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The If-It-Works Edition Saturday, December 28, 2024

The USB-C Charging Mandate Arrives In The EU — Here’s What That Means, by Callum Booth, The Verge

The requirement for USB-C is just the surface of this directive though. It also includes regulations on fast charging, unbundling charging bricks from retail devices, and the introduction of improved labelling — and it has the potential to make life for gadget enthusiasts in the EU a whole lot simpler. If it works, of course.

Apple Pulls Remaining Lightning-based Devices From European Stores, by Thomas Ricker, The Verge

Apple is no longer selling its iPhone SE and iPhone 14 series in Europe — the last phone models with Apple’s proprietary Lightning charging port — as the EU shifts to a common charging solution built around USB-C. EU Directive 2022/2380 goes into force today in an effort to reduce e-waste and solve market fragmentation.

Stuff

This Free App Will Turn You Into A Mac Keyboard Maestro, by Bobby Jack, How-To Geek

Shortcat is a utility that runs in the background, letting you access almost every element of your Mac's UI with the keyboard. Whether you're using Finder, Spotify, or any other app, Shortcat will let you control it with the keyboard.

Best iPhone Apps To Enhance Your Experience With Apple Music, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

Although iOS comes with a native Apple Music app, there are some third-party apps that offer even better experiences for those who subscribe to Apple’s streaming service. If you’re an Apple Music subscriber and want to find out how to better enjoy your music library, check out some of the best iOS apps with Apple Music integration.

Notes

How I Beat Overwhelm: I Deleted My Email App – And My Sleep Suddenly Improved, by Ammar Kalia, The Guardian

Uninterrupted breaks help me focus when I get back to work and I have found that leaving a few hours, rather than minutes, to respond to a message often makes no difference to the sender and allows me to digest its content properly.

How I Beat Overwhelm: I Found WhatsApp Draining – So I Learned Ways To Curb My Cravings, by Remona Aly, The Guardian

But by giving myself permission to not feel pressed, I have begun to enjoy a new freedom.

Bottom of the Page

Goodbye lightning.

Also: goodbye ADB, DisplayPort, DVI, Firewire, Micro USB, Mini USB, Paralle, PS/2, SCSI, Serial, S-Video, USB-A, VGA, and 30-pin Dock Connector. Did I miss anything?

(Yes, I have used every single one of the above before. Unless, of course, I misremembered. After all, who can remember all these?)

Will there still be new types of connectors in my lifetime? Or will every new thing be crammed into the USB-C connector, continuing to make life complicated for plugging in stuff?

~

Thanks for reading.