This post was originally shared on Medium in 2016. With all the anti-trust action currently happening in both the US and Europe, it’s still quite relevant. In some ways, things have not progressed very much at all!

Given the things that Google *didn’*t say in their response, I wonder if they agree? Contrary to some commentators, I think what they do goes beyond playing hardball. I’ve no idea whether that’s illegal but they’re certainly not being nice to their “partners.”

I’ve seen people claiming that macOS High Sierra and its new file system, APFS, makes copying files lightning fast. This is not true. Here’s why.

In short: most of the time spent copying files is the physical copying of bits from one place to another. Unless you can avoid doing that, you’re, at best, going to be a few percent faster.

The longer version relies on the slightly hidden caveat: “unless you can avoid doing that.”

Over the next few weeks, you’ll see a bunch of posts that I have previously shared elsewhere. (Plus the last couple of posts.) For the most part, the posts will be as-is. Each post with note where and when it came from, plus information on any changes.

I’m gradually closing down my Medium account, because of their continued “enshittification.” I didn’t post much there, and some of it can already be found here.

This was originally posted to Medium in 2016. Reposting a couple of weeks ago would have made more sense in hindsight…

Apple event invitations are famous for providing clues about announcements that will be made at the event. Who can forget the square shapes on the invitation to last years keynote effectively predicting the arrival of the new Apple TV? Or the circular patterns a couple of years ago that presaged the cylindical shape of the new Mac Pro?

Expectations were low. No new hardware they said. New software they said. And yet, even with expectations so low, they failed.

What did we get? In short, nothing that we’ve not already seen from Google or Amazon or Microsoft. Sure, they did it with a bit of flair but, as we know, marketing is all that Apple are about these days. As Schiller said only three years ago, “[Apple] can’t innovate anymore.”

“Make Something Wonderful,” a collection of Steve Jobs writing and photos is… well, it’s a good thing that I write these notes for myself. You’ll already know if you’re interested.

I’m not sure there’s much new and undiscovered here, but it’s nicely collated and fascinating reading.

One highlight is the script from his Stanford commencement speech. But what I enjoyed most were the notes. The speech was almost perfect, but the notes allow you to see the process that led there. The common perception of the lone genius having a eureka moment is a lie. Jobs worked and practiced and iterated and sought feedback. Much of his work he attempted to make everything look simple and obvious, but the reality is that ‘effortless’ takes a lot of hard preparatory work. Some might argue that this detracts from his achievements, but I’d say that the exact opposite is true.

William Boyd is one of my favourite authors. He specialises in doorstop novels that document the entire life of an interesting individual. His most famous is probably “Any Human Heart” and “The Romantic” [affiliate link] follows in its footsteps.

The story crosses the globe, starting in Ireland, moving to England, Belgium, the US, Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Italy, Austrian and others I’m probably forgetting. And it begins in 1899, so covers an interesting time in history. (I did some quick Wikipedia fact checking and it stands up!)

In a turn of events that surprised even me, I managed to exceed my reading target of twelve books this year.

I managed a decent mix of fiction and non-fiction. More politics than usual, but even that was mostly on the lighter side.

Highlights would be “Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes” and “How Westminster Works.” I don’t think any of the books were bad so I’m not going to share a “worst of.” You can see from the notes which ones I enjoyed the most.

It’s difficult to come up with a better explanation for what this book is like than the description on the back: Depraved New World (affiliate link) is a worryingly funny collection, which captures British politics at its most absurd. 

It’s a collection of John Crace’s political sketches, originally published in the Guardian, covering October 2021 to June 2023. A pretty eventful time in British politics.

Reading it now, in late 2023, is probably the perfect time. Much earlier and you can’t tell the “good” sketches or consequential events from the average ones. Much later and you’ll have forgotten some of the important details that are being written about. They’re sketches, not analysis of the events or a history. Between the chapters are occasional colour about what was going on, but, broadly, you’re on your own. Political geeks only! Some parts I’d forgotten, but smiled when I recalled. If you’d come across Braverman stepping on a guide dog’s tail on The Thick of It, you’d dismiss it as too unlikely and contrived.

This book (affiliate link) was being promoted by my local council as part of a reading campaign. I’m not sure I would have picked it up otherwise, which, despite my misgivings, would have been a shame.

The story is about the world population spontaneously turning black, and the consequence and effects of that. It focuses on a few characters (Anders and Oona) and how it affects their lives.