Nick Bodmer

Last night, I watched the entirety of The Talk Show Live from my Vision Pro, and it was an incredible experience. As always, the show was top-notch; I loved hearing the Apple team speak with such passion about their work.

The common narrative that Apple is lagging in AI seems misguided. The sophisticated privacy initiative involving private cloud computing appears to be the result of years of development. Considering the complexity and potential costs, a subscription component for AI services wouldn’t surprise me in the future.

Streaming the show in spatial vision was fantastic. Using Sandwich’s Theater app, the virtual screen displayed a smaller rectangle, making the on-stage presenters appear life-sized rather than disproportionately large. This setup created the illusion of sitting in the front row and added to the intimacy of the event. It was a significant improvement over the YouTube replays I’ve watched previously. The combination of stereo video and the knowledge that it was live heightened the experience, making me wish for live sports broadcasts on Vision Pro.

Although there were some framerate hiccups, the minimal movement on stage meant they didn’t detract from the overall experience much. It’s a minor issue that can be improved.

The audio seemed to be in stereo rather than surround. While there was plenty of audience interaction, the sound came solely from in front of me. It would have been amazing to hear cheers and applause from behind, enhancing the feeling of being seated in the front row. The video was limited to a rectangle in front of me. Being able to look around and see the audience would have made the experience even more immersive, truly replicating the feeling of attending the event in person.

Overall, participating in the show was an amazing experience. Kudos to the teams at SpacialGen, Sandwich, and, of course, John Gruber. It sounds like everyone was holding their breath, hoping it would all work out, and it truly did!

I love my Tesla Model 3 Performance, but I have found the wheels incredibly easy to damage against curbs.

Ouch

I ordered a set of the new RimCase covers for these wheels, and I have to say I’m pretty impressed. They cover the existing damage perfectly, and unless you examine the wheels closely, I don’t think you can even tell that they are there. I ordered it with a set of “spares”, so if I do some more damage, I can just replace a single section.

Installation wasn’t difficult, but it was a bit time-consuming. MagBak includes a plastic film that goes on each spoke and around each edge, which took some time to install. I’d say the total install was 10-15 minutes per wheel.

In the end, I think they look great. I do wonder if there will be any issues when I need to get new tires, I hope I don’t have to remove and reinstall them.

RimBak installed

My helper

Today, I was installing a few outlets that have built-in USB-C ports. I was having trouble identifying the correct breaker, so I had a Zoom meeting between myself and this lamp I plugged in.

We really like our Eufy Spaceview Pro baby monitor (Model 8321-M). We’ve had this one for a few years, and the battery life has slowly drained to the point that it shuts off immediately when you unplug it.

About six months ago, I used the trick found on Reddit where you unplug the battery for about 30 seconds and plug it back in. This seemed to give it some additional life, but now the battery is dead. (Not surprising after two years of daily full charge/discharge cycles).

In this video I open up the monitor, remove the old battery and replace it with a new one.

Links:

Amazon Page for the Eufy Spaceview Pro

Amazon Page for the battery pack

Reddit Discussion of unplugging the battery for extra life

EDIT: As of XCode Beta 7, you need to add the default value back in.

I upgraded to Xcode 15 Beta 6, and found some new errors in my SwiftData Project.

On my @Relationship macros, using .cascade, I now have the error “Type ‘PropertyOptions’ has no member ‘cascade’”

We need to add deleteRule: .cascade instead.

But now we see a new error. “Variable ‘self._$backingData’ used before being initialized”

We can no longer set default values where we declare the variables. Removing the = [] takes care of the error. (And I did not need to add it to the initializer.)

Final, working code:

I’ve been working on an app, and as a ‘free’ Apple Developer, I’ve just been running my app on-device. This leaves the app on my phone for a few days, but you are quickly hit with this error:

"App Name" is no longer available.

Since my app was starting to come along, I decided it was time to pay the $99 fee and become a full Apple Developer. Took a few days after submiting my application, but soon enough I was approved.

I continued working on my app, and was surprised to quickly run into the same error message. I thought that becoming a paid developer would “automatically” fix this, but there’s a process to deploying your app on a device for testing.

I found my way to the Distributing your app to registered devices guide.

It breaks down into a few steps:

1. Collect Device identifier
2. Register device on the Apple Developer website
3. Update Provisioning profile
4. Archive the app
5. Export the app
6. Install app on the device

To make matters easier, some of these steps were already completed.

My device identifier was already registered (perhaps because the device is tied to my apple id already?)

No provisioning profile was needed, as by default, you get “automatic signing”.

