# Marco.org I'm Marco Arment, creator of Overcast, technology podcaster and writer, and coffee enthusiast. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## An app for people who struggle to remember tasks DevFeed: [An app for people who struggle to remember tasks]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2026-08-14T12:31:43Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [App](), [notifications]() ### AI overview The author describes how ADHD and severe forgetfulness affect daily life, explains how computers, calendar alarms, voice capture, Siri, and notifications help, and discusses why Apple's Reminders app does not fit their needs. The supplied text ends before describing the author's app in detail. ### Source excerpt I have ADHD. Probably.1 My entire adolescence was defined by forgetting to do my homework, disappointing everyone around me, and being told by every adult that I was lazy, "just" needed to try harder, and wasn't living up to my potential. I'll be working on the resulting shame and anxiety for the rest of my life.2 If someone tells me, "Remember to pick up the dry cleaning tomorrow," I definitely won't remember. If someone tells me, "Remember to put the laundry in the dryer in ten minutes," I probably won't even remember that. If you're thinking, "It's just ten minutes! Nobody can possibly forget that," I have made an app that's probably not for you. * * * Computers saved me. Despite constantly being told that I'd never get a good job, computers provided a lucrative career path filled with even worse academic performers who couldn't care less about my grades. What a stroke of luck! I'd be mediocre to terrible at most jobs, but I turned out to be very good at using computers to turn coffee and Phish into money. But computers also save me in smaller, everyday ways. They help me remember. * * * Sorry, I just had to go put the laundry in the dryer, which I had forgotten. Really. It's that bad. * * * Calendar alarms changed my life. Events without alarms don't happen. (If you're thinking, "Why doesn't he just check his calendar?" I have made an app that's probably not for you.) I had less success with reminders until we had ubiquitous voice capture. If I think of something at inconvenient times, like while driving or exercising, I need to capture it immediately or I'll forget. It cannot wait until I get to my phone or computer. It has to be recorded right then or it's gone. Siri, for all of its faults, has always been very good at creating tasks in Apple's Reminders app -- and Siri is everywhere. Computer. Phone. Car. Watch. I can almost always ask Siri to add something to Reminders. So Reminders' integration and ubiquity are invaluable to me. The Reminders app, though, do ## A letter to John Ternus DevFeed: [A letter to John Ternus]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2026-04-01T18:00:59Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [Hardware](), [Software](), [Optimization]() Tags: [apple](), [customers](), [data](), [hardware](), [optimization](), [privacy](), [products](), [revenue](), [software]() ### AI overview A letter to John Ternus urges Apple to preserve and strengthen the founding spirit associated with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. It argues that making excellent computers and user experiences, while respecting customers' time, money, data, and privacy, should remain Apple's highest priority. ### Source excerpt As Apple celebrates its fiftieth birthday, we celebrate the spirit of its formation, when people who loved computers started making great computers to inspire more people to love computers. That spirit is difficult to find in the tech business today. Immense scale, soulless optimization, and an insatiable thirst for growth dominate its behavior and discourse, leaving little room for the spirit and principles embodied by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Apple still has this spirit, and I believe you do, too. But it's not infinite or invincible. It's under constant pressure, including from Apple itself. It seems likely that you'll soon be leading Apple, which will place unfathomable responsibility on your shoulders. As you grow into the leader that we know you can be, I urge you, on behalf of everyone who loves computers as much as we do, to protect and cultivate this spirit of Apple's founders as the company's top priority: We love computers. We don't hide that -- we celebrate it! We use computers to enhance our minds, lives, and abilities -- not to be controlled, restricted, tricked, placated, angered, or surveilled. Our computers work for us, with the utmost respect for our time, attention, money, data, and privacy. We are customers and owners -- not resources to be harvested, annoyed, or badgered into ever more services and upsells. Apple leads the industry in these values, but leading doesn't always mean excelling. Remaining true to these values requires constant diligence, honest evaluation, introspection, and the audacity and courage to effect change. Apple doesn't settle for fine, functional, or good enough in its hardware (and thanks for your incredible work on that). We love making and using products that aren't just great, but greater than they need to be, always raising the bar of greatness for its own sake. Software, services, revenue