Matt Birchler

Of course it can use pro apps. It’s a computer When I started doing YouTube in 2020, I was in the middle of my iPad era, and the only Mac in my life was a 2012 Mac mini. I don't remember its exact specs, but suffice to say it positively sucks by 2026 standards. And while it was very slow,

🔗 Of course it can use pro apps. It’s a computer https://birchtree.me/blog/of-course-it-can-use-pro-apps-its-a-computer/

New wallpaper generator just dropped ColorFlow is a really cool new wallpaper and animation generator from the folks over at ls.graphics, and it's pretty rad (and it's totally free).

🔗 New wallpaper generator just dropped https://birchtree.me/blog/new-wallpaper-generator-just-dropped/

Micro app 12: Benchmark Studio This micro app is pretty simple; it's just a nice, single-page website for uploading benchmark scores and getting nice-looking charts for them, like the one above. The UI for adding tests and devices is simple, allowing you to create tests and add devices with categories, so that things like laptops

🔗 Micro app 12: Benchmark Studio https://birchtree.me/blog/micro-app-12-benchmark-studio/

Notification displaying "Continuity Camera" status for "iPhone Air" with 20% battery remaining on a gradient blue background.

A person with a microphone and a blue pop filter sits in front of a plant, likely engaged in a video call or recording.

Battery notifications for Continuity Camera in macOS are really nice.

On today’s ABC pod, I talk about my biggest pet peeve in Apple commentary, as well as my rapid-fire thoughts on everything Apple announced last week.

“They said Apple would never make this” is out now a-better-computer.simplecast.com/episodes/th...

Terraink makes rad maps on demand Terraink is a cool new website that lets you create cool maps of whatever location you want to. That's it, and that's pretty rad.

🔗 Terraink makes rad maps on demand https://birchtree.me/blog/terraink-makes-rad-maps-on-demand/

Resident Evil Requiem completed! Hell of a game, and an interesting mix of survival horror and kicking zombie ass. Grace is a great addition to the RE legacy 👌🏻

A slender figure in dark attire crouches amidst towering, twisted tentacles in a dim, eerie environment, creating a tense atmosphere.

A rugged vehicle with a person dressed in tactical attire preparing to ride, illuminated by bright light in a dim environment.

A character wields a chainsaw, battling a monstrous figure amidst intense flames and destruction in a dramatic, chaotic scene.

A person with a weapon climbs through a dilapidated building, surrounded by debris and a hazy atmosphere, suggesting danger and urgency.

Grace: I'm seeing ungodly horrors and can barely fight back

Leon: Gimme a sec, I have a point-based system for upgrading my gear that requires me to kill as many zombies as possible in the coolest ways possible. They even have a zip line!

4 of the top 8 apps on the US App Store today are AI chatbots. Claude remains top of the pile after jumping up last week.

Tom Scott on AI in February 2023 From the video: I've been complaining for years that it feels like nothing has really changed since smartphones came along. And I think that maybe, maybe I should have been careful what I wished for. It's been 2 years since Tom Scott stopped posting weekly videos on YouTube, but he

🔗 Tom Scott on AI in February 2023 https://birchtree.me/blog/tom-scott-on-ai-in-february-2023/

Back on my Resident Evil Requiem kick. This game rocks.

Nintendo, welcome to the resistance.

www.theverge.com/games/89086...

You know what, it's stupid that we're letting AI own em dashes. They're legit punctuation, and we should be able to use them without thinking everyone is going to yell "AI!" when they see it.

Here's how you tell if a human used one. Is it used incorrectly? Human. Is it used correctly? AI. 😛

+ iPadOS is getting squeezed Tech, Apple, and the vast grey area that is AI

🔗 + iPadOS is getting squeezed https://birchtree.me/blog/ipados-is-getting-squeezed/

1/4 of my social feeds are people who think the MacBook Neo is going to run like ass.

3/4 is people convinced that a single-core Geekbench score means this bad boy is as good as an M4.

