Numeric Citizen Blog

The more I think about it, the more willing I am to try it: build a Micro.blog theme using Claude AI. As much as I like my current theme, I want something closer to the usual “Numeric Citizen” branding.

The Essence of a Machine

“Neo does not mean more. It means the return to what is essential.”

— On my Om

Halide Cofounder Sebastiaan de With Joined Apple’s Design Team in January:

When de With published his essay, it was as an idea for where Apple might go. Now that we’ve seen and been living with Liquid Glass, his essay works even better as a roadmap for the direction Liquid Glass should head.

I really hope De With was hired, not only for his talent, but for the work he did behind his essay: Physicality: the new age of UI.

My personal and web-based bookmark manager was built mainly to support my workflow of creating each edition of the Ephemeral Scrapbook newsletter. And it works great, so far.

The New Apple Finally Begins to Emerge:

The MacBook Neo is a new kind of product for Apple, unveiled in a new way, with new materials, by an array of fresher faces. These new products being unveiled at the same time the faces of the company are beginning to change feels like a turning point. You could argue Neo is one of, if not the first product of this new Apple.

I hope Parker is right. I do too feel something different. Is it only Neo-related or is it more profound?

If I were to buy a MacBook Neo, I would turn off Apple Intelligence to reduce resources consumption. But according to the reviews published this week, it appears that this wouldn’t be necessary. The Neo is really a capable machine even with only 8GB of RAM.

ChatGPT Plus subscription cancelled. Now, I could upgrade my Micro.blog subscription to Studio to support @manton in its mission!

Grammarly’s ‘Expert Review’ Feature Presents Fake Advice in the Names of Real Journalists and Authors — Pixel Envy

Grammarly’s “expert review” feature uses AI-generated text attributed to real people and deceased figures without their consent or knowledge, merely slapping their names on insights they never created.

Can we say “Corporate slop”? I think we can.

The Essence of a Machine — On my Om

The MacBook Neo is a laptop. A complete, beautiful, sufficient laptop. It costs $599, but the real disruption is not the price. It is the reminder that “enough” is not a failure of ambition. It is often the highest form of design.

I love this.

Gruber’s review of ★ The MacBook Neo:

I’ll just say it: I think I’m done with iPads. Why bother when Apple is now making a crackerjack Mac laptop that starts at just $600? May the MacBook Neo live so long that its name becomes inapt.

😳

MacBook Neo reviews are very positive. A few reviewers compare the Neo to “comparable” Windows laptops, all of them with 16GB of RAM. At the end of the day, it doesn’t help the Windows story much. Reviewers fail to mention the Windows reality: the need to include security software that will eat up precious CPU cycles in order to keep Windows secure. That’s the reality. Anyway, Apple’s offering is honest and very valuable for a lot of people. I don’t remember the last time a new Apple product generated that level of positive buzz. Bravo.

Apple’s new MacBooks have keyboard change you might notice instantly — 9to5Mac

Apple’s new M5 MacBooks drop text labels on several common keys, including tab, caps lock, and more, replacing them with glyphs that have long been the standard outside the United States.

Welcome to 2026.

Been experiencing this since 26.0. Anyone at Apple using the App Library? 🙄🤷🏻‍♂️😩

Anybox date importation is nearly ready, complete with support for tags! I think the weekend I spent building the specs instead of rushing to start coding is paying off. Even using Claude AI for coding an app, some development rules stay the same: think before you code. Or something along this line.

I didn’t expect Inkwell to come with an API… I’m very curious about that because it could mean that I could replace the data persistence layer of my personal RSS web app with Inkwell’s. Something to think about. 🤔👨🏻‍💻

My use case for Inkwell, for now, is to consume content from my blogroll feeds. I asked for a sync option with Inoreader, my beloved RSS sync service, but I don’t want to break the calmness of using Inkwell. 🙏🏻

I need to start organizing a reunion for the university alumni (class of 1990), and the first challenge that arises is: how can we communicate with each other if I don’t want to use a Meta service (WhatsApp, Messenger) and I want to reach as many people as possible without everyone having to become ‘friends’ on Facebook? ☹️

Forty years ago, before the Internet, we used the phone to talk to each other, a service often owned by a single nationwide company. We were okay with that, even if, in some jurisdictions, people talked about a monopoly. Now, it’s very different. What makes this less acceptable to me today? 🤔

For now, we will use Messenger because some people don’t have iPhones and can’t use FaceTime. 🙄

Introducing Inkwell: manton.org

I was (and still am) so excited about Inkwell that I created a video tour. Very personal. I originally thought the name would be Micro.ink, but the real name is Inkwell, while the URL is micro.ink. I wasn’t sure when I recorded the video yesterday. Now I know. Thanks to @manton for this!

The New Apple Finally Begins to Emerge:

The MacBook Neo is a new kind of product for Apple, unveiled in a new way, with new materials, by an array of fresher faces. These new products being unveiled at the same time the faces of the company are beginning to change feels like a turning point. You could argue Neo is one of, if not the first product of this new Apple

I, too, do see a different Apple vibe with the launch of the MacBook Neo. Just using a different name instead of iBook (which they could have done) is sign sign that they are willing to try different things.

I completely put aside OpenClaw experimentation since its creator went to OpenAI. It’s not about OpenAI owning the thing, which seems it’s not the case, I simply decided to let the thing mature while I’m finishing my other projects which consume a lot of AI credits anyway. I’ll get back to it eventually.

FBI is investigating breach that may have hit its wiretapping tools — The Register

The FBI identified and addressed suspicious activities on FBI networks related to wiretapping and surveillance systems, marking a significant breach of law enforcement infrastructure.

The same FBI that demanded Apple build a backdoor for them in 2016?

Apple Planning ‘MacBook Ultra’ With Touchscreen and Higher Price:

Instead of succeeding the newly announced M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros, the “MacBook Ultra” will be a new, top-tier Apple laptop. Gurman added that the device is likely to sit above the current M5 MacBook Pros, rather than replace them, suggesting that they will remain on sale.

Well, how many laptops can Apple have in their product line?

Lil Finder Guy — Basic Apple Guy

Who is it? What is it? Is it friend or foe? Has it arrived in peace, or is it plotting to corrupt our SSDs and fray our USB-C cables?

I hope Apple keep the little guy for a while. It’s so cute and fun.

The New Apple Finally Begins to Emerge — Parker Ortolani

Molly Anderson’s already proven herself to be an incredibly talented industrial designer, and if the latest iPhones and the MacBook Neo are the first real fruits of her leadership, that bodes incredibly well for the future.

New product design at Apple takes a long time. How much of influence those two new figures had on the MacBook Neo?

It’s a good start. Looks quite different than my other web app. Still a lot to implement.