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Birchtree

Birchtree
My favorite (and least favorite) movies of 2024 I’ve watched 48 new release movies in 2024, and with just a few weeks left in the year, I wanted to...
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3 months ago
I’ve watched 48 new release movies in 2024, and with just a few weeks left in the year, I wanted to make what is my current top 10 (plus honorable mentions & worst movies). As we get to the end of the year and you might have some
Birchtree
My lil' Ghostty terminal config I wrote about Ghosty last week, and since then I've played around with it enough to know it's my new...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
I wrote about Ghosty last week, and since then I've played around with it enough to know it's my new terminal emulator of choice. For me the killer feature is how fast it is, putting the most popular apps to shame (Apple Terminal and iTerm, specifically)
Birchtree
My default apps of 2024 Last year I was the 27th of four hundred and freaking eight people to write about their default...
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3 months ago
Last year I was the 27th of four hundred and freaking eight people to write about their default apps, and I though it would be fun to turn this into a tradition and revisit the list to see if anything has changed since last year. ✨ next to each change
Birchtree
All the games I played in 2024, reviewed I love movies, but I really love games as well, so I figured I may as well follow up my 2024 movies...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
I love movies, but I really love games as well, so I figured I may as well follow up my 2024 movies of the year post with something similar for games. I’m not going to rank these, but I’ll give a few words on each one
Birchtree
I’m Not a Panda Person Niléane has a new webcam, Chris is downing in keyboards, and everyone installs some web-ass web...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Niléane has a new webcam, Chris is downing in keyboards, and everyone installs some web-ass web apps. Watch it on YouTube or listen in your favorite podcast app!
Birchtree
Was 2024 a good year? Oh, and all the metrics and earnings info you could ever want. 2024 was a weird year for the Birchler household. Without getting into the details, two things put a...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
2024 was a weird year for the Birchler household. Without getting into the details, two things put a damper on the year right from the jump: a health issue and a radical increase in monthly spending. I won't go into the details here, but over the course of
Birchtree
Apple’s 2024 report card: iPhone 📱 This is the first in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
This is the first in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I did this last year and you can read last year’s iPhone report card here. iPhone 16 Pro I really, really liked the 15 Pro lineup, and I would
Birchtree
The future simply has more computers (members post) Glasses and headsets and computers, oh my! Why the future continues to be all about adding computers...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Glasses and headsets and computers, oh my! Why the future continues to be all about adding computers to our lives, not replacing anything.
Birchtree
2 weeks to go and I don't think I'll have to eat that AirPod Last month I made the courageous promise that I would eat an AirPod if a 9to5Mac writer's prediction...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Last month I made the courageous promise that I would eat an AirPod if a 9to5Mac writer's prediction that "[b]efore the end of the year, I have no doubt Apple’s AI features—especially what’s coming in 18.2—will become
Birchtree
Grading my 2024 Apple predictions First off, merry Christmas! I closed out last year with a series of posts reviewing Apple’s main...
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3 months ago
First off, merry Christmas! I closed out last year with a series of posts reviewing Apple’s main product lines, iPhones, iPads, Macs, Watches, and the soon-to-be-released Vision Pro. I’ll be doing that again over the last few days of the year, but in the interest of
Birchtree
Web tech rocks John Siracusa is making a new Mac app and he’s been talking about the development process on ATP for...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
John Siracusa is making a new Mac app and he’s been talking about the development process on ATP for the last few weeks. I got a kick out of his frustrations with using a payment system that delivered a confusing user experience he had no control over, and
Birchtree
OpenAI is early Googling late-stage Google Chuck W. Nelson: Google's Search Results Are Infested, and Open AI Is Using Google's Playbook From...
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Chuck W. Nelson: Google's Search Results Are Infested, and Open AI Is Using Google's Playbook From the 2000s In order for Google to keep its crown, it needs to remember what it was in the 2000s and a bit of luck. Seeing Google grow from the
Birchtree
Apple’s 2024 report card: the Mac 💻 This is the third in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
This is the third in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I did this last year and you can read last year’s Mac report card here. MacBook Pro The MacBook Pro continues to get a relentless stream of updates, as
Birchtree
Bending the knee, $1 million at a time M.G. Siegler on his blog, Spyglass: $1M Knee Pads Of course, the point here, in the real world,...
2 months ago
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M.G. Siegler on his blog, Spyglass: $1M Knee Pads Of course, the point here, in the real world, isn't actually the money – though I would just note that as President, Trump will have access to thousands of warheads... – but what the money signals. That is,
Birchtree
Apple’s 2024 report card: iPad This is the second in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
This is the second in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I did this last year and you can read last year’s iPad report card here. iPad Pro I'm so happy I get to say it was a
Birchtree
Apple’s 2024 report card: Vision Pro 👓 This is the fifth and final post in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
This is the fifth and final post in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I did this last year and you can read last year’s Vision Pro report card here. Year one of Vision Pro This is a bit of
Birchtree
X Premium Plus now costs well more than running my own damn Mastodon server Jess Weatherbed: X Raises Premium Plus Subscription Pricing by Almost 40 Percent - The Verge X has...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Jess Weatherbed: X Raises Premium Plus Subscription Pricing by Almost 40 Percent - The Verge X has substantially raised the price of its top-tier user subscription in multiple regions to help bolster the platform’s creator payouts. The increase for Premium Plus came into effect...
Birchtree
A lot changed for LLMs in 2024 I thought this was a fascinating post by Simon Willison: Things We Learned About LLMs in 2024 This...
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2 months ago
I thought this was a fascinating post by Simon Willison: Things We Learned About LLMs in 2024 This increase in efficiency and reduction in price is my single favourite trend from 2024. I want the utility of LLMs at a fraction of the energy cost and it looks like that&
Birchtree
Comfort Zone: OLED Dreams and Studio Display Realities Niléane is out, so Chris and I are left to fend on ourselves! Chris steals like an artist and I...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Niléane is out, so Chris and I are left to fend on ourselves! Chris steals like an artist and I defend a new purchase…oh, and we have some fun with desks that sadly ends in Vision Pro slander. Why does this keep happening?! Watch on YouTube
Birchtree
Somehow, more YouTube gems Yup, we’re doing this again because you all seem to like them an honestly I kinda like making them...
3 months ago
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Yup, we’re doing this again because you all seem to like them an honestly I kinda like making them 😊 I love Answer in Progress, especially Sabrina’s videos, and she gets about as obsessed with anything she’s ever looked at in this episode (and
Birchtree
More YouTube goodies? More YouTube goodies. Here we go again! This is a fascinating look at trying to find the biggest tube TV On the other...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Here we go again! This is a fascinating look at trying to find the biggest tube TV On the other end of things, here's a QVC presenter destroying a TV live on camera. Cybertruck reveal vibes here too If you've tried Balatro and haven't
Birchtree
Ghostty is the hot new terminal and it’s out now Ghostty is a hip new terminal from Mitchell Hashimoto, who he described in October’s Ghostty 1.0 Is...
