MyAppleMenu

The Constant-Notifications Edition Monday, June 7, 2021

How Software Got So Noisy, And Why It's Probably Going To Stay That Way, by Jordan Novet, CNBC

In recent years, companies have been investing in sound to make their software and stand out. Combine that trend with increased computer usage during the pandemic, and suddenly a lot of us are noticing the sounds we used to ignore.

[...]

"I do think the general public doesn't have knowledge of how unhealthy constant notifications are," said Dallas Taylor, host of Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that tells the stories of distinctive sounds. "Our technology should work for us and not make us feel like we're slaves to technology."

Divine Intervention: How Two Indian Women Are Helping Mothers ‘Thrive’ With Little Help From Apple, by Saurabh Singh, Financial Express

Chittiappa and her co-founder at the time, Sarah Chandy, would spend the next two years meeting and interviewing mothers from around the world, trying to understand their problems and matching them with theirs and look for ways to solve them. They would also talk to mothers in their fifties and sixties, who seemed “sorted”, had fabulous careers while making time for all the relationships that mattered to them, to understand what they were doing to show up “so fully” in life.

It was all about bringing mindfulness and intention and setting certain goals and planning your life better — all this would eventually become the North Star for Mamma-Miya, an iOS app designed “to support busy mothers to declutter their mind, stay organised and make room for what matters to them,” Chittiappa tells Financial Express Online.

WWDC

Apple Leadership Profiles Transform To Memoji Ahead Of WWDC, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Apple leadership profiles on the official company page and on social media transformed to Memoji ahead of the WWDC conference, where Apple is expected to unveil iOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15.

On App Stores

Apple Isn’t Just A Walled Garden, It’s A Carrier, by Dieter Bohn, The Verge

Given the opportunity again, I have no doubt that the carriers would find ways to exert control, feed the Angry God of ARPU, and thereby stifle innovation. But Apple effectively took that power away from them — but then kept it for itself. The question now is what Apple intends to do with that power.

Stuff

24-inch iMac Review: There’s Still No Step Three, by Samuel Axon, Ars Technica

The iMac focuses on keeping things as simple as possible. When you buy one, you're paying a premium for that simplicity―fewer moving parts, fewer configuration choices, fewer choices in general. You plug it in and turn it on. That's it. There's no step three, as the ad says.

This A.I. Culls Photos For You -- And It’s Not Half Bad: Optyx Review, by Hillary Grigonis, The Phoblographer

Optyx is imperfect — but it’s that imperfection that allows for an excellent blend between the speed of A.I. and the emotion of, well, an actual human. The app didn’t do the entire cull for me. But, by grouping similar shots and finding the sharpest one, Optyx allowed me to speed up the culling process and still find the shots that speak to me.

Brydge Pro+ Review: A Fantastic 11" iPad Pro Keyboard Experience, by Alex Hernandez, Techaeris

The keys’ travel is pretty good; it’s not too shallow but not too deep either. It’s slightly deeper than my Apple Magic Keyboard but not as deep as something like a ThinkPad. I think Brydge did a good job of keeping a nice middle-ground, which should keep most users happy.

Notes

No, Ireland Doesn’t Buy That Many iPhones, by Tim Culpan, Bloomberg

If the country’s corporate tax rate remains below global levels, with the only impact being a top-up payment to the U.S., there may not be a lot of benefit for companies in switching billing addresses back home. It’s possible that the Irish tax dance will continue.

Bottom of the Page

I am building my first iOS app, just for me to use. It's really a weekend project to help me de-stress and relax: it's a me-only project for me-only, that I don't have to talk to anyone. I decide what features the app has, I decide how the app looks like, and I decide how the app behaves.

Except that: quite a bit of decisions are made by Swift and SwiftUI.

:-)

~

Enjoy the WWDC keynote. I'll be asleep, like so many on the UTC+8 time-zone. See you tomorrow, and don't install beta software without knowing what you are getting into.

~

Thanks for reading.