Tech Reflect
  • Home
  • About This Site
  • Contact me
  • Search Icon

Tech Reflect

Reflecting on 25 years in tech

Keep Instagram open to finish posting…

Keep Instagram open to finish posting…

2023-03-21

As long as I have to sit here for a few minutes using your wonderful multi-threaded software… can you at least show me some ads for products I’ve already bought?

Even this poor cockatiel is dozing off.

How I predicted the rise of Twitter, barely used it, and amassed 35,000 followers

How I predicted the rise of Twitter, barely used it, and amassed 35,000 followers

2023-03-02

Once in a while, I make a stellar prediction. When I joined Twitter in December 2006, it seemed incredibly dumb to me. I knew it wasn’t for me and that’s still true today. Twitter had so few users at the time that I was able to grab @cricket as …

READ MORE

Apple Books 2022, in pictures

Apple Books 2022, in pictures

2022-10-27

My review of the new version of Apple Books, in pictures with captions.

Did the hamburger menu and the dot-dot-dot menu have a love child?

The proud father, currently living with his new “roommate” on apple.com

The proud mother, although estranged from her husband, can’t deny that the new icon
…

READ MORE
Killing one bird with two-and-a-half stones in Mac OS X Mail

Killing one bird with two-and-a-half stones in Mac OS X Mail

2022-10-18

This story is important to me because it was the first software I ever wrote that shipped to more than just a few friends or colleagues. What started as some scripting turned into Cocoa development, which is not something I ever expected to find myself doing. It never became a …

READ MORE

When computers lived in the janitor’s closet

When computers lived in the janitor’s closet

2022-09-26

I started school at a pretty exciting time in the history of computers. They were about to transition from being a tool for hobbyists, researchers, and the military to being something that could be brought into schools and even homes.

Summer 1979

After finishing third grade, I took a summer …

READ MORE

A peace offering from Siri

A peace offering from Siri

2022-09-19

Every year, there’s an announcement about new features and improvements in Siri. They generally consist of:

  • Here are some fancy new features that make a great demo, but I’m more interested in existing stuff working correctly.
  • Here are some major improvements that sound similar to what you already announced last
…

READ MORE
Mail’s one and only (former) easter egg

Mail’s one and only (former) easter egg

2022-08-24

Easter eggs have been highly frowned upon at Apple for many decades now. Engineers would sneak them into products and sometimes fail to account for potential problems. An engineer (not at Apple) once inserted a seemingly harmless easter egg into an app that would reveal the names of everyone on …

READ MORE

Siri vs Addresses

Siri vs Addresses

2022-08-18

Let’s say I have an upcoming event in Calendar. The location was snagged from my Contacts.

Now I’m driving in my car, and Siri wants to remind me of the event. After telling me the event’s name and time, Siri also tells me the address. Am I supposed to pull …

READ MORE

Coldplay, synchronicity, and the Steve Jobs’ memorial

Coldplay, synchronicity, and the Steve Jobs’ memorial

2022-08-12
Tim Cook addressing employees at the memorial service.

A few weeks after the death of Steve Jobs, a memorial service was held at what was then Apple headquarters. Apple no longer hosts a video of this service, but a shitty version plastered with ads can be found on YouTube. …

READ MORE

Just admit QA was right

Just admit QA was right

2022-07-21

Anyone that has worked in software quality assurance (QA) will tell you it’s often a frustrating and thankless job. A former Association for Software Testing president pegs the average QA engineer career at only four years. The linked article offers some advice for trying to retain good QA talent, …

READ MORE

Posts navigation

OLDER POST

Get Monthly Updates

Recent Posts

  • Keep Instagram open to finish posting…
  • How I predicted the rise of Twitter, barely used it, and amassed 35,000 followers
  • Apple Books 2022, in pictures
  • Killing one bird with two-and-a-half stones in Mac OS X Mail
  • When computers lived in the janitor’s closet

Categories

  • analog (1)
  • apple career (12)
  • apple inside (19)
  • apple stories (20)
  • bertrand serlet (3)
  • bugs (3)
  • essays (15)
  • geeky (21)
  • interviews (4)
  • iOS tips (3)
  • Mac OS X (7)
  • macOS tips (37)
  • personal (8)
  • predictions (1)
  • products (5)
  • prototypes (6)
  • scott forstall (7)
  • scripting (1)
  • siri (2)
  • steve jobs (16)
  • tim cook (1)
  • workplace (15)

Get Monthly Updates

About cricket


Me with Guiness the owl

25 years in tech. I like to write manifestos. I like to offer interesting tips. I like making fun of things. Everyone copes differently.

My Other Blogs

  • Free Range Parrots
  • Plucky Tree (personal)
© 2023   All Rights Reserved.