I would pay for the stem volume controls alone.

I prefer the regular AirPods to in-ear. But I still keep an old pair of Pro's around purely because the stem is so convenient for changing volume when I'm walking the dog or out for a run and I'd rather not get my phone out my pocket.

FWIW being able to effortlessly change volume with the watch dial is like 20% of my reason for wearing one.

This is quite fun, but I can’t believe the amount of cookies it wants to set!

I had my ad blocker turned off temporarily and it was a strange experience.

I can’t decide whether I find the AI writing or AI design more offensive.

Laughable that the footer has the stereotypical “made with <3” tagline (because of course AI has to use an emoji instead of words), for a site that almost certainly took less time to prompt than it takes to read it.

This is a wonderful comment, and I’m glad I scrolled far enough to see it.

> Some of these crafts people may have never got to the point of being masters yet either, they were working their way towards it, but now it looks like those skills may not be valued by the market, did they waste their most valuable years working towards a goal that no longer exists?

This is the tradeoff that hurts me the most. I spent a significant chunk of my 20’s learning new paradigms, languages, and frameworks. I thought I knew the tradeoff I was making. I thought any sacrifice now would pay off in the future. Instead, it seems like any learning outside of the first few years of my career was completely useless.

I would love to go out on my own terms like you suggest, but unfortunately I have at least 25 more years in this profession before I can retire. If the profession survives that long.

Ed Zitron had a great quote that's relevant to this.

> [they] have filled their skulls with a sense of moral and intellectual superiority - that because they have succeeded at work, they understand society better than others, and can only perceive the world through that lens of privilege

I don’t think that’s very fair.

They seemingly learned a lot. Unfortunately a lot of what they learnt should have been obvious from the start.

It shouldn’t take two years to figure out you need to speak to your customers and bring in revenue.

> The iPad is fantastic for, as the author points out, “reading the news and watching YouTube and playing games”

> I think there’s just a kind of techie who desperately wishes they could do everything on an iPad, but really the machine meant for them is a lightweight MacBook (Neo or Air)

Couldn't agree more. I am that person. I spent months deliberating before buying an 11" iPad (with keyboard). Used it for a week for the novelty. But the keyboard, trackpad, and multi-tasking is so janky compared to my Mac that it's sat in a cupboard ever since.

The MacBook Air is so quick and light that it's always just as convenient to get the MacBook out instead.

And that's not even for 'techie' tasks. Basic note-taking, researching, and simple spreadsheets are all easier on the Mac. The only time I reach for the iPad is if I want to watch a video and my girlfriend is already using the TV.

That being said, the iPad mini is a perfect companion if you do want an iPad but already have a decent MacBook. Such a great form-factor and doesn't pretend to be a laptop replacement.

I’ve tried three or four times over the decades to make an iPad “work” and have never found anything to “do” with it that doesn’t quickly get subsumed by my phone (more easily available) or my laptop (better typing etc).

It always ends up playing videos or the kids playing some silly game.

Mine never got used and I've bought 4 of them (I'm an idiot). First time they were relatively new. 2nd time I got a Pro thinking the pencil would make me use it for drawing. 3rd time was to read comics. Latest time was someone recommending to put on a treadmill at the gym for a movie.

In all cases, I used them 2-3 times and then never touched them again. Obviously some people love them. My mom loves and uses hers. I edit text too much and the select, copy and paste on touch screens is attrocious even today.

Depends on what you do.

For things like drawing (Procreate and co), editing images and even videos on the go, using it with a MIDI keyboard and AU plugins for gigs, reading ebooks, watching a movie in bed, etc its way better than both the Mac and the iPhone.

Paired with a BT keyboard, for niche stuff like focus writing apps (closer to fancy typewriter with no distractions than a full laptop or phone) it's also great.

i got an ipad mini cause i thought the pencil was cool. it's neat, tablets are always over idealized i think. had big dreams of using it to note take in meetings lol good joke my adhd cursed self will never reread a note.

so it's mostly a desk weight now. besides pencil input, there isn't anything i'd do on it that i wouldn't prefer doing on my laptop. i absolutely can't stand typing on ipads.

The difference for me has been the Apple Pencil. Now I don’t view the iPad as trying to replicate the mouse and keyboard experience, because it’s something different. For notes, brainstorming, research ideas—something where I don’t want a keyboard—the iPad with Pencil has been excellent.

The ‘Boy Scout Rule’ and Kent Beck’s idea to “First make the change easy, then make the easy change” are probably the two most important bits of advice I received in my career.

I attribute most of my success to following those rules.

And maybe I’m just applying my own biases, but all the best developers I’ve worked with seem to follow those rules as well.

Absolutely awful to hear.

His games were a significant part of my teenagehood, as I'm sure they were for many others. Thank you for all the memories Vince.

I'm not refuting that they don't sell your data, I haven't checked. But your link is not relevant to the discussion.

It's the privacy policy of the Apple TV app, not the Apple TV device.