Sticky Widgets Brings Simple Sticky Notes to Your Home Screen — MacStories

This is brilliant.

Congratulations to Nikhil Nigade (@dezinezync) on the release of Elytra 2.0 for iOS and iPadOS. The new version adds widgets, sidebar support on iPad, and much more. App Store link

Congratulations to Rob Fahrni (@fahrni) on the release of Stream, an RSS reader for iOS. Stream features a unified timeline and does not require a feed service. Stream is completely free. App Store link

Barack Obama:

Four and a half years ago, when Republicans refused to hold a hearing or an up-or-down vote on Merrick Garland, they invented the principle that the Senate shouldn’t fill an open seat on the Supreme Court before a new president was sworn in.

A basic principle of the law — and of everyday fairness — is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment. The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle. As votes are already being cast in this election, Republican Senators are now called to apply that standard. The questions before the Court now and in the coming years — with decisions that will determine whether or not our economy is fair, our society is just, women are treated equally, our planet survives, and our democracy endures — are too consequential to future generations for courts to be filled through anything less than an unimpeachable process.

Rest in peace, Justice Ginsburg.

Oh no.

I released Unread 2.3. This update adds home screen widgets on devices running iOS 14.

Perfect episode title from Upgrade: Why Tomorrow?

Pending Apple Release.

CocoaHeads Boston will meet online tomorrow evening. I have a presentation for the group on iOS 14 home screen widgets.

For video conference details, join via Meetup or ask me for them. New participants and out-of-town participants are always welcome.

I just merged a pull request with over two months of work. Bring on iOS 14.

USA Today: To stop Trump, we need to vote in person, even if you have to crawl through broken glass

I enjoyed working at the polls yesterday. I will do so again on November 3. I highly recommend it to others who are looking for a way to help ensure that the November election takes place safely.

We have a primary here in Massachusetts tomorrow. I will be a poll worker for the first time in one of my city’s polling locations. Should be fun.

Zac Wood:

Submitted a minor update for @AtticsApp after nearly two years on the App Store and @Apple has decided out of nowhere that I have been engaging in “a pattern of manipulative or misleading behavior” and has permanently terminated my account. No evidence or specific reasons given.

The issue was resolved, but these stories have become more common over just the past few weeks.

via Michael Tsai

I find it interesting that Google pays Mozilla, Apple, and other companies to be the default search engine. If Google did not pay I think they would still be the default search engine.

Context: Mozilla lays off 250 employees while it refocuses on commercial products

CNN: Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s running mate

I hoped that Kamala Harris would win the nomination, so I am delighted that she is on the ticket. She will wipe the floor with Pence in a debate.

The agenda for this week’s online CocoaHeads Boston meeting includes:

• Marc Prud’hommeaux presenting μmemo – micro-memoization with Swift value types
• @mitch presenting A few minutes with sysdiagnose

New participants always welcome, as are participants who are not local.

Postal Service overhauls leadership as Democrats press for investigation of mail delays – The Washington Post

If postal mail is the only way you feel safe voting, vote by mail. But I am starting to think the only way to be sure of your vote counting is to vote in-person.

That feeling when you write code, Xcode tells you it can’t compile that code, but then Xcode proceeds to run it anyway. Beta season.

Charlie Monroe:

Hello everyone, today I woke up to my developer account being suspended without a single letter why which is why the apps are crashing. Please bear with me while I try to get this fixed with Apple. Thank you for understanding.

In the time I have owned my house, I have had three or four different garbage disposals. Most were broken for longer than they were functional. Finally today I had a plumber replace the broken garbage disposal with just a drain.

Simplicity.

Three years ago today:

Golden Hill Software Acquires Unread

“If App Stores are so great why is most Mac software sold outside the Mac App Store?”

– John Gruber, Daring Fireball

How did the inside of my iPhone case get so dirty?

Trump has been undermining our institutions and the rule of law since the start of his 2016 campaign, but his sending unidentified federal officers into Lafayette Square, into Portland, and into other cities represents his greatest threat to our democracy yet.

It is already clear that this police force is operating outside the norms under which other law enforcement agencies operate. Individuals on this force do not wear nametags, badge numbers, or even an indication of what agency they represent. They are driving around in unmarked vans, forcing individuals into those vans, and then releasing them later. This police force is not releasing arrest records, and there is no evidence that it has charged a single person with a crime. Almost everything we know about this police force is based on observations of reporters and those abducted by this force.

Today this police force appears to be focused on intimidating, abducting, assaulting, and teargassing protesters. What is next? Trump has articulated racist views against various minority groups. Will this police force start targeting members of those minority groups? Will it stop releasing its abductees after determining that it lacks probable cause?

We know Trump will cheat in an attempt to win the 2020 election. He has already said that he might not accept the results. Will Trump deploy his secret police force to polling locations or to post offices in swing states?

While the use of this police force has received national news coverage, I fear that this issue is not getting the urgent attention it demands. This secret police force needs to be stopped.