The Then Page

This page serves as a running log of changes made to my Now page.

March 5, 2026

What a week! Over the course of three days, Apple has announced:

The result of this is that I have done much more writing than I have been doing, and it was a lot of fun to spend several hours in MarsEdit over the last few days.

In other news:

  • It is beginning to feel like spring in Memphis. We’ve got flowers popping up in our beds already. I know this could be a false start, but I’m hoping for a nice long spring before summer returns.
  • Over on Connected, I smoked the boys in this edition of the Flexies. I went all-in on MacBook Neo colors and the universe rewarded me.
  • I’ve got a Citrus model on its way to me next week. I plan on giving it the full review treatment.

February 20, 2026

  • We made it through the recent snow and ice without any real issue beyond our kids being out of school for two weeks. Memphis avoided the damage Mississippi and middle Tennessee saw, but the sleet the fell turned into rock-hard ice that stuck around much longer than folks expected. Thankfully, I could burn the gas I bought for our generator in our cars.
  • I’m now a couple weeks past recording my final episode of Mac Power Users and it still feels weird. It’s been great to devote more time to Cross Forward and Relay, but I haven’t recorded just one show in years. I’ve been working on some really fun stuff for both companies that I’m excited to talk about… soon.
  • I am excited to see what Apple has in store for early March. A good low-end MacBook could be a big deal, and the possibility of new displays is always fun.

January 30, 2026

  • Like much of the country, Memphis is still under a layer of snow and ice. We didn’t get hammered like our neighbors in Middle TN did, but my kids have been out of school for an entire week. We just don’t handle this sort of thing well in the South.
  • I recently upgraded my 3D printer from an older PRUSA to a new Bambu P2S. It’s incredible how much of an appliance the Bambu is; just throw a file at it and it just works. The PRUSA was far more temperamental. I’ve been Gridfinity’ing my wife’s desk drawers and it’s been far less stressful then when I did mine on the old printer.
  • I turned 40 earlier this week — I was born the exact day of the Challenger disaster — and thanks to the snow and ice, it was a very low-key birthday at home with the family. Other than feeling old, it was perfect. I mean, just check out this poster they made me!

January 15, 2026

  • I’m a couple weeks into the slower publishing pace here on the blog, and I’m enjoying taking my time to write fewer — but hopefully better — pieces. I’m particularly happy with this one about the original MacBook Pro, and really wish I didn’t have to spend any more of my life thinking about xAI, but here we are.
  • I’m in the middle of the end-of-year onslaught of paperwork that comes with having a business. So, so many PDFs.
  • I’m also in the middle of reworking how we keep things organized at Cross Forward. We’re in the process of hiring a designer, and it’s been an opportunity to revisit how I organize projects. A couple of years ago, I tried shoehorning everything into Github, but that just wasn’t a good fit. Over the last few days, I’ve been building some structure in Notion, and I hope it’ll be a better fit.

December 17, 2025

Projects

  • Relay’s yearly membership sale is running through the end of the year! Go grab 20% off any of our annual plans. So far, it’s going very well.
  • We just released Pedometer++ 7.1, which introduces Training Plans. They are a great way to prepare for a 5K or simply walk more often. This feature will continue to evolve, and we’re really excited about it.
  • With January just a few weeks away, I am gearing up for end-of-the-year stuff at Relay and Cross Forward. Throughout the first few weeks of the year, I’m busy collecting tax paperwork, reviewing budgets, writing internal Annual Reports, and more. It’s not sexy work, but it’s important, and I enjoy it.

Media

Changes Coming to 512

This week, I published two blog posts I am very proud of:

My plan is to write more of these types of articles next year and publish fewer linked-list entries. I don’t know what my new publishing cadence will be, but my hope is to have fewer — but more meaningful — things in the RSS feed in 2026.

Reflecting on this change, it became clear that having a weekly sponsor would be awkward at times. For years, I’ve felt pressure to publish linked-list items throughout the week, especially when I didn’t have a longer article to post. I wanted to be free of that feeling as I explore this new direction, so I have not renewed any weekly sponsorships for 2026.

Saying goodbye to that income is going to hurt, but it feels like the right call. A reboot would be possible with sponsors, but taking them along for the ride felt unwise. I may revisit this at the end of 2026, once the dust has settled.

That said, Rogue Amoeba has graciously agreed to continue their sponsorship of special projects like my macOS Screenshot Library or the ever-popular 6K wallpaper collection. My thanks to Paul and the team over there for being great partners and for sticking with me as I experiment.

