Daniel and Manton talk about two hardware AI-focused products: Rabbit and Humane’s Ai Pin. They compare the features, the prices, and question whether the premise from each company is true: do people really hate their phones? Daniel argues that Apple Watch is the form factor that these devices should be pursuing, and they both reflect on how the phenomenal growth of AI in the tech industry is expanding out of software and into AI.
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For our first show of 2024, we talk about new year ambitions and achievements. Manton’s Indie Microblogging book is almost done. Daniel reads the book Atomic Habits and thinks about the scaffolding for changing a lifestyle.
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For the last episode of the year, Daniel and Manton discuss the latest tech news including Apple stopping sales of new Apple Watch over a potential patent violation, and Adobe and Figma calling off the acquisition. Then Daniel and Manton look toward 2024 and what they might be working on.
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Manton and Daniel react to AI announcements from Google and Apple, and speculate that AI could be the technological weakness empowering other companies to challenge Apple’s dominance. They talk about a new service from Beeper that allows Android users to connect directly to the iMessage network, and how likely they are to be stopped by Apple. Finally, they discuss the ethical implications of a company like Beeper “hitching a ride” on another company’s infrastructure without their permission.
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Daniel and Manton talk about the MarsEdit 5.1 release and some things that affected it, such as the range of Mastodon instances and forks with different behaviors. They talk about the increasing sentiment towards locking down access to data on the web, in Mastodon specifically and more generally the public’s reaction to AI bots. How will AI empower data collectors to “imitate” styles of other expressions, and how does using copyrighted visual art to train AI differ from using copyrighted binary code to train code? Daniel answers why MarsEdit 5.1 isn’t called 6.0, plus some closing thoughts about the waning viability of one-time purchases for desktop software.
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All about the last week of OpenAI news: Sam Altman’s firing, board upheaval, Microsoft’s influence on the future of the company, and Sam Altman returning as CEO. Daniel and Manton then talk about the merits of OpenAI fulfilling their original nonprofit goals vs. pursuing commercial goals, and where all the activity around AI leaves Apple.
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Daniel talks to Manton about his road trip, how he got Covid, and had to rush home. They react to the leak of an internal Tumblr memo, and Matt Mullenweg’s subsequent public statements about it, evaluate Tumblr’s current status and prognosis for the future, and why the heck Tumblr posts don’t have dates.
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Manton and Daniel react to Apple’s M3 Mac announcement. They have different feelings about the quality of the presentation, but agree on the substance of what was presented. They talk about resisting the urge to upgrade when Macs are increasingly holding their utility for many years. Manton observes that Apple actually talked about “AI” by name, and they both talk about Apple’s relative obliviousness when it comes to AI. Finally, they hint at Manton’s forthcoming road trip, combining work and pleasure.
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Daniel and Manton talk about The Verge article on POSSE, which mentions Micro.blog and includes quotes from Manton. They discuss the value of speaking to press to get your message out, and the increasing appeal of cross-posting to multiple social networks. Then they wrap up with testing SupportAgent.ai and the trend of personal automation tools — using computer assistance to create products that are more humane than they might have been otherwise.
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Manton and Daniel talk more about the on-by-default Video Reactions feature, now that it’s been deployed to the masses. They acknowledge the risks of injecting emotional language and imagery into arbitrary digital contexts, and think about how Apple might have introduced the feature differently. Finally, they consider Twitter/X’s new $1/year subscription approach, which might not be the craziest idea they’ve ever heard.
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