Notes: the Modern Private Diary

2008: view from office with first iPhone

I began using the Notes app when I got my first iPhone 16 years ago. It was the repositor of random musings, then shopping and to-do lists, passwords, progress on YMCA exercise machines, drafts of emails not sent (but too good to trash), and sundry items. There are now 53 Notes in total; one could almost say Notes has become an extension of my brain.

For lots of people, the Notes app has become an extension of their brains. Its popularity has spurred Apple to introduce richer features like document scanning and checklists with check boxes. But users and tech-industry analysts alike say its simplicity is what has made Notes a cultural touchstone since its 2007 debut. Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and other celebrities use it to express their feelings in a relatable way—so do the keepers of world-famous pygmy hippos.

Apple doesn’t say how many people use Notes, though it’s preinstalled on most of the 2.2 billion Apple devices active globally. Goodnotes, Notion and other similar services with more features—and broader compatibility with Android and Windows—have each been downloaded around 50 million times from 2021 to October 2024, according to market-intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

...TikTok has become a repository where people share what they deem their most “unhinged” Notes app entries.

The hashtag #notesapp has more than 90,000 posts, with users sharing revenge speeches, breakup rationales, love-song lyrics and cry logs. (Yes, people use Notes to record the days when they cry.) One popular trend, which even singer Chappell Roan jumped on, was “never go through a girl’s notes app.”

Apple's iPhone data is encrypted and therefore gives users a (false?) sense of privacy. It's a place to vent, save inappropriate jokes, and store our true impressions of people. Just be careful which icon you tap: Notes are very easy to send to or share with other people.

Finance Bros' Day in the Sun

Forget about going after doctors or lawyers, ladies, it's time to prowl Wall Street:

It all started with a TikTok video by 27-year-old Megan Boni, known as Girl On Couch. Her April post, amassing about 49 million views, features a singsong message: “I’m looking for a man in finance. Trust fund. 6’5.” Blue eyes.”

This video was clearly made in jest. For the height criterion alone the percentage of men over 6'5" is less than one percent. Plus a trust fund and blue eyes? That's a unicorn.

Boni said she made the original video as a satire of women with impossible dating standards, not because she’s particularly interested in dating a man in finance.

“I wanted to make fun of single people, including myself,” she said.

Your humble blogger went into finance, is well short of 6', has brown eyes, and has no trust fund. Nevertheless, his life turned out all right. I recommend finance as a career if you're willing to work hard, but don't expect success on dating apps.

Below is a video that starts with Megan Boni's original, then riffs on it.

It's the Content That Keeps Us Wide-Eyed

(Cleveland Clinic photo)

The blue light on our smartphone is a minor factor in keeping us awake at night. The content is a much greater disruptor.

If we come across alarming news, a scary movie or an annoying work email right before bed or in the middle of the night, the stress hormone cortisol can rise. A spike in cortisol provides an energy boost by moving glucose from a stored state in the body to an active state. “It’s like eating a candy bar,” says Jamie Zeitzer, co-director of the Stanford Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences. Coming down from that energy rush can be difficult.

Positive content can be just as disruptive because it can increase the amount of dopamine or norepinephrine in the brain, two neurotransmitters Dr. Zeitzer says can excite the thalamus—the brain’s information-relay center—and disrupt the brain-wave oscillations needed for sleep.

Turning off the phone completely is an obvious solution. The sleep-tracking app is also effective; it dims the iPhone and Apple Watch 15 minutes before the targeted bedtime.

But if you must surf in bed, dear reader, I've been told this blog is an excellent soporific...

Usefulness Beats Beauty

The larger size is needed to read
the screen or touch the right icon.

Two decades ago I was gifted a nice European timepiece. It was expensive, an item that I would never buy for myself.

In 2016 it was put into storage in favor of the less costly Apple Watch. The Apple Watch had technological advantages: it had fitness apps; it could take phone calls and send text messages as long as the paired iPhone was nearby; and it kept time more precisely.

Over the years the Apple Watch Series 2 was swapped out for a Series 3 that a family member had retired, then a Series 7 with a plethora of health monitoring (e.g., blood oxygen content, sleep tracking, gait evenness) features.

Almost by necessity the Apple Watch has a large (45mm) diagonal size in order to read messages and to use the touchscreen. It's on the verge of being esthetically ugly by being too large, but since for me usefulness beats beauty, I'm not going back to the more elegant-looking wristwatch.