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Ghostty is a hip new terminal from Mitchell Hashimoto, who he described in October’s Ghostty 1.0 Is Coming: With Ghostty, I set out to build a terminal emulator that was fast, feature-rich, and had a platform-native GUI while still being cross-platform. I believe Ghostty 1.0...
Birchtree
Meta, moderation, and whose freedoms come first A lot has been said about Meta’s recently-announced moderation changes, so I won’t add too much to...
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A lot has been said about Meta’s recently-announced moderation changes, so I won’t add too much to your reading backlog today, but I did want to comment on it after letting it simmer in my head for a bit. Let me just start by repeating the
Birchtree
It's time for some more YouTube videos just in time for the weekend This behind-the-scenes of one of my favorite 2024 movies was so much fun Shout out to Truth social,...
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This behind-the-scenes of one of my favorite 2024 movies was so much fun Shout out to Truth social, which got called out as having the best UX in this video...which is based on Mastodon The internet's dad, Hank Green, is starting a new podcast I'm
Birchtree
The day Birchtree grew up Today's a symbolically big day for Birchtree! After doing this site and its many offshoot projects...
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Today's a symbolically big day for Birchtree! After doing this site and its many offshoot projects since 2010, I finally put a ring on it and registered Birchtree Productions LLC. 🎉 For you, this means basically nothing at all. Footers might be updated and I might invest in
Birchtree
📕 I strongly recommend: Nexus (members post)
2 months ago
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The best app for gaming on the Vision Pro will soon be Safari Andrew Fear writing for the official NVIDIA blog: PC Gaming in the Cloud Goes Everywhere With New...
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Andrew Fear writing for the official NVIDIA blog: PC Gaming in the Cloud Goes Everywhere With New Devices and AAA Games on GeForce NOW Get immersed in a new dimension of big-screen gaming as GeForce NOW brings AAA titles to life on Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3
Birchtree
First look at my next big thing (members post) I've been working on something new, but it's not ready for prime time.
2 months ago
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That app could probably be a website P. Martin Ortiz writing for Rogue Engine: Your App Should Have Been a Website Some companies push...
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P. Martin Ortiz writing for Rogue Engine: Your App Should Have Been a Website Some companies push for app installations because they gain access to more permissions than they would in the browser. Apps allow them to collect more data and track user activity, often under the...
Birchtree
📕 I mildly recommend: Life as No One Knows It (members post) A new book explaining assembly theory, a new way of thinking about the question of "what is life?"
2 months ago
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The Vision Pro makes Touch ID more appealing Ryan Christoffel writing on 9to5Mac: Why Vision Pro Is Apple’s Best Reason Yet to Bring Touch ID...
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Ryan Christoffel writing on 9to5Mac: Why Vision Pro Is Apple’s Best Reason Yet to Bring Touch ID Back to iPhone Because Face ID on iPhone does no good when Vision Pro is strapped to your face—an unfortunate detail I’m reminded of every time I
Birchtree
Sign up for X to see that amber alert. Yikes Kate Knibbs writing for Wired: Californians Say X Blocked Them From Viewing Amber Alert About...
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Kate Knibbs writing for Wired: Californians Say X Blocked Them From Viewing Amber Alert About Missing 14-Year-Old Earlier this week, the California Highway Patrol sent an Amber Alert push notification to phones in the Los Angeles area about a 14-year-old girl that authorities...
Birchtree
This remote has me questioning everything I recently lost my Apple TV remote (the latest model) and despite apparently being somewhere in the...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
I recently lost my Apple TV remote (the latest model) and despite apparently being somewhere in the couch according to Find My, my wife and I can not find it. We were using our phones as remotes for a couple days, which was annoying, but got the job done. But
Birchtree
AI, self-driving, and evolving your opinions on new tech over time Casey Newton on Platformer: The Phony Comforts of AI Skepticism The most persuasive way you can...
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Casey Newton on Platformer: The Phony Comforts of AI Skepticism The most persuasive way you can demonstrate the reality of AI, though, is to describe how it is already being used today. Not in speculative sci-fi scenarios, but in everyday offices and laboratories and schoolrooms....
Birchtree
📕 I recommend: Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI Hey everyone, this post is for everyone, but it’s a part of a new series I’m doing on More Birchtree...
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2 months ago
Hey everyone, this post is for everyone, but it’s a part of a new series I’m doing on More Birchtree where I review the books and games I read and play in 2025. My movie reviews have been a relative hit on social media for the
Birchtree
Samsung will release their phone first and still gets accused of copying Apple Chance Miller on 9to5Mac: Samsung Is Already Working on Its iPhone 17 Air Copycat Apple is expected...
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Chance Miller on 9to5Mac: Samsung Is Already Working on Its iPhone 17 Air Copycat Apple is expected to release an all-new “iPhone 17 Air” model this year, prioritizing form over function. A new supply chain report today reiterates what to expect from the iPhone 17 Air size and
Birchtree
I strongly recommend Portal: Revolution (members post) In this new series, I’ll be reviewing the media I experience (I don’t like saying I “consume” media)...
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In this new series, I’ll be reviewing the media I experience (I don’t like saying I “consume” media) in more detail than I normally do. Don’t worry, the movie reviews are staying free and on social media ✌️
Birchtree
TikTok is gone for at least a couple days, so here's some YouTube videos to stave off the boredom I don't use TikTok so I have no idea, but presumably some people are like "what do I even watch on...
2 months ago
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I don't use TikTok so I have no idea, but presumably some people are like "what do I even watch on my phone now?" LegalEagle with a good explainer over what's happening. For the record, I think this sucks and isn't how
Birchtree
Quick Reviews for iOS is coming soon I teased this last week for More Birchtree subscribers, and today I'm excited to announce my new...
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I teased this last week for More Birchtree subscribers, and today I'm excited to announce my new app, Quick Reviews! Wait, Quick Reviews which I've been making on the web for years? No, Quick Reviews for iOS. I talked about what tools helped me make this
Birchtree
The LLM bubble might be about to burst (but not for the reason you think) Ben Turner: Chinese Researchers Just Built an Open-Source Rival to ChatGPT in 2 Months. Silicon...
2 months ago
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Ben Turner: Chinese Researchers Just Built an Open-Source Rival to ChatGPT in 2 Months. Silicon Valley Is Freaked Out. Now, R1 has also surpassed ChatGPT's latest o1 model in many of the same tests. This impressive performance at a fraction of the cost of other models, its...
Birchtree
Comfort Zone predicts tech in 2025 In this very special episode, the gang makes their "Pro" and "Pro Max" predictions for tech in 2025...
