Daniel’s blog

When I was young I could remember everything. Never forgot anything. It was not even a consideration. At 51 years old now, however, it’s a very different situation.

I find myself forgetting things easily, even a shopping list I discussed with my wife before setting out for the shop, which is let’s than 5 minutes away. I’ll get home and my wife will ask me, “where’s the lettuce?” or whatever else I’ve forgotten.

Sometimes I’ll even forget that we spoke about it: “You didn’t tell me we needed lettuce!”…. that never ends well…

But it’s not only shopping items I’ll forget, but many other little tasks and things I wanted to do, ideas I might have had and so on.

It was really getting ridiculous so I decided I need to do something about this and get myself a to-do app. As you do, I did some web searches for the best to-do apps for iPhone and read through many reviews, checked out the websites of the various options and was amazed at how many capable to-do apps are available.

My personal criteria were the following:

• No app subscriptions
• Must be beautifully designed
• Must be intuitive to use
• It must have reminders
• It must have repeating options

After looking at all the top options there was one clear winner which met all these criteria and it turns out it was an app I’d had on my first iPhone, the 3G, back in 2008.

That app is Things 3 by Cultured Code, based in Germany.

The website is [culturedcode.com/things/](https://culturedcode.com/things/)

The other two “best to-do apps for iOS” were Todoist and Tick-Tick but those were way too much for my needs. They seem more like Professional Project Managers rather than Personal To-Do apps, and the pricing reflects that impression too. And they are subscription based.

Things however is a one-off payment per device. I paid €10 for the iPhone app and there is also an iPad app available for €23 as well as a Mac version for €60. If you were to buy all three it would set you back €93 but it would be a once-off purchase.

Some people will prefer a monthly subscription model so they can stop using it at anytime but the way I see it, if you seriously need a to-do app and use it properly, you’ll be using it for a long time to come. And a subscription will add up over time.

I like the flexibility of Things’ pricing because you only buy the app on the platform you need. And if it’s for personal use, most likely it’s the iPhone and/or iPad app you’ll be after. And that makes it a very good value proposition.

Things has won Apple Design awards and has been on iOS from roughly the beginning, so you know it’s not a fly-by-night company. They know what they are doing and both the methodology of the app as well as its design make it powerful and compelling to use, as well as easy and flexible.

I know I’ve banged on about this a bit much but you’ll be surprised at how many to-do apps exist just to collect a monthly subscription. And with vibe coding about to take off I think we can expect to see a deluge of subscription-based apps from thousands of people hoping to make a quick buck.

Cultured Code however are not vibe coders but well established Apple-specific Developers who know how to both code and design extremely well. Things has worked flawlessly for me from day 1 with zero issues. It’s rock solid and their website is a fantastic resource for any questions you might have on using the app.

For me it’s become my brain. I’ve trained myself to stop what I’m doing and capture a thought, task or idea I might have in the moment I think of it because I’ll guaranteed forget it later. And Things lends itself to that. You capture everything in the Inbox and you can leave it there for when you have time to assign it a date or you can do so right there in the Inbox.

I found it useful to sit down when I have time and look at the Inbox and set a date to complete an action for important stuff. However there are many things which don’t need a due date which you want to capture and do at some point. They are captured there for you to remember otherwise you’d forget.

Some things you may want to capture:

Personal goals you plan to implement at some point

Things you need to do around the house

Movie watchlist

Book reading list

Daily reminder to practice guitar

Monthly reminder to collect your meds

Annual car service

Annual tax return

Places you’d like visit

Blog posts you’d like to write

Planning an upcoming trip or event

Chapters for the book you plan to write

Literally anything

It’s really powerful to have somewhere safe to capture these things and it saves your brain having to remember everything. Even if you aren’t like me and do remember everything, writing them down can help you plan exactly when and how you would like to do things. That way they go from ideas and plans and turn into action.

I personally have become far more productive as a result. I actually get things done now and am doing things I would have forgotten to do otherwise. And that’s just my personal life. But I love that Things makes it easy and enjoyable to do these things. It feels like fun, not like a chore because you can keep as simple as you like, or complex if you need that.

I won’t delve into all the features, you’d be better served by taking a look at their equally gorgeous website to see everything. My goal was to encourage you to look into using an app like this because you’ll not forget stuff anymore, you’ll do more things that you enjoy and want to do, and just feel better overall. 

