The latest 6FPS newsletter weighs Apple’s subscription push and design reshuffle alongside a USENET time capsule, a failed two-watch experiment and a much-needed home network upgrade.
The latest issue of Chuq Von Rospach’s 6FPS newsletter moves easily between the practical and the personal, reflecting on a season of longer days, a quieter winter at home and a string of modest but satisfying technical wins. Von Rospach says he has finally pushed back the raccoons with pepper-treated seed, while also making progress in the workshop and hinting that a few other projects are still under wraps.
One of the more intriguing digressions in the issue is his note about OldUse.net, a project that republishes archived USENET posts as though they were appearing in real time four decades later. The site bills itself as a way to experience early internet discussion in an ongoing format, using NNTP access to recreate the feel of reading those conversations as they unfolded. For Von Rospach, who appears to be one of the people resurfacing in those archives, it is both flattering and faintly disorienting to see old net history turned into a living experiment.
He also comments on Apple’s new Creator Studio subscription bundle, a service Apple announced in January and launched on 28 January 2026. According to Apple and reporting from MacRumors and TechCrunch, the package costs $12.99 a month or $129 a year and includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor and MainStage, along with access to some newer AI-powered features and premium content in iWork apps. Von Rospach is cautiously positive about the bundle, saying he wants to test Pixelmator as a possible Photoshop alternative, while also expressing some unease about software moving more firmly into subscription territory.
The newsletter then turns to Apple’s design team, after Apple hired Sebastiaan de With, the co-founder of Halide. Von Rospach treats the move as a significant signal, not least because it follows the departure of Alan Dye and because de With has long been a vocal critic of design decisions at Apple. He reads the appointment as a hopeful sign that the company may be entering a more constructive phase in its interface and product design work, although he also wonders what the change could mean for Halide itself.
A smaller but more immediately tangible update is his experiment with wearing two Apple Watches, one for daytime use and another for sleep tracking. After a few months, he has dropped the arrangement and returned to a single-watch routine, saying the setup worked but became annoying when software updates and travel were added into the mix. He still plans to charge the watch in short bursts during the day, and says that should be enough to keep sleep tracking intact without the hassle of managing two devices.
He closes with a detailed account of upgrading his home network to Eero Pro 7 units, replacing a patchwork of older mesh hardware that had become increasingly unreliable. Von Rospach says the new system has dramatically improved coverage and speed, especially in the downstairs office areas, garage and around the house exterior, where he keeps security cameras. The before-and-after difference is stark enough that he now wishes he had made the switch months earlier.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
