AppIntents: How to Set a Background Color for Your App Shortcuts
In WWDC22's Design App Shortcuts session, Lynn mentions:
And one last thing -- pick a color for your shortcuts in the Shortcuts app. We have a bunch of great colors for you to choose from, and all your shortcuts will use this color in the app. So pick one that complements your app icon nicely and don't just stick with the default.
To do that, you will override the shortcutTileColor in your AppShortcutsProvider like this:
struct MangoBabyAppShortcuts: AppShortcutsProvider {
static var shortcutTileColor: ShortcutTileColor = .red
static var appShortcuts: [AppShortcut] = []
}
New Umbrella Feature: Posts Are Now Associated with Nodes
I just released a new feature to my Umbrella system: all the posts are now associated with a top-level node. Each top-level node page will also display its recent posts under it.
Nodes are similar to categories in a traditional blog. Except a node here, rather than a category, also has its own page with rich content and sub-nodes.
I hope this feature make my posts better organized. For example, you can now find all Mango 5Star's release notes with the URL https://mangoumbrella.com/5star/posts, keep track of my recent Hiking history, or peak at the things that I have Reviewed.
If you wish to have a dedicated RSS/JSON Feed for a particular node, please let me know and I'll add this. Right now I only have an RSS Feed and a JSON Feed for all posts.
∞ A Link Blog in the Year 2024
Kellan Elliott-McCrea writes:
Like many people I’ve been dealing with the collapses of the various systems I relied on for information over the previous decades. After 17 of using Twitter daily and 24 years of using Google daily neither really works anymore. And particular with the collapse of the social spaces many of us grew up with, I feel called back to earlier forms of the Internet, like blogs, and in particular, starting a link blog.
This is the very definition of something that no one needs. Technology doesn’t work like this, you can’t solve today’s problems by slavish devotion to earlier forms, its one-way doors all the way down. And certainly no one needs my link blog. I don’t really consume that much media from that many varied sources.
But I’m impressed by the folks who never stopped, Nelson, Simon, Andy, Jason, and figure that there is value in the doing, for myself if no one else.
My first linked post was written in 2012. Even though my website went through a few revisions, and I haven't been consistently blogging, I'm glad I haven't given up 12 years later today. We need more link blogs, or just blogs.
Boat Mural Timelapse
Artist Hanif Panni describes the project:
My neighbor has a sea-faring vessel which he parks on the side of his home. A few weeks ago, he received a letter from the city stating he needed to build a new fence to hide said vessel from view of the street. After reluctantly building the fence and driveway, he presented a sassy idea to me that would require my artistic skills. So here it is…
A painting of boat in a driveway next to a house on a fence in front of a boat in a driveway next to a house!
This was a fun one, even got my oldest boy to help out!
Also checkout other press coverages of the story.
Bartender Mac App Under New Ownership
There is a Reddit thread about the new Bartender ownership situation.
MacUpdater, a Mac app that helps you track and update all your Mac apps, put a warning about the new Bartender release. u/CoreCode from MacUpdater has a very detailed explanation why they added the warning. Calling out two points:
This is concerning because 'App Sub 1 LLC' seems to be a dubious company publishing a few low quality iPad apps (https://apps.apple.com/us/developer/app-sub-1-llc/id1667982354) and with an equally dubious homepage (https://stepsforiphone.com/). why was their certificate used to sign Bartender releases?
On 15. May the final release of Bartender 5.0.52 was released and again it was not signed by the known-and-safe 'Surtees Studios Limited (8DD663WDX4)' but by a 'Bartender App LLC (24J875RH8J)' never seen before
u/Ordinary_Delivery_79, self-claimed as the new Bartender owner responded:
Hey everyone, new owners of Bartender here! Our team acquired Bartender from Ben S, the original developer, two months ago. As we prepare to roll out updates for Bartender, we needed to re-sign the app with Apple using our company's information, replacing Ben's. This led to a one-time certificate change.
Truth be told, we should have notated it on the release notes but, since we could not update them retroactively, we included this fact on our blog & shared it with users as they emailed us. We've collaborated closely with Ben to understand his vision for Bartender. Our goal is to implement many of the improvements he had planned and address any reported bugs from the past few months to enhance Bartender's performance.
