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Yet another reason why I don’t go in the woods – I’d die before I would ever be able to do this.

As a casual gamer, I unsubbed from Apple Arcade a few weeks ago. So many of the games I wanted to play either had text/graphics (on the iPhone) that was too small to be read by my middle-aged eyes or, when trying to play on the Apple TV, required a controller. As well, my 14-year-old has no interest in the service and my wife is not a gamer. What has been your Apple Arcade experience?

This might be a good explainer for some of you.

For Canadians, feel-good stories don’t get any better than this. The fact he beat the Leafs makes it even sweeter for me.

A good overview of what happened at this morning’s Apple shareolders meeting.

Watch the video for a really good explanation.

This story really appeals to the lazy SOB in me.

The owner’s description of talking about film is one of the things I loved about my long-gone video rental place.

The Etch a Sketch Revolution is a tad smaller than your typical Etch a Sketch, but it does feature the two signature knobs at the bottom. The main difference is it features a spinning screen that makes drawing circles magnitudes easier. As in, all you have to do is manipulate the knobs on the spinning rim, and that’s it. It’s simple, but pretty neat when you consider just how torturous trying to draw anything circular, rounded, or curvy on a traditional Etch a Sketch is.

Okay, I know there is a certain percentage of you looking at this and saying “WTF!” However, for those of a certain age, this is really cool. I doubt Apple is “doomed” with this the release of this breakthrough technology, but it’s still fun.

The NTSB said that although Huang was a distracted driver, Tesla’s forward collision warning system did not provide an alert, and its automatic emergency braking system did not activate as his Model X SUV with Autopilot switched on accelerated into a highway barrier.

and

The NTSB also called out Huang’s employer, Apple, for failing to set a strict policy for its employees banning non-emergency use of mobile devices while driving.

That is just ridiculous. How is an Apple policy going to help when people get behind the wheel of a car and decide to game instead of watching the damn road like they supposed to do.

Apple’s response:

“We expect our employees to follow the law.”

Exactly.

There’s plenty to dislike and be annoyed at with Apple’s App store policies. It’s an easy argument for developers and others to say Apple has overstepped its boundaries and is squeezing for all its worth. But, for most consumers, the App Store is the safest, best place to get iOS apps for their devices. But Apple has a fine line to follow especially given increased governmental scrutiny. They need to do what is best (in its opinion) for its customers but it can’t afford to force the government’s hand and have them step in and force Apple into policies it doesn’t want to implement.

The Smithsonian is a literal national and international treasure and this release continues that reputation.

As a photographer, I get why some people like these shots but you’re likely not taking an “original” shot, you’re trespassing, it’s illegal, and you’re putting your life in danger. It’s not worth it.

I had the same Japanese experience the author did. While initially confused by my hotel’s toilets, the detailed instructions (!) in English helped and I “loved” using the toilet for the week I was there. We are in the market for a new toilet in our house and while there’s no way we’d splurge for a Toto, there is nothing similar to them on the market for a non-exorbitant price.

The justices rejected Apple’s appeal in the long-running case in which a federal jury in 2016 found that Apple had infringed VirnetX’s patents and awarded $302 million. A judge later increased that amount to $439.7 million including interest and other costs.

Patent cases are always difficult and this one is no different.

If it hadn’t been for the movie “Hidden Figures“, Johnson and the work of the other incredible Black women at NASA might have gone unnoticed.

This is an overly harsh view of my home and native land but it is mostly fair. In the most recent news, we have serious issues with our treatment of the Wet’suwet’en Indigenous people and their territorial sovereignty.

Fold phones are still breaking, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Apple TV+ is releasing Amazing Stories and an Amazon vendor scams the system.

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I’ll be the first to admit I found The Mandalorian boring and juvenile but the effects and visuals are spectacular.

I’ve never had any interest in going to Disney theme parks but I’m always fascinated by stories of the behind the scenes workings of the facilities.

Many thanks to BBEdit for sponsoring The Loop this week. Bare Bones Software, makers of BBEdit, is one of my favorite software companies — in fact, I’ve been using BBEdit for more than 20 years. BBEdit has been updated to version 13, and is available in the Mac App Store as a subscription! Same great features. Same user experience. You can subscribe in the Mac App Store or purchase perpetual licenses directly from Bare Bones Software. Also, you can still get great merch, including Classic and Rebus T-shirts, enamel pins, and more in their merch store!

While I’m a big fan of D&D and would play again in a heartbeat, I’m completely unfamiliar with any other board game RPGs mentioned in this piece.

I played around with this today. Easy to set up, easy to use. Would take practice to get the movement down cold. I showed it to my wife who is an Occupational Therapist working with kids who have varying levels of disabilities and sh can see how this would be a real use to some of them.

Follow the link for details, but try this one simple thing to get a sense of what’s new:

• Launch the official iOS Twitter client
• Start a new, blank tweet
• In the new tweet, pull down (as if to refresh)

Your most recent tweet will appear, with the option to turn it into a thread. Useful!

When I moved to Nashville in 2002, many people made a point to tell me to visit this site. It seemed kind of silly to me (I’ve been to the actual Parthenon in Athens) but once I visited, I really loved and appreciated it and the beautiful park it was in.

This PBS Frontline documentary is available on Youtube but only for US viewers.

What an odd, silly looking design for a house.

This is simultaneously really creepy and utterly amazing.

This is a fascinating look at the top 100 languages and their origins from other languages. I figured Japanse wouldn’t have any branches but I was surprised to see Hungarian didn’t either.

I’ve been a big fan of Setapp since it launched. If you know of a new(ish) user of a Mac, this would make a great gift to help them navigate the ins and outs of their new computer. And even if you’re an old hand, at only $10 for the Kindle version, it’s not a bad thing to have on hand as reference material.