Numeric Citizen Blog

OpenAI’s First AI Device Will Be a Portable Smart Speaker:

OpenAI’s speaker-like product is designed to “serve as a humanlike AI companion that lives in the home,” according to Bloomberg. It will be able to control smart home accessories, answer questions, play media, respond to messages, and more, with the device powered by ChatGPT. It is meant to learn more about the user over time, becoming more personalized and proactive, using GPT-Live to communicate with users.

What will be the onboarding experience? Will it require a smartphone? Can they beat Apple on integrations? How is this OpenAI device going to access my messages? Which messaging service will be supported?

If Siri AI delivers on its promise, what does it mean for app developers? Since 2008, the iPhone experience has been built on top of application-based experiences. Siri AI seems to be offering a bridge between these apps, pushing the application experience behind Siri’s. Not only that, but Apple will ask developers to add support for Siri AI, accelerating the paradox of helping Apple’s bottom line, not the developers’. Interesting read from The Verge, for more context.

Gruber on Musk fixation on Apple and ChatGPT in a recent blog post: Remember Musk’s Suit Alleging a Conspiracy Between Apple and OpenAI? — Daring Fireball

Musk alleges that the top downloads list is crooked too. That’s just projection. If Musk ran a popular App Store he’d put his thumb on the scale to make sure his own apps always top the list. That’s what he’s done with his personal account, and accounts aligned with his politics, on Twitter/X. Because that’s what he would do, he thinks that’s what Apple does.

He’s probably right: Cheaters are often suspicious of others cheating too.

I don’t know if I should trust the news, but it seems that opposition to data centers and artificial intelligence is growing. Nowadays, you have to be cautious about what the media spreads. Controversial topics sell, but they don’t always reflect reality. Still, I get the feeling that frustration is gradually building. 🤨

Apple lawsuit reveals how many of its former employees now work at OpenAI — 9to5Mac

While Apple doesn’t get into specifics, we know from Bloomberg reporting that Apple employees across countless teams inside Apple have left for OpenAI. Most recently, OpenAI poached Paul Meade, who had been in charge of Apple Vision Pro and Apple’s smart glasses project.

Maybe those former Apple employees think that Apple is no longer THE place to be to invent the best possible user experiences or the next revolutionnary device? Or maybe OpenAI simply pays more than Apple? Or maybe a combination of both?

Perhaps Meta Should Not Have Spent Decades Being Creepy — Pixel Envy

Meta is in the business of asking for forgiveness instead of seeking permission. It will release these regardless of public approval, and with the belief it can control how that continuous recording is used.

How much of this corporate behaviour would change if Meta had a different CEO instead of this creepy one?

I understand that companies want to protect their intellectual property. But this new saga between Apple and OpenAI represents what I dislike about the tech world: it’s just noise that distracts me from more fundamental and interesting things. Apple is very fond of these legal battles, and I find it all tiresome.

Yesterday I got a new Windows laptop at the office. It’s called an Autopilot laptop, and I’m not sure what it really means other than that it’s deployed and managed using enterprise management software. The migration from my older laptop went surprisingly well, but nothing like using Apple’s Migration Assistant, and I suspect this is because most of my data and settings are stored in OneDrive. It’s an HP laptop. While it doesn’t come close to Apple’s MacBook in terms of build quality and general design, I can see improvements in Windows laptops over the years. Even so, Windows still feels bloated due to a plethora of security-related and must-have software, because it still isn’t secure.

A very telling image of Eddy Cue. First, Eddy Cue is not a fan of the iPad and prefers to use paper for his agenda. Second, and not least, Apple is clearly working on an Oura Ring competitor. The first Apple ring to be offered in light gray. 🤫

Anthropic is unleashing Claude Cowork, which means artifacts can now be run in the cloud rather than on the machine where they were created. This means that if an artifact depends only on cloud resources and services, it can be executed in the cloud and accessed from anywhere, on any device. Until today, I was looking for a way to migrate my artifacts from my MacBook Air to my desktop Mac, but there were no easy solutions. So far, I have four artifacts that I use daily, and I plan to build more.

I often revisit MacSurfer’s Headlines website because I’ve been a fan since it launched. Here are some thoughts from my latest visit: the wave logo has been revamped, and I like it — it looks glossy and modern. Now, readers can hide articles behind a paywall, a feature I don’t recall seeing on similar sites. In this screenshot, 19 out of 40 articles are paywalled, which is very useful. Also, readers can subscribe to a newsletter; I’m not sure if this was always available. Lastly, Amazon ads appear on the left sidebar and inline, which has always been part of MacSurfer and has returned after the recent site reboot. Unfortunately, that’s a bit disappointing. I hope MacSurfer continues to thrive by relying solely on human curation. Do we need another OpenAI Pulse or Kagi News, both of which are AI-based?

