Also, while I risk “doing a Ballmer” – 500 bucks and it doesn't even have [fill in the blanks] – it does strike me that 500 bucks for an opinionated (and, frankly, quite ugly) flip phone is eye-poppingly staggering. I'm sure diehard fans will lap it up, but good grief.
The new Commodore phone is incoherent. I suppose, for better or worse, what we're really seeing is a device based around what the current CEO personally wants and/or dislikes. So email is out but WhatsApp is fine?! (And I see he's still OK with GenAI, which is busy wrecking so, so much.)
It’s that time of year when I mull over what would be a fitting punishment for people locally setting off bloody bonfires when the temperature has now very much hit “need windows open” levels.
Another column! 7 reasons to think twice about using ChatGPT, or any AI chatbot, for purchasing decisions / https://www.stuff.tv/features/7-reasons-to-think-twice-about-using-chatgpt-or-any-ai-chatbot-for-purchasing-decisions/
RE: https://mastodon.social/@craiggrannell/116754565091841210
Interesting that pushback to this is mostly the generic “something must be done”. It fails to address things I talk about in the column, such as increasing surveillance, the marginalisation/isolation of LGBTQ+ kids, the inconsistency of which sites are targeted, the government’s approach technology, and the absurdity of denying 17 year olds access to social media late in the evening, when they will be able to vote, get a job and join the army.
Column: I don’t support social media bans for the under-16s because they are unworkable and don’t solve the real problems we face
//// Something must be done? Banning social media isn’t it. We need regulation and regulation education, not a cliff edge for teens
Weeknote!
👇 Why a touchscreen Mac would be riskier than you’d think
📲 iPhone Fold apps won’t be iPad apps
🕥 Screen Time upgrades, for good and ill
🍎 WWDC: what I wanted and what we got
🤖 Why Apple Intelligence is now ‘goodbad’
⚽️ The best ever football games
🚕 CrazAI Taxi
🗯️ Dredd co-creator John Wagner’s MBE
Even GarageBand has ads for Creator Studio now, despite not being in it 😅
Column! A touchscreen MacBook Ultra would be a bigger risk for Apple than you might think https://www.stuff.tv/features/a-touchscreen-macbook-ultra-would-be-a-bigger-risk-for-apple-than-you-might-think/
John Wagner is getting an MBE, specifically for his services to the British comics industry. Amusing in part, given his anti-establishment views. But also: nice to see a comics person and especially him get a gong. https://www.gov.uk/csv-preview/6a2c1e9dc39255c595b507f3/BD26_Transparency_List__Final_.csv
Now put him into the Eisner Hall of Fame, Americans!
The 30 best football games of all time to play during World Cup 2026 https://www.stuff.tv/features/27-best-football-games-ever/
Just saw RTD’s Doctor Who post. Yikes. Lots to unpack there. None of it good. And how he left the series was an abhorrent mess. God knows what happens next – if anything.
Given the current state of UK weather, a press release that just arrived beginning with “Hi Craig, I hope you’re enjoying the sunshine! 😀” was 1) not appreciated, and 2) just came across as cruel trolling.
Related: the heating just came on for the second time this morning.
Morning.
I see Captain Cowboy has disappeared from the App Store again. Such a pity. It’s a superb game, with one of the best game trailers ever for an iPhone game. Stuff like this should be on Apple Arcade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6v45exSOas
Proofing a Mac tutorial and misspelled ‘edit button’ as ‘edit bottom’ and I so don’t want to change it.
Some forecasts reckon it’ll be 30°C at the weekend in the south of England. And people will be all “you were complaining it was cold last week” when we’re complaining it’s hot. Yes, because it’s like constant weather whiplash. Frost > record May high > bitter chilly start of June > heatwave. Bleh.
Not sure what to think about Reduce Motion lurking at the bottom of Appearance. I _think_ I’m happy about Apple surfacing accessibility and it might kick their arse to fix some long-standing problems. But also, I just wish the operating systems weren’t packed full of vestibular triggers in the first place.
New by me for Amateur Photographer: In my opinion, Apple is about to take a dangerous step towards fake photography – here’s why https://amateurphotographer.com/latest/opinion/in-my-opinion-apple-is-about-to-take-a-very-dangerous-step-towards-fake-photography-heres-why/
I just realised with a thud that now begins another summer of trying desperately to get Apple to fix vestibular accessibility issues across several operating systems. Bleh.