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- Podcast713: I Have Medium Hopes
Marco Arment
Developer and podcaster; created Instapaper and Overcast, co-founded Tumblr, and co-hosts the Accidental Tech Podcast.
Marco Arment did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
Latest GitHub
What they believe
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Society was better off before everyone's political opinions on every issue were widely known.
And I can't help but feel that maybe we were better off before we knew everyone's hot takes on everything.
marco.orgSaid 4 Sept 2026This on korrents
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The tech industry today is dominated by scale-driven optimization and growth at the expense of the idealism that once drove it
Immense scale, soulless optimization, and an insatiable thirst for growth dominate its behavior and discourse, leaving little room for the spirit and principles embodied by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
marco.orgSaid 1 Apr 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Feed
As its own page →Hiding
15 October
8 October
1 October
24 September
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10 September
4 September
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korrents.com
Society was better off before everyone's political opinions on every issue were widely known.Their words
And I can't help but feel that maybe we were better off before we knew everyone's hot takes on everything.
3 September
2 September
30 August
29 August
28 August
27 August
25 August
20 August
- Podcast705: Relentless in a Gentle Way
- Mastodon
16 August
15 August
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6 August
27 July
23 July
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From one piece A letter to John Ternus 3 beliefs · marco.org
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Their words
Focus on making great computers with great user experiences above all else, and you can trust that every other major goal will follow: profit, market share, expansion, impact, and benefit to the world.
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korrents.com
A company can lead its industry on values like privacy and user respect without actually excelling at themTheir words
Apple leads the industry in these values, but leading doesn't always mean excelling.
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Their words
Immense scale, soulless optimization, and an insatiable thirst for growth dominate its behavior and discourse, leaving little room for the spirit and principles embodied by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
23 February
30 May 2025
16 July 2024
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korrents.com
Dynamic ad insertion in podcasts causes bugs and reliability problems for streaming playback.Their words
Most big podcasts now use dynamic ad insertion, which causes bugs and problems for streaming playback.
17 July 2023
25 March 2022
8 December 2021
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 8 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Society was better off before everyone's political opinions on every issue were widely known.
And I can't help but feel that maybe we were better off before we knew everyone's hot takes on everything.
Bob and Van Said 4 Sept 2026
The tech industry today is dominated by scale-driven optimization and growth at the expense of the idealism that once drove it
Immense scale, soulless optimization, and an insatiable thirst for growth dominate its behavior and discourse, leaving little room for the spirit and principles embodied by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
A letter to John Ternus Said 1 Apr 2026
A company can lead its industry on values like privacy and user respect without actually excelling at them
Apple leads the industry in these values, but leading doesn't always mean excelling.
A letter to John Ternus Said 1 Apr 2026
Show 5 more
A company that prioritizes building great products with great user experiences above all else will naturally see profit, market share, and broader impact follow
Focus on making great computers with great user experiences above all else, and you can trust that every other major goal will follow: profit, market share, expansion, impact, and benefit to the world.
A letter to John Ternus Said 1 Apr 2026
Dynamic ad insertion in podcasts causes bugs and reliability problems for streaming playback.
Most big podcasts now use dynamic ad insertion, which causes bugs and problems for streaming playback.
Ten years of Overcast: A new foundation Said 16 Jul 2024
The realistic alternatives to Apple's App Store would end up worse than the App Store itself.
Apple's App Store is the devil we know. The most viable alternatives that would crop up would be far worse.
The future of the App Store Said 13 Sept 2021
People often use a dominant app not because it's good, but because it's the only practical way to reach an important goal in their life.
Most people use a Facebook-owned app not because it's a good app, but because it's a means to an important end in their life.
