jstr_

Can't talk about Tim Follin and not talk about Plok!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peuTnilEv9g

Feels very proto-Hotline Miami to me

I love reading your guys's code releases, always some interesting zig stuff in there! Wish you were hiring in Europe :)

> How about being able to replace the main battery myself, in my home, without trashing the entire fu*king phone?

You can already do this, either getting the parts/tools thru Apple or on your own [0]

> How about using formal methods to ensure some Israeli spyware group cannot constantly find zero-days in my phone and put my life in danger without constant after-the-fact patch-and-pray security upgrades?

> How about a 1/8" jack so I can listen privately on $15 wired buds from one of 1000 different suppliers without paying $300 for buds that are going to become e-waste as soon as their batteries refuse to charge?

Those are fair, altho personally I've been using bluetooth headphones for 5+ years, only going wired when cycling or gaming, and I'm pretty happy with it.

The rest, approximately 0.01% (uneducated guess) of the consumers in the smartphone market will want or care about those things. The regular consumer doesn't want their phone to do everything and be everything, they want it to work for their use-case when they're expected to work, and be relatively easy to use.

Anyway, you seem to be a niche consumer, why aren't you looking for a niche product to match instead of complaining about a mass-market product that never has and probably never will fit your needs?

Genuine question, btw.

[0] https://support.apple.com/self-service-repair

I like the rOtring 800 because it's heavy in my hand but the actual lead-on-paper "feel" is extremely smooth. Contrast depends entirely on the lead you put into the pencil. For max contrast there are versions of the 800 with thicker tips, (iirc) even going up to the regular pencil nibs that you can sharpen (if you know what I'm talking about, I don't really know how to properly explain it).

Basically, I like it because it's a high quality writing utensil that I won't get worried about.

A lot of people don't like the 800 because of the retractable tip, but as someone who has this pencil in their backpack all the time (and who has had the non-retractable version unfortunately ruined in a backpack) it is an absolute necessity.

Since you're into pencils, have you tried the Pentel GraphGear? Or, my personal favorite, the Rotring 800?

I've followed the development for the past year, I really want one, but €400 + €25 for shipping is too much for me, at least right now. I'm hoping they don't only do a limited run and continue manufacturing for a little while at least.

I had way too much fun with this during my backlog refinement meeting. Amazing project, well done!