Tools of the moment

An ongoing series

Not Spotify. The only reason I used Spotify was to listen to the Armchair Expert podcast, which was part of the unfortunate trend of podcasts going Spotify-exclusive a few years ago. But now it’s back out in the open internet, which means I can finally stop using Spotify!

Not Disney+. Last year we paid up front for a full year before the prices went up. Now that has expired and, despite having a four year old, we’re not renewing. Prices are going up yet again and we have a good collection of shows and movies on DVD (including, vitally, Bluey), so we just don’t see the need for it.

White noise phone shortcut. I learned about this from a random Instagram Reel: iPhones now have built-in Background Sounds (i.e. white noise) in Settings, which you can add a shortcut to in the Control Center. Quick, easy, essential tool with a three month old in the house.

Visual Look Up. Yet another hidden iOS gem. Take a picture of any identifiable landmark, sign, art, insect, whatever and it’ll detect what it is and show similar web and image results. I use it mostly for identifying bugs and other critters around our yard.

2 responses to “Tools of the moment”

  1. […] of a few cool and colorful critters spotted around our yard and house. And thanks to my phone’s aforementioned Visual Look Up, I actually know what they […]

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