Rob Fahrni

Apple Music Voice

Horrible, terrible, no good, rotten idea.

Look, Steve Jobs, famously, told the CEO of DropBox what they had was a feature, not a product. That’s what Apple Music Voice is. It’s just a feature they should include as part of your Apple Music Subscription.

Rating: Turd 💩

HomePod Mini

New colors are always a welcome addition to Apple products.

Rating: Winner 👍🏼

AirPods

Apple has a winner of a product here. I don’t have anything more to say on the matter.

Rating: Winner 👍🏼

MacBook Pro

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about anything in the announcement except the MacBook Pro offerings.

Boy-o-boy did they deliver.

14in and 16in choices in a variety of configurations to fit all kinds of needs. Wow!

I’ll bet a fully loaded MacBook Pro M1 Max is going to smoke most Mac Pro configurations.

Rating: Winner 😍

Closing Thoughts

Yes, every fiber in my body wants a 16in, 64GB RAM, M1 Max 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and a 2TB SSD. I mean, why the heck not! Go big or go home, right?

As it is I won’t be purchasing this dream machine or anything like it for a while. I’ll be sticking with my trusty old 15in 2015 MacBook Pro for the foreseeable future.

Who knows, maybe I’ll hit that big lottery win, then I’ll buy that laptop configuration and a Pro Display XDR. 😃

P.S.

I love color. It’s a real puzzle why Apple insists on giving us two choices of color; silver and gray. That’s just boring.

Look, I’m a Pro, right? I love me some color. My iPhone 11 is purple and I just love to look at it. If Apple would offer an orange one I’d be all over it.

I wish Apple would give us Pro computers with those lovely rainbow colors on the new iMac’s. They’re gorgeous.

It was great, but left me wanting.

I don’t remember when I read the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. By this time I’ve forgotten a lot about it, so I don’t know what was added to the story as additional flair or adapted to make it flow better on the big screen, but I really enjoyed it.

In the end this left me feeling like I did with Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. It was a great story, loved it, but it felt like a bridge. A bridge to the finale.

I remember enough about the story to know stuff is about to get interesting. I really hope we don’t have to wait a year for part two. That would be depressing.

Here’s hoping we get the second part during Blockbuster season 2022. 🤞🏼

If Facebook makes a parent company and needs a new CEO for Facebook, I’m available.

I will eliminate the algorithmic timeline and suggestion engine. I will also hire a lot of folks to help eliminate hate groups and misinformation on the platform.

I would open the platform up to researchers so it would be held accountable. Of course these researchers would be vetted.

Political advertising would not be allowed.

I would permanently bad Trump from the platform.

Folks could still keep in touch with their families and see pictures of their grandkids and cats. That is a good thing.

That’s just a beginning.

Finally getting down to brass tacks with the French drain.

Now I just need to get the shell off of the truck so I can go pickup a half yard of rock, add it to the trench, and button it up.

I really hope this does the trick. 🤞🏼

The Guardian: ”In one striking internal study, a Facebook researcher created a fake profile for “Carol Smith”, conservative female user whose interests included Fox News and Donald Trump. The experiment showed that within two days, Facebook’s algorithm was recommending “Carol” join groups dedicated to QAnon, a baseless internet conspiracy theory.”

Again we see Facebook is a garbage company. They’re actively helping to create a whole generation of radicals, domestic terrorists if we don’t stop them.

Folks think I’m overreacting. That’s fine. I just want to maintain and improve our Republic for generations to come. We are so close to losing it because of Trump and his GOP sycophants.

Facebook isn’t helping matters.

Jason Bock via Twitter: ”The underlying events that caused this to happen (or at least that what it seems like is going on) is what’s really troubling. Can .NET devs, who care about OSS, say from now on, ‘we trust MS to do the right thing?’”

This is something worth keeping an eye on. I haven’t written any Windows code in a few years now but why Microsoft would retard their wonderful .NET runtime for the sake of Visual Studio is beyond me.

Visual Studio is a fantastic IDE for development on Windows.

VS Code is a baby brother. Why the two cannot co-exist is beyond my comprehension.

They created an accidental behemoth in VS Code. It’s awesome. It’s cross platform. Devs love it. I have a friend who is a Linux C++ developer and raging emacs fanatic. He switched to VS Code because it ran everywhere and he had a nice build process setup he could run within the editor.

