Nah, fuck it, turned everything back on again. Why should I fix your damn broken interface and fool myself into thinking this piece of shit is anything but? Going to experience iOS 26 in all its enshittified glory. Will make it easier to hate this phone and move onto something more ethical once it finally croaks.

Apple is likely one release cycle away from going full Microsoft/Google anyway.

#ios26 #BigTech #apple #theAestheticsOfBurgeoningFascism

Congrats, #Apple, on 50 years of thinking different 🎉
https://www.apple.com/50-years-of-thinking-different/

Please take care to stay on that side of history that preserves humanity, liberty and privacy. We are counting on you 🗽🌈🦄

This means a lot to me, as you've been a part of my life for way over 30 years now. Thanks & looking forward!

And just so it's not forgotten – I dedicated a small page to your motto back in 1999 😊: https://snailshell.de/thinkdifferent.html 🍏

A somewhat unusual "Macintosh" for this year's MARCHintosh offering...

Here is my Atari 520ST running Spectre, a Macintosh emulator (or translator, perhaps more accurately) which features actual Macintosh Plus ROMs (user must provide) and in 1989 (along with Magic Sac which preceded it in 1986) was "the only legal Macintosh clone." Gadgets by Small, who made the device, called it 20% faster than a Mac Plus, with a 30% larger screen size (640x400 on the ST monochrome display vs. 512x342 on the early Macs). 

The Atari 520STm shown here features an 8MHz MC68000, has been expanded to 4MB RAM (up from 512K), features an HxC2001 floppy emulator, an ACSI2STM hard disk emulator, and dual Atari RGB and monochrome monitors, switchable with a Monitor Master switchbox. The 12-inch SM124 monitor showing Pinball Construction Set for Mac is nearly identical to the early Mac monochrome displays in terms of clarity, the distinctive bluish P4-class phosphor, and its overall "presence." It is a very nice display running at a rock-solid 71Hz.

(A similar series of devices, beginning with the A-Max, was released by ReadySoft for the Commodore Amiga in 1989, though I found the ST options more appealing, in large part due to the superb high-res, non-interlaced monochrome display the ST supported.)

#MARCHintosh

#Macintosh #Mac #Apple #vintageApple #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #retrocomputers #computing #computers #CRT #emulation #Finder #Spectre #MagicSac #Atari #AtariST #Atari520ST #photo #photos #nostalgia #vintage #BillBudge #tech #ElectronicArts #ByteCellar

Alt...

Atari 520ST with dual monitors running Pinball Construction Set for the Macintosh by way of the Spectre Mac emulator package

Alt...

Close up of the Atari SM124 monochrome, 640x400 71Hz display running Pinball Construction Set for the Macintosh, under emulation

Open Source is strong when nerds create tools for nerds. That’s why @gnutools and an operating system like Linux are successful.

You wonder why Linux is not ready for the desktop? I clearly see why, every time I help someone migrate to it.

Luckily some stupid morons at #Apple ruin the best #UX on this planet with inexplicable glitches, but OSS is still far away from what it could be, if ergonomics was a thing in the community.

The Mac Pro has been discontinued.

"It’s the end of an era: Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that the Mac Pro is being discontinued. It has been removed from Apple’s website as of Thursday afternoon. The “buy” page on Apple’s website for the Mac Pro now redirects to the Mac’s homepage, where all references have been removed.

Apple has also confirmed to 9to5Mac that it has no plans to offer future Mac Pro hardware."

https://9to5mac.com/2026/03/26/apple-discontinues-the-mac-pro/

#Apple #Mac #MacPro #AppleSilicon #tech #technews #Applenews #PowerMac #endofanera #macOS #Macintosh #hardware #computinghistory

For many people, the #Linux vs #Windows vs #Mac debate is a privilege — it assumes you can choose. But working with the Computer Upcycle Project, I've seen the real choice is often Linux vs no computer at all.

~95% of donated computers are "too old" for Windows 11 or macOS. Linux installs on them anyway, adding 10+ years of life to machines #Microsoft and #Apple called trash.

This isn't Linux vs Windows. It's Linux vs e-waste.

Alt...

graphic showing Linux VS Windows

Apple discontinues the Mac Pro with no plans for future hardware

It’s the end of an era: Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that the Mac Pro is being discontinued. It has been removed from Apple’s website as of Thursday afternoon. The “buy” page on Apple’s website for the Mac Pro now redirects to the Mac’s homepage, where all references have been removed.

Apple has also conf

https://www.osnews.com/story/144682/apple-discontinues-the-mac-pro-with-no-plans-for-future-hardware/

#Apple

Classic Mac experts – do you know if/where the contents of the system error handler area on a Mac Plus (so using 128kB ROMs) are defined?

