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Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 34 years
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Category: Just for Fun

Adam Engst 6 comments

The Password Game Is Fun, Frustrating, and Educational

If you enjoy puzzle games and the absurdity of password requirements, try Neal Agarwal’s The Password Game.

Adam Engst 4 comments

Explain XKCD Is a Black Hole

If you've ever found yourself unable to understand one of Randall Munroe's xkcd comics, run, don't walk, to explain xkcd, a wiki that does just what it claims for every xkcd comic so far.

Adam Engst 27 comments

As Twitter Turns: Six More Stories from Pixel Place

Unable to avert his gaze from the train wreck that is Twitter, Adam Engst shares a few examples of the latest bouts of insanity instigated by Elon Musk.

Adam Engst 1 comment

Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in His Own Words

The Steve Jobs Archive has released a curated collection of Steve Jobs's speeches, interviews, and correspondence. It's free and available in multiple ways.

Adam Engst 15 comments

Steve Jobs Archive Shares 1984 Photo of Jobs Spotting a Mac in the Wild

Executive Director Leslie Berlin has sent email to Steve Jobs Archive subscribers containing a 1984 photograph of Jobs, captivated by the sight of a Mac in the wild within a month of its launch.

Adam Engst 31 comments

Hunting for a Dead Mouse: AirPlay Receiver to the Rescue

Faced with an ever-worsening stench in his laundry room at Christmas. Adam Engst brings thousands of dollars of Apple gear and recent technologies into play to avoid ripping the entire room apart.

Adam Engst 8 comments

Looking Back across Thirty Years of PCalc

James Thomson’s venerable PCalc is celebrating its 30th anniversary, so James has updated PCalc’s 20th-anniversary history with more details from the last ten years.

Glenn Fleishman 64 comments

Bring Yourself Recurring Joy with Apple’s New Lock Screen Photo Shuffle

Technology has a hard time delivering happiness. Apple has cracked the code with how it uses machine learning to populate the Lock Screen Photo Shuffle feature and Featured Photos widget with images you’ll like.

Adam Engst 6 comments

Steve Jobs Archive

At the Code conference, Laurene Powell Jobs, Tim Cook, and Jony Ive unveiled the Steve Jobs Archive, an elegant website showcasing some classic Jobs quotes. The question is, where will it go from here?

Josh Centers 3 comments

Walmart.com Listed Fake 30 TB SSDs For Sale

A security researcher discovered a 30 TB SSD on Walmart’s website for under $18. He bought one and cracked it open to learn just how it was too good to be true.

Josh Centers 1 comment

Design Your Own Frankenphone

Developer Neal Agarwal has launched a website that invites you to design your own iPhone. Make it as sincere or silly as you want.

Josh Centers 6 comments

Stephen Hackett Brings Back the Apple History Calendar for 2023

Looking for the perfect gift for an Apple fan this holiday season? Stephen Hackett is launching a new Kickstarter for his 2023 Apple History Calendar, a 20-by-13-inch wall calendar featuring product photos and software launch dates.

Josh Centers 2 comments

Clarus the Dogcow Returns in macOS 13 Ventura—Moof!

After a 20-year absence, Clarus the Dogcow has returned to macOS in the first beta of macOS 13 Ventura.

Adam Engst 18 comments

Tech Notes from a Cross-Border Trip to Canada

Adam Engst recently took a trip from upstate New York to Vancouver, British Columbia. As always, technology made the trip significantly easier than in the past, though he found that some bits (CarPlay in rental cars and North American T-Mobile connectivity) were vastly more helpful than others (an App Clip for buying gas and Apple Maps encouraging illegal U-turns).

Adam Engst 21 comments

Going Beyond Wordle: Oodles of *dle Games

For many people, the word-guessing game Wordle has become a small daily treat. But it has also inspired numerous other games that tweak Wordle’s dictionary, gameplay, or overall concept. Adam Engst started out thinking he could put together a complete collection but eventually stumbled on a site that caused his head to explode.