Blog
Thoughts, tutorials, and updates on software development.
Léelo Is Live
This week: Léelo, an iPhone and iPad app that teaches Spanish by reading real stories. 296 leveled readers from A1 to C2, real classics, and tap-to-translate on every word and sentence.
Decant Is Live
This week: Decant, an iPhone app that extracts just the audio from any video. On-device, no watermark, no subscription. Drop in a video and get a clean audio file out in seconds.
The Mac Menu Bar App Stack: Small Tools That Stay Out of Your Way
A rundown of genuinely useful macOS menu bar apps: a to-do list, an audio router, a white noise player, and an eject-blocker fixer. What each one does and who it's for.
Best macOS Network Utility Alternatives, Compared (2026)
Apple removed Network Utility years ago. Here's an honest comparison of what replaced it: native GUI apps, a traceroute specialist, and the command-line standard. Tested by a developer who builds these tools.
June 2026: Month Six
525 downloads across all apps and $349.51 in revenue, five new apps shipped, and all three June goals cleared.
Apple Rejected Enormo Twice
This week's app, an AI photo upscaler for Mac called Enormo, is built and ready. Getting it past App Store review has been the hard part.
Botanical Garden Mushrooms Is Live
Announcing Botanical Garden Mushrooms, an iMessage sticker pack of 25 clay-style woodland fungi. Coming soon to the App Store for $1.99.
StemSplitPro Is Live
Announcing StemSplitPro, a Mac app that splits any song into clean vocal, drum, bass, and instrument stems entirely on your machine.
RingMix Is Live
This week: RingMix, a ringtone maker for iPhone with on-device stem separation. Trim any song, isolate vocals or instruments, and set it as your ringtone without needing a Mac.
A New Company, Headache, and My First Android App
This week: Headache, a one-tap migraine tracker, and TrekBurn, my first Android app. Both ship under my new company, Serious Business Software LLC. Plus a Gratuity Android submission and updates to Conjugo and SongSplit.
May 2026: Month Five
312 downloads across all apps and $188.76 in revenue, two new apps shipped, and the revenue goal missed by eleven dollars.
Eleven Dollars Short
I cleared my download goal three times over in May and still missed the number that mattered. Here is what that taught me.
This Week: Conjugo and ContactPDF
Two new apps in review this week: Conjugo, a Spanish verb conjugator, and ContactPDF for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Plus iPad updates for Pacesmith and Gratuity.
Red Pandas and Librarian Ghosts Are Live
This week: Red Pandas - Summer Solstice and Cute Librarian Ghosts sticker packs. Plus updates for SongSplit AI, Ejecta, and TypeSnap.
Four New Sticker Packs Are Live
This week: Skateboard Cats 1980s, Sleepy Frogs, Croissant Knights, and Vintage Cats Gardening. Plus bug fixes for Dos Palabras and new localizations for Just Habits.
TodoBar Is Live
Announcing TodoBar, a menu bar to-do tracker for macOS with natural-language due dates, a global hotkey, and iCloud sync. One-time $9.99.
April 2026: Month Four
250 downloads across all apps, eight new apps shipped, and $190.62 in revenue -- the biggest month yet by a wide margin.
Pygmy Ghosts Is Live
Pygmy Ghosts is a new iMessage sticker pack of 24 clay-style pygmy goats in ghost costumes. $1.99 on the App Store.
Dos Palabras Is Live
Dos Palabras is a free iOS app that teaches you two Spanish words a day instead of one. Native audio, flashcard practice, a home screen widget, and no ads.
Melancholy Otters and Cozy Ghosts Are Live
Two new iMessage sticker packs are out this week: Melancholy Otters and Cozy Ghosts. Both made with StickerForge, both $1.99 on the App Store.
StickerForge Is Live
Announcing StickerForge, a free AI sticker maker that runs in your browser. Type a prompt, get four unique clay-style stickers in seconds.
Portie Is Live
Announcing Portie, a native macOS app that shows every open port on your Mac, identifies which app owns it, and lets you kill it with no terminal required.
Gratuity Is Live
Announcing Gratuity, a free tip calculator for iPhone that splits bills three ways: by item, evenly, or with a quick tip.
Pacesmith Is Live
Announcing Pacesmith, a VDOT training calculator for iOS with race prediction, pace solving, and split planning.
Pronoun Is Live
Announcing Pronoun, a tool that generates available product names from a description with real-time domain checking.
March 2026: Month Three
Blew past the download and revenue goals, but only shipped 4 of the 6 apps planned for the Tuesday challenge.
AI Tools vs AI Agents: What Is the Difference?
Most AI tools answer one question at a time. AI agents do something different: they take action. Here is a plain-English explanation with a simple example.
TypeSnap Is Live
Announcing TypeSnap, a privacy-first text expansion app for Mac with one-time pricing and full TextExpander import.
Just Habits Is Live
Announcing Just Habits, a privacy-first iOS habit tracker built around honest progress instead of streaks.
Train531 Is Live
Announcing Train531, an AI-powered iOS app that runs Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 strength training program for you.
JBreaker Is Live
Announcing JBreaker, a web app that generates meeting icebreakers from perfectly normal to completely unhinged.
February 2026: Month Two
First full month of tracking. 41 downloads, one paid sale, and goals for a big March.
The Best Stem Splitter Tools in 2026
A straightforward comparison of the best stem splitter tools available today, covering web apps, desktop software, and open source options. Tested by a developer who builds audio tools.
Network Utility Was Removed in macOS Ventura. Here's What to Use Instead.
Apple removed Network Utility from macOS in Ventura, leaving a gap for developers and power users who relied on it daily. Here's the best replacement.
Still Waiting on Review
No release today. A couple apps are stuck in App Store review, but next week should bring at least two launches.
I Can Finally See My Download Numbers
After shipping Netutil and Soundshine, I was flying blind on actual usage. Abner fixed that without the usual privacy trade-offs.
Apple Rejected My App
I committed to shipping an app every Tuesday. Apple had other plans.
Soundshine Is Here
Announcing Soundshine, a macOS menu bar app that routes your system audio to any app as a microphone input.
I'm Shipping an App Every Tuesday
Announcing my new challenge to finish and ship one macOS app every week.
January 2026: Month One
First month of tracking my indie app business. Downloads, revenue, and what's next.
How to Build Your First Local AI Agent (For Python Developers)
A step-by-step guide to building a local bug analyst agent using Python, Ollama, and Qwen 2.5
NetUtil is on Product Hunt
I posted NetUtil to Product Hunt today. Check it out if you miss Apple's Network Utility.
Developing SongSplit AI
The journey from Python frustration to native Apple Silicon