Marco Arment

Developer of the Overcast app on iOS and co-host of Accidental Tech Podcast. Powered by coffee and an unreasonable amount of Phish.

Public Key

npub1wrzpk00cj4yj2u0pfmld6x529ft2mqqv32quy4fuawl8l20kftuq3njlpf

NIP-05 Address

marcoarment_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs8p3qm8huf2jf9w8s5alkar29z544dsqxg4qwz257wh0nl48my47qs22ddr

Author Public Key

npub1wrzpk00cj4yj2u0pfmld6x529ft2mqqv32quy4fuawl8l20kftuq3njlpf

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Last Notes

2024-10-29 15:36:40

The M4 is great, Apple.
It's a weird look that you're making performance claims relative to a six-year-old model, four processor generations and an entire architecture ago.
You don't need to.
It's time to drop the ancient Intel comparisons.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apples-new-mac-mini-is-more-mighty-more-mini-and-built-for-apple-intelligence/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/391/448/680/194/029/original/36ba5ae1f3ff9aae.png

2024-09-10 14:33:47

Finally watched the Queen Live Aid performance after seeing the Bohemian Rhapsody movie.
Holy shit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIAp5nr0q0

2024-08-24 13:14:12

Thread.
Trust me.
https://www.threads.net/@chriswelch/post/C-8LF4BOSAP

2024-07-26 00:31:38

The year is 2024.
I am still writing <br/> tags sometimes.

2024-07-11 15:28:29

David and I were extremely conscious of the rise of Facebook in Tumblr's early days, and specifically designed it NOT to want or display your real name anywhere.
It was in direct response to that trend.
We wanted Tumblr to be a place where you could write as whoever you wanted to be, with no forced associations with people you knew in "real life" and no discoverable links to your “real" identity.
Anonymity isn't without its issues, but people need outlets like that.
https://mastodon.social/@tofugolem/112763842723365044

2024-07-02 17:55:05

It DOES suck. Democrats ARE ineffective and DO fail to undo most of the GOP’s damage. Even when Dems have full power, they somehow never have any power. That's all correct, and it's frustrating as hell.
That's a stand to take in the primaries.
And then in November, vote like hell for Biden.
Not voting, voting third-party, or voting Republican isn't sending a message to the Democrats. It's literally just voting for a FAR worse, FAR more evil, anti-American dictatorship.
https://mastodon.social/@dxpack/112717826273844095

2024-06-30 14:59:29

swift is good
swift is good
i like swift now
swift is good
swift is good
wow i'm really getting productive with swift
swift is good
_[needs to take a substring of a string]_
GAAAAAHHHHHHH WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE

2024-06-14 23:19:26

Now trying StopTheMadness Pro, which blocks these: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stopthemadness-pro/id6471380298
https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/112617030462873337

2024-06-14 22:30:19

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@npub15ml…2w4s It doesn’t. Unless you're signed in everywhere, which of course lets them track you across everything.

2024-06-14 21:11:52

Google continues to shit all over the web unless you sign into a Google account and let them (further) track you everywhere you go.
Just as Apple believes everything on the iPhone is theirs, Google believes the entire web is theirs — a much greater offense to me, and one that shows absolutely no respect for anyone else's property, attention, or privacy.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/617/030/213/574/299/original/a9f7b8ac0ef26711.png

2024-06-01 19:39:20

This one's for @npub15ml…2w4s.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/543/056/053/788/439/original/cea2b2c04c43a52a.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/543/056/316/224/934/original/d0bed4584f147251.png

2024-05-30 13:35:50

I tried that, and it was a bit much.
Pure black for the icon color also felt too visually busy.
Busyness has been the hardest factor to balance with per-row settings icons. If I end up not shipping them, it'll most likely be because I decided it looked too busy.
https://mastodon.social/@Bobbyp/112530289092243549

2024-05-29 12:41:28

My favorite thing about tethering is
nothing
nothing is my favorite thing about tethering
Please, cellular Macs already!
(Today's anti-favorite: if the phone loses reception for even a moment — common on trains! — it disconnects tethering and never reconnects. You're just offline until you notice. Then you need to reconnect from the Mac's Wi-Fi menu again, after waiting for the option to become available, a process that's almost as slow as dialing up your ISP with a modem in the 1900s.)

2024-05-16 19:03:12

"The iPad Pro doesn’t need to run macOS, but the answer to why an iPad Pro _can’t_ do something a Mac can do, shouldn’t be to carry _two kinds of computers_ with the same M-series chips, with the same RAM, with the same storage, and do different things on each.”
https://duck.haus/@joesteel/112448850000669090

2024-05-10 18:16:54

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@npub1tuz…y7d3 This looks fantastic. Great work!

2024-05-07 14:18:17

The entire Mac processor and display lineup: "Shit.”

