Daniel and Manton talk about the Micro.camp conference happening next week. They summarize some of the planned talks, and weight the pros and cons of deciding to have it be an all-online event. They react to the iPad Pro versions of Logic and Final Cut, and imagine what the news might mean for WWDC announcements.
Daniel and Manton react to Apple Store employees asking for tips. They wonder if Square-style kiosks are making tipping more widely expected, even where it doesn’t really belong. Daniel’s enthusiasm for ChatGPT wanes, contrasting with Manton’s increased usage of it. They talk about the value of products originating from authentic human creativity, the huge pressure on Apple to offer something for AI integration in Xcode, and the potential for AI to shake up the status quo of winners and losers in tech.
Daniel and Manton talk about Bluesky. In the context of Nostr, what is the merit of social norms, and how has the meaning of phrases like “anti-censorship” and “fake news” changed because of social networks.
Manton asks Daniel about MarsEdit 5.1’s progress, particular about the forthcoming ability to post to Mastodon. They talk about some shortcomings of Mastodon’s API, and Daniel’s effort to submit a pull request that remedies one such shortcoming. Finally, they talk about Manton’s resistance to considering Mastodon a “real blogging platform”, itemize the features that prevent it from being one, and wonder about how it might evolve in the future.
Daniel and Manton check in about the status of their WWDC 2023 applications, and talk about the virtue of attending WWDC, even if it’s different than it used to be. Manton shares a new Twitter import feature for Micro.blog, which Daniel particularly enjoys.
The Twitter API is finally going away. Daniel and Manton talk about Twitter not understanding the benefits of the web. Then Manton starts experimenting with AI image generation and they talk about the role of AI in general for creative pursuits.
Daniel and Manton talk about the new AI-based transcripts feature in Micro.blog. What are the advantages (and new opportunities) to software developers for all these AI tools?
Manton hears Daniel’s excuses, or perhaps explanations, for continuing to struggle with shipping Black Ink for iOS. They talk about the sometimes nonsensical rationale for postponing a release, and productivity hacks that might counter it. Manton describes his recent adventures with AI, including a practical effort to harness OpenAI’s voice recognition for transcription purposes. Finally, they discuss their shared awe about the current state of AI, and how they are struggling to imagine how to take advantage of it, both as users and as developers.
Daniel and Manton talk about Manton’s impressions of the new Bluesky network. They reflect on the lack of evolution in microblogging over ten years, as WordPress focused on “macroblogging” features like Gutenberg Blocks, and how WordPress.com’s marketing compares with other sites that emphasize blogging. Finally, they talk about Nostr and the loaded nature of “anti-censorship” platforms.
Daniel updates Manton on his progress with Black Ink for iOS, and his decision to take the March 1 deadline to ship less seriously. They talk about the difficulty of tackling huge new features and how it can be dispiriting and disruptive to schedules. They catch up on Twitter’s latest hi-jinx, remark on the Elon Musk’s remarkable ability to perform worse than even the most pessimistic of expectations, and struggle to understand Twitter as it is both enormously influential and transparently broken.