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In this very special episode, the gang makes their "Pro" and "Pro Max" predictions for tech in 2025 and oh my, does it get wild! Who's best clued into the tech coming this year? Who is just wish-casting their way to third place? This
Birchtree
That time Apple made Auido Hijack way worse, but eventually made it better for everyone Paul Kafasis: The Developers Who Came in From the Cold I’m delighted to say that we have completed...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Paul Kafasis: The Developers Who Came in From the Cold I’m delighted to say that we have completed our transition to ARK, and it now powers all of our audio capture apps on MacOS 14 and higher. Our glorious hassle-free future has finally arrived, and you can get
Birchtree
Gemini 2.0: speed and deep research impress From The Keyword Google blog: Introducing Gemini 2.0: Our New AI Model for the Agentic Era Today...
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From The Keyword Google blog: Introducing Gemini 2.0: Our New AI Model for the Agentic Era Today we’re excited to launch our next era of models built for this new agentic era: introducing Gemini 2.0, our most capable model yet. With new advances in multimodality —
Birchtree
🕹️ I strongly recommend: Resident Evil 2 (members post) Oh buddy, what a game!
2 months ago
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Squashing links on social media Anil Dash: “Link in Bio” Is a Slow Knife For a closed system, those kinds of open connections are...
3 months ago
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Anil Dash: “Link in Bio” Is a Slow Knife For a closed system, those kinds of open connections are deeply dangerous. If anyone on Instagram can just link to any old store on the web, how can Instagram — meaning Facebook, Instagram’s increasingly-overbearing owner — tightly
Birchtree
Apple’s 2024 report card: Apple Watch This is the fourth in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
This is the fourth in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I did this last year and you can read last year’s Apple Watch report card here. Series 10 It’s always fun when we get a new Apple
Birchtree
The “Bluesky feels like early Twitter!” vibe Bluesky has the juice right now, and while it’s slowed down a bit this week, they were adding over 1...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Bluesky has the juice right now, and while it’s slowed down a bit this week, they were adding over 1 million users a day for a bit last week. One sentiment I’m hearing a lot recently is that Bluely “feels like early Twitter,” which
Birchtree
A quick, incomplete thought about Squid Game 2 This one thing about Squid Game really sticks in my craw…
2 months ago
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I think OpenAI’s next app is a web browser Casey Newton: Hands on With Operator — A Promising but Frustrating New Frontier for Artificial...
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Casey Newton: Hands on With Operator — A Promising but Frustrating New Frontier for Artificial Intelligence The experience revealed to me one of Operator’s key deficiencies: it can use a web browser, but it cannot use your web browser. This matters a lot, because your browser is...
Birchtree
I'm just gonna be your YouTube algorithm now It turns out I like sharing the cool YouTube videos I see when there aren't any schedules or rules...
2 months ago
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It turns out I like sharing the cool YouTube videos I see when there aren't any schedules or rules about how often I share them, so here's another collection I enjoyed recently. An oldie but a goodie, I really loved what Scotty was doing back in
Birchtree
How Flight Simulator helped my flying anxiety (members post) It turns out video games really can impact how you view the world.
3 months ago
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I’m Knee-Deep in Turkey Another week, another fantastically fun episode of Comfort Zone! This week Niléane talked about her...
3 months ago
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Another week, another fantastically fun episode of Comfort Zone! This week Niléane talked about her new Flight Simulator obsession, we go on a tangent about PC gaming, Chris (who says he’s an iPad guy) brings another Mac to talk about, and I had the gang look
Birchtree
I don’t care about bad or missing features that I don’t use Sometimes I’ll talk about something I like online and people will express shock that I can use a...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Sometimes I’ll talk about something I like online and people will express shock that I can use a product that has such a clear downside. I’ve gotten people ask how I can use Things since it doesn’t have shared task lists. More recently I
Birchtree
Starship is a late contender for favorite new things in 2024 I don't have a huge love for Star Fox 64. I mean I played it with friends and I still have the...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
I don't have a huge love for Star Fox 64. I mean I played it with friends and I still have the cartridge all these years later, but it's not as big a part of my childhood as Ocarina of Time was. That said, the Ocarina
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🫡 A certain individual who owns a certain social media site spoke at a certain President's...
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A certain individual who owns a certain social media site spoke at a certain President's inauguration earlier this week and at one point gave a very distinctive salute. Now look, I'm not calling this billionaire a Nazi, and I'm not telling you whether I
Birchtree
Matt is a Mean Guy (hey!) Matt felt like bringing an intentionally controversial topic, Niléane refuses to admit she's created...
3 months ago
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Matt felt like bringing an intentionally controversial topic, Niléane refuses to admit she's created a sticky note-based task manager, and everyone gives the iPad some much needed love. Or watch it on YouTube. Weekly Topics Raycast CleanShot X Final Cut Pro Google...
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Everything is a reaction, nothing is forever, and everything comes back (members post) Why nothing stays popular forever.
4 months ago
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Incomplete thought: using data to tell a story (members post) A year ago I tried to understand how much power ChatGPT was using and if I should be outraged by it....
2 months ago
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2025: The year of fitness (members post) 2025 is upon us and my goals for the new year are very clear: I need to get my fitness in order....
3 months ago
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2025 is upon us and my goals for the new year are very clear: I need to get my fitness in order. Here's the plan…
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Yet more YouTube videos I've enjoyed recently I guess this is a series now… Do you have a chair where "half dirty" clothes go? If so, this chair...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
I guess this is a series now… Do you have a chair where "half dirty" clothes go? If so, this chair will be very compelling. I'm not a big fan of most Apple TV+ shows, but Severance was lovely and I can't wait
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Ghost 6 is coming in 2025 and will include ActivityPub for everyone The Ghost Blog: The Story So Far This year we're going to ship ActivityPub to everyone, in a...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
The Ghost Blog: The Story So Far This year we're going to ship ActivityPub to everyone, in a flagship Ghost 6.0 release. I have nothing else to add other than I’m happy with my choice of blogging back end.
Birchtree
noclip is my favorite website find of 2025 so far noclip is quite the find, and I've lost more time than I'd like to admit in it this week. Basically,...
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noclip is quite the find, and I've lost more time than I'd like to admit in it this week. Basically, it has a bunch of 3D models from mostly PS2-Wii era games that you can explore in your browser. It's awesome and anyone with
Birchtree
Show “nobody wanted” was the second-most-watched show on Disney+ Katie Campione writing for Deadline with a very long headline: Broadcast Was “Surprisingly...
2 months ago
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Katie Campione writing for Deadline with a very long headline: Broadcast Was “Surprisingly Resilient” in 2024 Amid Production Declines, but Streaming Still Leads the Pack; ‘Fool Me Once’ Led TV Last Year, Luminate Says big IP franchises were still the best performing series on...
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The mythical iOS 18.4 Zac Hall writing for 9to5Mac: Apple’s Competitive Edge in AI Hinges on These Three Unreleased Siri...
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a month ago
Zac Hall writing for 9to5Mac: Apple’s Competitive Edge in AI Hinges on These Three Unreleased Siri Features It feels like a make-or-break moment for Siri, and these three remaining iOS 18 features are key indicators of Apple’s ability to leverage AI with Siri. These three Siri
Birchtree
Trump’s latest executive order plainly states no one has authority over him The White House: Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies Sec. 7. Rules of Conduct Guiding Federal...
