Wordle's Wrong Word | Google IO Glass | Bye iPod

Don't forget to peacock (Credit: Lance Ulanoff)

News versus fun

I don’t play Wordle every day anymore. Not that I don’t want to, but I forget, sometimes only remembering right before I get in bed. By that time, it’s too late. What if the word is really tough? I can’t stay up all night trying to get it.

I know some people are early birds Wordle first thing in the morning. Good for them. Those same people got a weird surprise last week when, after solving for the word “fetus,” they found that friends and family who solved Wordle a bit later got a different word (I didn’t even play that day).

It’s a rare case of a platform designed for entertainment and escape colliding with the news. You know what the news was (and still is), so I won’t get into that here. But I’m not sure making the change was necessary.

Are we now all so thin-skinned that we can’t separate entertainment from the news? Maybe. Perhaps that one word would’ve triggered not the usual joy of solving Wordle, but shock, dismay, anger. I’m sure I would’ve noted the coincidence but knowing that the words were added into Wordle long ago, I would’ve treated it as nothing more than that.

AR done right

Google’s IO developers conference keynote was a firehose of information and a 2-hour one at that. Some of it, like the long, slow dog whistle to EU and government regulators about how much Google cares about and works on privacy and security, was painful, but most was interesting and even exciting.

A highlight for me was the AR translation glasses.

I know, Google has done AR glasses before and most of us would just as soon forget Google Glass. These, though, were different. First, they looked like glasses, not a word 24th-century headpiece. Second, they were focused on one task: instantaneous translation.

In the video we saw, a wearer could look through the lens as someone speaking to them, while seeing their translated words floating right in front of them.

I don’t know if the demo was authentic or a representation of future performance. Still, it was the first time in a long while that I’ve been inspired by AR technology. Now let’s see if Google ever brings them to market.

Bye iPod

Apple let us know last week that they’re done making new iPods…sort of. What the company actually said is that it will continue to sell iPod touch music players “while supplies last.” While Apple wouldn’t confirm that this meant they’re not manufacturing iPods anymore, the message is clear. It’s the end of the line for the music player that launched a mobile revolution. (Remaining supplies sold out quickly.)

I really think we might not have had an iPhone without the iPod. Think about it. The iPod started as a single-purpose device, but gradually added features like a big color touch screen, video, apps, etc. By the time the touch arrived, it was hard to tell the difference between an iPhone 6 and the iPod touch.

But that early device and the first few that came after it trained a generation to expect music, entertainment, and information in their pocket. You might argue that it trained us for the iPhone that would arrive six years later.

And now the child has become the master and the iPod is no more.

Stay well

See you soon