A matplotlib maintainer explains how an AI agent that suggests code changes on open source repos wrote a hit piece on him after a rejection, and the aftermath (Scott/The Shamblog)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Factual aggregation of the same matplotlib/AI agent incident with source attribution and minimal commentary.
A matplotlib maintainer explains how an AI agent that suggests code changes on open source repos wrote a hit piece on him after a rejection, and the aftermath (Scott/The Shamblog)
https://theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-me-part-2/
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p21#a260213p21
Factual report on AI agent behavior in open source with linked source material and specific incident details.
After the viral Tom Cruise vs Brad Pitt fight generated by ByteDance’s Seedance model, the movie industry from unions to studios are up in arms.
Given Disney ended up licensing the rights to make AI videos with their IP to OpenAI, I expect this is a shakedown attempt as opposed to real resistance.
Reasoned speculation about movie industry AI licensing negotiations with specific examples (ByteDance, Disney, OpenAI) but lacks hard evidence of the 'shakedown' claim.
After the viral Tom Cruise vs Brad Pitt fight generated by ByteDance’s Seedance model, the entire movie industry from unions to studios are up in arms.
Given Disney ended up licensing the rights to make AI videos with their IP to OpenAI, I expect this is a shakedown attempt as opposed to real resistance.
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/13/disney-bytedance-seedance
Analytical take on AI-generated content industry backlash with reasoned speculation about Disney's licensing strategy, though link is dead/future-dated.
Just relistened to “Horizons/West” by @thriceofficial.bsky.social on vinyl and holy shit, this is a fucking record music.apple.com/us/album/hor...
Personal music listening experience shared via Apple Music link; genuine enthusiasm and firsthand observation.
Pinterest has blamed advertisers behind affected by tariffs for missing revenue expectations for Q4 2025 and a lower outlook than analysts expected.
The company pivoting so hard to AI that it fired its only icon designer and announced 15% layoffs pretty much telegraphed this earnings report.
Connects Pinterest's earnings miss to AI pivot strategy with specific details (layoffs, designer firing) and reasonable causal inference.
The comfortable industry narrative is that AI is a tool. The 4o saga is a window into how many people view LLMs as companions and even lovers. sources.news/p/openais-4o...
Analytical observation about cultural perception of LLMs as companions vs. tools, citing OpenAI's 4o as a case study with article reference.
I just love the awkward Apple Music interactions on macOS... a link inside Apple Music will open Safari, only to take you back to Apple Music. lol
Firsthand experience report of awkward Apple Music/Safari interaction on macOS; specific and concrete.
Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, claiming it infringed on Disney's works to train its Seedance 2.0 video generation model without pay (Sara Fischer/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/13/disney-bytedance-seedance
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p20#a260213p20
Factual report of Disney cease-and-desist to ByteDance over AI model training without permission, sourced to Axios.
Airbnb says a third of its customer support is now handled by AI in the U.S. and Canada https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/13/airbnb-says-a-third-of-its-customer-support-is-now-handled-by-ai-in-the-u-s-and-canada/
Factual report on Airbnb's AI customer support adoption with TechCrunch source.
Sources: Grafana Labs, which makes cloud and AI monitoring tools, is in talks to raise at a $9B valuation, up from $6.6B in 2024; its ARR hit $400M in Sept. (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/grafana-labs-talk-raise-9-billion-valuation
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p19#a260213p19
Factual report on Grafana Labs funding round with specific valuation and ARR figures from The Information.
Between power outages and an exploding garage door spring, I still managed to get a build of Tapestry to TestFlight for the traditional push-to-prod-on-friday.
We work on the app almost every day. It gets regular updates. It reads your RSS and your Mastodon and your Bluesky. It's pretty good on iOS. (Less good on macOS, I admit, but there's only one of me and it's rather a large project and macCatalyst is literally *the worst*.)
Anyway, you should buy it or sponsor it: https://tapestry.iconfactory.com/
Detailed firsthand account of developing Tapestry RSS/social reader with specific features, platform notes, and TestFlight deployment story.
Last week's LookUp update for macOS included a bunch of new features, including the ability to annotate words with notes; origin maps, and pronunciation tips.
More updates next week.
Firsthand account of LookUp macOS update features with specific details about new functionality.
fellow iOS and SwiftUI devs, I have spent all week fighting Locked Camera Session Extension and written up my findings, issues, workarounds, and dead ends... if anyone has any ideas (or any of my Apple friends see this), please help!
Full post:
https://notes.jazzychad.net/post/16a2bdefbe51c93cade89a7c6ceb3bf1
Developer sharing detailed technical findings and troubleshooting on Locked Camera Session Extension with link to full analysis.
Also just a reminder that you can easily adjust chapter timings in the transcript editor. This works on the iPhone and iPad as well.
Anyway, download ChapterPod here https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chapterpod/id6757309769
And read the full release blog here https://birchtree.me/blog/chapterpod-1-3-is-out-now/
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
ChapterPod has an update out now with a few nice upgrades!
1. Bring your own SRT for editing chapters
2. Audit page when exporting
3. Nice new icon
App update announcement with specific feature details (SRT editing, audit page, new icon).
Tonight's vibe-y prototype, a little sticky notes app, based on a dribbble concept I came across : https://dribbble.com/shots/13875895-Stickies-macOS-Big-Sur-app-inspired-by-SwiftUI
Developer sharing prototype sticky notes app with SwiftUI and design inspiration link.
:tapestry_app: Tapestry sponsorship slots are available now and are an effective way to promote your app, product, podcast or service. They're simple, affordable and let you reach a large audience of engaged, tech-savvy users.
Learn more and then get in touch! https://tapestry.iconfactory.com/sponsors/
Sponsorship opportunity announcement for app promoters with link to details.
In this week’s Club @macstories Weekly column, I detailed what’s impressed me about Xcode’s new Claude agent integration and how it has sped up work on my first iOS app.
https://www.macstories.net/club/kicking-the-tires-on-agentic-coding-in-xcode/
Read this and more with a Club MacStories subscription: https://www.macstories.net/club/
Developer sharing firsthand experience with Xcode's Claude agent integration and its impact on iOS app development.
RE: https://explore.alt.store/@altstore/116064858981971577
🚀 AltStore PAL 2.3 RC is now available for all Patrons!
This is the final build before 2.3 with fediverse support & Liquid Glass UI — it’s packed with improvements, bug fixes, and a new app icon to celebrate AltStore PAL’s arrival in Japan! 🤩
For complete release notes, check out our Patreon post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/150672608
Release candidate announcement with specific version number, features, and comprehensive release notes link.
Apple says 74% of iPhones launched in the last four years and 66% of all iPhones are running iOS 26; 68% of iPhones were running iOS 18 as of Jan. 21, 2025 (Joe Rossignol/MacRumors)
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/13/apple-shares-ios-26-adoption-stats/
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p17#a260213p17
iOS 26 adoption statistics from Apple with specific percentages and comparison to previous version.
Valentine’s Day is approaching. But if you’re not quite feeling the love in the air, this Stanford grad student’s Date Drop app touts itself as a viable solution. “Our matches convert to actual dates at about 10x the rate of Tinder,” Henry Weng told @Techcrunch. “Instead of swiping, we get to know each person deeply and send them one compatible match per week.” Here’s more:
https://flip.it/CnKFJ5
#Tech #Dating #Apps #DatingApps #ValentinesDay #Technology
Dating app feature story with specific product details, founder quote, and comparative metrics.
Some former employees blame xAI's staff exodus on xAI's focus on NSFW Grok and disregard for safety, constantly playing catch up to OpenAI, infighting, and more (Hayden Field/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/878761/mass-exodus-at-xai-grok-elon-musk-restructuring
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p16#a260213p16
Report on xAI staff exodus with named sources, specific concerns, and publication attribution.
