I’ve not weighed in on Apple’s battle with the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act because, frankly, it seems out of my depth, and I’m not a citizen of the EU so I don’t think my opinion about it counts for much. But I feel compelled to share a few that thoughts solidified as I read Chance Miller’s summary for 9to5Mac of the latest changes to developer’s options over there:
Now, Apple has announced a few additional changes in response to feedback it’s received from developers so far. Most notably, Apple will launch a new Web Distribution feature later this spring that lets developers offer their apps for download directly from their website.
There’s a bunch of stuff here that we would have celebrated Apple for introducing had it done them on their own. Instead, the DMA dragged into them it. Web distribution similar to the Mac? Wow! More linking out opportunities? Great! But knowing Apple hates having to do these so much that they didn’t even make it into the first go at compliance leaves it all feeling insincere and hollow.
As a user, I’d wary of all the new ways to download apps if they were available in the USA. Call me basic, but I value the simplicity of one place to download, update, and restore apps.
As someone sympathetic to developers who have been frustrated by Apple’s iron hand ruling of the App Store, I understand the desire for more options, and for real competition to push Apple to make a better distribution product.
As an Apple enthusiast, I wonder how differently the cards would have fell had Apple loosened their grip on their own, rather than have the European Commission do it for them. For one, I’m confident everything would have been settled before their announcement. The fits and starts of changes to the agreements and options are mightily confusing. And I’m sure the community would feel far more charitable toward Apple, rather than the tinge (and often much stronger) of resentment knowing they have no desire to build any of this.
Apple missed their opportunity to do a developer-friendlier App Store 2.0 on their own, and I’m disappointed that they seem too prideful and firm in their convictions to see how that would have paid off in the long run.
Although we missed the first week of March, I’m happy to say that Valerie and I got things on track this weekend and kicked off our month of being PenPals. Valerie is living and working in Kyrgyzstan, which I’m eager to learn about (and hope I’ll be able to confidently spell by the end of March)!
Our first exchanges touch on — what else between strangers? — the weather, and also our interests in outdoor pursuits.
You can read along with our conversation this month here, and check out Valerie’s site here. (I see in her bio that she mentions harboring an interest in Pokémon… I’m excited to explore that!)
2️⃣ Great, now I want a MacPad. It really seems like an ideal computer. Like a SurfaceBook, but with OSes I actually want to use. [🔗 Federico Viticci // macstories.net]
3️⃣ James gives us (another) 100 things we can do with our blogs. #61 is calling to me. [🔗 James // jamesg.blog]
4️⃣ I’ve been experimenting with the <details> element and this post has some great ideas for making it look better. [🔗 Ralph Mason // sitepoint.com]
6️⃣ Arun’s hand-drawn line art of cameras that he uses in blog posts is divine. It really boils down the physical object to its key characteristics. [🔗 Arun Venkatesan // arun.is]
7️⃣ My jaw hung open to the floor throughout this video of Tori Kelly and Jacob Collier recording runs for “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Their vocal control is out of this world. [▶️ Jacob Collier // youtube.com]
Speaking of Tori Kelly, she’s featured on one of my favorite songs (“Winter Wonderland / Don’t Worry Be Happy”) in this, one of my favorite Christmas albums. Pentatonix is in my heavy rotation of music throughout the year, but they certainly feature heaviest during the winter because I can listen to their many Christmas albums without fear of retorts from bystanders.
I was never really into acapella until Pentatonix broke into the mainstream back in my college years. I dig their arrangements, I did their chemistry, I did their choice of music to cover and write, I dig their music videos, but most of all I dig their voices. They’re really an A-tier performing group!
Seeing as we got a little snow today, I don’t feel bad about sharing a Christmas album in March.
Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know. And remember that you can get more links to internet nuggets that I’m finding every day by following me @jarrod on the social web.