Last week Apple announced the new Macbook Neo range of laptops which is an affordable entry-level Macbook for new-to-the-Mac customers as well as Students and teachers. It is the cheapest Macbook ever sold by Apple at $599 and fills the gap in the lineup that used to occupied by the “Macbook”.

In my opinion Apple were inspired by the 2006 Macbook line which was available for a few years. I got mine in 2008 and it was my first Mac ever. Ever since I was a young boy of about 7 years old back in 1982 when I first saw the six coloured Apple logo on a sticker on the back of my friends chair while we were playing games on his new Atari, I wanted an Apple computer.

I asked my friend what this coloured Apple logo was and he told me it was a company that made computers. From that multi coloured Apple and the font they used on the “Apple” text below it, I knew I had to have it. I knew somehow that their computers would be way better than the grey box with a green screen IBM his mother had just acquired and was using for work.

For context, I grew up in South Africa, the child of immigrants who went there in search of a better life. We had nothing to do with apartheid, never supported it and always tried to treat all people equally kindly. I don’t know if there were sanctions already on the country or if it was because we were far away from the Western countries, but we could not buy Apple computers at that time. And many other things. There was therefore no advertising for them hence I’d never heard of them. I think my friend’s dad travelled for work and perhaps acquired the Apple sticker on his journeys.

My friend’s family were also immigrants. They were from Armenia. My parents were from Portugal and Germany. In fact there were several immigrant communities from all over such as Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Portugal, Madeira, Lebanon and also a large Jewish community. Not everyone who lived there was racist as the media would have you believe. All the people I knew were not racist. The government was, but even many of the Afrikaans people whose government it was, were not racist and didn’t agree with apartheid. As always life is much more complicated and nuanced than how it’s made out in the media.

Getting back to the Macbook Neo, it is in my mind the spiritual successor to the 2006 onwards plastic Macbook which had the Intel Core2Duo CPU with 2GB RAM and a 120GB hard drive. The Neo even appears to have the same white chicklet keyboard from that Macbook and it’s overall shape looks very similar. Not to mention it’s “old school” mechanical trackpad. Obviously not the same trackpad as in 2006 but still an older design.

In short, seemingly humble specs in a beautiful enclosure.

My 2008 Macbook would have also been considered low spec at the time. And it was plastic. The Neo is metal. And don’t underestimate the A18 Pro CPU. The latest benchmarks show that it outperforms the M1 chip which was found on the Macbook Pro not too long ago. That means it should be able to multitask like an M1, run VM’s, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Photoshop and the like. It’s not underpowered like some people think, I believe but I’m eagerly awaiting to see the tech media put the Neo through it’s paces.

Either way I think it’s a great Mac and fantastic value. In 2008 my wife and I moved to the UK and at last I could buy a Macbook. It costs around £750–800. The Neo will cost £599 apparently, which is £150–200 cheaper than what I paid and the Neo is vastly better and more premium.

Anyone getting this as their first Mac will not be disappointed, quite the opposite, I think they will love it. And the fun colour options inspired by the original iMac will further add to that love.

_below are photos of my 2008 Macbook, taken today. The coloured logo is a sticker I bought years ago to complete the look. _

iA Writer is an incredible notes and markdown editor app which I first discovered back in 2011/2012. Its main feature is writing without distraction and it’s perfect at that.

Especially if you want to compose blog posts, social media posts, or capture something quickly. I use it on iOS but it’s also available on MacOS.

What I didn’t realise is that it also integrates with Micro.blog the affordable and elegant blogging platform created and run by Manton Reece. That means it’s super easy to type up your blog post from wherever you are (I’m at a car testing station as I write this ) and publish straight to your blog.

Now that’s cool. 😊

Have you ever had something in the back of your mind that you liked and wanted to do but somehow it was never the right time or life got in the way?

For me that was pipes. Whether it was Captain Haddock in Tintin or Sherlock Holmes or movies like Lord of the Rings where the characters smoked a pipe, pipe smoking impressed itself on me.

But as we know tobacco has been vilified in society as “cancer causing” and so the idea of smoking in general is looked down upon. Which partially explains why I probably delayed getting a pipe.

The other reason is that I always thought I was too young for it. Pipe smokers are generally portrayed as being older and that was my impression.

Now that I’m 51 years old I decided I’m old enough to sport a pipe without looking odd.

