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John Siracusa

@siracusa@mastodon.social

mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06

Programmer, tech writer, and co-host of Accidental Tech Podcast, Reconcilable Differences, and Robot or Not.

0 Followers

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50 Posts

Joined September 10, 2017

Website:

https://hypercritical.co

Bluesky:

https://bsky.app/profile/siracusa.social

Twitter (RIP):

John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 1mo ago

I've had to "unlock" my developer Apple ID once every 5 days on average for the past three months, and once per day for the past three days. Each time I do it, I have to perform a delicate dance to navigate what seems to be some kind of request throttling that gives me HTTP 503 responses during the unlock process, making it impossible to complete its several steps. Then my session times out and I have to start over. I've been trying to unlock my ID for about an hour so far this morning…

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

Amen! https://weblog.rogueamoeba.com/2026/06/26/free-the-icons/ Squircle Jail is the worst design-related thing Apple has ever done to Mac developers, and probably the worst icon-related thing it has ever done, period. Incredibly developer-hostile. If squircled icons are actually better, then let that design win in the market. That's how we transitioned from the classic Mac OS icon style to the more photorealistic Mac OS X icon style. Developers adopted it because they wanted to, and because users desired it.

weblog.rogueamoeba.com

Free The Icons

Apple should end their prohibition on shapes in MacOS app icons

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

RE: https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/117005289701832778 Bring this image back in time a decade or two and try to convince people it’s real.

mastodon.social

Mario Guzmán: "Been excited for this one!" - Mastodon

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Remember when we used to be excited when Apple took the store offline for product changes?

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

https://tech.lgbt/@Natasha_Jay/116913004573347300 It’s tricky! https://hypercritical.co/2024/01/11/i-made-this

Nαtαshα :mastodon:: "AI Design Logic by Twonks" - LGBTQIA+ and Tech

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@Gte@mastodon.social Every missed shot, I kept waiting for the replay to show how the ball was deflected by a defender or something. But nope, they just plain missed. So many chances squandered. (I think this is may be the third soccer game I’ve ever watched. Put me in the booth.) (Do they have booths?)

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@aleen@wandering.shop Somehow. (Obviously.)

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@Gte@mastodon.social Brazil should have kicked the ball into the goal instead of around it.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

@dave@rascalking.com You should start televising your town meetings: https://bsky.app/profile/berkie1.bsky.social/post/3ml364lr47k2l

Jonathan Berk 🏠 (@berkie1.bsky.social)

Jonathan Berk 🏠 (@berkie1.bsky.social)

On its third attempt tonight, Marblehead Town Meeting approved an “MBTA Communities–compliant” district largely centered on the 125-year-old Tedesco Country Club, meeting 3A requirements on paper while all but assuring no new housing would be built. This comment says it all.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Every generation must reinvent it on their own. https://youtu.be/cDSiCPt2pKM?si=LGKAGPkBEUpwXBeR&t=2636 (via @sageolson@mastodon.social)

Gadget Prices Are Getting Ridiculous

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Our @atpfm@mastodon.social WWDC 2026 sale ends TOMORROW! If you plan to buy something, don’t wait any longer.

See this earlier thread for some highlights from this year’s offerings: @siracusa@mastodon.social

https://atp.fm/store

mastodon.social

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@kmck@mas.to @gedeonm@mastodon.social Touch Macs are coming, but the activation area of an icon is independent of its visual appearance.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@airspeedswift No pasta recipe should call for just three tablespoons of any cheese.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@tvaziri@mastodon.social @rmondello@hachyderm.io https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhWLN9sV5tE

The Simpsons - Baby On Board Full Scene

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Boosted by @isaiah@mastodon.social

I'm getting a steady trickle of crash reports for an AppKit-related crash that I can't reproduce at all. Can anyone at Apple shed any light on what might cause this assertion to fail while my app is quitting? ![[NSApp _openWindows] NS_containsObjectIdenticalTo:self] A partial backtrace is in the image. Various LLMs did disassembly to attribute the __assert_rtn to the specific assertion shown above, and I don't know how to tell if they're right…

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@vmachiel@mastodon.nl It will be printed!

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@cdfinder@techhub.social Sadly, apps in the Mac App Store can’t use the APIs that let you change the icon shown in the Finder (and the Dock when an app is not running).

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@dschaub@mstdn.social It's the same either way, but Tim doing it will absorb some of the blame that would have fallen on Ternus more directly if Ternus was the one doing it. Perception, not reality. The only actual fix is to stop doing it at all (which would have been easier if Tim had left Apple entirely).

