It's time to get serious

How are you? I just want to take a second to let you know I appreciate you being here. The fact that you signed up to receive random emails from me means a lot, but the fact that you haven't unsubscribed means even more. So, thank you. Truly.

I also want to give you a heads up about some upcoming changes. I've decided to double down on Pixels & Pizza. I stopped self-hosting this website in my basement on a Raspberry Pi 5 and moved it to MagicPages, letting me focus on writing – which I've done a lot of the past month.

I published twelve original stories here during that period, and I have plans to do so much more. I'm still working out exactly what it's going to fully look like, but I'm most likely moving to a weekly newsletter cadence. How-to articles? More experience-based reviews? Interviews? Pizza recipes? It could very well end up being all of the above.

I'll keep the monthly, more personal newsletter like the one you're reading now, of course.

My goal is to continue growing the site and adding subscribers. In the past three weeks I've had over 1,131 unique visitors and 1,467 total page views. I'm sitting at 190 members, 172 of whom are subscribed to the newsletter. I'd love to have 10,000 uniques/500 subscribers six months from now.

I understand that by increasing the number of newsletters, some people might get annoyed and unsubscribe. I totally get it and respect your decision. I hope you don't, of course, but if you do – no hard feelings; I still love you.

I’ve also decided I need a true logo instead of just my face on the site. The problem is, I have zero clue what I want. If you know of someone who can help me figure it out, please let me know.

Okay, back to regular programming.

Last month I asked you what your pet peeve is and I had four people kind enough to offer theirs. They ranged from having to scan QR codes or set up an account to pay someone and celebrities with bad teeth to eating Twinkies with the flat side down (flat side up is the right way, apparently?) and the new trend of writing stories with one sentence per line. Thank you to everyone who took time to respond.

My biggest pet peeve is people who chew with their mouths open.

This month's question: Does pineapple belong on pizza?

Hit reply and let's talk about it.

Pixels

Below you'll find a healthy list of stories from the past month, all of which are exclusive to Pixels & Pizza. Yes, that means an entire month without any paid work, but I'm having a blast writing for myself.

Prior to the last newsletter, I completed a mock review for Sonos of its Beam Ultra, Ace Ultra and new software experience. I can't share that with you, of course, but if you handle marketing and PR for a company that could benefit from a thorough review of an unreleased product, let's talk.

Here's what I published on Pixels & Pizza over the last month:

News and hot takes

• iPhone app developers can now submit their iPhone Duo-specific apps for the App Store. Preorders for the Duo open Oct. 16, with deliveries starting Oct. 23.
• Speaking of the Duo, Apple shared some photos taken with the Duo by professional photographers in exotic locations. They look great, but I still have concerns.
• I'm beyond frustrated with Apple and the new Screen Time feature in iOS 27. I did everything I was supposed to do to access the new controls, only for it not to work and I have no clue what to do now.
• I tested all three candy bar-style Pixel phones and the Watch 5, and by the end it was clear to me that the Pixel ecosystem is having its Apple moment.
• The Googlebook is almost here, and with it the potential to be all the things we wanted ChromeOS to be.
• I doomscroll far too much, but the Pixel's new Pause Point feature has all but stopped me. I want Apple to steal this feature immediately.
• Apple released the 2027 suite of operating system updates for its hardware, and with it the Siri AI era is upon us.

Reviews

• Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and its unique design have made it a device I keep trying to quit, but can't. That bodes well for the iPhone Duo's similar design.
• It's not a full review, but I was lucky enough to get sent a Bambu Lab R1 a few weeks before it was announced. I have some early impressions ready now, and will have a full review later this month on All3dp.com (a new client!).
• I've lived with Firewalla being part of my home network for the last six years, but now it completely controls every aspect of it and I'm smitten.

How-to

• Siri AI isn't enabled by default after you update your Apple devices to whatever x27 OS they run. Here's how to enable it and join the waitlist.

Pizza

I finally sat down and wrote about how I make dough for Sips & Pies. The guide is as thorough as I can make it without standing right beside you at the mixer. I even added a link to our dough calculator to the top navigation bar on Pixels & Pizza. It defaults to our current settings, but feel free to experiment. If you have questions, please reach out.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks simply because I'm going to be making and eating a lot of pizza. I was asked to update the best pizza oven guide for The Strategist, and well, it's sure to be a tough job, but I'm glad to do it.

As for the future of Sips & Pies – every single day that passes, my excitement grows in anticipation for next year. We're discussing a million different options, which has been complicated (for better or worse) by the state of Colorado releasing the updated Cottage Food Act guidelines and, from my reading of it, pizza is an entree you can make and sell from your home.

It doesn't go into effect until Jan. 1, 2027, so we wouldn't be able to take advantage of it before then – but not having to deal with a commissary and the extra costs that come with having a licensed food truck sure is appealing.

Who knows, maybe we'll do both.

One last thing – I spent some time revamping my gear page to include all of the pizza equipment we use here at home.

That's it for this month! You'll be seeing me sooner rather than later in your inbox. As always, if you have any input, click or tap reply and let me know.

I appreciate you, 

Jason