iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 11h

The paper itself says $3, the hand-written note $2, the coin slot $1.50. But in any case, who carries enough quarters to buy a paper from a vending machine anymore? (Also: I took this today and the paper for sale is from 11 months ago.)

San Jose Mercury News street vending box showing headline "Trump ordered to pay SNAP benefits," priced at $2.00.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 01/10/2026

Is there any way to get my Apple stuff to stop displaying this useless message? Or at least can someone explain why it exists?

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 30/09/2026

Why is Keeps running these terrible ersatz Peanuts slop ads on Facebook?

Keeps ad using Peanuts characters to compare hair loss treatments, with Charlie Brown having least hair, Pigpen having most.

Keeps hair loss ad using Peanuts characters with progressively more hair to illustrate treatment effectiveness, ending with Keeps Chew+.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 30/09/2026

I love Safari’s new feature for vibe coding extensions, and made one to update a common term in tech stories.

Screenshot of Anthropic's website displaying "Super-duper intelligence research and products that put safety at the frontier" headline.

Screenshot of a news headline reading "Super-duper intelligence Brings Big Gains to Hurricane Forecasts, Google Researchers Say"

News headline reading "Super-duper intelligence can copy anyone's voice and likeness. Washington debates a solution."

Screenshot of a paywalled article headline: "Google Is Paying About 100 Digital Publishers for super-duper intelligence Overviews"

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that's all.”

John Tenniel illustration of Alice shaking hands with Humpty Dumpty perched on a wall, from Alice in Wonderland.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

“I don’t think the Industrial Revolution was all good…the point of this technology is not just to turn the crank faster and faster for the sake of AI.”

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

Altman says that OpenAI has considered stopping the use of tokens as a pricing factor. They’re confusing to consumers. But customers push back on switching to direct dollar-based pricing.

Two men speaking at OpenAI DevDay 2026 event; Sam Altman holds a mic and speaks, the other listens, both holding microphones.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

Altman says he wants OpenAI to be a public company “someday” but feels good about not heading into it with “guns blazing” until more progress has been made on the long-term safety front.

Sam Altman speaks into microphone in front of large screen.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

In case OpenAI wants to make another acquisition.

Cover of Little Dot Dotland comic #46, showing cartoon girl painting polka dots, priced 15 cents, Harvey Comics.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

Altman says OpenAI wants AI to be less of a new Industrial Revolution than a new Renaissance.

Man in gray sweater and jeans speaks on stage, gesturing with one hand, microphone on cheek, wooden panel backdrop.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

OpenAI keynote didn’t address AI fears and controversies. But it did try to end on an uplifting note.

Sam Altman with large screen displaying "To the builders of our time" and group photo.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

ChatGPT will proactively suggest plugins and (finally) have a plugin marketplace.

Sam Altman displays a ChatGPT plugin discovery screen on a large stage monitor.

Sam Altman on stage at an OpenAI Marketplace event, with partner company logos displayed on a large dark backdrop.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

OpenAI announcing a login feature for other apps that lets you use your OpenAI tokens, which is actually pretty cool.

OpenAI conference presentation showing "Continue to Devin" ChatGPT login screen on large display, speaker on stage, seated audience.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

Onstage reference to “our friends at Hugging Face” probably should have provoked heartier laughter from the audience than the scattered chuckling it got.

Conference presentation screen showing OpenAI Codex chat interface with "Rewrite backend in Rust" task running.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

Codex is figuring out how to play a game it coded.

Presenter on stage showing "Astra Adventures" space game demo on large screen at OpenAI DevDay

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

I’m really glad that most tech companies haven’t followed Apple’s lead and stopped doing live demos during events. Even when they have glitches they earn credibility.

Presenter at OpenAI podium showing 3D interior rendering of a large event hall on a big screen to a packed conference audience.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

OpenAI A keynote gets around to the pretty important topic of agents doing stuff you actually want them to do.

OpenAI slide showing "Computer-use safety stress test" bar chart comparing Fable (9.5%), unknown (6.1%), and GPT-6 As (2.4%).

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

“Very near Astra performance at a fifth the price…your new daily workhorse.”

OpenAI keynote slide showing "GPT-6.1 Sol" with a DeepSWE benchmark graph comparing GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Sol, and GPT-6 Astra by cost per task.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

You’ll be able to place voice calls to your Dot.

Person in orange vest holds iPhone at a podium; projected screen shows an active phone call with "dottie" app at 0:10.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

OpenAI is also introducing Spaces, a sort of AI-infused rough counterpart to something like Dropbox Paper.

Sam Altman on stage beside large screen showing "Dispatch beta tracker" bar chart with September traffic data reaching 2.4B.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

OpenAI is unveiling its agent, Dots.