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The White House: Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies Sec. 7. Rules of Conduct Guiding Federal Employees’ Interpretation of the Law. The President and the Attorney General, subject to the President’s supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law...
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When do the Trump flags come down? (members post) The flags are still flying, celebrating the man, not the country. Why is this something that happens...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
The flags are still flying, celebrating the man, not the country. Why is this something that happens now, and why is it something only happening on one end of the political spectrum?
Birchtree
This is why people see attacks on DEI as thinly veiled racism The tragedy in Washington D.C. this week was horrible, and a shocking incident. There should and...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
The tragedy in Washington D.C. this week was horrible, and a shocking incident. There should and will be an investigation into what went wrong here, but every politician and official who spoke at the White House today explicitly blamed DEI programs for this crash. The message may...
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The next few vids you'll watch on YouTube I know it's a bit of cliché, but count me in the group of white men who 2021's Inside really...
a month ago
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a month ago
I know it's a bit of cliché, but count me in the group of white men who 2021's Inside really connected with me in a huge way. Anyway, now All Eyes on Me is going to be stuck in my head for the next month.
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New estimates have ChatGPT using 10x less power than previously thought Josh You publishing a study on Epoch AI: How Much Energy Does ChatGPT Use? A commonly-cited claim is...
a month ago
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a month ago
Josh You publishing a study on Epoch AI: How Much Energy Does ChatGPT Use? A commonly-cited claim is that powering an individual ChatGPT query requires around 3 watt-hours of electricity, or 10 times as much as a Google search. However… We find that typical ChatGPT queries using...
Birchtree
Development is going through a real change Thomas Ricouard: Is Software Engineering Over as We Know It? Writing code has always been a means to...
a month ago
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a month ago
Thomas Ricouard: Is Software Engineering Over as We Know It? Writing code has always been a means to an end, especially in my case, where my goal is to build and ship products to millions of users. What’s really happening is a shift in focus: away from obsessing
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I'm not crazy about liking Android TV, here's why (members post) People think I'm joking or something when I say that Android TV is better than you'd think, and that...
a month ago
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a month ago
People think I'm joking or something when I say that Android TV is better than you'd think, and that tvOS could learn some things from it. Today's post is a video walk through of Android TV which tries to illustrate why it's compelling to me.
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The Vision Pro one year later: this product just ain’t for me If you enjoy your Vision Pro, don't let this post imply that i think you're wrong to enjoy it. This...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
If you enjoy your Vision Pro, don't let this post imply that i think you're wrong to enjoy it. This is a personal blog with my personal experiences, not some neutral outlet trying to assign an objective score to each product. It’s been one
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Apple jumps in the hot tub Zac Hall writing for 9to5Mac: Apple Responds After Being Forced to Approve Porn App on EU iPhones...
a month ago
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Zac Hall writing for 9to5Mac: Apple Responds After Being Forced to Approve Porn App on EU iPhones Due to DMA The bottom line for parents, though, is that the “Apple-approved” messaging around the porn app on iPhone omits the fact that Apple is legally required to approve the
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Superhuman’s next big update looks very compelling On the Superhuman blog: The Next Evolution of Superhuman AI 💖 Custom Auto Labels. Our built-in Auto...
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a month ago
On the Superhuman blog: The Next Evolution of Superhuman AI 💖 Custom Auto Labels. Our built-in Auto Labels are great, but what's even better is making your own. Just write a prompt, like “job applications” or “requests for me to review work”. You can
Birchtree
This menu needs to die M.G. Siegler: The Great AI UI Unification And depending on which model you choose to use, you get...
a month ago
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a month ago
M.G. Siegler: The Great AI UI Unification And depending on which model you choose to use, you get other options from there, as various buttons will be enabled in the message box for 'Web Search' and now 'Deep Research'. Oh and I forgot the '
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Matt Gemmell is back on the Mac Matt Gemmell went iPad-only in 2016, but he's made the move Back to Mac [The Mac is] satisfying in...
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Matt Gemmell went iPad-only in 2016, but he's made the move Back to Mac [The Mac is] satisfying in the conventional way, in that it meets needs without drama or acrobatics. It works in the sense that it directs its resources firmly in the direction of service, rather
Birchtree
That’s not for me, but I love that the open web makes it possible Federico Viticci for MacStories: The Many Purposes of Timeline Apps for the Open Web But: the beauty...
a month ago
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a month ago
Federico Viticci for MacStories: The Many Purposes of Timeline Apps for the Open Web But: the beauty of the open web and the approach embraced by Tapestry and Reeder is that there are plenty of potential use cases to satisfy everyone. Crucially, this includes people who are not...
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When friends act like enemies Bert Hubert writing on his blog (normally in Dutch, but this one’s in English): It Is No Longer Safe...
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Bert Hubert writing on his blog (normally in Dutch, but this one’s in English): It Is No Longer Safe to Move Our Governments and Societies to US Clouds Written down like this, it seems pretty bizarre, and that’s because it is. It’s also not
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Grammarly still bests Writing Tools Adam Engst: Why Grammarly Beats Apple’s Writing Tools for Serious Writers Say I want to proofread...
a month ago
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Adam Engst: Why Grammarly Beats Apple’s Writing Tools for Serious Writers Say I want to proofread this paragraph while writing in Lex, which is running in Arc. To invoke Writing Tools, I must select the paragraph, Control-click, and choose Writing Tools > Proofread from the...
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Your brain doesn’t want you to work out Dean Burnett writing for Science Focus: Your Brain Is Hard-Wired to Avoid Exercise. Here's Why So...
a month ago
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a month ago
Dean Burnett writing for Science Focus: Your Brain Is Hard-Wired to Avoid Exercise. Here's Why So why, even though we’ve evolved to do it, doesn't everyone enjoy exercise? The baffling complexity of the human brain is to blame. Evolving an ability doesn’t
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Now I love Pedro Pascal even more Seemingly lovely actor Pedro Pascal posted this photo to Instagram a few days ago (via Kottke): ...
a month ago
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Seemingly lovely actor Pedro Pascal posted this photo to Instagram a few days ago (via Kottke): View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pedro Pascal he/him (@pascalispunk) In response to a transphobic comment someone left, he...
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New weekend, new video recommendations My fellow F1 fans should watch this to make sure they know the main rule changes coming in this...
a month ago
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a month ago
My fellow F1 fans should watch this to make sure they know the main rule changes coming in this season. I totally missed that the fastest lap point was going away. Unsecured and still-using0the-default-password cameras are quite the thing…always always always change your...
