Episode 552: Drunk On This Capability

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.

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April 9, 2023 at 3:23 am.

Episode 551: Pretty Much Exactly Right

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?

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March 31, 2023 at 7:06 pm.

Episode 550: A New Reality

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.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

Links:

  • OpenAI Whisper – Speech recognition framework from the makers of GPT.
  • Aiko – Free Mac app that uses Whisper to transcribe audio.
  • Speeding Up Development – David Smith shares an example of using GPT to automate generation of tedious Swift code.
  • Poe – Multi-technology AI chatbot interface from Quora.
  • Dithering – Subscription podcast from Ben Thompson and John Gruber.
  • The Age of AI – Post from Bill Gates about his impressions of the advances in AI technology.
  • Still Feels Like Magic – Manton’s post about being barely able to comprehend AI technologies.
  • Three Laws of Robotics – Isaac Asimov’s guidelines for how robot technologies might be kept in check.

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March 25, 2023 at 1:41 am.

Episode 549: A Crazy, Wild Place

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.

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March 10, 2023 at 7:47 pm.

Episode 548: I’m the King of the World

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.

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  • Next Week – Manton quips on a Platformer article about Elon Musk’s perpetual inability to follow through.
  • Twitter Dev – Twitter’s official account for making vague announcements that may or may not come to pass.

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February 25, 2023 at 4:29 pm.

Episode 547: An Unprincipled Decision

Manton and Daniel talk about the fallout from Austin’s ice storm and preparing rationally for unexpected emergencies. Manton gives an update on Micro.blog enabling Mastodon support for more users, the impending Twitter API shutdown, and whether Manton should pay Twitter to postpone an inevitable removal of Twitter integration from Micro.blog.

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February 11, 2023 at 12:42 am.

Episode 546: What Do You Stand To Gain?

Daniel gives Manton an impromptu review of the new Micro.blog home page. They talk about striking a balance between coming across like a charming one-person company vs. a faceless corporation. Manton talks about open-sourcing the React-based version of Micro.blog, they talk about the benefits of doing so, and briefly discuss the GPL and MIT licenses.

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January 28, 2023 at 3:15 am.

Episode 545: Lawful Evil

Daniel quits Twitter! Manton and Daniel talk about how everybody has a “last straw” when they quit Twitter. They compare Manton’s frustrations with Twitter 10 years ago and the new problems with Elon Musk’s Twitter. Is Mastodon a viable alternative to Twitter, and how is Facebook evil different than Twitter evil? Then they think about what kind of leader would have to come in to potentially save Twitter in the way that Steve Jobs came back to Apple.

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January 22, 2023 at 8:18 pm.

Episode 544: A Bit Of A Conflict There

Manton talks to Daniel about the forthcoming re-design of Micro.blog’s home page. They discuss the marketing importance of home pages, comparing them to the “storefront” of an online business. Are claims that an app “doesn’t have a lot of features” ever accurate, and if they are, is such an assessment valid criticism? Daniel asserts that he and Manton have lost some of their “hustle” compared to earlier years, and looks forward to plans to ship a public release of Black Ink for iOS.

Many thanks to our sponsor this week:

Links:

  • Many Features – Manton’s post about people underestimating the number of features in Micro.blog.
  • Keynote – Apple’s presentation app, an example of a simple interface hiding many advanced features.
  • Smart Software Bloat – Manton writes in 2006 about software bloat and hiding complexity.
  • Black Ink for iOS – Daniel’s TestFlight page for his iOS crossword app.

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January 13, 2023 at 7:54 pm.

Episode 543: A Meandering Path

For the first show of the new year, Daniel and Manton talk about themes vs. resolutions, follow up bug fix updates to the MarsEdit 5 release, and book goals in Micro.blog. They reflect on the virtue of making things rather than merely consuming them, and Daniel’s lack of an enthusiastic desire to work on “just one app”. What is the likelihood of MarsEdit becoming “the thing”?

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January 7, 2023 at 5:17 pm.