over the past two years. They've got great whiskers and signs of wear. Unfortunately the inner-thigh area has deteriorated to the point where they're in need of professional repair and I have just taken in a new pair.
I've settled on Uniqlo as the reasonably prices source and they hold up pretty well day to day. This is what they look like after 23 months of wear:
Failed with the monthly updates but this is what they look like 23 months in. New pair arrived today but going to wash those and start again… but also see if I can get these repaired so they live on for a bit longer.
View on twitter
I plan to get my 'old' pair repaired as RE:Uniqlo Studios are a thing where you can take your items to bring them back to life.
Nudie Jeans have a similar program and so do British jeans maker, Hiut Denim.
Week 336: The price of film stock in 2024
I have a Canon SLR at home with a range of Canon and Sigma lenses and have been thinking about making use of it. There's a bit of film left in the camera, but not much, so naturally my first thought was to finish the film and get it developed.
It doesn't feel like I stopped using film all that long ago. In reality it's about 15 years since I had a roll of film developed. Back then, it was easy to find a roll of film in pound shops and super markets.
Not anymore.
The last few rolls I had developed in an Asda super stores where they had dedicated counters for various photography goods. Before that, I believe it would have been either Bonusprint or Truprint but neither exist in an analogue format. The former has gone digital and the latter swallowed by Snapfish.
And so to Amazon to look for a cheap roll of film. The cheapest (that doesn't charge extra for delivery which inflates the overall price) is £7.99 for a 100 ISO roll, but it's
Unfortunately, I don't know what it would cost to get it all developed. Snappy Snaps seem to be the only high-street store in the UK still offering this service. I'll venture in and find out the price before buying any film because I'm guessing it won't be cheap.
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Week 335: Embossing ambitions
I have had a bit of a tough week (I might write about it at some point) so posting this pretty late on to keep the streak going.
Quite a while ago I came across this video about a rubber stamp shop in NYC, which looks like it's still going and it's somewhere I would love to visit.
One Of Every Porsche Road Car In One Place!
Hallelujah! Physical Buttons Could Make a Comeback Due to New Safety Regulations
The buttons on the dashboard of my car are close together with little separating them. They're more like toggles so I have to look at them as I would a digital button. The difference is that they consume 3D space so it's not just about tapping the right square, the square takes more space in the Z-index if we're talking about a 3D model and that alone makes it easy to use.
When it comes to something like a radio or AC controls that you might use often and build up muscle memory for then for me the physical world wins over the digital world here. Bring buttons back to cars.
The Ludacris Drink Champs episode
I've been a fan of Ludacris' music for years but towards the end of this interview he really cemented his place as an ultimately good force in the world of hip hop. You can watch the whole thing below or skip to
The only other episode I've watched all the way through is Pharrell on Drink Champs which is also worth a watch.
Week 334: Momento: the sports ticket scrapbook app
Every now and then, a new web app in the vein of Wordle comes along. On and off for a while now I've been playing Football Grid, a game where you guess the 9 different players who have played for a combination of two clubs or a club and a specific country.
I wanted to tweet a suggestion, only to find out the account had an app in the app store and I went to take a look.
Momento is a sports scrapbook that helps you keep track of the various games you have attended as a fan.
Vanishing Clock
via Kottke
Week 333: Cities at similar latitudes
Something I had long planned to look into was cities of at a similar latitude because it always surprises me when I stumble across the fact that New York is closer in latitude to where the Mediterranean is rather than somewhere like London. Given New York gets snow I would have expected it to be higher than it is. This tweet made me want to finally take a look at it:
It makes sense when you realize that Europe is closer in latitude to Canada. Florida is as far south as Egypt. That said, Canadians use 800 kWh so they're still higher than the Europeans on that list.
View on twitter
Week 332: 3 Months with Apple Fitness+
Included with my Apple Watch Ultra 2 was a trial of Apple Fitness+, I waited a little before getting it going, but was keen to see what the service was like.
Overall, it is a great service but for my own body I pushing myself too hard with longer workouts on my exercise bike. I've had to take a bit of a break but the plan is to get back on it tonight.
The trainers are all very good, instructions are clear and the on screen graphics help to push you along. The full integration between devices is brilliant, Apple have nailed it as a non-line coaching set up. I really enjoyed lots of the workouts I did and there were plenty that pushed me well out of my comfort zone too.
Things that were not so great with Apple Fitness+
Let's get the bad things out of the way, there aren't many.
My biggest annoyance was how things are filmed when a new move is introduced. For cycling you always see the leader's legs so matching their speed is up to you. For other workouts, like HIIT for example, you might feel like you're doing it right until the camera angle changes. Too many times I was too far gone in burst before realising I wasn't set up right.
