Writing about things that matter (to me)
I had the privilege of appearing on the iPad Pros podcast again to talk about iPadOS 16, Stage Manager, and using my iPad with an external display. Tim and I had a great discussion, and I appreciate him having me on. I hope you’ll check it out!
You can listen to the episode here or search for iPad Pros in your podcast app of choice.
You might have noticed that I’ve been posting more frequently here as of late. It’s mid-February, and this will be my tenth blog post of 2023, compared to 15 posts in the entire year 2022. Things are picking up.
Part of the reason for my increased posting is simply inspiration. I feel like I have more to say now than I did before, which is fun. Creativity is one of those things that you can’t force; you just enjoy it when it comes.
But part of it is also intentional. I’ve made some changes to my writing process in order to speed things up. I came to realize that most of the subjects I post about here don’t require weeks of thought, planning, writing, and editing. A lot of what I write can be drafted, revised, and shared in one session, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do.
Removing some of the mental blocks that kept me from publishing has been quite freeing. Even something as simple as creating a header image for each post used to get in my way. Now, I just accept that every single post doesn’t need custom artwork.
Nor does every article I share here need to be 1,000 words long. Sometimes, a worthwhile thought can be expressed in just a few sentences. I’m sure you all wouldn’t mind some shorter reads here from time to time.
That’s not to say I’ll never post long, thought-out blog posts with special artwork that take me longer to craft. Some of my best writing ever has come out of that process, and I still love it when it’s appropriate.
But for the majority of my posts on here, a quicker approach is the way to go. So that’s what I’ve been trying to go with, and I’ve been happy with my output so far. Hopefully it’s been a nice change for you as well.
We live in a subscription-filled world, and they pile up quickly. It’s good every once in a while to check in on what services you’re subscribed to and make sure they’re still working for you. When I saw Greg Morris write about the state of his subscriptions, I was inspired to do the same.
Here’s what I’m subscribed to as of February 2023:
Apple One Premier: I’m thankful Apple decided to offer all of their services in a bundle. I use many of them daily, and it’s so much easier to just pay for them all in one lump sum. The Premier plan includes Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, iCloud+, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+ for me and my family.
AppleCare: Having a protection plan on my devices has saved me in the past, so I always get AppleCare for the stuff I carry.
Walmart+: My local store started offering grocery delivery, and I couldn’t resist trying it. Now I’m spoiled on it. My plan is to never walk into a grocery store again.
AT&T: I switched to AT&T when it was the only way to get an iPhone, and I’ve been with them ever since. I don’t think about my cell plan much, which is probably the nicest thing you can say about a cell plan.
eMeals: I’ve never been good at meal planning, so I let this service do the hard work for me. Each week, the app offers a selection of recipes to choose from. I pick the ones I want, and then eMeals adds the ingredients directly into my Walmart shopping cart for delivery.
Quip: Not really a tech thing, but I still think it’s cool. Quip is a subscription for dental products. I use it to get new toothpaste and toothbrush heads delivered on a recurring basis.
Chewy: Sticking with the health theme, I have a subscription for Winter’s flea collar. It has to be replaced every eight months, which is a schedule I’m never going to keep track of in my head. Thankfully, Chewy handles it for me.
OpenBudget: The best budgeting app out there. I use it every day, so I’m happy to pay the annual subscription every year.
GoDaddy Studio: I hate the name. (It used to be called Over.) But the app is a great graphics tool that I use all the time for work.
Squarespace: This blog has lived many places, but Squarespace is where it’s stayed the longest, and for good reason. It’s a great place to host a website.
Google Domains: The cheapest place to buy domain names, and the website makes it super simple to configure them.
Club MacStories
Relay FM
Six Colors
MacSparky Labs
ATP
Dithering
iPad Pros
Mastodon (via Patreon)
iPhone Upgrade Program: I switched from my carrier’s upgrade program to Apple’s a couple of years ago and haven’t looked back. It’s the easiest way to buy an iPhone, especially if you like to upgrade whenever the latest model comes out.
Apple Card Monthly Installments: While there’s no upgrade program for Apple’s other devices (yet), you can use the Apple Card to split up the purchase of Apple devices over several months interest-free, creating your own semi-subscription. I’ve used this option several times for its convenience. Currently, I’m paying installments on my Apple Watch Series 7 and finishing up the installment plan for my M1 iMac next month.
Disney Bundle: I’m a sucker for anything Star Wars, and Katherine can’t miss an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, so bundling Hulu and Disney+ together just made sense. We get ESPN+ included, too, but have never used it.
Netflix: The streaming service I just can’t seem to get away from.
Peacock: This is the latest addition to my streaming life, and I’m actually impressed with it. Peacock has a breadth of comedies, which are my go-tos, and it’s the only place to watch NBC series next-day.
HBO Max: Included with my AT&T plan.
Paramount+: Included with Walmart+.
Apple TV+: Included with Apple One.