As for Visual Studio. If I were doing professional C++ or C# development on Windows it would, hands down, be my dev environment. It’s just too good to walk away from. The full integration, dare I say IDE, is too full featured to not use it. It’s the best tool for the job in my opinion.

In fact, it will be the IDE I use for the Windows Version of Stream when the time comes. I want that awesome C++ compiler, debugger, and the integration with C# and .NET.

Maybe it’s a lesson for Microsoft. Maybe Visual Studio should be FREE?

I get Xcode for free on the Mac. It’s also a great IDE for doing native work on the platform. It’s the IDE I’ve been using to creat Stream’s Cross Platform C++ Framework.

Maybe Microsoft should adjust their strategy? Charge $99.00 year for a developer program that includes access to a version of Visual Studio Community Edition that 100% supports C++ and C#/.NET development and no other languages. Oh, and it allows you to publish Desktop apps.

It’s all I need, it would put money in Microsoft’s hands, and perhaps allow them to make .NET fully featured?

I thought I’d list some Indie Developers and Small Developers who are worthy of your support.

There are so many making wonderful, beautifully designed, and very useful software.

Let’s give them some attention.

• David Steppenbeck- McClockface
• James Thomson- PCalc
• Christian Selig - Apollo
• Jeff Johnson - Stop the Madness
• Vincent Ritter - Gluon
• Manton Reece - Micro.blog
• Daniel Jalkut - MarsEdit
• Brent Simmons - NetNewsWire
• Iconfactory - Many Apps
• Tiny Podcast Company Ltd. - Castro
• Marco Arment - Overcast
• Simon Støvring - Data Jar

Dave Rogers: “I think many people who enjoy posting and sharing on Facebook, would be better served by creating and maintaining a blog. You can achieve nearly the same level of ease of discovery through RSS and readers/aggregators, that you curate. What appears in your timeline is under your control. And there’s just enough friction there, in terms of reacting or responding, to serve as kind of a dampening force. Responses can be more thoughtful, the “hot take” can take a moment to cool."

Of course that paragraph caught my eye, but this is a very thoughtful piece by Dave that shares his rekindled enthusiasm for blogging.

500ish: “Facebook is over because they won. Because they have two billion users. Because they created a service which mirrors humanity. And humanity, as it turns out, is not great. I mean, yeah, sure, there are pockets of great. But there are also pockets of awful. And the awful will always overwhelm the great. And Facebook has created the perfect tool to enable this. At scale.”

Zuck only cares about money. Money, money, money, money, money.

He lacks empathy. If he were a more empathetic person he’d realize it’s time to step down as CEO and let someone run the show. The stock would fall, sure, but they’d eventually figure it out and Facebook could, perhaps, become a better place for people. Real flesh and blood people. As it stands now it’s a human emotion targeting system for advertisers and politicians.

Embracing some open web standards could also open Facebook to a broader audience. It could be a wonderful blogging platform and folks wouldn’t need to know what a blog is. Allow folks the option to write in public and not lock it behind Facebook login. Add RSS feeds to it while you’re in there.

It could be a really great destination on the web, instead of the cesspool we have today.

Zuck, step down so Facebook can be better. Go enjoy life, it’s short.

UI is hard.

That’s all. That’s the post.

Morning mocha at Grit.

CNN: “The report also details an extraordinary three-hour meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump tried to win support for a plan to install as acting attorney general a loyalist, Jeffrey Clark, who he thought would help him overturn the 2020 election. In the end, the ex-President was talked out of the move after being told it would trigger mass Justice Department resignations."

If our country cannot arrest, try, and hopefully convict these people of crimes then we deserve to lose our republic and have Trump as dictator.

It’s unbelievable to me that nothing has been done, that Trump is telling his chronies to ignore subpoenas. We’re going to mess around and let our country fall to this man that causes only grief and destruction wherever he goes.

We have to rise up and war must be waged if the Justice Department refuses to take action and Trump is reelected in 2024. Especially if he refuses to leave office after his second term. Then war is inevitable.

Let’s not allow it to come to that. I’d rather see Trump and his associates imprisoned. It’s what they deserve and don’t pull that “We can’t jail a Presidet” bullshit with me. It’s time we did. Trump is dangerous.

