Apps & Services
I love apps and enjoy testing new services to improve my workflows. These posts discuss my experiences with them.
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Fastmail is preparing to launch an updated photo gallery functionality in approximately two weeks. I wasn’t certain they would keep updating this feature, so I’m glad it’s still available and that it keeps improving. I have a few test images there, but with my own web app for sharing photos now, I’m unsure whether I would switch to Fastmail’s version, since my version and Fastmail’s are quite similar.
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Micro.blog + RSS = ?
Micro.blog is set to launch soon what could be its most exciting new feature yet: an integrated RSS reader. If I’m not mistaken, this could significantly change how I use the service. I currently follow many Mastodon accounts from news sites, so their updates are pushed to my timeline. With a possible RSS integration, I could use the RSS feeds directly, eliminating the need to follow the Mastodon account. I don’t know how the new feature will integrate with the rest of Micro. Continue reading →
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Microsoft finally makes OneDrive look like a Mac app as it gets an all-new UI — 9to5Mac
The all-new OneDrive Activity Center embraces the Swift UI design language, including support for Liquid Glass on macOS 26 and native accessibility options like VoiceOver and Full Keyboard Access.
Can we say: finally?
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9to5Mac’s article “Google launches Snapseed camera for iPhone with pro manual controls, retro film”:
Snapseed, a photo editing app by Google, has launched a new camera feature for iOS with manual adjustments, professional mode, and various film emulation styles. The updated app allows users to customize their photos with real-time filters and provides a full editing stack that enables post-capture modifications. The app is free and available in the App Store, with plans to update the Android version in the future.
I never quite understood why Google is making such an app. It’s great but… why?
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How many new RSS readers can we get in a week? I’m counting two so far. Might be a third one coming soon? Cc @manton
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Using Claude Code, I added an OPML export feature to my RSS Flow webpage so that I could move my feeds into Current so that I could compare the reading experience of a RSS river… let’s see.
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I bought Current. I’m not sure it’s for me. It doesn’t support Inoreader. It might be in a future version. Information density is too low. I like some of its design decisions. It seems that some useful features will come the more I use the app. I’ll see.
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I’m still tweaking my RSS Flow web app using Claude Code. It’s addictive and fun. It’s becoming the exact RSS reader I always wanted.
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The more I tweak my personal RSS reader, called “RSS Flow”, the more I like it. It wouldn’t scale to the level of Inoreader, though. But for a dozen of RSS feeds, it’s really nice.
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Trying out Aeronaut for Bluesky. Very nice. I don’t actually visit Bluesky directly that often because I post to it and follow within Micro.blog. Good to have a dedicated app for things like feeds, though.
Tried it for five minutes on my Mac. Nice, indeed. Certainly better than Bluesky’s offering which is iPhone only. The only thing is that I never quite remember what to use as my Bluesky username.
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Yesterday night I installed and configured ClawdBot on my M4 Mac mini sitting on my home office desk. Now, I’m remote-controlling it with Discord, preferring it over Telegram or iMessage because Discord support in ClawdBot felt more mature. I can ask simple things and get simple answer. It’s exciting. Yet, it was more complicated than I originally thought. ClawdBot is a nerdy thing for really nerd people. More comments about ClawdBot can be found on MacStories.
I see a lot of potential for learning and testing new things with ClawdBot. I’ll probably dedicate a lot of my spare time to it in the coming months. But for now, because I’m very close to leaving for a vacation trip to Egypt, I’ll put that aside for a few weeks.
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Open source vs. open platforms — Manton Reece
Open source gives power to developers. An open platform gives power to everyone. The web needs business models that can sustain both.
Well balanced point of view, something we see less and less often these days.
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Yesterday, I suscribed to Edovia’s Screens so that I could remote control my Mac mini upstair to configure ClawdBot where it is running. Like many other apps, Screens now comes with Liquid Glass support and it’s a mixed bag. Plus, this thing is a battery drain powerhouse! 🫣 I’ve been using Screens 3 a long time ago when we couldn’t remote control into other Macs via FaceTime. I’m happy to see it still around, especially that I know the developer behind it.
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Asking Claude Code to suggest new features and improvements for my photo-sharing app is a lot of fun. Reviewing the list, I see several valid suggestions. However, as a “product manager”, I must decide what gets implemented and what does not. It’s kind of a power trip. You know “A thousand no for each yes”? 😎
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Miniroll: what a great idea, and a well-designed one above all. Is it for me? I don’t know. I barely update my blogroll on Micro.blog. I’ll certainly keep an eye on the changelog to see where it’s going, and who knows…
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Digg is finally in public beta. They also introduced a refreshed design (compared to what was available during the private beta), and I think it’s way better. Also introduced are user-defined communities. It’s currently limited to two per user, which I think is fair. This is my profile. I was looking to create a community, only to realize I was about to dilute myself again. My community is here.
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Apple Creator Studio - A Few Comments
On today’s announcement by Apple: Now we know why it took so long for Apple to update Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Where is iWork? Why no iWork subscription without the pro stuff? I don’t understand this bundling of pro apps with consumer-generalistic apps. Is Apple trying to upsell Pro Apps to consumers via a new subscription? They might be. I don’t think pros want to get Numbers or Pages, though. Icons are utterly un-Apple, or Apple has become something I no longer relate to software-design-wise. Continue reading →
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It appears that Photomator in MIA in today’s announcements which doesn’t bode well for its fate. 😔
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I just discovered that Raindrop.io offers many integrations, including n8n! I might need to reconsider my bookmarking strategies, yet again. I’m currently using Anybox. 🤔 I’m exploring ways to move the data around. If you made a similar move, I’ll be more than happy to learn about your experience. For now, I’ll prompt ChatGPT for strategies.
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My Defaults as of 2026-01-10
Changes from the last edition are in bold. ✉️ Mail Client: Fastmail 📨 Mail Server: Fastmail 📝 Notes: Craft + Apple Notes ✅ To-Do: Things 3 📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: Camera.app 📚 Photo Management: Photos.app + Photomator 🗓️ Calendar: Calendar.app 🗄️ Cloud file storage: iCloud 📰 RSS: Reeder connected to Inoreader 📇 Contacts: Contacts 🕸️ Browser: Mobile Safari + ARC Browser on Mac + ChatGPT Atlas 🧠 AI: ChatGPT + Claude AI 🔎 Search: Kagi Search 💬 Chat: iMessage (WhatsApp when abroad) 🔖 Bookmarks: AnyBox 👓 Read It Later: Inoreader 📜 Word Processing: Ulysses, Craft 📊 Spreadsheets: Numbers 🛝 Presentations: Keynote 🛒 Shopping Lists: Reminders 🧑🍳 Meal Planning: None 💰 Budgeting & Personal Finance: Numbers 🗞️ News: La Presse (Apple News for English news) 🎶 Music: Apple Music 🎧 Podcasts: Apple Podcasts 🔐 Password Management: iCloud Keychain & Apple Passwords 👨🏻💻 Blog hosting: Ghost, Micro. Continue reading →