Episode 446: It’s A Fresh Start

Manton and Daniel kick off the new year after taking some time off. Daniel talks about giving himself permission to work on wrapping up loose ends with his own various apps while waiting for the next big inspiration. Manton talks about doing new work with Jon Hays and taking the foot off the pedal slightly with Micro.blog over the holidays. Finally, they compare notes about applying for Apple’s Small Business Program, and discuss the potential downsides of applying if you don’t really need to.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

Links:

  • FastScripts – Daniel’s Mac scripting utility.
  • Silverpine Software – Jon Hays’s mobile development company that Manton also works for.
  • Micro.blog 2.0 – Manton’s iOS client for the Micro.blog service.
  • Sunlit – Open source iOS photoblogging app co-developed by Manton and Jon Hays.
  • Wavelength – iOS podcasting app that works with Micro.blog.
  • Basecamp – A moderately large company that doesn’t sell through the App Store.
  • Epic Games – A very large company that doesn’t sell through the App Store.
  • RailModeller Pro – Advanced model railroad design app for the Mac.

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January 11, 2021 at 6:09 pm.

Episode 445: I Need Validation

Daniel and Manton take stock of Apple’s 2020 “Apps of the Year”, and question what the criteria for winning might actually be. Then they talk about Salesforce’s acquisition of Slack, and weigh the odds of any company being able to thrive after being acquired.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

Links:

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December 9, 2020 at 3:59 pm.

Episode 444: Say You Like The Peanut Butter

Manton and Daniel talk about the rumors of newly designed Macs coming next year, and compare notes on our regrets or satisfaction with having purchased Intel-based MacBook Pros recently. They also talk about Apple’s PR blitz in the aftermath of announcing 15% App Store commissions for “small businesses.”

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

  • Organize your inbox (and never waste time on email again) with SaneBox.

Links:

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November 25, 2020 at 11:07 pm.

Episode 443: A Reboot of Macs

Daniel and Manton talk about Apple’s newly-announced Small Business program, promising to halve the amount of commission Apple takes from App Store sales. They celebrate the instant raise this will give to many developers, but question whether it alters the overall proposition for folks who have a choice of whether to sell inside or outside the App Store. Finally, they talk about the newly-released M1-based Macs and how they appear to be a resounding success.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

Links:

  • Trust Me on This – James Thomson’s advice on Twitter not to do the math on your history of 30% App Store commissions.
  • Fixing the App Store – Manton’s post from earlier this year about what he thinks Apple needs to do.
  • About that 85 Percent – Jacob Eiting’s blog post about how the 15% deal for subscriptions doesn’t pan out.
  • $999,999 – Daniel quips about trying to keep his earnings under $1M.
  • Free Fortnite: Australia – Epic launches a new attack against Apple in Australia.
  • Check with Manton – Nick Ager posts on Twitter, suggesting an unlikely solution for MacBook Pro fan noise.

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November 22, 2020 at 7:35 pm.

Episode 442: A Huge Thing

Manton and Daniel talk about Apple’s announcement of three new Macs, all based on a new ARM-based Apple chip called the M1.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

  • Organize your inbox (and never waste time on email again) with SaneBox.

Links:

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November 13, 2020 at 8:15 pm.

Episode 441: I Need Shorter Days

Daniel checks in with Manton, who is making an effort to take some time off from working so hard. They veer into a discussion weighing the merits of fixing little nitpicky bugs vs. adding meaningful features. They discuss the debate sparked by Sketch about native desktop apps vs. web apps, and Daniel concedes some of the advantages of web development.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • Organize your inbox (and never waste time on email again) with SaneBox.
  • Appfigures helps you get more downloads.

Links:

  • MarsEdit 4.4.4 – Now with less flicker!
  • Micro.blog for Mac – Manton’s desktop client for Micro.blog.
  • Sketch – Popular Mac-only design software.
  • Figma – A web-based design suite that competes with Sketch.
  • Can’t Catch Me – Daniel’s decade old blog post about the advantages of native software.
  • Cocotron – Christopher Lloyd’s cross-platform implementation of the Cocoa frameworks.
  • SwiftUI – Apple’s next-generate UI framework.
  • AppKit Abusers – A Slack community dedicated to Mac development.
  • Nova – Panic’s native Mac code editing app.
  • SubEthaEdit – An early example of collaborative editing app, now open source.

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October 31, 2020 at 3:48 pm.

Episode 440: It Was The Wrong Decision

Manton and Daniel check in about whether either of them will be ordering an iPhone 12. They riff a bit about the value of not getting stuck in their own ways, and trying new things. Finally, they dream of an App Store with features that allow downgrades and other user-centric controls.

No sponsor this week! Please consider a sponsorship or ask your employer to do so.

Links:

  • iPod Nano – Daniel’s former favorite music player for running.
  • Nova – Panic’s rebranded version of Coda.
  • Basecamp – A web app that supports older versions of the service simultaneously.

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October 24, 2020 at 3:47 pm.

Episode 439: Everybody Gather ‘Round

Daniel and Manton react to the latest pre-recorded Apple “event”, and remark on the difficulty of making them feel authentic. They react to the latest announced iPhones and HomePod mini, and whether they have any purchase plans.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

Links:

  • Apple October Event – Promotional video for the new iPhone 12 and HomePod Mini.
  • What Little Soul – Dan Counsell reflects on the lack of humanity in the recent pre-recorded Apple events.
  • Busy Week – Manton’s post about missing the Apple Event.

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October 16, 2020 at 3:06 am.

Episode 438: Funny Story

Manton and Daniel talk about a turn of events that Daniel has been waiting 20 years for, as he crosses fingers that it will actually pan out, and Manton gives a surprising update on the subject of his interest in Android development.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

  • PDFpen: Edit PDFs with Ease!

Links:

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October 9, 2020 at 6:25 pm.

Episode 437: It Does Not Work That Way

Daniel and Manton run down the giant list of new features in Micro.blog and reflect on their utility.

No sponsor this week! Please consider a sponsorship or ask your employer to do so.

Links:

  • What’s New – Manton’s blog post enumerating the new features in Micro.blog 2.0.

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October 3, 2020 at 7:00 pm.