Brent Simmons: ”But I kind of think not, because there’s a bigger issue: I expect and hope that eventually I will no longer be a public person — no blog, no Twitter, no public online presence at all.”

Wow. This could be a big move by one of those early Mac developers and bloggers I looked to for inspiration.

Of course I can’t say these thoughts haven’t crossed my mind and I definitely blog less these days. Our hope is to someday live a more nomadic lifestyle, travel the country. I expect that would lead to more blogging.

I can totally see where Brent is coming from.

I know of one person who did this; Mark Pilgrim.

UPDATE: Brent replied to my tweet that linked to this article and thought the title was a bit strong. He’s correct, it is. My mind went to Mark Pilgrim’s “digital disappearance” and I applied that to Brent’s post.

It is a bit over the top. I am sorry for that, Brent.

Ars Technica: ”Facebook—and apparently all the major services Facebook owns—are down today. We first noticed the problem at about 11:30 am Eastern time, when some Facebook links stopped working.”

This is a really good start. Now, just keep them off the air, permanently.

Disgusting company.

I’ve been against this company existing for a long time. Especially when it comes to them owning you. You’re the product.

Take this opportunity to build your own thing. It gets easier and easier with each passing day.

Me, from 2012

Host your content on your website. It’s your brand, it belongs to you. Link to your important content from your Facebook and Twitter account. That’s what the Internet is all about. Links. Facebook is a walled garden. Why trap your content behind those drab blue walls?

Matthias Ott, May 2019

What started out as the most promising development in the history of the Web – the participation of users in the creation of content and online dialogue at scale – has turned into a swamp of sensation, lies, hate speech, harassment, and noise.

The web still has promise but Facebook wants you to believe they are the internet, not just a participant.

The Verge: ’In the Friday filing, Trump argues that his Twitter account “became an important source of news and information about government affairs and was a digital town hall,” where the former president posted his views.’

The Former Guy is such a piece of work.

The way politicians describe their voice as some sort of super special protected speech screams of privilege. How is a politicians voice more important than mine? It’s not, or at least it shouldn’t be. Besides, politicians are supposed to serve the people they represent. Many just love the power they wield.

Heck, if I used Twitter the way the Orange Man did to bully people, organize, and execute an attempted coup of the American government, I’d fully expect Twitter to ban me for life.

Besides, it’s well known that the First Amendment applies to the government silencing our speech. Here it is in its entirety.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

If Twitter has to give back his account I hope they are able to find a way to limit his bullying form of verbal diarrhea to the confines of Special Florida Twitter. Meaning his account starts at zero followers and only allows Floridians to follow him. Twitter and Special Florida Twitter should not be allowed to mix.

I really hope the courts see his attempt for what it is. The last ditch effort of an old man trying to find what little glory he can.

Sometimes I wish we could eject Florida and Texas from our Union.

daringfireball.net

Facebook in Crisis Mode Amid Wall Street Journal Exposé

”What a magnet for sociopaths this company is.”

Sociopaths, all. How in the world can any Facebook employee justify going to work each day? Oh, it’s about the money? Look in the mirror. You need help.

I love thunder storms. The East has great ones. 🌩

It’s no secret I’m an iOS Developer and have been since late 2008. But, I’m definitely not in the pundit class, fanboi class, or must have the newest thing class of Apple fandom.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those classes of people. Some folks just really love Apple products and have to have the new hotness. Let folks be happy I say.

Two of Apple’s latest products caught my eye and that little monster inside me that says ”Rob, you have to get these things” reared its ugly head. I haven’t bought these things, mind, I just want them.

iPad Mini

I still have a first generation iPad Mini. It’s a perfect device for my needs. I love reading on it. It’s also good for watching movies. The battery life and weight are amazing. The thing is super thin. I absolutely love it.

Question is, will I love this new design as much as the first gen? I’d imagine it’s going to be a bit thicker and heavier, not that those items are super concerning, but worth noting.

The new industrial design is absolutely gorgeous in my book. I’m a big fan of the squared borders. No surprise there. I still believe the iPhone 4 was the best iPhone design ever.

The display also looks like a real winner. Heck, anything is going to look amazing compared to my first gen.

Yes, I want one.

Apple Watch Seven

I’m still wearing First Generation Apple Watch. Notice a theme here? I keep my stuff for a long time. I wear it everyday and it’s served me well. I can no longer upgrade the OS but, so far, all the apps I use still operate just fine.

