A World Without Work – For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. Could that be a good thing?
To Apple, Love Taylor – Taylor Swift is no doubt one of the most powerful artists in music today and no doubt means well by this, but if Apple paid for the three months then no doubt some anti-trust government type would investigate. It turns out Apple are paying more than others to cover the 3 month trial period, but only 1.5% which doesn’t seem much.
I’ve not run for four weeks now due to a niggling but pretty sore knee. I first noticed it around the start of May but thought nothing much of it. But a week to ten days later and it was getting worse. Getting and our of the car was difficult and if I stretched my leg in a certain position it was agony – like someone stabbing my knee. All this was accompanied by a quite horrible tearing noise and a burning sensation that lasted for ten to twenty minutes. But I could still run, walk etc so just carrie don regardless.
Then around mid May I ran five miles and an hour after that the knee was in pretty bad shape. Nothing during the run but so sore after sitting for a while. For a few days after stairs were tricky and I decided to rest the running for a while to see if it helped. After a week it felt a bit better but I really missed going out for a run so to test it I did a four mile walk. Ouch.
About half way through I had to stop as every step was sore. I had a slow stroll home and decided to rest it some more. Most folk told me to seek out a physio but my stubbornness kicked in and I thought rest would be enough. It eased off slightly but every few days I’d tweak it again and it would reset back to the start. Roll onto this week and I bit the bullet and booked in to see a physio.
While he couldn’t diagnose what was wrong there looks to be no permanent damage and nothing that I should be apprehensive about. The advice was to do a variety of stretches and strengthening exercises and also to start slowly – walk before I run. I’ve to ice the knee frequently too to help with any slight swelling.
Hopefully I’ll be back running in the next 3-4 weeks as I really do miss not only the exercise but it’s a great way to clear the mind. Whatever happens, this has been a bit of a lesson. Next time I get an injury I’ll be visiting the physio far earlier. One day I’ll learn!
Live with Phil – this write up of The Talk Show Live from Marco Arment is a great read. It’s clear that the normally private Apple does read the blogs and listen to the podcasts from the many Apple enthusiasts.
Chairman Zhang’s flatpack skyscrapers – 19 days to build a 57 storey skyscraper. Great web design from the BBC, hopefully the skyscraper is as well thought through.
It’s been well over a month since I started using the Apple Watch and after reading Dan Frommer’s post last week on his one month thoughts here’s my take so far.
Under Promise, Over Deliver
A lot of the talk prior to the Apple Watch release was battery life. 18 hours sounded pretty short but the reality is that battery isn’t an issue. Charging overnight is fine and even if I didn’t I’d still get a good few hours out of the next day.
I’ve worn the Watch every day and it’s been comfortable and sweat free despite the plastic feeling strap and also the doubts expressed in some reviews. In fact I’m surprised how normal the Apple Watch feels. It’s become part of my day to day and I’ve never not thought about wearing it. I always did wear a watch during the week (hardly ever at weekends) but this has changed with the Apple Watch and it’s primarily down to one thing – activity tracking.
Activities during May
Activity tracking is addictive
I’ve used a Fitbit for three years so no stranger to the addictiveness of tracking steps and activity but the Apple Watch makes it easy to see visually how you are doing. It’s very clever (apart form the stand metric) and for the first part of May I was determined to complete my circles each day. Extra runs, walks at work, walking to the underground instead of driving into town are all positive activities that I was doing to get my circles filled.
The downside, and it may be entirely unrelated, is that my knee has taken a bit of punishment so from the middle of May I’ve had to lay off doing any fitness work.
I’ve found the heart rate tracking interesting. While it’s nothing new and I could have worn a tracker for years I like the fact that the heart rate tracker is hidden in the Watch and it’s fascinating to see heart rates rise at unexpected times – meetings, driving…times where I’m obviously feeling more stress.
Apps are pretty weak
Despite the 1000’s of Watch app’s already released there’s only a few I use frequently. Todoist is really useful and it’s notable that they waited until the Watch was out and developed on an actual device – it shows. Dark Sky is great and the updated Overcast is a nice way to control podcasts.
Messages is fine especially the smart replies that are offered but the Digital Touch features are pretty poor in use. Most of the time if I want to run an app then I’ll goto the phone as it’s quicker – hopefully watchOS 2 will help improve the speed of many of the app’s.
Notifications and Siri
Once I got control of my notifications I was actually impressed how useful they were. Reading notifications for Messages or WhatsApp was quicker than unlocking the phone especially if you just need the information and don’t need to reply.
I actually find the BBC News notifications useful now as I can quickly see when there’s breaking news, something I used to have turned off as it was a faff to get them on the phone.
