John Gruber

I write Daring Fireball, host The Talk Show, and created Markdown.

Web: https://daringfireball.net/
Threads: https://threads.net/@gruber
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gruber.foo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gruber

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Last Notes

2024-09-07 15:11:41

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The clipboard managers (well, manager, singular — yours!) that I’ve tried are still completely crippled in terms of being automatic. It’s the APIs and life cycle on iOS that prevent real Mac-style clipboard managers, not the App Store.
What are the torrent clients I should look at?
(Also: torrent clients are not exactly a mainstream use case.)

2024-09-07 14:28:00

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What is the success so far other than giving access in the EU to a game that was fined $245M for swindling children out of in-app purchases?
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/ftc-finalizes-order-requiring-fortnite-maker-epic-games-pay-245-million-tricking-users-making

2024-09-07 00:00:11

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The DMA resulting in Apple reconsidering its policy on game emulators is a happy side effect, but the fact is we have Delta in the App Store now. And I think if you asked Vestager for 100 goals of the DMA, “game emulators in the App Store" wouldn't have made the list.

2024-09-06 19:46:46

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Putting aside the argument that those things are better under Apple's App Store control than they were before or would be without (at least banking, grocery shopping, and communication -- I can't speak to dating in recent decades), the DMA, thus far, has reduced absolutely none of Apple's control other than being able to play Fortnite on iOS devices in the EU again.

2024-08-25 19:00:41

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I wouldn’t call it a joke, and the “dick quotes” I used were probably uncalled for, but I think it’s hard to find an analogy for the EU’s position anywhere else in the world. Typical governments have things like prime ministers or presidents, and armed forces. The EU does control a currency, of course. But my understanding is that for EU citizens, they’re far more engaged with their national governments than with the EU.

2024-08-25 18:36:42

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No it’s really just one “government” which isn’t really a government, the EU.

2024-08-25 16:57:31

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How does iOS currently hinder users of third party camera apps?

2024-08-25 16:11:28

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I of course understand that direct democracy could never work, and thus we have representative democracy where, quite often, laws pass by duly elected/appointed officials which would not have majority support amongst the actual electorate.
But if you polled 1,000 random EU iPhone owners “Would you like to delete the Camera and/or Photos apps from your iPhone?” how many yeses do you expect to get? 1? 2?

2024-08-24 04:01:35

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There’s a public interest in deleting the Camera and Photos apps?

2024-08-24 00:25:48

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I’m starting to think maybe RFK Jr. isn’t hooked up right.

2024-08-24 00:24:11

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I’d say running something like Keyboard Maestro is more like a real computer. Or, hear me out, if when a hardware keyboard is connected, you could Command-Tab between apps.

2024-08-23 20:36:42

Anyone know if Peter Luger will let you check a dead bear while you eat?

2024-08-23 15:17:15

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I’m curious to hear which ways you feel your iOS devices can be used “like real computers”, or is that only in reference to setting more default apps?

2024-08-15 18:17:05

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Yeah, Docs and Sheets just being … free … is consumer-friendly but it’s hard to see how anyone else could possibly do it free of charge without a monopoly in some other area.
Personally I don’t think either are great products except for multi-user collaboration, which, admittedly, is the whole reason many people depend on these apps. Google solved a devilshly tricky problem and just gives it away.

2024-08-15 17:53:44

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My read on Apple’s stance is that they didn’t anticipate IAP originally. Once they realized it was a thing, they applied their existing logic for commissions to it. I’m not defending it, just explaining how I see their perspective on it.

2024-08-15 17:20:03

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I think it’s true that Microsoft would have run Windows as a loss leader but they didn’t have to. It made (and I think still makes?) money hand over fist from PC OEMs.

2024-08-15 16:42:52

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Schmidt’s weakness is that he seemingly can’t help but be honest. What he’s advocating is gross, but I have to give him credit for just saying it bluntly.

2024-08-10 15:27:29

Gee, I wonder if this is a scam or not. If only there was a telltale glaring mistake…
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/938/427/743/661/679/original/9a6bde92214ea75a.jpeg

2024-08-10 01:13:17

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But the App Store launched with these fees in place. There was no bait and switch. I feel like you're speaking of them as though Apple put them in place only after the iPhone became a dominant platform.