The future of the App Store Said 13 Sept 2021
Credit cards provide stronger fraud protection and easier recourse for unwanted charges than app stores do.
most credit cards themselves provide stronger fraud prevention and easier recourse from unwanted charges than the App Store ever has
The future of the App Store Said 13 Sept 2021
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 16 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Liked Paradigm Atom Monitor speakers
At home, I use Paradigm Atom Monitor speakers connected to an Onkyo stereo receiver, because I’ve never met a pair of “computer speakers” that I liked.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Disliked Dell monitors
Finally, I'm dissatisfied with the quality and direction that Dell's monitors have taken.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses 1Password
I keep basic to-do lists in TaskPaper and strong passwords in 1Password.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Show 13 more
Uses TaskPaper
I keep basic to-do lists in TaskPaper and strong passwords in 1Password.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses Google Reader
I use Google Reader for feeds and Tweetie for Mac for Twitter.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses Soulver
I always have a Soulver window open for quick calculations.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Liked AckMate
AckMate recently saved me from the frustration of Find In Project's performance in large projects.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses TextMate
I live in TextMate for both coding and writing.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Loved Mac OS
I love Mac OS, especially because of the respect Apple shows for my time and attention.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses 5D Mark II
For serious photography, I use a 5D Mark II.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Loved iPhone 4
I love the iPhone 4, especially for the high-resolution display. Its camera is so good that I don't think I'll carry a point-and-shoot again.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses Aeron
At work, I sit in an Aeron at an electrically height-adjustable desk so I can stand when I feel like it.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses Fujitsu ScanSnap S510M
I scan every piece of paper I get with a Fujitsu ScanSnap S510M that I got after reading this article.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Liked Paradigm Atom Monitor
At home, I use Paradigm Atom Monitor speakers connected to an Onkyo stereo receiver, because I've never met a pair of "computer speakers" that I liked.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Loved Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
At work, I live in my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones, which have nicely softened and molded to fit my head over their six-year lifespan so far.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
Uses Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
My home and work setups are identical: early-2008 octocore Mac Pros, each with two 24" Dell monitors, 6 GB of RAM, two-disk software RAID-0 with a third disk as an internal Time Machine, the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, and the Magic Mouse.
usesthis.com 10 Oct 2010
What others say about Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 →
Where they publish
Blog marco.org His blog.
Recent
- Bob and Van 4 Sept 2026 For the first half of my childhood in suburban Ohio, we lived next to Bob. Bob and his wife were a kind, reserved older couple who decorated their home mostly with crucifixes and talked about Jesus a lot. Bob helped my…
- Unforgetful 14 Aug 2026 I have ADHD. Probably.1 My entire adolescence was defined by forgetting to do my homework, disappointing everyone around me, and being told by every adult that I was lazy, “just” needed to try harder, and wasn’t living…
- A letter to John Ternus 1 Apr 2026 As Apple celebrates its fiftieth birthday, we celebrate the spirit of its formation, when people who loved computers started making great computers to inspire more people to love computers. That spirit is difficult to f…
Show 17 more
- Retreating to Safety 30 May 2025 Ten years ago, Apple’s Phil Schiller surprised Apple enthusiasts and developers by walking out on stage at John Gruber’s The Talk Show Live WWDC event and giving an open, human, honest interview to a somewhat jaded comm…