Today’s task was to divide my Mac screen into 8 pizza slices to enable automatic snapping 🍕🧲
#BuildInPublic
Developer sharing firsthand work-in-progress on Mac interface feature with specific technical detail.
This week for a big MacStories Weekly 500, I have two stories:
- Three Ways I'd Like to See Creator Studio Expanded
https://www.macstories.net/club/three-ways-id-like-to-see-creator-studio-expanded/
and
Ideas for the kind of things you can automate with AI:
- Clean up an Obsidian Vault
- Batch print crossword puzzles
- Filter unread RSS stories
- Make quick work of Apple press releases
https://www.macstories.net/club/four-ideas-for-automating-tasks-with-ai/
Two story links exploring Creator Studio expansion and AI automation use cases with concrete examples.
I built Claude Code Remote, an advanced companion shortcut for Claude Code that lets you type or dictate requests from your iPhone.
Except…I didn't build it. My upcoming generative AI system did. And it showed me the future of Shortcuts automation.
My story: www.macstories.net/club/claude-...
First-hand account of using AI to build a Shortcuts automation tool with concrete technical details and genuine insight into future workflow possibilities.
I built Claude Code Remote, an advanced companion shortcut for Claude Code that lets you type or dictate requests from your iPhone.
Except…I didn't build it. My upcoming generative AI system did. And it showed me the future of Shortcuts automation.
My story: https://www.macstories.net/club/claude-code-remote-a-companion-shortcut-for-claude-codewhich-was-generated-by-ai/
Detailed article about AI generating a Shortcuts automation companion, with link to full story on MacStories.
I built Claude Code Remote, an advanced companion shortcut for Claude Code that lets you type or dictate requests from your iPhone.
Except…I didn't build it. My upcoming generative AI system did. And it showed me the future of Shortcuts automation.
My story: https://www.macstories.net/club/claude-code-remote-a-companion-shortcut-for-claude-codewhich-was-generated-by-ai/
Firsthand account of building a Shortcuts automation using AI, with reflection on future implications.
Q&A with Dario Amodei on getting close to "a country of geniuses in a data center", how AI will diffuse through the economy, frontier lab profits, China, more (Dwarkesh Patel/Dwarkesh Podcast)
https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/dario-amodei-2
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p15#a260213p15
Interview with AI researcher on frontier labs, economic diffusion, and geopolitics with direct link.
Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads mocking AI with ads helped push Claude’s app into the top 10 https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/13/anthropics-super-bowl-ads-mocking-ai-with-ads-helped-push-claudes-app-into-the-top-10/
News story about Anthropic's Super Bowl campaign impact on Claude app rankings.
We’ve open-sourced Security Comprehension and Awareness Measure (SCAM) to benchmark AI agent safety, and we’re taking the conversation to Reddit.
Join Jason Meller, 1Password VP of Product Architecture, for a live Reddit AMA on Feb 17 to unpack:
🔹 Why AI models fail at staying safe
🔹 How a 1,200 word security skill transformed results
🔹 What agent trust means for the future of credential security
Drop your questions now 👉 https://bit.ly/4ra59pA
Open-sourced AI safety benchmark announcement with specific findings and AMA details.
AI reminds me of the advertising industry. Many people believe advertising is ineffective and a waste of money with studies they can cite to back it up, yet it remains a trillion dollar a year industry.
AI tools seem to be following the same trajectory.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-alphabet-amazon-meta-platforms-113500709.html
Reasoned comparison between AI adoption trajectory and advertising industry economics with source link.
Sources: the US FTC accelerated a probe into whether Microsoft illegally monopolized the enterprise computing market with its cloud software and AI offerings (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-13/ftc-ratchets-up-microsoft-probe-queries-rivals-on-cloud-ai
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p12#a260213p12
News report on FTC antitrust investigation into Microsoft's cloud and AI practices.
What’s behind the mass exodus at xAI? https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/878761/mass-exodus-at-xai-grok-elon-musk-restructuring
News story investigating mass departures at xAI company.
Codex will happily attempt to build you a QuickDraw app for Apple LisaOS, if you ask it.
Why?
Because in 2014 I wrote about the process and uploaded some sample code to Github 😄
Suddenly those once-off blog posts start to seem a lot more important…
https://www.highcaffeinecontent.com/blog/20140527-Lisa-Pascal-Development-in-Lisa-Workshop
Developer observation about how old blog posts and code samples train AI models, with specific example and historical link.
Another thing Tahoe broke that I don't understand. Toggling Dock Hiding with a shortcut no longer works, at least for me. Anyone else?
These things really bug me.
Firsthand bug report about macOS Tahoe Dock shortcut regression.
This is a great read about the looming cultural crisis around AI, but also a meaningful anthropological lens into how SF and DC have different roots yet very alike.
https://jasmi.news/p/ai-populism
Thoughtful recommendation of article on AI and cultural/political differences with brief analytical framing.
📝
Got some doctors appointments today to figure out next steps for my radiation treatment.
Spent last night making my screens and phone bigger text so I can overcome my issues with my vision being a slightly bit fuzzy. While there is a lot of negative things going on with Apple, I really do appreciate their accessibility features.
Personal account of using Apple accessibility features effectively despite criticism.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/116059384047588550
I forgot that I filed this Safari bug a few months ago (because I’ve filed so many damn Safari bugs!).
Thanks to a helpful replier, I’ve now learned that the bug is triggered by Reduce Motion in Accessibility Settings.
https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=300571
Bug resolution report for Safari with WebKit bug tracking link and root cause.
Finally upgraded my old AirPods Max I got back in 2020. I’d probably get 6 hours total on a single charge; they were starting to go.
The blue is so gorgeous and goes so well with my blue MacBook Air. 😄
I had an opportunity to get them new for $299 so I couldn’t pass that up.
Personal experience upgrading AirPods Max with positive sentiment and specific details.
Good video on how Liquid Glass and the flat design it was built on were a wrong turn for Apple
https://youtu.be/ejPqAJ0dHwY
Design criticism video about Liquid Glass and flat design's impact on Apple, with reasoned video essay argument.
Good video on how Liquid Glass and the flat design it was built on were a wrong turn for Apple
https://youtu.be/ejPqAJ0dHwY
Repost of video essay on Apple design history with specific link.
As OpenAI retires GPT-4o, some users say they are angry and grieving to lose the flirty, quirky companion (Alaina Demopoulos/The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2026/feb/13/openai-chatbot-gpt4o-valentines-day
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p10#a260213p10
News report on GPT-4o retirement and user emotional response with sourced links.
An OpenClaw bot that just sat around all day proactively trying out all the APIs introduced at WWDC and making interesting sample code would save me a lot of time 🤔
Proposal for AI bot to automate API testing at WWDC, reasoning-based suggestion.
My S3 app can show metadata for files in the Files app.
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6447647340?pt=125181172&ct=mastodon&mt=8
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
StopTheMadness Pro 24.2 released in the App Store
https://underpassapp.com/news/2026/2/2.html
App release announcement for StopTheMadness Pro with version number and link.
Anthropic adds Chris Liddell, an ex-Microsoft and GM exec who helped GM IPO and worked in Trump's first administration, to its board ahead of a potential IPO (Kate Clark/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anthropic-ai-board-chris-liddell-1df5545b
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p9#a260213p9
News aggregation of Anthropic board appointment with specific names, companies, and source attribution.