Steps needed

Archive and distribute:

• Product > Archive
• Distribute App > Ad hoc

• Ad hoc distribution options: keep defaults
• Automatically manage signing
• Export to a location on disk.

When you save the exported app, Xcode creates a folder that contains a few files, including the iOS App file, which is a file with an .ipa filename extension. Distribute that file to your users so they can install it on their devices by using Xcode or Apple Configurator 2.

• Window > Devices and Simulator
• Select your iOS device
• Click the + icon under "installed apps" (even if your app is already listed)
• Select the .ipa file that you exported earlier.
• Done!

I’m working on an app idea, and the newest features of iOS 17 seem like they will make my life a lot easier, especially SwiftData. Is it a bad idea to start using these features knowing I’ll need to limit the app to iOS 17? I think not, but I’m not sure.

Busy day.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been debating between a Mac Mini with M2 Pro or a Mac Studio with M1 Max. I eventually decided on the M2 Pro with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It felt like the right balance for me - I know 16GB has been enough on my M1 MacBook Air, and maxing out the CPU performance has been my only issue. However, 512GB of storage is more than enough for me now. I’ll add an external SSD to keep my entire iCloud Photo Library locally.

I’m confident this Mac Mini with M2 Pro will last me a couple of years, and if the M3 makes a big difference when it comes out, I can always look at the Mac Studio. But for now, this feels like the right decision!

I decided to buy the base Mac Mini with M2 Pro (16GB, 512GB), after waffling between a spec’d up version and a Mac Studio. Here’s my reasoning:

• 16GB has been just fine on my M1 MBA
• Maxing out the CPU has been the only issue I’ve had
• I’m using less than 512TB currently, and switching to a desktop means I can very easily add a 2TB SSD. Finally, I can keep my entire iCloud photo library locally.

Now I’ll feel fine for the next year or two, and if the M3 with the process shrink makes a big difference, I can look at a Mac Studio or something.

When it comes to choosing the best computer for my needs, I recently decided to purchase an Apple Mac Mini with the M2 Pro processor (16GB, 512GB).

This was not an easy decision to make, as I had to consider my current computing needs as well as my future needs. The choice was ultimately between purchasing the specced-up version of the Mac Mini, or going for a Mac Studio. After a lot of thought, I decided on the Mac Mini. Here’s why:

Firstly, currently I own an M1 Macbook Air and with 16GB of RAM, I feel that I have enough memory to comfortably work with. While I have experienced some slowdowns and lags at times, it has been due to the processor, not the RAM.

Secondly, I currently only use 512 GB of storage, meaning that I do not need a bigger storage capacity as I do not store too much data. Once I switch to a desktop computer, I can easily add in a 2TB SSD, and this will be perfectly suitable for me. I love being able to keep my entire iCloud photo library stored locally.

Finally, I am confident that the Mac Mini M2 Pro will serve me well for the next couple of years. I believe that the M2 Pro is the perfect processor for my needs, and I do not need to worry about upgrading straight away. If in the future the Mac Mini M3 and its process shrink makes a difference, then I can look into buying a Mac Studio or something else.

All things considered, I am really happy with my decision to go for the Mac Mini M2 Pro. It has all the features I need and I am confident that it will provide me with the computing power I need for the foreseeable future. I am looking forward to seeing the amazing things I can do with the Mac Mini.

I have been buying all my prescription glasses at eyebuydirect.com for years, and about a year ago, I decided to try their “photochromatic” lenses. These are glasses that are clear indoors, but when you are outside, they darken automatically to become sunglasses.

Eyebuydirect offers multiple options for photochromic lens upgrades:

• ‘Generic’ Photochromic - ~$36
• Transitions Signature - ~$100
• Transitions XTRActive: ~$140

My first pair was the generic photochromic lenses, and they worked really well. I had only two complaints: They did not get dark in the car (the UV-blocking glass of the car prevents it from changing), and they were slow to ‘transition’ back to clear when you walked indoors after being outside.

I broke the frame of those glasses and when reordering, decided to give the “Transitions XTRActive” a try. The eyebuydirect website says this about Transitions XTRActive:

Transitions® XTRActive® lenses deliver the best extra darkness and the best extra light protection indoors & outdoors. They’re clear indoors with a hint of protective tint and darken outdoors, even in the car. They also block 100% UVA/UVB and filter harmful blue light indoors & outdoors.

I was really excited to have them work in the car! However, real-life results haven’t been that impressive. They darken a bit in the car, but not to “full sunglasses” darkness. Also, they have a slight tint all the time. The description sort of points this out, but I didn’t understand that fully until I got them.

My recommendation, skip the Transitions branded stuff; the generic photochromic for $36 bucks is a great deal.