- Ten years of Overcast: A new foundation 16 Jul 2024 Today, on the tenth anniversary of Overcast 1.0, I’m happy to launch a complete rewrite and redesign of most of the iOS app, built to carry Overcast into the next decade — and hopefully beyond. Like podcasts better than…
- The Overcast Redesign: Part One 25 Mar 2022 Overcast’s latest update (2022.2) brings the largest redesign in its nearly-eight-year history, plus many of the most frequently requested features and lots of under-the-hood improvements. I’m pretty proud of this one.…
- Ten years after we lost Steve Jobs 5 Oct 2021 Losing Steve affected me more than it probably should have, given that I never met him or had any correspondence with him. But losing him was devastating — not just to my world, but the world. He was a sort of virtual f…
- The future of the App Store 13 Sept 2021 After the dust settles from the developer class-action settlement, the South Korean law, the JFTC announcement, and the Apple v. Epic decision, I think the most likely long-term outcome isn’t very different from the sta…
- Developer relations 3 Jun 2021 Apple’s leaders continue to deny developers of two obvious truths: That our apps provide substantial value to iOS beyond the purchase commissions collected by Apple. That any portion of our customers came to our apps fr…
- In-App Purchase Rules 11 Sept 2020 A summary of today’s changes to 3.1.3 Other Purchase Methods: Your app must use Apple’s in-app-purchase (IAP) system for all purchases made in the app. Unless they’re purchases for goods or services that are consumed ou…
- Introducing Voice Boost 2: Remaster your podcasts 31 Jan 2020 The latest update to Overcast includes a feature that I’m especially proud of that took over a year to build. Voice Boost 2 is an all-new audio engine that includes professional-grade, mastering-quality loudness normali…
- Low Power Mode for Mac laptops: making the case again 14 Jan 2020 In light of today’s rumor that a Pro Mode may be coming that seems to offer benefits in the opposite direction,1 I wanted to re-make the case for a Low Power Mode on macOS — and explain why now is the time. Modern hardw…
- The 16-inch MacBook Pro 13 Nov 2019 After my first day with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, I’m very optimistic about it. 🎧 Hear more on today’s Accidental Tech Podcast! Two years ago, I wrote a wishlist to fix the MacBook Pro, and the 16-inch do…
- Overcast summer update 21 Jul 2019 Today’s Overcast update (2019.6) brings some great new features. But first, I need to set low expectations for iOS 13, watchOS 6, and macOS Catalina updates this fall. Halfway through the summer, I’ve made much less pro…
- Apple is Listening 10 Jun 2019 Something big changed at Apple around the beginning of 2017. They had encountered significant turbulence in the product line over the preceding years, especially Macs. It was a rough time to be a pro Mac user. The “tras…
- Clip sharing with Overcast 27 Apr 2019 Sharing podcasts has never been easy, but I’ve always tried to lead the way with Overcast, with publicly shareable episode links and optional recommendations from your Twitter friends since version 1.0 in 2014. Podcast…
- Overcast 5.1 with Instant Search 28 Jan 2019 ▶️ The first thing someone does in a podcast app is add some podcasts, and most active Overcast users add at least two new podcasts each month. Over 80% of podcasts are added to Overcast by searching, with the vast majo…
- The 2018 iPad Pro 9 Nov 2018 Watch my video review of the new iPad Pro in both sizes. Rather than try to be comprehensive, I focused on what matters most to me: size choice between the 11” and 12.9”, the Smart Keyboard Folio from my perspective as…
- The 2018 Mac Mini 6 Nov 2018 Watch the video review I hardly ever think about my Mac Mini, but it serves a vital role for my family as our home-theater mixer, Plex server, ScanSnap server, Apple Photos backup, and Backblaze host for our NAS.1 Almos…
- Why it’s hard to read the time on Infograph 9 Oct 2018 Quick, what time is it? If that took you a bit longer than usual to tell the time on the Apple Watch’s new default Infograph face, you’re not alone: John Gruber finds it “far too busy” Jason Snell finds it “pretty and p…
Link verified 4 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
Mastodon @marcoarment@mastodon.social Where he posts.
