iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” — Emily Brontë, “Fall, Leaves, Fall” #autumn #fall #landscape #shotoniphone #maine #photography #newengland

A wooden bridge with railings covered in colorful autumn leaves, leading to houses in the background under an overcast sky.

A wooden dock leads to a sandy beach by a calm body of water with houses on the opposite shore; overcast sky with fall foliage.

A sandy path leading to a beach area, with signs restricting bicycles and dogs, surrounded by autumn-colored trees and a white fence.

A cloudy, overcast shoreline scene with a weathered wooden dock extending into calm water, brown grassy foreground, and rocks on the right.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

$299 for the HomePod isn't too bad at all, but $299 for the new Apple TV 4K (with ethernet) stings a little. 😅 Still, these will be great replacements for my aging Apple TV HD and HomePod mini!

A screenshot of the Apple Store app, showing an order page with an Apple HomeView and a new Apple TV 4K

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

MediaAPI.Views.MoreByArtist MediaAPI.Views.AppearsOn #ios27

A screenshot of the Apple Music app on iOS 27, with several sections missing their proper labels and instead showing MediaAPI.Views labels

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026

Well, it took me ~80 hours but finally finished the main story of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. I know a lot of people have mixed opinions on newer AC games, but this one stuck with me in a way that other games haven’t - I absolutely loved it. Onto the Epilogue!

A photo of my monitor showing the end credits of Assassins Creed Shadows

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

To heck with the haters, burgundy is the move for the iPhone 18 Pro.

The iPhone 18 Pro in burgundy, being held in my hand

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

Apple’s gone way overboard with the “by the way, I’m an assistant powered by AI and may make mistakes” warning in Siri on the 27 OSes. It’s real that AI isn’t perfect and can slip up. But repeating that disclaimer in every interaction just turns it into […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A screenshot of Siri on iPadOS 27 saying “By the way, I’m an assistant powered by AI and may make mistakes. Always verify important details.”

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

Had a lovely 4th at the beach, even as the storm rolled in 🏖️ #shotonhalide #photography

A beach scene with dark storm clouds approaching, people relaxing under umbrellas, and some in the water, despite the ominous sky.

A bicycle leaning against tall grass on a dirt path, with a grassy field and a lake in the distance under a cloudy blue sky.

A person sits on rocks at the end of a rocky jetty extending into a calm body of water, under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.

Dark storm clouds looming over a grassy, sandy landscape with a lone, windswept tree.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/06/2026

This might be a fiery hot take, but I genuinely miss the iOS 26 style Writing Tools dashboard. sure it was hidden behind context menus and difficult to find, but once it was activated it was actually a pretty great Grammarly-lite style UX. Sure I can […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026

Curious how capable Siri AI's model is on iOS 27 DP1, so I tried out @simon's “Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle” prompt. Siri's guardrails didn't want to do it at first, but with a little bit of coaxing... #SiriAI

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

Phew, @activas still works - and looks great - on iOS 27! Featuring an unreleased update I really need to finish and ship… 😅 #AppleEvent

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

Looks like I just got access to the new #Siri on my iPhone!

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

Yup, there’s a “New Siri” waitlist on iOS 27

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

…and here we go. See you on the other side!

Screenshot of the iOS 27 update in Software Update

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

macOS 27 Golden Gate's beta channel showing up for me in Software Update. Should be any minute now we get DP1…

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

Trying to reset some negative morning vibes with lunch outside in my very overgrown backyard ☀️

A bagel sandwich, iced coffee with a straw, and a laptop on a table outdoors on a sunny day.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/06/2026

New Noah Kahan *and* new Death Cab for Cutie? I’m so here for Sad Boy Summer.

A screenshot of Apple Music notification telling me the new Death Cab album is released

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026

Well, I suppose there are worse things in the world than spending the work day on a peaceful college campus on a beuatiful New England summer day. #shotonhalide

A sidewalk lined with trees, casting shadows on the grassy area beside a building under a clear blue sky.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/05/2026

Had the day off. Went for a three mile walk. Got a sunburn. Ate a hot dog. A good day.

Sunlight filters through the green leafy trees along a riverbank on a bright, clear day.

Tall green trees with bright green leaves against a clear blue sky.

Sunset filtering through trees over a quiet residential street.

Sunset glow reflecting on a building with trees and power lines against a clear sky.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/05/2026

Please check on your friends from #Boston. We are not okay right now.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/05/2026

Despite the fact that Siri on the HomePod mini is still dumb as rocks, I still can’t help but love this little speaker. For its price and its size, I’m still always surprised at how great it sounds!

A HomePod mini on a (rather dusty, sorry) desk with a Ted Lasso holiday greeting card behind it.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/04/2026

I hate to seem basic or whatever but holy shit this album has absolutely wrecked me. So good!

A screenshot of music playing from the new Noah Kahan album, The Great Divide, on Apple Music

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/04/2026

The most inspirational series of events I’ve ever watched live. Will be talking about this mission for the rest of my life. #ArtemisII

A person looking out the window of a spacecraft at Earth from space.

The Moon's surface with craters is visible in the foreground, with Earth's distant crescent in the background against a black space.

