It took a few tries, but I’ve figured out how to use my favorite tools together to smoothly get from fleeting ideas to published blog posts. Let me tell you how I got here.

Choosing a home and designing the site

Last year, when I decided to make HeyDingus a reality and publish a blog, I faced many choices. Primary among them was where to create it. It seems like the standard place to go is WordPress because of all the bells and whistles that you can install to make it work and feel like your own. Then there was Squarespace — the place to “make your next move” that I’d had piped into my ears during years of podcast ads.

I had questions:

• Could I write in Markdown and publish still publish easily?
• How would I add images if I wanted to include them in a blog post?
• Could the site be the home for multiple projects if anything else piqued my interest?
• Say it didn’t work out. Could I get my content off of the blog host without difficulty and take it somewhere else?

Indeed there were mountains of opinion about the best hosts that I could sift through — and I did for a while — but the best way for me to make a decision is to get in and kick the tires around.

First, I tried Squarespace. It turned out that starting a new website in 2020 meant getting their new editor, version 7.1, and I had been familiar with version 7.0 from a previous work project. While the theming and styling tools in the new version were an upgrade, many features were still in development, and 7.1 wasn’t as intuitive or flexible for blogging as I had expected. It wasn’t a complete loss, though, since I used that first iteration to develop my vision for my site’s visual design.

That brought me to WordPress. I wanted to like WordPress because I figured it would be most viable for a long-term host. If blogging “stuck” for me, I didn’t want to have to move a year from now to a more capable platform. Plus, I knew WordPress played nicely with other tools like Shortcuts. So I took the general layout, colors, fonts, and page structure that I had created in Squarespace and fiddled around enough to recreate it in WordPress. The tools were undoubtedly more powerful but also more complicated and unfamiliar coming from Squarespace. So after trying a few posts, and with regret since the Markdown support and posting integration were so convenient, I said goodbye to WordPress as well. If the focus was to be on writing, I needed familiarity, not endless ways to tinker.

I ended up back where I started, on Squarespace, but found I could (thankfully) still create a new site using the old 7.0 version. It took more finagling, but I managed to remake the same basic layout and design for the third time. I tweaked the heading sizes, adjusted hyperlinks to my preferred blue, and ensured that the margins were a healthy size appropriate for reading. I knew I was giving up on some power-user features, but, hey, if others can run a multimedia empire from Squarespace for years, I’d probably be alright too.

Some other pros and cons:

Squarespace
Pros

• Easier to design
• Better iOS and iPadOS app
• More usable in Safari on iPad
• Can quickly adapt URLs to the format that I prefer (heydingus.net/blog/YYYY/M/slug-name)

Cons

• More expensive
• Markdown support isn’t ideal
• More manual publishing flow

WordPress
Pros

• Can publish directly from writing apps
• Shortcuts integration
• More options for tinkering and expanding
• Better Markdown support

Cons

• Basic sites have limited design options
• Intimidating to get started
• Content block structure not as adaptive

Developing a writing flow

I had the site built. Now to refine the process of getting from idea to draft to a published article. From the beginning, I’ve had a website scratchpad note where I outlined my ideal blogging flow.

Ideas can strike from anywhere. So I wanted to quickly capture ideas then be able to finish them later. If I could publish straight from the text editor, that would be great, as long as I could manage the images I wanted to include. But publishing from a web interface wouldn’t be a dealbreaker.

Writing flow

I knew Drafts would be where everything started. I’ve been using Drafts for years to capture text of all kinds — it’s perfect as my external brain. Its excellent Markdown support, customizable actions, and action directory meant I could quickly get ideas in and out of Drafts. But there’s too much happening in Drafts for it to be a focused area for my long-form writing. I needed a dedicated text editor.

