I just released my ‘ℹ️ Get YouTube Video Info (HeyDingus' Version)’ shortcut version 1.0:

This shortcut gets the Channel, Video Title, and URL from a YouTube video and packages them up in a Dictionary action to be used in other shortcuts.

I simplified it from the version shared in MacStories Weekly Issue 304.

Get it from the HeyDingus Shortcuts Library.

🔗 Roku explores taking over HDMI feeds with ads — lowpass.cc // Janko Roettgers

Your Roku TV may one day show ads when you pause video on your Apple TV

Roku is exploring ways to show consumers ads on its TVs even when they are not using its streaming platform: The company has been looking into injecting ads into the video feeds of third-party devices connected to its TVs, according to a recent patent filing. 

Ugh, so gross. 🤮

🔗 No Joke, Yahoo Buys Artifact — spyglass.org

Ultimately, what killed Artifact was the fact that the founders just thought there were probably better problems on which to spend their time. […] But Artifact also filled a void left by Twitter. Unfortunately, they probably filled it a bit too much, as the app went from early but compelling to sort of a bloated mismatch of features. A lot of them were compelling on their own, but as a part of one app and vision, they were just too much, too soon. Yahoo, as a large company, is necessarily going to slow that roll. So again, maybe this makes sense.

🔗 5 ways I’d like iOS 18 to improve the iPhone home screen — birchtree.me // Matt Birchler

It’s been 3 whole years since I made this video where I proposed even smaller widgets than the current small size class. The thumbnail above really says it all, but currently the smallest widget uses a 2x2 grid on your home screen, and I would like to see 2x1 widgets be possible.

This is my favorite idea from Matt’s list. I wanted it three years ago when I first saw his concept, and I still want it now!

🔗 Welcome to the AI gadget era

The promise of AI — and I want to emphasize the word _promise _because nothing we’ve seen so far comes remotely close to accomplishing this — is to abstract all those steps and all that friction out of existence. All you need to do is declare your intentions — play music, navigate home, text Anna, tell me what poison ivy looks like — and let the system figure out how to get it done. Your phone contains multitudes, but it’s not really optimized for anything. An AI-optimized gadget can be easier to reach, quicker to launch, and alert to your input at all times.

I was honored to assist Mike and Jane in finishing up their Saranac Lake 6ers today with summits on Haystack & McKenzie! We were the only folks on the trail…can’t imagine why! 💨 🥾 📷

Two hikers are embracing on a mountain trail, with a scenic overlook of forested hills and cloudy skies in the background. There is no text in the image. Two hikers ascending a forested mountain trail, with one in the foreground smiling at the camera, and expansive views of distant hills and a lake in the background. Two hikers are trekking on a rocky forest trail with bare trees and moss-covered rocks, one in the foreground smiling and one farther back.

🔗 Every Failure is an Opportunity — caseyliss.com // Casey Liss

I know this isn’t a new thought, but it struck me so strongly after getting off the phone with Sonos: when a product fails, the company that sold it has an incredible opportunity: they can sour the opinion of a super-fan, or they can absolutely cement it in place.

You’re likely familiar with the Navy SEAL mantra of “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” I propose one more line: “And fast is fun.”

I like being efficient and safe in the mountains, but moving quickly out there is undeniably fun. I think they’re all closely related; not at all mutually exclusive.

Here was my photo library totals as of a few days ago. A very pleasing milestone that I just happened to notice! What are you at?

A screenshot of a photo gallery app showing thumbnail previews and a notification that reads “20,000 Photos, 1,500 Videos Synced with iCloud Just Now."

I just updated my ‘MB Photoblogger’ shortcut to version 1.1:

Added the ability to share a photo to the shortcut via the share sheet in case you already found the perfect image for the day’s prompt

Get it from the HeyDingus Shortcuts Library.

I’m just so happy with the result of my colorful hover effect for links on my site. 🤩 I never tire of sliding my mouse over them to see them burst to life.

