Daniel talks to Manton about his experience adding MarsEdit to the Setapp subscription software service, and connects it to a general thrust of trying new things to expand his indie business revenues. They talk through a number of issues relating to Setapp, and delve again into questions about balancing efforts invested into development vs. other activities such as marketing.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• Setapp – The macOS app subscription service that Daniel recently listed MarsEdit with.
• Dan Counsell – Founder of Realmac Software and early booster of Setapp.
• Reach is Overrated – Seth Godin argues that reaching the right people is more important than reachin the most.

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Manton checks in with Daniel’s impression of his Amazon Echo after finally cracking it open. They compare and contrast with the HomePod/Siri experience. In response to a listener question, they talk about the tradeoffs of being publicly accessible to users, and the impact that has on free time for “real work.” Finally, they talk a little bit about “bad customer behavior” when it comes to support inquiries.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• Amazon Echo – The smart speaker that Daniel finally started playing with.
• Only Apple Devices – Confirmation that Apple’s “Wi-Fi password sharing” feature only works with their own devices.
• HomePod – Apple’s smart speaker.
• Core Int Slack – Sign-up page for our friendly online community.

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Daniel and Manton continue looking forward to expected WWDC announcements, while also keeping their hopes and dreams in check. They discuss Steve Troughton-Smith’s adaptation of several 3rd-party iOS apps to Marzipan. They explore the changes Apple might make to iOS APIs to allow for more automated compliance with Mac UI standards. Finally, Daniel still hasn’t opened his Amazon Echo, and Manton wishes he had an in-car Alexa device.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

• TextExpander: Communicate Smarter.
• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• WWDC 2019 – Apple’s annual developer conference.
• Mixed in Key – Audio software company that Daniel is working for.
• Zero Effort – Steve Troughton-Smith looks forward to WWDC and the resulting Marzipan apps to come.
• Amazon Echo – Still in the box waiting for Daniel to open it.
• Surface Buds – Paul Thurrott reports on Microsoft’s alleged development of AirPods alternatives.
• Cortana – Microsoft’s personal assistant technology.

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Manton and Daniel talk about keeping in the indie software release habit even while much of your time is taking up by a “day job.” They discuss the merit of optimizing release workflows to remove friction from shipping. Manton talks about Micro.blog’s great new window resizing ability, and Daniel gives him an inordinately hard time about this one little limitation.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• Fixes for Crashes and Glitches – Daniel’s blog post announcing MarsEdit 4.3.1.
• Sparkle – The open-source software update framework for Mac.
• FastScripts – Daniel’s script utility for Mac.
• Black Ink 2 Beta – Public beta of Daniel’s crossword app for Mac.
• Micro.blog for Mac – Mac download of Manton’s Micro.blog client.
• Sunlit – Micro.blog photo-bloogging app.
• Swish – Daniel’s only iOS app: a whitenoise generator.
• Fastlane – Mobile app distribution tools.
• Notarizing Your App – Documentation about the Mac app notarization process.

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Daniel and Manton react to a 9to5Mac article detailing purported changes coming in iOS 13. They weigh the significance of multi-window support on the iPad, and what it means for Marzipan and the future of the Mac. Daniel anticipates using his unopened Amazon Echo, getting the two off on a discussion about Siri’s continuing shortcomings, and whether WWDC will bring any major new updates to the technology.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• iOS 13 Leaks: – Gui Rambo reporting for 9to5mac.
• Apple Arcade – Apple’s forthcoming subscription gaming service.
• Amazon Echo (2nd Generation) – The Echo device sitting unopened in Daniel’s office.
• HomePod – The Apple device occasionally butting in to Daniel’s family life.
• Siri Intents – Documentation about Apple’s 3rd party extension support for Siri.
• Time to Play Fair – Spotify’s complaint against Apple’s business practices.

