Episode 495: I Can See The Inspiration There

Daniel and Manton take a light look forward to 2022, veer off into a discussion about their respective math skills, and end up talking philosophically about the limits of time and how we need to choose to spend our time on the things that matter most to us.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.

Links:

  • The Dip – Seth Godin’s book on time management.
  • 4000 weeks – Book that Daniel is reading about time management.
  • Micro.blog – Manton’s microblogging service.
  • Claude Monet – “It should have been a little more green”

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December 31, 2021 at 10:36 pm.

Episode 494: No Serious Commitments

Manton follows up with Daniel about his alleged accidental Catalyst port, and how it inspired Manton to look into the possibility of a Catalyst port of his Epilogue app. They take a look at the landscape of Mac and iOS apps for Micro.blog, including some iOS apps that run natively on Apple Silicon Macs. Daniel talks more about KeyboardKit, the inevitable edge cases he’s run into, and how he ended up contributing to the project. Finally, they talk about their never-ending ambition to get better at marketing.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • RevenueCat: In-app subscriptions made easy. Also check out the Sub Club Podcast!
  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.

Links:

  • Did You Just Accidentally Run That? – Simon Ljungberg alerts Daniel to the possibility he was not running a Catalyst app after all.
  • Jon Hays – Manton’s collaborator in many things, and another person who thought Daniel’s Catalyst story sounded funny.
  • Black Ink for iOS – Blog post announcing the iOS TestFlight release of Daniel’s crossword app for iOS.
  • Epilogue – Manton’s book-sharing app for Micro.blog.
  • Humboldt – Maurice Parker’s app to add Shortcuts support to Micro.blog
  • Icro – Martin Hartl’s Micro.blog app for the Mac.
  • KeyboardKit – Open source iOS framework that Daniel recently contributed to.
  • UIInputViewController – Developer documentation about the class that can be used to make custom iOS keyboards OR custom input views.

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December 25, 2021 at 9:33 pm.

Episode 493: Someone Did All This Work

Daniel tells Manton about his return to work on Black Ink for iOS, and his experience with accidentally building a version for Catalyst. They talk about the joy of coming upon new framework features when you assume things are as hard as they were “in the old days”. Finally, they talk about deciding when to use a 3rd-party library vs. when it is more likely to be problematic.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • MacStadium: Leading provider of cloud solutions built on Apple Mac hardware.
  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.

Links:

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December 19, 2021 at 5:48 pm.

Episode 492: The Jenga Tower Collapsed

Manton tells Daniel about Micro.blog’s new email newsletter feature. Daniel examines his self-consciousness about needing to ship two bug-fix updates to FastScripts in quick succession. They talk about the benefits of surreptitiously fixing things in web software without too much attention, and the downside that without release notes it can be hard to focus users on improvements. Finally, they talk about their efforts to wind down work obligations as they head into the holidays, and look forward to a new year with new opportunities.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.
  • RevenueCat: In-app subscriptions made easy. Also check out the Sub Club Podcast!

Links:

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December 10, 2021 at 5:08 pm.

Episode 491: Elephants Have Wrinkles

Daniel and Manton catch up after Thanksgiving, and appreciate that it might be the most universally embraced American holiday. They compare notes about the amount they choose to work on holidays and how it reflects their work being something they love to do. Manton questions how much to share about a new feature he’s developing, and they talk about scenarios where sharing too much takes away from the broader impact of the feature. Finally, they talk about the resignation of Twitter’s CEO, what it could mean for the future of the company and for Manton’s feeling about it.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • TextExpander: Communicate Smarter. Listeners get 20% off their first year.
  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.

Links:

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December 2, 2021 at 3:47 pm.

Episode 490: Everybody Is Rage-typing

Manton checks in with Daniel after returning home from LA. Daniel asks again about the status of the Indie Microblogging book, and if Manton has a plan for how he’ll get the job done. They celebrate Epilogue for Micro.blog finally getting approved, and also celebrate the thrill of being able to deploy web apps and direct-download apps immediately without anybody’s approval. Finally, they talk about the great variety of web technologies and how Manton decides how to choose among the many options available to him.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • RevenueCat: In-app subscriptions made easy. Also check out the Sub Club Podcast!
  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.