One thing I can’t get used to is Siri. It does work well but it still feels a bit awkward to use day to day…it’s that talking to the wrist that feels a bit off. I need to persevere though as it is reliable and is a great way to send a message or add a todo.
Whats Next
July should see the launch of Apple Pay in the UK. I can’t wait to pay for stuff with the Watch. Then in the fall comes watchOS 2. Alongside app’s that actually run on the Watch, third party complications will be a great new feature so I can replace in built weather app complication with Dark Sky’s…I hope. New faces and the time travel feature, a nightstand mode although it probably ruins any stands that have currently been sold and some nice add-on’s for Siri are all solid upgrades.
I still wouldn’t recommend an Apple Watch if you are unsure of it but equally I wouldn’t put anyone off from a purchase if they wanted one as it’s useful and interesting to see how it will take off over the coming months. It’s a great 1.0 product but not yet essential.
How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality? – Interesting test that audiophiles in particularly should take and remember before they spunk hundreds of pounds on a cable.
Travels with the Apple Watch – I’m getting much more use out of the Apple Watch than I expected. Todoist this week was a nice addition and we should see more at WWDC.
Google Wants To Be Your Everything – Google Now updates look impressive and Photo’s works well on iOS. I still use so many Google tools despite being on Apple platform.
Alistair Carmichael urged to quit as MP for leaking anti-Sturgeon memo – Carmichael has always struck me as quite the buffoon. The fact that he couldn’t even cover his own tracks and then lied on camera surely means he has to go. Ridiculous that the Liberals are backing him on this. Desperate.
Apple Watch And Continuous Computing – Great insight from Ben Thompson and the first update for the Apple Watch delivered a nice update for third party apps.
A pretty glum weekend all round. No one reason but a culmination of issues and niggles all of which are in my own gift to fix. Mostly.
Knee
Not quite sure what I’ve done but my knee is giving me problems for the first time. Had it for a few weeks and it wasn’t really stopping me running although the last run was more difficult than normal. An hour after the run and it was pretty sore and in certain positions it is really sore, like something is ripping at the knee. I’ve given it almost total rest this weekend and I’ll go easy for the next couple of days but it shows no sign of improving. Next step is to visit a physio and try and get to the bottom of the problem. I really missed doing any running or exercise this week and I don’t want it to turn into anything serious. Running/walking is great for de-stressing and clearing my head so I don’t want to go without it for too long.
Work I keep work talk to a minimum but two issues are getting to me – meetings and e-mail. The volume of meetings is getting a bit OTT, to the point that I struggle some days to get any work done due to back to back meetings. My Todoist stats show the impact – no work tasks done on Thursday just…meetings. I’ve also spent the weekend catching up and doing my favourite task – PowerPoint presentations. There’s a definite knack to doing these, one that I don’t have. Still, broke the back on them.
Next issue – email. There’s nothing better than getting energy sapping nit picky admin e-mails on a Friday and it’s becoming a trend. I’m going to make sure that I don’t become guilty of doing the same but there’s little I can do to stop anyone else doing it…and it also shows my general state of mind that I’m letting things like that get to me. But still…if you’re in a position that you need to send out admin mails from time to time have a think about how you word it. Makes all the difference.
Man Up
So no biggies but all the same, it’s meant for a pretty miserable weekend. Not only that the TV is constantly reminding me that it’s a bank holiday weekend but not for me as I’m at work tomorrow. I’ve also got a head cold. And I’ve burnt my hand in the oven. Grumble grumble grumble.
But it’s fine really. Even writing this has helped. Perspective. If this is all thats bothering me I need to man up.
A week of Mad’s…McCluskey, Murphy, and Men as one of the best TV series ever draws to a close while the Labour saga looks to rumble on for weeks and months. Oh, and of course, Mad Max which was fantastic.
Adblockers are immoral and mobile networks should know better – Could be one of the big tech stories of the next 12 months. If ad’s aren’t invasive, flash based and take over my web page I’ve no issue but many of them aren’t. However I can see the publishers dilemma – without ad’s how do they make their site pay?
Mad Max: Fury Road Is An Astonishing Work Of Art – Watched it on Friday and it was stunning. Great design coupled with non stop action and a story that wasn’t drip fed. You had to work things out and it was all the better for it. In my head this followed up the others well, but seeing the original and Mad Max 2 this weekend there is a massive gulf between them. Rose tinted glasses and all that. Still, go and see it on the biggest screen you can and just enjoy it.
If that wasn’t enough, take a trip over to Gordon’s blog for some Weekend Reading. I really love post’s like this as I usually pick up at least a couple of new reads.