The Artemis II astronauts, with their eclipse glasses on.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026

These might be the greatest photographs ever taken by humankind. (NASA #ArtemisII drop)

A dark, partially illuminated celestial body in space with stars in the background.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026

We need to remove President Donald Trump from office, today, before the United States commits an unspeakable war crime we can never come back from.

Tweet from Donald J. Trump about societal change, revolution, and the future of Iran, dated April 7, 2026.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/04/2026

Mac mini M4 configured with 32GB of RAM has a 16-18 week delivery window right now. Yow!

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/04/2026

Saw Hayley Williams perform live this evening. My middle schooler, Paramore loving heart loved every second of it. #music

Crowd gathered outside a venue with police officers standing nearby, advertising Hayley Williams on a digital sign.

Hayley Williams performing on stage with a red guitar, surrounded by stage equipment and draped curtains.

Silhouettes of performers on stage with blue and pink curtains, surrounded by musical equipment in a dark theater setting.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/03/2026

Got a random urge for 7Up cake, which I haven't had or thought of in probably close to 20 years. Why? Who knows! The human brain is a strange mystery! All I know is now I gotta find or make some 7Up cake, stat. www.7up.com/en/recipes/7up-bundt-ca…

Bundt cake with white icing, surrounded by baking ingredients and a 7UP Lemon Lime soda bottle on a white kitchen counter.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/03/2026

Project Hail Mary might be my favorite movie of the last 10+ years. A beautiful story, and an equally beautiful movie. See it on the biggest screen you can!

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/03/2026

Went for a walk. Saw some ducks. Took a selfie. Not a bad day!

Two ducks swimming in a dark river surrounded by leafless branches and rocks on a cloudy day.

A bearded man wearing glasses, a black beanie, grey hoodie under a tan jacket, standing outdoors in winter with bare trees and houses in the background.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/03/2026

The book is absolutely gorgeous, for what it’s worth - so glad I didn’t go with the eBook version!

Open book showing a section about iPhones, with images of various iPhone prototypes on the left page. A hand is holding the bottom left corner.

Open book showing images and text about keyboard designs, iPhone security, and personal messages.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/03/2026

My copy of “Apple: The First 50 Years” by David Pogue got delivered by my local bookstore today, a little early)! Can’t wait to dig into this. #apple

A person holding a book titled "Apple: The First 50 Years" by David Pogue, in front of a bookshelf.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/03/2026

Happy #InternationalWomensDay! So thankful to know and have so many incredible women in my life.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/03/2026

The first generation MacBook Neo has one too many compromises for me to recommend to most people - No USB 4.0? a USB 2.0 port? 8GB of RAM? - but a second generation version with those addressed would be a KILLER little laptop for the average user. And it’s […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/02/2026

Ready for another amazing #Patriots Super Bowl! It’s game time!

A smiling man wearing glasses and a football jersey, and a woman in a New England Patriots beanie and sweatshirt, sitting on a beige couch.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/01/2026

So why do I have two versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on my Mac now? 😅 The new versions aren't paywalled, just have optional paywalled features, right? So why not replace the old versions with the new entirely?

A screenshot of my Finder window, showing two versions of both Numbers and Pages on my computer

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/01/2026

Saw Taskmaster Live in Boston tonight. Fantastic show and a great night - turns out Taskmaster in hilarious whether you’re watching “on the tele” or live and in person!

Stage set for a panel discussion or event with a large screen displaying "TASKMASTER" and an audience seated in front.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/01/2026

You can lovingly pet the cats in Assassin’s Creed Shadows?! 10/10 game confirmed. #gaming

A character in AC Shadows kneeling down to pet a small black and white striped cat outdoors near rocks and grass.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/01/2026

Diving into 2026 by calling back to the basics.

A screenshot of my iPhone lock screen, featuring the original clown fish wallpaper.

My iPhone Home Screen, icons and widgets on a solid black background, referencing the original iPhone.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/12/2025

Done with work for the rest of the year! Can’t wait to kick back and get some real work done on the @activas updates I’ve been teasing, and to revisit one of my favorite games of the Gamecube generation before moving onto MP4!

A photo of Metroid Prime Remastered for the Nintendo Switch, held in my hands in front of a Christmas tree with multicolored lights.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/12/2025

A few years ago, I took a cross country drive across the US from Massachusetts to Arizona for their big retirement move. I brought a film camera to document the trip, but was nervous to get them developed having never shot film before. I finally took the […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Sunset view from a car window with silhouettes of palm trees and a dramatic sky filled with clouds in warm hues.

A mountainous landscape with layered red and beige rock formations, trees, and a cloudy sky overhead.

A quiet rural scene with power lines running alongside a road, surrounded by dry grass and scattered trees under a clear blue sky.

An empty parking lot at sunset with a large sign reading "CASINO" and a few trucks parked nearby.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/11/2025

I may not have an iPhone Pocket, but I do still have the ever fashionable AirPod Socks

Two pairs of knitted AirPods socks, one navy on the left, and one light green on the right, leaning against a textured beige wall.

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Brian Hough @brianhough.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/11/2025

Risk II for Windows 98 running through emulation running on Windows 11 for ARM running on VMWare Fusion running on an Apple Silicon Mac. (the game still slaps!)

A screenshot of Risk II for Windows 98 running on an Apple Silicon Mac.

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