sources, and world impact need to be held to that same standard. Focus on making great computers with great user experiences abo ## Apple Ends Its Ten-Year WWDC Executive Interview Tradition DevFeed: [Apple Ends Its Ten-Year WWDC Executive Interview Tradition]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2025-05-30T15:33:22Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [developer-relations]() Tags: [apple](), [developer-relations](), [executive](), [interview]() ### AI overview The article reflects on Apple executives' ten-year run of interviews on The Talk Show at WWDC and Apple's decision not to participate this year. It considers the possible implications for Apple's relationship with developers while acknowledging that the reasons are unspecified. ### Source excerpt Ten years ago, Apple's Phil Schiller surprised Apple enthusiasts and developers by walking out on stage at John Gruber's The Talk Show Live WWDC event and giving an open, human, honest interview to a somewhat jaded community. I wrote this in response: Both Apple and Phil Schiller himself took a huge risk in doing this. That they agreed at all is a noteworthy gift to this community of long-time enthusiasts, many of whom have felt under-appreciated as the company has grown. [...] Phil's appearance on the show was warm, genuine, informative, and entertaining. It was human. And humanizing the company and its decisions, especially to developers -- remember, developer relations is all under Phil -- might be worth the PR risk. This started a ten-year run of interviews by Apple executives on The Talk Show every year at WWDC that proved to be great, surprisingly safe PR for Apple. No executive ever said something they shouldn't have (they're pros), no sensational or negative news stories ever resulted from them, and Apple's enthusiastic fans and developers felt seen, heard, and appreciated. * * * For unspecified reasons, Apple has declined to participate this year, ending what had become a beloved tradition in our community -- and I can't help but suspect that it won't come back. (A lot has changed in the meantime.) Maybe Apple has good reasons. Maybe not. We'll see what their WWDC PR strategy looks like in a couple of weeks. In the absence of any other information, it's easy to assume that Apple no longer wants its executives to be interviewed in a human, unscripted, unedited context that may contain hard questions, and that Apple no longer feels it necessary to show their appreciation to our community and developers in this way. I hope that's either not the case, or it doesn't stay the case for long. This will be the first WWDC I'm not attending since 2009 (excluding the remote 2020 one, of course). Given my realizations about my relationship with Apple and how they view develo ## Ten years of Overcast: A new foundation DevFeed: [Ten years of Overcast: A new foundation]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2024-07-16T12:57:40Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [App](), [iOS](), [Playback](), [Streaming]() Tags: [accessible](), [app](), [apple](), [faster](), [launch](), [navigation](), [new-features](), [playback](), [privacy](), [redesign](), [rewrite](), [shortcuts](), [storage](), [streaming](), [sync]() ### AI overview Overcast has launched a substantial rewrite and redesign of most of its iOS app for its tenth anniversary. The update improves responsiveness, reliability, accessibility, navigation, and controls, while retaining most features and the existing audio engine. Streaming has been replaced by downloading episodes before playback, and several missing features are planned to return. ### Source excerpt Today, on the tenth anniversary of Overcast 1.0, I'm happy to launch a complete rewrite and redesign of most of the iOS app, built to carry Overcast into the next decade -- and hopefully beyond. Like podcasts better than blog posts? Listen to ATP #596 for more! What's new Much faster, more responsive, more reliable, and more accessible. Modern design, optimized for easily-reached controls on today's phone sizes. Improvements throughout, such as undoing large seeks, new playlist-priority options, easier navigation, and more. What's not Most features. Overcast is still Overcast! The audio engine. It's the best part of Overcast, and still leads the industry in sound quality, silence skipping, and volume normalization. (More soon!) The business. I'm still a one-person operation, with no funding or external ownership, serving only my customers. My principles. I always want to make the best podcast app, and I'll never disrespect your time, attention, or privacy. What's gone Streaming. Most big podcasts now use dynamic ad insertion, which causes bugs and problems for streaming playback.1 Downloading episodes completely before they begin playback is much more reliable. Tapping a non-downloaded episode will now open the playback screen, download it, then start playback. It works similarly to the way streaming did before, but playback begins after the download completes, not after a portion of it is buffered. On today's fast networks, this usually only takes a few extra seconds. And in the near future, I'll be adding smarter options and more control over selective downloading of episodes to further improve the experience for people who don't automatically download every