iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 24/09/2026

Brent makes an interesting subpoint, or maybe it’s just what I read into it. He tried to improve NetNewsWire for Golden Gate and it felt “old” to some. 1 of 2

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 11/09/2026

As soon as Apple approves the update Billy will be able to create quotes!

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 01/09/2026

Currently working on an expansion for the plugin system inside @usebilly.app to let you build plugins that can connect to other apps and modify your invoices. For example, it would be possible to automatically mark invoices as paid based on your bank transactions. #indiedev #macos #BuildInPublic

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 20/08/2026

Thank you Alex (@iphoneblog.de), for your kind words about my app (@usebilly.app) on the @bitsundso.de podcast. I was happy when I found it. www.bitsundso.de/bus1019 (German)

bitsundso.de

Bits und so #1019 (Der Geld-Ring) | Bits und so

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 04/08/2026

Nice to see that the skill of people like @lmnt.me still gets recognized while most are on a very different design path currently.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 29/07/2026

Found a place for the barber pole progress bar! @marioguzman.bsky.social

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Billy @usebilly.app · 28/07/2026

Somehow I forgot to introduce Billy version 1.1 here! It’s out of beta since last week with some highly requested features like multi-page invoices, markdown formatting, and support for the US Letter format. #indiedev #macos #BuildInPublic

Illustration of three new features: Multi-Page Support, Document Formats, Markdown Formatting

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 25/07/2026

@usebilly.app is now also available for download via Homebrew!

Merged pull request for "billy" version 1.1.1 in homebrew-cask repository

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 15/07/2026

Since when is Apple faster to approve production builds than a TestFlight builds? I even added the TestFlight one a little earlier. So I guess my new motto for the Beta is: Get the updates extra late!

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Billy @usebilly.app · 15/07/2026

We got featured! Thank you so much @lucas.love for the kind words. It’s great having you as such an invested user!

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 12/07/2026

Good interview! I’m always a fan of @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, but I like that it’s a little bit more in-depth—down to some technical details. youtu.be/aMNWOqXpxcc

youtu.be

AI’s Threat to Privacy - Signal President Meredith Whittaker on the Risks of Agents

YouTube video by Nicholas Thompson

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 04/07/2026

It’s Christmas! Thank you so much @marioguzman.bsky.social—that’s so sweet of you. <3

A handwritten note is displayed inside a holiday card, alongside a one-dollar Steve Jobs coin.

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Billy @usebilly.app · 26/06/2026

A lot of people still write their invoices in Pages, or even InDesign—so did I. Most accounting tools out there are web-based, expensive, and keep your data hostage. Pages works, but was never meant for this, and that makes it easy to mess simple things up. #indiedev #macos #BuildInPublic

The left side of the screen displays icons for Pages, Figma, InDesign, and Word. An arrow points from these icons to the Billy icon on the right side.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 26/06/2026

Very grateful to see my app @usebilly.app featured in the Piccalilli newsletter. Thanks, @bell.bz!

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 16/06/2026

We are live! I’m really happy to tell you that Billy is now available for download in the Mac App Store and directly from my website. usebilly.app/download apps.apple.com/app/billy-in... #indiedev #macos #BuildInPublic

An image introducing the app Billy showing its app icon with a sticker reading “Beautiful Bureaucracy” and confetti in the background.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 15/06/2026

When the circular toolbar buttons are not concentric anymore with the window corner anyway, why can’t we have rounded rectangular buttons back? Like this, it’s much less space-efficient and looks worse. Isn’t a rectangle just the superior shape for a button? #macos #macos27

A screenshot showing the macOS Golden Gate Finder toolbar.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 15/06/2026

Yay, Apple wants us! I guess the launch will happen tomorrow then!

