iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 16/09/2026

Working on iOS 27 enhancements for Blankie and I’m excited to use the new Now Play framework‘s MediaDuration.continuous case. It now hides the playback scrubber for content like ambient sounds that loop without a finite duration.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 09/09/2026

I sold cell phones at Best Buy when the first iPhone launched. We didn’t carry it, but you wouldn’t believe how many people asked if it was compatible with their allergy medication.

A photo of a round, orange-ish pill with the word SINGULAIR imprinted on it.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 17/08/2026

When people say the Mac was weird and funny in the early 90’s, it’s stuff like this little utility from Altura Software that they were talking about.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 16/08/2026

Plenty of people are aware of Clarus the dogcow (who says “moof!”), but I bet far fewer have ever laid eyes on a Wild Eep.

A pixelated black and white creature making an EEP sound.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 12/08/2026

Looks like I won’t be able to try Manna’s drone delivery today in Tulsa because I don’t live or work inside the very small launch area. Excited to give it a try when they expand it a bit.

A map highlights the delivery area in Tulsa, centered around the Broken Arrow Expressway. Manna drone delivery launched today, August 12th 2026 and is starting with deliveries available Wednesday to Sunday from 9am to 9pm.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 12/08/2026

Manna drone delivery launches today in Tulsa. I first learned about Manna last year when Ben Thompson interviewed the CEO. Now 18 months later, it’s crazy to see Tulsa in a list like this. Cue the Sesame Street song. ”One of these things is not like the others…"

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 10/08/2026

My blog officially has a new name: birdwatching. The domain (b10g.xyz) is still the same. I’d been considering changing the name for about 4 years, and with all the other changes it felt like maybe the right time to finally do it.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 01/04/2026

@ubillos.bsky.social l revived Bruce in his own macOS app for Apple's 50th. Would love to know if I captured his good side.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 01/04/2026

To me, Bruce represented the unserious side of Apple I loved so much. Sadly, that all started vanishing when the iPhone-era took off. A lot of old software was made for weirdos, by weirdos. I miss that, and I wanna do my part to fix it. I didn't understand it when it wasn't weird. #Apple50

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 01/04/2026

Bruce was actually part of FCP from the very beginning, spreading wisdom and confusion until he disappeared in FCP 7. At this point, he's been gone for nearly 2 decades now, but I probably remember him better than anything I edited on FCP back then. #Apple50

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 01/04/2026

However, if you moved your cursor too close, Bruce’s eyes would get really big and he’d scurry off screen in a panic. To the uninitiated, you weren’t sure what you just saw or how you’d explain it without sounding crazy. It was like seeing the Macintosh-equivalent of Bigfoot. #Apple50

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 01/04/2026

Periodically, thought bubbles with "pearls of wisdom" would appear from its head, such as: “I'm glad it's getting weird again. I didn't understand it when it wasn't weird.” Another revealed his name: "You can call me Bruce the Wonder Yak" #Apple50

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 01/04/2026

If you left older versions of Final Cut Pro running for 12 hours or more, you might come back to a small brown creature grazing a patch of grass on your timeline. There were other ways to intentionally trigger him, but this was the most fun one. #Apple50

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 01/04/2026

On the Macintosh episode of Version History, @davidpierce.xyz & @reckless.bsky.social had fun riffing about Mr. Macintosh, Steve Job's idea for a digital cryptid who lives in your Mac. But 15 years later Apple basically shipped this, and instead of a little man it was a yak named Bruce. #Apple50

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 25/07/2025

#UmActually, the “bus” more closely resembles a recreational vehicle (RV) than any form of public transit and retailers such as Walmart refer to the Barbie Dream Camper™ vehicle playset as a van. Source: dimension20.fandom.com/wiki/On_a_Bu... #Dimension20

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 08/07/2025

wx.watch finally has the homepage I've always wanted to build. #wxusa #buildinpublic

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 13/06/2025

I’ve encountered Apple’s version of this (App Clips) a handful of times, mostly for parking which was pretty handy. But five years after they launched, I still have NEVER seen Apple’s QR code alternative for them in real life.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 12/06/2025

Basically everything except the meme generator is down.

