On this feedback episode, Sparks and I talk about backing up iCloud data, read-it-later services, automation trigger conflicts, travel tech, converting Markdown, the No List, and a lot more.
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Sean Duffy Pushes Back on Jim Bridenstine’s Comments About America’s Return to the Moon⇢
On the heels of a predecessor saying otherwise, acting NASA administrator and The Real World alumni Sean Duffy says NASA will beat China to the moon, according to Julia Jester and Denise Chow at NBC News:
During an internal employee town hall Thursday, Duffy warned of “letting safety be the enemy of progress” when it comes to winning the new space race, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by NBC News.
macOS Icon History⇢
Basic Apple Guy’s impressive project pairs nicely with mine.
Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Testifies About Future Moon Landings⇢
When Jim Bridenstine was named NASA Administrator during Trump’s first time in office, many folks (including me) were worried that a Congressional representative from Oklahoma was a bad choice, but by the time he was out of office, I think most people thought he had done a pretty good job at shepherding NASA through a couple of rocky years.
In the years since, he’s been working in the private space sector, and was recently questioned on Capitol Hill about where NASA is in its slow motion return to the moon.
Anthropic to Pay Authors ‘At Least’ $1.5 Billion⇢
In what’s potentially the first major payout to creatives whose work was used to train AI systems, Anthropic has reached an agreement to pay “at least” a staggering $1.5 billion, plus interest, to authors to settle its class-action lawsuit. The amount breaks down to smaller payouts expected to be approximately $3,000 per book or work. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said it’s “believed to be the largest publicly reported recovery in the history of US copyright litigation.”
Connected 568: The Rickies (Sept. 2025)⇢
This week on a jam-packed episode of Connected:
With the next iPhone introduction just days away, Federico, Myke, and Stephen gather their thoughts and their picks to see who has the best guesses on what will happen at Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event.
A Look at Pedometer++ on iOS 26⇢
It’s been a busy summer at Cross Forward, and David is showing off part of that work today, with a tour of the next version of Pedometer++:
I love this refresh, and can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on for Widgetsmith.
The Browser Company Acquired by Atlassian⇢
In probably unsurprising news, The Browser Company has a new owner, as reported by David Pierce at The Verge:
Mike Cannon-Brookes, the CEO of enterprise software giant Atlassian, was one of the first users of the Arc browser. Over the last several years, he has been a prolific bug reporter and feature requester. Now he’ll own the thing: Atlassian is acquiring The Browser Company, the New York-based startup that makes both Arc and the new AI-focused Dia browser. Atlassian is paying $610 million in cash for The Browser Company, and plans to run it as an independent entity.
Instagram Coming to the iPad⇢
Announced on Instagram’s blog today, the new iPad app supports iPadOS 15.1 and later and includes the features you’d expect like Reels and Stories, plus a new “Following” tab that includes sections for posts and Reels from Friends who follow you back, a “Latest” section that’s sorted chronologically, and an “All” section. Instagram’s messaging is supported and with more screen real estate allows you to view your inbox and threads simultaneously. It even supports keyboards, trackpads, and the Apple Pencil.
Google Gets to Keep Chrome and Android, Apple Gets to Keep Its $20 Billion⇢
It’s a big day for Google, as Judge Amit Mehta has ruled in its favor in several areas:
- Google will not have to sell off Chrome
- Google will not have to sell off Android
- Google can continue paying Apple and others for search engine placement
However, will be barred from exclusive contracts for placement in other products. Jennifer Elias has more at CNBC:
“Google will not be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court include a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” the decision states. “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divesture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.”
The iPhone Ultra
There’s been some discussion this week about what a future folding iPhone would be named. I’m putting a flag in the ground here, today, on September 2, 2025:
The iPhone Ultra.
September 9, 2026 Update: I was wrong. It’s the iPhone Duo.
Hitting the Wall with Vibe Coding⇢
Stephen Robles recently attempted to write an iOS podcast client. By his own admission, he’s not a developer, so turned to a series of AI tools to write the app. It didn’t go well:
At first, it would hang on searching for shows. After I seemingly fixed that, adding a show to the Library didn’t work. I kept going back and forth with GPT-5 and it kept getting worse. Every new build there was an increasing number or errors and unintended changes to UI elements I hadn’t asked for.