How to Lock an Old iPhone Down to Just a Few Apps for Your Kid

I set up an old iPhone for my daughter. I wanted it to show only a few apps and nothing else. No App Store. No web browser. No way to wander off into the rest of the phone. Newer iPhones have a built-in setting for this, called Assistive Access. It needs a recent version of iOS. My old iPhone only went up to iOS 16, so I couldn’t use it. If your phone is a few years old, you are probably in the same spot. ...

July 22, 2026 · 5 min · Taylan Pince

Sicily Palermo Loop Itinerary (Palermo ↔ Trapani/Erice ↔ Marsala) — Apr 2–6

This is a Palermo → Trapani/Erice → Marsala loop built around history + art + food + wine, with minimal daily driving. Flights (fixed): BCN → PMO (11:50–13:45) · PMO → BCN (14:35–16:35) Driving constraint: aim for ≤ ~2 hours total driving per day. Quick map of the loop Base 1 (2 nights): Palermo — Arab‑Norman + markets + museums Base 2 (2 nights): Trapani (old town) — Erice (medieval) + Marsala/Florio (wine) Departure: drive Trapani → Palermo airport Day-by-day itinerary Day 1 — Thu Apr 2: Arrive Palermo → Arab‑Norman “opening statement” Palermo — Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel, Norman Palace) ...

February 22, 2026 · 4 min · Taylan Pince
Aerial view of Barcelona blocks by Logan Armstrong

A Guide to Our Favourite Spots in Barcelona

This is a list of special places to visit that we’ve discovered during our time in Barcelona. I’ve excluded any obvious touristic spots, since you will read about those in every guidebook and blog post. I try to keep this as up-to-date as possible, however, make sure to double-check that the place is still open. Enjoy your trip and drop me a line if you want to meet! Eating Bar Mut Beautiful little tapas place on Diagonal, near Passeig de Gràcia. Great sample of both meat and seafood dishes, and good service. ...

June 19, 2023 · 4 min · Taylan Pince
Mount Fuji in Japan Photo by JJ Ying

Japanese Work Philosophy in Product Management

There are many approaches to product management, and every organization tends to breed its flavour of leading product. For many years, I have been thinking deeply about my core values and which ones withstood the test of time as I worked on different teams and businesses. During our recent trip to Japan, I was dumbfounded by the amount of respect every single person seems to have towards their craft. Whether it’s a shopkeeper, artisanal craftsperson or a barista, everyone seemed to take their role in society extremely seriously. Not only that, but there was also a sense of progression, of continuous improvement at what they did. I came back from that trip with a deep respect for a culture that could breed such professionalism. ...

May 13, 2023 · 3 min · Taylan Pince
Team photo from Hipocation 2022

On Remote Teams

It was 2015 when I first encountered the idea of a remote-first team culture. Before that, I had been working with clients at Hipo remotely for many years. However, I mostly worked from the same office with our internal team. We had a very flexible culture, and we were used to working online from different locations. So, we thought it would be easy to have some remote team members. Spoiler alert: It was not. ...

April 15, 2023 · 4 min · Taylan Pince