From the DF Archive: ‘Electron and the Decline of Native Apps’:

The ironic frustration with Anthropic’s Claude app being an Electron turd is that Claude and especially Claude Code are so capable of helping to create good native Mac apps. It’s one thing for a big company or organization with cross-platform aspirations but no institutional Mac expertise, like Notion or Slack or Discord, to choose Electron to create their Mac client. It’s another when it’s a company like Anthropic, whose only product’s single most impressive ability is generating programming code, including high-quality AppKit and SwiftUI code for the Mac. To return to my hammering-screws-into-the-walls metaphor from yesterday, it’s as though the building into which Anthropic decided to hammer all the screws is a renowned screwdriver factory.

Bingo.

Back home. Rebooted my Mac because of an issue with macOS 27 Golden Gate. Got this warning. Oh well, I didn’t use Atlas anyway. I’m not even sure if Atlas is on OpenAI roadmap for the long run.

Dear Americans, good luck with the next 250 years. You’ll need all you can get.

Vacations coming to an end this weekend, expect normal programming resuming by Sunday. It was a great two-week vacation in France but the overwhelming heat wherever we stayed was a challenge that we didn’t expect and was hard at some points to cope with, especially in Paris.

I use Inkwell quite often and I like it. While on vacation, I tend to spend less time reading my RSS feeds so my unread count goes up quite a bit. How do I catch up efficiently? I stop for a small reading session, I switch to Inkwell and use the Today tab but also the Recent tab which is super useful to see what I have missed. In extreme case of disconnection, the Fading tab comes to the rescue. If you’re an RSS feeds junkie, you should consider trying Inkwell.

AI coding is creating a new generation of makers:

it’s been heartening seeing people reverse engineer things and build weird little things that they never would have done before. I guess they’d be scrolling TikTok instead.

Anything to stay away from TikTok is a win for humankind.

My last day in Paris. This week flew by. Despite the climate-related challenges, visiting such a wonderful city has been an unforgettable experience. Now, we’re heading south, on a three-hour TGV ride, for a relaxing week on the seaside. Don’t expect too many check-ins. I’m taking a break. I hoped you enjoyed this photo-centric journaling as much as I enjoyed posting.

Is the Apple TV the new Trash Can Mac Pro? And why on earth do we need a 128 GB configuration? Was it an Apple trick so that people not knowing what they were buying would go the 128 GB route, making Apple smile with 💵💵💵? It’s a shame that Apple keep this around and even increase the price!

I learned of Om Malik’s passing last night when I got back to the apartment through a short message from Manton Reece. What sad news. I had noticed recently that the frequency of his posts had changed and become irregular. He had some health issues and shared a few words about it in the past.

I had been following Om Malik for a few years and appreciated his perspectives on Apple and technology in general. He knew how to read the nuances and contrasts of Apple much better than other bloggers I won’t name here. He was a great tech journalist. Finally, I was a big fan of his photographic style. I had the pleasure of following him on Glass and regularly showed him my appreciation for his unique style, full of nuance. He will be missed by us all.

Om Malik was one year older than me.

I read his last post dozen of times. This feels surreal.

Is the worst of this Paris heatwave behind us? Maybe, as we’re only heading for 37°C today instead of 38°C or 39°C 😒🥵. After three mostly sleepless nights, we decided to leave our apartment a day early to stay in a hotel with AC before leaving Paris for good. Other than that, our plans for the day are still up in the (hot) air.

You might think that, by looking at the trail here, I’m taking a lot of photos in visiting Paris, but that’s not the case. One reason is it’s my second time in Paris, but the second reason is the heat. Sadly, It’s not fun to stop on the street for a few minutes, under the sun, for shooting a few photos. And lastly, my iPhone is overheating quickly while taking pictures! Running a beta version of iOS 27 probably doesn’t help either. 🤦🏻‍♂️ I’m probably snapping a third of what I would shoot normally.

Starting day #6 in Paris. After a nearly sleepless night with high temperatures in our apartment, no breeze at all, we are facing another record breaking heatwave day. Heading to Notre Dame this morning while outside temperatures are still ok for waiting inline in a queue. Beyond that, we still don’t know. Max temperature is expected to be 38C at 5PM. 🥵🫤😒

Open-plan offices have many drawbacks, and I was reminded of another one today. Instead of a generic, rotating desk, I much prefer having a dedicated, private office. I want a space of my own, and I enjoy seeing how others personalize their workspaces. You can learn so much about people’s interests and personalities just by seeing how they occupy the space where they spend a third of their lives.

Good morning from heated Paris! Today might be the worst of all as we enter peak heatwave. Expected temperatures are around 38C. 😳🥵😩 Photowalk is not a possibility today, this heat removes any glimpses of inspiration. Looking for more museums to visit.