2026-06-23 07:07:28
From the MonoLisa blog: MonoLisa - MonoLisa version 3 – now with MonoLisa Text family
Now with version 3, the family grows with a new member besides MonoLisa Code, the original typeface. The new font family called MonoLisa Text covers the other half of common usage where a monospaced typeface reaches its limits. In other words, MonoLisa Text is a proportional family designed for use cases where you might have regular text and therefore completes the family while working as a complementary pair to the original version. This makes it ideal for use cases such as prose, user interfaces, presentations and any sort of printed items like books, magazines and the like.
According to my emails, I purchased MonoLisa almost exactly five years ago today in 2021. Since then, it's been my monospace font across every Mac I've owned, whether it be my text editors or my terminals. It's one of those things where I was trying out every monospaced font I could get my hands on, and once I got this, I stopped looking because it was exactly what I wanted.
In 2023, they added a variable font version, which I immediately picked up. And honestly, I thought that would have been the end of updates. Fonts aren't exactly like regular software where you expect ongoing improvements. Frankly, this might be the only font I've ever kept up with updates at all over the years. Still, I wasn't expecting to have a version three come out, let alone have it include a text version. You can try it out on their testing page, but I think it looks really nice. I haven't made the jump yet, but I'm going to play around and see how this would look on Birchtree, but I suspect it's just a matter of time.
Fair warning, this is a paid font, which I know is not the norm in 2026, especially for monospaced fonts. I know there are plenty of free options out there, but for me, this has been worth the money. Besides, if you've ever bought other fonts in the past, you know this is incredibly cheap compared to what a lot of premium fonts go for.
2026-06-23 06:58:15
Hartley Charlton: Advanced AI Dictation Not Enabled by Default in iOS 27 Beta
Apple's next-generation AI dictation feature for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air is not turned on by default in the first developer beta of iOS 27.
I assumed this would have been on by default, so I was a little disappointed when dictation felt exactly the same two weeks ago when I installed the first iOS 27 beta. But enabling this does absolutely help. It's still not 100% perfect, and it's not as good as something like Aqua Voice or WhisperFlow on the Mac, but it's definitely an improvement and is something that I will use more often. Ironically, it kind of Sherlock's one of the use cases for Quick Notes, which exists in part because I hated iOS dictation so much.
2026-06-23 06:52:40
Valve: Steam Machine launches today!
Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller: $1,428 USD
I'm quoting this part because this is the number that matters. There is also a 512GB model for $1,128, but 512GB is pretty paltry for a PC (80% of Steam players have a PC with over 500GB), especially for a $1,000+ device. And yes, you can save $79 by not getting a controller in the box, but this is a console…most people are gonna want a controller, even if the good news is most controllers you already own will work with this out of the box (it's a PC, after all).
I don't think Valve has given an official statement, but the rumors seem to be that the expected price they were targeting was around $749 when they announced it last year. Obviously, at this point, we all know what's going on with component prices, and the Steam Machine is another victim. We'll see how it sells in the long run. I would expect it to sell out at launch because people really want this device and it looks pretty cool, but I do wonder how it's going to do long term. $1,049 for limited hard drive space and no controller is pretty rough and isn't exactly going to appeal that strongly to people who traditionally have purchased consoles.
I'll leave the reviews to the many folks who put them out today, but it seems like performance-wise, it's a little shy of what a PS5 would deliver, but for nearly double the cost, which is a tough sell as well.
2026-06-22 20:31:19
MacStories Deals posted this last week (emphasis mine):
Samsung's 990 PRO SSD 2TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen4 internal storage is the cheapest it's been in months on Amazon.
Honestly, nothing represents the current times we're in right now better than this post, in my opinion. This is an SSD released in 2022 for about $290. Within a year, the price had dropped to somewhere around $170, and it stayed there for several years. Then from late 2025, the price started going up and up and up, hitting a high in April of $639.99. Data via CamelCamelCamel.
Which brings us to last week, when the price dropped from that high down to $369.99, and it is indeed technically the lowest price in months, but it is still about double what you paid for this this time last year. The bad year of tech continues.
2026-06-18 09:33:57
Juli Clover: Tim Cook Says Apple Price Increases Are 'Unavoidable' Due to Memory Costs
Apple is raising its prices to offset the high cost of memory and storage, CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal. Apple is no longer able to absorb the increased prices and will need to pass some of the cost on to consumers.
"Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," said Cook. "We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."
There’s something a bit poetic about this. Maybe even a lesson to be learned. Tim Cook burned so much social capital by bending the knee to Trump constantly and loudly basically since the moment he won the 2024 election. The most generous interpretations of his actions were that he was doing what he needed to do to make sure that apples financial situation was not hurt by the administration.
Yet here we are. 18 months later, and Tim Cook is voluntarily sharing in an interview that some combination of Apple products are going to see price increases due to the financial realities of 2026. All that groveling, all the presentations of gifts to the king, and Apple is going to be increasing prices just like every other company that didn’t do those things.