episode. What's next The last few missing features from the old app, such as Shortcuts support, storage management, and OPML. These are absent now, but will return soon. More options for downloading and deleting episodes. Upgrading the Apple Watch app to the new, faster sync engine. (The Watch app is currently ## The Overcast Redesign: Part One DevFeed: [The Overcast Redesign: Part One]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2022-03-25T14:57:51Z Content type: release Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [App](), [ui](), [iOS](), [screen](), [Font](), [navigation](), [Icons](), [color](), [notifications]() Tags: [bug](), [customizable](), [design](), [drag-and-drop](), [feature](), [icons](), [ios](), [notifications](), [redesign](), [update]() ### AI overview Overcast's 2022.2 update introduces the first phase of a major redesign focused on the home screen, playlist screen, typography, and spacing. It adds customizable playlist colors and icons, reordering, pinned podcasts, additional episode views, Mark as Played, special playlists, theme tint colors, and reliability improvements for notifications and background downloads. ### Source excerpt Overcast's latest update (2022.2) brings the largest redesign in its nearly-eight-year history, plus many of the most frequently requested features and lots of under-the-hood improvements. I'm pretty proud of this one. For this first and largest phase of the redesign, I focused on the home screen, playlist screen, typography, and spacing. (I plan to revamp the now-playing and individual-podcast screens in a later update.) The home screen is radically different: Home screen, before (left) and after (right). Playlists now have strong visual identities for nicer and easier navigation. Each playlist has a customizable color, and a custom icon can be selected from over 3,000 SF Symbols to match modern iOS design and the other icons within Overcast. And playlists can be manually reordered with drag-and-drop. Recently played and newly published episodes can now be displayed on the home screen for quick access, much like the widget and CarPlay experience. Podcasts can now be pinned to the top of the home-screen list. Pinned podcasts can also be manually reordered with drag-and-drop. I've also rethought the old stacked "Podcasts" and "Played Podcasts" sections to better match people's needs and expectations. Now, the toggle atop the podcast list switches between three modes: podcasts with current episodes, all followed podcasts, and inactive podcasts (those that you don't follow and therefore won't get any more episodes from, or haven't posted a new episode in a long time). The playlist screen's structure remains mostly the same, while refining the design for the modern era: Playlist screen, before (left) and after (right). Here, it's more apparent that I've replaced the system San Francisco font with an alternate variant, San Francisco Rounded, to increase legibility and better match the personality of the app. I've also added highly demanded features: By far, Overcast's most-requested feature is a Mark as Played feature. That's now available as a checkmark button on episod ## The future of the App Store DevFeed: [The future of the App Store]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2021-09-13T21:18:11Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [App](), [browser](), [Payment Fraud]() Tags: [apple](), [apple-pay](), [browser](), [fraud-prevention](), [payment](), [payment-fraud](), [processors]() ### AI overview An opinion article predicts that changes to Apple's App Store payment rules will preserve in-app purchases while allowing external purchase links. It argues that most apps will need to offer both options, with reader apps receiving an exemption, and that external payments could increase competition and enable new business models. ### Source excerpt After the dust settles from the developer class-action settlement, the South Korean law, the JFTC announcement, and the Apple v. Epic decision, I think the most likely long-term outcome isn't very different from the status quo -- and that's a good thing. Allowing external purchases Here's what I think we'll end up with: Apple will still require apps to use their IAP system for any qualifying purchases that occur in the apps themselves. All app types will be allowed to link out to a browser for other purchase methods. Most apps will be required to also offer IAP side-by-side with any external methods.1 Only "Reader apps" will be exempt from this requirement.2 Apple will have many rules regarding the display, descriptions, and behavior of external purchases, many of which will be unpublished and ever-changing. App Review will be extremely harsh, inconsistent, capricious, petty, and punitive with their enforcement.3 Apple won't require price-matching between IAP and external purchases. These few but important corrections reduce Apple's worst behavior and should relieve most regulatory pressure. The result won't look much different than the status quo: Most big media apps (qualifying as "reader" apps) won't offer IAP, but will finally be allowed to link to their websites from their apps and offer purchases there. Many games will offer both IAP and external purchases, with the external choice offering a discount, bonus gems, extra loot