Geekery, and so forth...

via Copilot — A Smart Budgeting App for iPhone — Tools and Toys:

Tools & Toys with a great rundown of this (new to me) finance app. Perfect time for a Mint replacement that doesn’t hammer you with advertising.

via Daring Fireball: ‘What Time Is It in London?’:

So every other service that tries to answer “What time is it in London?” gets it right. Only Siri gets it wrong.

Reminds me of a post I made roundabouts last year’a NHL trade deadline (lost in various site migrations, such is life). I asked Siri when the NHL trade deadline was and it showed me the current standings. Google, on the other hand, provided the correct date AND time. And provided me news stories about who the Penguins were targeting. Worlds better.

In regards to the London time test noted above, that Bing clock is a slick design feature.

Do better, Apple.

via MacStories:

The headline new feature, though, is something Drafts for iOS fans consider the heart of the app: actions.

This is coming at a perfect time as I’m back into writing quite a bit more. Just today, before this was released, I built a shortcut on iOS for link blogging to Micro.blog that runs through Drafts.

On the Mac, I’ll definitely use Drafts even more than I do now thanks to actions. Blogging, though, may still take place in MarsEdit.

I was a big fan of @burk’s Purchases That Didn’t Work Out post.

…I wanted to look back through 2019 and list out the things that I have purchased this year based on solid recommendations/reviews that turned out to be not that great for me.

Granted, it’s only a collection of other posts, but an interesting idea that I’d like to take on now that I’m back to blogging a little bit. I buy tech products year round, and own a few of the ones Jason reviewed in 2019 (actually skipped the ElevationLab charger after reading his take). The perspective from a general user, and not a major review outlet, about why a product didn’t fit their needs is extremely valuable, especially when written on their own website and not stashed within the ratings/review section of a store or product listing.

I guess this is my vow to write some reviews in 2020.

via MacStories:

As you shop for holiday gifts for friends and family, we wanted to remind everyone that Club MacStories memberships can be given as gifts year-round. The Club extends what we publish at MacStories, which makes it the perfect gift for someone who wants more of the kind of app, automation, and other coverage you find on the site.

If I had to guess, Club MacStories is easily one of the top three tech-related things I pay for that I receive the most value. The weekly newsletters are instant reads, as are the monthly logs. The full archive of shortcuts are legit, and the behind the scenes podcast is a bonus.

It’s tons of added value from an already great Apple resource. And only $50/year.

Shifting forcus for my home on the web. I’ve noticed WordPress has just become too much, especially since I barely use it.

I’m looking to go simpler, and cheaper (quite honestly). I think Micro.blog and Blot are my two front runners. What I’d like to be able to do is jot down thoughts quickly – from iOS, Mac, and iPad OS. I know a lot of great writing apps exist and I’d like to livein those. It’d also be great if I could automate it at times either using Shortcuts or IFTTT. Link posts are also cool.

Which would be best? Any thoughts are welcome.