https://s1999u2.github.io/ Recent content on S/1999 U 2 Hugo -- gohugo.io en-US Copyright © 2022, Stefanus Secundus. Fri, 14 Jul 2023 22:16:55 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/macos_magnet_is_damaged/ Fri, 14 Jul 2023 22:16:55 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/macos_magnet_is_damaged/ Magnet is Damaged Magnet is a nifty little app that allows Mac users to use Windows-style window snapping1. But: I installed Magnet from the App Store, and I’m running a current Mac and the latest macOS – how can an app get damaged so that the only way to fix it is to reinstall it? I certainly never had any issue like this on an iPhone. If Apple knows exactly how to fix it and Apple runs the App Store – why don’t they simply reinstall it? https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/barclays_layout/ Tue, 11 Jul 2023 13:25:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/barclays_layout/ Barclays and the Notch The iPhone X with the notch was released in November 2017, that’s more than 5.5 years ago. Somehow Barclays hasn’t gotten the news yet 🙄. The Barclays banking app doesn’t respect. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_translation/ Tue, 04 Jul 2023 18:20:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_translation/ Hey Siri, What’s Commodity in German? Siri: You can translate in Translate to German and many other languages. Thank’s for nothing… Siri unwilling to translate. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/apple_weather_location_privacy/ Wed, 28 Jun 2023 15:38:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/apple_weather_location_privacy/ Apple Weather Location Permissions Steve Jobs, in an interview at the D8 conference in June 2010: Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for, in plain English and repeatedly Of course, I want to know if an app tracks my location. But isn’t this getting a bit excessive? Besides, I’m sure I’ve already given Weather the Always Allow permission several times. Weather has used your location 454 times in the background over the past 3 days. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_reminder/ Tue, 27 Jun 2023 16:09:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_reminder/ Hey Siri, Remind Me to… Hey Siri, remind me to finish the exam and announcement when I get to work Siri: OK, Intercom to all I’ve created literally thousands of reminders with Siri. Siri correctly transcribed my instructions. For no apparent reason Siri utterly fails to set a reminder and sends my query to all the people in my home. Intercom and remind me don’t even sound vaguely similar (neither in German nor in English). https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_control_center/ Wed, 21 Jun 2023 20:00:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_control_center/ Apple Sweats the Details This is on iOS 16.5.1, btw. So we’re 15 releases into the iOS 16 cycle. 15 releases in, iOS 16 is still glitchy. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_16_rotation/ Fri, 02 Jun 2023 22:12:32 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_16_rotation/ iOS 16.5 is Still Buggy After 16 years of working (more or less) flawlessly, iOS 16 breaks basic functionalities. With iOS 16.5 we’re 8 months into the iOS 16 release Screen rotation is still broken in iOS 16.5. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_4/ Tue, 30 May 2023 08:21:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_4/ Apple’s Privileges Since iOS and the App Store are Apple’s own platforms it gets special privileges and doesn’t have to follow its own rules. Ever seen any third-party app getting such a nice screen asking for permissions? And how about the dark pattern highlighting the Enable Notifications… Also: Not Now? How about never? Apple gets special treatment when asking for permissions. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/macos_optimizing_mac/ Sun, 21 May 2023 08:58:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/macos_optimizing_mac/ Optimizing Your Mac A few days ago, I set up my newly purchased MacBook. So far, so good, but what does “Optimizing Your Mac” mean? I certainly didn’t notice any decreased performance or battery life, and I have some idea what it might be doing. But wouldn’t it be convenient to provide some more details? Or maybe even see what my Mac is doing? Optimizing Your Mac. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_turn_off_lights_2/ Wed, 10 May 2023 13:39:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_turn_off_lights_2/ Hey Siri, Hallway Light Off Siri: Please confirm: you want to turn off this device? Fool me once… Again: this used to work flawlessly for years. 🤷 Siri forgot how to turn off my hallway lights. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_turn_off_lights_1/ Thu, 04 May 2023 21:03:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_turn_off_lights_1/ Hey Siri, Turn off the Bedroom Light Siri: Please confirm: you want to turn off this device? You’d be surprised to learn that confirming then turns off the iPhone 🤦‍♂️ Why Siri? This used to work for the last 4 years 🤦‍♂️ Siri forgot how to turn off my bedroom lights. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/apple_watch_carrier_message/ Thu, 04 May 2023 11:39:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/apple_watch_carrier_message/ Important Carrier Message Hmm, okay. Not sure what to do with this. My iPhone didn’t show anything, for sure. Apple Watch showing it’s limitations once again. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_3/ Thu, 27 Apr 2023 08:55:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_3/ Services are Apples Next Big Business No, I didn’t want notifications the first time you asked. Or the second time. So no, I still don’t want any notifications, even if you put them inline with the content. Apple sneakily trying to spam me. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_tokyo/ Tue, 11 Apr 2023 10:01:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_tokyo/ Hey Siri, What’s the Weather Like in Tokyo? Siri: Here is the weather for Tokio, United States. Obviously, people refer to Tokio, North Dakota (or Tokio, Texas) when they say “Tokyo.” (Even most of the US doesn’t refer to any of those two 🤷). How is this still a problem? Siri giving irrelevant results. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_2/ Sun, 26 Mar 2023 14:37:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_2/ Apple Knows How to Make the App Store a Premium Experience First, Apple is explicitly showing me something I’m not looking for. Second, Apple knows Audible is already installed and decides to show me the ad anyway. Apple Knows How to Make the App Store a Premium Experience. https://s1999u2.github.io/books-i-read-in-2023/ Sun, 12 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/books-i-read-in-2023/ Continuing from Books I Read in 2022, I want to provide a brief overview of the books I read in 2023. Last year, I spent a significant amount of time commuting and traveling for business, affording me ample opportunity to dive into books. As an agonizingly slow reader, my go-to choice for the past two years has been audiobooks. I anticipate a less hectic 2024, so I’m not setting a goal to read as many books this year. https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2023/ Fri, 10 Mar 2023 19:58:12 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2023/ More than two months into the new year, but better late than never, here is Things I Learned in 2023. This marks the fourth installment of my annual review, officially making it a series. As always, what follows are some surprising, entertaining, or enlightening things I stumbled upon in 2023. South Korea has a unique way of counting a person’s age 🇰🇷👴. South Korea has enacted a new law that modifies the method for calculating ages, transitioning from the traditional “Korean age” system to the international standard. