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A comment here: Begemann's Backblaze Review

- I've replace Time Machine (which repeatedly failed and erased my history) with Crashplan for lokal backup as well as cloud backup. Very convenient. Even when I'm away from home the backup goes to my local backup at home. (And then there is the option to backup to friends on off site location, although I have not used it yet.)

Interesting.

I'm still a little annoyed that a developer for Code42 said that they would have a native (i.e. not Java) version of CrashPlan available for Mac OS X by the time Mavericks shipped, and yet here I am on Yosemite still running a barely updated version.

As much as John Gruber loves Backblaze, I'm quite happy having chosen CrashPlan given the many limitations of Backblaze.

The Core wireless speaker system

A buddy and I went in on this together.

I might not use a speaker very often, but when wandering around the house it may be good to use this instead of carrying my phone, and I can always use it with a Bluetooth microphone for a mini PA system. Plus, it's a speaker… I should be able to get 10 years or so out of it.

Many, many Apple folks seem to believe Apple should slow down and fully bake their OS X and iOS software released before releasing them to the world.

I concur.

Apple's Software Quality Decline

There are a few counter-arguments in the comments, including:

Software development is a process, not a product. Perfection is impossible. Why? Because it's written by people and people don't get everything right every time, and even when they do get it right, something else changes to break it. That's how it is.

Let's just look at a couple of comparable software development environments.

Android: unbelievably fragmented. Highly susceptible to security exposures. Almost impossible to update massive parts of the installed base. Riddled with tracking and advertising hooks designed to serve its owner, not its users.

Windows: Vista. 'Nuff said. Oh! And the world's biggest vector for malware.

It's right that Apple should be held to a higher standard. That's only what the company expects, and what we demanding Apple users expect. And there will be times when things go awry, especially as the depth and breadth of its software Eco-system expands. But let's not get carried away with the trope that this is something Apple isn't addressing and cannot improve.

Apple provides me and my team with a richly endowed, high productivity environment, with high security and does this all with panache and elegance. Sometimes we forget just how good this all is.

Could it be even better? Of course. Will it be? I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one.

I agree… let's not be unreasonable.

Thinking about switching to iOS 8's new Family Sharing? Here's what you need to know

I didn't read that, but I did add Family Sharing to our accounts.

The bummer? My kiddo has $50+ in credits. Purchases will have to be made under her "account" in order to use that $50. So, anything that we want to buy as a family, we will buy through that for the meantime.

Plus, we created her account when Apple didn't let you set up children's accounts, and we can't change her birthdate. So according to her iPhone, she's an adult. 😛

iOS 8's Health App

I really like that iOS 8 can supply first responders with an "Emergency ID" card with your blood type, emergency contacts, allergies, etc.

I suggest everyone fill this information out right now. If you don't do it now, you'll probably forget.

What Kids Around the World Eat for Breakfast

I missed the anniversary of his death by a few days, but I'm happy (and saddened at the same time) that this site is still online: http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/. Happy to read the memories and thoughts of others, sad that it's not still just a bad dream.

I'm not so sure anymore. It's certainly a bit easier to get into, but with double-tapping, swiping, and all sorts of hidden actions, I've seen new smartphone users get into some awfully weird predicaments, and just like with OS X or Windows, use their devices at a very small fraction of their potential.

This page at Apple lets you check the Activation Lock of a device you are considering purchasing.

If the device is still on someone's account, these two pages may come in handy:
- Find My iPhone Activation Lock: Removing a device from a previous owner’s account
- What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Suppose you want to produce an online magazine. 12 issues per year, each issue would be "self contained" and may even follow the paper model rather than the porn model: you only get issues when you're subscribed, but you can buy back issues1.

Articles would contain videos and photos, but not be super media heavy (i.e. no super-whiz-bang HTML 5 style stuff).

What software would you use to power this? How would you do it?

You could make PDFs, which have the advantage of being able to nicely control layout, etc. Plus each "issue" feels like an "issue" and not just a collection of web pages that happened to be released at the same time.

Or perhaps you could do that - release a series of web pages with a table of contents. It'd certainly make embedding videos easier. People could get teasers, too, that prompts them to subscribe if they're not logged in and/or subscribing already.

But even with either of those options (or a third, unknown better option), what software do you use to power it? WordPress with a customized or paid-for-and-configured plugin or two?

1. The "porn model" is "sign up and when your subscription is active, download as much as you want from the archives. Or so I'm told in looking into it today… there's no arguing that porn seems to be one of the most successful models. [↩]

How Does the iOS 8 Time-lapse Feature Work?

Basically (quoted from the original article - please click through - it didn't look right in a blockquote):

The Definitive History Of The West Wing. I missed watching my yearly re-watching of West Wing this year. Just too busy.

Don't miss the little things in the sides, either. For example: The Fish Bowl.