I knew I needed to find a spare part for some coffee equipment I have, which broke unfortunately. I searched through Amazon, Google, manufacturer website, manufacturer website AI chatbot. I almost gave up, and then asked Siri AI. Surprise, it found a link from iMessage. I knew I visited the web page with this part a long time ago. I just didn’t know I had the link in the Messages app. Phenomenal usability.

Glenn Fleishman, on Six Colors:

If you’d like to prevent Messages from downgrading security, you have options, although they may not be fully desirable. All of these are managed on an iPhone at Settings: Apps: Messages. You can’t control these message settings from an iPad or Mac.

Disable downgrading to SMS: Turn off Retry as Text Message. This may mean some messages you send won’t get through. Also, this doesn’t prevent other people in an iMessage (or encrypted RCS conversation) from sending you SMS or MMS messages if they can’t transmit via iMessage.

My concern is that the Retry as Text Message toggle no longer exist. Just a couple of weeks ago my sister sent me an iMessage while I was flying. I was not reachable. Later she told me that messages turned from blue to green. You know where this is going. My sister was alarmed receiving this text from her Thai mobile operator (True).

As my close family is located across three different countries, I recommended turning the Send as SMS toggle (Retry as Text Message in Six Colors). This toggle used to be in the iOS settings since iMessage was launched in 2011.

On iOS 27, and possibly iOS 26, this toggle no longer exists. I’m not sure when Apple removed it, but at some point they did. If I recall correctly, the default value was OFF. It looks like not only did Apple remove this toggle, they kept it OFF by default. I think it’s not a well-considered default.

I appreciate that iMessage handles 4 different communication standards in a single chat, with no registration required, but this was not a pleasant experience for both of us. While in the past I was able to safeguard myself and my close family members from unexpected SMS charges, I no longer see a solution for this problem.

Sam Henri Gold posted “This Is Not The Computer For You”

My dad bought our first PC, then a second followed. It ran Windows XP and had an external modem. It had a DVD player, 5.1 sound system with dedicated audio card. Only one speaker and subwoofer worked. I spent hours playing games, poking with Word, Outlook, Paint, various audio and DVD players. Years later I got older and figured out how to fix audio driver issues; all speakers started to work and I was blown away by the stereo effect. I spent one year making a video in a pirated version of Pinnacle Studio 9, because the video project was very large; each click put my computer into a 2–3 second loading state. I learned how the CPU and memory worked. I learned about disk fragmentation and the Windows registry. I beat Doom 3 which dropped to 5–6 frames per second when an enemy appeared in a scene; I beat the game. At the same time, Half-Life 2 came out and it ran at a constant frame rate; that’s when I learned about the importance of software optimisation.

Via Kyiv Independent kyivindependent.com/us-lawmak…

U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks, a Democrat and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a bill on 16 that would block the Trump administration’s plan to import Russian diesel.

“This deal won’t lower costs for the American people, who are already paying for
Trump’s failed war of choice in Iran,” Meeks said.

Meeks called on all his fellow congressmembers to support the legislation. The bill thus far has 17 co-sponsors in the House – all Democrats, with the exception of Republican Rep. Don Bacon.

Republicans currently control both chambers of the U.S. Congress – but that could change with the upcoming midterm elections in November. Trump’s approval rating has dipped drastically, with even conservative voters dissatisfied with his handling of key issues such as inflation, the economy, tariffs, and foreign policy.

Trump has chosen to blame Ukraine for the skyrocketing gasoline and diesel costs in the U.S., saying Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil refineries have caused the price hike. The claim is heavily disputed by experts, who point to the U.S. war in Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump is causing so much damage to everyone and everything he touches. I very much hope Republicans can rebuild and restore their party. Republicans like Don Bacon, and, before, Mitt Romney gave me a lot of hope already. I know there’s more.