Since writing apps are an evergreen topic in the places I read, I knew the best two options were iA Writer and Ulysses. So I tested them both for a few weeks. I liked that Ulysses had powerful organizational tools and a more striking design. Included writing goals, feature-rich spelling and grammar check, and its sheet metaphor were all appealing. But its downfall was the way it hid Markdown formatting while writing. I write in Markdown because I want to see everything in the text, which meant hiding the URL for in-line links was a no-go. Plus, Ulysses has a subscription — which, to be clear, I’m not opposed to — and I already owned the full copy of iA Writer.

I’d been using iA Writer for several years after discovering it in college to help me focus while writing papers. One of iA Writer’s key advantages was that it’s a traditional text editor, meaning everything written in the app is saved as native .txt or .md files within the file system. That meant I could take all my files to any other text editor at any time. iA Writer doesn’t rely on a unique file format or markup for its features, so I don’t lose anything by writing in plain text.¹. While Squarespace supports exporting blog data for moving to a different platform (which answered one of my initial questions), I wanted the backup of my plain text files just in case.

I also like iA Writer’s design, which is stark but pleasant, and its focus mode (which I keep set to highlight the current sentence when writing). iA Writer may lack customizable options, but that keeps me keyed in on actually getting words down on the page rather than adjusting dials. I write, edit, preview², and nothing more. There’s just enough in this app to get the job done. Some of the whizzbang features in Ulysses still call to me, but I think it’s better in the long run for my writing for iA Writer to be simple and focused.

Publishing flow

I’d chosen Squarespace, and while I was happy with the design and my ability to adapt and add to it, there were a few downsides when getting text from iA Writer and into a blog post:

1. Squarespace would prefer that you write in rich text by using their built-in editor. It does support Markdown formatting through a Markdown block, but not for all variants like footnote markup.
2. No Shortcuts support.
3. iOS app doesn’t allow using Markdown block.
4. No easy way to upload images without using content blocks on the web.

Through research and experimentation, I’ve solved most of these issues over the past few months of blogging:

1. Copy Markdown as HTML when using footnotes, and paste into a Markdown block. Markdown is designed to support raw HTML, so it renders perfectly. If I’m not doing anything fancy, I can just paste in the Markdown text.
2. There’s no real solution, but I can still do all my text editing using Shortcuts in my text editors and then copy it into Squarespace on the web.
3. Without Markdown support in the app, I use Safari for making blog posts. The desktop-class browser on iPad plus cursor support makes it as easy to publish from my iPad as from my Mac.
4. This was my most recent solution, and I resorted to using a traditional CDN to deliver photos for my posts. All I need is a direct link to each uploaded image, and then I could include it in my Markdown while writing. Sure, I could use the image blocks in Squarespace on the web, but I abandoned that process. It took me out of the writing flow and difficult to get images positioned correctly within the Markdown block. I found an image CDN with an easy-to-use API to upload images using Shortcuts, and get the appropriate block of Markdown to paste into my text editor.

Putting it all together

I’m finally happy with my writing setup. Here’s how it happens as of today:

1. Ideas start in Drafts, usually from Shortcuts that build linked post formatting, accept general ideas, and add appropriate tags to get it into my HeyDingus workspace.
2. Work on the outline or first draft in Drafts. What a concept, I know!
3. Send the next post (or a few) that I want to publish to iA Writer, where writing is completed and edited.
4. Use my Image Uploader shortcut to add images to CDN and get back Markdown formatting to paste into iA Writer. Preview the finished and rendered blog post there.
5. For longer posts, copy text into Grammarly as an extra proofread, then copy the revised text back into iA Writer. I appreciate that Grammarly ignores markup formatting.
6. Convert the level 1 heading to title case using iA Writer’s native highlight actions.
7. Copy the title and body as raw Markdown into the blog post editor on Squarespace’s website in Safari. I’ve set it to use a Markdown block in blog posts by default. If the post uses footnotes, I can copy the post as HTML directly from iA Writer and paste it into that same block.
8. Add tags, set up automatic social starting, and check the permalink. I use emoji for linked post titles, which makes the URL look weird, so I manually adjust those.
9. Take a deep breath, and publish the blog post.
10. Move the .md files in iA Writer to an archive folder.

