Author: Daniel Andrews

Introducing MusicBot: The All-in-One Apple Music Assistant, Powered by Shortcuts

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Federico Viticci, writing for MacStories:

The result is, by far, the most complex shortcut I’ve ever ever created (MusicBot spans 750+ actions in the Shortcuts app), but that’s not the point. MusicBot matters to me because, as I’ve shared before, music plays an essential role in my life, and MusicBot lets me enjoy my music more. This is why I spent so much time working on MusicBot, and why I wanted to share it publicly with everyone for free: I genuinely believe MusicBot offers useful enhancements for the Apple Music experience on iOS and iPadOS, providing tools that can help you rediscover lost gems in your library or find your next music obsession.

Uhhh, this is kind of amazing. I hope that someone sees this and makes a proper app that does roughly the same thing! Marvis Pro does a lot of neat things with the Apple Music API but this is on another level.

Healthcare gaslighting

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This entire thread is worth a read.

The $100M ARR club

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Alex Willhelm for TechCrunch:

That said, there is a club of private companies that are really something, namely private ones that have managed to reach the $100 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) threshold. It’s not a large group, as startups that tend to cross the $100 million ARR mark are well on the path to going public.

Super proud to be working for a company that is realistically working towards this goal. So many companies look at valuation without taking into consideration sustainability.

Holiday Movie Power Rankings

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About 5 years ago (!) I posted my Holiday Movie Power Rankings. I still think that the list holds up. The biggest change I’d make is move A Christmas Story down a notch or two and move Elf up. As far as how much time I spend watching Christmas movies these days, that list would be […]

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“Big Bang” releases vs. incremental value

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I was surprised to see that Music fixes were rolled into the new MacOS 10.15.2 release that came out this week. While I’m pleased to see that they’re iterating on the “new” app and taking customer feedback into consideration, I’m wondering why Apple isn’t shipping releases like these incrementally. Frankly, the same could be said […]

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Swiss Fiber TV Service ‘Salt’ Launches Alternative Apple TV 4K Remote Control for Frustrated Customers

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From MacRumors:

Costing just under 20 Swiss francs, the optional remote was reportedly developed in close collaboration with Apple, after a sizable section of Salt TV’s customer base apparently complained about the poor usability of the Apple Remote that comes with every ‌Apple TV‌ 4K.

I’d love for Apple to release a version of the Siri Remote that doesn’t have that awful touchpad on it. Easily the worst part of the Apple TV experience.

How AIM, the original killer app, reshaped the internet

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Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan for Fast Company:

Though its official sunsetting in 2017 inspired many nostalgic blogs about the chat service, it’s safe to say AIM’s legacy is still very much alive in the apps we use every day—and in the contours of the internet at large.

A great recap of the rise and fall of AIM, AOL’s instant messaging service that changed the web forever.

I have so many great memories of AIM. It came up during time time in high school and into college so this was the way my friends and I stayed in touch pre-social networks. There are still some ongoing disputes about who holds the record for longest AIM uptime…

Posting in December

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  Something I promised and failed to do earlier this year was to write more often. I stand before you again, making a similar promise. The key difference his time is that I’m smack in the middle of a posting streak. I committed to make one post a day for the month of December, no […]

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Mike Norvell Introductory Press Conference

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FSU isn’t great at coaching searches. This is their 4th coach in nearly 40 years! A lot of times after a coach is fired, their replacement is essentially the polar opposite of the person who was just let go. I think the administration did a good job of getting someone who had the best qualities that Taggart embodied while also correcting for his unorganized, players-coach style.

An intro press conference doesn’t tell you a lot other than how good of a salesman the new coach is, but he said all of the things you’d want him to say.

I’m really excited to see what sort of staff Norvell puts together and what the next few years look like. 2020 is gonna be rough, but after that I anticipate a turnaround.