2024-08-05 00:54:47

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I think the Studio Display is worth its exorbitant price for the nanotexture matte option alone. I’ve never seen anything else like it.

2024-08-01 15:37:27

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Personally I find that extra weird because I never write about productivity or organization.

2024-07-31 17:53:42

One of the most American sentiments is this: Live and let live.
Stay out of others’ personal lives.
That’s what’s fueling this “MAGA Republicans are weirdos” vibe. It’s not just fucking weird but *wrong* that they are so concerned with how others, including every woman, chooses to live their own lives.
It rubs most Americans wrong. It’s not a liberal/conservative thing. It’s an American thing.
I think it’s a human thing too — and America should exemplify that aspect of humanity.

2024-07-31 14:10:45

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All I did was link to Anil’s (very good!) post on the idea. Full credit to Dave for both RSS itself, parlaying RSS’s original momentum into the creation of podcasting, and for Dave’s continuing evangelism of podcasting as the exemplar of the open internet.
I blog and I podcast, completely independently. My entire career stands on Dave’s shoulders.

2024-06-22 21:03:30

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The DMA only went into effect in March. It's only going to slow down the rollout of future features and products.

2024-06-22 19:37:30

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You should read the entire DMA. It’s not about app stores specifically. It about forbidding vertical integration. SharePlay is exclusive to Apple, a proprietary protocol between Apple devices. The EC could easily rule that's illegal under the DMA. iPhone Mirroring only works with Apple's own desktop computers, Macs. That's almost certainly illegal under the DMA.

2024-06-21 18:30:32

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That's Apple’s entire point. They don't know. It's uncertain by design. EC proponents keep telling me it's a feature, not a bug, that unlike a rule-of-law nation like the US, it's the spirit, not letter, of the law that matters in the EU. So how is Apple supposed to glean the spirit of the DMA while under repeated threats of massive fines and even — laughably, admittedly — being “broken up”?

2024-06-15 19:37:32

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Thanks. No joke, I spent an enormous amount of prep time thinking about how best to broach the DMA, to solicit actual answers.

2024-06-15 18:47:11

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I keep all of that in mind while preparing my notes for the interview each year, and I try my best to keep it in mind on stage. But even on points where I’m personally aligned with their thinking, I strive to get them on the record, and to explain their own thinking, so that viewers can make up their own minds.

2024-06-15 16:10:26

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To me you’re conflating “I didn’t like their answers” with “I didn’t like the interview”.

2024-06-15 15:18:10

The worst aspect of Mastodon by far. So bad and it might hard for the platform to ever design its way out of this mess without breakage.
https://federate.social/@mattblaze/112616918668012429

2024-06-14 02:04:44

The Talk Show Live From WWDC 2024 is finished; just waiting now on export, upload, and YouTube’s seemingly indeterminate “processing”. So no ETA, but probably late tonight Pacific Time.

2024-05-21 04:26:43

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Some web searching led me to Apple's "Trade In" page.
1. Go here: https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in
2. Click "Recycling".
3. Click "Get started” (I actually got started two steps ago)
4. Choose "Apple Card” for "Device type”
5. Fill out form with mailing address.
6. Wait for it to arrive.
All this rigamarole to get a return envelope that Amex has been sending with new cards automatically for 15 years. And the new Apple Card doesn't tell people to do any of this. I had to look it up on my own.

2024-05-21 04:21:20

My Apple Card is expiring this summer, and the replacement physical card arrived in the mail today. Activating was super-duper easy—just bring it in close proximity to your iPhone and tap a button or two on screen. Done.
But what do I do with the old card? It's titanium so it's not easily destroyed.
I've had metal Amex cards since 2010 or so. When Amex sends a replacement card, they include a return envelope custom made for mailing them your expired card for recycling.
[See thread for update]

2023-05-05 05:54:03

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Bluesky: “If you liked Twitter, you’ll love Bluesky.”
Mastodon: “If you hated Twitter, you’ll like Mastodon.”
Hundreds of millions of people liked what Twitter once was, and what it aspired to be. Bluesky might be that.

2023-05-05 05:18:06

Bluesky is going to skyrocket to mainstream popularity and actually replace Twitter, and Mastodon cannot, because Bluesky is being designed to be simple, fun, and — most importantly — easy to understand.