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iPad Mini Keyboard Case
In an effort to utilize my iPad mini more for writing and note-taking, I purchased a simple keyboard case for it.
The keyboard works well, but I need to slightly scrunch my fingers together, and it takes some getting used to. I also need to learn some keyboard shortcuts.
The keyboard itself attaches magnetically, making it easy to remove from the screen when I want to read. It also has backlighting.
It’s pretty good quality and lightweight overall. Pretty happy with it so far.
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I discovered in iOS 26 developer beta you can swipe down from the top of the screen in any app to get a full menu bar, just like you would see in macOS.
This is quite handy as it lets you quickly get to hidden settings, features, and see keyboard shortcuts at a glance.
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Each year, I revert to Apple’s default apps (Mail, Calendar, Reminders, Notes) with new developer betas to see if they suit my workflow. This year is no different. Let’s see how long I stick with them before switching again. :)
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My new iPad Mini
I’ve experimented with many e-ink devices over the past few years, hoping to find a device that could help reduce distractions and make it easier to read books and online articles. Some even had note-taking capabilities that I swore would “change my life.”
Every one of them has failed me (or perhaps I should say, I failed them).
My Journey Through Devices
My first e-ink device was the Amazon Kindle. I don’t remember which version, but I’ve almost always had the most recent Paperwhite. If you’re embedded in the Amazon Kindle ecosystem and only read, these Kindles are great. But that’s all they’re good for.
My first e-ink note-taking device was the reMarkable 2. I still think this is a great device for taking notes. However, over time, I simply stopped using it. The reading experience was excellent, but getting content onto the device was a challenge. Things may be better in the newer reMarkable Paper Pro, but wow, it’s expensive.
I sold my reMarkable 2 and purchased an iPad Pro, thinking it would solve all my problems. It turned out to be a great device for consuming video, but too bulky for reading books and articles. Note-taking is great, thanks to the diverse app options and the Apple Pencil. Yet, I never used it much for notes. I like handwriting notes but found the iPad Pro simply too bulky.
I again focused on the e-ink world and tried out the Boox Palma. It seemed like a great portable device for reading. I was interested in the Palma because I was traveling a lot at the time, as my daughter was playing travel softball, and the portable size was great. But, my daughter graduated, and the softball trips ended. At home, I slowly stopped using the Palma.
I then briefly went back to the Amazon Kindle. Wanting to break away from Amazon, I tried the Kobo Clara Colour. I was interested in reading graphic novels and comics at the time. The Kobo is a great little device. However, I didn’t have a good way to take notes, and the content selection was slightly limited. Also, I actually found the device too small and limited, similar to the Palma.
Next, I tried the Boox Go Color 7. This device was interesting because it runs full Android, opening up many software options. I was running Kindle, Kobo, Libby, Readwise Reader, and trying out some other apps as well. Overall, it’s a pretty good device, but something was still missing.
I recently purchased the latest Apple iPad Mini with the A17 Pro chip. So far, it checks most of the boxes.
What Do I Really Need?
If I spend some time reflecting on what I really want and need from this device, I realize I need to dig deeper into my expectations and compare them with reality.
What I “wanted” was an all-in-one device where I could take all my notes, read and watch all my content, and avoid distractions. I was expecting to transform my digital life into something closer to analog.
In reality, I find I don’t take a lot of notes. What works for me is jotting down tasks and notes throughout the day on a piece of paper. Today, I’m using the Apple Notes app for this on the iPad. The ability to tap my lock screen with the Pencil and start writing in today’s note is enough. I’ve also been using Apple Notes to capture miscellaneous notes, receipts, documents, journal-type entries, etc. I even have several notes shared with my family, which is quite handy.
As far as reading, I’m pushing myself to read more books. I have purchased many physical books over the past couple of years and find them the best reading experience. Yet, reading on the iPad Mini is extremely convenient. I use Readwise to capture my highlights and notes and Readwise Reader to keep up with RSS feeds, articles, and PDFs I want to read later. Readwise works flawlessly on the iPad Mini. I can use Kindle, Kobo, Libby, YouTube, or whatever else I want to consume content on the iPad Mini.
When it comes to blocking distractions, an e-ink reader is great because they’re so limited. The ones that are “full-featured,” like the Boox Go 7, are still slow and clunky due to how the screen refreshes. They are still great devices for simply reading but limited for other tasks.
I have set up Focus Modes on the iPad and other tricks to limit distractions. I also removed nearly everything from my phone with the intention to use the iPad for consumption and productivity. I realize, I’m just trading one device for another, almost identical device, but hey, I’m trying.