boxes, or other manipulative tricks to optimize the profitability of casino games for children (commissions from which have been the largest portion of Apple's "services revenue" to date). Most importantly, many products, services, and business models will become possible that previously weren't, leading to more apps, more competition, and more money going to more places. External purchase methods will evolve to be almost as convenient as IAP (especially if Apple Pay is permitted in this context), and payment processors will reduce the burd ## An argument about Apple's relationship with iOS developers DevFeed: [An argument about Apple's relationship with iOS developers]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2021-06-03T18:14:59Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [developer-relations](), [iOS](), [iphone](), [Mobile]() Tags: [app-development](), [app-store](), [apple](), [developer-relations](), [developers](), [fees](), [ios](), [iphone]() ### AI overview The article argues that Apple undervalues the contributions of iOS developers and incorrectly treats the App Store as the primary source of customer relationships. It contends that Apple's hardware profits already support the App Store and related developer resources, while commissions and fees impose additional costs. ### Source excerpt Apple's leaders continue to deny developers of two obvious truths: That our apps provide substantial value to iOS beyond the purchase commissions collected by Apple. That any portion of our customers came to our apps from our own marketing or reputation, rather than the App Store. For Apple to continue to deny these is dishonest, factually wrong, and extremely insulting -- not only to our efforts, but to the intelligence of all Apple developers and customers. This isn't about the 30%, or the 15%, or the prohibition of other payment systems, or the rules against telling our customers about our websites, or Apple's many other restrictions. (Not today, at least.) It's about what Apple's leadership thinks of us and our work. * * * It isn't the App Store's responsibility to the rest of Apple to "pay its way" by leveraging hefty fees on certain types of transactions. Modern society has come to rely so heavily on mobile apps that any phone manufacturer must ensure that such a healthy ecosystem exists as table stakes for anyone to buy their phones. Without our apps, the iPhone has little value to most of its customers today. If Apple wishes to continue advancing bizarre corporate-accounting arguments, the massive profits from the hardware business are what therefore truly "pay the way" of the App Store, public APIs, developer tools, and other app-development resources, just as the hardware profits must fund the development of Apple's own hardware, software, and services that make the iPhone appeal to customers. The forced App Store commissions, annual developer fees, and App Store Search Ads income are all just gravy. The "way" is already paid by the hardware -- but Apple uses their position of power to double-dip. And that's just business. Apple's a lot of things, and "generous" isn't one. But to bully and gaslight developers into thinking that we need to be kissing Apple's feet for permitting us to add billions of dollars of value to their platform is not only greedy, sting ## In-App Purchase Rules DevFeed: [In-App Purchase Rules]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2020-09-11T20:08:06Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [App](), [account]() Tags: [app](), [payment](), [regulatory]() ### AI overview The article summarizes Apple's updated in-app purchase rules, emphasizing their many exceptions and restrictions. It argues for a clearer policy allowing alternative payment mechanisms when terms are clear and customers are not misled. ### Source excerpt A summary of today's changes to 3.1.3 Other Purchase Methods: Your app must use Apple's in-app-purchase (IAP) system for all purchases made in the app. Unless they're purchases for goods or services that are consumed outside the app, in which case you are prohibited from using IAP. Unless those goods or services consumed outside the app are magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, or video, in which case, you are required to use IAP. But if your app only "reads" previously purchased magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, or video, and doesn't mention the possibility of purchases anywhere in the app, you don't need to use IAP. Unless you offer account creation, in which case, you are required to use IAP. Unless you only offer free account creation, in which case, you don't need to use IAP. But if you offer paid upgrades from free accounts within the app, you are required to use IAP. Except for accounts that were created outside the app, which can offer paid account upgrades and don't need to use IAP. If you're selling "experiences" between people, you don't need to use IAP. Unless those "experiences" include three or more people, or aren't consumed live, in which case, you are required to use only IAP. If your purchase is for services, features, or game items, you are required to use only IAP. Unless you operate on multiple platforms, in which case, you can also offer purchasing outside the app. But you can't tell anyone about it. Unless you get their