@craiggrannell@mastodon.social
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

craiggrannell

@craiggrannell@mastodon.social

#Writer for hire. Mostly #tech, #Apple, #games, #retrogaming, design. Smashes out words for #Wired, #Stuff, TapSmart and others. Writes #DailyRetroGame here on Mastodon. He/him. GF/DF. Likes #Lego and Mini #Schnauzers. Email: hello at craiggrannell dot com // https://linktr.ee/craiggrannell

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craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Just imagining everyone losing their mind (for various reasons) when someone at WWDC24 says: “And we call it Apple OS”.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Also now mulling how much intersection of imposter syndrome there is with OCD. (I’ve had that since I was a teen. Under control, mostly. Fairly specific too* and fortunately I don’t have eg the cleaning version. But the more I think about it, the more I suspect certain key anxieties/negative behaviours might stem from that.)

  • mostly the fear of disaster flavour. So I will lock the door, head off and then return to check. And then beat myself up about that. Usually once is enough though.
craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

I reached this last week, for sure. Now having a relaxing weekend. Not sure what’s next. I don’t need more escapism. I do need more personal satisfaction re creative work – ie music. Changing circumstances, then? Probably quite a bit I can do there, TBH. Although much of that would require I drop my freelancer mentality where I think if I turn down work I’ll never be commissioned again. (Another aspect of imposter syndrome, I imagine.)

From: @saraislet
https://infosec.exchange/@saraislet/112491685436021576

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

I hope if Sega gripes about this, someone will ask why it delivered so little on its promises regarding bringing its back catalogue to mobile.

From: @_Davidsmith
https://mastodon.social/

darylbaxter, to mentalhealth
@darylbaxter@mastodon.social avatar

I've had better weeks chicks.
It's rare having a dip this low but it's hit hard.
Make sure you speak to the right people if you ever feel the same.
#mentalhealth

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@darylbaxter Sorry to hear it and I hope you are in a better place soon. Give your lovely dog some ear skritches from me.

gedeonm, to random
@gedeonm@mastodon.social avatar

Bought this rubber carrot dog chewie for Max and boy he loves it. He usually destroys his dog toys in seconds but he’s been working on this thing for over an hour now and it’s still in one piece.

It’s made of some kind of rubber/silicone material that is fun to chomp (not too hard) and the crinkle leaves are really well bonded to the interior. He hasn’t been able to pull them out (yet). Gonna leave a ★★★★★ for this thing. 👍 https://a.co/d/j7CFSyQ

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@gedeonm When we had our dog, we used to give him rope toys a lot as well. Although he occasionally picked them apart with nimble teeth. Mind you, he was never really destructive and so his toy pile just grew. Here he was on his 15th birthday, with most of his collection. (We still have a few dotted about the house. Nice to have them as memories.)

chrisphin, to random
@chrisphin@mastodon.social avatar

Why THE FUCK would you advertise a feature that skeevy men use to violate the boundaries and equanimity of women and other vulnerable people using a grab that feels exactly like an example of that? Like, I’m not making the argument that DMs are bad and shouldn’t exist (in this post), but why apparently lean into their worst feature??

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@chrisphin Ick. Ick ick ick ick ick.

sdw, to random
@sdw@mastodon.social avatar

One year today.

What a magical, crazy time the first year of a new human’s life is. From this photo just hours after birth to a walking, talking person we love so much in what seems like a flash. Being a dad is the coolest thing.

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@moseley @sdw It’s such a cliche and so true. Mini-G is about to turn TEN. Which is clearly impossible. Something must have gone wrong with space time because I swear yesterday she was just about big enough to lie along my arm.

stroughtonsmith, to random
@stroughtonsmith@mastodon.social avatar

But from what I’ve heard, this runs macOS. You know what that means, though? iPadOS couldn’t get us there, so Apple is making bets in other places — like a touch-based macOS. But why would Apple maintain two touch-based computing platforms? Do they even have that bandwidth? Is this perhaps where iPad Pro will end up in a few years time? Will macOS gain a much more SpringBoard-like layer, and then replace iPadOS entirely on the top end iPads?
https://mastodon.social/@iryantldr/112490741955327005

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@stroughtonsmith Stage Manager always felt like an attempt to simultaneously replace Springboard and Finder – until Apple discovered how much people hated it.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

NeoSprint by Atari looks like someone dug Racing Destruction Set out of their dusty toy box. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6jXTy0_99I

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@Jayenkai Also like RDS

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

And, yes, I’m updating a massive apps round-up with a dozen new apps. And, no, I’m not having much fun with everything, because almost no-one has suitable imagery for use online, let alone in print.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

As long as I’m in the tech writing game, I’ll never understand why so many app and game developers – large and small – make it so difficult for media to more easily cover their products.

Make a press kit. Outline in simple bullet-point terms what your app does. Cover pricing if there are free/paid/sub versions. Shoot some screen grabs and keep them regularly updated. Put everything online (using presskit or something like Dropbox – whatever).