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🕹️ I casually recommend Steamworld Heist 2 (members post) This game is definitely fun, and I enjoyed my time with it, but it didn't blow me away.
a month ago
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On the new iPhone 16e Today Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e, which they're calling a part of the iPhone 16 lineup now,...
a month ago
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a month ago
Today Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e, which they're calling a part of the iPhone 16 lineup now, rather than this odd duck the SE had been since launch. Honestly, I think this move in particular is interesting and maybe makes a ton of sense, but let's
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Another study on LLM energy use This study was linked to by The Verge today, and as someone who keeps looking at the energy costs of...
a month ago
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a month ago
This study was linked to by The Verge today, and as someone who keeps looking at the energy costs of AI wondering why he’s missing something, one of the opening lines in the study’s executive summary really caught my eye: Electricity consumption from data centres, artificial
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Castro is back, baby Dustin Bluck writing for the Castro blog: State of the App: Year 1 Private and popular feeds update...
a month ago
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a month ago
Dustin Bluck writing for the Castro blog: State of the App: Year 1 Private and popular feeds update have seen marked improvements, but unpopular feeds were the real issue before and that issue is entirely gone. I emailed Castro support back in 2021 to ask them for help with my
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People Change (members post) Too often I see people suggest that others are a static combination of beliefs. I stongly believe...
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a month ago
Too often I see people suggest that others are a static combination of beliefs. I stongly believe that people can, and do change.
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Quick Reviews is out now! Quick Reviews is currently available on the App Store and is a free download. Check it out! I...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Quick Reviews is currently available on the App Store and is a free download. Check it out! I recently wrote about how the app works, so I’ll let you read that to see how it works. I have finalized my monetization, so I did want to lay that
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It’s time to engage Casey Newton writing on Platformer: Google Slings More AI at the Web To get the web we had at its...
a month ago
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a month ago
Casey Newton writing on Platformer: Google Slings More AI at the Web To get the web we had at its peak, platforms and publishers had to align around mutually beneficial incentives. They did it before, and they can do it again. It would nice to see some progress here before
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Who's using AI in the workplace? Pew has a new report out where they talked to workers in the US and asked them how they were using...
a month ago
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a month ago
Pew has a new report out where they talked to workers in the US and asked them how they were using AI at work. The data is really interesting in a few places, so I wanted to share the most notable insights in my view. First off, only 16% of
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Netflix accidentally gave us something nice Chris Welch writing for The Verge: Netflix Says Its Brief Apple TV App Integration Was a...
a month ago
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a month ago
Chris Welch writing for The Verge: Netflix Says Its Brief Apple TV App Integration Was a Mistake Considering the trajectory of 2025 so far, perhaps we should’ve known that Netflix finally playing nice with the Apple TV app was too good to be true. And now the streaming
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Are these 2025’s new iPhones? 9to5Mac has links to two mock ups claiming to represent the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro coming...
a month ago
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a month ago
9to5Mac has links to two mock ups claiming to represent the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro coming this fall. If I could be so bold, I’d say the 17 Air looks potentially reasonable, but the 17 pro render looks absolutely atrocious. I think there’s
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How I’m using AI tools in early 2025 (members post) What am I actually using these LLMs for at the start of 2025? Quite a bit, actually.
a month ago
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El Salvador gives up on Bitcoin The Tico Times: El Salvador Abandons Bitcoin as Legal Tender After Failed Experiment Bitcoin was...
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The Tico Times: El Salvador Abandons Bitcoin as Legal Tender After Failed Experiment Bitcoin was never used by most Salvadorans, its modern city was never built, and now it will cease to be legal tender in El Salvador, the first country in the world to adopt it in 2021: a
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400 million people use OpenAI/ChatGPT every week Kate Rooney for CNBC: OpenAI Tops 400 Million Users Despite DeepSeek’s Emergence The San...
a month ago
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Kate Rooney for CNBC: OpenAI Tops 400 Million Users Despite DeepSeek’s Emergence The San Francisco-based tech company had 400 million weekly active users as of February, up 33% from 300 million in December, the company’s chief operating officer, Brad Lightcap, told CNBC. I don’t
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We do this same thing with AI bots and human blogs Giles Thomas writing on his personal blog, which he’s been writing since 2006: It's Still Worth...
a month ago
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a month ago
Giles Thomas writing on his personal blog, which he’s been writing since 2006: It's Still Worth Blogging in the Age of AI If you want to blog to make a name for yourself, then you're going to have a hard time. Here's
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My toxic tech trait 99% of the time I want my software to be as fast as humanly possible. I want UI elements that...
a month ago
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a month ago
99% of the time I want my software to be as fast as humanly possible. I want UI elements that respond quickly, and I want keyboard shortcuts to do as much as possible. But 1% of the time, for whatever reason, I just like when a computer takes a long
Birchtree
Quick Reviews 1.0.5: the quality of life update An update to my app, Quick Reviews, is rolling out now! After a lot of feature adds in the first few...
a month ago
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a month ago
An update to my app, Quick Reviews, is rolling out now! After a lot of feature adds in the first few updates, I took this as a chance to clean up some bugs and improve a few elements that made the app a little annoying to use at times. Oh,
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Apple might be cooking this fall Tim Hardwick reporting on Gurman’s reporting in Bloomberg, which I don’t have access to, so I’m...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Tim Hardwick reporting on Gurman’s reporting in Bloomberg, which I don’t have access to, so I’m quoting the MacRumors article: While specific details are scarce, it's supposedly the biggest update to iOS since iOS 7, and the biggest update to macOS since
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Steam Deck sales numbers are in, and they’re not as spectacular as I’d hope (but I do still have... Sean Hollister writing for The Verge: Three Years Later, the Steam Deck Has Dominated Handheld PC...
a month ago
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a month ago
Sean Hollister writing for The Verge: Three Years Later, the Steam Deck Has Dominated Handheld PC Gaming Shipments Add it up, and that’s just under 6 million shipments in three years. One way to view that: it’s small and it’s not really growing. IDC&
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Watch me write a task manager in 30 minutes A core tenet of A Better Computer is showing, not telling. I don’t use a lot of press kit material...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
A core tenet of A Better Computer is showing, not telling. I don’t use a lot of press kit material or talking points from companies in my videos because I don’t particularly care about those. My incentives are fully aligned with showing software (and sometimes hardware)
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➕ Who cares about smartphone design? Just how important is physical design in someone's smartphone buying decision? As with so many...
a month ago
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a month ago
Just how important is physical design in someone's smartphone buying decision? As with so many things, it depends who you ask.
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Perplexity is making a web browser Kyle Wiggers writing for TechCrunch: Perplexity Teases a Web Browser Called Comet “Just like...
a month ago
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a month ago
Kyle Wiggers writing for TechCrunch: Perplexity Teases a Web Browser Called Comet “Just like Perplexity reinvented search, we’re also reinventing the browser,” a Perplexity spokesperson told TechCrunch via email. “Stay tuned for updates.” Exactly one month ago I wrote “I think...
