ldstephens

Karl Bode – techdirt “Last week Amazon began charging Amazon Prime Video customers (who already pay $140 per year) an extra $3 extra per month to avoid ads that didn’t previously exist. […] The move this week resulted in a class action lawsuit by annoyed subscribers, whose lawyers insist that Amazon violated subscriber agreements by suddenly charging for something that subscribers understood they were already paying for: […] Prime Video’s efforts to nickel-and-dime customers is the latest example of the steady enshittification of a streaming video industry that appears to have learned nothing from the scale-chasing issues that plagued cable TV. Now that the market has saturated, streaming companies are looking for creative ways to provide Wall Street the unrealistic endlessly improved quarterly returns bean counters demand.”

Well, congrats to Amazon for joining the ad party and the enshittification of Prime Video! Now my TV watching experience comes with a side of unwanted shit called ads. I'd like to think the Class Action suit will go somewhere but I doubt it will.

In a recent blog post Jason McFadden advocates for a “good enough” approach to computing, prioritizing efficient use of resources and avoiding unnecessary spending on excessive power. The principle of “good enough”  is a rule in software and hardware. It indicates that consumers will use products that are good enough for their requirements, despite the availability of more advanced technology.

Jason McFadden

Nevermind the $3,500 Vision Pro, just comparing laptops has me questioning how much of a computer I really need. I mostly use my M1 MacBook Air, which I bought on Apple’s refurb store for $850. But I know I can do basically most of my computing on an iPad (with accessories) for less than that. Further still, I know I can do all my computing on a $300 Chromebook too – gasp! Web apps and Android mobile apps are enough.

My needs are simple: text wrangling, web surfing, email, etc. Photo editing is about as complex as my computing gets, and my smartphone handles that well enough, whether I use iCloud Photos, Google Photos, Snapseed, or maybe Pixlr. Actually, on occasion, I create graphics for my blog and find Canva, the web-app, to be great for my simple needs. So yeah, I have totally done that on a Chromebook.

[…]

As a consumer on a budget, besides asking myself if I can afford a gadget, I ask if I should.

I've been thinking about this idea a lot lately. In fact, I've had the beginning of a blog post titled “Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should” sitting in my ideas folder for several weeks now. Just because you can afford the fanciest, most powerful device doesn't mean you should buy it. I fall into this trap myself from time to time, and this is a good reminder for all of us not to get caught up in it. “Good enough” truly is good enough despite the availability of more powerful technology.

Published first to ldstephens.net – February 12, 2024

I've tried Obsidian before, but the whole process of migrating my Apple Notes into it just seemed like too much fucking work. I ended up deleting it and moved on. Then, the other day, I stumbled upon news of an Obsidian importer plugin for Apple Notes. Importing everything, including attachments, suddenly felt doable. So, I reinstalled Obsidian, imported my notes, and voila! It worked like a charm.

Next, I dove into the world of Obsidian setups and workflows. I watched videos, read articles, and eventually came across an insightful piece on the Drafts Forum by Stephen Millard, a highly respected member of the Drafts community.

Stephen describes his usage of Drafts and Obsidian, highlighting the distinctive roles each plays in his workflow. Drafts serves as his capture hub, a place where he preprocesses information for use elsewhere, acting like a transport service for his ideas. Obsidian, on the other hand, is one of his destinations, functioning as a personal filing cabinet for notes and writing.

He emphasizes that Drafts and Obsidian serve different purposes. Drafts excels in speedy capture and flexible text manipulation, focusing on simplicity and efficiency. Meanwhile, Obsidian is more about finding and exploring relationships between notes, featuring a more complex plugin architecture and a specialization in Markdown format.

Stephen's longer investment in Drafts makes it a staple in his workflow, as it does for me, and he sees himself using multiple tools rather than replacing one with another. The availability of Obsidian on more platforms, including Windows and Linux, is a significant factor for him. Additionally, he discusses the lock-in aspect, mentioning that while Drafts allows easy extraction of data, Obsidian's use of Markdown files makes it more accessible on different platforms and apps.

Stephen’s approach gave me a clear picture of how I could actually continue using Drafts seamlessly while still benefiting from Obsidian's powerful features.

Published first to ldstephens.net – February 16, 2024

I have been using Alfred since 2016 version 2. My Alfred workflows and muscle memory are so ingrained that moving to Raycast just isn’t an option. That said, I've got Raycast installed, and I'm currently using the free version, leveraging just two extensions that I find particularly useful.

The first is the Raycast Reminders extension. Here's what it does:

• Create Reminders: You can create new reminders, add notes, set priority, and specify a due date. The due date can be expressed in natural language. For instance, you can say “Remind me tomorrow at 3 PM” to set a reminder for that time.

