Jekyll2019-05-02T16:15:25+00:00http://matias.ma/blog/feed.xmlMatías’ blogRamblings about things I like and don’t like.Matías MartínezSteelSeries Nimbus2019-04-21T18:05:00+00:002019-04-21T18:05:00+00:00http://matias.ma/blog/2019/04/21/steelseries-nimbus<p><img src="/blog/assets/Screen-Time-Vice-City.png" alt="Screen Time for Vice City" /></p>
<p>Last week I got myself an MFI controller to play <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grand-theft-auto-vice-city/id578448682?mt=8">Grand Theft Auto: Vice City</a> on my iPad.</p>
<p>Spoiler: It was surprisingly good!</p>
<p>A couple of years back I finished the main story of San Andreas using only touch controls. It was pretty awkward, but the game was playable overall. But forward to last week when I was catching up with its (harder?) predecessor Vice City, I got stuck on the mission <a href="https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/Demolition_Man">“Demolition Man”</a><sup id="fnref:mission"><a href="#fn:mission" class="footnote">1</a></sup>.</p>
<p>It turns out, the iPad Pro is not enough of a computer to let you play using a keyboard. What about a DualShock controller? Despite them working perfectly on macOS, they aren’t supported on iOS. Enter the lost and forgotten world of MFI controllers.</p>
<p>The Internet pointed me to the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-Nimbus-Wireless-Gaming-Controller/dp/B01AZC3III">SteelSeries Nimbus</a> and I gotta say, it’s fantastic. It has a good grip, sturdy construction and weight, and great thumbsticks<sup id="fnref:thumbsticks"><a href="#fn:thumbsticks" class="footnote">2</a></sup>. It comes with a Lighting port and pressure sensitive buttons—something I haven’t seen in any console, ever.</p>
<p>Next up: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gta-liberty-city-stories/id1061802598?mt=8">Liberty City Stories</a>.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:mission">
<p>You are in control of an RC helicopter on a time limit. <a href="#fnref:mission" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:thumbsticks">
<p>Sadly, MFI support for clickly thumbsticks came just recently with iOS 12.1 <a href="#fnref:thumbsticks" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>Matías MartínezStress-relieving gadgets from the past2019-04-08T22:29:00+00:002019-04-08T22:29:00+00:00http://matias.ma/blog/2019/04/08/stress-relieving-gadgets-from-the-past<p>Last month I read <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2019/03/texting-slack-internet-conversation-goodbye.html">this article</a> by Jane C. HU:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I said “g2g,” or even “bye,” in an online conversation. I asked some friends in a group chat if they ever say goodbye when chatting digitally. “They never really have a beginning. Do they also not have an end?” said my friend Dan. Another friend, Mitch, chimed in with a diagnosis: “It’s because we never go offline anymore.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s so obvious yet surprising. Who isn’t surrounded by devices with ubiquitous access to the Internet? I am and so are you. Heck, even my grandpa has an iPhone for FaceTime. Some of us even strapped <a href="https://www.apple.com/watch/">tiny computers</a> to our wrist 4 years ago.</p>
<p><img src="/blog/assets/Slack-On-Watch.png" alt="Slack on Apple Watch" /></p>
<p>It’s not good. At least the part of being plugged all day. I stopped wearing Apple Watch on weekends. I also turned off notifications for both Slack and Mail entirely a bazillion years ago<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote">1</a></sup>.</p>
<p>That’s all good until I get an Apple News notification about Trump, or a friend texting me about something on YouTube, and so on. You get the idea.</p>
<p>Part of this problem for me is that I still love my gadgets fondly. I enjoy writing this on my iPad Pro and being bombarded by cat videos—it’s every man dream come true. It wasn’t always like this.</p>
<p>The era of the Internet was up and rising when I was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1994">born</a>, but I had no access to high speed Internet for most of my childhood. And then even after that no celular data until I started college.</p>
<p>So how the fuck I made this bearable before? <em>Is it possible to learn this power?</em></p>
<h1 id="the-holy-grail">The Holy Grail</h1>
<p>The first iPhone I ever saw in the wild was an iPhone 3G<sup id="fnref:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote">2</a></sup>. It blew me away instantly. It was black magic (It wasn’t long until I saved enough to get my first MacBook and began coding apps). I couldn’t afford one, of course. When a door closes, a window opens: Mom got me one if not the most beloved gadget ever: The iPod Touch.</p>
<p>The iPod Touch was the best for a number of reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>iPhone <strong>without the phone</strong>. No texting, no data, all the goodies.</li>