A notification indicating that “Billy – Invoice Manager“ version 1.0.0 has been approved by App Review.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 02/05/2026

Your friendly neighborhood invoice manager has arrived! Beta access is now open! testflight.apple.com/join/aCCf242f

A graphic introducing “Billy,” an e-invoicing Mac app in open beta.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 24/04/2026

I’ve been working on my first Mac app for a while now, and it’s finally coming out next week. It’s an invoicing app for freelancers called “Billy”—creating, managing, and customizing e-invoices. Everything done locally and natively. #indiedev #macosdev #buildinpublic

Announcement poster of the app “Billy”. Open Beta on May 1, 2026.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 06/11/2025

Why did I think @bradfrost.com would speak about design or development or so? Anyway, I guess I was wrong.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 14/09/2025

I stumbled upon this very elegant way of gender-neutralizing words in German using a version of an asterisk which fills the whole x-height. It would be fantastic if type designers would begin incorporating such a glyph into their fonts.

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Schöpflin Stiftung @schoepflinstiftung.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Gemeinsam mit Publix und @algorithmwatch.org laden wir ein zum Gespräch mit @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, Präsidentin des Messengers Signal, über die Frage, wie wir Technologie wieder stärker an menschlichen Bedürfnissen ausrichten können – vor allem beim Schutz unserer Privatsphäre. ➡️ t.ly/lIzA3

Das Individuum in der Maschine: Meredith Whittaker über die Rückgewinnung der Privatsphäre im Zeitalter der KI

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 10/06/2025

I kind of like the new cursor.

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kepano @stephango.com · 09/06/2025

a few well-chosen typos relaly make your prose seem like it wasn't written by AI

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 09/06/2025

I don’t know, but the corner radius feels just wrong. #wwdc25 #macos26

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The Iconfactory @iconfactory.iconfactory.world.ap.brid.gy · 09/06/2025

Looks like we were ahead of the clear icon curve all the way back in 2006! 😉 #WWDC freeware.iconfactory.com/preview/cl…

Clear finder Icons for the Mac desktop from 2006 including a clear hard drive, iCloud Drive and trash folder.

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Piccalilli @piccalil.li · 06/06/2025

This is a stunning collection of ephemeral print for every day stuff. Y’know, tickets, flyers and labels. The typography, the creative and the history is fascinating. letterformarchive.org/ephemera/

letterformarchive.org

Ephemera

Letterform Archive’s collection of ephemera aims to outlast its impermanent nature and provide endless design inspiration.

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Panic @panic.com · 03/06/2025

We’d like to thank our good friends at Apple for nominating our Panic-published game, Thank Goodness You’re Here!, for a “Delight and Fun” 2025 Apple Design Award!! Amazing. Many thanks to everyone who played it, and to Coal Supper for making it. thankgoodness.game

an image that says "Apple Design Awards 2025 Finalist: Delight and Fun" with the Thank Goodness You're Here icon.

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 03/06/2025

“An Apple VP told me: The most popular text box on all of macOS is Chrome’s URL bar.” Haha, I can’t!

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 02/06/2025

A wonderful read from @lmnt.me that shows the world a little differently than most. lmnt.me/blog/the-dys...

lmnt.me

The Dystopian Dream Team

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Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

📣 The rush to add AI into everything is a big threat to privacy, as we've been saying. MS Recall's screenshotting everything is a (not) great example of exactly why. So, Signal took steps to protect everyone using Signal on Windows 11 from Recall's privacy invasion.👇 signal.org/blog/signal-...

signal.org

By Default, Signal Doesn't Recall

Signal Desktop now includes support for a new “Screen security” setting that is designed to help prevent your own computer from capturing screenshots of your Signal chats on Windows. This setting is a...

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Simon Lou @simonlou.com · 07/05/2025

I really enjoyed watching this video! Stylistically, I’ve always been a fan of Source Sans and have used it in a number of projects, but now that I know a little more about the person behind the typeface, Paul Hunt, I’m even more motivated to continue using it. nebula.tv/videos/nebul...

nebula.tv

Nebula Sans — Nebula Sans

What started as a simple design choice led to something much more meaningful. This is the story of Nebula Sans — a font built on principle, free to use for anyone who needs it.

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SomaFM @somafm.com · 07/03/2025

Greetings from SXSW. Just saw Meredith Whittaker (Signal CEO) gave a great talk on why everyone needs privacy even if you don’t think you do. And how being a nonprofit removes the temptation to “further monetize” information you have on your users

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