The Magic Is Gone - Initial Charge

The magic of Apple’s retail stores is gone.

Except when the new iPad Pro launches, which should be the case pretty soon.

A long time ago, around iOS 7, I played with my iPad to do some mockups, like this one: a redesigned Settings.app.

Ten years (oops, fourteen) years of iPad. This article, first published more than four years ago, takes another dimension on the eve of new iPad releases.

After my iPad Pro, my “old” 2020 Mac mini is next¹.

Jony Ive searching for funding to help develop a dedicated AI device. I hope he will succeed with his iPad.🤣

Sold my little Mac Pro trash can for $600 CAN¹. Not bad for a 1TB SDD, 128GB of RAM and the 12-core Xeon 2.7 GHz configuration. And the Thunderbolt 2 cable and TB 3 to TB2 adaptor. Not the keyboard or mouse, as they are still useful for me. Sometimes. 🙂

I’m seriously considering selling my 2018 11-inch iPad Pro, Apple Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil as a bundle, very cheap, before the new iPad Pro comes out, while dollars value is still reasonable. The thing is that I don’t want to setup my new iPad from an iCloud backup, these are slow and are missing quite a few pieces of data. The Migration Assistant method is so much more effective. I should decide this weekend. 🤔

I hate to put things like Apple gear for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Most people are rude, lacking any civility, and not trustworthy. Still looking for a serious buyer for my 2013 Trashcan Mac Pro. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Raycast is becoming a powerhouse; it’s almost unbelievable. I just finished testing the latest release, which includes a Chrome companion extension. This extension allows invoking Raycast to perform tasks within the context of the currently open website in the browser. It’s super handy for summarizing an article or a YouTube video. I’m considering upgrading my Raycast subscription to support more advanced ChatGPT integration and models. 🤑

“One way or another, real competition may be coming to the iPhone” - The Platformer about the DOJ vs Apple lawsuit.

Oh, come on.

I’m unsure if I’m getting too old, but topics like DOJ vs Apple and everything preceding it are too complex for me to dive into. It may be a vital part of Apple’s current history, but I struggle to grasp it. I appreciate the efforts of non-professional tech pundits and Apple … read more

Wow, I’ve been out for a few hours and what do I get when I come back? DOJ vs Apple. 🫣😳🥴

It’s an “Apple Store visit” day. I like those. Even if I don’t plan to buy anything. 😬

So, I don’t miss Stage Manager on macOS and my M2 15-inch MacBook Air, apparently. I realized today that I disabled Stage Manager a while ago and forgot to reenable it. Speaking of Stage Manager, it is permanently turned off on my 2018 iPad Pro because it isn’t usable, but this is … read more

After much thinking, I think I’m going to put my 2013 Mac Pro for sale. I don’t see much use cases for it. My plans for running a VMware Workstation-based homelab are gone with ESXi no longer being made available for free (thanks to Broadcom). 😩

Apple seems to be on a streak of really questionable decisions regarding the App Store and the developer’s community in general that will take years for them before they can say: oh gosh, we fucked up. But it might be too late when they do because developers will be doing their things elsewhere. I’m looking for the day Apple more openly admits it is doing wrong.

The future doesn't belong to optimists or pessimists. It does what it wants. Here's what's plausible to me: Apple has a lot of brains, brand loading and market power... So AVP will find its place. To me, this didn't change everything. The iPhone had that effect. On top of that, the device doesn't have the usual Apple fetish character. It doesn't say "You want this, don't you?" **It doesn't make you look good and part of a cool tribe. From outside makes you look confused, foolish and sad.**

Oliver Reichenstein writing about his experience with the Apple Vision Pro. Emphasis is mine.

I wish Apple made special editions of their current and past products. A special edition of the iPod would be a killer and I would buy one. Something running a stripped down iOS version, with a fix set of apps (music, podcast, video) a in unique device that takes cue from the past but also try different new things. It could be a way for Apple to experiment in public and get feedback. Apple could try MacBook with different casing materials, colors and finish. Those special edition products would be available for a while.

I wish Apple would try to reinvent itself more often.

Next Monday will be Christmas Monday with new iPad Pro. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

Isn’t it strange that looking at the Apple Vision Pro today I find it’s look somewhat outdated. Already. Should I say “retro”? Is this design really iconic? 🤔