Author: Victor Marks
Focused Work: how do we get anything done, at all?
I have always had this problem. I know what I need to do. I don’t always know how to start. It’s as if there’s a bridge out, even though I can see the destination on the other shore. And I used to try strategies like Work Breakdown Structure, Getting Things Done, or Pomodoro to try and figure out how to manage time. But maybe this app, Focused Work will be the one that breaks my mental block.
(more…)Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee Alliance continue to make progress, unifying smarthome devices
I love smarthome automation. I love nothing more than being able to turn things on and off at different times of day, based on other triggers, with my phone or voice. What I hate is the idea that someday I’m going to move and I’ll either have to uninstall everything, or sell it to someone who’s an iPhone user: all my stuff is HomeKit compatible. But the future looks a little better. The alliance between Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee is still making progress.
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Apple is having an event on Sept 15 – Watch, iPad
“Join us from Apple Park. September 15, 2020, at 10 a.m. PDT.” the Apple Events page says. The timing is right for a new iPad Air, potentially with USB-C. Also possible is the Apple Watch Series 6 (series 5 is out of stock) and a lower cost replacement for the Series 3 models. What about iPhone?
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Augmented Reality sucks, but maybe Mario fixes it
The number of augmented reality games that actually take off is very small. Even if you leave out ‘games’ and just look at Augmented Reality uses, it’s just not popular. Why? And what’s Mario Kart got to do with it?
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SIM locking is bullshit
SIM locking is when a carrier (provider of cellphone service) locks your phone so that it only works with their service. This is bullshit.
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Deliveries 9 for iOS and Mac tells you where it’s at
Deliveries is the best of what an app should be: It does one thing (monitor status of deliveries), does it well (supporting an impossibly long list of couriers and tracking from websites like Apple and Amazon), and puts that information right up front where you want it – on your iPhone or Mac.
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Amazon has a fitness band and wants to see you in your underwear
Amazon is introducing a new fitness band, Halo, and it has exploded my brain. It listens to your voice, and uses your phone’s camera to create a 3D body scan of you, in your underwear. What could possibly go wrong?
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