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_1/ Sun, 05 Mar 2023 19:30:03 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/app_store_ads_1/ Ads Are Ruining the App Store Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if Apple didn’t show the app I’m searching for both as a giant ad and as a search result?1 Ads are ruining Apple’s App Store. I understand that Crunchy Bagel, the app developer, is not to blame. I genuinely adore Streaks and all of the other apps they offer. You should definitely check them out. ↩︎ https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_apple_watch_update/ Thu, 23 Feb 2023 20:10:05 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_apple_watch_update/ Apple Watch Update You can resume the download when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network. Ookay… So is the Watch app broken and unwilling to update. Or is my iPhone lying to me and I’m not connected to Wi-Fi? Apple Watch requires Wi-Fi to update. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_166_miles/ Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_166_miles/ Hey Siri, How Much is 166 Miles? Siri: Nothing with the title „“miles” is planned between January 1, 166, and December 31, 166. Siri forgot how to convert units. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/1password_suggestion/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 13:26:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/1password_suggestion/ 1Password 8 is Great Best autofill suggestion ever 1Password giving useless autofill suggestions. https://s1999u2.github.io/books-i-read-in-2022/ Wed, 01 Feb 2023 19:58:12 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/books-i-read-in-2022/ I’m glad I got into reading more books again in 2022. The internet and YouTube, in particular, have such a strong pull that I almost have to force myself to take time and dedicate myself to reading something longer than an article. Also, I’m a terribly slow reader, which is just unbearable when I see people casually reading twice as fast as me. Still, I found great satisfaction in committing and extending my attention span beyond the instant rewards of today’s internet. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_calculator/ Tue, 24 Jan 2023 17:19:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_calculator/ Hey Siri, What is 0.99 + 2.19… Hey Siri, what is 0.99 + 2.19 + 0.89 + 5.98 + 2.29? Siri: I found 36 calls. After all these years, Siri always surprises me with some random answers. Siri fails to do basic calculations. https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2022/ Sun, 01 Jan 2023 19:58:12 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2022/ Welcome to “Things I Learned in 2022”! In this post, I’ll be sharing a list of things that stood out to me as I read and listened to various sources throughout the year. These are things that I found noteworthy and thought-provoking, and I’ve included sources for each item as well as summaries of the linked articles or topics for those who are interested in more than just the headline. If you happen to notice any errors, you can reach me on Mastodon at @Secundus@home. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/open_vpn_rating/ Thu, 01 Dec 2022 08:57:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/open_vpn_rating/ OpenVPN Dark Pattern Okay, so giving the OpenVPN app five stars takes me straight to the App Store. But for anything less, they want me to “take a survey” 🥵. Sure, rate the app. No way, Jose, take a survey. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_autocorrect_1/ Tue, 01 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/ios_autocorrect_1/ ML-based Autocorrect Sucks I get wildly wrong predictions since Apple added machine learning-based predictions to its autocorrection/text completion. Why on earth would the German equivalent of „well then it’s…“ logically be completed to „iStateOfMind3“ 🤷? I don’t have an app with that name installed, and as far as I know, I never had one. iOS keyboard giving wildly wrong suggestions.. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_calendar_week/ Sat, 27 Aug 2022 22:19:37 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/siri_calendar_week/ Hey Siri, When is Calendar Week 26 2023? Siri: It is Saturday, August 27, 2022. Okay 🙄 Siri forgot how to tell calendar weeks. https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/hello_world/ Mon, 01 Aug 2022 20:03:03 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/annoyances/hello_world/ Annoyances I know technology is amazing and many things are moving at a neckbreaking speed. Still, from time to time we get frustrated with the devices and services surrounding our daily lives. As an homage to Annoying Technology and to blow off steam when Siri fails me in surprising new ways yet again this page is for some light hearted annoyances1. Besides, someone has to be the chronicler of the ever-advancing enshitification 😉 https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2021/ Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:58:12 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2021/ Introduction Welcome to “Things I Learned in 2021”! For the second year now, here are noteworthy things that stood out to me during last year. Hippocampal replay is a phenomenon observed in animals where sequences of cell activations in the hippocampus, a brain region associated with memory and spatial navigation, re-occur during sleep or awake rest at a much faster time scale 🧠🐈🐀⏰. Hippocampal replay is a phenomenon observed in animals where sequences of cell activations in the hippocampus, a brain region associated with memory and spatial navigation, re-occur during sleep at a much faster time scale than during the original activity. https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2020/ Fri, 01 Jan 2021 19:58:12 +0100 https://s1999u2.github.io/things-i-learned-in-2020/ In this blog post, I’ll share some of the interesting and unexpected things I came across on the internet in 2020. Without further ado, here are the 25 things that stood out to me. Brown is not a color, and there is no brown light 🟤🙅‍♂️🎨. The temperature and atmospheric pressure on Earth can vary greatly across its surface. However, there are lines around the Earth called Isothermal lines and Isobar lines where the temperature and pressure are the same.