L to R: Tudor 31mm ($4,925); Bulova 32mm
($1,150); Timex 34mm ($199) - WSJ photo

Which is also why I won't be participating in the latest trend in men's fashion, tiny timepieces.

According to Nick Marino, senior vice president of content for watch site Hodinkee, plenty of other guys have lately been shrinking their wristwear. They’re often trading watches 41mm and above in diameter—long the norm—for versions under 39mm. Many are unisex or women’s models. Some are downright puny, like [Kareem] Rahma’s [15mm] Seiko or the 23mm Cartier Crash favored by stylish rapper Tyler, the Creator.

Since the early 2000s, “big, macho, attention-getting watches were the trend, but the pendulum is swinging back to [smaller] sizes,” said Mr. Marino. A small ticker, he said, is “a sign of confidence: You don’t need a giant billboard of wealth on your arm.”

I don't need a billboard of wealth on my arm, and I don't need to be driving one or living in one either. It makes for a happier life.

Slow and Safe Travels

The ticket agent asked to see my vaccination credentials, but he didn't want to see the copy on the iPhone or even the real card itself.He wanted the information from the Hawaii Safe Travels website.

The State of Hawaii has imposed a 21st-century version of "show me your papers." Last week I had uploaded the image of my vaccination card and re-typed the information (location, dates, provider name, etc.--absurdly redundant with OCR) on various input blocks. To Hawaii it wasn't reality unless it was in digital form.

And so it was that after the baggage was checked and the boarding pass printed there was just one more thing.

I typed in the Safe Travels URL on the iPhone, logged in with the userid and password, then answered the familiar questions (are you sick, have you been in contact with anyone who has COVID, etc.). One would think that Hawaii could have created an app with Face ID to ease the hassle of logging in, but one would be wrong.

After pressing "submit" (thinking sardonically upon the several meanings of the word), I received a QR code that acknowledged my legitimacy. The agent gave me the precious wristband that told Hawaii officials that I was cleared to enter.

The take-off was delayed one hour because the catering truck was late. A long day had just gotten longer.

Haughtiness Oozing

A firehose of information comes at us every day. Accordingly, a filter that tells us what we need to know without tipping over to advocacy is specially valuable. I don't want to get deep into the weeds about intelligent curation--I know it when I see it!--but a wise editor decides which stories are important and, if an action is being promoted (ban fossil fuels, nationalize health care, tax both wealth and income, impeach the President) which arguments, pro and con, carry weight.

I am a paid subscriber to the San Francisco Chronicle and Wall Street Journal, both of which have not only strong opinion sections but also trustworthy news departments that frequently undermine the editorial positions. And I'm on the lookout for a few more information sources.

On the Twitter feed was an ad for Blinkist, a site that identifies "important" books, summarizes their contents, and links to the sources if the reader wishes to dig deeper. I clicked through...to my regret. Nearly every sentence was a turnoff to me, and, I suspect, many American readers. (Particularly irritating words and phrases are highlighted for your convenience.)

The Innovative App That's Trending Among Intellectuals - Blinkist Magazine

Studies have shown that last year, the typical American read 4 books. In contrast, the average number of titles completed by a Blinkist user was 26. That's why intellectuals are turning to Blinkist—because it's a proven way to get through more of the world's leading titles.

At Blinkist, we summarize the key insights from nonfiction books into 15-minute reads and listens. There are over 3,000 titles across 27 unique categories, cementing our app as the go-to destination for big thinkers.

More than 11 million people are expanding their horizons with Blinkist, with thousands of knowledge hunters downloading the app everyday.

'Blinkist encourages you to read more nonfiction books. The app contains cleverly written digests — called blinks — where books are broken down into their main arguments.'

– The New York Times

So, what exactly is it that top thinkers like about Blinkist?

1. It's Backed By Science

At Blinkist, there's a dedicated team of experts who sift through the millions of books published each year to find the best ones out there. We don't just want bestsellers, we want the hidden gems, the timeless classics, books written for intellectuals, by intellectuals — because we have built an app with serious purpose and intention.

'When we started most apps were for social media or gaming. We wanted to do something different and build an app that would add genuine value to someone's life'.

– Holger Seim, Blinkist co-founder

Once the books are selected, our specialist editors identify the key ideas and themes from each book, and turn them into useful summaries of insights. The best part, all of the content is created using neuroscientific principles making all the information easy to understand, but hard to forget.

Actionable examples, case studies, and anecdotes help deliver information that's relevant, useful, and applicable to a person's life. Plus, Blinkist is tailored: as soon as people start reading, the app will start to recommend new titles that they'll love, based on their unique interests and individual preferences.

