ldstephens

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that I had sold my M2 11” iPad Pro and iPad Mini.

So, in the spirit of simplifying my life, I decided to ditch the iPads so there's no more internal struggle about underutilizing them. I traded them in for an iPhone 15 Pro Max, joining my trusty M1 MacBook Air. With Apple Silicon Macs, everything changed for me. They are a game changer!

So I thought I would update you on how that has worked out. Honestly, I don't miss having an iPad at all. Between my iPhone 15 Pro Max and M1 Air, I get everything done. It has simplified my life. No more wrestling with whether the iPad fits in my tech hardware stack. What a relief!

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“Even though Apple doesn’t sell one, USB-A to USB-C cables are easy to find. However, I also think it’s important to stick with brands you know. It’s your car, after all, so you don’t want anything that could be a fire risk. […] These are some picks from reliable brands that should keep CarPlay up and running on day one.” Zac Hall

  • Belkin braided USB-A to USB-C cable
  • Anker braided USB-A to USB-C cable
  • Amazon Basics USB-A to USB-C cable
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© 2024 ldstephens.me

Hey friends, I know that many of you use Alfred. I came across a workflow that I thought you might be interested in.

There are times when I'm doing something in Safari, like research, and have a lot of tabs open. Sometimes I would like to have a list of all those open tabs. Well, this is where this workflow comes in. Robb Knight has written an Alfred workflow that does exactly that.

Here's what it does. It copies open tabs from Safari in various formats:

  • Copy current tab or all
  • Choose which of the pages to copy if copying all
  • Copy as:
    • Markdown
    • Markdown list
    • Titles only
    • Links only
    • Titles and links

The keyword trigger is sf

You can download the workflow here

Robb also has other Alfred workflows that you may be interested in and you can check them out here: Robb Knight – Alfred Workflows

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© 2024 ldstephens.me

I left Android for an iPhone years ago. And I've always been happy with the product and its ecosystem and would fucking hate to see it become like Android. I believe Apple's satisfied customer base is a strong defense in its lawsuit.

Apple can argue that their high customer satisfaction and brand loyalty prove they offer a very desirable product. Customers freely choose iPhones, indicating a lack of forced market dominance.

Ben Lovejoy

After literally years of investigation, the DOJ antitrust lawsuit is finally official. Apple is accused of using a dominant market position to lock in customers, block competitors, profiteer, and stifle new technologies.

David Sparks

A taxpayer-funded lawsuit against a trillion-dollar company is not going away anytime soon. […] Can the government force Apple to make the iPhone more (for lack of a better term) hackable and diminish its market advantage? I suspect many Apple customers don’t even want that.

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© 2024 ldstephens.me

I’ve been keeping my journal in Day One since 2016 with over 600 entries.

The one feature that keeps me hooked on Day One is “On This Day a built-in memory machine for my journal. It automatically surfaces entries I’ve added on the current date in past years, taking me on a journey down memory lane every morning.

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Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 15, 2024 — Walmart will begin selling MacBook Air with the M1 chip – continuing to deliver premium quality and unmatched affordability for customers. MacBook Air features amazing performance and a long battery life in its thin and light design. This is the first time customers can purchase a Mac directly from Walmart. The MacBook Air with the M1 chip is now available on Walmart.com and will soon be available in select Walmart stores for only $699.

John Gruber: “This is a big deal. When the M3 MacBook Airs arrived last week, Apple dropped the M1 Air from its lineup and moved the M2 Air to the magic $999 spot in the lineup. But it looks like Apple is going to keep producing the M1 MacBook Air for this deal with Walmart. These aren’t refurbs, or leftover stock (Apple hasn’t kept excess stock in inventory for bestselling products for decades — keeping inventory low is one of the hallmarks of Apple’s operations in the Cook era).”

I’m writing this very post on a M1 Air. It’s a great machine and I love it. It does everything that I need it to do.

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© 2024 ldstephens.me

As many creators know, the future of TikTok in the US hangs in the balance. A recent bill passed the House, requiring TikTok to sever ties with its parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban. This situation highlights a crucial lesson for all content creators: Don’t put your fucking livelihood on a platform you don't control!

Taylor Lorenz reporting for the The Washington Post: TikTok creators, advocates slam House bill, citing damage to the economy “If the bill passes the Senate and becomes law, “I will lose my biggest platform as a content creator, stripped from me with no recompense or compensation,” she said.”

When you build your career on someone else's platform like TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube, you expose yourself to several risks:

These platforms hold immense power. They can change algorithms, restrict content, or even shut down entirely, jeopardizing your success and income. You're essentially building on someone else's land, and they can change the rules at any time. In this case, the government is in the process of changing the rules for TikTok.

John Gruber “Remember too: China itself bans all foreign social networks. Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Pinterest — none of them are available in mainland China. It’s bananas that we allow an algorithmically-driven social media app controlled by China here.”

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AirPods Pro are rumored to receive a hearing-aid function in iOS 18, arriving this fall and likely to be announced at a Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Since my own hearing aids, bought in 2017, failed a couple of years ago, I've been hoping AirPods would be a viable alternative. This news sounds promising!

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© 2024 ldstephens.me

In a major shift, Apple will allow iOS developers in the EU to distribute apps from the web, rather than via its App Store. The option, which it says will be made available to qualifying developers “later this Spring”, is being offered in response to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) which puts obligations on how Apple can operate the App Store and iOS, which are designated as “core platform services” under the law.

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For years, I've wrestled with the iPad. Remember the dark days of Apple neglecting MacBooks in favor of tablets and introducing that shitty butter-fly keyboard? Like many during that time, I kept trying (and failing) to make the iPad my primary device.

But the truth is, I'm a desktop/laptop guy at heart. Over 40 years of ingrained habits are hard to break! Plus, I'm a die-hard Mac user – always have been, always will be.

So, in the spirit of simplifying my life, I decided to ditch the iPads now there is no more internal struggle about underutilizing them. I traded them in for an iPhone 15 Pro Max, joining my trusty M1 MacBook Air. With Apple silicon Macs everything changed for me. They are a game changer!

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© 2024 ldstephens.me