Reading log — July 18, 2021
Are brick and mortar banks a thing of the past?
I had to go to the bank twice this week. First to deposit a check for an amount more than could be deposited using mobile banking. The second was to get my signature notarized. That’s the first time had been to my bank in over 18 months. To my amazement, I was the only customer in the bank both times. There was also no one at the drive-up. It looks, during the pandemic, that we all learned how to use mobile banking.
Bank branches were once a staple of neighborhoods across America. Now they are closing by the thousands.
[…]
Driving the news: Most basic banking transactions can easily be accomplished from the couch, leaving 3,400 U.S. branches shuttered over the past 12 months, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence
Here’s what I read this week:
11 July 2021
Richard Branson takes flight with his space company Virgin Galactic — Axios
From TextExpander to Keyboard Maestro… again — All this
12 July 2021
The Obsidian iOS App is Now Available — The Sweet Setup
Nitro Acquires PDFpen from Smile — TidBITS
Sam Thorpe noted that Nitro was extremely interested in the team’s roadmap for PDFpen and appreciation of the nuances of developing for Apple-focused customers, so it seems safe to say that we shouldn’t expect to see significant technical or interface changes. The name will also remain the same, though likely with some Nitro cobranding. What may change eventually is the licensing model, with subscriptions being offered after a few more major releases.
Consumer Cellular Offers Cheap, No-Nonsense Access to AT&T’s Cellular Network — TidBITS
13 July 2021
A Close Look at the New Quick Notes Feature in iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey — The Sweet Setup
The best way I’ve found for adding different content types to a Quick Note is to bring up the Quick Note window either with keyboard shortcut or finger swipe and to then drag and drop content from the active app into the Quick Note. This works great for adding multiple screenshots to a Quick Note from the Photos app or for dragging and dropping highlighted text from a URL in Safari.
Russian ransomware group’s dark web sites mysteriously go down — Axios
From The Lab To Your Home — AVC
How to lower your Internet and cable bill — The Washington Post
Is your Internet bill too high? Here’s why. — The Washington Post
New efforts to measure the true cost of U.S. internet service — Axios
Trump unloads on Brett Kavanaugh in new Michael Wolff book — Axios
Don’t overthink your productivity apps — LJPUK
14 July 2021
Bloomberg: Three-Quarters of iOS Users Opt Out of Tracking — Pixel Envy
Microsoft is bringing Windows to a web browser, and it will work on iPad and the Mac — 9to5Mac
Facebook (FB) Advertisers Impacted By Apple (AAPL) Privacy iOS 14 Changes — Bloomberg
Facebook seeks recusal of FTC Chair Lina Khan — The Washington Post
15 July 2021
Abolishing Online Anonymity Will Not Tackle Abuse — Pixel Envy
Los Angeles County to again require masking indoors — Axios
Apple employees say the company is cracking down on remote work — The Verge
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination, reviewed — by Casey Newton — Platformer
Ticks are spreading across the US. Here’s how to protect yourself against disease. — Vox
If you do find a tick that’s dug into your skin, check out this CDC guide. Basically, you’ll want to pull it out with tweezers (don’t twist!) and clean the area with alcohol or soap and water. You can also snap a photo of it and upload the tick pic to TickSpotters, a tool that Mather developed. TickSpotters will then confirm the tick species and your risk of being infected, usually within 24 hours.
Zero-day exploit allowed SolarWinds hackers to extract login information from iOS devices — 9to5Mac
Windows 365 for Windows on the Mac and iPad? — MacSparky
16 July 2021
‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Services — Pixel Envy
Bank branches get extreme makeover — Axios
Apple Podcasts reliability problem is turning into an image problem — Six Colors
Building a Better Blogging Workflow for Squarespace — HeyDingus
Its excellent Markdown support, customizable actions, and action directory meant I could quickly get ideas in and out of Drafts. But there’s too much happening in Drafts for it to be a focused area for my long-form writing. I needed a dedicated text editor.
Paperlike iPad Screen Protector Review — HeyDingus
Podcast app Pocket Casts acquired by WordPress․com owner Automattic — 9to5Mac
Fed chair Jerome Powell’s inflation discourse seems to be evolving — Axios
Breaking the Twitter habit — LJPUK
