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Marco.org

Marco.org
Ten years of Overcast: A new foundation Today, on the tenth anniversary of Overcast 1.0, I’m happy to launch a complete rewrite and redesign...
7 months ago
55
7 months ago
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...
Marco.org
Developer relations Apple’s leaders continue to deny developers of two obvious truths: That our apps provide substantial...
over a year ago
28
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
Ten years after we lost Steve Jobs Losing Steve affected me more than it probably should have, given that I never met him or had any...
over a year ago
27
over a year ago
Losing Steve affected me more than it probably should have, given that I never met him or had any correspondence with him. But losing him was devastating — not just to my world, but the world. He was a sort of virtual father figure: I was always hoping that maybe Steve would...
Marco.org
Apple is Listening Something big changed at Apple around the beginning of 2017. They had encountered significant...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
The Overcast Redesign: Part One Overcast’s latest update (2022.2) brings the largest redesign in its nearly-eight-year history, plus...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
The future of the App Store After the dust settles from the developer class-action settlement, the South Korean law, the JFTC...
over a year ago
25
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
Overcast summer update Today’s Overcast update (2019.6) brings some great new features. But first, I need to set low...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
Overcast 4.2: The privacy update Overcast 4.2 is out now. It enhances privacy in two major areas: Anonymous sync by default Overcast...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
Overcast 4.2 is out now. It enhances privacy in two major areas: Anonymous sync by default Overcast has offered anonymous sync accounts since 2014. They’re fully functional, but they lack email addresses or passwords, so they can’t log into the website. A login token is stored in...
Marco.org
Low Power Mode for Mac laptops: making the case again In light of today’s rumor that a Pro Mode may be coming that seems to offer benefits in the opposite...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
Overcast 5: Watch, Siri, search, and redesign! I apologize for the low battery level. Busy day. It all started with the watchOS volume...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
I apologize for the low battery level. Busy day. It all started with the watchOS volume widget. You see, Overcast’s previous Apple Watch app really sucked. I did my best with the capabilities of watchOS 1–4, but I couldn’t give people what they really wanted: Standalone podcast...
Marco.org
Low Power Mode on the Mac Laptop battery life is decreasingly relevant to me as more airplanes offer power outlets. But...
over a year ago
23
over a year ago
Laptop battery life is decreasingly relevant to me as more airplanes offer power outlets. But sometimes you lose that lottery, as I did on my latest 8-hour daytime flight. Apple’s “Up to 10 hours” claim doesn’t apply to my work,1 which is usually a mix of Xcode, web browsing, and...
Marco.org
WatchKit is a sweet solution that will only ever give us baby apps In the original 2007 iPhone introduction, Steve Jobs famously derided other smartphones at the time...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
In the original 2007 iPhone introduction, Steve Jobs famously derided other smartphones at the time for running “baby” software and the “baby” internet. He was right. Developers weren’t given access to make native apps until the iPhone’s second year. Before the native development...
Marco.org
The 2018 Mac Mini Watch the video review I hardly ever think about my Mac Mini, but it serves a vital role for my...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
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,...
Marco.org
Introducing Voice Boost 2: Remaster your podcasts The latest update to Overcast includes a feature that I’m especially proud of that took over a year...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
Overcast 4.1 now available Overcast 4.1 is now in the App Store with some small but nice new features. Smart Resume is actually...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
Overcast 4.1 is now in the App Store with some small but nice new features. Smart Resume is actually two features: It jumps back by up to a few seconds after having been paused to help remind you of the conversation. It slightly adjusts resumes and seeks to fall in the silences...
Marco.org
In-App Purchase Rules A summary of today’s changes to 3.1.3 Other Purchase Methods: Your app must use Apple’s...
over a year ago
21
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
Overcast 5.1 with Instant Search ▶️ The first thing someone does in a podcast app is add some podcasts, and most active Overcast...
over a year ago
20
over a year ago
▶️ 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...
Marco.org
The 2018 iPad Pro Watch my video review of the new iPad Pro in both sizes. Rather than try to be comprehensive, I...
over a year ago
19
over a year ago
Watch my video review of the new iPad Pro in both sizes. Rather than try to be comprehensive, I focused on what matters most to me: size choice between the 11” and 12.9”, the Smart Keyboard Folio from my perspective as a frequent 10.5” Smart Keyboard user, the new Pencil, and why...
Marco.org
Why it’s hard to read the time on Infograph Quick, what time is it? If that took you a bit longer than usual to tell the time on the Apple...
over a year ago
18
over a year ago
Quick, what time is it? If that took you a bit longer than usual to tell the time on the Apple Watch’s new default Infograph face, you’re not alone: John Gruber finds it “far too busy” Jason Snell finds it “pretty and packed with features”, but misses hour numerals Zac Hall...
Marco.org
Clip sharing with Overcast Sharing podcasts has never been easy, but I’ve always tried to lead the way with Overcast, with...
over a year ago
18
over a year ago
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...
Marco.org
The 16-inch MacBook Pro After my first day with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, I’m very optimistic about it. 🎧  Hear more on...
over a year ago
18
over a year ago
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...