iOS 7.1 is Out→

This is a big update for iOS 7. It should bring quite a bit of stability and refinement to iOS, along with a few welcome features.

More than anything it is a ton of bug fixes, especially the dreaded home screen crasher that has been vexing me for the past 6 months.

It is a very welcome update, but it is a little shocking it took 6 months to fix so many of the glaring issues in iOS 7 in one big update than a number of iterative updates.

If you haven't updated yet, be sure to go and run Software Update from Settings after you do an iCloud or iTunes backup.

Indian Summer→

Indian Summer

By Aaron Mahnke

Buy on Amazon

My pal Aaron Mahnke has written a new novel and published it today. This isn't his first foray into literature, as he has authored fantasy novels, along with a guide to freelancing.

This time he takes a different turn into a thriller. I haven't read Indian Summer yet, but it is waiting for me on my Kindle, and I am ecstatic to dive into Aaron's latest adventure.

Thirty Years of Mac→

Simply a beautiful tribute to the past three decades of the Macintosh — from Apple itself.

Be sure to check out the homepage, too.

Horizon→

One of my biggest pet peeves is when video on a phone is shot in portrait. This app aims to make that obsolete.

If there is one thing I'd love to see put into the iPhone's and iPad's standard camera app's video mode, it's this.

(Pre-)Introducing Publish by Day One→

I love Day One, and this new Publish tool that is coming soon to the iOS app looks awesome. It's rare that I want to share something that I have written in Day One, but for the handful of times I have wanted to do just that, I had wished there was something elegant, beautiful, and easy to do so.

I can't wait for this to go live.

The Products Apple Doesn’t Have Time to Improve→

Marco Arment:

While most of the press demands new hardware categories, I’d be perfectly happy if Apple never made a TV or a watch or a unicorn, and instead devoted the next five years to polishing the software and services for their existing product lines.

Agreed.

How to tie your shoes→

I saw this TEDx video a couple months ago, and thought it was a nifty experiment to try out. It took a good two weeks to not have to force myself to remember to tie my shoes the new way, and now it is habit. The result: my laces lay nicer and rarely come untied.

Who knew we all learn to tie our laces the wrong way?

App Santa→

A good handful of great iOS apps have banded together for a one week sale over Christmas. Some of my favorites that I use a whole heck of a lot are 1Password (naturally), Delivery Status, Day One, and Clear+.

Definitely check it out and support some independent developers this week.

Misunderstood→

We've all been there. The awkward teenager who wants to be left alone at family events. Head buried in whatever our passion is. Family thinks — may even say — "I wish they would just interact with the rest of us."

I've been there. I'm pretty certain you were, too. What we both may have missed out on is secretly doing something amazing in our solitude for the good of others.

It's an ad, but its the best kind of ad. It tells a story that warms your heart and wets your eyes. Time and again Apple seems to be able to use their technology to touch our lives, and truly give us delight.

It's Adjustable→

Studio Neat has unveiled a new Glif. The Glif is a fantastic little tripod mount, originally for the iPhone 4/4S, and it has a second generation for the 5/5S. The former Glifs had a couple drawbacks: you needed a new one whenever Apple changed the iPhone design, and you needed to remove your case if you had one.

The new Glif is adjustable. It can accomodate not just an iPhone in a case now, but any phone within a reasonable size limit. Better yet, it looks a lot more secure than the previous Glif design. I loved my Glif for the iPhone 4, but never got around to buying one for my iPhone 5. Seeing as how this should be future-proofed for a good long while, it was an insta-order. Apologies to relatives who already find me hard to shop for.

Once it arrives, I'll see about posting a review of how well it works.