I’m sure I’ll change my mind again in the future. I’ll throw in a physical book or notebook when I’m needing to go more analog, but for now, the iPad Mini is my go-to device.
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“And if the robots don’t rise up, if our creations don’t come to life and take the power we have used so badly for so long away from us, who will? What we fear isn’t that AI will destroy us—we fear it won’t. We fear we will continue to degrade life on this planet until we destroy ourselves.” (Ray Nayler, The Mountain in the Sea)
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Boox Go Color 7
A few days ago, my Boox Go Color 7 arrived. Yes, I did just start using a Kobo Clara, which I wrote about here.
The main reason I wanted to try the Boox is that I can run any Android app on it. This means Readwise, Kindle, Kobo, Libby, and even Micro.blog.
It took me a couple of weeks to make the decision to even try the Boox. I had the device in my cart several times, then removed it, then added it back later. I couldn’t make up my mind. I decided I could try it and then decide which device I’ll keep and return the other.
- The Boox Go is slightly larger than the Kobo Clara. The Clara was noticeably small, and I found myself thinking it needed to be slightly larger but still very comfortable and light.
- I’m still able to read Kindle, Kobo, Libby, or transfer my own books to the device.
- I’m a pretty heavy user of Readwise Reader, and the app works great on Boox (with some minor configuration tweaks).
- I like the hardware buttons.
- The Clara shares a name with my mother-in-law. Weird.
I’m going to return the Kobo Clara and keep the Boox Go Color 7.
If someone asked me which I would recommend, my answer would be it depends on if you want it to just work (go with the Kobo) or want options and are willing to tinker a bit (go with the Boox).
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Starting 2025 with the Reflect notes app
On the surface, Reflect is as simple as it gets. When I open the app, I’m right on my daily note, when starting a new note, I get a blank screen. No toolbars, no bright shiny Share buttons, no distractions.
Under the covers, there is a lot to like:
- End-to-end encryption
- Markdown support
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Backlinks
- Image and PDF OCR
- A simple tasks interface
- Voice note transcription
- Built-in AI (OpenAI or Anthropic) for manipulating text, creating custom prompts, or even chatting with AI about selected notes
- Readwise (or direct Kindle) sync
- Import and export of notes in Markdown and other formats
Reflect feels like writing in the default notepad app on my OS, but with superpowers. The one big downside is the price tag: a $120 annual subscription. I’ve been using Reflect for a year and tried switching to Obsidian, but I keep coming back.
The Reflect YouTube channel is a great resource for anyone interested.
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AI, in its current state, is a rubber duck
I was listening to Scott Hanselman’s Hanselminutes podcast with guest Maggie Appleton, and they were talking about AI.
I agree with the discussion that LLMs (AI), in their current state, are best used for rubber ducking.
What is rubber ducking? It’s a term often used by developers where the idea is that you have a rubber duck on your desk that you talk through a problem with. You don’t necessarily need another person for this; often, you need to talk through the problem with yourself in order to discover the answer.
Today’s LLMs excel at this. Give it a prompt that will act as a guide. Tell it to ask you questions about the problem. Let it answer questions, but respond with more questions for you to answer.
The back-and-forth is invaluable for figuring out problems and thinking through topics. You can do this on your own, but a good LLM can give you a big boost.
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Whoop AI
I’ve been using the Whoop band for a couple of months now. My main reason for using Whoop is that I can wear it on my bicep and forget about it. Then, I get all kinds of data that I can use to improve my health.
I love data. But I hate digging for it.
One of the cool features is the use of AI within the Whoop app. With access to all of your data, the Whoop AI can tell you what you “should” be doing and give you better answers about what you did and how it impacts your health.
As a casual user, I appreciate this. Without digging through the app, I can ask things like, “How much time did I spend in Zone 2 this week?” and “How much time should I spend in Zone 2 this week?” and I get direct answers based on my data.
Even better, the daily insights usually provide the most relevant answers before I even need to ask them. I can see how much I should push myself today. It even provides recommendations of what workouts to do based on my past workouts. It’s pretty useful.
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Obsidian Web Clipper works on iOS
I just discovered that the Obsidian Web Clipper also works on iOS! I’ll need to use Safari since it’s a Safari extension, but that’s okay.
I struggled with importing my settings. I had to import each template manually, and configuring the Interpreter was a bit of a pain, but it works!
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Microsoft Copilot experiment: Day 2
I’ve been trying Microsoft Copilot for the past couple of days. I’ve been jumping around between Perplexity, Kagi Assistant, ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Google’s Gemini trying to better understand which may work best for me long-term.
