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.

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.

Starbucks Wi-Fi is Going Google→

Starbucks is dropping their often slow & crappy AT&T Wi-Fi for hopefully lickety-split Wi-Fi from Google. While Starbucks' coffee is subpar, I greatly enjoy the atmosphere there for getting some stuff done away from the home office. And while Google as an ISP gives me a bit of the heebie-jeebies, fast Internet is appreciated.

Besides, that's why I have Cloak for public Wi-Fi.

Feed Wrangler’s Smart Streams→

On the topic of a post-Google Reader RSS world, and specifically regarding my choice of FeedWrangler, this explanation by Shawn Blanc of how versatile Smart Streams are in FeedWranger is fantastic. I learned quite a bit about them, and though I have some set up as "folders" like I had in Google Reader, I can completely see myself using keyword based Smart Streams and Filters for seasons of organization.

If you are also settling on FeedWrangler, you should definitely read up on Smart Streams.

The Google Reader Shutdown is Near, Where Are You Going?

If you've been using Google Reader and haven't moved to a new feed reader service yet, you should probably find a new home in the 72 hours or so.

I've personally settled on FeedWrangler so my news addiction. I've always liked underscore David Smith's stuff, like Check the Weather.

FeedWrangler runs $19 a year, and I am totally fine with that as I like paying for things I like so they stick around. I also like its deep Instapaper support, and its take on folders — Smart Streams — are really handy.

David has also made a first party universal iPhone and iPad app, and it is really basic. It works for now, but I am really glad to know Reeder is going to support it soon. Hopefully sooner than later.

Merry Christmas

I hope you all have had a wonderfully merry Christmas. I have enjoyed a wonderful day with family, and it was great to witness the delight on my son’s face when he opened his presents.

As a bit of nerdy Christmas cheer, I leave you with this tweet I saw earlier today, which pretty much describes my life as the Family Geek.

And in those days Caesar Augustus decreed that all must return to the town of their birth, that they might sort out their parents’ computers

— Phil Rodgers (@PhilRodgers) December 24, 2012

P.S. Don’t forget to give the Gift of Geek.

¶ Why I Use Squarespace

techēse has resided at Squarespace since its inception in January 2010. Over time, the service has become better and cheaper, and I can’t really imagine techēse being anywhere else. I hope to move to Squarespace 6 soon, once the growing pains have subsided.

Squarespace is located in New York City, which was hit by a hurricane a few days ago. Squarespace warned there would likely be downtime — maybe even days of it.

So far, Squarespace hasn’t gone down, thanks to the heroic efforts of their staff. The entire story is chronicled here.

It is effort like this which I consider to be above and beyond, and that is one of the many reasons I am proud to use Squarespace.

Watch Apple's October Event Live Today

A couple years ago Apple live-streamed a couple of their events, which was amazingly awesome. Then they stopped — until now.

Today at 10:00 am PDT, you can watch the Apple Event live from an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or a web browser or you can watch on a special Apple Event channel that appeared on Apple TVs all over this morning. (You may need to reboot the Apple TV to see the channel appear).

I’m glad to see the return of live-streaming, and I’m pretty thankful to be a remote worker from home.

October 23

Rumor has it that Apple’s event for the iPad mini will be on October 23, 2012.

The Beard even gave it a “Yep.”

One thing I noted about the date is that the original iPod was introduced on October 23, 2001.

IFTTT Forced to Remove Twitter Triggers

If you are a follower of this site on Twitter (@techese), then you have been benefitting from a Twitter trigger I have set up via IFTTT. IFTTT stands for If This, Then That. It’s simply really. For instance, I have it set up for “If a new post hits techese.net’s RSS feed, then tweet the title and link”. There’s a myriad of other useful things the service can do, right down to turning on a light in your home at a certain time if you have the right devices.

Amazing stuff.

Well, Twitter sure seems to hate amazing stuff lately (like, oh, you know, third-party anything). Twitter is forcing IFTTT to remove Twitter triggers. Now, not all triggers are disappearing. The particular one I use to post is staying. But this whole crusade of “all roads lead to Twitter and none lead out” is leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

I have no idea what is going on at Twitter. They really seem to be losing their way.