Made a short 2-minute video about Micro.blog cross-posting to other services, especially manually copying a post to Threads. I’ve been using this feature quite a bit. Also useful if you just want a little more control. | Continue reading
Spent some time this weekend experimenting with browser extensions. I had avoided this too long, thinking a bookmarklet should be good enough for anyone. But it is nicer to install with a search and a click. In-progress source code over at GitHub. | Continue reading
Until reading through Jason Snell’s FAQ, didn’t really occur to me that Apple has spent so much time trying to get away from managing multiple windows, from Simple Finder to the iPad, and now it’s like the other extreme. Windows on the side, on the ceiling, on the wall in the oth … | Continue reading
Slow weekend. Sitting on the couch, hanging out with the dog. I could imagine using a Vision Pro right now. But if I’m reevaluating my tech, maybe a better upgrade would just be a larger phone. | Continue reading
Amazing video from Casey Neistat going around New York City wearing the Vision Pro. My opinion keeps alternating between “I need this now” and “no one should ever have this”… It’s a wild product and I wonder if even Apple knows where it’s going. | Continue reading
I try to welcome feedback, but it’s tiring to be lectured on how I’m wrong about Apple when I criticize their business. I’ve been developing Mac apps continuously for the last 30+ years, got an iPhone on day one, and I think about this constantly… But no, everyone else must know … | Continue reading
Experimenting with other ways to use the OpenAI API, and one thing that has struck me is the price difference between GPT 3.5 and GPT 4. It is dramatic. If it wasn’t for the token limit of 3.5, I’d just use that for everything. It’s still good. | Continue reading
Just posted a new @coreint with a follow-up about the CTF, Blank Ink for iOS, and (of course!) the Apple Vision Pro. | Continue reading
If Mark Zuckerberg says it’s very difficult to use the new App Store EU rules — and Meta just announced their quarterly results of $40 billion in revenue — then there is no chance the rest of us can make it work. Sideloading and marketplaces are like a mirage. | Continue reading
Steve Troughton-Smith asks an interesting question on Mastodon: “Why would anybody use my app in VR?” isn’t the right question to ask yourself. It’s “do I want my users to have to take off their headset to use my app?” His post is clearly intended to have the obvious answer “no”, … | Continue reading
Had a dream last night that I was hired at GitHub. My team was about 4-5 people, much younger than me, with hardly any actual experience… except they were all better programmers than I was. On the first day I deployed a change that broke a bizarre GitHub spreadsheets feature. | Continue reading
There has been a long list of proprietary Apple connectors over the years, but this wide Lightning cable in the Vision Pro is one of the funniest. | Continue reading
I paused posting to Threads last year because I thought the platform would be joining the fediverse soon-ish. They’re making good progress with the early enabled accounts, but it’s going to be a while until folks on Threads can follow my Micro.blog profile, so I’m going to resume … | Continue reading
Early reviews for the Vision Pro dropped this week. This device is technically amazing, with well-considered solutions to the problems of VR. My takeaway from the reviews is that I want to try it, but I’m okay waiting before I need to own a bit of this future that Apple is promis … | Continue reading
I’ve got the senate committee hearing about child exploitation on in the background while I work this morning. Interesting to hear Mark Zuckerberg pivot a couple of the questions into needing to be solved in the app stores, not the social platforms. | Continue reading
Castro has found a new home with Bluck Apps, who already has a podcast app on Android. They blog about what’s next: In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be making some changes under the hood to make the backend more stable and make sure new episodes sync more quickly. Once thing … | Continue reading
Great to see more of the Texas grid powered by renewable energy. From KUT, broke a record a couple days ago with 36% of power coming just from solar, hitting 15,222 megawatts. | Continue reading
Very excited about Project Tapestry from the Iconfactory, now available to back on Kickstarter. We need more apps for the social web like this that work across multiple platforms. It will support Micro.blog too! | Continue reading
Accidentally poured chocolate milk in my cereal. Guess it’s going to be one of those kind of mornings. | Continue reading
Today we’ve added a brand new option for manual cross-posting from Micro.blog to other services, including Threads. This new option is great for services that don’t yet have an open API, so Micro.blog can’t automatically post to them, or for when you want to edit and preview your … | Continue reading
Because of their decades of truly great products, Apple thinks they are more clever than anyone else. Because of their focus on privacy, Apple thinks they are righteous. Because of their financial success, Apple thinks they are more powerful than governments. The DMA will test wh … | Continue reading
Reviewing news coverage of the Core Technology Fee, usually glossed over is that the CTF applies to every install of a marketplace. From Apple: Developers of alternative app marketplaces will pay the Core Technology Fee for every first annual install of their app marketplace, inc … | Continue reading
MacStories has also published their write-up on the App Store changes for the Digital Markets Act. The more I think through the system Apple is attempting, the more it becomes clear the Core Technology Fee is not compliant with the DMA. Marketplaces simply cannot work with the CT … | Continue reading
With all the App Store EU changes, briefly considered that maybe my iPhone 14 Pro will be my last iPhone. It is a great phone, but I’m not currently inspired to drop $1k in Apple’s lap every couple years. Think I’ll keep it a while. | Continue reading