Recent
- My favorite CarPlay feature is when it's reading a text message to me and I go to tap the "Done" button and it suddenly turns into a "Call” button underneath my finger and I have to wait for all of the animations to finish before I can actually end the call and then I wonder (a) did the person notice that I called them for a few seconds and (b) do I need to explain that now and (c) are they going to call me back now and (d) HOW DID THIS INTERFACE EVER SHIP oh my god 2 Sept 2026
- First time I've ever localized an app to other languages: 30 Aug 2026 reddit.com
- I opened up Apple Maps' search box and its new ads suggested I go to JetBlue Airways, the JetBlue terminal at JFK airport 39 miles away. I opened up Google Maps' search box, and 100% of the screen space is devoted to my presets (Home/Work/etc.) and my Recent searches. Apple continues to embarrass itself with its shitty ad plays. In the meantime, I'll keep using Google Maps, because it's just *better*, and — something I never thought I'd say — it respects me more as the user, with fewer ads. 🤯 29 Aug 2026
Show 17 more
- RE: https://infosec.exchange/@clayton/117175171619298911 It's OK. This feature is awesome, and one I use heavily. Every social network needs a few mutes here and there. Nobody inherently deserves anyone’s attention. If someone replies in a way that makes me think, "I'd rather not hear from this person again,” I just mute forever. No aggressive block, no report or feedback, no way for them to know. It's not meant to send a message, get revenge, or influence anyone else — just tailor my feed for me. 28 Aug 2026
- Big TestFlight update for Unforgetful: 28 Aug 2026 reddit.com
- RE: https://mastodon.social/@martimw/117174328129113589 From scratch. Making custom models has turned 3D-printing from a family novelty into a full-blown craft and life-improving hobby for me. I started in TinkerCAD, which can get you VERY far, VERY quickly. Now I make most models in Onshape, since I've built up the skills to be pretty fast with it, too. I sometimes print stuff I find on Makerworld, but usually the problems I'm trying to solve are too specialized. 28 Aug 2026
- RE: https://social.tupo.space/@joshua/117174153454890194 My current AI-code policy is that I will always use the best model I can access, as long as it's practically able to do the job. Right now, as far as I know, that's Fable. Quality and accuracy matter FAR more to me than volume or speed of output. And I feel that I owe it to my customers — and myself — to use the best tools at my disposal. Cost may be a factor to others, so no judgment. This is just my policy for myself. 28 Aug 2026
- I couldn't figure out this bug, so I asked Fable, and it was SO much more incredible than I expected. - My bug report was wrong in a way I didn't notice - There technically was no bug, but a flawed design caused unintended outcomes - It verified that the design almost certainly caused me to fall into that trap, and proposed a simple, effective fix Wow. 28 Aug 2026
- "I understand being mad, I understand not tolerating it, but I think there's an uncomfortable truth, representing the world being a messy place where few things are completely black and white.” — @matt_birchler: 25 Aug 2026 birchtree.me
- RE: https://mastodon.social/@refactoredd/117157266100987313 I may someday return to it, but I have shelved it for now. I just don't use an iPad enough. The worst part of developing the app was having to carry an iPad with me. 😬 Every time I try to work an iPad into my computing life, it doesn't stick for very long. It feels like computing with mittens on. Nearly everything I frequently do with my computer or phone is less capable, more cumbersome, or outright impossible on an iPad. And the iPad's strengths are generally things I rarely or never do. 25 Aug 2026
- I love, so much, that this is newsworthy on a site that I read 25 Aug 2026
- RE: https://mastodon.social/@steveriggins/117126501933807091 That'll be my Calendar replacement next year 20 Aug 2026
- Unforgetful has no access to Reminders' URL field. What should I do? 16 Aug 2026 reddit.com
- Completed tasks are visible for an hour after completion, so you get the satisfaction of having done a thing for a little while. (You can also just delete them if you want them gone.) 15 Aug 2026
- What do you think of moving the add/dictate buttons down to the bottom like this for better reachability? Lots of people have requested it. My only hesitation is that the accent color looks pretty bold down there. But other designs — translucent bars behind, white buttons, etc. — all look significantly worse or more jumbled. In use on a real device, I think it looks less in-your-face than it does on a screenshot on a Mac. 15 Aug 2026
- Want to help me shape Unforgetful's direction? Join the TestFlight here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/Ex8upS2T Limited to the first 200 people. Actual users only, please. Thanks! 15 Aug 2026
- RE: https://mastodon.social/@jpteti/117094603833259184 One potential reason: delayed-location alerts require "always" location permission, whereas immediate ones just require “when using”. (Unforgetful only asks for the level it needs for the tasks you create. So if you never use delays, it sticks with "when using", and if you never use location reminders at all, it never asks for any access.) But a likely reason is that they just didn't think of it, because most to-do apps seem to be made by people with much more discipline and focus than I have. 14 Aug 2026
- The Reminders API doesn’t give me any insight into nested reminders, alas. They all just show up in the API as top-level. The “Today” assumption is a design choice. Unforgetful doesn’t let you have tasks that will never remind you. A task without a due date becomes a Today task. 14 Aug 2026
- My new app is now released! Unforgetful: https://marco.org/2026/08/14/unforgetful Imagine if Reminders was optimized for ADHD, procrastination, and forgetfulness. Never lose a task. You’ll always be reminded, with zero shame or judgment. That's Unforgetful. 14 Aug 2026
- Tell me about it. 13 Aug 2026
Link verified 4 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
Podcast Accidental Tech Podcast Co-hosts the Accidental Tech Podcast podcast with Casey Liss, John Siracusa.