contact info somewhere else, in which case, you can tell them about it, but not in the app. You are required to use IAP even if you sell your app or service directly to other people. Unless you only sell it to businesses or groups for their employees or students to use, in which case, you still must use IAP, but you can include your own payment method as well. Unless those groups are families, or unless those employees or students are somehow "consumers", in which case, you must only use IAP. Do I have that righ ## Introducing Voice Boost 2: Remaster your podcasts DevFeed: [Introducing Voice Boost 2: Remaster your podcasts]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2020-01-31T18:46:32Z Content type: release Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [Compression](), [C](), [Streaming](), [Code]() Tags: [c](), [compression](), [signal-processing](), [streaming](), [update]() ### AI overview Overcast's Voice Boost 2 is a new audio engine for podcast loudness normalization. It analyzes incoming audio and applies more subtle, adaptive processing than the original Voice Boost, aiming for more consistent volume and improved sound quality while operating as a streaming process. ### Source excerpt The latest update to Overcast includes a feature that I'm especially proud of that took over a year to build. Voice Boost 2 is an all-new audio engine that includes professional-grade, mastering-quality loudness normalization. When I first introduced Overcast in 2014, Voice Boost was one of its headlining features: Voice Boost is a combination of dynamic compression and equalization that can make many shows more listenable and normalize volume across all shows. This makes amateur-produced podcasts (including many of my favorites) more listenable in loud environments, like cars, where you'd otherwise need to crank the volume so loudly to hear the quiet parts that you'd blow your ears out when the loudest person spoke. Voice Boost 2 achieves the same goal as the original Voice Boost, but with dramatically more sophisticated methods, leading to more consistent results and much better sound quality. Goals When I wrote the original Voice Boost with only a rudimentary understanding of audio processing, it was a single configuration of Apple's AudioUnits that applied a fixed set of parameters to all podcasts, regardless of their audio characteristics. It was an effective but blunt tool, relying on aggressive level compression and a strong EQ to make the compression less noticeable. Since then, I've edited over 500 podcasts, learned a lot more about how to master them properly, and developed a much better understanding of audio signal processing. I set out to develop a better, smarter, and more refined Voice Boost that took advantage of everything I'd learned, with these audio goals: The effect should be much more subtle: mostly just consistent volume, plus slightly smoother tone. It should analyze the input audio and apply just enough processing to achieve a consistent volume level, modifying already-good audio as little as possible. It should sound good, and consistent, regardless of the volume dynamics of its input. Quality should be so good that I can even play high-qua ## Low Power Mode for Mac laptops: making the case again DevFeed: [Low Power Mode for Mac laptops: making the case again]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2020-01-14T01:21:06Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [macOS](), [Hardware](), [intel](), [cpu]() Tags: [apple](), [battery](), [cpu](), [geekbench](), [heat](), [intel](), [laptops](), [low-power](), [mac](), [macos](), [performance](), [power](), [turbo]() ### AI overview The article argues that Mac laptops need a macOS Low Power Mode similar to the feature on iOS. It presents disabling Intel Turbo Boost as a practical workaround and reports testing on a 16-inch MacBook Pro showing lower peak CPU power consumption and temperature, quieter fans, and reduced heat, with performance trade-offs in some workloads. ### Source excerpt In light of today's rumor that a Pro Mode may be coming that seems to offer benefits in the opposite direction,1 I wanted to re-make the case for a Low Power Mode on macOS -- and explain why now is the time. Modern hardware constantly pushes thermal and power limits, trying to strike a balance that minimizes noise and heat while maximizing performance and battery life. Software also plays a role, trying to keep everything background-updated, content-indexed, and photo-analyzed so it's ready for us when we want it, but not so aggressively that we notice any cost to performance or battery life. Apple's customers don't usually have control over these balances, and they're usually fixed at design time with little opportunity to adapt to changing circumstances or customer priorities. The sole exception, Low Power Mode on iOS, seems to be a huge hit: by offering a single toggle that chooses a different balance, people are able to greatly extend their battery life when they know they'll need it.2 Mac laptops need Low Power Mode, too. I believe so strongly in its potential because I've been using it on my laptops (in a way) for years, and it's fantastic. I've been disabling Intel Turbo Boost on my laptops with Turbo Boost Switcher Pro most of the time since 2015. In 2018, I first argued for Low