Craig Grannell

@craiggrannell
3K Followers
380 Following
12.3K Posts
#Writer for hire. Mostly #tech, #Apple, #games, #retrogaming, design. Smashes out words for #Wired, #Stuff, TapSmart and others. Writes #DailyRetroGame here on Mastodon. He/him. GF/DF. Likes #Lego and Mini #Schnauzers. Email: hello at craiggrannell dot com // https://linktr.ee/craiggrannell
Websitehttps://www.craiggrannell.com
Bloghttps://reverttosaved.com
Threadshttps://www.threads.net/@craiggrannell

It's clear that AI assisted coding is dividing developers (welcome to the culture wars!). I've seen a few blog posts now that talk about how some people just "love the craft", "delight in making something just right, like knitting", etc, as opposed to people who just "want to make it work". As if that explains the divide.

How about this, some people resent the notion of being a babysitter to a stochastic token machine, hastening their own cognitive decline. Some people resent paying rent to a handful of US companies, all coming directly out of the TESCREAL human extinction cult, to be able to write software. Some people resent the "worse is better" steady decline of software quality over the past two decades, now supercharged. Some people resent that the hegemonic computing ecosystem is entirely shaped by the logic of venture capital. Some people hate that the digital commons is walled off and sold back to us. Oh and I guess some people also don't like the thought of making coding several orders of magnitude more energy intensive during a climate emergency.

But sure, no, it's really because we mourn the loss of our hobby.

Just had a first in a long while: turned down for an iOS game promo code, because the dev says there’s so much key phishing these days that they lack the time to investigate who is and isn’t telling porkies. Bit of a shame if that’s where things are at. Hey-ho.

(I do, of course, pay for apps and games myself too. But review copies are always welcome.)

I chatted with Peter Chilvers about how (and why) he and Brian Eno created generative art and music app Reflection. https://www.tapsmart.com/features/classics-reflection/
Classics: endless meditative music and art with Brian Eno : Reflection

The latest entry in our classic iPhone and iPad app series felt like having a tiny Brian Eno living inside your device.

TapSmart

Weeknote!

🍎 Best 50 Apple products ever (honest)
📷 How Apple changed photography
🦄 7 mythical Apple devices
😴 Apple Watch sleep tracking
👾 Smartphone controllers + retro handhelds
📱 iPhone daylight trackers and specialist scanners
🖥️ Mac buyer’s guide
👾 57(!) great free browser games

https://reverttosaved.com/2026/04/05/weeknote-5-april-2026-apple-turning-50-sleep-tracking-smartphone-controllers-retro-consoles-scanners-browser-games-and-more/

Weeknote: 5 April 2026 – Apple turning 50, sleep tracking, smartphone controllers, retro consoles, scanners, browser games and more | Revert to Saved: A blog about design, gaming and technology

Candid commentary on technology, retro games, Macs and other things, written by Craig Grannell.

Column! Apple Watch sleep tracking is too keen to please. Here’s why I want it to be meaner to me / https://www.stuff.tv/features/apple-watch-sleep-tracking-is-too-keen-to-please-heres-why-i-want-it-to-be-meaner-to/
Apple Watch sleep tracking is too keen to please. Here’s why I want it to be meaner to me

Although Apple Watch sleep tracking promises better habits, its relentlessly positive scores too often feel like flattery rather than meaningful feedback

Stuff
Bit sad to discover Tiny Wings appears to be gone from the App Store. (The + version is still on Apple Arcade.)

Best iPhone and Android mobile controllers for playing AAA and retro games // Turn your smartphone into a handheld games console and never have to deal with virtual touchscreen controls again

https://www.stuff.tv/features/best-iphone-and-android-mobile-controllers-for-playing-aaa-and-retro-games/

Best iPhone and Android mobile controllers for playing AAA and retro games

Turn your smartphone into a handheld games console and never have to deal with virtual touchscreen controls again

Stuff
As Apple turns 50, I talked to historian Alex von Tunzelmann about how Apple came to be, its successes and blunders, and whether it can survive the age of AI. The Bunker: “It’s P.C. gone mad – 50 years of Apple Computer.” https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bunker/id1496246490?i=1000758448698
It’s P.C. gone mad – 50 years of Apple Computer

Podcast Episode · The Bunker – News without the nonsense · 1 April · 29min

Apple Podcasts
One last Apple 50th thing today: 7 mythical Apple products from the past 50 years that never saw the light of day. Well, 6 and a half. (You’ll see why.) https://www.techradar.com/tech/the-apple-graveyard-7-mythical-apple-products-from-the-past-50-years-that-never-saw-the-light-of-day
I’ve written about Apple for 30 years — here are my 7 favorite mythical products that it never launched

Sometimes, that long-rumored Apple product stays a rumor and never graces the real world. Here are our favorite near-mythical gadgets from the company's 50-year history.

TechRadar
By me for Amateur Photographer: Apple at 50: How Apple, the Mac and the iPhone changed photography forever https://amateurphotographer.com/latest/opinion/apple-at-50-how-apple-the-mac-and-the-iphone-changed-photography-forever/
Apple at 50: How Apple, the Mac and the iPhone changed photography forever

Apple at 50: How Apple, the Mac and the iPhone changed photography forever - not just through hardware, but with software too.

Amateur Photographer