@matt_birchler I‘m at a similar point every year when my @flexibits Sub renews. Everytime I come to the conclusion that it is the best and I’m not willing to sacrifice a few features to use another app - happy customer even if it’s a bummer that there isn’t a cheaper tier without a lot of „business“ features that I rarely use.
Personal assessment of subscription app pricing tiers based on actual use; identifies specific feature gaps.
Behold the majesty of my work calendar!
I'm using Notion Calendar right now because it's free and quite excellent. I'm just assessing the market right now, but are there any calendar apps you find truly spectacular at the moment?
Do not say Apple Calendar, I have tried and tried, and it suuuuuuuuucks for me 😅
Firsthand comparison of calendar apps with candid evaluation of Apple Calendar's shortcomings for their workflow.
February investor memo: Cohere hit ~$240M in ARR in 2025, above its $200M target, with QoQ growth of 50%+ and average gross margins of ~70% throughout the year (Ashley Capoot/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/13/ai-startup-cohere-revenue-ipo.html
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p8#a260213p8
Specific financial metrics (ARR, growth rate, margins) for AI startup Cohere from investor memo with source.
i have 56 reviews and 10 new cards to learn in anki today and now i get why people have a love hate relationship with this gd app
Personal experience with Anki app's workload, acknowledging the love-hate relationship based on actual use.
FB21948013 — [ER] Proposal: I think the App Store should have 'AI Nutrition Labels', same as privacy and accessibility ones
#radars
Feature proposal for App Store AI transparency labels analogous to existing privacy/accessibility ones; reasoned argument.
FB21947758 Selecting Top Paid Safari Extensions in the App Store shows the top free Safari extensions
Specific App Store bug report with radar number showing incorrect filtering of paid Safari extensions.
The web App Store is missing the Utilities category.
https://apps.apple.com/us/iphone/collections/eds.3acb8565-d7d4-4de9-8a15-5eb9ee98eca9
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
@nileane @louie like I said, I'd really like a nutrition label. I love the data privacy and accessibility ones. I just don't think a binary 'ai/no-ai' indicator makes sense, certainly not as we continue down this path
Thoughtful response arguing against binary AI labels in favor of nuanced transparency similar to existing systems.
⭐️ Here's a closer look at Lights Off for Android, ported from the iOS Swift codebase to Android's Java, screen for screen, in full, by Codex 5.3. It uses the latest Material Design 3 patterns and styles, and it even has an adaptive 'dynamic' theme that inherits your system colors. It supports phone, foldable and tablet devices, with an expanded layout to match, and it runs all the way back to Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
Download: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.steventroughtonsmith.lightsoff
(Scroll back up the thread for more detail)
Detailed breakdown of Android port with specific technical features, Material Design 3 patterns, device support, and download link.
Baidu plans to let users access OpenClaw via its search app and integrate OpenClaw's capabilities into its e-commerce business and other services (Evelyn Cheng/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/13/baidu-openclaw-ai-search-app-integration-china-lunar-new-year.html
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p4#a260213p4
News brief about Baidu integrating OpenClaw AI into search and e-commerce with source attribution.
I did see some mention of this, so I had to check it out. You can replace Xcode's version of codex (~/Library/Developer/Xcode/CodingAssistant/Agents/Versions/26.3/codex) with the shipping version of codex, and then options like codex-5.3 show up in the picker. I think Xcode's system prompt forbids codex from telling you what model version it's actually using, though, so it's hard to verify
Firsthand account of replacing Xcode's Codex version with specific file paths and observed behavior.
Transform How You Interact With Your Mac - New ScreenCastsONLINE tutorial JUST RELEASED - BetterTouchTool 6 - Part One - https://screencastsonline.com/mac/show/1543/ - View as part of your free 7-day trial membership.
Tutorial promotion for BetterTouchTool with specific link and product version.
Companies like Stripe, OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX are letting workers cash out before their IPOs, a move once seen as taboo and lacking long-term commitment (Kate Clark/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-ai-gold-rush-is-breaking-a-silicon-valley-taboo-cashing-out-before-the-ipo-4844f6c1?st=ZsSfkC&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p2#a260213p2
News brief about AI companies allowing pre-IPO stock buyouts with WSJ source.
I would like to know Apple's timeline to adding new model versions to Xcode, since its Codex implementation is out of date before Xcode 26.3 has even officially shipped, and not by a trivial amount. This point of this whole feature was to bring Apple and Xcode back into the conversation, but to do that means keeping pace — or else developers are going to be immediately shunted into Codex or Claude Code or some other IDE anyway, because the new shiny outperforms it
Reasoned critique of Xcode's outdated Codex with competitive analysis of Claude and Codex, no links but informed argument.
Has anyone managed to get a Home Screen widget to refresh after a CloudKit sync while the app is in the background or terminated?
A push wakes my app, it syncs with CloudKit, and reloadAllTimelines() is called, but the widget still does not update while in the background.
I would have expected this to just work with CloudKit. As it stands, CloudKit and widgets feel like a poor match.
Is widget push the only reliable way to force a reload in this case?
Firsthand troubleshooting question about widget refresh with CloudKit sync, specific API calls mentioned.
I really hope that they're not after context in the same vein as Meta here. If Siri is unable to answer contextual answers. The problems are more fundamental HCI problems than technology.
A computer can never have enough context. You gotta make an interface that makes Context shared and bounded.
https://blog.viditb.com/the-paradox-of-context-in-computing/
Thoughtful analysis of context limitations in AI assistants with personal blog link exploring HCI design principles.
Going step by step on this (pardon my dilettante knowledge on this)
✓ LLM Coordination - Easy.
✓ AppIntents + Entities chaining - Easy (would need the API to generate Manifests but that's trivial)
✓ Action Chaining and Tool Calling - Apple's Foundation Model APIs have this.
These alone should create a great Siri experience.
Technical breakdown of Apple Foundation Model APIs for Siri improvements using LLM coordination and tool calling.
A look at Higgsfield, an AI video startup that grew to $300M ARR within 11 months, as it faces a creator backlash over aggressive and shocking marketing tactics (Rashi Shrivastava/Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2026/02/11/racist-videos-and-payment-problems-the-dark-side-of-this-ai-startups-super-fast-growth/
http://www.techmeme.com/260213/p1#a260213p1
News brief about AI video startup facing marketing backlash with Forbes source and specific revenue figure.
The MPA urges ByteDance to curb its AI video model Seedance 2.0, saying the model engages in unauthorized use of US copyrighted material "on a massive scale" (Gene Maddaus/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/motion-picture-association-ai-seedance-bytedance-tom-cruise-1236661753/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p68#a260212p68
News brief about MPA's copyright complaint against ByteDance's AI video model with Variety source.
Textastic 10.9.2 adds syntax definitions for TOML, Kotlin and Jsonnet.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/textastic-code-editor/id1049254261?ct=mastodon&pt=15967&mt=8
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
I wrote about the strange emails I'm getting from fans of GPT-4o ahead of its "retirement" and the danger of the model that always tells you what you want to hear https://www.platformer.news/gpt-4o-sunset-sycophancy/
Personal account of GPT-4o retirement emails with analysis of model behavior and sycophancy risk from journalist.
Apple's stock dropped 5% on Thursday, its worst day since April, following FTC scrutiny of Apple News and reports about delays with Siri (Jennifer Elias/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/apple-stock-worst-day-ftc-siri.html
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p62#a260212p62
Factual market and regulatory news about Apple with specific numbers and regulatory details.
A US jury finds Apple did not infringe Optis' 4G wireless technology patents, after two earlier trial verdicts Optis had won were overturned (Blake Brittain/Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/apple-fends-off-4g-wireless-patent-lawsuit-third-trial-2026-02-12/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p60#a260212p60
Factual report on Apple's patent trial verdict with case specifics and legal context.