Some wish list items

While I’m pleased with where I have ended up with my writing process, nothing is so perfect that it can’t be complained about, so here are a few things that I’d like to see improved:

• I would love to see some proper integration for publishing to Squarespace from Shortcuts like you can with WordPress.
• Since I’m already paying for Squarespace, being able to upload directly to its CDN via an API would be great.
• More functionality within the iOS and iPadOS Squarespace app. Let me use Markdown blocks, and don’t confine that non-traditional text editing to a small code box in the corner.
• I’d like to be able to dial in the syntax highlighting while editing in iA Writer. I’ve customized Drafts to show headings, links, emphasized text, and pull quotes in different colors and styles, and it would be nice to have that replicated in my text editor.

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I’m sure there are other solutions out there, some of which might address my remaining concerns. But I’m excited to have built a streamlined process to get ideas out of my head and onto the web. With it, I’ve been able to file down some of the rough spots of using Squarespace in a way for which it wasn’t entirely designed. If you also want to use Squarespace as a blogging platform alongside more advanced tools like Shortcuts and a CDN, I hope my trials and tribulations have been helpful.

Shortcuts Blogging

I’ve been trying more music with Spatial Audio and staying tuned in to how others are receiving it across the internet. While some people are smitten, others think it’s a passing gimmick. Matt Birchler at Birchtree, for instance, doesn’t think it’ll take off in the long term:

I’m hopeful that surround sound AKA Dolby Atmos AKA Spatial Audio results in some truly unique and delightful musical experiences that I’ve never had before, but the more time goes by, the more I feel like this has real big “3D movie energy”.

I have to disagree with Matt here. Sure, trying to remix every older track probably won’t result in a better product, but I think the more exciting way to think about Spatial Audio is how artists will approach their new work with it.

It feels to me like giving artists more dimensional space to play with is a natural progression for audio. When done well, it’s uncanny just how much the music sounds like you’re in a physical space with the band. I imagine that many artists work really hard to make their recorded music sound as close to the live performance as possible. Spatial Audio is an additional tool to help them do just that.

Although it may already be overused, I think the SD to HD/4K transition is a more apt comparison than 3D movies. It, too, was a natural progression of technology, and creators now default to it. Everyone watches HD video, and it would be weird if something new came out that was of lesser quality. But older video isn’t criticized for not being redone in HD, just as I don’t think it’s necessary to go back and redo the entire catalog for the sake of completeness. Only if the artist thinks their older work would be enhanced with Spatial Audio do I think it should be redone. But I think, and I hope, that Spatial Audio will be become the default.

Music

I always look forward to Steven Aquino’s analysis of new OS features and how they benefit the accessibility community. Here he is at Forbes, writing about Live Text:

Secondly, the contextual menu to call or email someone, for example, is a boon in terms of reducing cognitive load. A person with atypical cognition, for instance, doesn’t need to copy the phone number, find the Phone app, paste the number, and hit Dial. All they need to do is tap Call right from the photo and the system initiates the call. More than immediacy or convenience, Live Text’s data detectors consolidates a multi-step process into a single step.

Viewing data detectors as a key way to reduce cognitive load is obvious in hindsight. It makes data more useable for everyone, including people with disabilities, people uncomfortable with or new to technology, and techno-geeks alike. I’m a little embarrassed I had never considered them in that way before.

Steven’s whole piece is, as always, well worth reading.

Go to the linked site →

Linked WWDC

We live in a world of endless entertainment. As Bo Burnham puts it, the internet has “anything and everything, all of the time.” And while that unlimited access is a modern miracle for which I am grateful, I also find myself paralyzed by choice.

There are so many great things to enjoy that even if I limit myself to recommendations from other people (rather than endlessly scrolling in search of content), my list still grows faster than I can work it down. And it does feel like work, sometimes, to read through my “read later” list, to check off that next episode or season of TV, to try out that next video game, to watch that saved YouTube video or developer session.