512 Pixels will turn 18 next year, and I’ve never been more excited about it.

November 24, 2025

Projects

  • Relay’s yearly membership sale is up and running! Go grab 20% off any of our annual plans.
  • I just went through and updated my Gear page to reflect my new office and some changes I’ve made to my software stack.
  • I have finally gotten around to organizing the garage after our move this summer. We can now park my wife’s minivan in there, and hopefully my Tacoma will be able to squeeze in there too very soon.
  • We’re hard at work on some really cool new features for Pedometer++ and Widgetsmith. I can’t wait to share more when we’re ready.

Media

November 7, 2025

Projects

  • We’re getting close to Relay’s annual membership sale. Got all the finishing touches done on that work this week.
  • I have finally gotten around to organizing the garage after our move this summer. In theory, we can park two cars in there, but it’s been a disaster in there for months. I’ve been purging things we don’t need (and shouldn’t have moved), hanging tools on the wall with these clever mounts, and have been confronted with the fact that having three bicycles may be too many.
  • In early October, I took Ivory, Bluesky, and Threads off my iPhone It’s been great to limit my use of these social media accounts to the work day.

Media

October 13, 2025

Projects

  • Relay’s 2025 St. Jude campaign is done and we raised an eye-watering $753,756! We are super happy with how everything went this year.
  • I finally got my Gear page updated to add my desk speakers and some updated photos!
  • Looking ahead to the end of the year, I’m working on the upcoming Relay membership sale, and a bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff at Cross Forward.

Media

  • I finished Foundation on Apple TV, and loved it. Started HBO’s The Pitt and holy moly, it’s good.

September 23, 2025

Projects

  • Relay’s 2025 St. Jude campaign is live just crossed $500,000 for the year, and there’s plenty of September left! At $512,000, I’ll livestream a tour of my new home office.
  • The Podcastathon went super well, but it’s going to take a few more days to catch up on work and sleep. If you didn’t get to see the show, I urge you to check it out, and not to miss the last 12 or so minutes.
  • We got our iOS 26 updates out the door last week, and so far, things have been going smoothly. Been keeping an eye on support as we work through a few minor things.

Media

  • I started the new season of Foundation on Apple TV, and need to get back to it.

September 16, 2025

Projects

Media

  • Dexter: Resurrection is INCREDIBLE.

August 28, 2025

Projects

  • Relay’s 2025 St. Jude campaign is live! We have a lot of great stuff planned for September, and I’m thrilled that we’re back at it.
  • At Cross Forward, we’ve turned the corner on our iOS 26 releases. We even put out our “No More New Features” signs.
  • I haven’t talked about it much, but we moved this summer. We’re still in Memphis, but starting over in a new house and new neighborhood is really just an endless list of things to do. Up next is getting our garage door on HomeKit and having a bunch of HVAC work done.

Media

  • Dexter: Resurrection is INCREDIBLE.

August 11, 2025

Projects

  • Over at Cross Forward, we’re hard at work on the iOS 26 redesigns of our apps. David has been writing about his progress on Pedometer++ for his blog. The iOS 18 versions of our apps really look old to me now.
  • We are just a few weeks away from launching Relay’s annual St. Jude fundraiser! Almost everything is ready to go. The bulk of the work left is polishing the schedule for the Podcastathon, which will take place on Friday, September 19th, starting at 11 AM Central time.
  • Relay’s 11th anniversary is next week! Myke and I are hosting a Q&A next week to celebrate.

Media

  • In anticipation of Dexter: Resurrection, I recently started a rewatch of the original series. Tonight’s the night!

July 29, 2025

Projects

  • I missed the mid-July update due to a lot of home projects coming crashing down around me at once. Such is life, but mostly everything is taken care of now.
  • Over at Cross Forward, we’re hard at work on the iOS 26 redesigns of our apps. David has been writing about his progress on Pedometer++ for his blog.
  • Speaking of Cross Forward, I’m super pumped that Myke has joined us to take on some marketing projects. I can’t wait to share some of the stuff he’s already working on.
  • Speaking of iOS 26, my daily iPhone is now just hot all the time. Beta 4’s battery life has been atrocious for me.
  • I just got my first haircut since the one I got before the Podcastathon back in September. Things were getting pretty muppety.

Media

  • Uhhhh, I got nothing this time, sorry.

