Hardware

Thoughts on iPhone SE, iPad Pro 9.7”, and Apple’s March 2016 ‘Let Us Loop You in’ Event

March 26, 2016 · 10:15

A lot of people are not pleased with the fact that Apple ‘only’ unveiled a new 4” iPhone, another iPad, and a few Apple Watch bands. Personally, I don’t have anything negative to say about the hardware, but what I really miss is the surprise. The leaks in the weeks before any Apple event in recent years are both a blessing and a curse — while I can’t stop myself from following the rumours, they totally spoil the event. It’s as if I’d gone to see ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ on opening night, knowing the whole plot. In 2012, during D10, Tim Cook promised Kara Swisher and Walk Mossberg to ‘double down on secrecy’ — I’m still waiting for him to deliver.
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The New Fuji X-Pro2 and Why It Will Probably Be My Next Camera

January 20, 2016 · 14:09

I was a Nikon D700 user until recently, having made the switch from Canon in 2009. There were multiple reasons for this. At the time, the D700 was a much better full frame camera than the 5D. The former was basically a smaller pro body with a few features cut to lower the price, while the latter was a Canon 20D with a large sensor. Everything about the D700 was better, including the glass that I was lusting for. My main reason for making the switch was the Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8G — a zoom lens sharper than many primes. I sold (still selling the lenses) my whole kit recently and switched to my Fuji X100T, which my wife got us a few months ago.

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The iPad Pro Smart Keyboard vs. The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Type Cover

December 25, 2015 · 17:16

I’ve wanted to write about so many things during these past few weeks, but I never could find the time to get into them. One of those on hold have been my thoughts and first impressions of the Surface Pro 4, which I had on loan for a few weeks. It coincided with the time when I bought my iPad Pro. A few of the more interesting aspects of the two are the keyboards, hardware design and ergonomics of Apple’s and Microsoft’s products.

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Did Tim Cook, Phil Schiller or Someone at Apple Accelerate My Order?

December 23, 2015 · 13:15

I just picked up my iPad Pro Smart Keyboard from TNT and since I need to write something to test it out, I chose to speculate a little. You see, while the Smart Keyboard was available in the EU, the Polish Apple Online Store said it would be ‘coming soon’. I already had my iPad Pro at the time, miraculously managed to snag an Apple Pencil, but couldn’t get my hands on the most important accessory, especially since I was wondering if the Pro would replace most or all of my MacBook needs. I wrote a post directed at Tim Cook and Phil Schiller at the time, keeping my fingers crossed…

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Thoughts on the iPad Pro On-Screen Keyboard

December 14, 2015 · 14:51

Since getting my iPad Pro a few weeks ago, I’ve been writing on it a lot, using mostly the software keyboard, but also helping myself out with an external one. I bought an Origami Workstation a few years ago, and since it’s in perfect working order, as is the Apple Wireless Keyboard it contains, I’ve been using that combo quite often. This might change when my Smart Keyboard finally arrives, but in the meantime, I’ve been thinking about the iOS 9 on-screen keyboard a lot.

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Fifty-Five Days with Apple Watch—How It Profoundly Changed My Habits

June 30, 2015 · 14:12

It’s been close to sixty days living with my Apple Watch. Almost two months where I haven’t thought of returning to my beloved mechanical Omega. All of this for three simple reasons.

When Apple first showed the Watch I felt as if they didn’t make a compelling enough argument for it. Timekeeping? Fitness? Communication? I’m close to forty years old and I just didn’t get it at the time. I was even close to not ordering one on day one. A few things have changed since I first wrote about the Apple Watch however, one of them being quite significant—my wife finally decided to take the plunge and she’s now sporting a stealthy 38 millimetre Apple Watch Sport in Space Grey with the black Sport Band. It looks great in my opinion and there are times when I wish I went for the Space Black model. I’d like to clarify a few things before I tackle this subject.

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Harry’s Razor Stand—Another Problem Solved

June 29, 2015 · 15:35

I’ve been using my Harry’s Shaving Set since October last year and I love it. It allowed me to get rid of all of my Gillette paraphernalia and besides saving a lot of money, I simply love the look of the handle—yes, I went with the orange one. Life is too short to be boring. I still use my Muehle safety razor when I have the time for a precise shave, but Harry’s is hard to beat when time is precious and also when traveling. Quite frankly, I ask my wife to try to guess which set I used after shaving—she can’t tell the difference, which was quite surprising at first. She noticed immediately after I stopped using my Gillette.