Power Mode on macOS with a list of possible tweaks, concluding that disabling Turbo Boost was still the best bang-for-the-buck tweak to improve battery life without a noticeable performance cost in most tasks.3 Recently, as Intel has crammed more cores and higher clocks into smaller form factors and pushed thermal limits to new extremes, the gains have become even more significant. Here's some thermal testing from my 8-core 16-inch MacBook Pro: 16-inch MacBook Pro (Late 2019, 2.4 GHz 8-core i9) Power Temp. Geekbench 5 single/multi xcodebuild Normal 82W 90°C 1260/7386 39 sec. No Turbo 31W −62% 65°C 669/5206 −46/29% 62 sec. +59% With Turbo Boost disabled, peak CPU power consumption drop ## The 16-inch MacBook Pro DevFeed: [The 16-inch MacBook Pro]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2019-11-13T13:30:08Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [keyboard](), [Hardware](), [reliability](), [Resilience]() Tags: [apple](), [hardware](), [keyboard]() ### AI overview The author's first-day assessment of the 16-inch MacBook Pro is optimistic despite several unchanged shortcomings. The article argues that replacing the butterfly keyboard with scissor switches, adding a hardware Esc key, improving key spacing, and restoring the inverted-T arrow-key layout address the MacBook Pro's most important previous problem. ### Source excerpt After my first day with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, I'm very optimistic about it. 🎧 Hear more on today's Accidental Tech Podcast! Two years ago, I wrote a wishlist to fix the MacBook Pro, and the 16-inch doesn't actually deliver most of it. But time and technological progress are slowly getting Apple off the hook: The ports are unchanged. We'll still need dongles. But USB-C is gradually becoming more common, and dongles are slowly -- very slowly -- getting less shitty. The Touch Bar isn't optional. But a new hardware Esc key removes one of its biggest drawbacks, and accidental input should be reduced by the increased spacing between the Touch Bar and the top row of keys. The power brick still lacks its previous conveniences. There's still no cable management, safety breakaway, or charging LED. But third parties are slowly filling some of these gaps. The headphone jack is still on the right (wrong) side, despite most single-sided headphone cables entering the left earcup. But the need for wired headphones is decreasing over time. Addressing those would be nice, but as I wrote then, they paled in comparison to one huge issue: the butterfly keyboard. The MacBook Pro must return to scissor keyswitches. If Apple only changes one thing about the next MacBook Pro, it should be this. It's far more important than anything else on this list. [...] The Magic Keyboard's scissor switches feel similar, but with a bit more travel, and all of the reliability and resilience of previous keyboard generations. [...] The Magic Keyboard only needs one change to be perfect for the MacBook Pro: returning to the "inverted-T" arrow-key arrangement by making the left- and right-arrow keys half-height again. This arrangement is much more natural and less error-prone because we can align our fingers by feeling the "T" shape, a crucial affordance for such frequently used keys that are so far from the home row. That's exactly what they've done, and I couldn't be happier. The new 16-inch MacBook Pro is ## Overcast 2019.6 adds per-podcast controls, longer clips, and data-driven recommendations DevFeed: [Overcast 2019.6 adds per-podcast controls, longer clips, and data-driven recommendations]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2019-07-21T20:14:44Z Content type: release Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [App](), [recommendations](), [iOS](), [data](), [macOS](), [watchOS]() Tags: [app](), [data](), [ios](), [macos](), [recommendations](), [update](), [watchos]() ### AI overview Overcast 2019.6 adds per-podcast download, streaming, and auto-delete controls, increases clip-sharing to 90 seconds, and replaces Twitter recommendations with an in-app data-driven recommendation engine. ### Source excerpt Today's Overcast update (2019.6) brings some great new features. But first, I need to set low expectations for iOS 13, watchOS 6, and macOS Catalina updates this fall. Halfway through the summer, I've made much less progress than expected, having been overwhelmed by the required OS changes, my own technical and design debts, and unusually rough betas. Rather than shipping a big iOS update, a standalone Watch app, and a Mac app on day one, these will probably come incrementally over the next year. Fortunately, I haven't stopped improving the app in the meantime. Per-podcast customization, longer clips You can now set download-vs.-stream and auto-delete behavior per podcast, one of the most frequently requested features over the last few years. (Sorry it took so long -- it required a lot of server-side work for uninteresting reasons.) I've also raised the clip-sharing length limit to 90 seconds. When I debuted this feature, I had to guess how it would be used and received, and 60 seconds seemed like a good limit. In practice, that's sometimes a bit too short to capture a complete thought. 