2. Built By The Smartest People In Europe

We don't rely on algorithms to choose or make our content, we choose people. We read every book ourselves, we edit and record each pack of insights. We're a team of experts, specialists with PhDs and diplomas, people who are hungry, eager, and passionate for understanding and sharing knowledge.

To ensure our app, and our content, is the best it can be — we've built a team of over 200 qualified people who want to make powerful information available to millions.

3. Join The Club Of Global Intellectuals

Millions of tech-savvy intellectuals are using Blinkist to stay ahead of their peers, and on top of their fields. Blinkist encourages readers to explore a range of different areas and genres, discovering new knowledge around exciting subjects. We know intellectuals want to expand their knowledge, which is why we have 27 topic categories, filled with a wide spectrum of titles.

Blinkist allows intellectuals to learn from the best writers and thinkers, in order to become better themselves.

4. Read The World's Most Important Books

The Blinkist library contains over 3,000 titles across 27 different categories such as Self Improvement, Entrepreneurship, Parenting, Sex & Relationships, and Management & Leadership among many others. Whatever it is you're eager to learn about, Blinkist has got you covered.

'As a productivity coach and one of the lifelong learners, I can't tell you how happy I was to find Blinkist. If you enjoy nonfiction reading and are short on time, Blinkist will be your new favorite app.'

– Karen Trepte, Huffington Post

Time-honored favorites sit next to the latest bestsellers and talked-about new titles so that you're getting a complete look across the breadth of nonfiction. There are 10 new titles added to the app every week so even the most voracious reader will never run out of great content.

5. Global Success And The Stamp Of Approval

We're proud of what we do — we believe in our product because it has meaning, purpose, and intention. Our aim is to help people learn, to allow them to grow, and to better themselves in whatever way they would like.

This was recently recognized and praised by the United Nations, who acknowledge Blinkist as a Global Leader in Learning and Education.

'With Blinkist you can boost your knowledge and gain new perspectives so that you can be a better professional, a better partner, or a better you—and finally get through your book list or make sense of the increasingly big and busy world of ideas'.

– United Nations

With a community of 11 million people located across the world — from tech entrepreneurs in New York, to meditation teachers in the Himalayas — we have a band of people spanning the globe who are all thirsty for inspiring knowledge.

Be part of it! Download the Blinkist app now and join the 11 million curious thinkers who also love to learn.

The Blinkist writer's first mistake--I guess she can be forgiven because the app originated from Germany and is not attuned to American sensibilities--is that an "intellectual" is automatically viewed favorably by an American audience. Another turnoff is the presumption that people who read 4 books a year are certainly not intellectuals but essentially stupid and inferior. Then she tries to seal the deal by appealing to our putative aspirations to be a global thinker; the app has been "recognized and praised" by the United Nations, the apparent arbiter of intellect and probity.

The haughtiness oozes from each page, but they don't have a lot to be haughty about.

Great That It Worked So Well

"Find My" icon

Leaving the house last night I dropped the AirPods on the sidewalk. The left AirPod fell out of the case, but I couldn't spot it, even after turning on the iPhone flashlight.

It was time to put Apple's "Find My" app to the test (Apple has combined its "Find my iPhone", which includes other Apple devices, and "Find My Friends" apps).

The left Pod showed up on the screen, only a few feet away. I pressed the button and heard a faint chirping sound.

Directional hearing isn't my forte, and it took a couple of minutes to locate the Pod under the nasturtiums.

A couple of swipes on the shirt, and into the ear it went, still working perfectly.

Of course, I was happy about the result, but the joy was not unadulterated. A loss would have been an excuse to buy Apple's new AirPods Pro.

Unlike the $159, one-size-fits-most AirPods, which are still available, the $249 AirPods Pro have active noise canceling...The new pods also are sweat- and water-resistant, equipped with improved microphones and come with three different size silicone tips for a better fit.

According to the reviewer the AirPods Pro sound better, too.

But I won't be making the purchase. It was too bad great that the Find My app worked so well.

Apple Knows Me Too Well

The iPhone 6 had served me well for four years, but it had become too slow, froze when running some of the new apps, and exhausted its battery after 3 hours. Also, pictures were grainy, especially in low light.

Last month I sprung for the new iPhone XS Max. The reviewers say that non-power-users like me should wait for the iPhone XR, which offers nearly the same features for hundreds of dollars less.

