Google’s I/O event site has a giant countdown clock. I don’t think you have to worry about over-hyping anything, @manton. 😂
MBKHD, my favourite tech pundit, goes over the changes in the developer version of the next major update to Android. I like a lot of what I’m seeing here, especially with the continued hardening of security.
… because my content belongs to me, gosh dang it.
– Cheri Baker, from “What is This?"
This is a great way of representing the IndieWeb aspect of your online identity.
(Cheri on Micro.blog: @cheri)
I recently spoke about how good the Micro.blog slack is. It’s being awesome yet again after David Shanske, one of the developers of the IndieWeb WordPress plugins has joined in. David is also on Micro.blog. Hi @dshanske! 👋
I went from 33.6kbps dial-up to speeds of 1Mb/s on Rogers Wave. Incredible!
– James Koole, Getting Back to an Independent Web
A glorious aspect of the open web is this: people telling stories.
Google-backed startup Mobvoi just announced TicPods Free
– TicPods Free are like AirPods for Android
This is both a terrible name and ripe for numerous mocking from the Apple punditry. Still, I hope I’ll be able to pre-order them.
I always underestimate how long something is going to take.
– Hank Green in How to Stop Being Late Forever (includes bonus homescreen!)
Same Hank… same.
Part 1.b of improving my health: my skin does not react well to the material the Flex is made of. Oh well, I’ll get to testing out other Fitbit options in the future.
One of my favourite things about Casey Neistat’s vlog is the music he uses in the videos. I made a playlist of mixtapes made by Discoverthevibes. 🎶
The official Micro.blog metal band shall be called Apolacyptic. Thanks, @JacksonOfTrades. 🤘
Two tracks on Bandcamp that I’ve been meaning to share:
🎶
Micro Monday? How about the Micro.blog slack. It’s more than a simple source of help; different members of the community are in there, passionate about Micro.blog, and often willing to enjoy a good chat.
Between @vishae, @matigo, and myself all talking about new homes I think we need a Micro.blog Moving Club where we can all vent about things, heh. Actually, maybe a hashmoji will do… 🏠🏡🏘️
There’s a pretty good conversation regarding multi-platform support for Micro.blog and related issues. I have thoughts about this but for now just wanted to share it.
I can’t use the app (hi 👋 third-party devs) but native support for microcasts is just the right opportunity for people like me, having stopped short of producing audio.
Bravo, Manton. 👏
A particularly good post from Jason Kottke about why we do things. It pairs nicely with his recent appearance on The Talk Show.
Why I Don't Use Twitter
I recently talked about my discontent with Twitter, having been on-and-off again with the whole thing for years. Not only has that feeling intensified since joining Micro.blog a few months ago but it has in fact thoroughly swung into the off part of the cycle, which has happened before now only I did not have the same stable set-up that is now available to me when it comes to my own site and other blogging.
I have more to say about exactly what it is that I am doing but now is not the time for it. Instead, this is why I’m leaving my Twitter account as an archive and withdrawing entirely from it:
- Incompetent product development: leaders who are either unwilling or incapable of curtailing the foul parts of their service, from abuse through to soulless spam and the intersection therein.
- Hostile product development: a first-party environment that is all about using you up for advertisers with very little reward.
- Inferior product: the alternative, whether via IndieWeb initiatives and ideas built with open standards in mind (such as Micro.blog) or simply using RSS readers for consumption and email for feedback, are made with the idea that using the web is a good thing and should not be punitive.
As such I’ll be here, with updates and all sorts of other activity forthcoming.
Goodbye Twitter, and hello Micro.blog. 👋
Inspired by Marcelo’s latest edition of his homescreen experiment, here’s my latest homescreen.
Homescreen: April 2018

HP are about to release the Chromebook x2, a Chrome OS tablet. Considering how happy I am with my sub-£200 HP Chromebook, I’ll definitely take a look at this when it ships.