4️⃣ Some common sense (once you read them) rules for web design. [🔗 anthonyhobday.com]
5️⃣ Apps like this ARMIDI Widgets creator are exactly what I was hoping would get explored with Vision Pro. Such a clever use of anchoring settings to your wrist. Can’t wait to see more like this in action. [🔗 Geert Bevin // youtube.com]
6️⃣ I’ve always been frustrated by folks who talk shit about e-bikes and how they “make you lazy”. Now there’s research that shows people riding e-bikes get more exercise than riding traditional ones. Anything that gets people more likely to get outside and moving is great in my book. [🔗 Micah Toll // electrek.co]
7️⃣ Are you an uphill person or a downhill person? (I’m uphill leaning, but I sure do love going down on skis too!) [🔗 @outsidemagazine // instagram.com]
So, I have a thing for stylistically stripped back music where lyrics take center stage and ear worm tunes. I can’t remember how I happened across dodie’s music, but it fell right in place with those preferences. I like to think of her as a bedroom creator, just noodling around on her songs, crafting them till their just right and recording without many frills. My imagination is probably all wrong from reality, but it’s how I like to picture this music coming to be.
Human is just a tight 23 minutes, but it’s one of my favorites and provides an excellent intro to dodie’s music. If you get to the end of the seven tracks yearning for more, well, you’re in for a treat. She has a number of EPs and singles, as well as another full album, waiting for you.
Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know. And remember that you can get more links to internet nuggets that I’m finding every day by following me @jarrod on the social web.
I’ve been busy the last few days, so I’m taking advantage of this extra leap day that February has provided us to catch up on my annual birthday post.
The past few years, I’ve used my birthday as a chance to lay out a set of goals that I wanted to complete over the next year. It was aspirational, but ultimately a bit too “New Year Resolution-y” and ended up being more of a stressor than a motivator. With 28 or so things to do in a year, that means accomplishing — checks math — one of those items every couple of weeks. Yikes. In reality, I hardly looked at the list until the end of December, and then scrambled over the next couple months to try to check a few more off. Yikes. Though I still like the idea, it wasn’t leaving me feeling good.
So I’m not gonna do that this year.
Instead, I’d like to reflect a little on my 30th year here on Earth, and ruminate a bit on where my life is headed. And I’ll probably make another list… but different. You’ll see.
My Thirtieth Year
As far as milestones are concerned, this past year was dominated by going through the process of finding and purchasing our first home, and, of course, moving in and making it our own. If I’m honest, I’m still not particularly thrilled about the whole thing, but it makes my wife very happy which is good enough for me. Someday I’ll tell the whole story of our journey into home ownership — in fact, I typed a large portion of it out just now, but this isn’t the right time for that tale.
I lost a few loved ones. I made new friends. I enjoyed my first full year of mountain guiding — a goal I’d been working toward for over a decade. I achieved climbing, running, and skiing goals that I’d set for myself. It was probably the most active year of my life.
I faced difficult conversations when I wasn’t doing my best in some relationships, but emerged stronger, more self-aware, and gained more humility from them.
But perhaps the best reflection going into my 30th birthday came from a question my wife posed to me on a walk just a few days ahead of her own 30th (just two days before mine): Did I feel good about going into my 30s or did I resent it?
It seems like there are a whole lot of people who resent turning 30. Maybe because it’s seen as leaving the last years of your youth behind? Maybe because it can be a wake up call if you’re not traveling along the path you imagined for yourself career or family-wise?
But not me. I have no regrets about my 20s, and feel very fortunate to say that I’m happy where I’ve landed so far. I’ve got a wonderful wife and little family with our fur babies. I’m working in the field that I want, and actually get to use what I studied in school. I’ve learned so much over the last decade about who I am, what I’m good at, and what I’m not. I’m living in a place that allows me to pursue climbing, running, skiing, hiking, and many other outdoor adventures. I have a place of my own to live, and some financial stability. I’m not left needing, only hungry to experience ever more.
I think my 30s will be my best decade yet.
The Next Decade
Alright, I promised you a list. Rather than stuff my calendar with more obligations each month, this year I’ve been thinking about a more measured and manageable approach to goal-setting.
This year, I’d like to lay out a set of 10 goals that I’d like to accomplish over the next decade. At just one per year, and with the option to readjust each birthday, I think I’ll be cause to stay on the bandwagon this time around.
