A collection of 87 posts
Apple first pitched the Apple Watch in September 2014, and they had 3 pillars that the device stood on: timekeeping, communication, and fitness. In my opinion, timekeeping should not be on that list, communication was the right idea but their specifics were off base, and fitness was a home run.
Twitter has a surprisingly great data export feature built into the service and taking advantage of it is really easy. Below I have broken down the brief steps needed to get your tweets. When you do your export, you'll get a ZIP file that contains an index.html
This is a response to my own piece that I wrote last week about how it's good for Apple to kill old technology and move on to something better. After some further consideration, I am wondering how good a move it really is, since they wouldn't
I mentioned this on the most recent Bite Size Tech, explaining how the 16GB iPhone uses TLC and the 64 and 128GB iPhones use MLC. As stated in the episode, MLC is a little more expensive, but why? I'm not an expert on storage, but I thought this
This is part 1 in a new series on the site about some false notions out there about what you can and can't do on the iPad. The iPad has long been criticized for being a "consumption device" and that "real work" still needs
iOS 9 was a good release for the iPhone, but it was a great release for the iPad. Split screen support, enhanced Bluetooth keyboard features, and picture-in-picture really made it a more powerful machine. These features in conjunction with some great app updates over the past few months have really
Last month I celebrated 5 years of writing at BirchTree, which is quite the milestone. I am extremely grateful for all the congratulations and positive feedback I got that day; it was more than I ever expected and only solidifies my belief that I have the best readers on the
UPDATE: The PCI compliance council has said they are pushing the deadline back to June 30, 2018, so this article is now a couple years early. It's a surprising move considering the state of TLS 1.0 security today, but that seems to be the direction they'
There's been talk of the mythical Apple TV set for years. Apple launched the first Apple TV in 2007, and people have been asking ever since if Apple intends to just make the whole damn set themselves. They’ve left us hanging year after year, defiantly refusing to
“The new iPhone X is the best iPhone Apple has ever made” is a silly statement and one that we always hear in iPhone reviews this time of year. Of course it’s the best iPhone ever, it would be pretty embarrassing if it wasn’t! It’s also a
I have been writing online consistently for the past 5 years. A smart man would have recorded the exact date I started so that I could say “Happy 5th Birthday, BirchTree!” but you’re stuck with me. Since I only know the year, and it really doesn’t matter that
There was a bit of chatter online yesterday over Marco Arment’s decision to make Overcast free and only make money on it though a patronage program. Essentially, he’s doing the Radiohead model of “pay what you want” for the app. Marco said he did this as a way
One of my favorite new features of Apple’s iOS 9 is Low Power Mode. This feature is designed to kick in when you reach 20% battery remaining, and give you a little more time before you have to race to a charger. And while most iOS 9 reviews covered
There are many comparisons that can be made between the upcoming Apple TV and Nintendo’s Wii gaming console. They are each platforms that promise accessible, simple games with a focus on motion controls. The Wii is a great example of disruption in the tech industry, as it truly made
Samsung offered iPhone users a 30 day test drive of one of their high-end Galaxy phones for the low, low price of $1. I'm hopelessly curious about devices/apps/services outside of the ones I use, so this was a great opportunity to dive deep into Android once