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• Post #4431856

  So, my dad died the week after WWDC, and I’ve not been making much progress for September’s OS releases. I’ll get there eventually, but it might take me a while. Thankfully most stuff seems to work fine, other than the PCalc widget on macOS, but I think that’s Apple’s bug. No need to reply with condolences - I’m okay, as much as one can be, just tired. This is just your regular reminder that people are going through stuff you don’t know about.

• Post #3887489

  Did you know you can just do stuff in the character creator screen if you want to?

• Post #3788923

  I've always enjoyed this quote from Douglas Adams, but never thought it would apply to me. Apparently my own cutoff point was about 15 years late.

• Post #3304988

  Apple's little mascot doesn't seem to have a proper name yet. The Apple community is calling it variants of “Lil Findy” which is cool, but is still effectively, “Baby Yoda”. The original Mac OS X Finder when I worked on it was codenamed “Millennium”, so my proposal is… “Milly”.

• Post #1961660

  I do feel your pride merchandise should actually be vaguely recognisable as pride merchandise. https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-releases-watch-band-watch-face-and-wallpapers-to-celebrate-pride-month/

• Post #1950924

  "Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation."

• Post #1887189

  Plugging my brain into the overstimulation machine for sixteen hours a day does not seem to be helping with my stress levels.

• Post #1877755

  Trying to decide if this description of generative AI on the BBC could be any more wrong: “Generative AI is technology that enables a computer to think or act in a more human way. It does this by taking in information from its surroundings, and deciding the best response based on what it learns.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz04emrxp4xo

• Post #1871521

  Checking Twitter occasionally is like checking in on an ex. You remember some of the good times you shared, and want to make sure they are doing ok. Once you actually see what they are up to now though, you quickly remember why you left.

• Post #1818702

  I've released a small PCalc 4.11.1 update that's out now for the Mac. https://pcalc.com/store/pcalcmac There was a bug with the theme getting reset, which I _could_ have fixed in five minutes, but I ended up doing what I should have done over three decades ago, and added a dedicated section to the settings that puts all the visual customisation in one place. No more having to search for all this stuff in a submenu somewhere!

• Post #1752955

  Like many people, I had my Apple ID locked last night, and it was a big hassle trying to get it unlocked and working again. One tip - when you go through all the rigmarole to get it going again, one thing that doesn't switch on by default is receiving iMessages or FaceTime calls via your Apple ID. So, like me, you will probably be missing messages until you reenable those in Settings. Also, if you send somebody a new iMessage it will default to your phone number which may not be what yo...

• Post #1698224

  If your cookie dialog doesn’t have a “reject all” button at the top level, or worse, doesn't even have the button at all and makes me uncheck 200 options of “legitimate use” manually, I consider you of highly dubious moral character.

• Post #1583865

  PCalc 3.8 is available on the store now! Full support for iOS 12 and Siri Shortcuts, plus all the new devices. Also includes my whimsy for this year, a lovely set of animated iMessage stickers by @dlanham featuring Pascal, the PCalc panda. Get it here: https://pcalc.com/itunes_store_link/tlasystems

• Post #1574199

  Folks, if you have any episodes of the old Debug podcast archived locally, give @Gte a belated 50th birthday present and send him the file. Everything got taken down when iMore was taken out, and that's a lot of history to lose!

• Post #1225069

  Debenhams out here promoting unrealistic beauty standards.

• Post #1172319

  I have to assume that the business that are laying off employees and replacing them with inferior cheap AI systems, are going to have a similar experience to those who cut cable bundles and went to streaming services. Oh, did they slowly ratchet the prices up on you, and now you are paying way more than you ever did? How surprising.

• Post #1128832

  I love the spam that says “have you ever thought about appearing on podcasts?”.

• Post #968286

  If I had thought about it, I would have cleverly promoted the fact that Dice by PCalc has a semi-scientifically-accurate “Moon Gravity" mode.

• Post #932006

  Watching the Artemis launch on the same day as Project Hail Mary has left me unreasonably hopeful they meet some rocks.

• Post #923899

  Apparently, the Artemis II has 260 Mbps internet via lasers, I guess technology has improved a little bit since the last time we were visiting the moon.

• Post #892086

  Apple Music just added a thing in iOS 26.4 where they look at your favourite musicians and tell you about concerts nearby, and it has cost me £80 already.

• Post #892085

  Me too, Max, me too 🦋

• Post #892084

  Tomorrow…

• Post #892083

  A timely update to my #TTRPG dice rolling app, Dice by PCalc, is out now! This release adds a bunch of new dice themes, including one that's a 50th Anniversary tribute to Apple, and to my time there on the Finder team. There's also a blue velvet dice tray, and a variety of other new features and bug fixes. iOS: https://pcalc.com/store/dice Mac: https://pcalc.com/store/dicemac

• Post #892082

  I'm not the only person to have thoughts about Apple's 50th anniversary today, but these are mine: https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/04/apple-at-50-gonna-be-gonna-be-golden/

• Post #847613

  iPod Socks 2025. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone-pocket-a-beautiful-way-to-wear-and-carry-iphone/

• Post #741602

  To celebrate my calculator app PCalc turning 30 today, I've written up all the history I can still remember: http://pcalc.com/thirty There's also a rare 30%-off sale, which runs until midnight tonight, PST. Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pcalc/id403504866 iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pcalc-the-best-calculator/id284666222 A big thanks to everybody who has used PCalc during the last three decades!

• Post #650746

  Once again, Pi Day rolls around, and once again I forget to actually do anything substantial to promote PCalc. Even worse, I added Tau in the latest releases, and the Pi people and the Tau people have been at war for decades. Don't ask… But the current iOS version is 3.14.x and so Pi wins for today! https://pcalc.com

• Post #642788

  You spend years wanting more colour in Apple products, and then they run out of dye.

• Post #630711

  It's still cold, but the sun is finally beginning to shine. What you really need in this confusing weather is a matching embroidered PCalc beanie and a t-shirt! Some new products in the extensive PCalc and Dice by PCalc merch range are available now at http://pcalc.fun!