And that’s to say nothing of what I want to create. Should I tackle that next coding lesson? Or perhaps I should get to the blog post I’ve meant to write. Could I make a cool wallpaper? Maybe I’ll take a walk to clear my head. But actually, a walk is a prime opportunity to listen to one of the podcasts in my queue.

The problem, of course, isn’t that there are too many things to do and enjoy—the problem is that there isn’t enough time. Perhaps if I didn’t need to sleep, but no, I’m trying to catch up on that, too.

And to what end? To reduce the things I had set aside to enjoy to a simple checkmark? No, I take pleasure in the books and articles, the games, the podcasts, the movies—all of it. But with so much to get to, it’s not uncommon that I spend more time contemplating what to do than doing it.

The answers are simple. Cut down on the noise so that the signal can be heard. Create more, and consume less. Spend more time in silence. Throw out and start over.

The answers are simple but not easy.

Parker Ortolani, writing at 9to5Mac, imagined an Apple-designed smart display:

When a smart display isn’t in use, it should show a beautiful clock and/or pertinent information of your choosing. Apple already knows how to make beautiful clocks. They could extend the same watch faces that make Apple Watch such a beautiful timepiece to a larger display. Some of the complications could make the jump too, like Fitness rings.

There’s a lot to like about Parker’s concept. He’s right that all the pieces already exist within Apple’s ecosystem between aerial screensavers from tvOS, watch faces from watchOS, apps from iPadOS, and compelling hardware of course. One thing that I would add to the concept is widget support, which would be perfect for more dynamic, glanceable content.

Personally, I’ve had my eye on a Google Nest Hub as a kitchen device since the right solution from Apple doesn’t exist. While sticking an iPad in the kitchen is close, what it’s missing is a hands-free mode (Siri doesn’t cut it), and an ambient mode. For an ambient mode, I’m thinking of how the Nest Hub displays photos or a home status dashboard when not in use. A digital photo frame that ties into iCloud Photo Library would help my wife and I to more frequently enjoy all the memories we’ve captured over the years.

For FaceTime calls in a kitchen environment where people are rarely stationary, Center Stage would probably do the trick. But additional flexibility from a physically moving stand, like the Echo Show, would be welcome, too.

If such a device was introduced by Apple (running homeOS?), I’d be sorely tempted. Check out Parker’s piece for more on how Apple could pull together technologies from their various product lines and services, plus concept images.

Go to the linked site →

Linked

Oliver Haslam, writing at iMore:

As we found out yesterday, not all macOS Monterey features will not be available to those on Intel Macs. Portrait Mode in FaceTime, some Maps features, and on-device dictation are all out and that’s just the start. The missing features can be blamed on Intel chips and their lack of a Neural Engine in some cases. In others, it’s just a case of good old-fashioned performance — Apple is only confident that its M1 Macs can handle features like the high resolution, detailed all-new city maps experience it showed off on Monday.

The reasons for the features going walkabout on Intel Macs isn’t really important here. It’s the messaging. Or lack of it.

We all found out that Intel Macs were getting left behind two days after macOS Monterey was announced. Why? Because it was hidden at the bottom of the update’s preview page on apple.com.

I actually think this was a calculated decision. Apple is rumored to still have more Intel Macs to introduce. Understandably, they wouldn’t want to draw additional attention to OS features that those brand-new Macs won’t be able to use.

I’m sure when the whole lineup is powered by Apple silicon, Apple’s marketing team won’t pull any punches when compared to the competition.