• My Reminders: This command lists all your uncompleted reminders. You can mark them as complete, set their priority, copy details, or open them in Apple's Reminder app.

The second is the Calendar My Schedule extension. Here's what it does:

• My Schedule: View upcoming events for different time frames, from today's agenda to the weeks ahead. Search for specific events. No more calendar app hopping!

Alfred simply has nothing like these two extensions.

Shira Ovide, The Washington Post

A face computer like the Vision Pro, Bailenson said, is “amazing. We should use it but hardly at all.” (Stanford University professor Jeremy Bailenson)

The research suggests that wearing computer headsets for long stretches could be risky to our brains, physical safety and social connections – and that the ways people have loved using the Vision Pro misjudge what the technology is best for.

Few people are wearing the new generation of headsets, such as the $3,500 Vision Pro or Meta’s $500 Quest 3, for hours at a time. Bailenson said that researchers and technology companies need to pay attention to the benefits and downsides before the devices become widespread.

We didn’t do that with smartphones, and now we’re digging out from their effect on our attention spans, happiness and health.

[…]

And he chafes at using headsets like the Vision Pro for hours to do office work or watch movies. But that is how Apple and Meta have imagined you’ll use their goggles.

Cory Doctorow

More specifically, I was tricked by a phone-phisher pretending to be from my bank, and he convinced me to hand over my credit-card number, then did $8,000+ worth of fraud with it before I figured out what happened. And then he tried to do it again, a week later! Here's what happened.

This is well worth reading. Cory Doctorow is a prominent blogger and technology activist. Known for his insightful perspectives on digital rights, privacy, and the impact of technology on society, Cory Doctorow has written extensively on these topics in fiction and non-fiction works. Knowing what Cory has to say about how he got phished may save you from falling for the scam.

Let me tell you something: I love my iPad Pro. It's a fantastic tool for reading, research, and even writing. But here's the deal: the lack of a decent clipboard manager makes me want to tear my fucking hair out.

Every. Single. Day. I'm copying and pasting things. Snippets from articles, research notes, half-written sentences. And yet, on the iPad Pro, it's an exercise in frustration. The measly one-item clipboard is a joke.

Sure, there are those workaround tactics that I wrote about the other day, but let's call a spade a spade – they're just that, work-arounds. I get pissed when I start a task that demands copying and pasting; it's at that moment I reluctantly shift to my Mac. A move that shouldn't be necessary yet becomes an unavoidable ritual due to the iPad Pro's clipboard limitations.

Why should I be compelled to switch devices mid-stream just to manage a fundamental function like copy-pasting? This iPad Pro issue really bothers me, even though I enjoy using it. It deserves better, and it's high time Apple addressed this glaring shortcoming. Fix it please, Apple.

Bill Toulas, Bleeping Computer

An Android remote access trojan (RAT) known as VajraSpy was found in 12 malicious applications, six of which were available on Google Play from April 1, 2021, through September 10, 2023. The malicious apps, which have now been removed from Google Play but remain available on third-party app stores, are disguised as messaging or news apps.

Apple has fought against third-party app stores on iOS for several reason and the above is an example of exactly why.

Apple argues that allowing apps from outside the App Store would compromise iPhone security and user privacy. They point to potential malware risks and the difficulty of regulating third-party stores. Apple values tightly controlling the iOS ecosystem to ensure a consistent and curated user experience.

Tiff White

Overcast, though I am really finding I am done with the majority of Apple and tech focused podcasts. Been listening to this stuff for over 10 years now. Need a breather.

I've unsubscribed from a few Apple-centric podcasts recently for the same reason. Some of the tech release timelines and Apple event recaps feel redundant across these shows, and I only need to hear them once. Similarly, I've been considering trimming similar content from my RSS feed subscriptions.

Mark Gurman

Apple’s next MacBook Airs and iPads get closer to release. Back in December, I reported that Apple had pretty extensive plans for March: There will be several new iPads, alongside the next batch of Macs with M3 chips. More specifically, you should expect the biggest revamp ever for the iPad Pro, a refreshed iPad Air, a larger iPad Air, and 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs with M3 processors. The latest: I’m told these machines are likely to come out around the end of March — and that the new iPad Pros and 13-inch MacBook Air are already deep in production overseas.

Looks like I may be indulging in some Apple upgrades in March. At the top of my list is an M3 MacBook Air to replace my trusty M1. And if Apple unveils a new M3 iPad Mini, well, that's a no-brainer too. I recently wrote about how seamlessly my iPad Mini and MacBook Air work together, and the extra screen real estate of a 15” Air is tempting. I rarely travel in which case, my 11” M2 iPad Pro will go with me instead of the more bulky 15” MacBook Air.