I’ve mentioned in the past about Default Apps, the list of predefined software and services born last winter from the Hemispheric Views podcast. During this holiday season, I noticed that many bloggers have updated their lists1 highlighting all the changes. It was very fascinating, once again, to browse through the posts and make some considerations.
Over the past year, I haven’t read much. Or rather, I’ve read quite a bit—compared to the average of my fellow countrymen—and as much as I would have liked—compared to the goal I had set myself on Literal. But I don’t feel like I’ve read well. I’ve often had the feeling of reading with a snobbishness, without a good concentration, too susceptible to distractions, uncomfortable. So, I’ve read, but I would have liked to read better.
I’ve been using Fastmail for almost a year as an email server and client. I have already written about it, and I’m more than satisfied. This year, the service turns 25 years old, and I celebrate it by quoting Rob Mueller and Bron Gondwana (respectively CTO and CEO) about email as the first social network.
I’m suffering a little on writing in English. And it is not for the English, which I enjoy, but for the slowing of my communication. Occasionally, I want to share quick thoughts or Italian news content, and I take a break.
Because I’m selling my first bike, I signed-up on Facebook with a temporary account1. I lost some familiar with the tool — which I don’t use for at least ten years — and had registered to several groups because I needed to spam for my Marketplace announcement.
At the beginning of the 2024, I decided to subscribe virtually to some services or people that I use or follow during the year. I’m done that with monthly donations, like Spotify: every month a different person, application, service, or podcast. I used this way to give back something that I received, that be worth much more of my two coins. It was a contribution, a form of thanksgiving. It’s a way to demonstrate my gratitude: I know that it’s not enough, but I tried to support many recipients as possible.
Nick Heer about tech billionaires at the king’s court:
There are two possibilities. The first is that these CEOs are all dummies with memory no more capacious than that of an earthworm. The second is that these people all recognize the transactional and mercurial nature of the incoming administration, and they have begun their ritualistic grovelling. Even though I do not think money and success is evidence of genius, I do not think these CEOs are so dumb they actually believe in the moral fortitude of these goons.
I recently put my first bike on sale. It is a useful bike for beginning riders, and has a 500 cc displacement. It’s too small for me, that have large build, but it’s straightforward to learn.