Copilot was recently updated with a simple and friendly UI. It’s nice to use. However, I don’t see any advanced features that power users will certainly want in their AI assistant. No projects, prompt configuration, no option to switch LLMs. The Pro version offers a simple “Think Deeper” button that, when clicked, switches to a more advanced model that helps the conversation go deeper. You’ll also get priority access and other perks with Pro.
There is a Copilot Daily feature that reads today’s top headlines. Today’s headlines included a public service message to turn off lights when not in use, and headlines about the Apex fossil in the NY museum, Trump’s goal to end daylight savings time, MicroStrategy to join Nasdaq-100 Index, Jared Padalecki’s holiday message, and incentives to attract new residents in other countries. Overall, a good mix and summary of each. It was convenient to listen to it the past couple of days. As far as the ongoing content, we’ll see.
It’s obvious Microsoft is trying to make Copilot the “everyday user’s” AI. Since Copilot is included front-and-center, for better or worse, on Windows machines going forward, they want it to be as simple as possible.
I’m not convinced any Power User will want to use it. But, I need more time with it to see if I’m missing anything. The Pro version of Copilot is the standard $20 per month. I’ll certainly need to try more advanced tasks to see if it’s even worth considering.
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I finally installed the iOS 18 beta. I hear battery is decent and it’s pretty stable. Frankly, I’m surprised I waited so long. I usually jump right on the betas.
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Finished reading: Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick 📚
This book covers “AI” at a high level, including what AI is today and the possibilities of what it can be in the future. It touches on the ethics and regulation. Overall, the author was optimistic about AI if we learn to use it properly.
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My Apple Vision Pro Demo
I had the opportunity to demo the Apple Vision Pro yesterday. The following is a write-up of my experience.
The Demo
My store had a section blocked off with a couple of tables where a few people could do the demo simultaneously. Unfortunately, it was a sitting experience and quite loud in the room. It was not the ideal setup because of the noise and the other people in my “view,” but it didn’t deter the experience much.
The Hardware
Apple took my current glasses so they could add the appropriate lease to my demo device. While I waited, my guide told me what to expect and what her experience was with her first demo.
The device is very slick, made of high-quality materials, and looks very premium—precisely what you would expect from Apple.
I didn’t think much of the weight at first. I adjusted my straps, and while I could tell the weight was in the front, it didn’t seem significant or uncomfortable. A 20-minute demo is not enough to know.
One of the things I didn’t think about until after the demo was the audio. Nothing covers the ears, yet the audio sounded fairly good, even in a noisy room. It’s different from with good headphones or a living-room sound system, but it’s impressive, nonetheless.
The UI
After some adjustments, the demo started. When things booted up, I looked to the side, where my UI was “stuck.” So, as I waited, I looked elsewhere and didn’t even see the boot-up sequence, where you’re looking when your Home Screen loads, which is where it will stay until you move it.
I remember glancing to the side and noticing the Home Screen floating there, and then I realized what was happening. I adjusted.
The UI looks spectacular. It just floats there in front of you. It looks as if you can touch it. Everything has a “soft” look to it. The area you’re looking at is crisper than the surrounding area, as in real life. This also makes it possible to put more processing power into the area you’re looking at rather than what you’re not.
As I look around with my eyes, the icons light up. Your eyes are your primary navigation (without getting into the accessibility options).
Clicking a selected UI element is evident. Tap your fingers together. I initially held my hands up when I did this, but I realized that was not necessary. As long as my hands were not obstructed under the table, it worked fine while resting.
There are other gestures for scrolling and zooming.
The Environments
I was then guided through the UI and the “Environments” that could be enabled using your “Digital Crown” on the headset itself. You could fade the environment in and out. This allows you to sit in the Alaskan mountains or on a beach while you work or play.
Photos and Videos
Next, I took a tour of some photos taken on various iPhones. Initially, they were standard photos that looked great. I could easily resize and zoom in and out. Next were the spatial photos, which were taken from newer iPhones or the Vision Pro itself. These photos were much more realistic and had a depth that didn’t look “fake 3D” but more lifelike than any other photo I’ve seen.
I then experienced the video, in which I’m sitting at a table with the family watching the young girl blowing out her birthday cake candles. This was the first “oh wow” that came out of my mouth. Other than the limited field of view from the goggles, it felt like I was sitting in the room.