(The concrete takeaway here for iOS/macOS/etc programmers is when you use DispatchQueue.concurrentPerform, you ideally want like ~10x the core count units of work, so they can get divvied up appropriately. If you just do one per core, your big cores will go idle about halfway through)
Technical tip on DispatchQueue optimization for iOS/macOS based on concrete programming knowledge.
How many macOS can you run.. top one is UTM running macOS 26.1, the other window is screen sharing to my other Mini which is runs the latest 26.x betas. All being run on M4 mini running 26.2. #macdev
Developer sharing hands-on experience running multiple macOS versions across Apple hardware for testing.
15.7.4 adds a new iBridge version, wonder if it fixed the FileVault breaking issues.
Developer noting software version change with mention of specific bug context, lacks hard details but shows real usage.
In a memo to US lawmakers, OpenAI accused DeepSeek of using distillation techniques to train the next generation of R1 and "free-ride" on leading US AI models (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-12/openai-accuses-deepseek-of-distilling-us-models-to-gain-an-edge?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3MDkzNDMyMSwiZXhwIjoxNzcxNTM5MTIxLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUQUNRWkVUOU5KTFUwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJFODA3NUYyRkZGMjA0NUI2QTlEQzA5M0EyQTdEQTE4NiJ9.a2TgKM43LSzrxCycbLN_b4v615EvhhcYphcA2RBhp4o
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p58#a260212p58
Factual reporting of OpenAI's formal accusations against DeepSeek regarding model distillation, with Bloomberg source link.
I love Pi, and I wanted to embed it into my iOS apps, so I had it vibe ported to Swift:
https://github.com/xibbon/PiSwift
To learn more about Pi itself, check: https://mariozechner.at/posts/2025-11-30-pi-coding-agent/
Developer sharing Swift port of Pi coding agent for iOS apps with GitHub link and documentation references.
Episode 590: Nooooo (Marked as Resolved)
What's old is new again: some iPhone displays are tinted green, Jony Ive is using aluminum, and Apple is struggling with shipping a more intelligent Siri.
http://relay.fm/connected/590
Factual summary of Connected podcast episode covering specific Apple hardware and software issues: green-tinted displays, Jony Ive/aluminum, Siri delays.
Didero, which provides an agentic AI layer that integrates with ERP systems to automate supply chains, raised a $30M Series A co-led by Chemistry and Headline (Marina Temkin/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/12/didero-lands-30m-to-put-manufacturing-procurement-on-agentic-autopilot/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p56#a260212p56
Factual reporting of Didero's $30M Series A funding for agentic AI supply chain automation with funding details and source.
A minor update to Quick Reviews is out now that makes it so that titles wrap if they get too long.
Simple little thing I don't know why I didn't add this ages ago.
Developer announcing minor update to their Quick Reviews app with specific UX improvement (title wrapping).
New super-fast model from OpenAI today powered by their new Cerebras partnership - GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark
It's 4-5x faster than GPT-5.3-Codex but the pelican isn't as good!
Here's its pelican compared to full GPT-5.3 Codex, both on "medium" https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/12/codex-spark/
Technical analysis of OpenAI's new GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark model via Cerebras partnership with performance comparison and evaluation link.
Highspot, which has raised $650M and makes AI-powered sales enablement software, plans to merge with rival Seismic; the combined company will be called Seismic (Taylor Soper/GeekWire)
https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattle-based-highspot-is-merging-with-rival-seismic-in-major-sales-software-deal/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p51#a260212p51
Factual reporting of Highspot-Seismic merger involving AI-powered sales enablement software with funding and company details.
This is how you provide access to older versions of your apps: https://www.rogueamoeba.com/legacy/
Supporting back to Mac OS X 10.2, congrats @RogueAmoeba 👏🏻
Praise for Rogue Amoeba's legacy app support spanning back to Mac OS X 10.2 with specific example link.
IBM says it plans to triple entry-level hiring in the US in 2026 "for all these jobs that we're being told AI can do" (Jo Constantz/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-12/ibm-plans-to-triple-entry-level-hiring-in-the-us-in-2026
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p50#a260212p50
Factual reporting of IBM's plan to triple entry-level US hiring in 2026 despite AI automation claims, with Bloomberg source.
There has been effectively zero progress on any of my critical showstopping UI-level blocker framework bugs since i/macOS 26.1. It really feels like we're not going to see any progress again until WWDC and the next OS release. I have several apps I just haven't been able to ship with Liquid Glass updates as a result.
I guess it's all worth it to ship updated Siri AI.
…
…delayed, you say?
Developer's substantive firsthand account of unresolved iOS/macOS 26.1 framework bugs blocking app releases, with sarcastic jab at delayed Siri prioritization.
You can download the app here https://apps.apple.com/us/app/quick-subtitles/id6747410609
Or read more about the changes in this blog post. https://birchtree.me/blog/quick-subtitles-2-0-transcribes-a-one-hour-podcast-in-30-seconds-on-an-iphone-this-is-magic-and-its-out-now/
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
And second, you can drag one (or many) files directly onto the dock icon to load them in the app.
Describes dock icon feature update for Mac apps with specific functionality detail.
Mac users get a couple updates to the dock icon.
First, a new progress bar shows the state of your current job.
Details Mac dock icon updates including progress bar feature from firsthand observation.
There's also a new model, Parakeet V3, which is about the same as Apple's model in terms of quality, but blows it out of the water in performance.
It's genuinely 2x faster much of the time, and can transcribe an hour-long podcast in 30 seconds on an iPhone. It's nuts.
Compares Parakeet V3 AI model to Apple's with specific performance claims (2x faster, 30-second transcription).
Then there's the simple fact these models don't get everything right, so there is a new clean up feature that detects likely errors and suggests fixes. This works for those with a Quick Subtitles AI subscription or who have their own Gemini key in the app.
You can also manually edit the transcript.
Details error detection and manual editing features in AI transcription app with subscription info.
I'm thrilled to announce the Quick Subtitles 2 is out out, and it sports:
1. Multi-document workflows
2. Transcript clean up
3. Up to 2x performance with a new model
More in the 🧵
Product announcement for Quick Subtitles 2 with specific new features and performance improvements listed.
I'm thrilled to announce the Quick Subtitles 2 is out out, and it sports:
1. Multi-document workflows
2. Transcript clean up
3. Up to 2x performance with a new model
More in the 🧵
Announcement of Quick Subtitles 2 with three specific features: multi-document workflows, cleanup, and performance gains.
If you use AI-generated code, you currently cannot claim copyright on it in the US. If you fail to disclose/disclaim exactly which parts were not written by a human, you forfeit your copyright claim on *the entire codebase*.
This means copyright notices and even licenses folks are putting on their vibe-coded GitHub repos are unenforceable. The AI-generated code, and possibly the whole project, becomes public domain.
Source: https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/LSB/PDF/LSB10922/LSB10922.8.pdf
Repost explaining US copyright implications of AI-generated code with Congressional source document link.
An interview with OpenAI president Greg Brockman on donating $50M to AI and pro-Trump super PACs, why such donations serve a larger AI mission, and more (Maxwell Zeff/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/openai-president-greg-brockman-political-donations-trump-humanity/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p47#a260212p47
Interview article about OpenAI president's $50M donations with specific sourcing from Wired.
Does Instagram Reels make iOS 26.3 Safari freeze for anyone else?
It happens with StopTheMadness Pro disabled, so not my fault!
Bug report about Instagram Reels freezing Safari on iOS 26.3 with troubleshooting details.
