I’ve discovered an excellent new blog, arun.is by Arun Venkatesan. Today I read a mini first impression of the Daylight Tablet Arun posted back in March of this year. Long story short, I ended up pre-ordering the device, as it seems to be a promising take on e-ink tablets which is something I have been intrigued with since the first Kindle came out back in the 2000s.
Of particular note in his commentary, I appreciated this the most:
In my previous post, Why we crave healthier computing, I explored how the evolution of computing over the last century has made our devices both more powerful and more burdensome. Technology progressed from large mainframes to ever-connected smartphones. Concurrently, users have been presented with an ever-increasing number of questions they must ask when using their devices. I called these the “Six User Context Questions”:
“What do I plan to do with this computer?”
“Which applications should I use?”
”How may I best arrange my workspace and workflow?”
”How should I collaborate with others?”
”When will I use this computer?”
”Where will I use it?”
I appreciate the approach of having the technology be limited in order to constrain some of the time consumption our gadgets bring today, in this case a device with no cameras, black and white screen, and limited (?) application availability. On the flip side I’d like to think we as humans can overcome this without the need for outside restraints. I’m sure this device will have its quirks outside of the constraints it naturally has but if they nail the interaction model along with the balance for simplicity, it could be successful (ironically as discussions of turning the iPad into a full fledged computer continue to make the rounds).
I’ve been trying (somewhat successfully) to not be consumed by the technology around me. I hope that some day I am completely free from all temptations and dopamine hits that our tech world brings and truly come to full control of my tech vs. the tech powering me, at the very least as a model for my son as his future evolves.
It’s so silly, but I love that Call and Oates is still active, many years ago I saved the number in my contacts and tried it today and it worked! For those not familiar here’s the npr story from 2011.
Playing drums to a loop for giggles, it’s been a while since I did anything electronica-ish. The recording quality through GarageBand (on my phone) is remarkably improved over Yamaha’s Rec ‘N’ Share app. Going to play around with using my old iPhone SE as an overhead mic combined with the EAD10 to see how that works out quality wise.
The iPad I want isn’t here yet. But my complaint is not what the general tech pundits argue about.
Still absent in this year’s lineup is an updated iPad mini. I find it to be the perfect size for “tablet” things. My one wish is that Apple would bring external monitor support and the light desktop experience that comes with it. I doubt that it would need a M series chip to do this, certainly an updated A series could probably be up to the task but I guess I wouldn’t complain if it had the M1 chip in it.
The portability it affords is the big draw for me. I would easily find myself “computing” with it on the go sans keyboard or other contraptions, just onscreen interaction. But combine this with ability to plug in a monitor and external keyboard/trackpad, man, what a powerful combo.
I know the iPad Air or Pros already achieve this, but there is something magical about the size of the iPad mini that I think works well for reading, movie watching, general input and shifting to occasional long form productivity with monitors and accessories plugged in would be a powerful addition.
Maybe the only other addition I would want is an enhancement to file management in iPadOS.
So I sit here and wait for Apple to take my money, staring at my fictional shopping cart on Apple.com with a fully loaded cellular iPad mini that will allow me to occasionally connect to a monitor for a more enhanced computing experience while maintaining the tablet experience constraints I still find empowering.
It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough — it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.
Committed myself to using Arc browser on my Mac for 3 months. I’m one week in and slowly some of my old habits/muscle memory have been relenting and it’s sinking in. I still haven’t quite acclimated to the space and profile thing yet. Killer feature for me has been two tabs in a split window view.
Not sure where I first saw this, I finally read through it tonight. Text editing on iOS and Android have been a source of frustration for me for many years and this is a great breakdown on thinking about the problem, from Scott Jenson:
But most importantly, fixing text editing isn’t seen as important enough in the war between Android and iOS. It’s not the flashy feature that shifts your Net Promoter Scores. What I find ironic is that a fundamental change, like fixing text editing, could make people feel much more at ease using their phones and could be an enormous reason to switch.
This is still a great book and such a fun operating system back in the day. I spent many hours on BeOS, using it full time and learning the depths of what it did. Foundation for my entire career in tech.
Listening to this Teresa Esguerra interview (drummer from Built to Spill) with Joe Wong from The Trap Set Podcast. She’s in a popular band and yet maintains her day job as an occupational therapist. Joe is a great interviewer and this is a lovely episode for anyone (non-drummers as well!)🎙️
I’ve been keeping up with my drum playing regimen and challenging myself to learn a single song per week by listening to it for 5 minutes, jotting some notes on structure, feel, and potentially key parts. I record the performance in one take (mistakes and all) and spend some time listening back to highlight what areas I need improvement on or (heaven forbid!) what I did well!
I do this to practice my active listening skills, and really get in touch with what my body is doing during the performance vs. the final outcome. I’ve always struggled with mindfulness techniques (staying quiet some place, focusing on breathing etc) in standard settings. While playing the drums these days it has been a boon to mood, and has contributed not only to improvements to my playing but also my presence with my family and general life/mental health.
Here are some of the latest I’ve recorded:
Shout by Tears for Fears
I really enjoyed how this one turned out (and it is a great song). There is a blip at around the 2:28 mark that I’m positive is an issue with the bouncing of the track but I accept it as a performance gap on my part.
You Don’t Know How It Feels (To Be Me) by Tom Petty
What can I say about this song (and Tom Petty for that matter)? It’s a slow steady beat, a little behind the tempo (not driving) that is maintained throughout the entire song. I love the drum sound of this entire record and Steve Ferrone (of Average White Band fame among others) is an outstanding groove master. The Yamaha Rec ‘N’ Share app that I use to split instrument tracks does mess with original recording a bit (sometimes strips out too many frequencies that make the song thin or under water sounding) but certainly capable enough for me to insert my own drum track over.
In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
This is just a snippet of the classic fill into the groove of the song. It had to be done 😂
I applied some effects and compression to try and mimic the original sound (Phil Collins uses concert toms and lots of compression in this song).