Now, I did just put together my Impossible List just a few months ago, which serves a similarly purpose. But I’m thinking about this post as an opportunity to prioritize some items already present there. Let’s dig in.
Start my own small business. The big one, and what I’m most anxious and excited to pursue this year. I’ve come to realize that I’m only truly happy and fulfilled when I get to call the shots. I’ve got ideas that I want to be able to implement without asking anyone’s permission. I want to be able to set my own schedule to allow more time for learning, training, and progressing, in addition to wanting the opportunity travel and spend more quality time with my wife. I’ve got both short-term and long-term plans/dreams that I think could work really well, and I’m eager to give them a shot. It’s my big leap.
Climb in Yosemite National Park.
Complete a thru-hike.
Run a marathon.
Visit a new country.
Develop an app.
Earn my AMGA Rock Guide certification.
Establish annual trips with a few close friends and family.
Reestablish an annual big backpacking trip with my wife.
A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.
1️⃣ It’s probably the hub’s fault that your devices aren’t responding. Try to purchase hubless lights and outlets instead.
2️⃣ You probably need more remotes/switches than you thought to replace/add physical controllers for the non-nerds in your household. This Wemo one works quite well and offers six different commands in a tiny footprint.
3️⃣ Setting up automations for when the first person arrives home (turn on lights, raise thermostat), and when the last person leaves (turn off lights, lower thermostat) are some of the most useful things you can set up and that everyone will appreciate.
4️⃣ Don’t overlook the Home widget. You can turn off the automatic feature where it guesses which devices you want to control in a given moment and instead set the eight-ish accessories/scenes that you want quick access to. Mine is full of the things I’d want to control first thing in the morning or last at night in bed.
5️⃣ I can’t stress enough how much it helps to ask your partner/housemates what they’d expect to happen when you say a phrase like “Hey dingus, good morning”, or when you long press the bottom button on a remote/switch. They should have some say in how the devices react, and you’ll get more buy-in if things do what they expect.
6️⃣ I’ve been using indoor Nanoleaf lights in outdoor sconces throughout the very chilly winter weather here in upstate New York, and it’s been totally fine. Worth a shot rather than looking for outdoor-specific devices.
7️⃣ It’s expensive, but the physically wired HomeKit switches from Lutron have been so worthwhile and rock solid (even with the hub) for us. I wish I had a little more control over what happens when you press a button (maybe let me run a scene?), but having more lights, fans, and things be HomeKit addressable while still using the existing wiring for physical switches has been great.
My inner Disney child is showing, but the Tarzan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) still rocks. I remember dancing around my room to these songs, pretending I was swinging from trees. In college, “Trashin’ the Camp” (with *NSYNC?!) was a very common song to be heard being skat from my roommate’s and my dorm. “Son of Man” still gets the blood pumping, and “You’ll Be in My Heart” still brings out the tenderness.
Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know. And remember that you can get more links to internet nuggets that I’m finding every day by following me @jarrod on the social web.
“The tech podcast where we’d like you to be our valentine.”
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Dan Moren: How many peripherals do you usually have connected to your computer?
Well, let’s take a look! I’ve got my monitor, a 3-in-1 cable that usually connects my mechanical keyboard (but that often gets used to charge things or connect the occasional other gadget), an external SSD for Time Machine backups, a webcam, and an old HyperDrive hub dock thing that is also a Qi charger (it’s kinda flakey, but gets the job done for how little I use it and was a cool Kickstarter project at the time). Wirelessly, I’ve got a Magic Mouse, a Magic Trackpad, and a HomePod mini stereo pair that I’ve routed music and stuff to play through from my Mac mini.
Lex Friedman: What is your tech setup when watching TV or movies — meaning what do you watch it on, and what are you doing while you watch?
If we’re talking specifically about TV or movies, the vast majority of my watching happens on our main television. It’s an LG 55-inch C94KOLED from a few years ago which looks great and sounds great through our Sonos Beam/One surround setup with it. I typically watch shows with my wife while eating dinner, and I don’t do a whole bunch of TV time otherwise. That’s beginning to change now with my Vision Pro, which I bought partially to have another nice large screen to watch stuff on while my wife plays games on the TV.