Sam Altman presents on stage in front of a large dark backdrop displaying the colorful word "dots."

Conference stage displays a projected chat message from "Felipe" about consumer experience numbers and a board meeting deck.

Conference presentation slide showing "Consumer Experience" metrics with bar charts and blue statistics: 75%, 68%, 41%, 99.1%

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 29/09/2026

The peaceful, spirited scene immediately outside OpenAI’s DevDay at Fort Mason this morning.

Protesters holding signs reading "No Killer Robots for ICE," "No Climate Destruction," and "People Over AI" on a city street.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 28/09/2026

My great-grandfather won an Iowa election. It was just for the local board of education. But he beat a member of the KKK and had to deal with a klansman’s claim that he didn’t have the right to vote.

1926 newspaper article about ML Jacobson’s victory in Valley Junction’s education board election against a member of the Ku Klux Klan

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 28/09/2026

I assume this campaign will eventually show Ava slaughtering humans.

Bus shelter ad: "Sorry for saying stop hiring humans." Woman with praying hands. "Hire Ava, the AI BDR" by Artisan.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 26/09/2026

In other news, I finally rode on a highway in a Waymo (though I did so in an early, semi-secret Google self-driving car way back in 2013).

Nighttime view from inside a Waymo self-driving on the Bay Area’s Highway 280, dashboard lit up, freeway signs for San Bruno and San Francisco visible.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 26/09/2026

First time I’ve seen public signage establishing rights for robots over humans.

Red and white "No Stopping Except Authorized Autonomous Vehicles" sign at night near San Francisco airport.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 25/09/2026

I never thought I’d live to see White Castle vending machines. But here we are.

White Castle "Crave & Go" automated food vending machine with touchscreen display and QR code scanner.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 23/09/2026

Here I am with my father in the museum portion of Ford’s Theatre in 1981. We appear to be just hanging out.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 23/09/2026

Meta’s Muse has gone a little sideways on my iPad. Literally.

iPad screen showing "Muse" AI assistant app with onboarding chat, offering nickname options: Arlo, Torque, or Something else. It’s being displayed at a 90 degree rotation.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 22/09/2026

Not to be confused with Super Invisibility.

Poster for Mr. Superinvisible, a movie starring Dean Jones

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 22/09/2026

I’m at the opening night of HumanX in Amsterdam.

Speaker on stage at HumanX conference, blue screen reads "Wrong Question One: Is Europe Behind"

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 22/09/2026

Thanks! I spent about one minute at that Bullwinkle’s when I was visiting the bay area, before I lived there, but I was with a group of other people and didn’t really see it. I did take this photo, which still makes me laugh.

1990s photo of a Bullwinkle’s restaurant sign alongside one for Weight Watchers

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 21/09/2026

My cat and I finally agreed on what to watch for movie night.

A real cat watching the animated film Gay Purr-ee, with three cartoon cats onscreen.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 19/09/2026

Modest line at the Stonestown Apple Store on iPhone 18 Pro day 2. But still a line. (I assume the Duo will create in-store excitement disproportionate with actual sales.)

Shoppers gather outside an Apple Store in a busy mall with red and white marble tile flooring.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 15/09/2026

I’m arriving at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in NYC, and hope to see some of you here this week!

Large window display for Fast Company Innovation Festival, presented by Capital One Business, featuring colorful geometric shapes.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 14/09/2026

This is the best AI startup billboard I’ve seen. Maybe also the only good one, period.

Street advertisement for Juicebox.ai reading "Hire more humans" with a gold star, on a sunny urban sidewalk.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 11/09/2026

An email I received on the morning of 9/11.

Screenshot of a September 11, 2001 email from Wireless World 2001 announcing WTC fire and seeking alternative venue for their event.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 11/09/2026

The PCWorld.com homepage on September 14, 2001, still dominated by news outside our normal wheelhouse.

PCWorld.com homepage from September 14, 2001, featuring post-9/11 top story about net privacy and security concerns and other 9/11-related stories.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 09/09/2026

Accidentally took a photo of an iPhone Duo using an iPhone Duo.

Apple employee's face obscured by iPhone on a stand at WWDC; attendees with yellow lanyards examine devices nearby.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 09/09/2026

The multitasking works well, and the vertical dock makes for an experience that feels meaningfully different than other iPhones in ways that go beyond the fold. The under-glass camera is noticeable and, at first blush, a tad distracting.

A Samsung foldable phone displaying a "Hiking Crew" group chat on the left and a photo gallery on the right.

Close-up of a tablet screen showing a red notification bar with a muted microphone icon, person's hair visible above.

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