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Manton and Daniel catch up after Manton’s road trip to the Peers Conference in New Orleans, and his simultaneous launch of a major new video upload and hosting service for Micro.blog. Daniel talks about his efforts so far to balance the time demands of his indie software development with his new full-ish time job. The two motivate each other, and everybody listening to blog more, and finally they talk about the rumors of iTunes being broken up, and apparent impact Marzipan will have on Apple and 3rd party developers.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• Peers Conference – Developer conference in New Orleans that Manton recently attended.
• Video Hosting in Micro.blog – Manton’s blog post announcing a major new feature.
• Fairly Confident – Steven Troughton-Smith tweets that he has reason to believe iTunes will be split up.
• 9to5 Confirms – Guilherme Rambo follows up with a story verifying Troughton-Smith’s hunch with anonymous sources.
• Toggle System Grayscale Mode – Daniel’s recent blog post about hacking into the system to discover a non-obvious automation opportunity.
• Micro Monday with Jean MacDonald – Official Micro.blog podcast featuring interviews with various Micro.blog bloggers.

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Daniel and Manton talk about Apple’s cancellation of AirPower as a rare example of Apple failing to deliver on a high profile product. They compare with more fraudulent examples of vaporware such as the medical products promised by Theranos. Manton hints at a new feature coming to Micro.blog that will require simultaneous updates to all his apps at once.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

• TextExpander: Communicate Smarter.
• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• High Standards — TechCrunch reports on Apple’s cancellation of AirPower.
• So Much I’d Like to Say… — An Apple engineer reacts on Twitter to the AirPower cancellation.
• The Inventor — HBO documentary on Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes.
• Video hosting in Micro.blog — Manton announces video support.
• TestFlight — Apple’s beta-testing service.

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Manton and Daniel react to Apple’s March Special Event. They question the merit of Apple Card with it’s higher-than-expected interest rates. They weigh the benefits of a closed system like Apple News versus the completely free web. They talk about Apple Arcade, how it will impact existing game developers, and whether it will take precedence over the current Games category. Finally, they wonder whether Apple’s wide range of subscription offerings will finally push the company to offer something like “Amazon Prime” to unify everything.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You. Use promo code coreint2019 for $20 credit when you sign up.

Links:

• Apple Card – Apple’s forthcoming branded credit card.
• Apple News+ – Expansion of Apple News with premium offerings for $10/month.
• Apple Arcade – Subscription video games, coming later this year.
• SetApp – Subscription software program for Mac apps.
• AppleTV+ – Streaming service consisting of Apple’s own self-produced shows.
• Disney+ – Disney’s own streaming service has a very similar name!

Daniel talks to Manton about shipping a substantial MarsEdit update in the wake of being busy at his new job. They talk a little bit about one of the Micro.blog features MarsEdit now supports, and how MarsEdit still needs to support a jumble of loosely related blogging APIs. Manton talks about shipping Sunlit 2.4 with a redesigned posting interface. They reacted to Apple’s “week of product announcements”, and talk about the merit of remaining frugal even when you suddenly have some money coming in.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You.

Links:

• MarsEdit 4.3 – Daniel’s post announcing MarsEdit 4.3.
• Sunlit 2.4 – Manton’s post announcing Sunlit 2.4.
• Apple’s new iPads – Apple’s releasing new hardware this week…
• Apple’s new iMacs – … and more …
• Apple’s new AirPods – … and more!
• Layers Conference – A conference about design, technology, creativity, and snacks.
• AltConf 2019 – It’s happening!
• Don’t Give up on WWDC – Manton’s post about making WWDC work on a budget.

Manton catches up on Daniel’s impressions after working the first few days at his new job, which is a “perfect fit” in many ways. They react to Spotify’s “Time to Play Fair” public challenge to Apple, and question how Apple might react to it. They touch on other public trends against Big Tech, including Elizabeth Warren’s suggestion that Apple and other companies should be broken up.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Linode: Cloud Hosting for You.

Links:

• Mixed in Key – The audio software company that Daniel is working for.
• Clarion – Daniel’s Mac-based music interval quiz software.
• Time to Play Fair – Spotify’s public challenge to Apple’s alleged anti-competitive behavior.
• Break up Apple – The Verge reports on Eliabeth Warren’s view that Apple should be split up.
• Where Warren’s Wrong – Ben Thompson’s anlaysis of Warren’s plan.
• Spotify Standing up to Apple – Manton’s blog post reacting to Spotify’s actions.
• Antitrust 3: Big Tech – NPR’s Planet Money reports on the power of Big Tech and whether the government should apply anti-trust measures to rein them in.
• Amazon Marketplace – The service through which 3rd parties can sell their own products via Amazon.