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Nine Days with Apple Watch

May 17, 2015 · 20:29

My Apple Watch arrived late. It was in fact early compared to the estimated shipping date, but having to wait an extra week was extremely off-putting. Patience is not one of my virtues. My friends got their Sports on launch day while I had to bide my time and watch them flaunt their new toys publicly, more or less pleased with their choices. I chose the steel Apple Watch, thinking that it would actually ship sooner than the popular Sport. I was wrong.

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Why I’m Waiting for the 12” Retina MacBook Air

January 24, 2015 · 08:24

Apple introduced Retina screens in the MacBook Pro a few years ago and I never took the plunge. I had no need for a 13” laptop at the time and bought a 11” MacBook Air1 a year later. What convinced me was its small size and long battery life, and I needed a mobile typewriter and access to Lightroom when traveling, to be able to offload my memory cards and perform a preliminary selection of the shots I took—this would later turn out to save me hours of work.

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  1. Mid 2013 model. ↩

Eizo Flexscan EV3237 4K Review—So Good That I Bought It

January 12, 2015 · 17:10

Retina screens have been a part of my life since the iPhone 4 and iPad 3. Apple achieved something incredible by quadrupling the pixel count—it removed a barrier between the content and its reader. I still remember how I considered the first iPad and iPhone 3GS to have amazing screens. That all changed soon enough and I cannot imagine going back to traditional displays in my mobile devices. Despite the advances in mobile LCDs I was still relegated to using a traditional display on my 27″ iMac and MacBook Air. The former was good enough when viewed at a normal distance while the latter, used as a typewriter, most of the time of my knees, didn’t bother me at all. Despite that, I still longed for a Retina displaying having reviewed a few MacBook Pros.

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The Perfect Mac

December 26, 2014 · 19:31

I’ve had a number of different Macs over the years, none of which have been able to fulfil my needs. Some have come close, while others are about as far as possible from my needs. A new one is on the horizon—will it be my unicorn?

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Gold iPad Air 2 at Sunrise — In Photos

October 24, 2014 · 08:26

I picked up my iPad Air 2 in gold last night – much, much later than Apple delivered my wife’s new engraved silver model. That was a first but I’m glad she managed to get a surprise — at least that’s what I hope her facial expression said. In the meantime, I’ve put on a few hours of mileage on my Air 2 and quite frankly, as an ex–Retina–Mini owner I couldn’t be more pleased. That’s mostly due to the fantastic screen — Apple’s decision to laminate the LCD with the glass is what made me switch. I will dearly miss thumb–typing on the Mini, but hopefully the novelty of returning to a 9.7″ iPad will not wear off too quickly.

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My Harry’s Shaving Set Arrived Yesterday

October 2, 2014 · 10:16

I’ve been a Talk Show listener for a long time now. In case you don’t know, The Talk Show is a podcast hosted by John Gruber, where he and his guests talk about outhouses, cat pictures, sports and sometimes about Apple. One of John’s advertisers was Harry’s — a company which is disrupting the shaving market by offering better quality products at lower prices. Oh — and they also look good, especially in contrast to that crap sold by Gillette. Anyway, I don’t think I was particularly interested in Harry’s until I read Lex Friedman’s piece on shaving in The Magazine. That first pushed me to explore what Harry’s had to offer… A few months later I was finally a happy owner of a Muehle razor, badger hair brush and proper shaving soap. I decided to go all out for one simple reason — Harry’s wasn’t sold in Europe anywhere. However, I still needed a more modern razor for travelling and so forth…

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iPhone 6 First Impressions and the Journey to an Apple Store

September 24, 2014 · 13:52

After driving a thousand kilometres, spending three days in Dresden, Germany and sleeping not more than ten hours total, I’m sitting on a sofa, soaking a Red Bull and so tired that I can’t be even bothered to go to bed. I’m also a bit sick. I hope I don’t bore you with my story and limited perception, but it was one hell of a trip. Or so I’ll think about it after I finally get some proper sleep.

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My new Macintosh

May 4, 2014 · 14:42

I bought my new Macintosh on Friday, 2 May 2014. My first one was a 17″ MacBook Pro from 2008, which I upgraded later to a late 2009 iMac 27″ and which recently got supplemented by a mid 2013 MacBook Air 11″. I’ve been looking for a pristine Macintosh 128K for the past five years or so and the barrier of entry was always either the price or it’s condition. Fed up, I finally pulled the trigger on a Macintosh Classic from 1991.

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