Universities should act like universities
This is the quote Kottke shared from M. Gessen:
This is my radical proposal for universities: Act like universities, not like businesses. Spend your endowments. Accept more, not fewer students. Open up your campuses and [bring] education to communities. Create a base. Become a movement.
Cannot get behind this enough. For the past 4 years or so, I have been volunteering my time at two universities, multiple times a year. For one I am an alumni and for the other, I'm considered an "expert". It's not only rewarding on a personal level, but I hope it is rewarding to those students who get input from people with real industry experience. I'm coming up to 20 years now and there some that are a year into their journey and others that are even more seasoned than I am in their professions. We each bring different experiences but ultimately we are giving these students and the university access to a wider community.
Week 390: Our favourite card games
Just after lock down, we got into board and card games and I wanted to share a few that we've played a lot over the past couple of years.
UNO & UNO Extreme
Uno is a game that has been around for over 50 years and spawned
But then we upgraded to Uno Extreme which comes with a device that randomly throws out 0-8 cards rather than you picking up from the pile. Highly recommend it as a table top alternative to Uno or just a different way to play the game.
We've seen there are many more versions, but these are the two I've played and we've enjoyed as a family.
Skip Bo
We were introduced to Skip No a couple of years ago and it's a card game for when you have a bit more time.
To make it a bit friendlier for kids, I sometimes play it with the cards openly on display so that they we can see each other's thinking, dilemmas and advantages but it didn't take long before we were keeping our cards to ourselves again.
Monopoly Deal
This is probably the family's favourite at the moment. It's fast paced and everyone is involved and strategising throughout. It's harder to win from a loosing position, but not impossible. It is Monopoly at it's core and yet it's played so differently to the board game.
I'd say Monopoly Deal is tied with Skip Bo as my favourite games but Uno and Uno Extreme are not far behind at all. You can get
What card games are you playing?
This Is What a Digital Coup Looks Like
Carol Cadwalladr sums up the situation of The Guardian partnering with OpenAI:
it married its rapist
Strong words, but what a way to describe the AI landscape right now. Companies gathering all they can for free and then charging a fee to see how a computer might put that content back together in answer to a question.
The more AI invades my life, the more I see value, but there is an ethical side that is just not being taken seriously.
AI may be doing more harm than good right now. It's energy intensive, it's built upon theft and you can't trust that it's output will be correct. Maybe no one cares about those first two points, but if you're not fact checking it's output then you are not using the tool correctly.
Governments should not be caving into AI companies, arguably they should not even be using AI until it is more energy efficient and it is free from bias (impossible?).
Algorithms have their own problems, as many social media companies have confirmed, but I prefer algorithms that can be explained over a tool that is wholly based upon the theft.
Week 389: Post-X Social Media
I have exactly 1 reason to keep my account active over on X but there's nothing else there for me and overall, my move from X to Bluesky has been pretty good all around. I am using social media less for one and following more visually artistic content.
It is possible that I spend more time on YouTube than other platforms now that I think about it.
I'm not one that struck a chord and amassed a following, I'm fully aware I'm shouting into the void most of the time. So bringing my usage down in any way is great.
Are you still on X? Are using social media less, or maybe differently?
Music DNA
Week 388: World Cup 2026 Host City Themes
On YouTube over the past month, FIFA have been sharing songs for each of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup.
Let's take a second to wonder exactly how well it's going to be given Trump's presidency. Canada and Mexico must be wondering how they're going to get through it and we'll all be wondering how smoothly it will be run. Given we've had the last two World Cups in Russia and Qatar, it's strange that this one might actually be the most politically sensitive one in recent times.
To be clear, Russia and Qatar should not have staged the World Cup and in truth, if FIFA was not a corrupt organisation, it would remove the US as a host.
But back to the music. Each of the 16 songs released, one for each host city, has been tailored by a producer. The brief was to take the
The standalone theme is fine but the Philadelphia remix by DJ Jazzy Jeff is my favourite of the bunch and each comes with it's own music video too. I'd embed it, but FIFA have disabled the ability to do so.
Apple Hit With $162 Million Fine Over App Tracking Transparency
WTF, France? From the economic bloc that lead to the creation of cookie banners, they are mad at Apple for showing a prompt that asks if the user would like to preserve their privacy or not?!
The investigation was launched in 2021 following a complaint lodged by a coalition of French advertising trade associations, including Alliance Digitale and the Internet Advertising Syndicate.
Has this coalition also lodge complaints with the plague of cookie banners we've been subjected to for years now? If not, why not?
They should really be looking at why this pop up is necessary, not why it might be frustrating.
Adolescence trailer
Everyone is, rightfully, raving about Adolescence. The fact each episode was filmed in one shot blew my mind.
Once you've watch it, come back for some insight from Stephen Graham and this behind the scenes from Netflix is great if you're interested in how they pulled it all of.
Week 387: Safari Only
After upgrading to a new MacBook Pro a few months ago, I have stuck to using just Safari as my web browser. It's been fine.