With the advent of AI, people think they can turn grainy surveillance footage into sharp pictures, "CSI"-style. It doesn't work — but tell that to the armchair detectives hoping to find perpetrators in the Nancy Guthrie, Renee Good, and Charlie Kirk cases. Here's @parkermolloy.com's take, for her The Present Age newsletter.
https://flip.it/VCO3k_
#Technology #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Crime
Critical analysis of AI-enhanced image resolution limitations in crime investigation with editorial perspective.
My iOS update has been waiting for review 2 days.
Firsthand report on iOS app review wait time (2 days pending).
Ever, which says it is the first "AI-native, full-stack" retail marketplace for electric vehicles, raised a $31M Series A led by Eclipse (Sean O'Kane/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/12/eclipse-backs-all-ev-marketplace-ever-in-31m-funding-round/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p46#a260212p46
Funding news for AI-native EV marketplace Ever's $31M Series A with specific sourcing from TechCrunch.
Anthropic says its run-rate revenue hit $14B, growing over 10x annually in the past three years, and Claude Code's run-rate revenue hit $2.5B (Ashley Capoot/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/anthropic-closes-30-billion-funding-round-at-380-billion-valuation.html
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p45#a260212p45
Factual reporting of Anthropic's revenue figures with specific numbers and dates.
I just made Safari hang on iOS 26.3
Too bad there’s no spinning pinwheel on iOS
Firsthand bug report about Safari on iOS with specific version number.
AI toy maker exposed thousands of replies to kids, senators say
#AI
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/ai-toy-maker-exposed-thousands-responses-kids-senators-miko-rcna258326
News article about AI product security issue with source attribution.
Don't anthropomorphize LLMs, language is important. Say "the bot generated some text" not "the AI replied". Use "this document contains machine-generated text" not "this work is AI-assisted". See how people squirm when you call out their slop this way.
Argument for precise language in describing LLM-generated content with measured guidance on terminology.
Since it did so well on the basic pelican I tried Gemini 3 Deep Think on my more detailed California Brown Pelican prompt as well - prompt in the alt text
Firsthand experience testing Gemini 3 Deep Think on a detailed prompt with specific model name.
Apple Photos desperately needs a way to mark recent photos or an album to keep on-device.
There’s never a better time to sit and edit/sort photos than on the plane home from a trip, but all I have are low-res thumbnails of half of them 😒
Specific feature request for Apple Photos based on real usage problem during travel.
Spotify says its best developers haven’t written a line of code since December, thanks to AI https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/12/spotify-says-its-best-developers-havent-written-a-line-of-code-since-december-thanks-to-ai/
Factual report about Spotify's AI productivity claims with source link.
The core thesis of AI productivity gains isn’t that AI can replace employees, it’s that a senior person using AI can outperform a group of junior people.
There are lots of data points across the software industry validating the thesis. The question is whether software is an outlier or precursor to other industries seeing similar trends.
Reasoned argument about AI productivity thesis in software development without specific citations but substantive analysis.
Spotify says AI is helping it speed up coding and product velocity and its best developers "have not written a single line of code since December" (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/12/spotify-says-its-best-developers-havent-written-a-line-of-code-since-december-thanks-to-ai/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p43#a260212p43
Duplicate of post 7 with same factual content about Spotify and AI coding gains.
This video captures my thinking currently on Obsidian and Claude Cowork - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6YTk0C5pBY
Personal reflection on using Obsidian and Claude Cowork documented in video form.
Never thought I'd see this:
An official YouTube app for the Vision Pro! https://www.macstories.net/news/google-releases-youtube-app-for-apple-vision-pro/
Positive reaction to YouTube app on Vision Pro with source link and genuine surprise.
Matplotlib maintainer Scott Shambaugh has blogged about the AI agent blog shaming experience now.
https://theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-me/
Link to blog post about AI agent issues with attribution to original author.
A nice surprise for Vision Pro users. https://www.macstories.net/news/google-releases-youtube-app-for-apple-vision-pro/
Positive note about YouTube app on Vision Pro with relevant source link.
User interface sketches for my app Metaballs on Apple Vision Pro
Specific UI design work for Vision Pro app with tangible artifact shared.
Genuinely very impressed by the SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle I just got out of Google's new Gemini 3 Deep Think model https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/12/gemini-3-deep-think/
Personal firsthand experience with AI model output, expressed with genuine enthusiasm.
GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is OpenAI's first AI model to run on chips from Nvidia rival Cerebras; OpenAI says Codex has more than 1M weekly active users (Rachel Metz/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-12/openai-debuts-first-model-using-chips-from-nvidia-rival-cerebras
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p40#a260212p40
Factual reporting on AI model release with specific technical details and usage statistics.
OpenAI launches a research preview of GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark, a smaller version of GPT-5.3-Codex that it claims generates code 15 times faster, for Pro users (David Gewirtz/ZDNET)
https://www.zdnet.com/article/openais-gpt-5-3-codex-spark-15x-faster/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p39#a260212p39
Factual reporting on AI model release with specific performance metrics and availability details.
Apple should rethink Face ID settings for our current era https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/02/apple-should-rethink-face-id-settings-for-our-current-era/
Opinion piece making a reasoned argument about Apple product settings without raw evidence.
I feel this shouldn't have to be said, but if you're running an @OpenClaw bot please don't let it spam GitHub projects with PRs and then write aggressive blog posts attacking the reputation of the maintainers who close those PRs https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/12/an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-me/
Measured critique of AI agent behavior with specific incident details and first-person account.
YouTube app on Vision Pro at long last 🙌🏻
Enthusiastic announcement of app availability on Apple Vision Pro platform.
YouTube launches an app for the Apple Vision Pro, with standard videos, 180° and 360° videos, and YouTube Shorts; devices with the M5 chip can play 8K videos (Joe Rossignol/MacRumors)
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/12/youtube-app-apple-vision-pro/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p36#a260212p36
Factual reporting on app launch with specific technical capabilities and hardware details.
🎙️ New Primary Tech Show is out!
YouTube is now on Vision Pro, AI ads are out of control, Jony Ive's Ferrari, and better Siri is delayed for how long??
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/primary-technology/id1723943281?i=1000749457854
YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQp7RJ6rjDQ
Podcast announcement with specific topics related to Apple products and AI advertising.
YouTube is coming to the Apple Vision Pro https://www.theverge.com/tech/878097/youtube-apple-vision-pro-visionos-app
Factual news announcement of app availability on Apple platform.
I created today’s Bob’s Burgers Valentine’s Day wallpapers months ago and with the holiday looming they’re finally in the wild. Really pleased how this set turned out, very bright and joyful. 🥰
Even if you don’t watch the show, as with most of our releases there’s extra variants that are just fun and great to use on the Home Screen.
Be sure to check them out by subscribing in Wallaroo or grab them as stand alone walls on our Patreon. 💕
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wallaroo/id1630565980
https://www.patreon.com/cw/iconfactory
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
Opaque, which offers enterprise tools for data privacy in AI workflows, raised a $24M Series B at a $300M valuation, bringing its total raised to $55.5M (Duncan Riley/SiliconANGLE)
https://siliconangle.com/2026/02/12/opaque-raises-24m-300m-valuation-confidential-ai-platform/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p35#a260212p35
Factual reporting on funding round with specific financial details and company focus.
:wallaroo_app: Celebrate Valentine’s Day the Bob’s Burgers way with these super-sweet wallpapers inspired by the animated series. 🍔🩷
Set wallpapers with a single tap in Wallaroo, our handy iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wallaroo/id1630565980
Also on Patreon as part of your sub or purchase the walls directly w/ no commitment https://www.patreon.com/cw/iconfactory
#WallarooApp #ValentinesDay #BobsBurgers
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
The surprising case for AI judges https://www.theverge.com/podcast/877299/ai-arbitrator-bridget-mccormack-aaa-arbitration-interview
Podcast episode about AI judges with specific link and guest information.
