The Birchtree Podcast

People have a tendency to always be looking for the latest and greatest software to do their work with. They want something new, something shiny. And while tools are important and when possible you should try to use the best tool for the job, this quest to always find something better will not magically make you better at what you do.

Just a progress report on how the iOS, watchOS, macOS, and Android betas are going for me. The short of it is that nothing is going horribly wrong, but all of these are definitely still beta releases that come with all the expected bugginess.

Shortcuts might be the coolest new addition to iOS and watchOS coming this fall, and today I do my best to demystify the many layers of this feature. https://birchtree.me/blog/understanding-shortcuts-in-ios-12/

Apple unveiled watchOS 5 yesterday and here are my 10 most exciting features I've seen and used in the first beta so far. 1. Automatic workout detection 2. Advanced running features (steps-per-minute, rolling pace) 3. Walkie talkie 4. Podcasts 5. Audio apps in the background 6. Grouped notifications 7. Third party integration to Siri face 8. Web views! 9. Better DND 10. Volume controls!

Is "hugely smarter" grammatically correct? I hope it is because I said it with confidence in today's second episode of the podcast. These were my immediate impressions following the keynote. I had no notes and the Apple site hadn't been updated in time for this recording so I blanked on the names of a few things, but I wanted to get my raw feelings out there from the event. Happy beta-ing!

A quick show this morning to talk about what I'm doing for this WWDC keynote day.

Castro 3 came out on Monday of this week and it's a very opinionated podcast player. Listen in to hear why I think this app works so well for me, even if it's not an app for everybody. Get Castro 3 on the App Store: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/castro-podcasts/id1080840241?mt=8&uo=4&at=10l8rH

Castro 3, Spark 2, OmniFocus 3, Apollo, and Pocket-Run Pool all came out for iOS since I switched to Android 16 days ago. In that same time there have been zero updates or new apps for Android that have me really exacted.

I have been wearing watches for my whole life. Long before the Apple Watch became my obsession, I lived for having the time on my wrist. This episode takes you through my history of being a kid with a cheap Timex, to the wonder introduced by the Pebble, all the way to the wonderful Apple watch I'm wearing today.

I've been using Android P for 2 weeks and it might just be the least painful time with Android I've ever had. I'm not switching any time soon, but if I were an Android fan I think I'd be happy with this update. Also, it was basically a monsoon outside this morning, so pardon the rain in the background.

The Google Pixel Buds got a few new gestures for controls this week and it got me thinking again about how these stack up to AirPods, their clear competitor.

Google News is now available for iOS and Android (if you know where to look) and I have been spending some serious time with the app. Here are my first impressions. Android APK: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-news/google-news-5-0-0-release/google-news-5-0-0-android-apk-download/ iOS App Store: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-news/id459182288?mt=8&at=10l8rH

Google only showed off Wear OS at one developer session this year, which was realtively disappointing from a smart watch fan’s perspective. They didn’t show off anything that got me jealous of their wearable platform, and that was a huge disappointment for me. Wear OS at I/O: https://birchtree.me/blog/wear-os-at-google-io/ My watchOS 5 proposal: https://birchtree.me/blog/watchos-5-a-relatively-modest-proposal/

How I produce my podcast, why I think the iPad is great for content creation, and why needing to use a headphone jack is actually kind of inconvenient these days. Unco episode 14: https://www.unco.fm/unco/014

Google I/O's keynote ended literally 2 minutes before I hit record on this episode, so enjoy my completely off the cuff thoughts about the event. There's more to come from Google this week, so expect to hear more about I/O in the coming days.

My initial reactions to Microsoft's lengthy, and all business keynote presentation from Build 2018. As someone who focuses on consumer tech, there really wasn't a lot for me at this show, but Microsoft did have a few things of note to talk about.

There was some news about Pocket Casts yesterday, and people are a bit conflicted on what to think about it. Also, my one dollar month of Spotify is almost up and I had to make a decision about if it would replace Apple Music for me. The answer was a resounding no.

On iteration and making time for those features that don't make money on their own, but make your experience better so that people stick around.

Apple seems to be pretty good at making a stupid amount of cash, huh? See also my post from this morning with some fancy actions for you Drafts users out there. https://birchtree.me/blog/draft-5-actions-the-birchtree-collection/

I just travelled to Austin, Texas for a long weekend and learned a little about myself when it comes to which mapping service I trust more to get me where I'm try to go.