The two episodes are with some of the smartest people in this space, and they’re both excellent. But it’s a good one! Flipboard is all in on the fediverse and the open web, and CEO Mike McCue’s plan is to talk to smart people about it. This might be the first “brand” podcast I’ve ever recommended here. But the distinction is blurry, and it doesn’t really matter - this thing looks fun no matter what you call it.) (I got a bunch of crap in our comments for calling it a synthesizer and not a sampler, which, fair! Sampler is more accurate. I’m not really a musician, but I find myself desperately wanting the new $299 KO II, which is both a cool music-making machine and just a gorgeous set of buttons and knobs. I’m loving Stumble Guys so far, and how did I not know about Mubi before? This is the other year-end source of good stuff: the app store lists are always a mix of very popular apps you definitely already know and a smattering of really cool, unknown stuff.

Apple’s and Google’s apps of the year.The AI-powered “DJ: Wrapped” feature has been a particularly fun way to trip back through all the weird stuff TikTok got me into this year. All the year-in-review stuff seems to have kicked off this week - YouTube, Apple Music, Pocket Casts, and more - but Spotify’s just better at this than everybody else. And just from the trailers and pictures I’ve seen, this one’s going to be worth viewing on a big screen just to see the way director Takashi Yamazaki depicts the beast itself. This sounds like a more complex movie than your average monster flick, but in a really good way. Tons of clever UI, and I think exactly the right approach. I love the way this writing app integrates ChatGPT: it detects when you’re pasting in generated content and prompts you to note what’s human and what’s AI, and it treats AI more as a “help me brainstorm and think” tool than a “just write this for me” one. Also, if you bought one… wanna road trip? Slowly but surely, it looks like we’re about to start seeing them in the wild - and until then MKBHD’s 40-minute video will have to do. It finally launched! Ish! I have spent so many hours staring at and talking about this thing for the last four years, and I still can’t decide if I love or hate the design.

Generative Quest for apple instal