Spurs with back-to-back wins. Ignore the season record so far… Fun game and great 4th quarter. | Continue reading
For folks who have been actively using Threads, are we at the point where we need URL shorteners again? We’ve largely not had to think about this with most social networks after Twitter started with t.co URLs, but it seems that Threads does care about the URL length. | Continue reading
Ben Werdmuller blogs about how the IndieWeb is for everyone, inspired by a post from Tantek Çelik. Tantek: The IndieWeb is for everyone, everyone who wants independence from organizations, independence of agency to associate, and who embraces the web of humans that want to interc … | Continue reading
John Gruber’s post about Apple’s EU plans is long, but the part in the middle with the details of the fees is one of the most concise summaries of how Apple wants this to work. The question we have to answer next is whether the Core Technology Fee is compliant with the DMA. I’m n … | Continue reading
Crazy that it’s more or less equal odds on Trump either dying broke or being elected president from jail. When does our current alternate timeline merge back to the main branch? This chaos can’t go on forever. 🇺🇸 | Continue reading
$83 million awarded to E. Jean Carroll. I guess the jury was trying to deter Trump from continuing to defame her or anyone, but probably no amount will stop him. He just can’t help being a total jerk. | Continue reading
My code is rarely clever, but sometimes it makes me smile. There’s a feature in Micro.blog that takes the folder of Hugo-generated files and selectively removes files that shouldn’t be published. For example, to redirect “/”, it removes the index.html file. I call these models “v … | Continue reading
In a blog post from 2020, I suggested four changes to fix the App Store for developers: 1) allow sideloading; 2) don’t require in-app purchase; 3) keep curating the App Store; and 4) lower the cut to 15%. I described each of these in more detail in that post, so I won’t repeat th … | Continue reading
Follow-ups from @coreint yesterday about the DMA… We glossed over the Core Tech Fee. I have a better understanding of how the fees add up now, and where they apply. App Store + external payments: 10% (for small devs). Only way to avoid paying Apple: a marketplace and less than 1 … | Continue reading
Coalition for App Fairness on today’s App Store news: Apple clearly has no intention to comply with the DMA. Apple is introducing new fees on direct downloads and payments they do nothing to process, which violates the law. Apple’s new “Core Technology Fee” is really problematic. … | Continue reading
No surprise, Apple’s new DMA terms get worse the closer you look. It’s not true sideloading, but even accepting third-party marketplace apps for what they are, Apple shouldn’t track downloads (and charge a fee) for apps that are installed outside the App Store. I hope the EU push … | Continue reading
I’ve been re-reading parts of the DMA and Apple’s new rules, and honestly I can’t tell if they are in compliance. It does seem like a good-faith effort, even if the sideloading capabilities fall short of what I want. There’s a lot we won’t know until the first developers try to b … | Continue reading
Core Intuition episode 584 is up now with our reaction to the just-announced App Store changes for the EU. Recorded shortly after all the news dropped today, so there’s a lot to unpack and follow up on. | Continue reading
I was starting to get excited about the new marketplace functionality coming to the App Store, until I got to the part about needing to show Apple a €1 million line of credit. Out of reach for most of us. | Continue reading
Still sorting out Apple’s changes for the EU, coming in March. On first reading, it’s totally different (and better) than the external linking rules from just last week. Feel like I’m on a roller coaster. | Continue reading
Casey Liss blogs about the multiple-monitor potential of Vision Pro: Yesterday was an odd day, in which I spent time working at two different local libraries. While I was there, I realized that I am a week and change too early. If I had my Apple Vision Pro with me, I could have t … | Continue reading
I’ve always been against the death penalty, but this experiment with nitrogen in Alabama is particularly twisted. Also, this is just wrong: Mr. Smith’s case is unique in part because the jury that convicted him of murder also voted 11 to 1 to sentence him to life in prison, rathe … | Continue reading
Just got derailed reading the EU’s Digital Markets Act again. I’m sure the Apple lawyers see some wiggle room in there, but to follow the spirit of the law it should at least look something like Android sideloading. Tired of the games for what is inevitable in the long run. | Continue reading
Most political campaign emails are too long, with manufactured urgency, and formatted poorly. But I just got a Joe Biden email that only says: “Together, we will defeat Trump. Again.” That’s the whole email. We’re all busy and I can get behind mass emails that are succinct. … | Continue reading
The more I hear from Jesse Lyu, the more impressed I am. I finally pre-ordered a Rabbit R1. Kicking myself a little for being so indecisive on day one. Hope they can get manufacturing rolling smoothly. | Continue reading
Happy 40th anniversary to the Mac! My first introduction to the Mac was as a kid, visiting my uncle who had a Mac SE… I would just pore through the manual and knew there was something special about the UI. Got the Mac Classic a handful of years later and have been building apps e … | Continue reading
The Wall Street Journal has an article today about Apple’s plans for sideloading in the EU: Apple’s approach to the EU law will help ensure the company maintains close oversight of apps downloaded outside the App Store, a process known as sideloading. The company will give itself … | Continue reading
The reaction to Barbie is overshadowing what a success the 8 nominations are. And of the women nominated for best actress, who would you remove from the list to nominate Margot Robbie instead? These lists are so tough. For best director, though, there’s a strong case… I blogged a … | Continue reading