A four-panel meme from The Simpsons featuring Superintendent Chalmers and Principal Skinner. In the first panel, Chalmers looks shocked and says, “You’re telling me GCP, Cloudflare, npm, Supabase and others are all down?” In the second panel, Skinner replies calmly, “Yes.” In the third panel, Chalmers asks hopefully, “Can I go home?” In the final panel, Skinner stares with a stern expression and says, “No.”

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 05/06/2025

I'm constantly amazed that @blankie.rest is the only app in the U.S. #MacAppStore's Top 10 Free Health & Fitness apps without #InAppPurchases. Every other "free" app requires a subscription or has a freemium model. #OpenSource

A screenshot of the U.S. Mac App Store's Top 10 Health & Fitness apps. Blankie, ranked #6 for Top Free Apps, is the only "Free" app without the In-App Purchases banner.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 05/06/2025

Unsurprisingly, the #InAppPurchases label is hidden for previously downloaded apps on the iPhone #AppStore too. A friend with Family Sharing enabled confirmed that apps shared from their family members' accounts also hid the IAP labels, even when my friend had never downloaded the app before.

A screenshot of the iPhone App Store showing the app "InShot - Video Editor", a free app that has In-App Purchases, but the page doesn’t show the normal IAP label below a Get button because the download button is replaced by the blue cloud with download arrow that is normally shown when the user has previously downloaded/purchased an app.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 05/06/2025

I just noticed previously installed apps don't show the IAP label next to the download button. The app could have added IAPs since you first used it, but you'd wouldn't know unless you visited it page or used it. My sense is Apple knows IAP labels deters users, but why give old apps an advantage?

An image of the Mac App Store with 6 apps shown. Apps the user had previously purchased/downloaded that contain In App Purchases are shown only as a blue cloud with arrow pointing down icon. New apps the user has not downloaded that contain In App Purchases has a Get button with the text "In-App Purchases" in small text below them.

The app page for the app Portal. The user has downloaded it before, so it display the blue cloud with arrow pointing down icon instead of a Get button and it does not display the "In-App Purchases" caption.

The app page for the app Ivory. The user has downloaded it before and it is currently installed, so it displays a blue Open button and it does not display the "In-App Purchases" caption.

A screenshot of the app page for Bear: Markdown Notes scrolled about 2/3rds the way down to reveal "In-App Purchases: Yes" is shown on the page in a section that also contains repeated information elsewhere on the page.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 20/05/2025

First look at my next app, OhGee: the missing debug tool for testing web metadata, OpenGraph and schemas. It works with localhost/127.0.0.1/0.0.0.0 URIs and has bookmarks, dark mode, the keyboard shortcuts you'd expect and a Safari extension. Coming to macOS this Summer. #MacApps #BuildInPublic

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 15/05/2025

Editorial placement is great for exposure, not intent, which makes me think is that I need to do something I never wanted to do: put a subtitle in the name. Without one, I'm wasting free real estate and making it harder for people to know what Blankie is. #BuildInPublic

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 15/05/2025

Yesterday, my app Blankie was featured on the Mac App Store homepage in the US. (And as of right now, it’s still there!) Naturally, impressions exploded, and downloads followed, but one thing surprised me: my conversion rate barely moved compared to the day before. #BuildInPublic

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 03/05/2025

I really hope this can be known as “gatsbying”

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 02/05/2025

Just for fun, here's the #AppleIntelligence summary. It didn't misstate any guidelines because it actually inserted them verbatim. And somehow, the summary ended up being 12 characters (3 words) longer. #AppleDeveloper #iOSDev

The App Review Guidelines have been updated to allow buttons, external links, and other calls to action in apps distributed on the United States storefront of the App Store. These changes affect apps distributed on the United States storefront of the App Store, and are as follows: 3.1.1: Apps on the United States storefront are not prohibited from including buttons, external links, or other calls to action when allowing users to browse NFT collections owned by others. 3.1.1(a): On the United States storefront, there is no prohibition on an app including buttons, external links, or other calls to action, and no entitlement is required to do so. 3.1.3: The prohibition on encouraging users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase does not apply on the United States storefront. 3.1.3(a): The External Link Account entitlement is not required for apps on the United States storefront to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 02/05/2025