Go to the linked site →

Linked

1. I discovered this post from Arun Venkatsen about Apple’s 1987 Identity Guidelines. Arun has a beautiful blog where he often discusses beautiful designs. I love to see the thought and attention to detail that companies put into their brands, and Apple—as you might expect—had a lot to say about its identity even as three-year-old company.
2. Doom now runs on an Ikea smart light bulb. Yep, you read that right.
3. In a totally unexpected move, Apple will soon allow custom domains with their iCloud+ service. If you use iCloud for your email (and pay at least $1 per month for extra storage), you’ll soon have the option to use something other than the @icloud.com domain in your email address. Perhaps an @heydingus.net address is in my future.
4. Some really powerful accessibility controls are coming to Apple products later this year. Giving users the ability to operate a device using only basic sounds and mouth noises in case they are non-verbal is so thoughtful.
5. Incredible attention to detail on this project where Armin, an Apple fan, meticulously recreated Apple I manuals by hand. He took scans and overlaid the correct typefaces on top, moving each letter individually to match the original typewriter positioning. He’s done the work and saved a bit of history. [Via 9to5Mac]
6. We got a first look at The Shrink Next Door, a dark comedy starring Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, and Kathryn Hahn. With that lineup, I have no doubt it will be excellent. The show comes to Apple TV+ in November.
7. A couple great Twitter follows are That Gay Guy Candle Co. and One Fresh Pillow. I don’t have either of their products, but they both put out excellent tweets and play off each other all the time. It’s a riot.

7 Things

Dan Moren, writing at Six Colors:

iCloud Private Relay helps combat both of these loopholes through the use of a dual-hop architecture. Essentially, any traffic from Safari on an Apple device, as well as DNS queries, and a subset of app traffic (specifically insecure web traffic), will be routed through two separate servers: an ingress proxy managed by Apple that hides your IP address (by essentially slapping its own IP address on the request), and an egress proxy, run by “a content provider,” which only sees the server you’re trying to access.

I typically use a VPN when I’m at an airport or on other public networks and otherwise rely on cellular service. But it’s hit or miss that I remember to turn it on at all. A built-in solution that requires no configuration or user input will be a welcome addition.

It’s good to see that Apple has thought through the implications of iCloud Private Relay, including a solution for schools and other managed networks to disable it. But, users will also be notified and given the option not to use that network.

I am looking forward to turning this on, leaving it on, and removing my existing VPN.

Go to the linked site →

Linked WWDC

Igor Bonifacic at Engadget:

When you sit down to watch a movie or TV show, the included head tracking feature will lock in after it detects you’ve been looking in the same direction for a while. Once you get up to walk around, it will reactivate.

It turns out there was no hardware limitation after all. Apple just hadn’t gotten around to implementing it on tvOS yet. I can’t wait to give it a try this fall!

Go to the linked site →

Linked

I can’t stop thinking about how Apple has further democratized app development with their introductions at WWDC this year. Here’s Dan Moren at Six Colors on how Xcode Cloud means Mac developers can do more with less:

Obviously, moving parts of this process to a cloud-based system can bring significant advantages. For one thing, you’re not strictly limited by the hardware on which you’re writing your code. While developers often favor getting the most powerful system to help build their apps faster, letting users take advantage of the cloud opens the door for those who may not be able to afford high-end systems.

Speaking of opening the door, another (potentially more significant) new avenue for creating apps is with Swift Playgrounds on iPad. You’ve always needed a Mac to publish an app to the App Store, but that’s no longer the case. This, I think, will be a big deal.

For one, the entry price for a development machine just dropped significantly. The least expensive Mac starts at $699. The iPad starts at $329! So droves of people will soon be able to write and publish apps for the world’s most lucrative platform on a device that costs less than half the price of a Mac mini.

Second, think of all the people who use the iPad as their primary computer and can now become developers on their preferred platform. Three groups immediately come to mind:

• Children who grew up with iPads and can fly around iPadOS.
• Older folks who are drawn to the simplicity of the iPad and might be intimidated to learn to navigate the Mac.
• Students learning to code in Swift Playgrounds who can continue their education by building a complete app right there.
• People who prefer the direct manipulation and focus brought by iPadOS.

Many people used to think the iPad was suitable only for content consumption, not creation. While there are sure to be many caveats and asterisks about publishing an app from Swift Playgrounds, I think we’re at the precipice of a new generation of creative app development from people who have just had their world expanded.

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Though they didn’t get much time at last week’s keynote, Xcode Cloud and app development in Swift Playgrounds promise to bring more power to more people who create the digital tools we all use daily.

WWDC