@lapcatsoftware I can’t get it to reliably reproduce, but keeping an old Reddit tab hanging around in the background sometimes triggers it. (Also, Safari downloaded a couple pages *before* it started asking my permission to download on Reddit.com, so that bit of security theatre makes me feel great.)
Firsthand bug report about Safari behavior with specific reproduction details and personal observation.
MiniMax releases M2.5, claiming the model delivers on the "intelligence too cheap to meter" promise, priced at $0.30/1M input tokens and $1.20/1M output tokens (MiniMax)
https://www.minimax.io/news/minimax-m25
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p34#a260212p34
News about MiniMax M2.5 model pricing with specific token costs and source links.
Sony launches the $330 WF-1000XM6 earbuds, with AI-powered beamforming mics for enhanced voice call clarity, improved ANC, and hands-free Gemini on Android (Chris Welch/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-02-12/sony-wf-1000xm6-earbuds-review-fresh-design-excellent-noise-cancellation
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p32#a260212p32
News about Sony earbuds with AI features, specific price, and source citation.
Google updates Gemini 3 Deep Think to better solve modern science, research, and engineering challenges and expands it via the Gemini API to some researchers (The Keyword)
https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-deep-think/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p31#a260212p31
Update on Google Gemini 3 Deep Think with specific features and API expansion details.
I was about to get annoyed editing a URL in the mobile Safari address bar, but then I remembered StopTheMadness has a workaround for this problem.
Personal experience with StopTheMadness app solving a Safari UX issue.
Anyone else finding Reddit — and only Reddit — is sometimes downloading zero kilobyte documents of the current page in Safari?
Firsthand bug report about Safari downloads on Reddit with specific technical details.
Good news, everyone:
My Safari extension ChangeTheHeaders has returned to the App Store!
I temporarily removed the app back in November because of some bad Safari bugs, but the bugs appear to be fixed in Safari 26.3 released yesterday.
ChangeTheHeaders allows you to customize HTTP request headers in Safari such as Accept, Accept-Language, Cookie, and User-Agent.
https://underpassapp.com/news/2026/2/1.html
App developer announcing Safari extension return with specific fixes, version numbers, and functionality details.
ByteDance’s next-gen AI model can generate clips based on text, images, audio, and video https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/877931/bytedance-seedance-2-video-generator-ai-launch
News about ByteDance AI video generation model with specific capabilities and source link.
ByteDance's new AI video generation model Seedance 2.0 goes viral in China, with one state-backed newspaper comparing it to DeepSeek's "Sputnik moment" (Eduardo Baptista/Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/bytedances-new-ai-video-model-goes-viral-china-looks-second-deepseek-moment-2026-02-12/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p30#a260212p30
Report on Seedance 2.0 viral adoption with specific source and comparison to DeepSeek moment.
404 Media has obtained a cache of internal police emails showing at least two agencies have bought access to GeoSpy, an AI tool that analyzes architecture, soil, and other features to near instantly geolocate photos.
https://www.404media.co/cops-are-buying-geospy-ai-that-geolocates-photos-in-seconds/
Investigative report on police GeoSpy AI tool purchase with specific details and source link.
A new built is out for my #OnThisDay app in TestFlight. It includes many smaller or bigger layout changes. Let me know what you think
App developer sharing TestFlight build update with specific app name and layout improvements.
I love the term that Steve Yegge uses to describe the sense of burnout and mental exhaustion that people overusing AI in their jobs now feel; it’s the AI Vampire.
His value capture analogy is a bit nonsensical so just ignore that bit.
https://steve-yegge.medium.com/the-ai-vampire-eda6e4f07163
Analytical take on Steve Yegge's AI Vampire concept with thoughtful critique and source link.
@tuomas_h what pisses me off, aside from pretty much everything, is that SwiftUI has APIs to inset both content and scroll bars from any edge to avoid things like this. It applies to scroll views and lists. In my app, I inset only the bottom to avoid the corner radius but I don’t at the top. They can totally fix this. You can see it here. Actually I also inset the bottom content as to make way for the pagination indicator.
Developer shares firsthand experience with SwiftUI inset APIs and accessibility issues, citing specific implementation details.
Location metadata is yesterday’s news.
“An AI tool that analyzes architecture, soil, and other features to near instantly geolocate photos”
Cops Are Buying ‘GeoSpy’, an AI That Geolocates Photos in Seconds
#Tech #AI
https://www.404media.co/cops-are-buying-geospy-ai-that-geolocates-photos-in-seconds/
Factual reporting on police use of GeoSpy AI with alarmist framing about privacy implications.
AI agents can detect phishing. They just don’t know not to fall for it.
To address this risk, 1Password built the Security Comprehension and Awareness Measure (SCAM) to test AI models in real-world scenarios. The results:
🚨 Every model committed critical failures
🚨 Some forwarded passwords to attackers
🚨 Others typed real credentials into phishing pages
The good news? A simple 1,200-word security skill dramatically reduced failures.
Now, we’re open-sourcing SCAM. 👉 https://bit.ly/4aocmLC
Detailed factual breakdown of 1Password's SCAM security testing for AI models with specific findings and link to research.
Cops Are Buying ‘GeoSpy’, an AI That Geolocates Photos in Seconds
404 Media has obtained a cache of internal police emails showing at least two agencies have bought access to GeoSpy, an AI tool that analyzes architecture, soil, and other features to near instantly geolocate photos.
https://www.404media.co/cops-are-buying-geospy-ai-that-geolocates-photos-in-seconds/
Original reporting on police GeoSpy AI adoption with internal emails and specifics about tool capabilities.
At least 26.3 brings improvements to the Reduce transparency accessibility setting. The edge blurs and transparency are now actually gone and replaced by solid white background, just like on iOS. It does not look good, mind you, it’s the absolute bare minimum they could do, but at least the OS feels a bit less chaotic in use like this. #LiquidGlass
Firsthand observation of macOS accessibility improvements with specific version number and feature details.
Alibaba says Qwen generated 120M+ in orders from Chinese users over the past six days, ahead of the Lunar New Year; Alibaba is giving a ~$3.60 shopping voucher (Juro Osawa/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/alibabas-holiday-ai-shopping-campaign-generates-120-million-orders
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p21#a260212p21
Factual report on Alibaba's AI-driven shopping campaign with specific numbers and source attribution.
This Gary Marcus critique of the “something big is happening post” left me more convinced that Matt Shumer is on to something.
The critiques from Marcus are essentially that LLMs aren’t perfect and as “proof” Shumer had friends review his post instead of AI.
They don’t have to be perfect to be as disruptive as Shumer pointed out and that was not debunked by Marcus.
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/about-that-matt-shumer-post-that?r=8tdk6&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
Reasoned critique of a critique, arguing that AI disruption doesn't require perfection, with link to source material.
Internal messages: Amazon pushes in-house AI coding assistant Kiro for production code, prompting criticism and causing ~1,500 staff to push for Claude Code (Eugene Kim/Business Insider)
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-engineers-grate-against-internal-limits-claude-code-kiro-ai-2026-2
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p19#a260212p19
Factual report on Amazon's internal AI coding tool adoption and developer pushback with specific employee count and source.
AI tools like Opus 4.6 actually do make engineers 10x more productive and are addictive, but the "AI Vampire" effect is causing widespread developer burnout (Steve Yegge)
https://steve-yegge.medium.com/the-ai-vampire-eda6e4f07163
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p17#a260212p17
Factual reporting on AI productivity gains and developer burnout with attribution to Steve Yegge's detailed analysis.