Cleverly, Apple delayed the cheaper iPhone XR by a month after the release of the XS and XS Max, the latter ensnaring buyers like your humble blogger who lack impulse control (or for whom deferred gratification is no longer important). I did try to buy the biggest 512 GB model, but only a 256 GB phone was immediately available. The young Apple salesperson sized me up quickly: "What do you need 512 for?" I could have said I needed to store a lot of videos but sheepishly admitted that it couldn't be justified. (As of this writing, I've only used 45 GB--less than 20%--of the storage.)

The new iPhone's screen resolution and colors, speed, sound, camera, and battery life are so much better than the iPhone 6 that I would have paid 50% more than the $1,200 I actually spent.

My younger, frugal self would have waited and probably bought the iPhone XR, but Apple knows me too well.

Amazon's Whole Foods App: Check Your Receipts

The app page on the WF site.

The member of our household who shops at Whole Foods eagerly downloaded the new Whole Foods app onto her iPhone. She would be eligible for special deals and 10% off yellow-tagged items.

Sure enough, the Whole Foods meat counter, whose prices are typically 20%-50% higher than Safeway, Lucky, or Costco, had a promotion on beef kabobs. The $10.99/pound would be reduced to $7.99/pound when she used the app at the register.

Below are the costs before the discount:

But here's what happened at the register:

The total cost of the two items ($17.47 and $18.13) was left the same, the price per pound was reduced to $7.99, and additional weight of about half a pound each was added to make the multiplication work out.

Fortunately, our household shopper checked the ticket and spoke to the manager (your humble blogger often does not audit because he trusts computers and is lazy). The manager apologized and reversed the erroneous charges completely; so we got the kabobs for free (aside--note the peculiarity of American English: "the kabobs for free" sounds a little better though "the kabobs free" means the same thing and is a more efficient wording). The corrected price would have been $25.89.

We were happy with the result, but think of all the (thousands?) of Whole Foods app users who don't catch these mistakes.

It pays to check your receipts.

Protection

"Free" privacy & security comes at a price.

One technology contretemps largely escaped notice, but it's useful for highlighting the differing philosophies of two of the largest companies in the world.

The issue concerns Virtual Private Networks, which are a method of protecting internet privacy:

A virtual private network (VPN) is a technology that creates a safe and encrypted connection over a less secure network, such as the internet. VPN technology was developed as a way to allow remote users and branch offices to securely access corporate applications and other resources. To ensure safety, data travels through secure tunnels and VPN users must use authentication methods -- including passwords, tokens and other unique identification methods -- to gain access to the VPN.

Last year Facebook offered a free VPN app, Onavo Protect, to its users:

Onavo allows users to create a virtual private network that redirects internet traffic to a private server managed by Facebook. The app, which bills itself as a way to “keep you and your data safe,” also alerts users when they visit potentially malicious sites.

However, as with most "free" internet services there was a price: [bold added]

Facebook is able to collect and analyze Onavo users’ activity to get a picture of how people use their phones beyond Facebook’s apps.

Onavo Protect did not comply with Apple's new privacy guidelines, and Apple and Facebook mutually agreed to remove Onavo from the App Store. There has been some posturing back-and-forth but the bottom line is:

Apple’s decision widens the schism between the two tech giants over privacy and is a blow to Facebook, which has used data gathered through the app to track rivals and scope out new product categories.

Except for brief experimentation with Google's Android in 2010, I've always used Apple's iOS, iPhone, and iPad products, and I'm glad I did.

Different From Most People

Magic Island, Ala Moana Beach Park, in August

With apologies to Bishop Berkeley:

if Dad walks for 30 minutes, but the Apple Watch doesn't record it, does it count as exercise?

My father has been faithfully recording his daily walks using electronic tracking devices. He upgraded to--and was very pleased with--the Apple Watch when it was introduced in 2015. Last month it stopped recording his exercise minutes.

During my trip to Hawaii we spent nearly every day working on the problem. I deleted various health apps, reset both the watch and iPhone to factory settings, and met with a Genius from the Ala Moana Center Apple Store. No luck. The watch works in every other respect--when I talked to him tonight it still gave him only a 3 minute "credit" for 30 minutes of exercise (yes, I turned off the pause feature so that exercise minutes accumulate even when he stops to rest).

Given the mixed reviews of the new Series 3 Watch (WSJ: "Untethered... and Unreliable") most people might choose to wait for the next model.

Dad, 92, has a different perspective on time from most people. Subjective idealist George Berkeley would understand.

In the Nick of Time

An app whose time has come: StoryCorps.