Developer tools are still not on par with Chromium browsers, but totally useable.
Tab Groups are good, I was already using them on my old MacBook, but I use them for specific scenarios and then they get forgotten.
I've adopted Compact tabs in Safari, which is fine, but the browser bar can become too small to be useful. Works great on a Mac and an iPad but its not for me on the iPhone.
I now use Extensions but sparingly. I am not deep into it an to be honest, I don't want to be.
The one browser exception
I only needed a separate browser once, and that was to test scroll driven animations which have actually just come to the Safari Technology Preview, but at the time I opted for Firefox. I knew if I downloaded Chrome I'd give in and make it my default, but my decision means Safari still comes first.
So on all my personal devices, I'm now using Safari and not hating it.
Taking photos with trash
Via Studio Notes.
Week 386: 800-years of Indigo
Selvedge denim remains my to choice for jeans, I wrote about them three years ago and to this day still rely on my Uniqlo denim for daily wear.
That post featured an article from Business Insider that explained why the denim can be so expensive and they recently put out a video on the 800-year-old process of indigo dying:
It's always interesting to see these ways of creating materials, products and components all by hand and in a way that could easily be lost if someone didn't see the value in preserving how it's donw.
All of their
Can You Fool A Self Driving Car?
If it's a Tesla, then yes. They took the decision to drop LiDAR around 4-years ago. Cameras, not matter how hi-definition, are never going to be enough.
However Tesla / Elon wish to spin it, cost cutting is probably at the route of it all. Full self driving is still a dream at this point and it will remain a dream until the right hardware is deployed to make it safe.
FSD in a Tesla is a lie.
Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino
Stunning takedown by John Gruber of the state of Apple with regards to Apple Intelligence.
I'm not in the same racket as him, but a few weeks ago I did my own post to see if is Apple Intelligence any good? Of the fetaures available, out of 5 I looked at only 1 was any good to me. Safe to say Apple Intelligence is low in usefulness and completeness. I also gave Apple the benefit of not having yet released a more integrated Siri, but I am not privy to anything other than marketing and reviews so I could only go on what I knew.
I'm also not really in the AI space and pretty sceptical on it because of it seems pretty unethical in how it all these multi-billion dollar models get trained. If I was Tim Cook, I would have put the hardware first and positioned those platforms as the backbone of desktop AI. Dear developers, go build amazing AI tools on our hardware. Then as a native solution, pick a partner and integrate it. Leave it at that.
No one needs Image Playgrounds. ChatGPT now integrates with Xcode. Anything Apple Intelligence can do, another service could have filled that hole and Apple could have spent a lot more time on things that actually matter.
Week 385: App Clip Thoughts
App Clips have been a thing since 2020 and I've only ever seen one. It was a portfolio piece for someone that I've been thinking about since I saw it and this week I decided to create my own.
It was rejected, because the app it was associated with was too thin with a limited audience. The app clip and the app were the same thing in reality. There was no reason to download my app, when the App Clip did it all. So here are my thoughts on App Clips at the start of 2025.
Restaurants
Nearly every demo for App Clips involves some mention of ordering on the go. I'm not saying a restaurant shouldn't have an app, but an App Clip would make a great way to share menus and take orders, especially for infrequent visitors or for someone out of town.
Maybe there's even a way to track rewards, but I am pretty fed up of needing an app for nearly every restaurant in our city centre.
My wife and I took some time to swap Apple Wallet loyalty cards so we've got the same on both phones when we're at the checkout. Makes building rewards a lot easier.
Digital Business Cards
Whether we're talking businesses or individuals, they would make a fantastic virtual business card. This is what I tried to get into the App Store, but can't because that's all it was...
Stand Alone App Clips
It sucks you can separate them from apps, the feedback I got from App Store Review was to basically launch a website instead.
I have a website (multiple!) and want something in the App Store! I don't think my ask was unreasonable, but hiding my App Clip away inside an app seems silly to me and I would have thought that would lead to the rejection of an app as it would be unrelated to it's function.
Configuration Hell
Understand how it all fit together was probably tougher than it should have been with errors only visible after submission and once I'd got it all through, Apple's AASA file caching is pretty aggressive so you get shown errors in App Store Connect that you fix but you have no feedback until that cache has cleared.
Growing File Limits
Size limits continue to grow, my feeling is that it relates to a lack of adoption and trying to make it easier for existing apps to take advantage of, but I think they need to pause on that on focus on defining what an appropriate use for App Clips would be.
In Summary
App Clips have lots of things going for them but I am not seeing them in the wild. I am trying to introduce them in the next app I'll be building and it will be a requirement, rather than a nice-to-have, for anything else I build going forward.
Update
After posting this article, I experienced my first organic encounter with App Clips on the weekend. I was searching for a place to eat and tapped on an option in Apple Maps to view the menu and up popped an Uber Eats App clip.
