Leo

After writing about <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/a-notional-design-studio/">design under fascism</a> and <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/against-stocking-frames/">framing “artificial intelligence” as a failure</a>, I realized my tiny little brain could use a breather. So I thought I’d tell you about some well-made things I’ve enjoyed lately. <h2 id="hed-nova" tabindex="-1">Nova</h2> I’d been using a fairly popular code editor for a few years now. And I’d describe it as “basically fine”: it did what I needed, had some extensions I liked, and was, well, basically fine. But in the last year or so, it had started incorporating more “artificial intelligence” (“AI”) features. I could disable them, so whatever. But it also seemed that over time, more and more of the application’s release notes were getting dedicated to the latest “AI” developments. And there were a few times where the features I’d disabled were mysteriously reenabled after I installed an update. Anyway, this is all to say that I recently switched to <a href="https://nova.app/">Nova</a>, and it’s been a downright delight. I’ve been using <a href="https://panic.com/">Panic</a> products throughout my career — <a href="https://panic.com/transmit/">Transmit</a> hive rise up — and Nova’s just as polished as the rest of their work. Like, I opened the color picker the first week and sighed happily. This is a totally normal reaction to software, and I am invited to many glamorous parties. Anyway, I like it a lot. <h2 id="hed-buttondown" tabindex="-1">Buttondown</h2> If you <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/subscribe/">subscribe to my newsletter</a>, you might’ve noticed it now looks a little different. The old service I’d been using had started to go all-in on “AI” features, none of which I was using. And if I’m honest, their new strategy was making me worried whether my writing — or more worryingly, my subscriber list — was getting shlorped up for training data. (Okay, between this and my switch to Nova, I’m…seeing a trend emerge here.) Anyway, I made the switch to <a href="https://buttondown.com/">Buttondown</a>, and I couldn’t be happier. Migration was a breeze, and the few times I’ve had questions I’ve been so impressed by the support I’ve gotten. And the product works a danged treat; I can really tell it’s made with care. <h2 id="hed-rob-weycherts-new-website" tabindex="-1">Rob Weychert’s new website</h2> <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/link-bug/">It’s early days yet</a>, but I can’t tell you how happy I am to have <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/stream/">my stream</a> up and running. It’s primarily an archive, a place where I can store links to the things I find interesting. I mention all this because in the few months since the stream’s launched, I haven’t really revisited most of the links after posting them. The one exception so far? <a href="https://v7.robweychert.com/">Rob Weychert’s new website</a>. I mean, my goodness, look at it: it’s just a beautiful, beautiful thing. Rob’s archived a staggering amount of personal data here: <a href="https://v7.robweychert.com/blog/collection/concert-diary/">concerts he’s attended</a>, <a href="https://v7.robweychert.com/blog/collection/reading-diary/">books he’s read</a>, <a href="https://v7.robweychert.com/blog/collection/film-diary/">movies he’s watched</a>, and more. All of it wrapped up in an artful, thoughtfully-executed package. My little redesign’s only been online <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/parker/">for a few months</a>, and Rob’s site is already giving me ideas for my next one. <hr /> Those are a few well-made things I’ve been enjoying lately. What about you?

<hr /> This has been “<a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/some-well-made-things/">Some well-made things.</a>” a post from <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/">Ethan’s journal.</a> <a href="mailto:listener+rss@ethanmarcotte.com?subject=Reply%20to:%20“Some well-made things.”">Reply via email</a>