Can we all agree: the future of the web is mobile. Or, maybe that future has already occurred. Laptops aren’t going anywhere, but the average consumer (and web user) has no use for them. So when I downloaded the new Arc web browser, I was baffled at the completely featureless, barren, and badly designed Arc “Mobile Companion.” In fact, it’s such a goofy web browser that it requires the user to first download, sign in, and use Arc on MacOS before being at all functional. But it’s not just the mobile browser that’s bad — the desktop Arc browser kind of sucks, too. (Read more...)

Last week at WWDC 2023, Apple announced their new spatial computing headset, the Apple Vision Pro. Jam packed with sensors, cameras, and pixels, Vision Pro is Apple’s entry into the VR/AR market. It’s got a web browser, a photo viewer, a movie player, and FaceTime. And it’s $3,500. So, why should you buy one? Ask the devs. (Read more...)

As soon as I took the wrapper off the MacBook Air, my knuckle grazed the lid and a little smudge appeared on the Midnight aluminum. I used Apple’s $19 Polishing Cloth to wipe off the smudge, but it only made it bigger. I dabbed a little bit of water on it and wiped harder, but this only angered the smudge and it somehow grew larger! Eventually, with enough polishing, the smudge was finally gone, but a dozen new fingerprints had appeared on the lid. (I only have ten fingers!) I actually heard the $19 Polishing Cloth sob — or maybe that was just me? (Read more...)

Spider-Man has been a popular comic book superhero since he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spidey has been web swinging on the pages of comics and newspapers, in cartoons, television shows, movies, video games, amusement parks, popsicles, and even on Broadway. This post attempts to catalog Spidey’s first fifty years on the big screen, including behind the scene struggles to produce films, his imprisonment within Sony Pictures, and what the future holds for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. (Read more...)

I can’t stop touching my MacBook’s screen. The buttons are so big. I’ve never seen anything designed like that for a mouse pointer. They look so much like the buttons and switches on my iPhone and iPad — two devices with very good touchscreens. It just looks so easy to tap and swipe across my Mac’s screen. But the Mac doesn’t have a touchscreen, and Apple has said they’re not planning on changing that. (Read more...)

WandaVision is the first streaming series from the MCU, and it is both an unusual, entertaining, and daring weekly series. The series has embraced the return to weekly episodice television wholeheartedly and I hope weekly becomes the norm on TV again. We get to share this journey together in just 40-minute increments each Friday, then spend an entire week sharing wild fan theories. This is how a television episode was made to be watched, not all together in the span of a weekend, but slowly, carefully, over the course of months. And I don’t mind the wait. (Read more...)

The iPhone 12 Pro is one of the nicest looking and nicest feeling phones I’ve ever used. I’m not sure if it’s the color, the new design, or if I’m just running into Apple fans, but I got the “Is that the new iPhone?” question a lot last week. This is arguably one of Apple’s most striking visual changes in years, and people are noticing. It’s also — I think! — my favorite. But be warned: This is an Apple device, and fingerprints are part of the aesthetic. (Read more...)

Sequels are rarely what we want. We think we want a part two, but as is so often the case, the sequel is a disappointment. And we’re partially to blame for that disappointment: we spend months and years speculating and envisioning all the ways we want that sequel to play out, the character arcs, the settings, the major and minor story points. But in The Last of Us Part II, game developer Naughty Dog takes Ellie into such a grim and cruel place that I struggled to find anything redeeming about the character or story by the end of the game. (Read more...)

It hasn’t been a “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” day on Splash Mountain lately. There have been calls for Disney to re-theme the ride and remove the Song of the South songs, characters, and other elements from the popular attraction due to the 1940 film's racist stereotypes the ride shares it's characters with — Disney can do better. (Read more...)

The iPad Pro is an extremely powerful, beautiful, multifunctional device hindered only by its operating system. iPadOS is both elegant and frustrating in its simplicity of design. As a device purchased for a kid, or a 20-something looking for a simple social media device, or a grandparent, it’s wonderful. The iPad is reliable, secure, sometimes intuitive, inviting, fun, and really difficult to break. But as a professional desktop replacement, the iPad Pro — and especially iPadOS — is lacking. (Read more...)

Throughout human history there has always been a last place. If you were last place in the Stone Age you were eaten. If you’re last place in Mario Kart, your character cries after crossing the finish line. I’m certain Nintendo would like everyone to finish first in a perfect 12-way tie, but that’s just not how a racing game works. The Blue Shell was an attempt to equalize players of varying skill — a design that has repeatedly failed — and it’s long past time to retire the Blue Shell from the Mario Kart series. (Read more...)