My only other annoyance was around zone information when cycling. If you're doing a generic indoor cycling session, you get zone information which helps you understand how much effort you're putting in and I find motivating. When in an Apple Fitness+ session with a trainer you're often asked to 'go all out' but without the context of zones, I don't have much to go on. I think zones should be available in all cycling workouts or at least made an option.
Audio gripe
I do not understand the appeal of Spatial Audio with these workouts. My iPad or iPhone mounted on a bike, Spatial Audio makes it feel like everyone is a little further away. Maybe others find it useful and more immersive, but I found it pointless.
The great things about Apple Fitness+
The coaches are all enthusiastic. My favourite partners for riding were Bakari and Sherica. When Cory was in the room too, you know you're gonna have a good session. Wierdly, I found Cory a great partner for the room because he's always smiling and matched my rhythm more often than not.
Honestly, all the coaches were motivating and never let you down with a dull or pointless ride, but Bakari and Sherica were the best persona's for me. If you're using Apple FItness+, give them a go!
Being able to use your phone, your iPad or your TV (via the Apple TV app) made it a great option. Sometimes I'd take over the living room, other times I'd be zoned in with the iPad. Paired with an Apple Watch made it all seamless. With my various headphones it's great too. No need to worry about Spatial Audio, in my opinion and a recent update let you put more emphasis on the soundtrack. This helped me enjoy it all more because sometimes a great song comes on that get's you in the right frame of mind and this helped to stay there.
It's worth mentioning that they've done a lot of work to make sure you can do all sorts of work outs that are tailored to the equipment you have, even if that's none. It's pretty accessible even if you're not using a bike, treadmill or weights.
Being able to build a custom program is great and there are automated options to. Just tell it what kind of activities you want to do and your plan will be ready in seconds. I didn't always appreciate a notification saying 'there's still time' when it gets to about 7pm when I know I'm almost free from work and family duties to be able to work out, but the reminders did keep me on track and even if I was tired I did do something more often than not.
Is Apple Fitness+ worth it?
If you have the equipment at home, then it's pretty cost effective. Cheaper than Peloton, but I didn't realise they had free lessons. That would be a great move for Apple to introduce a subset of classes you could take but right now it's a paid experience no matter what.
I think it's worth the price. I need to figure some stuff out personally so that I'm not pushing myself harder than I should. Once I've done that it will be something I'm looking at diving back into.
Julius Caesar and Leap Days
I'm a day late on this. I only became aware of the ending in 00 & divisible by 400 during the last leap year which is odd to me given that one of the leap years in my life time was for the year 2000! Maybe we were all to pre-occupied with the Y2K bug to worry about leap days.
Apple Cancels Electric Car Project
When the next version of CarPlay was originally announced, it left me scratching my head:
If Project Titan (Apple's rumoured car project) is real, then Apple have struck an amazing deal here to be able to integrate with an unbelievable number of cars that will be hitting the road from late-2023 onwards.
Turns out both Aston Martin and Porsche announced right at the end of 2023 that cars with the new CarPlay integration were coming in 2024. I was personally surprised it happened because there seemed to be a bit of resistance to the announcement back in 2022.
This outcome seems best to me, Apple do great software and hardware and are the best at bringing both together. The premium cost for an Apple device are palatable because of their performance and longevity but Apple aren't going to sell a family car for family car money which limits it's reach.
The Apple Vision Pro might be very expensive now, but with time and great adoption, the price will surely come down to make it more accessible. That never happens in the car industry.
Week 331: Swift Playgrounds on the iPad Mini
As I mentioned previously, I am diving into SwiftUI at the moment. It's both enjoyable and frustrating. Working with PHP is very straightforward, in my opinion. Errors are obvious, configuration is easy enough and it's extremely well documented. Not that SwiftUI isn't, but I am not used to the same types of languages so there has been a learning curve.
I don't know if it makes it harder or if the form factor is irrelevant, but I am learning mostly on my iPad Mini. The device is capable but the on screen keyboard makes it tough. You can only see a handful of lines of code and the previews are mostly obscured if writing an app or working on the preset Playgrounds.
Introducing Apple Sports, a new app for sports fans
I'm building my own, Liverpool specific, app at the moment using SwiftUI so the timing is terrible. Apple Sports in almost unbelievably basic when compared to Apple News, but it is content rich once you drill down into games.
My app is for a single club, so a smaller niche. I'll keep building anyway, it's useful for me if no one else.
Week 330: Revisiting the world of DHTML in 2024
My first adventures with web development involved devouring DHTML books from the library and constantly browsing online for how these elements worked and interacted together. There was a good topic on DHTML from the past on HTML Hell over Christmas.
Week 329: Yamaha YHT-1840 Review
Having recently upgraded our home theatre system, I shared the Yamaha YHT-1840 on Good Gear Club and thought it was worth a little more of an in-depth look here.
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