Manton is working on a new feature for Micro.blog, with particular attention to the Mac app. Daniel is refactoring MarsEdit and taking advantage of Swift 6 concurrency. Manton and Daniel talk about the latest announcements from OpenAI and the potential impact to software developers of the AI era.
Election Day! Daniel and Manton talk about early voting, political outcomes, and the impacts of those outcomes on our professional ambitions. Then they switch topics to the Mac, with Apple’s new hardware and what Daniel purchased. Finally, they talk about the incentive AI provides for ever-more-powerful computing resources, and take stock of our personal responsibility for conservation.
Daniel and Manton talk about upcoming changes we might see to the Mac product line. They review the state of social networks including Bluesky’s new funding and user growth. Finally, how much money is enough and is it a failure if you don’t constantly seek more?
Trademarking Micro.blog, how to appeal trademark rejections, and whether to get a lawyer. Manton and Daniel talk about whether it’s important to invest in protecting your trademark from the get-go. They discuss Automattic’s control of the .blog domain, whether it poses a risk to Manton, and Manton considering rebranding to de-emphasize the “micro” aspect of his platform. Plus a quick mention of Automattic and WP Engine, which also revolves around trademarks.
Daniel and Manton talk about the community drama and impending fiasco of WordPress and Matt Mullenweg vs. WP Engine. They weigh the arguments of either side. Then they consider the larger issue of dependencies we have on the platforms we develop for, and how we strive for independence from platforms that can make or break our business.
Daniel and Manton talk about the latest releases of iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, and the confusion of macOS versioning with the switch from 10.15 to 11. They explore new iOS features like home screen customization. Then Daniel describes the change in macOS Sequoia to limit keyboard shortcuts that use only the option key.
Daniel and Manton talk about the Overcast redesign and customers getting upset about changes to workflows they are used to. Manton gives an update on his new text editor and early bugs. And finally, the current state of SwiftUI and how to decide when to start from scratch with a new framework.
Manton and Daniel discuss closed platforms vs. more open platforms, Apple’s new EU rules around linking for external purchases, and Patreon’s option to pass Apple’s fee on to creators or patrons. Then, a coding update on Manton’s work on a new text editor for Micro.blog, comparing and contrasting with MarsEdit’s text editor.
Daniel and Manton check in about the Apple Vision Pro. Is it on the precipice of failure? Is there a killer app for it? How would the Apple Vision Pro have done if a smaller company came out with it? They talk about playing the long game vs. the short game, and how much harder it is to play the long game as a struggling indie. Focusing on finessing little things in a product or adding new features, and working on the features of an app or service that a customer expects the app or service to do.
Daniel and Manton discuss the latest news with Apple and the European Union, including that Apple is withholding features such as Apple Intelligence. Will they go so far as to stop selling iPhones in the EU rather than face a large fine? Apple has become accustomed to their power in the mobile market, but have they met their match with the EU? Then, Meta’s Threads API and the difficulty of getting an app approved for Micro.blog.