July 1, 2025

Projects

  • Apple fixed the Finder logo, but not as much as some folks would like.
  • This morning, David and I released Widgetsmith 7.3. This version includes a bunch of iPhone wallpapers for download, and a tool to theme your widgets to match your wallpaper. It’s really cool.
  • I’m running the beta on a bunch of devices including my iPad, my work iPhone 15 Pro, and an older Apple Watch for Pedometer++ testing. I am really liking Liquid Glass. However, it is pretty pretty pretty slow on an iPhone 11 I snagged off of eBay. That’s among the oldest phones iOS 26 will support, and I hope Apple can get it working more smoothly on it before the fall.

Media

  • I finished Apple in China a couple of nights ago, and it was a fascinating read. Apple’s situation is China is complicated. It was good to learn more about this topic, but also more about how some of Apple’s earliest products to come of China were some of my favorite, including the first two generations of iMac.

June 17, 2025

Projects

  • On June 2, Merri and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. What an amazing adventure.
  • I did not attend WWDC this year, and I was able to get a mind-blowing amount of work done as a result. I missed seeing friends, but being at home let me really focus on writing, podcasting, and working on our iOS 26 plans for Widgetsmith, Pedometer++, more.
  • A highlight of that work was my piece on macOS Tahoe’s new Finder icon, which is now the most popular thing I’ve written in a couple of years. I have it on good authority that Apple is very aware of the article and public outcry that has taken place because of it.

Media

  • I’m like eight pages into Apple in China and am excited to get into it more.

June 3, 2025

Projects

  • On June 2, Merri and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. What an amazing adventure.
  • I will not be at WWDC this year. Other than the COVID years, I’ve been in town for every conference since 2013. It’s a very busy summer at home, so I’ll be covering things from the comfort of my studio.
  • This will be my second WWDC working with David on Widgetsmith, Pedometer++, etc., and I have a much better appreciation for how developers feel on the run-up to an event that will dictate a huge portion of the rest of our year at work.

Media

  • I really enjoyed Your Friends and Neighbors on Apple TV+.
  • Hoping to start Apple in China after WWDC.

May 20, 2025

Projects

  • I didn’t have “write a zillion words about what xAI is doing here in Memphis” on my bingo card, but here we are. It’s really disappointing to see my local leaders bungle this thing the way they have. I’m hoping to drive by xAI’s sites later this week or early next week just to check them out (from a legal and safe distance).
  • I will not be at WWDC this year. Other than the COVID years, I’ve been in town for every conference since 2013. It’s a very busy summer at home, so I’ll be covering things from the comfort of my studio.

Media

  • I’ve finished The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned by John Strausbaugh. Uhhh, spoilers: they killed a bunch of people, and even more are lucky to have survived their missions.
  • I am enjoying Your Friends and Neighbors on Apple TV+. John Hamm’s voiceovers as he is robbing houses in his neighborhood are great.

May 8, 2025

Projects

  • I didn’t have “write a zillion words about what xAI is doing here in Memphis” on my bingo card, but here we are. It’s really disappointing to see my local leaders bungle this thing the way they have.
  • My wife and kids start their summer break from school in just a few weeks, and I can’t wait to have everyone home. It’s been tough around here since having to put our dog down a couple of weeks ago.
  • WWDC is also just a few weeks away, and we’re hard at work on a feature update for Widgetsmith while mentally preparing for what could be a very busy summer if Apple redesigns iOS.

Media

April 23, 2025

Projects

  • I have dipped my toes into the water when it comes to planning this year’s St. Jude fundraiser. Artwork is underway, and I’m just a couple of weeks away from the first planning call with the team at ALSAC.
  • MYKE IS BACK AT WORK. Between his paternity leave and my sabbatical last fall, I think we’ve learned some valuable lessons about how great our team is and how we can spend our time.
  • Just today, I pushed a set of changes to the new 512 theme, including tweaking how the underlines on links look and the style of the Then page. I’m still not fully happy with the Then page, so I expect I will tinker with it some more at some point.
  • After 15 years of use, I’ve finally switched away from TextExpander. I recently took about an hour to rebuild my snippets in Keyboard Maestro. There are a ton of ways to handle text expansion, but given that I already use KM for some other things, and that it can easily run scripts, present drop-down menus, and more, it seemed like the obvious choice.

Media

April 8, 2025

Projects

  • I have dipped my toes into the water when it comes to planning this year’s St. Jude fundraiser. Artwork is underway, and I’m just a couple of weeks away from the first planning call with the team at ALSAC.
  • After having it set on the shelf for a while, I finally got a subwoofer installed in my truck, finishing my overhaul of the sound system that I started back in the fall.
  • Myke’s paternity leave is winding down soonish, and I’m looking forward to having him back at work and on our shows.
  • For the first time in over a decade, I’m not sure about going to WWDC this year. If a press invite appears, I will probably fly out to California, but if ones does not (like last year), I will be covering the event from home.