This is why my reviews tend to come out after I use the product 😛

If you’re reviewing new Apple devices, I’m just saying I’ve got an app that runs a benchmark that tests performance and thermal throttling.

You can use it for generating awesome subtitles for your videos/podcasts as well 👌

apps.apple.com/us/app/quic...

Hegseth: "Death & destruction from the sky all day. We're playing for keeps. Our warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by POTUS & yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise designed to unleash American power, not shackle it ... we are punching them while they are down"

Apple releases the MacBook Mini Apple's MacBook Mini is such an awesome computer. No, it's not the most powerful machine Apple makes, but it is very affordable, which makes it appeal to at least two separate groups. The first group is people who would like a desktop Mac, but would not like to spend typical

🔗 Apple releases the MacBook Mini https://birchtree.me/blog/apple-releases-the-macbook-mini/

A webpage displaying an error message with the logo of MacRumors and a prompt to visit the home page.

MacRumors went down in preparation for the new Apple announcements today. Honestly, a very Apple move 😛

How to make Midnight City M83’s Midnight City is one of my favorite songs of all time, and this video recreating it is brilliant.

🔗 How to make Midnight City https://birchtree.me/blog/how-to-make-midnight-city/

It seems good for the type of monitor it is, but OLED surely is still the dream, right?

A user expresses anticipation for the S27 Ultra, accompanied by laughter emojis and engagement metrics from their post.

Man with a Galaxy from 2010 still holding out for the phone people think is worth upgrading to…

My super quick process for adding chapters to podcasts Chapters in podcasts are super important, in my opinion, and I make sure to add them to everything that I create. Here's the process I use to get them into my shows faster than ever before. 0- Have your chapters ready to go The best thing you can do to

🔗 My super quick process for adding chapters to podcasts https://birchtree.me/blog/my-super-quick-process-for-adding-chapters-to-podcasts/

When the words on the page don’t match what you’re trying to say (follow up on the Ben Thompson post) Ben Thompson: Technological Scale and Government Control, Paramount Outbids Netflix for Warner Bros. This is a lot more complicated than the nuclear question, where government control and ownership was a given; the sort of actions taken by the government over the last week fly in the face of the concept

🔗 When the words on the page don’t match what you’re trying to say (follow up on the Ben Thompson post) https://birchtree.me/blog/when-the-words-on-the-page-dont-match-what-youre-trying-to-say-follow-up-on-the-ben-thompson-post/

Apple's new MacBooks: The pinnacle of the generation Apple announced new MacBook Airs and Pros today, and they’re both boring and mostly excellent. MacBook Air This looks like a very basic spec bump, which I’m not mad about. I would like to see this display get an upgrade one day, and I'd love for them to

🔗 Apple's new MacBooks: The pinnacle of the generation https://birchtree.me/blog/apples-new-macbooks-the-pinnacle-of-the-generation/

Apple's new Studio Displays Apple updated both of their monitors today, replacing the Studio Display with a new model that's very similar to the old one, and they've discontinued the Pro Display XDR in favor of the new Studio Display XDR. Studio Display Starting with the updated Studio Display, honestly, I'm incredibly disappointed. I

🔗 Apple's new Studio Displays https://birchtree.me/blog/apples-new-studio-displays/

Just taking a moment to say what ought to be said.

This is really good, thank you!

🔗 "What are you going to do, stop me? I've got the guns," is a wild government argument for tech pundits to support https://birchtree.me/blog/what-are-you-going-to-do-stop-me-ive-got-the-guns-is-a-wild-govargument-for-tech-pundits-to-support/

Continuity Camera is so freaking cool, I wish it fit better into my work About a week ago, I switched on my Canon R6 and went to record something on video. I have the camera hooked up to an Elgato 4K capture card, which my Mac sees as a webcam. However, in this instance, the Elgato was convinced there was no video coming from

🔗 Continuity Camera is so freaking cool, I wish it fit better into my work https://birchtree.me/blog/continuity-camera-is-so-freaking-cool-i-wish-it-fit-better-into-my-work/