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The Just-Better-for-the-Money Edition Sunday, July 17, 2022

Fanless Vs. Active-Cooled M2: How Does Apple's CPU Fare In The New MacBooks?, by Brian Westover, PC Magazine

When it comes to pure performance, the numbers tell the story: The MacBook Pro 13-inch (the 2022 M2 version) is the better performer measured against the 2022 MacBook Air. The added cooling fans and larger battery translate into better peak performance when stressed on a given task over longer periods, and longer time away from the charger.

Still, for most people, the M2 MacBook Air is the Mac laptop we recommend. The performance differences won’t be noticeable for all but the small minority of users who regularly push their processors to the limits, making the two systems nearly identical in daily use. Plus, the MacBook Air offers a fresh new design that’s thinner and lighter, and it even has a better display. It’s just the better laptop for the money, which is why the Air earns our Editors' Choice award, and the MacBook Pro 13-inch does not.

This Tabletop Gaming Platform Uses An iPad And NFC-based Playing Chips To Create A Fun Learning Experience, by Sarang Sheth, Yanko Design

A mixture of wordle, scrabble, crossword, roulette, and a bunch of other games, Rolling Seeds comes with NFC-based chips that you need to put into the ‘Smart Game Pot’. Roll the Seed in and the Pot reads the NFC tag, registering your move. Everything unfolds on an iPad or Android Tablet that docks right into the pot, and the Rolling Seeds app offers a wide variety of number, alphabet, and image-based learning games.

How Companies Subtly Trick Users Online With 'Dark Patterns', by Catherine Thorbecke, CNN Business

An "unsubscribe" option that's a little too hard to find. A tiny box you click, thinking it simply takes you to the next page, but it also grants access to your data. And any number of unexpected charges that appear during checkout that weren't made clearer earlier in the process.

Countless popular websites and apps, from retailers and travel services to social media companies, make use of so-called "dark patterns," or gently coercive design tactics that critics say are used to manipulate peoples' digital behaviors.

Bottom of the Page

I miss the good old days of channel surfing on my television. App surfing is, well, simply not the same.

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Thanks for reading.