2024-04-15 18:51:01

It's absolutely possible. But millions of people had strong reasons to use iPhones even before there were any apps, and then also before the apps were plentiful or compelling.
The customers were already there.
The challenge Apple faces with AVP is getting enough people to buy (and keep using) a device type that they weren't already buying (headsets), which is VERY expensive and limited, to accumulate enough customers for the content and software ecosystem to develop.
https://mas.to/@DrewTheLoud/112276696057829298

2024-03-28 20:41:38

Vision Pro has been out for two months, and the only new immersive content from Apple so far is a five-minute sports-highlight video from MLS games that happened last year.
I'm not sure what I expected for such a low-volume product… I guess I assumed Apple would be putting out much more content for it.
https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/03/apples-immersive-mls-highlight-reel-debuts-later-today/

2024-03-27 21:57:39

If I ran a website that supported Google-account login, I'd be pretty pissed at how they're suddenly putting up an obnoxious overlay over my site's layout.
Why is this not bothering more people? Does anyone give a shit about their websites anymore?
Does Google?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/169/887/728/292/407/original/55c1b0613f49ffc9.png

2024-02-28 19:28:38

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@npub1p9k…865w Or run Create ML.

2024-02-28 17:56:59

Never buy anything from Dyson's website.
Never, ever, ever, ever.
Been fighting with them to resolve a duplicate order (from their website crashing) since Black Friday. They've had the return since January 4. I still don't have a refund. (Just filed a chargeback. I hate doing that.)
I've lost HOURS to this. I've never seen a company with such poor basic service.

2024-02-10 16:17:43

I wish so badly that SwiftUI's .onMove supported multiple-item selection in a List.
I should never need to tell my customers, "That was too difficult to achieve in SwiftUI, so that feature is gone.”
(Been fighting with the Transferable alternatives *ALL* day so far, with no success. There's only so much time I'm able to grind away at this before I need to give up and move on.)

2024-02-08 00:52:15

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@npub1jtm…rxtn @npub12vs…nm0v @npub1dvx…v87p Is there anything that may be interfering with checking your iCloud account? Firewalls, VPNs, etc.?
That step is supposed to be VERY brief, as it's just checking to see if you have any account credentials in iCloud.

2023-12-31 23:00:35

My favorite thing about SwiftUI is how fast and easy it is to try new UI ideas.
I'm able to try tons of different UI concepts quickly and easily, without investing so much effort into them that I end up keeping something inferior because it was a lot of work or would be too hard to change.

2023-12-30 18:36:30

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@npub1p9k…865w The number-one thing it so badly needs: image stabilization.
I REALLY hope they find a way to add it.

2023-12-17 03:28:56

A social network’s best days are not when we’re using it mostly to talk about another social network.

2023-11-19 21:07:33

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@npub1u24…32pl It definitely does seem intentional — but it wasn't what I expected.

2023-11-19 20:48:38

If anyone else is nuts enough to use withObservationTracking(), let me save you potentially a lot of time:
It only calls the onChange: block ONCE, BEFORE the first change. It does NOT provide continuous change notifications over time, and it works like a willSet, not a didSet.
I made a quick utility to get Combine publishers for Observable key-paths, which is easier and cleaner for me to use. Does this look right? It works… https://gist.github.com/marcoarment/88ee13df326c25c1f0a68c09e086f03f

2023-11-10 19:03:05

The Humane press tour touts a story about the founders having two product concepts — a "women's health device" and the Ai Pin — then a series of men ignoring the former (of course) and saying they should definitely pursue the latter.
Let this be a lesson to you all…

2023-11-09 18:55:15

The Humane Ai Pin introduction video is… bizarre. https://hu.ma.ne/
Super low-energy, low production value, and the first few minutes are a list of shortcomings and what it doesn't do before they tell us anything positive or demonstrate any features.
Are they trying to succeed? This vibe almost feels like they ran out of steam and are hoping to be acquired so they don't need to go through with it.

2023-10-31 00:57:21

THE TOUCH BAR IS DEAD!

2023-10-27 13:46:36

ok look I know this is really stupid and pedantic, but come on, we’ve had 26 years to learn this
It's Wi-Fi
not Wifi or WiFi or wifi or wi fi
Wi-Fi. Hyphenated. Both words capitalized.
thank you for coming to my ted talk
(while you're here, “log in" is two words when being used as a verb… your login button or link should not say "login”, because the action they take is to "log in”)

2023-10-25 15:22:13

This new Slack redesign is great if you hate screen space, clarity, contrast, ease of use, information hierarchy, messages, channels, and communication

2023-10-25 00:56:20

Feels great to build something right now.
Blackbird, my SQLite wrapper for Swift, now supports full-text search (FTS5): https://github.com/marcoarment/Blackbird
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/292/932/183/451/093/original/8a4ba6205e9033b3.png

2023-10-19 14:58:41

Every utility I make for Swift Concurrency feels simultaneously like a terrible footgun and also absolutely necessary.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/262/270/500/046/397/original/e5cfd45546e4bb38.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/262/270/411/593/853/original/2b5ff68313f5a5fd.png

2023-10-19 12:14:53

Netflix has raised prices more frequently in the last few years than I've found a great new show on Netflix.