This area runs from 0x3FFC80 to 0x3FFCFF – between the primary frame buffer and the sound/PWM buffer – on a 4MB system. Memory locations 0x3FFC80-0x3FFCBF seem to be used to store all 16 CPU registers, but the rest seems difficult to figure out.

#mac #marchintosh #system7 #apple #retrocomputing

Why after avoiding Apple for decades, I'm buying the new Apple Neo

I have been almost entirely in the #Google ecosystem since the dawn of Google, and in fact bought my first Android phone the first day the first Android phone (the venerable G1 with the slide-out keyboard, which I still have and still boots, though with an open source OS version) became available. All my smartphones since then have been Android -- I don't expect that to change.

Other than the single purchase of a tiny iPod Nano long ago, I have avoided #Apple hardware due (among other things) to its typically outrageous pricing and lack of competition in the hardware manufacturing space.

In fact, I made an anti-Apple decision long, long ago, when I chose to work with the 8080/Z80 CPU microcomputers rather than the 68000 series CPUs that Apple chose for its early Macintosh and Lisa lines.

Of course my main work over the decades has been with UNIX/Linux, my servers are and have always run these, and my primary desktops are Linux as well. There are also a number of Chromebooks, Android tablets, Android/Google based TV devices, and some Windows systems for compatibility with needed Windows apps. There more stuff of course but you get the idea.

Along the way I've frequently been asked about issues related specifically to Apple iOS and MACs, and I have simply replied that I don't have expertise with those.

So I've long been aware of this gap, but couldn't justify the expense of any Apple hardware simply for the purpose of filling that gap.

Two events have changed this a bit. First it's clear that both Google and Apple have been moving with notable speed ever farther into the Dark Side, with their billionaire CEOs embracing fascist Trump and seemingly everything evil that he represents.

This creates an interesting dynamic, if one feels that purely open source systems cannot completely fulfill one's required hardware and software needs. In essence, the question becomes is it better to deal mainly with a single Evil Big Tech firm, or split your needs in some respects across two of them (or three, if we include Windows requirements and Microsoft).

For now I view the "split" as the most practical choice -- for me, anyway -- and the new Apple #Neo (whose macOS runs a largely usable UNIX under the hood) represents what seems to be the most cost effective current path to this (it does appear to be a disruptive design in terms of capabilities and pricing, that may give Google's Chromebooks a run for their money, especially in the educational space).

Anyway, just thought I'd mention all this -- more than you wanted to know, of course.

Best,

L

Has anyone made a self contained Time Machine backup server (that runs on FreeBSD)? It looks like the old ways of backing up over the network finally broke, and I can't fool MacOS anymore by using a sparse disk image like I have for years.

I don't want to have to configure and install samba, I just want something that works and is small and self contained.

#Apple #Backups #MacOS

#Apple toys with the competition - #MacBookNeo offers more single-core performance than any mobile processor from AMD, Intel or Qualcomm https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-toys-with-the-competition-MacBook-Neo-offers-more-single-core-performance-than-any-mobile-processor-from-AMD-Intel-or-Qualcomm.1248134.0.html

Got my A/UX installation and update discs ready for this weekend to get A/UX installed on the Macintosh Quadra 650. I already have the disk images from which to boot off as well as other disk images for updates to perform post-3.1-update. Gonna create those on the StarMax. 💾 🍎

Not sure if this is compatible with #MARCHintosh, but it will be on a 68K Mac and System 7.1 is used to get that one there, so maybe? ​

#aux #unix #macintosh #mac #apple

Alt...

Two burned CD-RW optical discs sitting on top of a piece of paper, itself on top of a cardboard box. The disc on the left is labeled "A/UX 3.0.1 Install" and the disc on the right is labeled "A/UX 3.1 Update." Both are labeled with blue marker ink.

50 years of #Apple and a reflection of this letter that some of us heard about.

#retroComputing #nostalgia #tech #blog #indieweb #smallweb #blogging

https://basic.bearblog.dev/apple-50-years-later-reflection/

I am not a big fan of Apple. Yes, I have been using some of their products for many years now, but I'm trying to shift to alternatives whenever possible. But not everything they do is bad. One of the things I really appreciated was the introduction of ATT, the App Tracking Transparency. This means when you install a new app on your iPhone and start it for the first time, it will ask for consent for tracking. If the user denies, tracking is not allowed.

I believe this is a legit and important functionality. Unfortunately, the German media and advertising industry does not share this view and has approached the Federal Cartel office.Apple has proposed a compromise that has been rejected by five assiciations. They are calling on the Federal Cartel Office to prohibit the current ATT tracking query and impose a fine.

They argue in the lines of that Apple allows tracking for their own apps without asking permission. (Which sadly is true)

I am afraid ATT will be watered down, but hey, why not moving to more secure and privacy friendly alternative like GrapheneOS? When it comes to privacy, I do not want to depend on third parties to determine how much privacy they want to grant me.