A great experience considering the app has been offloaded as I've barely used it in the past year or more. Rather than re-downloading it, I got a near-instant look at what I wanted.
Microsoft to retire Skype in May
I hadn't really thought to comment on Skype's retirement until I read this piece by John Gruber.
If I remember correctly, I used Skype at my first proper web development job back in 2006. Almost 20 years ago. I also used it for nearly all communication in my last role (2012-2020) as it rolled conversations and calling all into one.
We tried replacing the chat element with Slack in the mid-2010s but it didn't work when only our team used it in the organisation. We also had an internal chat tool, but Skype always won because of it's VOIP capability.
it never seemed Microsoft had any sort of plan for what to do with Skype
Gruber is totally right with this take, it's a shame because there was potential. Would it have been more prosperous without the acquisition? I doubt it, but there might have been a bit more strategy with regards to where it was headed.
Week 384: Finding the right medium for creating art
Way back at the tail-end of the first lockdown, I began a journey to create more art. I started with brush pens and have continued to dabble with them and other types of water colours since then.
I had forgotten it had started as a creative hobby during that period, but it was certainly a good thing to get into have endured a lot of time indoors, working away remotely.
Since then, I've purchased the odd bit of acrylic paint and have been sketching on and off.
My iPad mini and Apple Pencil gave me a never ending canvas with which to work. After an initial daily push I haven't kept up enough to really have fallen into a style but I drift in and out of Procreate often and it's probably the best sketch book or canvas that I've ever had.
At the end of 2024, I was gifted some linoleum pieces and tools with which to create prints. I've started a small lino project but I'm still figuring out how to apply the prints neatly.
So I think I've settled on paper + pencil as my most comfortable medium. I have largely given up on water colours (and painting in general) for now. Without training that is going to be tough to get to a stage where I'm really comfortable working with it and able to achieve the visions I have. Lino printing moves up to second on the list, I just need to figure out a good project to get started with.
Week 383: Some thoughts on UGREEN and Anker
Not a sponsored post at all, but there are affiliate links below.
Anker always seemed to be the brand when it came to cables, chargers and power banks on Amazon. Their offerings extend to the Eufy brand and they have an enormous range but they just don't live up to their early promise as a brand.
A few times I've had to return stuff because it has't lived up to the promise or quality I have come to expect from them. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of Anker branded cables, chargers, plugs, headphones and dongles that all serve us well but only two stick out as premium products in their line up.
First is their
And so on to UGREEN who are now the brand I look for on Amazon when I need something that is low-case but high-quality. So much so that I've shared a couple of UGREEN things on Good Gear Club.
Above all, the
In my bedroom, the
The design and build quality are excellent on both and the multiple cables I've bought are all braided which makes them more durable.
So this is me, just showing some love to a brand that is building well designed essentials for the modern world that don't break the bank.
Week 382: Accounts to follow on Bluesky
Over the past few months, I've slowly made a more permanent move over to Bluesky from Twitter.
I really signalled intent with my daily photo dumps, but that's come to an end as I ran out of snaps to share.
I made a conscious effort to diversify my following on Bluesky and have a healthy mix of webdev, design, Swift, tech, news, art and Liverpool FC sprinkled through.
From the point of view of following matches, it's not there yet. I should probably look into some feeds to rectify that but at the same time I'm less focused on the online chatter and more interested in the actual game being played. I also haven't gone back to Twitter for the company. Maybe that's coincided with my son getting into it all a bit more and the fact I'll ride an exercise bike throughout the first half too, but a large part of it is the Nazification of Twitter.
So who would I like to shout at this time on Bluesky? I'll link to a few accounts I don't follow on other socials that I've discovered here.
David Shields, UK stadium photographer Jessica Elena , digital artist Dominique Ramsey, illustrator Joss Fong, video journalist for Howtown on YouTube Enid, iOS development teacher
Enid in particular has been a great follower with daily SwiftUI tips that have made my think a lot about how I approach interfaces and interactions in my apps.
So if you're looking for people to follow, there are 5 that are definitely worth a look.
Week 381: Battling through SwiftUI errors
As I move onto the development of my second SwiftUI app, I find that prototyping layouts is a dream but battling against errors it can through when plugging in data sources has been a nightmare.
I'm at the point we're I've actually restarted development of my new app twice to take different approaches and now I am sitting on a more harmonious codebase so it was probably worth the effort. Create with Swift had a great article on designing for app states and just half an hour mapping the app on graph paper has given me a far more solid foundation so I highly recommend reading the article if only for the section on designing for different stats.
Maybe I just lack experience, but errors in SwiftUI are only useful half the time for me. It sometimes seems inconsistent too, but I'm getting there and battling through it. When Google's results haven't thrown up a definitive, or well explained, answer, ChatGPT has been a good companion but I am trying to reign in my trust and reliance on it.
Watch this space, I am hopefully not too far away from launching app number 2 the app store and then I'll be moving on to number 3!
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