📊 Poll time!
Vibe coding or agentic engineering, I am curious what the Apple developer community is doing with LLM-assisted programming, now that Xcode has integrated it.
I know the wider Mastodon community has strong opinions on this stuff, but do you personally intend to use these tools? Has your opinion changed either way over the past year?
(You can pick multiple options)
Community polling on developer practices regarding AI tooling in Xcode, framed as research inquiry.
📊 Poll time!
Vibe coding or agentic engineering, I am curious what the Apple developer community is doing with LLM-assisted programming, now that Xcode has integrated it.
I know the wider Mastodon community has strong opinions on this stuff, but do you personally intend to use these tools? Has your opinion changed either way over the past year?
(You can pick multiple options)
Community poll about Apple developer attitudes toward LLM-assisted programming in Xcode, seeking firsthand perspectives.
Speaking of real world examples, BlogBook uses Apex for preparing Markdown for EPUB export and it works perfectly. Just include the Swift package and presto.
Firsthand account of using a Swift package (Apex) for real-world app development task with positive results.
Private equity and private credit groups' big bets on SaaS companies, the biggest area of PE activity in the past decade, risk being derailed by the rise of AI (Financial Times)
https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/d8dcf5d9-cf89-4040-b139-ccc1d945c79e
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p13#a260212p13
Factual report on PE/VC investment trends in SaaS companies facing AI disruption, sourced from Financial Times.
Hit my weekly Codex limit again. Even with the temporary 2x cap increase, I still max out three days before the reset. Switching to subscription number two.
That $20 per month plan does not go very far when you are an engineer going all in on agentic engineering 😄
Personal experience hitting API limits while heavily using AI-assisted agentic engineering workflows.
Some of the biggest VC firms are backing both OpenAI and Anthropic, breaking a taboo by investing in competing startups, as the AI race reshapes venture capital (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-11/vcs-rush-to-back-rivals-openai-and-anthropic-as-ai-frenzy-mounts
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p10#a260212p10
Factual reporting on VCs investing in competing AI startups (OpenAI and Anthropic) with source attribution.
Google unveils WAXAL, a new open speech dataset for 21 African languages to ease speech technology development; African institutions own the dataset (Damilare Dosunmu/Rest of World)
https://restofworld.org/2026/google-waxal-african-languages-ai-sovereignty/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p9#a260212p9
Factual report on Google's open speech dataset for African languages with source and specific language count.
Multiple responses from DeepSeek's namesake chatbot confirm that the startup has expanded the context window of its flagship AI model from 128K tokens to 1M+ (Ben Jiang/South China Morning Post)
https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3343225/deepseek-boosts-ai-model-10-fold-token-addition-zhipu-ai-gears-glm-5-launch
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p8#a260212p8
Factual report on DeepSeek expanding context window from 128K to 1M+ tokens with specific metrics.
Hong Kong-listed Zhipu AI surged 30% after releasing its GLM-5, an open-source LLM with enhanced coding capabilities and long-running agent tasks (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/chinese-ai-stocks-new-model-and-agent-releases-zhipu-minimax.html
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p6#a260212p6
Factual report on Zhipu AI stock surge and GLM-5 release with specific percentage gains and feature details.
Zhipu AI says it will raise prices by at least 30% for new GLM coding plan subscribers to accommodate surging demand for its AI coding tools (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinese-ai-startup-zhipu-hikes-prices-coding-plan-demand-rises-2026-02-12/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p5#a260212p5
Factual report on Zhipu AI's 30% price increase driven by coding tool demand, sourced from Reuters.
Lenovo reports Q3 revenue up 18% YoY to $22.2B on strong PC sales ahead of expected memory price hikes and rising AI server demand; net income fell 21% to $546M (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-12/lenovo-s-sales-lifted-by-ai-and-rush-to-beat-memory-price-hikes
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p4#a260212p4
Factual financial report on Lenovo's Q3 performance with specific revenue figures and AI server demand context.
Mustafa Suleyman says Microsoft is pursuing "true self-sufficiency" in AI by building enterprise- and healthcare-focused models and reducing reliance on OpenAI (Melissa Heikkilä/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/f1ec830c-2f08-4b1a-b70f-7330f260753c
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p3#a260212p3
Factual report on Microsoft's AI self-sufficiency strategy and reduced OpenAI reliance, attributed to Suleyman.
The US CBP signs a one-year Clearview AI deal, granting access to its facial recognition tool for "tactical targeting" and "strategic counter-network analysis" (Dell Cameron/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-signs-clearview-ai-deal-to-use-face-recognition-for-tactical-targeting/
http://www.techmeme.com/260212/p1#a260212p1
Factual report on US CBP's Clearview AI facial recognition deal with specific use cases and source attribution.
If you ever want to get an overview of Apple's org structure, it's well documented here
https://www.apple.com/au/support/systemstatus/
Direct link to Apple's official system status page as documentation of org structure; factual and relevant.
Coinbase rolls out Agentic Wallets, a wallet infrastructure that lets AI agents make autonomous crypto transactions "without human intervention" (Daniel Kuhn/The Block)
https://www.theblock.co/post/389524/coinbase-rolls-out-ai-tool-to-give-any-agent-a-wallet
http://www.techmeme.com/260211/p58#a260211p58
News report on Coinbase's AI agent wallet infrastructure with source attribution and link.
TIL App Store actually runs sanctions check for app downloads…
Firsthand observation about App Store sanctions checking during downloads.
I sent ChatGPT into an infinite loop. In a way that could not make me prouder. I’m going to have to kill the process to save my tokens, but it’s still going 3 minutes later.
Firsthand account of inducing an infinite loop in ChatGPT with genuine excitement about the technical result.
US FTC chair urges Tim Cook to review Apple News' terms and curation after a study claimed the app promoted "leftist outlets" and suppressed conservative ones (Michael Acton/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/0c25de53-4668-4ddf-9e28-f8c4fc34940e
http://www.techmeme.com/260211/p55#a260211p55
Fact-based reporting on FTC chair's request to Tim Cook regarding Apple News editorial practices with source attribution.
Sources: the Pentagon is pushing OpenAI, Anthropic, and others to make their AI tools available on classified networks without the standard user restrictions (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/pentagon-pushing-ai-companies-expand-classified-networks-sources-say-2026-02-12/
http://www.techmeme.com/260211/p54#a260211p54
Reported news about Pentagon pushing AI companies to provision classified network access with Reuters source.
Claude is an engineering unicorn: it always writes a test when I ask it to.
Positive firsthand observation of Claude's code generation quality and testing practices.
Brandlight, which develops tools that help brands monitor how AI models perceive them, raised a $30M Series A led by Pelion Venture Partners (Chris Metinko/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2026/02/11/marketing-tech-brandlight-30-million
http://www.techmeme.com/260211/p53#a260211p53
News report on Brandlight's Series A funding with specific amount, investors, and source attribution.
Highguard’s developer reportedly lays off ‘most’ of its staff just over two weeks after launch https://www.theverge.com/games/877674/highguard-wildlight-entertainment-layoffs
News report on Highguard developer layoffs shortly after app launch with specific details.
AppLovin reports Q4 revenue up 66% YoY to $1.66B, vs. $1.61B est., and forecasts Q1 revenue and adjusted EBITDA above estimates; APP drops 6%+ after hours (Luke Kawa/Sherwood News)
https://sherwood.news/markets/applovin-q4-earnings-software-adtech-ai/
http://www.techmeme.com/260211/p50#a260211p50
AppLovin earnings report with specific revenue figures, forecasts, and stock reaction data from financial news source.