#Apple #AppTrackingTransparency #Bundeskartellamt #AdTech #Privacy #Antitrust #TechPolicy

https://competition.today/2025/02/13/bundeskartellamt-raises-concerns-over-apples-app-tracking-transparency-framework/

The new MacBook Neo is a great deal in the US, not so much in Europe

Apple today announced the "MacBook Neo," an all-new kind of low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip for $599.

The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling

https://www.osnews.com/story/144532/the-new-macbook-neo-is-a-great-deal-in-the-us-not-so-much-in-europe/

#Apple

PSA

To whomever this may concern and to get you a break from the international news:

Your daily driver Windows computer is not obsolete after October 13th 2026. And above all it is NOT E-waste.

Your Apple computer is not E-waste if Tim Cook says so.

Chances are that even the beige DELL tower from 2003, which is currently holding the barn door open, is not obsolete.

And if you have an old/broken computer: please sell or donate it. If nothing else, someone can learn to solder working on it.

Contact your local IT nerd for further questions. The one with an Atari or Amiga T-shirt. Someone you know will know one.

You can also contact IT nerds here in the fediverse. Almost all of us are here.

#RightToRepair #AlternativeOperatingSystems #OperatingSystems #OS #OpenBSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #Linux #HaikuOS #Windows #Apple #PowerPC #BeOS #Ubuntu #LinuxMint #Vic20 #Commodore64 #Amiga #ComputerClubs #Learning #OldComputersAreNotE_Waste #PCB #VintageComputing #RetroComputing #Refurbishers

Push Notifications and MastoBlaster

MastoBlaster, like other Fediverse apps, uses a design that maximizes user privacy.

When you log in to your instance, the app and the server exchange the necessary cryptographic keys. The app also communicates to the instance the address of the relay, which is the server responsible for forwarding notifications to Apple.

When a new notification is generated:

1. Your instance encrypts the notification.
2. It sends the encrypted payload to the relay.
3. The relay forwards it to Apple using its own authentication key.
4. Apple delivers it to your device.

The content of the notification is encrypted by your Fediverse server and can only be decrypted by your device.

The relay, which in the case of MastoBlaster is dedicated and hosted on a FreeBSD server, receives only encrypted data. It cannot read the content, does not know which account the notification belongs to, and does not store any information about the notification itself.

Apple knows which relay sent the notification and which device it must be delivered to, but it cannot access the content.

In short, only your instance and your device can read the notification.

#MastoBlaster #Fediverse #Mastodon #GoToSocial #Akkoma #iOS #Apple #PushNotifications #FreeBSD

It is a lightweight, privacy-first Fediverse client for iOS, built around a simple idea: fast, small, predictable behavior, and first-class support for snac.

What makes it different:

• snac-first by design, not "compatible by accident"
• Works with all Mastodon API compatible software, including Mastodon, snac, GoToSocial, Akkoma, and others
• EXIF stripping on upload (HDR and orientation preserved)
• Optional on-device alt text generation via Apple Intelligence for your uploads and for images in your timeline
• Markdown posting for snac
• Granular notifications, grouping, multi-account
• Blocking and moderation tools
• Very small footprint, very low RAM usage

Alt text generation happens entirely on device via Apple APIs on supported hardware. Nothing is sent to external services.

It is built around my own workflow and priorities. It may not be for everyone, and that is perfectly fine.

Important note:
MastoBlaster will always be free for BSD Cafe users, illumos Cafe users, and for anyone connecting to a snac instance, including self-hosted ones.

The app is already usable, but this is still a test phase. I am looking for feedback, bug reports, and real-world usage insights.

TestFlight link:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/Pkxa5R1k

Stay tuned.

#MastoBlaster #iOS #Apple #Fediverse #Mastodon #snac #GoToSocial #Akkoma #ActivityPub

I’ve been trying to incorporate Apple Shortcuts into my workflow. I’ve got a few useful things now but happy to hear any recommendations.

#apple #shortcuts

Tried to graft some #apple #trees for the first time - "Golden Noble" on a seedling I grew for 2 years now. I know the cuts are not good, but it was the best I could do.

Let's hope they grow - for future #bonsai or garden trees...

Alt...

Some tools I used for grafting: A knife, scissors, rubber tape and cut paste.

Alt...

Closeup: First grafted tree, with black tape right above the soil and a short, thin twig sticking out from the tape.

Alt...

Closeup of the two cuts, one on the seedling, one on the new branch. Both cuts are somewhat irregular, which is not ideal.

Alt...

Close-up of the second grafted tree, black tape around the cuts, a short twig sticking out from that. There is cut paste on the top cut.