Recent
- 713: I Have Medium Hopes 15 Oct 2026
- 712: Mildly Technologically Traumatized 8 Oct 2026
- 711: Hot Dog on an Actuator 1 Oct 2026
Show 17 more
- 710: That New Mouse Pad Feeling 24 Sept 2026
- 709: Steel-Cable Insurance 17 Sept 2026
- 708: Primary, Tertiary, and Third Cousin 10 Sept 2026
- 707: Haunting the Campus Like a Ghost 3 Sept 2026
- 706: No One Is Getting a Good Deal Tonight 27 Aug 2026
- 705: Relentless in a Gentle Way 20 Aug 2026
- 704: Past the Ternus Horizon 13 Aug 2026
- 703: Part of a Healthy Breakfast 6 Aug 2026
- 702: Isolate the Evil 27 Jul 2026
- 701: I Improved My Town 23 Jul 2026
- 700: A Wet Dishrag Full of Lies 16 Jul 2026
- 699: Not the Correct Squircle 7 Jul 2026
- 698: And Do What? 30 Jun 2026
- 697: The Chart Is Terrifying 26 Jun 2026
- 696: It Seems Petty, But I Endorse It 15 Jun 2026
- 695: The Crystal Pepsi of Aqua 9 Jun 2026
- 694: Potential and Homework 4 Jun 2026
Link verified 25 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
Podcast Under the Radar Hosts the Under the Radar podcast.
Recent
- 331: Reflection 6 Nov 2025
- 330: Engaging with Reddit 23 Oct 2025
- 329: Zero Utilization on Your Brain 13 Oct 2025
Show 17 more
- 328: Five Years of Enough 25 Sept 2025
- 327: Ready for Distribution 11 Sept 2025
- 326: Tree-Planting Features 28 Aug 2025
- 325: Upswing 21 Aug 2025
- 324: Design Despair 31 Jul 2025
- 323: The Tidal Wave 17 Jul 2025
- 322: Requiring iOS 26? 3 Jul 2025
- 321: WWDC 2025 Aftermath 19 Jun 2025
- 320: Before the Barrier 5 Jun 2025
- 319: Unfreezing Your Brain 22 May 2025
- 318: The Forgotten Customer 8 May 2025
- 317: Optimizing for Battery Life 24 Apr 2025
- 316: Job Security 10 Apr 2025
- 315: Self-Sufficient Apps 28 Mar 2025
- 314: Optimism vs. Pessimism 18 Mar 2025
- 313: What's In Our Circles 28 Feb 2025
- 312: Our Changing Relationship with Apple 13 Feb 2025
Link verified 25 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
GitHub marcoarment His open-source work, including Blackbird.
Recent
- Blackbird 15 Oct 2026
- FCUtilities — Common iOS utilities that I've needed for my apps. Hopefully some are useful for yours. 23 Feb 2026
- FCModel — An alternative to Core Data for people who like having direct SQL access. 17 Jul 2023
Show 4 more
- CompactConstraint — Simple NSLayoutConstraint expression parser for more readable autolayout code. 8 Dec 2021
- BugshotKit — iOS in-app bug reporting for developers and testers, with annotated screenshots and the console log. 3 Aug 2021
- secondcrack — A static-file Markdown blogging engine. 20 May 2016
- FCOfflineQueue — A serial iOS operation queue that pauses when offline and persists unfinished operations between launches. 2 Nov 2014
Link verified 4 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.