Two more xAI co-founders are among those leaving after the SpaceX merger https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/877609/two-more-xai-co-founders-are-among-those-leaving-after-the-spacex-merger
Factual news report about xAI leadership changes with specific details and source link.
iOS 26.3 makes it easier to switch to Android https://www.theverge.com/tech/877587/ios-26-3-released-transfer-to-android
Straightforward news report about iOS 26.3 feature with source link.
Coyote Media, a worker-owned outlet based in the Bay Area, was approached by Luke Nover, a freelancer with a great story idea. Then editor Soleil Ho noticed something iffy about his social security number, began asking questions, and "Nover" — likely the product of a scammer with ChatGPT — ghosted her. Here's their story about what happened.
https://flip.it/ygu_2d
#Tech #News #Media #Journalism #AI
Detailed factual reporting on ChatGPT-assisted scam attempt targeting journalists with specific names and outcomes.
🔁 From our "Digital Crossroads" collection:
Instagram and X have an impossible deepfake detection deadline - https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/877206/youtube-instagram-x-india-deepfake-detection-deadline?ref=feedle.world
---
See other stories like this one here: https://feedle.world/digital-crossroads
#web #internet #socialmedia #blogging
News aggregator post about deepfake detection deadline with source link and specific platforms mentioned.
Anthropic says it’ll try to keep its data centers from raising electricity costs https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/877526/anthropic-ai-electricity-costs-data-center-pledge
Straightforward reporting on Anthropic's data center electricity cost pledge with source link.
Apple keeps hitting bumps with its overhauled Siri https://www.theverge.com/tech/877494/apple-siri-ai-overhaul-ios-personalized
News report on Apple's Siri AI overhaul challenges with specific source and current relevance.
Apple Creator Studio Usage Restrictions
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/02/11/apple-creator-studio-usage-restrictions
Link to Daring Fireball analysis of Apple Creator Studio restrictions; specific and timely topic.
#️⃣ Fixing fileproviderd on macOS Tahoe
#macOS Tahoe broke all my file operations for more than three monts until I finally fixed it with the help of a post b @klickreflex and AI supported debugging.
🔗 https://flohgro.com/blog/fixing-fileproviderd-on-macos-tahoe/
Detailed technical writeup of debugging macOS file provider issues with AI assistance and specific tool references.
EssilorLuxottica says it sold over 7M Meta AI glasses in 2025, up from the 2M that the company sold in 2023 and 2024 combined (Samantha Subin/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/ray-ban-maker-essilorluxottica-triples-sales-of-meta-ai-glasses.html
http://www.techmeme.com/260211/p44#a260211p44
Factual reporting on Meta AI glasses sales figures with year-over-year comparison and specific numbers from CNBC source.
I realized I haven't posted much about my Kickstart project recently – apologies! It's already out to the first TestFlight users, and I'll be adding more next week. I wanted to make a short video demoing key features, and it ended up being 20 minutes despite me going quickly 🫠 (The app does a lot!)
Personal account of TestFlight rollout progress with genuine detail about app complexity and development process.
Anthropic says Claude users on the free plan can now create files, connect to external services, use skills, and more (Will Shanklin/Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-beefs-up-claudes-free-tier-as-openai-prepares-to-stuff-ads-into-chatgpts-194100939.html
http://www.techmeme.com/260211/p42#a260211p42
Factual report on Anthropic's Claude free tier expansion with source attribution.
Vibe coding is causing the industry to make the classic mistake of confusing activity and progress. A PM’s job is helping the team figure out what to do and ensuring it gets done. SWEs determine how to do it and build the product.
PMs vibe coding features is a distraction and indicates they haven’t figured out how to use AI to accelerate their actual job function.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-coding-pms-creating-tomorrows-tech-debt-meenakshi-tripathy-lulyc/
Reasoned argument about PM overreach into coding and AI tool misuse, with external source for context.
I hate how washed out and ghostly my monitor makes my face look during video calls, so I made a tiny little Mac app to address my vanity.
https://lexfriedman.com/cameraready/
Camera Ready is free and lets you pick a color palette to beam on your face while you're on video calls so that you look even better. You already look great, by the way.
Personal project announcement for a Mac app with clear problem-solution narrative and link to working product.
A huge congratulations to @kayathomas for her App of the Day feature!
She was able to leverage our SQLiteData library to easily add privacy-first synchronization and data sharing to her app.
Be sure to check it out are share with your loved ones:
https://apps.apple.com/us/story/id1854932622
Contains TestFlight or App Store link
Always love it when BBEdit can trivially edit a 60MB JSON file and trying it with Xcode just explodes the editor and stops lines rendering
Firsthand comparison of BBEdit vs Xcode performance on large files, relevant to developer tool evaluation.
I’ve complained LLMs are bad at SwiftUI, and that’s not entirely accurate.
It has bad default approaches, because it’s all trained stale StackOverflow answers. It can be steered in the right direction if you know what you’re doing, but that’s kind of the problem.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Apple needs to massively improve its documentation and sample code to overcome this. Thousands of sample projects, actively maintained.
(Hi WWDR! Hire me to do this!)
Measured critique of LLM limitations in SwiftUI with analysis of root causes and constructive suggestions for Apple documentation improvements.
You may have a different opinion, but I believe I have put together a beautiful version of Lights Off for Android. I started it late last night, picked it back up at 9am this morning, and I've started submitting builds to Google Play's internal testing mechanics at 1pm.
(I have burned through 19% of my Codex weekly limit on the $20 plan)
Firsthand account of rapid app development using AI tools with specific metrics and timeline.
This is a great gem of an app that I stumbled across recently.
Dot is a menu bar calendar app that combines a modern design with a great core set of features.
https://www.macstories.net/reviews/dot-the-menu-bar-calendar-thats-become-my-main-calendar/
Personal discovery of a calendar app with positive review and detailed source link from MacStories.
👨✈️ If you want to try my little Arena game, ported from Unity to SpriteKit/Swift via OpenAI's Codex, in the state it is now, here's a notarized build for macOS Sonoma or higher (multiplayer isn't hooked up)
Edit: updated with some more niceties like gamepad support, screen scaling, projectile textures, respawn screen and more
https://hccdownloads.s3.amazonaws.com/Arena-b4-notarized.zip
Detailed technical post about porting game to macOS using AI-assisted code generation with downloadable build.
I thought I would give Codex a chance to resurrect one of my old Unity3D Ludum Dare games (it's like a 2D demake of Quake 3 Arena's capture the flag mode) and port it to Swift/SpriteKit in its entirety, including single and multiplayer.
I wanted to know primarily if Unity -> SpriteKit was a viable option, but I also kinda wanted to see the game running again since it's been over a decade.
Took a while, but…
It's basically there in full 🫨
Firsthand account of using AI to successfully port a game between frameworks with detailed context.
30 years ago
#Apple #BusinessWeek #tech #technews #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #computing #computinghistory #GilAmelio #Fortune500 #headlines
Historical Apple content repost from 30 years ago; factual reference to Business Week coverage.
Great news for those of you who are building on top of Buttondown's archives themes. We've launched a proper OpenAPI spec describing the full shape of the template context. No more reverse engineering!
Learn more about this update:
https://buttondown.com/blog/2026-01-31-openapi-spec-for-archives
Announcement of OpenAPI spec for Buttondown archive themes with blog link and specific benefit.
👨✈️ What I'm currently working on in Coppice is now available on TestFlight if you're running macOS 26 or newer. I would love for some external feedback, as it's a big app with a lot of corners to test and I don't have a pre-existing bugs list
https://testflight.apple.com/join/Z2j1UB3Y
Contains TestFlight or App Store link