Seeing them all listed in one place like this, I’m recognizing that I have a lot of subscriptions. 😳 Believe it or not, I actually trimmed this list down a little bit this year. I cancelled Amazon Prime and haven’t missed it other than wanting to see a couple of Prime Video shows. And I purchased lifetime subscriptions to some of my favorite app apps (Everlog, Awesome Habits, and Up Ahead) in order to simplify my app subscriptions. Still, I’ve hit that subscribe button on a lot of stuff.
At the same time, there isn’t anything on this list that I don’t find valuable. If I didn’t feel like I was getting my money’s worth out of a subscription, this would be the perfect opportunity to cut it. But I don’t think I’ll be losing any of these anytime soon.
Who knows, though? The world of subscriptions moves fast, and one nice thing about them is that you can make changes anytime you need to. We’ll see where things stand in a year or two. Thanks for checking on my subscriptions with me!
What’s your favorite service that you subscribe to? Are you looking to cut down on some subscriptions this year? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’ve been hanging out a lot on Mastodon lately and having a great time there. (If you haven’t yet, maybe give it a try.) But as I’ve been using the service more and more, I have noticed one particular bad habit creeping back into my life: comparing myself to others. In this case, that means looking at other people’s follower counts.
It’s the most ridiculous thing. I have never spent time worrying about how many followers I have on social media. I’m not a noteworthy person, so my following has always been small. It took me over a decade on Twitter to accumulate a group of 400 people who care about what I post, and who’s to say how many of those accounts are even real? Not me; I didn’t worry about it.
But for some reason, my mindset has been different since getting started on Mastodon. I think it’s because the service is so new to me and to most of the people I know. It feels like a fresh world with infinite possibilities.
In this new world, I expected things to go the way they did on previous social networks: I sign up, I find some people to follow, and then I lurk around mostly keeping quiet. But Mastodon is totally different from what I’m used to. People there actually want to connect and interact. They’re generous with their time, attention, and boosts. (They’re like retweets, but better.)
That sort of engagement—the real kind, not vanity metrics salespeople use to fill ad space—is exhilarating. It makes me happy to connect with like-minded people who are interested the same things I am. It’s a lot of fun!
But our brains are stupid. At least, mine is. And when something makes it happy, my brain starts chanting, “More. More. More.” If I’m not careful, the good thing that was benefitting me can become a crutch that I rely on for my next dopamine hit.
Which leads to the comparisons. I check my follower count every day (or more), and I get a rush when that number goes up. When it doesn’t, I feel bad. Until I look at someone else’s number and realize that mine is higher than theirs. Then I feel good again, at least for a second.
It’s petty, I know. And it makes me feel gross to even admit it, because I’d like to think that I’m more mature than that. But I recognized it in myself recently. I guess this is my way of calling myself out.
The reality is that what brings me joy isn’t seeing a number get higher on my profile. It’s not the notification count on my lock screen, or the number of times someone hits the star button under my latest joke. What actually makes me happy is connecting with people, and I can’t do that if all I’m worried about is whether or not I have more followers than somebody else.
It isn’t a zero-sum game, after all. Someone else’s gain isn’t my loss. So if they’re doing well and connecting with a lot of people, why would I be jealous of that? I should be happy for them, thankful even that they’re enjoying the same platform that I am. When people interact and have a good time on Mastodon, the platform gets a little bit better, and everyone benefits.
I’m not ever going to be famous, not even internet famous. That’s not something I aspire to. But I got caught up in the rush for a bit. I’m thankful I put a stop to it before it became a major problem.
Comparing ourselves to others is not a way to achieve to success or happiness. We’re all different and on different paths; that’s how it’s supposed to be. Better to find contentment with what we have rather than strive for what someone else does.
I’m going to stop comparing myself to others and instead simply enjoy the good things my life has to offer me right now, like connecting with cool people online, regardless of how many of them want to follow me. I invite you to do the same.
Yesterday, Apple announced that the company’s install base—that is, the total number of devices it makes that are in active use—has reached two billion. There are over 2,000,000,000 Apple products being used across the world right now. That number is astounding.
In response to the news, AppleTrack posed the question: How many of these devices did you contribute?
It’s interesting to think about. After all, when I buy a new Apple product and the company announces good financial results, I like to think I played a role in that. (You’re welcome for the MacBook Pro I purchased through work last quarter, Tim.) And so, I decided to count up my portion of Apple’s gigantic install base.
Here’s my personal contribution:
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPad mini (6th generation)
iPad Pro (13”, 5th generation)
iMac (2021)
Apple Watch Series 7
AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Apple TV 4K (x2, 1st generation + 2nd generation)
HomePod (x3, 1st generation)
HomePod mini (x2)
Add those up, and you get 13 Apple devices that I’m currently using, accounting for 0.00000065% of the company’s install base. It’s not much, but I guess I’m doing my small part!
2 billion devices is a lot, and I imagine Apple’s install base will only grow from here. I’m obviously a big fan of what they make. It seems like a lot of other people are, too. Maybe we can check in on this again when the company inevitably hits 3 billion devices.