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Claude finally gets its “thinking” update Anthropic released Claude 3.7 yesterday, and as a bit of a Claude stan myself, it’s fair to say I...
a month ago
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a month ago
Anthropic released Claude 3.7 yesterday, and as a bit of a Claude stan myself, it’s fair to say I was excited to see it. The last few months have seen meaningful updates to GPT and Gemini, and in an industry moving at this rate, Anthropic felt like
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“Trust me” I’m not trying to send any hate at a random MacRumors forum commentor who I don’t know, so please...
a month ago
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I’m not trying to send any hate at a random MacRumors forum commentor who I don’t know, so please take this more as me explaining why there’s more skepticism about the Vision Pro than other gen-1 Apple products. From the post: BTW, I also
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I'm Sick, I Have a Sickness Niléane has entered her keyboard era, Chris has a consumer warning as well as a really good...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Niléane has entered her keyboard era, Chris has a consumer warning as well as a really good macropad, and then we find the best games on the Mac. Weekly Topics Logitech MX Keys Mini Volt Plus+ numberpad (but probably don’t buy it) BNK8 macropad Stream Deck
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The releases keep on coming! New MacBook Air and Mac Studio Man, the releases recently are coming in fast and furious, today with Apple announcing new MacBook...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Man, the releases recently are coming in fast and furious, today with Apple announcing new MacBook Airs and Mac Studios. My MacBook Air predictions The Air will likely get a bump to the M4 chip and I’m not totally sure what will happen to the $999 model. as
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Birchtree's new look Oh, hello. Something's different around here, huh? Yup, it's been a few years, and I decided it was...
a month ago
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a month ago
Oh, hello. Something's different around here, huh? Yup, it's been a few years, and I decided it was time to refresh the look around these parts of the indie web. The main impetus for this change was the simple fact I have too many projects I
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The worst product Marques Brownlee ever reviewed dies after 10 months Jay Peters for The Verge: HP Is Buying Humane and Shutting Down the AI Pin Humane is selling “key AI...
a month ago
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a month ago
Jay Peters for The Verge: HP Is Buying Humane and Shutting Down the AI Pin Humane is selling “key AI capabilities” to HP for $116 million and will stop selling AI Pin, the company announced today. AI Pins that have already been purchased will continue to function normally
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+ iPhone 16e review in progress: battery life You can never do too much battery testing, but after a week with this phone I've got some...
3 weeks ago
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Is ChatGPT the next Dropbox or the next iPhone? Ed Zitron on his Where's Your Ed At blog: There Is No AI Revolution I kept coming back to one...
a month ago
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a month ago
Ed Zitron on his Where's Your Ed At blog: There Is No AI Revolution I kept coming back to one thought: where's the money? No, really, where is it? Where is the money that this supposedly revolutionary, world-changing industry is making, and will make? The answer
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NVIDIA finally gets some competition Tom Warren for The Verge: AMD Radeon RX 9070 / 9070 XT Review and Benchmarks The RX 9070 is around...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Tom Warren for The Verge: AMD Radeon RX 9070 / 9070 XT Review and Benchmarks The RX 9070 is around 17 percent faster than Nvidia’s RTX 5070 in 4K without upscaling enabled, cruising past Nvidia’s card for the same price. The RX 9070 XT is as fast
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The battle of the budget phones Just days after I got my iPhone 16e, Apple’s (less) budget (than ever before) iPhone, Nothing is out...
a month ago
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a month ago
Just days after I got my iPhone 16e, Apple’s (less) budget (than ever before) iPhone, Nothing is out here with new their new budget phones, the Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro. These models start at $379 and $459 respectively, so they certainly undercut the new iPhone, so let&
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I'm setting the bar too low I've been a proponent of high-refresh rate displays for years now, and I think it's pretty...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
I've been a proponent of high-refresh rate displays for years now, and I think it's pretty ridiculous that Apple doesn't put these displays in their sub-$1,000 iPhones. I think if you're just keeping up with the Apple ecosystem then you
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The "essential" iPhone Today marks day 13 of using the iPhone 16e as my primary phone, and after this review goes live,...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Today marks day 13 of using the iPhone 16e as my primary phone, and after this review goes live, I'll be moving my eSIM back to the 16 Pro that I use day to day. I intended to use this phone for a month before going back to
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➕ iPhone 16e review in progress: photography Here's a peek behind the scenes as I work on my iPhone 16e review.
4 weeks ago
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So much time and money for a minor vibe shift Gary Marcus: Hot Take: GPT 4.5 Is a Nothing Burger Half a trillion dollars later, there is still no...
a month ago
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a month ago
Gary Marcus: Hot Take: GPT 4.5 Is a Nothing Burger Half a trillion dollars later, there is still no viable business model, profits are modest at best for everyone except Nvidia and some consulting forms, there’s still basically no moat, and still no GPT-5. Any reasonable person
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Apple’s new iPads are here, let’s break them down Another day, another opportunity to rate my 2025 Apple predictions! iPad Here’s what I predicted...
a month ago
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a month ago
Another day, another opportunity to rate my 2025 Apple predictions! iPad Here’s what I predicted would happen with the base iPad this year: I fully expect to see the 11th gen iPad in 2025, and I think it will come with a jump to the A17 Pro or
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Worst headline of 2025 contender just dropped Victor Tangermann writing for Yahoo Finance with the very enticing headline: Microsoft CEO Admits...
a month ago
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a month ago
Victor Tangermann writing for Yahoo Finance with the very enticing headline: Microsoft CEO Admits That AI Is Generating Basically No Value During an appearance on podcaster Dwarkesh Patel's show this week, Nadella offered a reality check. "Us self-claiming some [artificial...
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Politics are personal Justin Ferrell: It's Not Politics, It's Just Personal What happens when no amount of work or...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Justin Ferrell: It's Not Politics, It's Just Personal What happens when no amount of work or labor—and no tax cuts—could even scratch the surface of the tens of thousands of dollars in medical care that keeps your son above ground? A very
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The Pebble (which made me fall in love with smart watches) is back Introducing Two New PebbleOS Watches! We’re excited to announce two new smartwatches that run open...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Introducing Two New PebbleOS Watches! We’re excited to announce two new smartwatches that run open source PebbleOS and are compatible with thousands of your beloved Pebble apps. The original Pebble was my “a ha!” moment when I realized smart watches were the real deal, even in
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🕹️ I strongly recommend Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (for the right person) God damn, this game.
2 weeks ago
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Handheld consoles, assemble! Jez Corden writing for Windows Central: EXCLUSIVE: Xbox's New Hardware Plans Begin With a Gaming...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Jez Corden writing for Windows Central: EXCLUSIVE: Xbox's New Hardware Plans Begin With a Gaming Handheld Set for Later This Year, With Full Next-Gen Consoles Targeting 2027 Microsoft is working with a PC gaming OEM (think ASUS, Lenovo, MSI, Razer, etc.) on an Xbox-branded gaming...
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Apple says they will add encryption to RCS Jess Weatherbed writing for The Verge: Apple Will Soon Support Encrypted RCS Messaging With Android...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Jess Weatherbed writing for The Verge: Apple Will Soon Support Encrypted RCS Messaging With Android Users “End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross...