After experiencing this, I genuinely understand why we would want to record these moments so that we may watch them again whenever we want. It was remarkable. On the other hand, I don’t envision myself wanting to wear a Vision Pro during these moments. Maybe recording with a phone instead. There needs to be a better way to record these moments without being taken out of the moment itself.
Movies
Next, there was a quick demo of the Mario movie. During this, I was able to resize the window to “Movie Screen” size and experience what it is like to watch a movie with the Vision Pro. I could envision myself watching movies on this device. However, some movies are ideal for Vision Pro, while others may not. This video explains it well.
The Recap
Last was a 5-minute video that explored various landscapes, including mountain climbing, flying, interacting with rhinos, and a few other things.
I did back up when the Rhine came at me. I could feel things slightly that were not there, like the mist or the chilly rain. My mind was filling in the gaps. It was cool.
The demo ends
This concluded my demo. I was a bit disappointed it ended so quickly. I expected to see some dinosaurs, touch a butterfly, and experience the mindfulness features. Not only that, but I didn’t experience Personas or what it would be like to use a Mac or take a Zoom call—things I would expect to use in real life.
Motion Sickness
I’m someone who gets motion sickness quickly. I can’t ride in the back seat of a car on long trips or ride rollercoasters. Yet, I didn’t have any problems at all with the Vision Pro. I may have felt slightly unbalanced when I was suddenly on a high tightrope looking over a river. But that’s part of the experience.
Long Periods?
Could I use the Vision Pro for extended periods? Could I use it to work on my computer? Read a book? Watch movies? I don’t know for sure. While the device was comfortable during the 20 minutes I wore it, I did notice I was very sweaty when I took it off. I would imagine it would get uncomfortable to use it for more than a couple of hours at a time.
Antisocial?
A big issue with the Vision Pro is that it is primarily a solo experience. While you can optionally see other people in the room and interact with them, they won’t see what you see. What if I want to watch a show with my wife or a movie with my kids? I suspect Apple will resolve this over time. There will be more ways to have a shared experience, assuming each of you has a Vision Pro.
Will I buy a Vision Pro?
I react similarly to Vision Pro as most people do. It’s technically outstanding but too expensive, and I don’t think I would use it enough.
No, I won’t buy this first version of the Apple Vision Pro.
I will undoubtedly watch the following versions to see how Apple improves things. If they make it a little lighter, a lot cheaper, and more capable (especially in multi-player), then it will be much more interesting for me.
As it stands, I don’t know if there are many benefits to the Vision Pro as a “productivity” device. It could replace your expensive monitors. Then, you can easily take your setup with you, even to a coffee shop.
There are certainly some situations that sound wonderful with the Apple Vision Pro. I don’t think there’s a difference between comfort and battery life yet. I’m excited to see what it looks like in a few years.
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Well, my Logitech mouse now has AI integration. Assign a mouse button to trigger it. Select some text, and trigger the button. It will open a dialog to help you build a custom prompt, and then you can send it to ChatGPT. At least it’s optional and doesn’t have AI Built in, it only creates a prompt.
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I’m still using Feedbin as my one-stop for RSS, YouTube, and Newsletters. However, I started using the ReadKit app on iOS and macOS to sync my feeds.
I’m enjoying it quite a bit. It’s easy to swipe over to get the actual post, which is great for some types of content, like Micro.blog the timeline.
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Cortex 154: Workplace Therapy with Grey
I’m listening to Cortex 154, and they talk about email and Apple’s Focus Modes. They have the same grip I have with Focus Modes. I would rather not see the preview showing me what I’m missing. Show me when I leave the focus mode, not during!
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Is the web falling apart?
Everywhere I look, I see negative posts about how the web is falling apart. Either by AI, politics, big corporations and a dozen other reasons.
And everyone who hates seeing this happen seems to constantly write it. How they hate what the internet has become and miss what it once was. This seems to feed into the negativity.
I hope things settle soon. I hope we get back to smaller, stronger communities where we can have civilized discussions about our concerns but still have fun and share interesting things.
These communities certainly exist. I feel like I’m a part of one here at Micro.blog and Mastodon.
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I would love to see search results tagging AI articles as such, so we know before we click. Or browser extentions that show if a web article was written by an AI model. These features would go a long way in restoring my trust in the internet.
I’d rather AI-generated content like this not be allowed on the internet at all. However, I wonder, if search engines could display an indicator of AI content, that content would get substantially less traffic and desensitize this type of content to begin with.
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I really want to try this device. I’m happy with my Kindle Scribe for reading, but having a phone sized device that I as an ereader and access to Android apps would be cool.