Sometimes I watch things on an iPad, but that’s usually just YouTube.
As for what I’m doing while I watch TV or movies — well, usually nothing else! I’m easily distracted by the TV, which is good since when I make time to watch something, I want to catch all of it. If I’m not super into the show, maybe I’ll poke around on my phone, but that’s not very often. Unless, of course, it’s to figure out where I’ve seen that actor before using Callsheet.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Mikah Sargent: Which do you prefer, voice dictation or hand typing as input for messaging?
I think of my text conversations as private, so I rarely feel comfortable dictating a message out loud around other people. So 98% of my messages are typed by hand (or thumb). But I will say that I’ve made a conscious effort to try dictation more often because I know it’s gotten better and can be much faster in some contexts. Audio messages are another thing I’d like to try more.
Oh, and I suppose I dictate fairly often to messages with CarPlay, so there’s that.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Kathy Campbell: Have you worn an Apple Vision Pro out in public, or have you seen them?
Nope, and nope. The closest I’ve come is bringing it to work and wearing it during my lunch hour, which I spend alone most days. And even then I felt so self-conscious that it was hard to enjoy the experience. I think it’s going to be a home computer for now, and perhaps a travel one where I’m only around strangers and don’t care what they think.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Bonus Topic: Do you have any Valentine’s Day traditions?
The only thing that springs to mind is the typical dinner date with my wife. This year I even managed to call in a reservation nearly four weeks(!) in advance. I guess you could call our usual discussion about how we feel our relationship is doing, where it’s been, and where it’s going as traditional as well.
I saw a video somewhere of an older couple hanging out in a convenience store together looking through all the greeting cards in stock, choosing the best one, “giving” to their partner, and then putting them back without purchasing anything. That seems kind of fun, and might suggest it to my wife for next year.
⏰⏰⏰
Overtime Topic: Where do you want to take the human out of the equation, like driverless cars?
I’m going to have to go with house cleaning, but the real kind, not just a Roomba. I’m super uncomfortable with the idea of inviting someone into my home to clean up my messes for me, but I’d be very happy with a dexterous and capable robot that could get the job done.
🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️
My Question for Readers: Is there any particular creator online that you’ve recently started supporting that you want to share with the world?
I’ll give a shoutout to Matt Birchler of birchtree.me who spun up a membership (More Birchtree) to his website. Matt has the sort of site I aspire to, with regular posts about a wide range of interests. Sure, he’s got his hot takes, but it’s more common for Matt to share a measured, well-reasoned perspective about what’s going on in the technosphere, and to do so with kindness and empathy.
That, the longevity of his blog, how much value I’ve gotten out of reading his writing, and the accompanying high-quality (and quick) YouTube videos all made me happy to shell out a few bucks per month to help him keep things going and show my support for the effort he puts into his site.
A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.
1️⃣ If you, like me, are more into Superb Owls than Super Bowls then The Atlantic has you covered. Might be my favorite webpage of the year. 😁 [🔗 Alan Taylor // theatlantic.com]
2️⃣ I’m a fan of these little montages from their shows and films that Apple TV puts together around special events and holidays. This one was pretty cute for Valentine’s Day. [🔗 Apple TV // youtube.com]
5️⃣ If you’re a climber, you might be interested in the newest contender to the GriGri, the Ederid Pinch. This (long) video is a discussion of the design decisions and prototyping done over five years to bring it to market. I found it fascinating! [🔗EDELRID // youtube.com]
6️⃣ I’ve started a 30-day yoga challenge using Yoga with Adriene’s YouTube videos (link is the playlist). So far so good. Anyone want to join me? [▶️ Yoga with Adriene // youtube.com]
7️⃣ I just got home from watching a showing of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour here in Lake Placid, and WOW! I watch a lot of mountain sports-related video content, but I was impressed by the breadth, quality, and themes of this year’s film lineup. It wasn’t the usual suspects. You can check out some of their stuff on demand if you want a taste. [▶️ Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity // banffcentre.ca]
Get to know Maisie Peters because she’s the real deal. I first came across her music as a guest artist in season one of Trying on Apple TV+ (excellent show, by the way) and then I guess they liked her so much that she was contracted to write the entire soundtrack for season two. She’s also been an Apple Music Up Next artist, and has been putting out studio albums as well. The Good Witch is her latest one. She’s signed on by Gingerbread Man Records (headed up by Ed Sheeran) and just seems to be having the time of her life.