But there are no other information and this doesn't reassure users.
Jason Snell on Sixcolors:
These things happen—no developer should be chained to their software forever—but it’s odd that (anonymous?) new owners could appear without any communication to existing Bartender customers beyond a note saying a certificate had been changed. It’s Apple’s rules around signing app binaries, and the attention of MacUpdater, that brought this out into the open at all.
A glance around the Bartender website does reveal that while Surtees celebrated 12 years of Bartender in a blog post announcing version 5, posts from 2024 read more like SEO spam, with “key takeaways” summaries at the top, followed by unrelated Mac tips, followed by a pitch for Bartender.
Juli Clover from MacRumors:
At this point, it does not appear that Bartender's new owners plan to inform customers about the change in ownership, but users should be aware that the app has been sold and is no longer being updated by the original developer. The new owner's intentions are not clear, but as Reddit users have pointed out, the situation raises some red flags.
Filipe Espósito from 9to5mac:
Even so, it still seems a bit suspicious that the new developers only introduced themselves after all the controversy. Some users said they didn’t trust the app’s new owners and uninstalled it. Bartender’s official website has no mention of the acquisition.
The problem with Bartender is that you are giving Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions to an unknown entity. With Accessibility APIs you can control the Mac (including other apps). With Screen Recording APIs you can see everything that's happening. Both of those things require trust, and the new owners being silent about the matter does not gain that. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole until that communication happens.
Also remember that Bartender is not running in a sandbox, so it has a lot more access to the system than something from the Mac App Store. Like being able to establish network connections without entitlements. Or accessing data outside of the app's container. And since it's likely the app launches automatically and runs continuously, it's trivial to exfiltrate anything that's collected. At this point, it feels like someone bought a really nice back door.
I am doing fine, hope to be an indie dev forever, have no plans to sell StopTheMadness, and indeed never had an acquisition offer, but if someone totally mad offered me $millions for it, I absolutely would owe my customers an announcement.
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s a sacred responsibility to run my native code on other people’s computers, and I take that responsibility seriously. Your customers trusted you, and any developer who violates that trust harms all other developers.
I personally don't use Bartender. My only need is to hide some of the rarely used menu bar items, and to make them available only when needed. The open source Hidden Bar app meets my exact need.
UPDATE on 2024-06-05: Ben Surtees, the original creator of Bartender, came out with a statement:
It's Ben Surtees, the original developer of Bartender. Twelve years ago, I embarked on a journey to create Bartender, a macOS app designed to help you manage your menu bar items. Over the years, it has been incredibly rewarding to see Bartender grow and become an essential tool for so many of you. Your support and feedback have been invaluable in shaping the app into what it is today.
After the release of Bartender 5, I came to the realization that supporting all the users and maintaining the app at the high standard I expect and you deserve was too much for one person. It required a dedicated team that could provide continuous support, innovate, and keep up with the fast-evolving macOS landscape. This realization led me to make a difficult decision.
This reads a genuine statement. Though the recent likely AI-written blog posts on Bartender's blog don't increase much of my confidence in the story.
UPDATE on 2024-06-06: According to u/pulsarsolar from a user support email with the new owner:
We've removed Amplitude from the latest test build (v5.0.53).
UPDATE on 2024-06-08: Adam Engst from TidBITS:
Instead, this was merely a case of botched PR. As a friend with a decades-long career in the field once told me, the goal of PR is to tell the truth and tell it first. Had Surtees and Applause announced the acquisition before making any technical changes, they could have avoided this online tempest and harm to Bartender’s reputation and user base. Now it’s up to Applause to mend the damage by focusing on transparency.
∞ Apple Held Talks With China Mobile to Bring Apple TV+ to China
Wayne Ma writes for The Information:
Apple was in talks last year to launch its Apple TV+ video streaming service in China via a deal with China Mobile, the country’s largest telecommunications provider, according to people with knowledge of the matter. If successful, the talks would make Apple TV+ the only U.S. streaming service to be available in China, one of the world’s biggest markets.