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@niekvdpas@hachyderm.io There are often interesting comments there, but the prevailing attitude is one that I have grown tired of in my old age. It’s a lot of commenters explaining how they know more/better about whatever was posted, and then usually quickly spiraling off into predictable, petty squabbles tangentially related to the topic.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@niekvdpas@hachyderm.io Yes, used via https://chatjimmy.ai/ Just look at this speed! 🙃

chat jimmy

chat jimmy LLM web interface

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@stephenrobles If you had a Sony TV, you could have tried their Bravia Core service (which was recently renamed to some name that escapes me). It streams movies at “better than 4K UHD blu-ray” data rates (e.g., 80+ Mbps). And it comes free with your TV. (My TV also came with a voucher for 5 free movies.)

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@fraserhess@mastodon.social I almost said it on the show, but I think I've made that joke before, so I refrained.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@jimmylittle@hachyderm.io @marcoarment@mastodon.social I’ve seen that dialog, and I don’t use 1Password.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@dschaub@mstdn.social Like I said on the show, I think it's a lot harder to make a U-turn on a policy when the guy who created the policy is looking over your shoulder. I think Tim will loom large in Ternus's mind (and in his actual working life, probably) during his early time as CEO.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@stephenrobles You don't need 10Gig Ethernet to get 100+ Mbps! Plain old Gigabit ethernet will get you all the way up to 1,000 Mbps.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@blakestoffel@mastodon.social Large Language Models explained briefly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPZh9BOjkQs Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZHQObOWTQDNU6R1_67000Dx_ZCJB-3pi

Large Language Models explained briefly

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@fraydog@mastodon.social Probably not. I’m trying to keep the time-limited sales special.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@sharding@mastodon.social I don't think I was "dismissing" people who want better quality! I just think the quality improvement needs to be perceptible in some way, ideally…

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@sageolson@mastodon.social Should be fixed now. Delete and re-download. Sorry about that!

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@karlcswanson@mastodon.social https://mastodon.social/@siracusa/116406332044793693

mastodon.social

John Siracusa: "@evansteiner Yes, of course I do this. But it onl…" - Mastodon

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@sageolson@mastodon.social Different generation, different circles.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@buck@mastodon.social In my experience, the higher-end models do have better range (and sometimes also support newer Wi-Fi standards), but they’re also bigger and more expensive. Your call.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@buck@mastodon.social I have had very good experiences with Eero. (It’s what I’m using now.)

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@stephenrobles Bravia Core shipped on TVs with a 100 Mbps Ethernet connection! (I bought a USB-to-Ethernet adapter to connect my TV to my network, and it's substantially faster than 100 Mbps.)

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Oh, and here’s the new name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Core

en.wikipedia.org

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@rconti@c.im I don't use focus modes, so I can't help…

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@clayton@infosec.exchange No, sorry. But the edited episode should be out earlier than usual next week.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@jonschwenn Maybe Chrome is using Google’s 8.8.8.8 etc. DNS and Safari is using the system-configured DNS?

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@jccalhoun@mastodon.social Like I said on the show, one way it could matter is if it means a new price/feature tier in a product line. For example, if the only way to get an M6 SoC in an Apple laptop is to buy a more-expensive-than-any-MacBook-Pro "MacBook Ultra", then that would be a new limitation vs. the past M-series laptops releases. Yes, it's all rumors/speculation, but I think this kind of speculation is fun.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@aetles@mastodon.social IMO, the LC was a larger percent worse than its price was percent lower than the better Macs. So, not a great deal. (But, yes, better than no Mac at all.)

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@benlandsberg@mastodon.cloud Yeah, that was it!

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@ConnertheCat@masto.ai Yes, I'm still using them and I still like them. I still use equalizer settings to make music sound the way I like, though (either system-wide using SoundSource or the dedicated equalizer in the Music app).

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@Squozen@mastodon.ie It’s on the list! I’ll get to it eventually…

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@progtools@mastodon.social Fixed now, thanks.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@Drarok@mastodon.social I worked around the permissions issues cited there by adding a new set of entitlements for debug builds that disables sandboxing…and there are still *other* problems beyond that! I'll try the "refresh canvas" thing, but I am not optimistic that it will be a durable fix. The whole system just seems very broken in the latest Xcode.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@jeffcgd@aus.social It can, but I doubt you’ll find one at a price that actually makes sense.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@unforgettableluncheon@mastodon.social I drink it all day long! I'm drinking some now! And I did so when growing up on Long Island, as well. But not everywhere in the US has good-tasting tap water…

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@alex@social.alexwlchan.net Nah, Tim is more interested in volume.

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John Siracusa @siracusa@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@yertle Yeah, that sounds familiar.

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