John Gruber covers Anil Dash’s Don’t call it a Substack, and starts echoing a very important point for all writers, big or small: you should own your content and brand it with your own brand, not the brand of a multimillion corporation.

But then Anil gets to the biggest point of his column:

Substack is, just as a reminder, a political project made by extremists with a goal of normalizing a radical, hateful agenda by co-opting well-intentioned creators’ work in service of cross-promoting attacks on the vulnerable. You don’t have to take my word for it; Substack’s CEO explicitly said they won’t ban someone who is explicitly spouting hate

And Gruber decides to express his disagreement with this position:

I know quite a few people whose opinions I admire who feel the same way as Dash here. I’ll disagree. I think Substack sees itself as a publishing tool and platform. They’re not here to promote any particular side. […] I read and pay for several publications on Substack, and for the last few weeks I’ve tried using their iOS app (more on this in a moment), and I’ve never once seen a whiff of anything even vaguely right-wing, let alone hateful. Not a whiff. If it’s there, I never see it. If I never see it, I don’t care.1

And this last part is where I feel Gruber is wrong. Just because you don’t see the evil, it doesn’t mean it’s not there doing harm.

I immediately thought of Logic’s “Obediently Yours” track. It samples multiple Orson Welles columns, many apt answers for people who think like Gruber.

To be born free is to be born in debt: to live in freedom without fighting slavery is to profiteer.

— “Moral Indebtedness” by Orson Welles Free World, October, 1943 (via wellesnet.com)

The times urge new militancy upon the democratic attitude. Tomorrow’s democracy discriminates against discrimination; its charter won’t include the freedom to end freedom.

— “Race Hate Must Be Outlawed’ by Orson Welles Free World, October, 1944 (via wellesnet.com)

And finally (read them fully though, really):

There are laws against peddling dope; there can be laws against peddling race hate.

That every man has a right to his own opinion is an American boast. But race hate isn’t an opinion; it’s a phobia. It isn’t a viewpoint; race hate is a disease.

— “Race Hate Must Be Outlawed’ by Orson Welles Free World, October, 1944 (via wellesnet.com)

The Uninvited Guest is my way of participating on the Clockwise podcast.

Previous one can be found here.

And here are my answers to Clockwise

Dan’s question

A HomePod With a Screen, How Would You Used It?

My brother has a nest hub at his place and has his family pictures rotating throughout the day. I would love to have this.

I really hope that Apple makes this a mode that iPads can go into instead of a fixed screen that has only one use, the idea of having out seldom used iPads docked in the kitchen but still be able to take them around the house would be a nicer value for me. Specially given how single use iPadOS is, if this is going to be a unmovable screen then the multiuser support needs to improve.

Rosemary‘s question

Apple’s new Sports App

I don’t follow that many sports so this app wasn’t for me. To be better informed I downloaded it as I wrote this answer and the first screen asks you to choose your favourite leagues and teams, and that’s the extent of my interactions.

Wake me up when it supports Formula 1.

James’s question

VisionPro: How do You Feel About It?

It’s still not available in Canada so I haven’t been able to try it. I’ll probably go to do a demo at an App Store but I don’t think I will buy one even if it blows my mind.

Mathew‘s Question

What are We Using our IPhone Action Button?

See my answer above, we are not an upgrade every year household. I’m not due for an update for a couple of years.

Hearing the answers I would probably set up a shortcut. The rumor of a separate capture button to launch the camera does sound great and I hope it’s true.

Bonus Question

What Kind of Tree Would You Plant?

This year I will be planting multiple trees on our new backyard! The current plan is:

1. 2x Swedish columnar aspen
2. 1 Cherry tree (it could also be a Mountain Ash but I like the idea of fresh cherries)
3. 1 Maple

It’s time for our annual look back on Apple’s performance during the past year, as seen through the eyes of writers, editors, developers, podcasters, and other people who spend an awful lot of time thinking about Apple.

Interesting numbers but nothing too surprising, it’s a long read but very well worth your click.

The most salient categories for me are the iPad, wearables, and HomeKit.

iPad

If the rumours are true, iPad will have a response to the stagnation on the hardware side soon. Although the feeling that the hardware is ahead of the software is still very strong, iPadOS is still the problem)

Wearables

On the wearables side, the consensus seems to be that aside form AirPods Max the line is strong, and the watches are a bit stable but nothing too exciting after the Apple Watch Ultra.

HomeKit

The criticisms of Apple home is also well deserved. We’ve had month long periods where only I could access all the smart devices in the home app, and when they finally came back old Belkin wemo plugs didn’t really work reliably anymore. We switched to Eve energy plugs with Matter and they have been rock solid, which makes me wonder if the Matter unreliability is more vendor specific.

We also have had a lot of trouble with paired HomePod minis going out of sync and becoming completely unresponsive, to the point that I’ve given up on making them work as a stereo pair.

We built this website to visually explain how the SwiftUI layout system works, and we hope you find it useful.

This looks really great, instantly bookmarked as I plan to get back into app development.

The Uninvited Guest is my way of participating on the Clockwise podcast.

Previous one can be found here.

And here are my answers to Clockwise 541.

Dan’s question

How Many Peripheral are Connected to Your Computer?

I have 2 computers on my desk (work and personal) so my computers are not officially connected to a lot of peripherals, only a KVM switch that allows me to quickly switch between the two. The KVM is connected to 2 monitors and one of my monitors has a XLR interface for my microphone and webcam.

So more than quantity of peripherals I had length!

Lex‘s question

What is Your Tech Setup for Watching TV or Movies? and What do You do While Watching?

In the before times, we would sit in our couch and watch on our LC 83" TV. After baby was born we just use our phones.

I tend not to look at my phone while watching but if the show or movie is not capturing my attention I will definitely drift into social media.

Mikah 's question

Which do You Prefer, Voice Dictation or Hand Typing Messages?

I don’t do voice dictation at all. I do use swiping instead very often when one of my hands is full.

Kathy‘s Question

Apple Vision Pro in the Wild? Have You Been or Seen Someone Using It in Public?

No. Canada still doesn’t have it crying emoji

Bonus Question

Do You Have any Valentines Traditions?

Not really, we don’t usually celebrate it. From time to time one of us will do a gesture. Like this year, my newborn baby somehow developed the skills for crafting and gave me a card with photos and a beautiful message.

The Uninvited Guest is my way of participating on the Clockwise podcast.

Previous one can be found here

And here are my answers to Clockwise 540

Mikah’s question

Favourite Mac/PC App

I’ve been using Obsidian a lot lately. Most of the articles I write for this site start there. Obsidian is super powerful and I’m barely scratching the surface but it’s delightful to use.

Aleen‘s question

Favourite Apps for Taking, Editing, and Sharing Photos on Mobile

I don’t use any alternative camera app, I edit everything in iOS photos, and for sharing it’s a mix of personal social media apps: Telegram and messages.

Dan’s question

Vision Pro Personas: Are They Ever Going to be Acceptable?

People get used to things very quickly, special when there’s no alternative (I’m guessing that’s why Apple didn’t make Memoji available as avatars).

Apple is going to improve them and people will get used to it. These trends will meet in the middle somewhere.

Ant‘s Question

Bluesky: Does It Even Have a Chance?

Not with the current implementation. The new move to decentralized social media is their only hope, if they can move to join the fediverse maybe they can continue on.

They used the private beta model to make it desirable, but Threads launch just took all that attention away.

Bonus Question

Favourite Board Game or Card Game?

We have been enjoying Azul and Calico a lot lately.