Media

  • In addition to my on-going study of the Sermon on the Mount, I have started Bill Gates’ new book Source Code.

March 26, 2025

Projects

  • News in the U.S. still feels overwhelming on a near-daily basis.
  • I said I was done with my home network after running fiber to the office from the house, but I then spent several days swapping out my Ring doorbell and cameras to Unifi gear. I love that my footage is recorded on-site, and Unifi’s alert customization is next-level.
  • You ever do the thing when you turn around and look at your car after you park? Yeah, me too.

Media

I’m currently reading through several books on the Sermon on the Mount. I suspect this study will take months, as I’m moving pretty slowly through the text. I’m reading these books:

SEVERANCE SEASON TWO IS OVER AND NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LIFE HOLY COW WHAT A SHOW.

March 10, 2025

Projects

  • It’s been over a month since taking social media apps off of my phone and I think it’s going well. I feel a little disconnected at times, but that’s not always a bad thing.
  • Myke is officially on paternity leave now. So far, so good at Relay. I feel a little busier than normal, but we have an amazing team which means things run much more smoothly than they would have a few years ago.
  • I think the home network is in good shape, and with a fiber run about to go in between the office and the PodCabin, I should be done with it for a long time.
  • I have set up a “Then” page to serve as an on-site archive of this page. I am happier with this than the Gist I was previously using.

Media

I’m currently reading through several books on the Sermon on the Mount. I suspect this study will take months, as I’m moving pretty slowly through the text. I’m reading these books:

I am keeping up with the current seasons of Mythic Quest and Severance. The latter is possibly the best show I’ve watched since HBO’s Chernobyl aired several years ago.

March 7, 2025

Projects

  • It’s been about a month since taking social media apps off of my phone and I think it’s going well. I feel a little disconnected at times, but that’s not always a bad thing.
  • Myke is officially on paternity leave now. So far, so good at Relay.
  • Over at Cross Forward, David and I are in a good rhythm with feature releases across our portfolio of apps, and I’m tackling a series of big internal projects that no one will ever see, but it feels good to get them moving.
  • I think the home network is in good shape, and with a fiber run about to go in between the office and the PodCabin, I should be done with it for a long time.
  • I have set up a “Then” page to serve as an on-site archive of this page.

Media

I’m currently reading through several books on the Sermon on the Mount. I suspect this study will take months, as I’m moving pretty slowly through the text. I’m reading these books:

In stark contrast, I’ve finally gotten around to starting Nick Bilton’s American Kingpin, and it is wild.

I am keeping up with the current seasons of Mythic Quest and Severance. The latter is possibly the best show I’ve watched since HBO’s Chernobyl aired several years ago.

February 12, 2025

Projects

  • A few weeks ago, I took Threads, Bluesky, Ivory, and Instagram off of my iPhone, and logged out of the web versions for these services as well. I'm still being a responsible adult and reading the news, but that's all via RSS, the web, and through a couple of podcasts, and I'm donating time and money to causes that are important in the madness of our current political moment. I just don't want to participate in the machinery of social media for now.
  • At Relay, we're just about ready for Myke to head out for his paternity leave. I couldn't be happier for the Hurleys in this new season of life, and the network will be ready, waiting for him when he gets back.
  • I have been re-arranging a bunch of pages on 512 Pixels, and have updated the site's navigation. I think it's pretty close to final, but I'm going to live with it for a little while and see how things go.
  • I have not started on this year's St. Jude fundraiser for Relay except that we're already working on artwork for the campaign. Jelly has some sick stuff lined up.
  • Over at Cross Forward, David and I are in a good rhythm with feature releases across our portfolio of apps, and I'm tackling a series of big internal projects that no one will ever see, but it feels good to get them moving.
  • I continue to tinker with my home network after moving to UniFi gear. I've got at least one more Ethernet run to make through the attic and may end up adding an additional access point in the garage.

Media

I'm currently reading through several books on the Sermon on the Mount. I suspect this study will take months, as I'm moving pretty slowly through the text. I'm reading these books:

In stark contrast, I've finally gotten around to starting Nick Bilton's American Kingpin, and it is wild.

I am keeping up with the current seasons of Mythic Quest and Severance. The latter is possibly the best show I've watched since HBO's Chernobyl aired several years ago.