2023-10-18 20:37:30

Pretty sure I get `brew update` vs. `brew upgrade` wrong even more frequently than inserting a Micro-USB cable the wrong way.

2023-10-17 22:35:59

YES!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/252/743/492/963/867/original/1039e60f833163d4.jpeg

2023-10-17 15:41:44

We make fun of other companies' poor product-naming choices, but are we really doing that much better over here in Apple-land?
This glorious paragraph had to be in a product announcement's press release — in the main body text!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/251/115/251/662/983/original/97d60beb055ef42b.png

2023-09-12 20:41:43

Did they give a release date of the new Magnetic Link FineWoven bands?
You can order most other Watches and bands right now, but not those (standalone or with a Watch).

2023-09-12 19:19:43

The Pro color selection is… not getting a good reaction from Tiff.

2023-09-12 03:53:24

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@npub1p9k…865w @npub1dpj…ayn4 Me too.
This sounds petty, I know… but it’s frustrating that almost every other developer and podcaster I know got a demo at WWDC and I didn’t, there’s no lab anywhere near the US east coast, and they didn’t even respond to my devkit application.
My app presumably isn’t the most exciting app for visionOS to them, which is fine, but then don’t expect me to jump through huge hoops or get excited from my end, either. When I can use the hardware, I’ll be excited.

2023-08-28 20:07:45

I use Facebook so little that when I finally did create a single post* this weekend, it was so unlike me that it tripped their fraud systems and I was locked out of my account.
(* nothing interesting, just cleaning out the house and posted some stuff on one of those free-stuff groups)

2023-08-21 15:39:41

My flag always gets twisted up in the wind. I have it on those spinning-ring things on this cheap flagpole, but they rust quickly (it’s a coastal environment) and don’t spin very well.
Am I doing it wrong? Any tips to make it better? Or is it just too windy here and I should just keep going out there twice a day and untwist it?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/928/355/450/135/587/original/04d80b7b3ff1d80d.jpeg

2023-08-20 20:55:08

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@npub1683…f0qg Probably right, but I wonder if fast-charging most EVs is actually too cheap for this to matter — at least for people on long trips who usually charge at home.
For those customers, the experience of the charger and its location — how nice/convenient it is to spend 30 minutes there — is probably more important than whether the electricity costs $15 or $12.
Of course, the bigger the battery, or the more you use DC fast-charging, the more a price difference starts to matter.

2023-08-16 23:38:35

Hang on, I can’t start the podcast yet
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/901/926/903/274/668/original/8a62f665faa25a73.jpeg

2023-08-07 14:21:43

Huge congrats to @npub17pe…vcm6 for shipping Callsheet, a great new iOS app for quickly looking up movies, shows, actors, crew, etc.
It's the same info you'd go to IMDB for, but WAY, WAY faster and nicer. No ads, no garbage, fully native, and FAST FAST FAST.
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1672356376
Press:
https://www.caseyliss.com/2023/8/7/callsheet
https://9to5mac.com/2023/08/07/callsheet-app-iphone-cast-and-crew-data/
https://www.cultofmac.com/825004/casey-liss-callsheet-interview/
https://www.macstories.net/reviews/callsheet-provides-movie-and-tv-details-with-an-uncluttered-native-interface/

2023-08-06 12:23:58

https://groups.google.com/g/vim_announce/c/tWahca9zkt4
:q
🫡

2023-08-01 19:00:03

SwiftUI Observation is GOOOOD

2023-08-01 18:23:40

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@npub199g…nc0a I think you're right.
For primarily-iOS apps, letting your app run in iPad-compatibility mode on a Mac is MUCH less work than maintaining a Catalyst app, which itself is massively less work than having a separate AppKit app.

2023-07-24 02:55:39

Can we please pronounce it “ten”

2023-07-19 14:52:21

Linode/Akamai has notified me that they're forcing an offline migration of one of my primary databases within 48 hours.
In the middle of a week.
It'll cause ~8 hours of complete Overcast downtime if I don't bring up a new instance and migrate everything over myself by then.
And this server costs 20% more than it did a year ago.
The Akamai acquisition of Linode has not improved anything for Linode's customers, as far as I can tell. So far, we're just paying more for equal or worse service.

2023-07-17 13:53:27

Is there a decent sideways charging stand that everyone's using to test iOS 17 StandBy mode?

2023-07-04 14:24:37

America was founded on the promise of freedom and equal rights for all.
In reality, this has always been unevenly applied. Freedom is a constant battle, and everyone’s rights are FAR from equal.
The most American thing we can do is to keep pushing hard for freedom, liberty, and truly equal rights for EVERYONE.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/656/269/396/374/444/original/5e3ae7430b0451c1.jpeg

2023-06-22 17:16:09

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@npub1sy6…5dxr @npub1cuf…6f4c Yes, then bounce as a WAV (which includes those markers), and import it into Forecast, which turns it into an MP3 with corresponding chapters.

2023-06-22 17:03:28

Big chapter list this week on @npub1cuf…6f4c…
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/588/946/282/745/394/original/fb18d92f108f94f2.png