No wonder it was reported earlier that The Problem With Jon Stewart ended because of intended discussions with guests about AI and China.
PyCon US 2024
PyCon US 2024, David L. Lawrence Convention Center Expo Hall B
This year's PyCon US is real special to me. Just 3 weeks before PyCon US 2024, I found out I had to find some other reasons going to the conference. One obvious purpose is to meet potential future employers and colleagues, and I did. But what ended up more important to me is a longer term discovery. PyCon has helped me to realize that I still want to continue my career working on this language thingy called Python.
I came to Python at work because of my technology interests 8 years ago. Now I'm staying for the Python community outside of work. One unique aspect of PyCon I keep experiencing is its welcoming and inclusive attitude. It's the community and amazing people that have trapped me in this realm and I just don't want to get out.
After the layoff, I have certainly thought about going independent and growing Mango Umbrella LLC. Not only it's a financially unwise decision, but also it turns out it wouldn't actually be my number one choice regardless of money.
Thank you, all the nice people I met at PyCon US 2024. I hope to see you again at PyCon US 2025.
P.S. I always find interesting and a learning opportunity from reading other people's experiences. So here are some of them I've found:
- Selfie at Conference Closing by Mariatta Wijaya, PyCon US 2024 chair.
- PyCon US 2024 Recap by Kati. Incredibly detailed.
- Weeknotes: PyCon US 2024 by Simon Willison, one of the PyCon US 2024 keynoters.
- Links and References For My PyCon US Keynote by Sumana Harihareswara, another PyCon US 2024 keynoter.
- pyOpenSci at PyCon US 2024 - Python Packaging and Community by Leah Wasser, Executive Director & Founder of pyOpenSci.
- Our Experience at PyCon US 2024 in Pittsburgh by Ngazetungue Muheue from Kafkai.
- 3 Key Takeaways from PyCon US 2024 by Luis Juncal & Yolanda Robla, from Stacklok.
- Wagtailers Spread Their Wings at PyCon 2024 by Meagen Voss, from Wagtail, an open-source Python CMS.
- Echos of the People API user guide by Ned Batchelder, PyCon US 2023 keynoter.
- Flet at PyCon US 2024 by Feodor Fitsner, founder of Flet.
- My First PyCon in US by Tomy Hsieh.
- PyCon 2024 Reflection by Trey Hunner.
- PyCon US 2024 as Security Developer-in-Residence by Seth Larson.
- The Python Language Summit 2024 from the PSF blog.
- From Pittsburgh to New York: A PyCon US 2024 Adventure by Monica Oyugi.
Wrote or found another post about PyCon US 2024? Please let me know!
∞ Apple may label iOS 18 artificial intelligence features as a beta preview
Benjamin Mayo writes for 9to5mac:
In the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s newsletter for Bloomberg, he reports that Apple’s highly-anticipated AI features for iOS 18 and its other operating systems may be released with a ‘beta’ or ‘preview’ designation.
This is perhaps another sign that Apple was caught off-guard by the AI revolution, and its planned features for this cycle aren’t yet reliable or good enough to launch unqualified, without a beta label.
Apple may be playing catch up, but I don't think labeling upcoming AI features as beta preview is a signal for that. None of the competitors' AI features today are up to Apple's standards, and that's just the reality.
∞ Mini ponds are 'tiny universes' of biodiversity for gardens and windowsills
Katherine Latham writes for BBC:
Back in our garden, we were visiting our mini ponds daily, excited to see what might have made its home there. We practiced patience – as Thomas advised – which was difficult as at first the ponds grew thick with algae. But then, in just a few days, the waters cleared again. In week two, we were somewhat surprised to find aquatic life – water fleas and mosquito larvae darting about under the surface.
On the Sunday afternoon of week three, I heard squeals of delight and my children came sprinting in from the garden unable to contain their excitement. They had found a fully grown common frog, which they affectionately named "Froggo". Now, we are on tenterhooks, waiting to see if we get any frogspawn.
I always wanted a pond in our garden. I should start executing on my idea real soon.
∞ Google Gets the Message, Launches Gmail
Happy 20th birthday, Gmail!