She’s building mastery of lyrics in a Taylor Swift-esque style, I’d say, which is a huge compliment in my books. Her music can be raw and heartbreaking one moment, and party-pop fun the next. Like I said, keep an eye on her.
Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know. And remember that you can get more links to internet nuggets that I’m finding every day by following me @jarrod on the social web.
PSA for folks looking to get the most out of a generous return period/policy:1
From Apple, you get two weeks before you need to initiate the return. And then, in my experience, another two weeks before it needs to be shipped with their free return label. I initiated a return on February 15 for something delivered on the 2nd, but it just needs to get to FedEx by the 29th. Nearly a full month for you to try it out. And plenty of time for me to see if this way cheaper Vision Pro case as recommended by MacStories can beat out the Apple one, which I don’t love only because it’s massive.
Which, by the way, I have no qualms with. If they didn’t want people to use it, or want to stand behind it, they wouldn’t offer it! Both Amazon’s and Apple’s winter holiday return policies get liberal use in this household.↩︎
It’s already been a pretty full day that started at 5AM this morning, but I have a bit of free time this afternoon before ice skating and dinner with friends. Lately, when these precious unscheduled hours present themselves, I face paralysis of choice in deciding how to fill them.
I could…
Read and nap. (Meaning I start reading with the intent of falling asleep, but will inevitably never put my iPad down).
Actually take a much-needed nap.
Write something for my blog.
Work on the design of my blog.
Research and book lodging for an upcoming trip.
Clear out a few low-energy tasks on my to-do list.
Watch an episode of TV or a movie that’s on my backlog.
Clean up the house.
Fix a bunch of HomeKit devices that stopped working a few weeks ago and that’s super annoying to deal with on a daily basis.
Research startup costs for a business I’d like to start.
Do some yoga/stretches that my body would desperately enjoy.
Catch up on my social media timeline.
Get lost in Instagram Reels. (NO!)
Catch up with friends or family.
Play with my Vision Pro.
Send some photos to shared albums that I usually do every month, but have fallen embarrassingly behind on.
Log my climbing days so they’re ready to submit for my guiding license.
Tinker with an RSS feed idea I just had in the shower.
Publish some shortcuts that I’ve been sitting on.
Answer emails and clear out that inbox.
…and you better believe that I could go on.
But which?
Sure, there are some things on this list that immediately get cast aside, but most of them feel equally important or appealing. All of them would bring me a sense of accomplishment, and I want to do them all. But time is limited.
I can’t say that I’m good at this, but one method I turn to in order to get something done is determine which task will bring the longest benefit with the least effort. You could imagine an X/Y-axis graph in which the horizontal X-axis is the task’s long-term benefit, and the vertical y-axis is time or effort it takes to do it. I gravitate toward the tasks that are pretty low vertically, but way off to the right horizontally.
I recognize that this is just basic prioritizing but, man, prioritizing can be difficult.
But really, which?
Obviously, I chose to write a blog post. And no, it doesn’t meet the criteria that I just explained above. I did tell you that I’m not very good at it. But it’s been a while since I’ve done a “regular” blog post, and I guess I felt that I was neglecting it — meaning that in a weird way I felt like I was neglecting that part of me.
But let’s prioritize a few tasks that I can do with the hour or some that I have left:
Write something for my blog.
Fix a bunch of HomeKit devices. (Will make my wife happy, which bumps it way up.)
Log my climbing days for my guiding license résumé. (I take an exam next week, and I want the paperwork to be ready to submit ASAP since it will unlock more guiding opportunities for the winter.)
Tinker with an RSS idea. (Will automate part of my posting process that will save me a few minutes with every new blog post., and I think it’ll be quick to do.1)
Research lodging for my trip. (It’s not urgent, per se, but it is on a countdown and needs to get done sooner rather than later.)