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+ Why I quit Superhuman I appreciate the app, I just had to let it go.
3 weeks ago
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Meta has squandered Threads Jon Passantino writing for Status: Hanging by a Thread Now Threads feels rather lifeless. While...
a week ago
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a week ago
Jon Passantino writing for Status: Hanging by a Thread Now Threads feels rather lifeless. While users still post there, for many has become something of a second-tier platform—a place that they dump content out of habit, not because they’re having real conversations or finding...
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+ I’m a season 1 sorta guy Yes, this is about Severance, but it's really about more than Severance.
a week ago
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This challenge escalated quickly! Check it out on YouTube and Podcasts! Matt and Chris have all the new Apple hardware, and Niléane...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Check it out on YouTube and Podcasts! Matt and Chris have all the new Apple hardware, and Niléane takes the challenge to the next level. Weekly Topics iPhone 16e iPad Air (M3) MacBook Air (M4) Other Things Discussed Niléane’s brilliant Touch ID setup TP-Link
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You don’t need AI to play old games on modern hardware Fatima Kardar, Corporate Vice President, Gaming AI, at Microsoft: Empowering Creators and Players...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Fatima Kardar, Corporate Vice President, Gaming AI, at Microsoft: Empowering Creators and Players With Muse, a Generative AI Model for Gameplay We’re excited to announce a generative AI breakthrough, published today in the journal Nature and announced by Microsoft Research, that...
Birchtree
A personal update on Apple TV+ When Apple TV+ launched just over 5 years ago, it’s fair to say I wasn’t a fan. I thought their...
a week ago
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a week ago
When Apple TV+ launched just over 5 years ago, it’s fair to say I wasn’t a fan. I thought their launch shows were not to my taste, to put it generously. I don’t want to call out any specific show here, but I tried
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The VR market shrunk yet again in 2024 Counterpoint Research: Global VR Market Declines 12% YoY in 2024; ‘AR+AI’ Smart Glasses to Take...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Counterpoint Research: Global VR Market Declines 12% YoY in 2024; ‘AR+AI’ Smart Glasses to Take Centre Stage in 2025 Global VR headset shipments fell 12% YoY in 2024, marking their third consecutive year of declines due to the continued weak consumer demand. This is actually...
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Wow, what courage Mia McCarthy writing for Politico: No More in-Person Town Halls, NRCC Chief Tells House...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Mia McCarthy writing for Politico: No More in-Person Town Halls, NRCC Chief Tells House Republicans The chair of the House GOP's campaign arm told Republican lawmakers Tuesday to stop holding in-person town halls amid a wave of angry backlash over the cuts undertaken by President...
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Secretary of Defense put war plans in a group chat with a journalist Jeffrey Goldberg with an insane story in The Atlantic: The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted...
a week ago
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a week ago
Jeffrey Goldberg with an insane story in The Atlantic: The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen. > > I, however, knew two hours...
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You’re telling me I’m holding it wrong? Really!?!! Darth Chris makes an appearance, Niléane has an exclusive first look at…checks notes… the iPhone 16...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Darth Chris makes an appearance, Niléane has an exclusive first look at…checks notes… the iPhone 16 Pro, Matt insists on talking about MacWhisper even more, and the crew actually all followed the rules in this week's challenge (a miracle!). Weekly Topics iPhone 16
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What people do with an empty text box I was listening to Hard Fork this weekend when Kevin Roose said this (emphasis mine): I think that...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
I was listening to Hard Fork this weekend when Kevin Roose said this (emphasis mine): I think that there is sort of a basic assumption if you're a heavy user of, say, ChatGPT, that there are certain things that it's good at and there are certain
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The base MacBook Air should have an M1 processor Why oh why does the base MacBook Air that Apple sells have their latest generation chip, the M4?...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Why oh why does the base MacBook Air that Apple sells have their latest generation chip, the M4? That's so overkill for the vast majority of people, and I'd bet that most of them wouldn't even notice the speed difference in their day-to-day tasks.
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My god, where did the YouTube suggestions go? They’re back, baby! WTF is going on with US leaders pushing get-rich-quick schemes like...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
They’re back, baby! WTF is going on with US leaders pushing get-rich-quick schemes like memecoins? I always love these "unnecessary" inventions. Season 1 was spectacular, and I can't wait to see what they do in the second season Mostly sharing this because it'
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I’m not used to seeing this John Gruber: Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino The fiasco here is not that Apple is late...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
John Gruber: Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino The fiasco here is not that Apple is late on AI. It’s also not that they had to announce an embarrassing delay on promised features last week. Those are problems, not fiascos, and problems happen. They’re
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Ghost gets ActivityPub into beta Ghost: Social Web We've got our social web integration for Ghost to a point where we're excited to...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Ghost: Social Web We've got our social web integration for Ghost to a point where we're excited to have you try it out, but there's a lot of work still in progress and (as alluded to earlier) there are some significant rough edges. I&
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My job doesn't need to exist? Rands: The Product Engineer You don’t need Product Managers. There. I said it. As someone who just...
a week ago
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a week ago
Rands: The Product Engineer You don’t need Product Managers. There. I said it. As someone who just moved into a product management role, you had best believe this line caught my eye. 👀 The post makes some reasonable arguments, although I think a lot of it is an
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The Gen Z-powered retro gaming revival Eve Upton-Clark writing for Fast Company: ‘It’s Like Their Escape’: Retro Gaming Is Back Thanks to...
a week ago
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a week ago
Eve Upton-Clark writing for Fast Company: ‘It’s Like Their Escape’: Retro Gaming Is Back Thanks to Gen Z Low-tech holds nostalgic appeal and may even offer a solid antidote to our increasingly fast-paced tech-driven society. For 78% of those polled, one reason they enjoy using...
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The tale of Narcissus Ted Gioia: What's Happening to Students? I’m dumbfounded when I hear ‘experts’ claim that phones are...
a week ago
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a week ago
Ted Gioia: What's Happening to Students? I’m dumbfounded when I hear ‘experts’ claim that phones are not the problem. Like tobacco companies—whose hired experts long denied the connection between smoking and cancer—they say that “correlation does not prove causation.
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I feel more empowered than ever Bryan Irace: Tim, Don’t Kill My Vibe Like it or not, LLMs—both through general chat interfaces and...
a week ago
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a week ago
Bryan Irace: Tim, Don’t Kill My Vibe Like it or not, LLMs—both through general chat interfaces and purpose-built developer tools—have meaningfully increased the rate at which new software can be produced. And they’ve done so both by making skilled developers more productive
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OS updates should respect my settings Tim Hardwick writing for MacRumors: PSA: iOS 18.3.2 Re-Enables Apple Intelligence if You Turned It...
a week ago
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a week ago
Tim Hardwick writing for MacRumors: PSA: iOS 18.3.2 Re-Enables Apple Intelligence if You Turned It Off With new iOS software updates, Apple has been automatically turning Apple Intelligence on again even for users who have disabled it, a decision that has become increasingly...