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Another from my past. I could leave home at 8 and get to the office at 8:50 or leave at 8:50 and get there before 9:10. One manager was baffled I was leaving early: just… show up later. She noticed I always left late anyway (again to avoid queues). Then I moved depts. Manager often rocked up hungover. Berated me one day when I arrived at 9:03. The previous evening I’d been there until an hour after end of day. Fun times.

From: @designthinkingcomic
https://mastodon.cloud/@designthinkingcomic/112483801902021191

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@designthinkingcomic I did push back. The area was open plan. Hungover manager was not happy. Got hauled into their office but my line manager did me a solid and defended me to the hilt. (He was often there early and late, and noted I was on average working several hours of unpaid overtime every week.) Hungover guy decided against anything formal but suggested I “show up on time to make a good impression on people”. Bonkers. And there’s still too much of this presenteeism about.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Apple has iCloud. No reason its devices shouldn’t optionally provide this info in centralised fashion. “Plug in your iPad!” would be useful. And, yes, I know there are third-party apps that do this, but they aren’t always reliable.

From: @harshil
https://mastodon.social/@harshil/112483666329883894

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Depends on the thing. If I could eg remove health conditions from my life that would also be adding something good, in a very real sense. eg whatever is going on with me and grains – if that went away, I’d be able to eat gluten (yay) and not have to worry about/recover from oats, corn and wholemeal rice.

From: @Njord
https://peoplemaking.games/@Njord/112477263141500404

craiggrannell, (edited ) to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Now there’s a GE on the way, recommendations for UK politics accounts and politics commentators who actually regularly post here (not just sporadic broadcasting or accounts that have been inactive since 2022) would be fab, if anyone has some. (Don’t worry – I won’t flood feeds with any of this stuff, although I may be a bit giddy on the night of 4 July, unless polling radically shifts before then.)

#Ukpol #ukpolitics #ge2024

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@pasquires Yep. Most of the commentators I liked came here for about a week, complained they didn’t immediately get massive followings, and went back to X. There are exceptions. Stephen Bush posts and replies on Bluesky. But most folks appear to be article broadcast only.

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@JonnyT good advice. Thank you.

sdw, to random
@sdw@mastodon.social avatar

I honestly cannot believe that we’ve been around for seven years! Incredibly grateful that I get to do this for a living.

We’re going to make it a very special 7th birthday.
https://mastodon.social/@halide/112486032382706523

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@sdw Would love to do that classic app interview with you this summer, if you’re game.

chartier, to apple
@chartier@toot.cafe avatar

“Who was asking for the iPad Pro to get thinner?”

Setting aside the fact our tech has been getting smaller and thinner for decades so I don’t really understand this question, I think the larger benefit is weight.

As someone who has been using a 13” iPad Pro for ~ 80% of my daily work and play for years, every fraction of an ounce they can shed is welcome, especially since this device is designed to be held; it doesn’t just sit on a surface like a laptop.

#Apple #iPad #iPadPro

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@chartier I’ve been baffled by this too. I’ve even seen people say “no-one was asking for a lighter iPad”. Which suggests to me they were using it like a laptop most of the time. That might be why they’re so annoyed it isn’t like a Mac laptop. For me, who mostly uses the iPad Pro 12.9in handheld, a change in weight would be fantastic.

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@chartier Good to know. I’m not expecting light as a feather (nor even iPad mini), but any saving is good.

I can’t get on board with the thinner iPhone thing though. That seems like a misstep – thinness for the sake of it.

stroughtonsmith, to random
@stroughtonsmith@mastodon.social avatar

I'm struggling to see an acquisition path for Humane; what unique technology would a potential acquirer be picking up? The hand projector? Software wise any AI features they've demonstrated so far (even if working as advertised) are going to be rapidly outstripped by newer, better models. A talent acquisition? They certainly have some beautiful industrial design, but you don't really need to buy the entire company if you want to poach that. Brand? 😅

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@stroughtonsmith Maybe it’s worth a few hundred million and that’s their real target. Aim high and hope for the best.

craiggrannell, to retrogaming
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Wondering how big a Game Boy can get before things start getting a wee bit silly.

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@MrNuclearMonster That’s the X2s, which has been engineered to work like this without modding. It’s a solid controller. But obviously it feels a bit weird and fragile to use with an iPad. Every time you extend it like this, it feels like you’re breaking it.

pete, to cycling
@pete@toot.bike avatar

UK’s new dangerous offence will achieve pretty much nothing

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/bike-blog/article/2024/may/21/uk-dangerous-cycling-offence-achieve-nothing

craiggrannell,
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

@pete Of course, there’s a world of difference between car hits bike and bike hits pedestrian. And way more car drivers (and, frankly, motorcyclists around here) are AHs than cyclists. AND most cycling infrastructure isn’t worth a damn. Still, it would be nice if some folks were a bit kinder and more broadly aware.

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