Apple's over-engineered spatial computer

Hugo Barra (a former Head at Oculus) shares his nuanced thoughts on Apple's Vision Pro

It's a superb read if, like me, you're curious about the device (I've yet to try it). 

He rightly notes that the Vision Pro is something of a Northstar for the VR industry now — setting new standards. But also highlights how this first stab at things is very much a devkit of sorts (my rule of never buying a gen 1 Apple product strikes again). The novel positioning of the product, the real lack of focus on traditional VR stuff from Apple, and the "disheartening" software story is also explored.

A really solid, well informed overview of this new 'spatial computer' thing.

How to display the degree / celsius symbol on the iPhone

On a much older version of this blog that's been lost to time, I shared a seemingly little-known tip for how to get the degrees (°) symbol quickly when using an iPhone keyboard. 

As it's currently been rather cold here in the UK, I've been using it more than normal, and was reminded of this old iPhone tip — as such, I figured it may be worth sharing again. 

To insert the degrees symbol on an iPhone, you just need to hold down on the 0 (zero) key on the iOS keyboard. Once you hold on the zero key you should see a pop-up option for the degrees symbol — move to select it, and you're good. Handy, whether you use the ever sensible celsius or baffling fahrenheit. 😉

For what it's worth, the day started at a chilly 2°C. 

A Curb Your Enthusiasm Rewatch Podcast

Curb Your Enthusiasm is a show I have a lot of love for. 

I can't entirely recall when I first got into the HBO show, but I started picking up the DVDs around the time of season three or four I think. The fact I'm even talking about DVDs at all should give you a good idea of how long ago we're talking about here.

Anyway, the show, fronted by the now 76 year old Larry David, is finally coming to an end after a two decade plus run. 

As with any show, some seasons are better than others, and Curb is no different — but on the whole its presence has been an occasional fun distraction and something of an indulgence to the question of "what if I said what I was really thinking here?".

With the show wrapping up, two of the stars have come together for the inevitable tie-in podcast. Jeff Garlin and Susie Essman are running through the 120 episodes of the 12 seasons. I've just got done listening to the first, and it's looking like it's going to be a treat for any die-hard fan. 

The rewatch podcast is called 'The History of Curb Your Enthusiasm', and there's also a related YouTube channel if you'd rather watch things. 

I dig it. Here's hoping the new season is pretty, pretty good.