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I've moved to Ghost Pro Here's hoping this post is short and sweet… Back in 2019 I moved my blog off of WordPress and over...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
Here's hoping this post is short and sweet… Back in 2019 I moved my blog off of WordPress and over to Ghost. In short, I wasn't happy with WordPress and wanted a blogging engine that felt more like it was made for blogging than a
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Balatro continues to bring a smile Jay Peters for The Verge: Why Balatro’s Developer Stays Anonymous It’s an arrangement that the...
a week ago
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a week ago
Jay Peters for The Verge: Why Balatro’s Developer Stays Anonymous It’s an arrangement that the Playstack team figured out with LocalThunk ahead of other ceremonies like The Game Awards, where Balatro won three awards and was nominated for Game of the Year. LocalThunk didn’t
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This alert must die I really thought that the screen recording notifications in macOS Sequoia would be the bane of my...
a week ago
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a week ago
I really thought that the screen recording notifications in macOS Sequoia would be the bane of my existence, but thankfully those have been changed quite a bit from the early betas last summer and they're totally a non-issue in my book today. However, these god damned "turn
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+ Why don't I post mock ups anymore? Hey, where did the design concepts go?
a week ago
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Before you burn it down… I enjoyed this quote from Casey Newton on today's Hard Fork podcast: Even as somebody who generally...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
I enjoyed this quote from Casey Newton on today's Hard Fork podcast: Even as somebody who generally likes technology, I think some of these tech oligarchs have this extremely know-it-all attitude that "our tech is better than your tech, yours sucks," and they sort of bluster
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Should we do a Conclave? Niléane insists she's not bringing another task manager, Chris has a new e-ink toy he loves, and the...
a week ago
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a week ago
Niléane insists she's not bringing another task manager, Chris has a new e-ink toy he loves, and the whole crew finds interesting ways to add some more text expansion to their lives. We want to hear from you! How would you have done our challenges? How
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Settings > Default Apps > Voice Assistant Parker Ortolani writing Gemini, Siri, and Default Assistants on iOS, arguing that Apple should allow...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
Parker Ortolani writing Gemini, Siri, and Default Assistants on iOS, arguing that Apple should allow you to set a different default voice assistant: it would do two things: it would mitigate some of the damage with customer relations while they wait for the new Siri and it sets a...
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Yesterday's 'golden age' turns into today's mess Nick Timiraos for the Wall Street Journal: Corporate America’s Euphoria Over Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ Is...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
Nick Timiraos for the Wall Street Journal: Corporate America’s Euphoria Over Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ Is Giving Way to Distress Investors were caught flat-footed by Trump’s animus toward Canada, which wasn’t a part of last year’s election campaign. Global
Birchtree
I keep telling people Google TV is better than you think Jason Snell: Who’s the Laggard? Comparing TV Streamer Boxes In short: Google TV is tasteful, well...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
Jason Snell: Who’s the Laggard? Comparing TV Streamer Boxes In short: Google TV is tasteful, well done, supports live streaming decently if not perfectly, and is a great extension of the Google ecosystem. As someone who does use YouTube TV and YouTube Premium, if I had to stop
Birchtree
+ Book and video game review catchup
5 days ago
Birchtree
The Snow Leopard we've built up in our heads Nick Heer: linking to Jeff Johnson's The myth and reality of Mac OS X Snow Leopard I read an article...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
Nick Heer: linking to Jeff Johnson's The myth and reality of Mac OS X Snow Leopard I read an article today from yet another person pining for a mythical Snow Leopard-style MacOS release. While I sympathize with the intent of their argument, it is largely fictional and, as
Birchtree
You have got to be kidding me Mia Sato writing for The Verge: Elon Musk’s $1 Million Handout Winners Are Connected to Republican...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
Mia Sato writing for The Verge: Elon Musk’s $1 Million Handout Winners Are Connected to Republican Causes On Sunday, a few thousand people in Green Bay, Wisconsin, gathered to hear Elon Musk speak — and give away two giant cardboard checks for $1 million. Attendance at the event
Birchtree
“Retina” is not a static PPI I’m just going to keep posting about this every few months because people keep getting “retina”...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
I’m just going to keep posting about this every few months because people keep getting “retina” wrong. According to this YouTube video that was recommended to me today, retina on desktop monitors is exactly 218ppi (pixels per inch). Now of course the iPhone 4, which was
Birchtree
Benchmarks from M2 Pro to M4 Pro Long story short, I picked up a new MacBook Pro this week. I got the M4 Pro version with the higher...
2 days ago
3
2 days ago
Long story short, I picked up a new MacBook Pro this week. I got the M4 Pro version with the higher core count and 1TB of internal storage. It's the exact same model in the lineup as the M2 Pro I've been using for the last
Birchtree
The post you knew was coming about the Switch 2 display Nintendo gave the Switch 2 it's grand unveiling today, and I think it looks great. $449 is a steep...
yesterday
2
yesterday
Nintendo gave the Switch 2 it's grand unveiling today, and I think it looks great. $449 is a steep starting price, but considering the features and the fact we live in a world of inflation and significant tariffs on many goods coming into the US, it's
Birchtree
People’s passion for art made by humans persists M.G. Siegler: A Spirited Debate Around AI This isn’t the end of art. It may indeed be the dawn of a...
an hour ago
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an hour ago
M.G. Siegler: A Spirited Debate Around AI This isn’t the end of art. It may indeed be the dawn of a new age for art. And that may not devalue the human-created art as is the clear fear right now. In fact, it may even *elevate* it
Birchtree
Peanut butter toast You never know what moments have staying power until they hit you.
4 hours ago
Birchtree
Some thoughts on the Switch 2 Nintendo finally rolled out the red carpet for the Switch 2 yesterday, and I'll be honest, I'm super...
7 hours ago
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7 hours ago
Nintendo finally rolled out the red carpet for the Switch 2 yesterday, and I'll be honest, I'm super excited for it. The hardware The hardware for the new Switch is everything I ever wanted, minus one thing. The performance looks pretty darn good, and it appears
Birchtree
A new/old Pokémon game, how Hollywood can make good movies, and a puzzle with all edge pieces We are so back! Please keep making smaller, original movies so that we get new franchises A puzzle...
8 hours ago
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8 hours ago
We are so back! Please keep making smaller, original movies so that we get new franchises A puzzle with all edge pieces that looks fun but also very hard Every font is free…as long as you remake it yourself Fellow olds, if you haven't seen this,
Birchtree
Introducing Quick Stuff Today I'm introducing the most side of side projects I've done in a long time, and I'm calling it...
9 hours ago
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9 hours ago
Today I'm introducing the most side of side projects I've done in a long time, and I'm calling it Quick Stuff. Quick Stuff is a place for me to put all of my little projects in one place, and I'm really happy