Links:

  • Train to Los Angeles – Manton’s blog post about his trip to LA.
  • On a Train – Short post from Manton featuring a glimpse of the view from his train while editing Core Intuition.
  • Epilogue for iOS – Manton’s blog for the book-readers’ app for Micro.blog.
  • FastScripts 3 – Daniel’s recently updated Mac scripting utility.
  • Jetpack Compose – Android developer framework with some similarities to SwiftUI.
  • Kotlin – A popular language for Android development, with similarities to Swift.
  • Hugo – The web templating framework that Manton uses for Micro.blog.
  • Bootstrap – A web framework supporting the development of responsive web apps.
  • Caddy – Web server software with built-in HTTPS support.
  • Vincent Ritter – Manton’s inspiration for choosing the Caddy web server solution.
  • Web Hosting for App Developers – Marco Arment’s post about the virtue of choosing “boring”, reliable technology for hosting web software.

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November 25, 2021 at 3:39 pm.

Episode 489: I Broke The Curse

Daniel catches up with Manton midway through Manton’s train trip adventure to Los Angeles. Manton gives a progress update on the micro-blogging book, and his new optimism after making progress on it. Manton shares impressions of LA’s famous traffic and culture in general, as he takes in a whirlwind tour of the area before heading to catch the train home.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.
  • MacStadium: Leading provider of cloud solutions built on Apple Mac hardware.

Links:

  • Amtrak – What passes for America’s glorious railroad service.
  • Union Station – Los Angeles’s historic railroad station.
  • Clippers vs. Spurs – NBA recap of the game Manton saw in LA.
  • Jonathan Hays – Manton’s friend, colleague, and basketball adventure companion.
  • The Loneliest Road in America – Tourism site about the long, desolate highway through part of the Western US.
  • Podcast Shuffle – Internet Archive-hosted version of Manton’s old Podcast Shuffle page.
  • Typecast – Daniel’s old, yet probably still functional, podcast import utility for iTunes.

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November 18, 2021 at 10:07 pm.

Episode 488: That’s Not Gonna Fly

Manton and Daniel talk about the successful launch of FastScripts 3.0! Manton talks about frustrating problems with App Store review for his latest Micro.blog app, Epilogue. They talk about the latest news in Apple & Google’s respective legal challenges regarding in app purchases.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.
  • RevenueCat: In-app subscriptions made easy. Also check out the Sub Club Podcast!

Links:

  • FastScripts 3 – Daniel’s announcement post for the latest update to his scripting utility for the Mac.
  • Epilogue for Android – Manton ships his new Micro.blog for Android while Apple holds up the iOS version in App Review.
  • Apple Must Comply – The Verge reports on a US judge’s rejection of Apple’s request to delay enforcement.
  • Enabling Alternative Billing – Google’s blog post announcing their proposed accommodation of South Korea’s in-app purchasing law.

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November 12, 2021 at 8:24 pm.

Episode 487: I Spent A Week On It

Daniel talks to Manton about his recent development work on Micro.blog, including the debut of Epilogue, his new app for books. They talk about balancing the urge to add new features with the demand from existing customers to fix pet peeves. Manton talks more about his recent ventures in to the web development and Android worlds. Daniel reports back after attending one of Apple’s virtual Tech Talk events, and catches us up on the status of the repeatedly postponed FastScripts 3 release.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • TextExpander: Communicate Smarter. Listeners get 20% off their first year.
  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.

Links:

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November 4, 2021 at 10:28 pm.

Episode 486: It’s Mostly My Fault

Manton talks to Daniel about the change of plans in his MacBook Pro ordering, and how he ended up getting one earlier than expected. Manton shared his experience with updating to macOS Monterey, and they compare notes about what is new in the update. Finally, they talk about cross-platform development in the context of Micro.blog and beyond.

Many thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • RevenueCat: In-app subscriptions made easy. Also check out the Sub Club Podcast!
  • Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.

Links:

  • macOS Monterey – Apple’s latest macOS update.
  • Eh, It’s Not Bad! – Gus Mueller’s “Monterey Review.”
  • Hello, Android! – Vincent Ritter’s blog post about the new official Micro.blog client for Android.
  • React Native – A popular cross-platform development framework.
  • Gluon – Vincent Ritter’s own independent app for Micro.blog.
  • Docker Desktop – Popular virtualization software that enables Linux development on Macs.

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October 30, 2021 at 9:28 pm.