Text on a button reads “Read the whole conversation” followed by an arrow pointing right, underlined with a colorful gradient, with the logo “PenPals” below.

📷 #mbApr Day 03

A person lies in a sleeping bag inside a tent, holding a playing card, with scattered cards on a mattress. Warm lighting indicates it might be evening or dawn.

A deck of cards is required gear for any backpacking trip. (circa March 2014 😳)

📷 #mbApr Day 02

Pine branches heavily laden with fresh snow, set against a blurred snowy background.

Snow flowers?

Okay, now that is pretty awesome!

Spatial Stephen beat me at Battleship.

More impressions from @ismh@eworld.social here.

🔗 Yahoo is buying Artifact, the AI news app from the Instagram co-founders — theverge.com

Artifact, the app, will go away once the acquisition is complete. But Artifact’s underlying tech for categorizing, curating, and personalizing content will soon start to show up on Yahoo News — and eventually on other Yahoo platforms, too. “You’ll see that stuff flowing into our products in the coming months,” says Downs Mulder. It sounds like there’s also a good chance that Yahoo’s apps might get a bit of Artifact’s speed and polish over time, too.

I probs won’t use Yahoo News, but better than death.

🔗 Action Button as Game Launcher — Initial Charge

I’m accomplishing this by checking the device’s volume at the beginning of the shortcut and then checking it again two seconds after the Global Variable app is launched. […]

The way it works in practice is, I press the Action Button, the most recent game opens. If I’d like to play something else, I have a two second window to press either of the two volume buttons. If I do, I’ll get a menu that lists the other games and emulators on my device and I can choose one to launch.

An ingenious method to get more from the Action Button or Back Tap.

🔗 Pay per scroll – Manu — manuelmoreale.com

Reflecting on books made me think about what the web would look like if it was some sort of pay-per-scroll platform. Not a place where virtually everything is free but a place where everything has to be purchased in order to be consumed. Which sites would I be willing to pay for?

An interesting thought experiment.

🆕📝 PenPaling With Valerie: Ramadan Updates, Crampons, Photoblogging, and More on Worldly Travel

It tickles me to chat with people whose day-to-day lives are so different than mine, and yet invariably find how very much we always have in common.

Hey, if you—like me—need all the help you can get to remember to post a photo every day for the Micro.blog Photoblogging Challenge, you might like my newest shortcut: MB Photoblogger.

It shows you the day’s prompt (via RSS 😎), asks you for an image, and lets you write a comment before posting.

#mbApr

I just released my ‘MB Photoblogger’ shortcut version 1.0:

This shortcut helps you post to Micro.blog for its Community Photoblogging Challenge. It handles everything from setting up the text of the post following a consistent format, to selecting and uploading a photo and publishing it to your blog.

Get it from the HeyDingus Shortcuts Library.

📷 #mbApr Day 01

A climbing backpack with coiled rope and ice axes rests amid cardboard boxes and various items in a cluttered storage space.

A tool, or toy?

No joke, Apple’s been around for 48 years as of today! And Gmail for 20. Goodness.

I’m floored, touched, and so grateful for the lucky number 7(!) people who have chosen to support my online meanderings via the One a Month Club. 🥰 Y’all are a bunch of dinguses and I love you.

🆕📝 7 Things (Which Are My Favorite Routes I Climbed in Red Rocks) This Week [#138]

7️⃣🧗‍♂️ 5️⃣2️⃣💿

Alright, I finally checked out Lex’s games (at its cool new domain name: lex.games)

I solved Mini #9 in 3 minutes, 37 seconds!

⬛⬜⬜⬜⬛
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬛

I solved Six Appeal #2 in 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

Real words guessed: 2 × 100 = 200
Remaining guesses: 2 × 200 = 400
Time bonus: 106

Total score: 706

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ✔️
🟨🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ ✔️
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜ 🚫
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟨🟩 🚫
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 🚫
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⭐