StoryCorps is working with high school teachers across the country to ask students to interview a grandparent or elder over the 2015 Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Using the new free StoryCorps mobile app, participants will be able to upload their recordings to the StoryCorps archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. In one holiday weekend we will capture an entire generation of American lives and experiences.

It's not a requirement that the maximum-40-minute conversation be uploaded to the Library of Congress. The interviewer can keep it for herself and/or edit it before uploading.

The app is easy to use, and barriers come down quickly because a camera isn't stuck in the subject's face.

There’s something about the presence of a microphone in a StoryCorps session that changes the dynamic between two people. It’s a license to say things that wouldn’t normally come up, and ask questions you don’t usually get to ask.....The generation that might not want to broadcast every whim on Facebook doesn’t necessarily have a problem sharing deeper knowledge. “We all want to know we are not going to be forgotten and that our lives matter.”

Most of us regret not being able to hear again the voices of those who were precious to us.

This Thanksgiving we have an opportunity not to add to those regrets.

iTunes Sale on eBay

With only a moment's hesitation I clicked on an order for some $50 iTunes gift cards that are on sale for $35 each (4 maximum) on eBay. The gift cards can be used not only for music but also for videos, books, and apps. Your humble observer spends much more on apps and iBooks--more than half of the amount for business--than he does on music and videos and will easily consume the gift card purchase in the coming year. Even if he doesn't, they make welcome presents for anyone under 30, and even a few over-30's, too.

Free Apps

Ten free apps at iTunes

On most birthdays the honorees receive gifts, but on the App Store's fifth anniversary (has it been only five years?) Apple is giving away ten of its most popular paid Apps. Your humble observer couldn't resist downloading two games, Badland and Infinity Blade 2, plus Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. Unlike supposedly "free" games that force the player to buy upgrades, weapons, chips, etc. with real money in order to advance ("in-app purchases"), these games don't have that feature.

I was going to hit the ground running at the beginning of 2013's second half, but I guess I'll have to put that off for another week....

Education Bubble(heads)

A new app shows how to play and win the college game. It's all about throwing awesome parties and wearing the hottest clothes.

No job prospects and a hundred thousand dollars in debt? Just press "restart" and try again.  Who said the app was real life?

-

Late to the Gold Rush

So much big, early money had been made in mobile-device applications that the industry came to resemble a latter-day gold rush. Sure, it's likely there will be more "killer apps" released in the future, but with low barriers to entry the competition has become extremely fierce.

App development now resembles the entertainment and publishing industries, which have a few enormously wealthy celebrities at the top, a sizable minority in the middle, and the majority at subsistence wages, if that. From a survey of app game developers the NY Times writes:

the app world is an ecology weighted heavily toward a few winners. A quarter of the respondents said they had made less than $200 in lifetime revenue from Apple. A quarter had made more than $30,000, and 4 percent had made over $1 million.

My friend has been working on an iPad app as a supplement to his consulting business. The process is fascinating, but we

lack the technical know-how to build mobile apps on [our] own. The options range from using online app-building tools, to taking crash courses in computer programming and coding languages, hiring a costly professional on contract, or recruiting a full-time developer.

So we've opted to pay for outside help. In the past year all three staffpersons assigned to our project have left (separately) for greener pastures. Partly out of self-preservation and partly out of curiosity we are slogging through technical manuals and code, even trying our hand at simple app-writing.

We're a little late to the party, but the lure of app gold in them thar' hills is irresistible. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Late to the Party

I've been helping a friend of mine test an iPad business app. The process is fascinating: app screens are storyboarded like in film production, and each screen has to be tightly defined in order to minimize programming costs and keep to the schedule. My modest role is to test-drive the app and check some of the calculations. Typically, my setup uses two computers (one Mac and one PC) and an iPad.

I have been working in accounting and related areas for over three decades. This is a lot more fun. To be young again....

Blind Spot

Like millions ( a billion?) of other time-wasting smartphone users, I click over to Angry Birds when bored or in need of a distraction. I finished the game but found it difficult to score the maximum three stars on one of the easier levels.

The player must knock over the stone tower, which is intermittently successful if one shoots at the tower roof. But the score was frustratingly low despite hundreds of attempts over a period of months.

I started firing birds in all directions and found that a couple of shots by the yellow triangular bird would demolish a small stone near the base. The whole edifice came tumbling down, and the elusive three stars were the reward.

The small satisfaction received from beating the level was dispelled by the knowledge that I had a blind spot to a solution that was obvious in retrospect.  How many blind spots do I have in matters more important than a videogame?