<li>Affordable.</li>
<li>Beautiful design. Both hardware and software-wise<sup id="fnref:4"><a href="#fn:4" class="footnote">3</a></sup>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Nostalgia aside, it was all I ever wished for. It truly did it job as an iPod: I listened to music all day—even better if it was in class. It kept me <strong>focused</strong> when I needed to work and study, and it was a blast to play the rest of the time!</p>
<p>I did found myself in the need of such device. Something that doesn’t vibrate<sup id="fnref:5"><a href="#fn:5" class="footnote">4</a></sup> or make me uneasy with notifications. Free of distractions. No Safari. And please, no Instagram.</p>
<p>You could now say: <em>“Well, this is stupid. Just get some books! Maybe get a Kindle.”</em>. And you’d be correct, for the most part. But remember, I’m a gadget nerd. Even worse, I’m also a designer. I like nice things <sup id="fnref:6"><a href="#fn:6" class="footnote">5</a></sup>.</p>
<p>So here are some new gadgets I’ve been trying so far:</p>
<h1 id="gameboy">Gameboy</h1>
<p>I got my first one for cheap on eBay a couple of years back. I never had one as a kid, and boy what I was missing. I consider this to be the bonsai of gaming consoles.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t fancy yourself as a gamer, you’ll enjoy the heck of Tetris and Dr. Mario.</p>
<p>Also, if you wanna feel more of an adventurous hobbyist, there’s a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/">whole community</a> around <a href="https://www.retromodding.com/products/game-boy-backlight">modding</a> and <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Creating-Chiptunes-on-the-Ga/">making music</a> with these.</p>
<h1 id="ipod-5th-generation">iPod 5th generation</h1>
<p>There’s so much to love about this iPod<sup id="fnref:7"><a href="#fn:7" class="footnote">6</a></sup>. You just need to be willing to dangle cables down your ears, move your finger across the click wheel and ear that sweet <em>tick tick tick</em> sound.</p>
<p>You can’t get Apple Music or Spotify on this one, but that’s okay. It’s a feature. You can even try to fit your entire music library with an <a href="https://www.iflash.xyz/">iFlash Adapter</a>.</p>
<h1 id="airpods">AirPods</h1>
<p>Just take a walk with them and Do Not Disturb turned on. Maybe play some Pink Floyd—or whatever rocks your boat. It’s even better if you leave your phone behind and pair them with an Apple Watch.</p>
<hr />
<p>I’m no Richard Stallman. Despite the effort I do visit social media often, and I still depend on my iPhone on a daily basis. Try enabling Screen Time though. I find myself picking my phone a lot less after limiting Tweetbot, Apollo, and Instagram.</p>
<p>The bottom line here is that you can always find new ways to unplug. Just try to put your iPhone away whenever you can. For me, time is better spent with family (and old gadgets).</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:1">
<p>I can’t believe there’s people who live like this like, everyday. <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:3">
<p>The phone I was carrying at the time was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_3220">Nokia 3220</a>. <a href="#fnref:3" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:4">
<p>iOS hasn’t looked <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_Flow">this good</a> since iOS 3.0. Don’t @ me. <a href="#fnref:4" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:5">
<p>It didn’t actually had a vibration motor. <a href="#fnref:5" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:6">
<p>So no Kindle. <a href="#fnref:6" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:7">
<p>That’s a blog post for another day. <a href="#fnref:7" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>Matías MartínezLast month I read this article by Jane C. HU:Hello, there2019-04-05T20:53:24+00:002019-04-05T20:53:24+00:00http://matias.ma/blog/2019/04/05/hello-there<p>This is almost a test.</p>
<div class="language-objc highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code><span class="n">NSLog</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">@"Hello, world!"</span><span class="p">);</span>
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Oh my god, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objective-C">Objective-C</a>? What year is this?</p>
<p>I don’t know what is the purpose of this blog. I guess I just needed this space to exist in the first place. We’ll find out soon enough, hopefully.</p>
<p>At least I know what I do not want it to be.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote">1</a></sup></p>
<div class="footnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:1">
<p>Anything but an app developer’s Medium page, of course. <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>Matías MartínezThis is almost a test.