The latest medical research shows that nicotine is actually beneficial to human health and the human body has nicotine receptors built into it.

Certain vegetables like tomatoes and aubergines actually contain nicotine.

People have also realised it’s the added chemicals in cigarettes which cause cancer, and not the tobacco.

Tobacco smoking goes back to about 5000 - 3000 BC according to Wikipedia. That’s a long time. Tobacco smoking is not new to man, it is in fact an ancient practice.

Besides, there are countless pipe smokers in ripe old age who have smoked their entire lives with no trace of cancer or other smoking related issues. The oldest I’ve heard of was 96 years old and he smoked a pipe since the age of twenty but no doubt he is far from unique in this aspect. On YouTube alone I’ve read many comments from people who’ve smoked a pipe 40+ years.

All this gives me peace of mind that pipe smoking is safe and even healthy, and so I can enjoy it without worry. Ironically pipe smoking is a very relaxing pastime which forces you by its nature to slow down, smoke slowly and relax. So you could say it benefits both body and mind.

I’m still learning and it’s not as easy as you might think. You need to taste a lot of ash as you persist in practicing until you master the correct technique. But it’s something all pipe smokers have had to endure. Learn by doing.

I am finally getting better at it and I find it more enjoyable than cigar smoking because cigars have one taste (I’m taking about non flavoured cigars) whereas pipe tobacco is surprisingly complex in flavour and variety of flavours obtained through blending various types of tobaccos. You can get aromatic blends where a flavour like vanilla or cherry has been added but I avoid those and only use pure tobacco blends because I want it as pure and healthy as possible.

Maybe you also were impressed on by pipe smoking when you were younger? Did you try it? If not, maybe it’s time you did as well? Just saying.

I came across this video on a brand new You Tube channel called “ThinkingDifferent-yt” where the host talks about how Apple first went wrong with flat design under Jony Ive and his iOS 7 redesign, and now has added a further layer of poor design with Liquid Glass, courtesy of Alan Dye.

It’s a really great video and very thoughtfully put together. And it provokes thought.

Click HERE to watch it.

Watching this and seeing OS X and iPhoneOS it made me realise how much we lost when Jony Ive took over software design at Apple.

Jony is is great designer, but only when it comes to hardware. That’s his speciality. Even Apple Park was designed by Ive because its hardware. And anyone who has seen Apple Park will agree he did a good job.

But software design is not his strength.

This video makes the point that if you look at what Ive did with iOS 7, and the language used at the keynote, it’s clear that he never understood or appreciated why iPhoneOS (and by extension OS X since iPhoneOS was based on OS X) was designed the way it was. That’s quite the statement. I wholeheartedly agree.

iPhoneOS is so much more approachable, fun, has depth and context and buttons and was also inspirational at the same time. The same goes for OS X. Even down to the design of the icons, buttons, shadows, gloss etc. It was insanely great design that Ive couldn’t understand in his eternal quest for minimalism.

I don’t know about you but if they reverted both MacOS and iOS to the older design or design principles, while retaining the newer features and sharpening it up for high resolution screens, I’d update in a heartbeat.

If you have some time head over to iLounge to see their guide to iPhoneOS. It has some great screenshots to remind you how good we had it.

When you’re finished there, head over to YouTube and watch THIS video of the MacOS Leopard Welcome video. Why did Apple ever stop making these videos?

We have lost quite alot. I hope we get it back someday.

I was reading something this morning which mentioned plugging in a charging cable to your phone and it struck me that I virtually never charge my iPhone via cable.

I have a basic MagSafe charger on my bedside table and every night I just put my iPhone on that to charge, and also turn my iPhone into a bedside clock.

I don’t think about using a cable unless I’ve had a really heavy battery day and need to top up quickly. Which is rare. That one MagSafe charge overnight gets me through the day easily.

It struck me how MagSafe has quietly made wireless charging a daily part of my life over the past 18 months since I got my iPhone 13.

I’ve had wireless-charging-capable phones in the past, on Windows Phone and Android, but only ever used the charger a handful of times because it would either not sit properly or slide off somehow. So I’d just use a cable every night to charge.

By simply adding a magnet, Apple has quietly made wireless charging mainstream. And most of us haven’t even really realised it.

That’s Apple doing what it does best. We need more of that from Apple.

Hello World!

Happy to have joined Micro blog.

Looking forward to future posting.