mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06#Writer for hire. Mostly #tech, #Apple, #games, #retrogaming, design. Smashes out words for #Wired, #Stuff, TapSmart and others. Writes #DailyRetroGame here on Mastodon. He/him. GF/DF. Likes #Lego and Mini #Schnauzers. Email: hello at craiggrannell dot com // https://linktr.ee/craiggrannell
Always lovely when devs take note of accessibility concerns. When I was writing about @quicheindustries@mastodon.social Browser for Stuff recently, I found a vestibular trigger. Mentioned it to the dev. Now it’s not only been fixed, but users can opt to use the simpler tabs crossfade without having Reduce Motion on. (If you do have Reduce Motion on, the crossfade animation is enforced.)
Doesn’t say amazing things for the Mac App Store that I find it faster to search for something in a search engine than within the MAS itself. And that’s when I already know the name of what I’m looking for.
As Atari signs a deal to turn 10 of its classic games into movies, here’s a repost of my column about the retro games we really want to see on the big screen: https://www.stuff.tv/features/another-mario-movie-put-these-retro-games-on-the-big-screen-instead/
Weeknote:
💡 Why Lego should pay attention to a brick toy company lighting up the world
🔗 Quick Browser deep dive
💰 My thoughts on the US and UK iPhone Upgrade Program(me) replacements
🧠 Journalists don’t know everything
👾 Another retro doodad is here
At least there’s some good news today, in that David Attenborough made it to his century. The Gruan wrote a piece with 100 highlights from his looooong career: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/ng-interactive/2026/may/08/david-attenborough-100-most-spectacular-screen-moments
Column! Why Lego should be paying close attention to this upstart company lighting up the block-building world https://www.stuff.tv/features/why-lego-should-be-paying-close-attention-to-this-upstart-company-lighting-up-the-block-building-world/
Apparently, Readly has now decided I am French and won’t take no (or non) as an answer.
Weeknote! (Late, I know…)
🎧 Return of the iPod – why Apple’s music player is making a comeback
📱 Is Apple’s Upgrade Program(me) really an upgrade?
👾 Atari games as movies? Pfft. Put these retro classics on the big screen instead
🧱 Lego Star Trek and X-Files
RE: https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/116398205988680627
I’ve been using this recently and it is super helpful. I must frame dozens of screenshots a week and always looking for more efficient workflows for it.
Also just very cool see how far @viticci@mastodon.macstories.net has been able to push Shortcuts. He’s a wizard:🧙🏼♂️
Good grief, the UX for the new financing on Apple’s UK site is a shitshow. It turns out that 0% *is* available for Macs, but the option only finally appears when you are several pages deep into checkout. That seems like… not a good thing. People will see the default and assume 0% isn’t available.
FFS. Now a *national* school phones ban that will be cheered on by the perennially online without anyone having fully thought through the ramifications. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y7vd6gpq1o
Any recommendations for a USB CD drive for Mac that isn’t insanely noisy? I’d like something I can use for CD playback that isn’t really distracting. (I know units are always going to be pretty noisy when ripping.)
Column! This is what worries me about Apple’s incoming revamped rent-an-iPhone deal – and what it could get right https://www.stuff.tv/features/this-is-what-worries-me-about-apples-incoming-revamped-rent-an-iphone-deal-and-what-it-could-get-right/
^ Digging into the known quantity of the UK replacement and the rumours of what might happen in the US.
