Notices by John Siracusa (siracusa@mastodon.social)

The answer I came to as a kid is that bullies don’t see themselves as bullies, and so they root for the heroes in stories and root against the bullies.

I used to think the same about the kinds of adults that vote for Gilead-type policies and politicians: that they don’t believe they’re doing this (even though they are) and so they root against Gilead and the other “bad guys” in media. But I’m no longer so sure about this.

When I was a kid, I wondered if the kids that bullied me in school watched the same movies and TV shows I did, but rooted for the bullies in those stories.

As an adult, I watch The Handmaid’s Tale and wonder how many Americans watch it and root for Gilead.

@waynedixon @caseyliss (But I did get it, rest assured.)

@waldoj @Gargron https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/brother-denies-using-firmware-updates-to-brick-printers-with-third-party-ink/

Announcing the third entry in my collection of weird little Mac apps: Hyperspace

https://hypercritical.co/2025/02/25/hyperspace

Hyperspace can reclaim disk space *without removing any files.* Read the linked post to learn how it works.

@Catfish_Man I’d add: !

@airspeedswift

“So much of the conversation around misinformation suggests that its primary job is to persuade. But as Michael Caulfield, an information researcher at the University of Washington, has argued, ‘The primary use of misinformation is not to change the beliefs of other people at all. Instead, the vast majority of misinformation is offered as a service for people to maintain their beliefs in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.’”

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/10/hurricane-milton-conspiracies-misinformation/680221/

It boggles my mind that so many reviews of the iPhone 16 series emphasize so strongly that these phones are an “incremental” update.

How many times has Apple added a button to the iPhone, let alone one as complex as the Camera Control? And the non-Pro phones got *two* new buttons!

I’m not saying this year is on par with the iPhone X or anything. But yeesh, it sure is a more significant update than, say, the update from 13 to 14, or even 14 to 15 (only one new, simple button for Pros only).

@sayrer From the show notes: https://9to5mac.com/2024/09/13/making-iphones-theft-proof/

How to stop the monthly screen recording prompts in macOS 15 Sequoia: https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/2024/8/10.html (via @skypunch)

In a very special episode of @atpfm, we interview two of Apple’s Swift experts, @holly and @airspeedswift!

This episode does go quite deep on some nerdy developer topics, but we loved every minute of it, and we hope you do too.

https://atp.fm/atp-interview-holly-borla-ben-cohen

I’m still seeing this pop-up on my iPhone a few times every week. It feels like it’s been over a year now…

@NanoRaptor Maybe too easy, but: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14.4, 19.2, 28.8, 33.6, 56k.

First, it’s great that @MichaelWhelan is on Mastodon. What an amazing artist.

Second, his recent post featured a spherical alien that i instantly recognized from my childhood. https://mastodon.art/@MichaelWhelan/112428886103083708

It’s from this book, published in 1980, which had a cover image that is also burned into my brain.

@imyke Ternus fever! https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-08/apple-s-next-ceo-list-of-aapl-insiders-who-could-succeed-tim-cook

[BINNING INTENSIFIES]

The team responsible for the FaceTime app on tvOS needs a VERY stern talking-to. Just for starters, take a look at the menu that appears when trying to start a call with a person.

Now imagine if it actually showed the emails or phone numbers for any of these choices. But no, you just have to guess! It’s on a giant TV screen! There’s plenty of room! It is MADDENING!

From the DOJ complaint:

“Apple inhibits third-party smartwatches from maintaining a reliable connection with the iPhone.”

To be fair, Apple does that to its own smartwatches too.

@TechConnectify @Drwave I’ve only used a few induction stovetops, so I don’t know if this is an issue with all of them, but I really disliked the vibration/buzz of the electronics that I could both hear and (seemingly?) feel through the pans.