I have been intrigued by electronics and technology pretty much my entire life. One of the first memories that I have related to technology was when I was about 5 years old. My dad had two old VCRs that were no longer working. He sat my 7 year old brother and I down and explained that the machines no longer worked and he wanted us to take them apart and put them back together, piece by piece. >
On Wednesday Apple did something unexpected. They made major App Store change announcements before WWDC. The big news is that developers can go to a subscription model, no matter what kind of app it is, even games. They can, but should they? >
It used to be the iPhone event was my most looked forward to event since iPhone was the main hub to my digital life, the tool I used most. In many ways it is still my main go-to device but the additions of iPad and Apple Watch have really changed how I interact and use my iPhone. >
The release of iPhone SE has reignited my Big Dilemma from last summer of what is really the best size of iPhone. With the SE having so few differences in specs between iPhone 6s it has many more people now wondering if they should go back to a small phone. >
VR is coming. It’s the next big thing in tech. But is that a good thing? >
A supposed leaked picture of a yet to be announced new 4-inch iPhone is making its way around the Internet.
Late last week (the rarely wrong) Mark Gurman reported:
the upcoming “5se” features a design similar to 2013’s flagship but upgraded internals, software, and hardware features that blend the old design with modern technologies from the past two iPhone upgrades.
After reading the report I thought the same thing John Gruber wrote about conflicting design philosophies:
I don’t see how curved glass fits with the iPhone 5 industrial design. And what about the chamfered edges on the back?
In fact, after reading Gurman’s report a little closer it seems to contradict itself bit on this point saying later:
The chamfered, shiny edges have been replaced with curved glass like on the iPhone 6 and 6s lines
Whether the “leaked picture” is real or not it seems to be in line with what we have been hearing (and also what makes logical sense) about what to expect from a new 4-inch iPhone which sounds like an iPhone 5s size under mostly iPhone 6 design philosophy and internals. Although not clear in Gurman’s report, it seems that is really what it was probably saying.
Update: Gurman is now reporting that Apple has decide to drop the “5” from the name to just “iPhone SE” and:
The iPhone SE will look identical to the iPhone 5s except for slightly curved edges around the sides.
Microsoft had a little advertising mishap durning the AFC championship game.
I’m pretty sure that this wasn’t their fault at all but it has been a rocky deal that started out with the announcers calling the Surfaces “iPad-like tools.” I thought it was particularly telling that it did indeed look bad for the brand when my wife (who doesn’t particularly love football or technology) turned to me and said:
I bet Microsoft isn’t happy now that the announcers finally figured out that they need to call them “Microsoft Surfaces” instead of iPads.
“And then one day you’ll realize, you don’t need any diapers.”
We do what we need to do to survive, to make it to the next day. After a while our actions become habit. Just a normal part of life. Until it’s not. We get ourselves so wrapped up in what we do we forget that we even do it. We put our heads down and go and keep going. Sometimes by the time we come up for air we barely recognize where we are. We hardly know where we’ve been.>
Reading about Jason Snell’s experience upgrading his old Mac mini to a new SSD drive reminded me of some of the terrible experiences some of my less technical friends and family have been complaining about. Like Jason, I too have said it endlessly:
spinning hard drives are really slow. The little 5400-rpm spinning disc inside the Mac mini was making it painful to use for just about anything—every act, from launching apps to opening Finder windows, was torture.
It’s worth repeating though, if you are still using a standard spinning HD as your main drive you should really consider upgrading to an SSD. The difference will astound you. My wife had been happily using a MacBook with an SSD from 2008 until upgrading to the new MacBook this Christmas. Amazingly, despite being so old, with the SSD it was still remarkably fast. Yet with a standard drive it is basically unusable.
Likewise my sister upgraded her 2013 MacBook Pro to an SSD this holiday break and it was like receiving a brand new laptop. In many cases (both of my family’s MacBooks included) the upgrade process is simpler than you’d think. For most MacBooks and MacBook Pros it is rather simple and definitely worth the time and little bit of money.
Setting up a new Apple Watch from Christmas? I know a few family members of mine are and they have questions. Apple Watch truly is Apple’s most personal device ever and it requires the most personal time to adjust and cater it to you needs, wants and taste.
For anyone new to Apple Watch, now might be a good time to go and read my Getting the Most out of Apple Watch article. For a fully comprehensive walkthrough, Rene Ritchie has everything needed to get you feeling like an Apple Watch pro in his How to set up and use your Apple Watch: The ultimate guide. It is extremely thorough. You could spend the rest of your holiday break there if you aren’t careful.
Setting up Apple Watch over the first few days (or weeks) is probably the worst part of the experience. However, once you do set it up to your personal liking you realize that you’re actually glad you have all those options that seemed overwhelming and confusing in the beginning.
