Identical Cousins

Recorded 5 April 2013.

You can download the m4a file.

Brent and Michael talk to Nick Bradbury, author of HomeSite, TopStyle, FeedDemon, and Glassboard.

This episode is sponsored by Windows Azure Mobile Services. Want to provide syncing and web services for your iOS apps? Check out Mobile Services. Leave the headaches of running a server to Microsoft while you concentrate on writing the parts that make your app awesome.

Some things we mention:

• Nick Bradbury

To activate the FeedDemon easter egg, type “FeedDemon easter egg” in the address bar.

Recorded 29 March 2013.

You can download the m4a file.

We talk about Google Reader, iCloud, Microsoft, Dave Morin, and Summly.

This episode is sponsored by Windows Azure Mobile Services, a high-level component of Azure that makes it easy to write back-end services for iOS apps. Write code in JavaScript — it runs Node.js. Access the system via your web browser. Leave the server maintenance to other people, while you concentrate on what makes your app awesome.

Some things we mention:

• Google Reader Shutdown Announcement

Tune in next week when we have our first guest — Nick Bradbury, one of the all-time great indie developers. He’s written three hits on his own: HomeSite, TopStyle, and FeedDemon. These days he works at Sepia Labs on the Android version of Glassboard.

Recorded 8 March 2013.

You can download the m4a file.

We talk about changing your mind. Fantastical adds a date badge — when Michael said he was against it. He explains why.

This episode is sponsored by Windows Azure Mobile Services, which makes it easy to add a backend to your iOS app — you can store data in a SQL database, run periodic scripts, send push notifications, and more. You write code in JavaScript. You don’t have to get Visual Studio. It’s lightweight in the best sense possible — and very easy to get started.

A note about the audio: I (Brent) screwed up Michael’s audio — I had my headphones on and didn’t realize Michael’s audio was playing through my computer speakers. Oops. It’s due to Michael’s Awesome Audio Editing Prowess (tm) that the episode is salvaged. You mostly don’t hear any echo. Mostly. (Sorry about that!)

Some things we mention:

• Fantastical 1.1 for iPhone

In the podcast, Brent erroneously credited Mario Puzo as the author of Prizzi’s Honor. It was Richard Condon. (Puzo wrote The Godfather.) We regret the error.

Nowhere in the podcast do we mention Jerzy Kosinski, who wrote Being There. We bring it up now just because we like it.

Another random note: Daniel Jalkut has a nice piece on indie podcasts. While we love 5by5, Mule Radio Syndicate, and Mobile Nations, like Daniel and Marco Arment we’re proud to be indie. We enjoy having sole control of the things we make.

Recorded 20 Feb 2013.

You can download the m4a file.

We talk about Brent’s first three weeks of indie life. Spoiler: he’s enjoying it.

Then, because Michael has a cold, we lose our senses entirely and talk for a while about the Mailbox queue. Brilliant marketing? Pure evil? Making lemons out of lemonade? A nice user experience? A mix of all the above?

Also: cousin Michael gives us a sneak peek at Fantastical 1.1. But his cold makes him misspeak: he says the app uses the word “pasteboard” but in reality it uses the word “clipboard.”

This episode is sponsored by Windows Azure Mobile Services. Mobile Services is a new component of Azure — a very high-level component that makes creating web services for mobile apps (database storage, user authentication, push notifications, email, and so on) easy. (Really easy. Startlingly simple.)

Some things we mention:

• Mailbox

Okay, that’s just about it.

Brent’s audio is a bit noisy. He’s working on it. (He has a Blue Yeti. Good mic. The problem isn’t the mic.)

Also: we used a curse word somewhere in the podcast. The f-word. So we marked this episode as explicit for iTunes.

Recorded 29 Jan 2013.

You can download the m4a file.

We shoot the breeze, answer a couple listener questions, and then talk about Brent going indie.

Somewhere along the line, Michael coins the word fauxnoriety.

Some things we mention:

• Renaissance Conference

Recorded 11 Jan. 2013.

You can download the m4a file.

Here are some things we mention in the show:

Recorded 27 Dec. 2012. We make up stuff about 2013. We talk about watches, displays, Apple’s online services, and the Zuckerberg family photo.

You can download the m4a file.

This episode is sponsored by FastSpring. Want to sell your apps outside of the Mac App Store? You should. Use FastSpring.

Here’s the page about IGZO we talk about — with the weird curly quote where we expected an inch mark.

Happy New Year!

Recorded 7 Dec. 2012. We talk about the launch of Fantastical for iPhone — a little bit about marketing, but mainly about app design.

You can download the m4a file.

This episode is sponsored by FastSpring, the e-commerce provider favored by cool Mac shops like Flexibits and Rogue Amoeba. You should sell your apps there too.

Warning about sound quality: Brent’s microphone goes weird around 19:00 and he switches to another microphone. We apologize for the less-than-smooth experience. (That microphone has been given a stern talking-to and placed in the time-out corner while it thinks about its bad self.)

Recorded 16 Nov. 2012. We talk about porting apps from OS X to iOS and vice versa — and about launching new apps.

You can download the m4a file.

This episode is sponsored by Pinbook from Albina Development. Pinbook is a Pinboard client for iOS. It’s fast, focused, and well-designed. Check it out. Also see Collin’s post on Pinbook 1.1: Polish and Speed.

(Yes, we’re taking sponsorships now. Contact Michael or Brent if you’re interested.)

Some things we mention:

And, at one point, Brent says, “Dear Lord, thanks for making me a Simmons.”

Happy Thanksgiving from Identical Cousins!

Recorded 29 Oct. 2012. We talk about the departure of Scott Forstall from Apple, iCloud syncing, Letterpress, and trains.

Some things we mention:

Download the audio file.