512 Pixels

As you may have read, f.lux ( the great utility for making your computer screen more usable at night) shipped a version that could be sideloaded on iOS, as long as you complied the app yourself

Turns out, Apple wasn’t super hip to that:

Apple has contacted us to say that the f.lux for iOS download (previously available on this page) is in violation of the Developer Program Agreement, so this method of install is no longer available.

We understood that the new Xcode signing was designed to allow such use, but Apple has indicated that this should not continue.

I’m not shocked by the news. I’m sure Apple didn’t intended users to download an Xcode project to sideload on their own devices, but I am sad that I didn’t do this before f.lux pulled the download.

NASA’s Voyager probes have travelled farther than anything else man has built. (Voyager 1 is the only spacecraft to reach interstellar space.)

The spacecraft each carry a media library on gold records. Vox has a great breakdown of the images contained on the records, showing life here on Earth, or at least how it was in the 1970s.

I’m typing this on a top-of-the-line 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. It’s beautiful, powerful and quiet. OS X and the dozens of apps I have open are running smoothly, thanks to powerful hardware and the UNIX underpinnings holding it all together.

It’s attached to a 27-inch LCD. Running out from behind the display is a white USB-to-Lightning cable. At the other end?

The iPad Pro.

It’s too early for me to have any cohesive thoughts about the device, but the situation feels weird. Federico Viticci points out why:

Those who will only compare the iPad a Pro to a laptop will miss the big picture – this is a large tablet that can be used at a desk and that runs iOS. The richness of the iOS ecosystem is what sets the iPad Pro apart, and the reason why, ultimately, people like me will prefer it over a MacBook. It can be used at a desk, but it’s also portable, and it runs iOS.

I don’t get my job done on an iPad like Federico does. There’s a lot in my workflow that could be done on a tablet, but there’s a lot that can’t be. Yet.

That single word is why I feel so weird today. I look at this iPad Pro, being updated via my Mac, imagining the horses that were used to deliver materials to Henry Ford’s factory.

Did they know that by doing the very job they were tasked with, that they were ultimately dooming themselves?

I’m not the only person thinking about this transition today. John Gruber put it well:

Is [the iPad Pro] a MacBook replacement for me, personally? No. For you? Maybe. For many people? Yes.

It brings me no joy to observe this, but the future of mass market portable computing involves neither a mouse pointer nor an x86 processor.

When the Macintosh was introduced in 1984, some saw it and embraced it as the future. Others clung to their punch cards and command prompts, scoffing at the new toy.

I’m not sure which person I am today, but I do fear being on the wrong side of history.

Amit Gupta’s talk from XOXO will pull your heart out of your chest.

If you’re wanting to use an Apple Design Keyboard or the far-superior Extended Keyboard II with a PC and its 1996 or so, you need to check out this document:

The keyboard drivers included on the “International keyboard files” floppy correspond to the keyboard layout of the Apple Design Keyboard and the Apple ISO Extended Keyboard II. Some of the drivers are updates to the ones included on the PC Utility CD; users should install keyboard files from the floppy rather than from the CD.

This week on my spaaaaaaace podcast with Jason Snell:

A fortnight of news has passed, and we are here to talk water in the solar system, Orion’s progress, the 15th anniversary of crewed ISS missions and some new job openings at NASA.

My thanks to these sponsors:

• Ting: Mobile that makes sense. Get $25 off a new device or $25 in Ting credit, by signing up at http://liftoff.ting.com.
• The Freelancer’s Guide to Escaping Taxes, by Andrew Carroll

‘Day One In Depth’ is a new ebook from the crew at The Sweet Setup:

This is the most detailed and extensive guide to Day One available today. Featuring in-depth reviews that cover every function and feature found within Day One, our handbook goes line-by-line showing you how to make the most of this award-winning journaling app.

If you’ve never used Day One, or want to learn more about what it can do, the $7.99 for this book is well worth it. Shawn’s done a great job at breaking down everything the journaling app can do; it’s surprisingly powerful for something that is very simple to use.

The book is written by Shawn Blanc, edited by Jeff Abbott (who does all the editing for The Sweet Setup and some here) and designed by me.

You can get the book now on the iBooks Store.

Today I learned you could still buy Betamax tapes.

I kinda forgot this was an ad for the iPad Pro, to be honest.

I guess it isn’t a hobby anymore.

Stop me when this sounds familiar…

You’re a full-time freelancer or other independent worker You make a pretty good living and like the work you do Every year, you think “man, why is my tax bill so high?" A few seconds later, you think, “well, I guess this is just how it is for folks like me."

Then, you write that big check to Uncle Sam. You may find yourself wondering if you could have done something different. Or, if the check is really huge, you might even wonder if it wouldn’t be cheaper to just get a regular job again…

Chances are, if you’ve read this far, I can help you.

My name is Andrew Carroll. I’m a CPA/PFS, CITP, and CGMA. I’m the General Manager of NCH Tax & Wealth Advisors in Fullerton, California. What all that means is that, to be honest, I probably know more about taxes than you or anybody you know.

I’ve worked with dozens of people just like you in situations just like the one described above.

The Freelancer’s Guide to Escaping Taxes is a distilled version of the same advice I’ve been giving to folks just like you for years. If you want to know the truth, I figured out it’d more efficient to spend the time writing it down than repeatedly saying it.

If you want to know the one thing you can do to dramatically reduce the amount of tax you pay each year, then you’re in the right place. Fill in the form below and it’ll be in your inbox, free of charge, in a couple of minutes.

This is a fun 3-minute clip. Apple TV is a Trojan horse. Today, it’s a great addition to a traditional cable box, but Apple’s looking to replace the old model in the future. As someone who has never had cable, I’m excited about the possibilities here.