- Incredibly easy to sign up if you already have an Instagram account. This is a massive boost to the platform. Bluesky’s invite system is not allowing it to grow fast enough. Mastodon is still too confusing for the average person.
- There’s some things to work out with showing accounts you are not following in your main feed. This is already upsetting folks.
- Seeing an influx of people I used to follow on Twitter who had not fully invested in Mastodon, Bluesky, or others. This is a good thing.
- ActivityPub integration will be a good thing. I’m not on the anti-Meta train with this one. Sure, they are a big greedy corporation, but I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and trust they’ll implement it in a meaningful way.
- Where I think they are struggling out of the gate is how do you convince Instagram users to utilize it? It’s a home for ex-Twitter folks, etc. but not for just an Instagram user. This seems like a clash of identities that they will have to tackle.
- Calendar
- Reminders - only showing those with a deadline of Today
- Weather
- Fitness
- Battery
- Bear - personal notes, highlights, knowledge management. Using the 2.0 TestFlight right now.
- Micro.blog - I am using the TestFlight of the official app.
- Apollo - my Reddit client of choice. Wonderful app with tons of customization. I’ve been an Ultra user for a couple years now.
- Photography folder:
- Lightroom Mobile - Been using it more and more since subscribing earlier this year. It’s a great way to perform quick edits.
- Apple Photos - I sync all photos to Lightroom/Adobe cloud. I then backup photos and documents monthly to external hard drive. Everything else stays in Apple Photos for redundancy (for now).
- Safari - browser of choice on all Apple devices, Chrome on Windows.
- NetNewsWire - RSS reader for websites, blogs, etc.
- Artifact - been testing it for news. I like the app for the most part, but I hate the new Reddit-like features. Might just stick to RSS and Socials if they’re going to prioritize this.
- Audio folder:
- Overcast - The silence shortening is unmatched.
- Apple Music - It fills my needs and works well enough. The UI does need some work though.
- Audible - For audiobooks. I have a large backlog, but I’d prefer to move away from Audible in the future. No longer subscribe though.
- Spotify - I use the free edition to listen to some exclusive podcasts and follow a few people’s playlists.
- Dark Noise - when I need background music to sleep or for work.
- Shazam - I like the app over the control center shortcut, but I use it enough when watching shows to put it on my homescreen.
- Maps
- Transit - I utilize public transit as much as possible here in Austin. The best app for accurate schedules. Using free version currently, but have used paid in the past.
- Ring - For home security.
- Utilities folder:
- Reminders
- Files
- Pocket - I still use Pocket for my RIL service. Just works cross platform and I don’t mind their recommendations. If I stop using Artifact, I will move Pocket to its place.
- Calculator
- Wallet
- Just Press Record - good for when I’m driving and have a thought or need to remember something and can’t type it out (Don’t text and drive!). Syncs with iCloud.
- WhatsApp - to communicate with specific family and friends.
- Crouton - a lovely recipe app.
- Shortcuts - I have many shortcuts that I use with varying frequency. I prefer to have access on homescreen instead of with widgets.
- Sports folder:
- Sleeper - fantasy football
- Yahoo Fantasy - fantasy football and baseball
- MLB
- MLS
- Messages
- Phone
- Camera
Quite enjoy the column view in Reminders in iOS 17 - easy to use, simple, and clean.
I really wish I could turn off App Shortcuts in Shortcuts - I’m never going to use any of these.
A little tired of my time wasting on Instagram. Signing up for Pixelfed to help force myself to use the point and shoot camera I just ordered. Any tips for using it or folks on Micro.blog who are also on a Pixelfed server?
Very interesting concept from Jason Yuan and Sam Whitmore. new.computer looks like a practical use of AI to complement our lives. Very intrigued, and will be following closely.
Giving Mastodon another in-depth look. Pretty tired of Twitter’s amount of clutter. Wish I could get MLB and NFL content completely off it though to fully make my switch.
Why does Netflix default to playing foreign language films dubbed in English? So frustrating.
A few days later and I am now more unsure on Threads. It’s mostly brands and people who aren’t used to posting in a text format.
BlueSky is more like Twitter in its users, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
My Quick Thoughts on Threads
Sometimes I go through apps on my devices and try to consolidate them into less apps. Today, I got rid of JustWatch by moving my entire watchlist over to Letterboxd.
Yes, it stinks there’s no TV shows on Letterboxd, but the streaming services do a pretty good job of tracking those already.
Having been on vacation and lowering my Reddit usage due to the treatment of Apollo, I am glad to report that I don’t miss many things from it this week. Plenty of other things to spend my time wisely on.
TIL you can pass Bear links into Apple Reminders and essentially sync your to-do lists between the two apps.
iOS Homescreen - April 2023 Edition
Inspired by a recent post of Eric’s, I wanted to take a stab at it for my iPhone. I consider myself a tinkerer of my digital workspace; constantly trying new things or ways I accomplish tasks. Apps are a large part of that, whether on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or Windows.
Here are my homescreen apps for April 2023. There are a few folders on the right hand side of frequently used apps or new apps I want to try out. I always keep one page too, everything else can be found via Spotlight Search.
Widgets
I have a SmartRotating stack with:
1st Row
2nd Row
3rd Row
4th Row
Dock
I hope I introduce you to some new and fun apps. Let me know what you think or if you have any recommendations of your own. I’ll probably do my Mac next since there’s a bunch of fun little utilities that may be new to some folks.
Been using Artifact a few days now. It’s mostly just a better curated version of Apple News. AN provides a better reading experience in terms of UI though. I’ve always found AN horrible at curating content I want to see. Artifact does better here by miles.
Anyone have thoughts on Scrivener? How does it compare to iA Writer and others (other than being on Mac and Windows)?
Signed up for a YouTube TV trial for 2 weeks, and I’ve really only watched one show and one event. Can’t say I miss cable TV at all. Will not be continuing once my trial is up.
The speed with which Ice Cubes development occurs astonishs me. Great app and developer!