90 seconds should be better -- most clips won't need to be that long, but it'll be nice to have the headroom when you need it. "Suggestions for You" replacing Twitter Overcast has had a Twitter-powered social-recommendations feature since version 1.0 in 2014, which made sense at the time: I didn't have any popularity data to generate recommendations from, and social networks were nicer places to be than they are today. But after five years, only 10% of active users have connected a Twitter account in Overcast, and only 0.2% of new podcast subscriptions have actually been added via Twitter recommendations. Not only was the feature not providing much value to the 10% of people who enabled it, but the other 90% of Overcast's customers haven't been getting personalized recommendations at all. In the meantime, I've accumulated five years of popularity data, so I tried writing my own recomme ## Apple Begins Responding to Criticism from Pro Mac Users DevFeed: [Apple Begins Responding to Criticism from Pro Mac Users]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2019-06-10T01:07:58Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [Hardware](), [macOS](), [Computing](), [GPU](), [keyboard](), [USB]() Tags: [apple](), [gpu](), [hardware](), [keyboard](), [mac](), [macos](), [usb]() ### AI overview The article argues that Apple's Mac product line had failed many professional users, citing problems with the Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, and macOS. It describes Apple's 2017 Mac Pro roundtable and subsequent creation of a Pro Workflow Team as signs of a more institutionalized effort to listen to pro users. ### Source excerpt Something big changed at Apple around the beginning of 2017. They had encountered significant turbulence in the product line over the preceding years, especially Macs. It was a rough time to be a pro Mac user. The "trash can" 2013 Mac Pro addressed only a fraction of the needs solved by the previous "cheese grater" towers, aged quickly without critical upgrade paths, and suffered from high GPU-failure rates from its cooling solution -- all because its design prioritized size and appearance over performance and versatility in the one Mac model that should never make that tradeoff. Over the next few years, it became clear that the Mac Pro was an embarrassing, outdated flop that Apple seemed to have little intention of ever updating, leaving its customers feeling unheard and abandoned. I think Apple learned a small lesson from it, but they learned a much bigger one a few years later. The current MacBook Pro generation launched in late 2016, and I think Apple was truly caught completely by surprise when the new Touch Bar, sparse USB-C-only port offerings, high prices, and highly polarizing butterfly keyboard were met with harsh criticism, mixed reviews, and high failure rates. This one really hurt: while the Mac Pro is a niche machine for the highest-end and most-specialized needs, the popular MacBook Pro is the lifeblood of the Mac. By the end of 2016, in addition to the generally buggy, neglected state macOS seemed to be perpetually stuck in, Apple had replaced its entire "pro" Mac lineup with controversial, limiting products that seemed optimized to flex Apple's industrial-design muscles rather than actually addressing their customers' needs. The only company that can make computers for our OS seemed incapable of making good computers anymore. Each update threatened to remove or break things we needed or loved. Their newest designs felt punitive, rather than feeling like a celebration of computing. Then, in April 2017, out of nowhere, Apple held a Mac Pro roundtable d ## Clip sharing with Overcast DevFeed: [Clip sharing with Overcast]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2019-04-27T16:41:33Z Content type: release Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [podcasting](), [App](), [RSS]() Tags: [apple](), [audio](), [feature](), [rss](), [version](), [video]() ### AI overview Overcast 2019.4 adds audio and video clip sharing of up to one minute from any public podcast. Users can create portrait, landscape, or square video clips, optionally include Overcast and Apple Podcasts badges, and see links to other podcast apps and RSS feeds on public sharing pages. ### Source excerpt Sharing podcasts has never been easy, but I've always tried to lead the way with Overcast, with publicly shareable episode links and optional recommendations from your Twitter friends since version 1.0 in 2014. Podcast sharing has been limited to audio and links, but today's social networks are more reliant on images and video, especially Instagram. Podcasts need video clips to be shared more easily today. I've seen some video clips from tools specific to certain podcast networks or hosts, but they were never available to everyone, or for every show. So people mostly just haven't shared podcast clips, understandably, because it has been too hard. Not anymore. ▶ ↩ This remark on Unco by Stephen Hackett inspired me to finally solve this problem in a way that worked easily, for all podcasts, for both podcasters and listeners to use. With today's 2019.4 update1, you can now share audio or video clips, up to a minute each, from any public podcast. Simply tap the share button in the upper-right corner. You can generate an audio clip, or portrait, landscape, or square video, using your current Overcast theme setting. In order to help spread podcasts further, I