Manton finishes Dark Mode support for the Mac Micro.blog app. He and Daniel discuss the merits of supporting bleeding edge features, and the difficulty in gauging demand for features that people want but are not complaining about. They speculate about when Dark Mode will come to iOS, talk about the Release Notes conference coming to Mexico, and Daniel’s last-minute preparation for dotSwift in Paris.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 to get a $20 credit.

Links:

• Micro.blog 1.5 – Manton announces the updated version of the Mac app.
• Target the Forward Fringe – Daniel’s 2012 blog post about catering to bleeding-edge customers.
• Release Notes Mexico – Episode of Release Notes in which the conference venue decision is discussed.
• Peers Conference – Web-development conference coming to New Orleans in April.
• dotSwift Paris – “The European Swift Conference,” happening in Paris this Monday.

Manton’s premature release of Micro.blog for Mac with Dark Mode enabled release spurs him to work on an official update that supports it. DuckDuckGo announces they are now using MapKit JS for their maps, reminding us that Apple offers a web-based mapping service. Finally, Daniel and Manton start to look forward to WWDC 2019 and the greatness that may await.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 to get a $20 credit.

Links:

• Micro.blog for Mac – Desktop version of Manton’s microblogging app.
• Supporting Dark Mode – Daniel’s blog series about supporting Dark Mode in Mac apps.
• Eye Friendly Pro – Mac utility from Jörg Jacobsen for easily switching between display resolutions.
• DuckDuckGo Taps Apple Maps – Announcement that the search engine will use Apple’s MapKit JS.
• MapKit JS – Information about Apple’s JavaScript API to Apple Maps.
• MapsConnect – Apple’s system for managing places that appear in Apple Maps.

Manton and Daniel talk briefly about Apple’s revenue shortfall, and then more extensively about Apple’s announced deals with Samsung and other television makers to bundle iTunes and AirPlay 2 functionality. They talk about the company’s shift towards being a media conglomerate and how their so-called core values will be reflected in that area. Finally, Daniel catches Manton up with his progress on the iOS version of Black Ink, and reacts to a listener tweet criticizing his allegedly misplaced confidence.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 to get a $20 credit.

Links:

• Letter from Tim Cook – Apple announces revised estimates on revenue expectations.
• Apple’s Indirect CES News – CNET article about TV manufacturers including Samsung and LG who will integrate iTunes and/or AirPlay 2 functionality.
• Apple Music on Amazon Echo – Blog post from Amazon announcing the forthcoming functionality in November, which has now gone live.
• Myke Hurley tweet – Letting go of our notion of what Apple is.
• Walkman – Wikipedia page about the legendary portable cassette player from Sony.
• Into the Spider-verse – Web site for the latest Spiderman movie.
• Netflix Pulls iTunes Billing – Venture Beat story about Netflix’s decision to stop enlisting new customers through iOS and Apple TV.
• Swish for iOS – Daniel’s white noise audio and visual static app for iOS.
• TestFlight – Apple’s beta-testing platform for iOS.

Daniel and Manton greet the New Year with a vague sense of optimism, as Daniel moves closer to serious iOS development, and Manton remains confident and focused on Micro.blog. They talk about finding a balance between optimistic enthusiasm and realism about chance of failure. Finally, Daniel talks about his shifting plans for Black Ink 2 and the possibility of co-launching it with an iOS version.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

• TextExpander: Communicate Smarter.
• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You.

Links:

• CVS – American drug store that stubbornly refused to support Apple Pay.
• DotSwift – Paris-based conference that Daniel will speak at later this month.
• Unread’s First year – Jared Sinclair’s 2014 blog post about the success of Unread during its first year.
• Core Int #148 – We discuss Jared Sinclair’s blog post on an earlier episode of the show.
• Only a Game – Daniel’s 2009 comparing the indie software business to game playing.
• Micro.blog Holiday Giveaway – Manton’s promotion encouraging users to invite others to Micro.blog.
• FlexTime for Mac – Daniel’s Mac app which one customer estimated the price as too expensive “by the megabyte.”