Tidbits from Brian - Issue #13
I'm loving the macOS Ventura + iOS 16 updates. ❤️🤓
I realize not everyone reading this is a Mac person (feel free to skip down), but I have to share some of the really cool features Apple added in the latest macOS Ventura and iOS 16 updates.
The Continuity Camera feature is so well done! It allows you to use your iPhone as a webcam. Why would you do this? Because the quality is years ahead of anything you're probably using. I've tinkered with third-party apps in the past, but there were always some annoyances. No more! Everything works fluidly now. So much so that my brother and I are both now using our iPhones as webcams daily. (Here is an excellent gooseneck mount. Belkin also has some MagSafe ones). 📱
You can now effortlessly hand off Facetime calls from your phone to your Mac or vice versa without interrupting the call. This is so nice for family calls; already using it.
Stage Manager is now available on Mac. If you've used an iPad before, then you're probably used to this. It's basically an easy window manager on the side. It's pretty cool.
More AirPods controls are now available in macOS. Control everything from the case charging sound to noise control. 🎧️
They've finally redesigned the system settings area to match the design of the rest of the OS. Looks great now.
Those are just a few of the things I'm enjoying. If you're interested in more, check out this great article from MacRumors of 50 new features worth checking out.
Updates ✍️
We pushed out a rather large 2.0.0 version of our Perfmatters plugin.
Here are a few of the main changes:
New admin bar menu redesign with quick access to commonly used features and option to completely hide it. 🚫
New ?perfmattersoff query string to test with optimizations off.
New query string system for Used CSS. This improves workflows with heavily cached sites.
Added additional support for updating via WP-CLI. 🔧 This enables us to work with services like Cloudways SafeUpdates.
Added new perfmatters_login_url filter.
Added new perfmatters_lazyload_noscript filter.
Disabled certain features from running on WooCommerce cart, checkout, and account pages for better compatibility.
Improved Unused CSS compatibility with Elementor, Astra, Kadence, and GenerateBlocks. ✅
Squashed a multitude of bugs and rolled out many improvements.
Many new features and fixes are thanks to feedback directly from users. We appreciate it. 👏
Interesting things 🔎
Misc.
Backblaze version 8.5 is out with a redesigned SwiftUI macOS app. Looking much better.
Apple Music is now available on the Xbox. 🎶
Google is shutting down Stadia, its cloud gaming service. I saw this coming a long time ago.
Elon Musk has officially acquired Twitter and already making big changes. I just hope he cleans up the spam and bots.
Kinsta has officially launched its application and database hosting service. Spin up an app like Node.js or MySQL database with a brand you already trust. 💥
Snagit 2023 was just released. New shareable links where you can collaborate, a Slack app, and screen draw as you record videos.
Speaking of screenshot apps, I've been playing with Xnapper. It's awesome for sharing beautiful screenshots quickly on social media.
Apple Music, Apple TV, and iCloud Photos integrations are coming to Windows. Loving all these Apple updates! 🍎
WordPress
WordPress 6.1 will soon bring a tremendous amount of standardization to block controls in the Editor.
Is WordPress entering a death spiral? Lots of controversies this month.
Easy Digital Downloads added 10 new core blocks, email summaries, enhanced report filtering, and more.
Kinsta rolled out its new site preview tool. This makes testing and previewing WordPress migrations a lot easier.
Speaking of Kinsta, MyKinsta got a complete redesign! Loving the new blazing-fast dashboard for managing my sites.
GeneratePress 3.2.0 has fixed the "back to top" iOS double-click issues. Hooray!
Performance
WordPress 6.1 is jam-packed with performance improvements.
You can now add 10 cache rules in the free Cloudflare plan. This is separate from page rules. Great addition, and it supports cookies. 🍪
Turnstile from Cloudflare is here! ⚡️ Say goodbye to the slow and annoying Google ReCaptchas. Integrations are already being released (Simple Cloudflare Turnstile, WS Form, Fluent Forms).
GeneratePress Premium 2.2.0 removed jquery-migrate from the sticky script. 🚀
Marketing
Love this trick from Fathom where you right-click their logo, and it goes to brand assets. I feel like this should be adopted everywhere.
I'm worried about the new TweetDeck they are rolling out. You can't view multiple accounts at the same time, which seems like a huge problem.
The option to disable smart links in Confluence is here! I got to provide some feedback on this. Happy to see it rolling out.
A domain is such an essential part of your brand. Check out this scary story about how a domain was stolen from Andy and Ryan.
Google replaces title tags with site names for homepage results. 🤔
Bitcoin (not financial advice)
How legacy finance perceives Bitcoin. Interesting observations from a 13-year career veteran at Goldman Sachs.
I've updated my sat stacking tips. Check out some of my favs.
Check out this Bitcoin mine powered by farm waste. 💩
FASB settles on fair-value accounting for measuring Bitcoin as an asset. A great step forward, as it gets rid of impairment charges.
This is probably one of the best explanations of Bitcoin you'll ever hear.
Telegram wallet bot now lets users exchange Bitcoin with each other.
Check out these epic photos of Europe's largest Bitcoin conference in 2012 versus 2022.
You can send Bitcoin without the internet. People in Nigeria are already doing it. Check it out!
This chat about Proof of Stake (PoS) versus Proof of Work (PoW) with Jason Lowery blew my mind. 🧠
Google Cloud will let users pay with Bitcoin via its partnership with Coinbase.
BNY Mellon, the world's largest custodian bank, launches a new digital asset custody platform.
South African non-profit Bitcoin Ekasi opens education center.
Walmart CTO: "Cryptocurrencies will play a very important role in payments disruption." Probably nothing. 😉
You can now receive Bitcoin instantly via the Lightning Network in CashApp.
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If you're ever in the Scottsdale, AZ area, hit me up, and we can grab a coffee! ☕️👋