Technology

The other day I got an email from Tyler Ibrahim, one of the creators of Pools, a new app for "personal and intentional sharing – social but not social media." It's available for iPhone and Android.

I gave it a look and it appears to be an interesting take on many of the functions social media offers but absent many of the functions that make social media awful. For instance, there's no followers or following. There's likes and hearts, but only the person who posted the thing you're liking or hearting can see your reactions, thus eliminating the performance aspect of social media. If you comment on something, you can make it so only certain people can see the comment, or only the person who created the post, and your comment cannot be viewed by people you're not already connected to.

Since there's no following/followers, there's also no way to search for users. That means no one can find you on Pools. The only people you're connected to are those you send an invite to — or those who you accept an invite link from.

There's also no algorithm. You see things when you choose to in the order they're posted.

The app is new so things may change, but they seem dedicated to the anti-social media stance they're launching with.

I'm not an app developer, but I had a similar idea years ago when I launched Volver. I was looking for an app that would allow one-to-group posting and I was mostly thinking of businesses who want to reveal things to their customers and have a way for customers to respond, but not a way for customers to connect to one another. I don't believe Pools has this function, but perhaps it's something they'll consider in the future.

Once again, Joan Westenberg hits it out of the park with Why Personal Websites Matter More Than Ever:

I don’t know why we talk about walled gardens. That seems to imply something beautiful, something worth defending. It conjures images of beautifully maintained flowerbeds protected from the outside world. But that’s not what Facebook built, what Instagram built, what Twitter built. They built paved, unshaded, barren hellscapes, trapped us in them, and surrounded us with guard towers and razor wire, intended to keep us in, not protect us from anyone else. There's no "garden" here.

You can read the whole thing on Westenberg, which, like A Tiny Bell, is powered by Ghost.

Here's Joan Westenberg on the onslaught of Tech where it's not needed:

I would have happily paid double for the experience of simply flipping through a menu and talking to another human being. ...

I can tell you right now that anyone working in a decent venue would rather have a line of people ordering at the counter than be juggling iPads and QR codes while barely interacting with human beings.

I won't say there's a ton in the article that I haven't thought myself, but mentioning the worker side of it is a nice touch. As a lifelong retail worker I can't help but agree with the points being made.

I'm somewhat privileged because I'm a hermit and couldn't give a damn about visiting the latest trendy places. I simply refuse to participate. "Oh, I can only order using Instagram? Thanks, but I'll eat elsewhere." Truly, there is not a meal on the planet that I'd download an app to eat.

Hell, a couple months ago I walked into what I thought was a CIBC (one of the largest banks in Canada), only to be told, "Oh no, you can't pay your credit card balance here. This is a cashless bank." What the actual fuck is the point of such a thing?!

Read the full article on Westenberg.

Butterdocs, my writing app of choice (because it's awesome), just released an iOS app. Because of this, I've decided to switch from my trusty-but-long-in-the-tooth Macbook Air to an iPad Air, which should arrive today.

Whenever I get new tech, my first place to familiarize myself with where to start is Proper Honest Tech's Youtube Channel. Simple, straightforward advice, like this:

I'm a big fan of the Arc web brower, but I'm tempted to check out Horse, which has a different approach. Watch this 90-second video for an explanation.

As I weave through double parked cars and brave pedestrians, I see that this bicycle with an electric motor has returned the hope I’d lost over the years. Here, listen, it whispers: tech doesn’t have to be a con or make us the worst versions of ourselves. Look: technology has kept its promise and genuinely made the world better!

I love my single speed bike, but this essay on ebikes by Robin Rendle is lovely: This Glorious Machine!

I've had my eye on a Beachman Bike for some time, but I really do love my single speed.

Someone has made a single-serving site called No Hello explaining how you should not say Hello when texting.

As someone who runs a business that relies on text messages, Please, just ask your question!

The Verge on AI in photography with the release of the new Google Pixel:

An explosion from the side of an old brick building. A crashed bicycle in a city intersection. A cockroach in a box of takeout. It took less than 10 seconds to create each of these images with the Reimagine tool in the Pixel 9’s Magic Editor. They are crisp. They are in full color. They are high-fidelity. There is no suspicious background blur, no tell-tale sixth finger. These photographs are extraordinarily convincing, and they are all extremely fucking fake. 

Some of the examples they offer:

These were created in-camera. No additional software or skills required.

The conclusion of The Verge's article? We're fucked.

Maybe I'm way behind the curve on this one as it's been a few years since I've been able to travel, but today I learned about Global eSims. Companies that offer eSims to hundreds of countries or regions around the world. You download an app, purchase a plan, and have data / minutes / texts in your travel destination without the hassle of visiting a local TelCo and trying to navigate their plan options.

The two big companies seem to be Airalo and Saily. I'll definitely use one the next time I'm taking a trip.

Alfred.Camera allows you to turn your old or unused devices into security cameras for no cost.