New App Review Guidelines just dropped. #AppleDeveloper #iOSDev 1/🧵

An email from Apple Developer communications that says:

"The App Review Guidelines have been updated for compliance with a United States court decision regarding buttons, external links, and other calls to action in apps. These changes affect apps distributed on the United States storefront of the App Store, and are as follows:

3.1.1: Apps on the United States storefront are not prohibited from including buttons, external links, or other calls to action when allowing users to browse NFT collections owned by others.

3.1.1(a): On the United States storefront, there is no prohibition on an app including buttons, external links, or other calls to action, and no entitlement is required to do so.

3.1.3: The prohibition on encouraging users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase does not apply on the United States storefront.

3.1.3(a): The External Link Account entitlement is not required for apps on the United States storefront to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action."

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 22/04/2025

I don't know if @instagram.bsky.social meant for #Edits to be available on Mac via Catalyst, but I'm certainly here for it! Wish they'd bring Threads and Instagram to Mac too!

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 12/04/2025

The funniest part about releasing #OpenSource software is that it ends up places you never intended or expected, and by design it’s allowed to! For example, #Blankie now has its own page on Softpedia and apparently so do I. #MacDev #BuildInPublic

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 30/03/2025

This is an advertisement from the March 28, 1925 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. Literally 100 years ago. This calculator in 1925 would cost $3,585 in modern dollars.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 27/03/2025

I probably should have added some tags to this post. The alt text is "An AI-generated image of a table with four 'tarot' cards that feature The Jolly Green Giant, Buc-ee the Beaver, Lefty the Hamburger Helper Glove and Charles Entertainment Cheese (Chuck E. Cheese)."

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 27/03/2025

Can someone who understands tarot please tell me what this means?

An AI-generated image of a table with four "tarot" cards that feature The Jolly Green Giant, Buc-ee the Beaver, Lefty the Hamburger Helper Glove and Charles Entertainment Cheese (Chuck E. Cheese).

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 27/03/2025

"Do you want me to go full Cronenberg" is something I never thought a robot would ask me. Or that I would say yes.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 23/03/2025

brb sending Goblin Soap the name of my dealer

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 12/03/2025

It was always just a matter of time.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 07/03/2025

Google's #Veo2 AI video model: "A fully articulate statue of Marcus Aurelius wearing black headphones rides a skateboard down the streets of Tulsa". #AIvideo

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 22/02/2025

Bromley FC now offer match streaming outside the UK so I get to watch today’s match! #BromleyFC #WeAreBromley 🐦‍⬛

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 18/02/2025

The online edition of the #APStylebook has already been updated.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 16/02/2025

My app wx.watch will continue to say Gulf of Mexico

A screenshot of a web app showing a map of the Gulf of Mexico

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 15/02/2025

Anyone know why Peter Jackson’s King Kong is more expensive than most used Xbox games? Was it good?

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 15/02/2025

I miss how low the bar used to be for licensed games.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 29/01/2025

I’ve changed my mind. Apple Intelligence is perfect.

A screenshot of an iMessage chat. A left-aligned bubble contains a screenshot of an iMessage notification summarized by Apple Intelligence. The notification from “CB2” (the poster) is summarized as “Shared links to humorous AI content.” A blue right-aligned text bubble from the poster says “Put this on my headstone.”

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 20/01/2025

TikTok is censoring results for the search “Donald Trump rigged election” in the United States. Works just fine via VPN.

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Cody Bromley @codybrom.com · 20/01/2025

Three years ago this week (1/26/22), some coworkers spotted Canoo down the street from our downtown Tulsa office doing a photoshoot. The vehicles had been towed, not driven. Since then, I've never seen another Canoo vehicle in-person (driven or otherwise). [Photos by @zachmil.es]

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