didn't want to be heavy-handed in the Overcast branding -- not everyone wants to advertise for one specific podcast app when promoting their shows. So the "Shared with Overcast" badge is optional, and if you'd like, you can also add an Apple Podcasts badge. Finally, I wanted to extend the same app-agnosticism to Overcast's share links. While this design still needs a lot of modernization, I've done a small refresh: Now, for non-logged-in visitors, Overcast's public sharing pages display badges for other podcast apps and the RSS feed for any podcast listed in Apple Podcasts. It's important for me to promote other apps like this, and to make it easy even for other people's customers to benefit from Overcast's sharing features, because there are much bigger threats than letting other open-ecosystem podcast apps get a f ## Overcast 5.1 with Instant Search DevFeed: [Overcast 5.1 with Instant Search]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2019-01-28T18:14:38Z Content type: release Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [App](), [Caching](), [Users]() Tags: [app](), [cache](), [local](), [search](), [store](), [update](), [wi-fi]() ### AI overview Overcast 5.1 introduces Instant Search, combining a small local cache with an optimized search service to return relevant podcast results as users type, including after a single letter. The cache downloads weekly over Wi-Fi and is less than 5 MB. ### Source excerpt ▶ The first thing someone does in a podcast app is add some podcasts, and most active Overcast users add at least two new podcasts each month. Over 80% of podcasts are added to Overcast by searching, with the vast majority as searches for a specific podcast by name (rather than searching for generic keywords, such as "business"). Good search is a critical, differentiating feature of any podcast app. I'm not satisfied if the podcast you're looking for is somewhere in the middle of a long list -- I want it to be the first one, displayed quickly, after typing the fewest characters possible. I've been building toward this by analyzing years of popularity statistics and anonymous search data. Instant Search is the next step in Overcast's search evolution. It combines a small local cache with a highly optimized search service to give the most relevant results immediately as you type, even after only a single letter.1 It's a dramatic, delightful improvement to a critical, frequently used feature. This was a lot of fun to build, and I'm proud of it. See for yourself! Overcast is free on the App Store. If Instant Search isn't instant right after you update, the cache hasn't fully downloaded yet. It's downloaded weekly, only on Wi-Fi, and is less than 5 MB. ↩︎ ## The 2018 Mac Mini DevFeed: [The 2018 Mac Mini]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Arment Published: 2018-11-06T11:01:39Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Marco.org]() Topics: [Mac Mini](), [cpu]() Tags: [apple](), [mac-mini](), [nas](), [performance](), [plex](), [processor](), [server](), [ssd]() ### AI overview A review of the 2018 Mac Mini finds that it preserves the previous model's size, versatility, and broad selection of ports while improving performance and modernizing its architecture. The review also notes that the higher starting price makes it an expensive product. ### Source excerpt Watch the video review I hardly ever think about my Mac Mini, but it serves a vital role for my family as our home-theater mixer, Plex server, ScanSnap server, Apple Photos backup, and Backblaze host for our NAS.1 Almost every port on the back is in use, and it runs 24/7, reliably, in total silence. Until last week, I thought it would be the last Mac Mini that Apple ever made. And when rumors started swirling about an imminent Mac Mini update, I assumed the worst: if it came at all, it would be a tiny box with a slow, ultra-low-power processor and almost zero ports, optimizing for small size instead of versatility. I don't think this was an unreasonable fear after the 2014 Mac Mini update, which made many key aspects much worse without making anything much better. It seemed clear then, and for the following four years that it went without an update, that Apple held the Mac Mini and its customers in very low regard. Not anymore. The 2018 Mac Mini is real, and it's spectacular. It makes almost nothing worse and almost everything better, finally bringing the Mac Mini into the modern age. Ports! Glorious ports! Number one -- and this is a big one these days, especially for this product -- is that it's not any less useful or versatile than the outgoing Mac Mini, including the generous assortment of ports. If the previous one served a role for you, the new one can probably do it just as well, and probably better and faster, with minimal donglage.2 It's the same size as the old one, which is the right tradeoff. I know zero Mac Mini owners who really need it to get smaller, and many who don't want it to get fewer ports or worse performance. The point of the Mac Mini is to be as versatile as possible, addressing lots of diverse and edge-case needs that the other Macs can't with their vastly different form factors and more opinionated designs. The Mac Mini needs to be a utility product, not a design statement. (Although, even as someone tired of space-gray everything, I have to