I really dig the curved display effect. Plus, it’s new, and I’d like an upgrade. Honestly an Apple Watch Four, or newer, would be just fine for me. I could probably find an older model for much less. I’d even take a refurb with a protection plan.

All that said I have to believe the latest Apple Watch would blow me away if I used it for a bit.

Yes, I want one.

Buy Them!

Hey, slow your roll a bit. Here’s another thing you have to understand about me. I have a very difficult time spending that kind of money on myself. There is always something more important in our life we need to spend that money on. Wether it’s a new Air Conditioning unit, fridge, or dishwasher, it’s always something. And, yes, we’ve replaced all of those in less than a years time.

When I released RxCalc in 2009 and Stream in 2020 I had high hopes each could earn me $50-$100 a month. Boy, was I way too confident. When the day comes that I can earn that kind of cheddar from my apps I will feel a lot better about buying new hardware. Until then I will hope my lovely wife and girls decide to gift me with one. Like they did with my Apple Watch.

P.S.

<img border=“0” src=“https://static.crabapples.net/misc/flowers.gif" align=“right” alt=“A wonderful bouquet of flowers."/ >I do have plans to improve Stream by adding support for Mac and continuing to improve the experience over time. I’m just very slow so, please, bear with me.

NBA Anti-Vaxxers Are Pushing Around the League–It’s Working - Rolling Stone: “‘The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,’ NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tells Rolling Stone. ‘There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research. What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance at disbelieving immunology and other medical experts. Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?’”

It would be really nice to see all pro sports make this a requirement to play, but they won’t. All they care about is the all mighty dollar, and pissing off their star players is not something they have the guts to do.

At WillowTree most folks are working from home. There are still folks going to the office because they need the interaction but it’s like a ghost town.

I really believe any reasonable company would require vaccinations to come back to the office. That statement goes for WillowTree as well.

COVID has been so life changing. It seems to be endemic now. I’m not sure that it is but it feels like we’re going to have to live with flare ups forever.

Being vaccinated is our best hope to tamp it down to a smolder.

Dave Rogers: “But still, I do think it’s better than the “hot take,” the snide aside, the essential emptiness of a popular meme. So I think it’s worth making an effort to help bring back blogging.”

I’ve been trying to write more on my blog since rebooting my original site and it’s encouraging to see Dave recommit to the medium.

It’s nice when you don’t have to think in 280 characters or less. It gives us time to really consider our words.

If you use a feed reader point it to Dave’s blog. I’ve been following him for years and I think he’s a very considerate person and a great writer.

Enjoy.

We have wild roses in Virginia.

Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow: “Facebook is a rotten company, rotten from the top down, its founder, board and top execs are sociopaths and monsters, committers of non-hyperbolic, no-fooling crimes against humanity. They lie, they cheat, they steal. They are some of history’s greatest villains.”

Facebook. I really hate Facebook. I mean like really, really, hate Facebook.

I’d love to see the company die in a fire, a virtual nuclear explosion that caused such a cataclysmic event to occur no data, on any Facebook server, could be recovered. And by some miracle the entire catalog of Facebook source code magically disappeared.

That would be a magical day indeed.

When I was nearing the end of high school I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew I liked computers but at the time I didn’t know what Computer Science was. Besides, my local Junior College didn’t have a Computer Science program. Best they could do was Business Administration.

Like any lost teen I decided I’d go talk to my local Marine recruiter. Yes, I was going to be a Marine until I could figure out who I was and who I wanted to be. I was kind of rudderless.

That night, after talking to the recruiter, I went home, thought about it, and decided I should join. They could teach me how to be a computer programmer. That’s what I really wanted.

Not long after making that decision I had sudden death while taking batting practice and spent the next month in the hospital, in a coma.

When I woke up, went through a battery of tests, and was allowed to return home, my grandfather told me “I got a call from a Marine recruiter while you were in the hospital. I told them they wouldn’t want you any longer.”

That’s how I didn’t become a Marine.

No complaints.

marco.org

The future of the App Store

Good piece from Marco. I agree with all of his side loading and alternate store arguments.

As for Stream, I will most likely leave it as is, using Apple IAP.

nnw.ranchero.com

NetNewsWire 6.0.1 for iOS

Congratulations to the NNW team! 🥳

Y’all are an inspiration!