Let’s start with the original article by Terry Godier:

For example, if you have a 4.1 star rating in the App Store, any 4 star review is going to decrease that average. In other words, leaving a 4 star review is essentially leaving a negative review.

John Gruber:

Problem #1 […] If you’re going to collect and average ratings from users, the system that works best is binary: thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Netflix switched from stars to thumbs in 2017, and YouTube switched all the way back in 2009.

I’d add one more to this list, and certainly one that’s more analogous to the App Store: Steam. Steam’s thumbs-based model is far superior. Not only can you rate and review the game (or app), but other users can also rate your review. Potential buyers can then find and filter by the most helpful reviews. It’s a better model for all involved.

Next:

Problem #2 is that even if the App Store switched from stars to thumbs, the system would still be gamified by developers, rewarding, as Godier aptly puts it, not the best apps but instead the apps that are best at “review prompt execution”. Apple should remove the APIs that allow apps to prompt for reviews, and forbid the practice of prompting for them.

Apple should remove those APIs, but they won’t, and until they do, we’re playing within that ruleset. Full disclosure, I’ve built what Terry and John are describing, Singapore Buses does include a review prompt. It’s insidiously well designed. On the third launch, the app asks for a rating.

Juli Clover, Macrumors:

Apple’s MacBook Neo has been a huge hit, and it’s still in high demand over a month after it launched. The ‌MacBook Neo‌ is just $599, and with PC makers raising prices because of global RAM shortages, the Neo’s low price tag and Apple allure are even more appealing.

MacBook Neo‌ orders placed today on the online Apple Store won’t reach customers until May, which means that it’s sold out for the month of April, as 9to5Mac points out. All colors and both the 256GB and 512GB SSD configurations will be delivered between May 1 and May 8 at the earliest.

That the MacBook Neo is a success doesn’t surprise me. I used one briefly in the nearby Apple Store and it’s a really nice laptop. For $599 you’re getting something cheaper and more capable than my iPad Pro paired with a Magic Keyboard. In fact, if the iPad Pro doesn’t start running macOS in the future, I’m not sure I’d buy another one: iPadOS hobbles the iPad Pro to the point where it can’t justify its price tag.

Mat Duggan

At one point I did have a Subscribe button up, and enough people clicked it that the cost of actually sending those emails started to resemble a real bill. Sending thousands of emails when you have no ads, no sponsors, and no monetization strategy beyond “I guess people will just… read it?” doesn’t make a lot of financial sense.

…

But the bigger reason — the one I actually care about — is that I didn’t want a database full of email addresses sitting under my control if I could possibly avoid it.

…

The people who use RSS really use RSS. They’re not trend-chasers. They’re the type who still have a working bookmark toolbar. They are, in the best possible sense, your people.

I had the same strategy of no ads, no sponsors, and no monetisation when I was using Ghost (Pro) and, yes, that resembled a real bill of US$348 a year (because I had to have a custom theme). That fee also covered membership management, database security, and email distribution, so it wasn’t just hosting and a CMS.

When I switched to Astro, I dropped my free membership, membership-only pages, and newsletter, effectively going RSS only. And Atom. And JSON feed. It can be done.

RSS just isn’t as easy to explain as email is to people that are new to the format.

There’s a fantastic, and growing, selection of exposures from the Artemis II mission over on Flickr. All of them are jaw dropping.

Sky News:

Donald Trump says the US has received a “workable” 10-point plan from Iran after the two countries agreed to a two-week ceasefire, labelling it a “complete victory” for his nation.

What’s in that “workable” plan? Again, from Sky News:

1. Withdrawal of U.S. forces in the region
2. Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz
3. Compensation for damages to Iran
4. Removal of sanctions
5. Release of frozen Iranian assets
6. Iranian commitment to not build a nuclear weapon
7. Acceptance of Iran’s right to enrich
8. Iran’s agreement to peace treaties with regional countries
9. Ceasing hostilities against all resistance groups in the region
10. Provisions backed by UN resolution

So, in summary, all U.S. military objectives have been met, says Pete Hegseth, and, as a workable plan: U.S. forces will withdraw, Iran will gain more control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will be compensated, sanctions against Iran will be removed, frozen assets will be released, and Iran will continue to enrich.

You have to wonder what the military objectives were.

Stephen Hackett, at 512pixels.net:

It’s not just the Mac Studio; it’s easy to build a Mac mini that won’t ship until August. That is bad news if you need a new Mac desktop on short notice. These long delays are not impacting all Macs, though, as the iMac and notebooks seem to all have much better shipping dates.

I don’t need a new Mac desktop (mini or Studio) on short notice. I have, however, been looking for a Mac mini for Gobbler development. 95% of development is done on my MacBook Pro and I’ve tried to replicate the development environment on my gaming PC through Windows Subsystem for Linux. It’s close, but not the same.

Regardless, pricing up any Mac mini results in a delivery estimate way into the future. My thinking is that this is due to Apple running down what’s left of M4 stock with an M5 refresh delayed due to memory shortages.

Auroras along the North and South poles, the Sun about to peek out, and Venus visible in the bottom right. Amazing.

The photograph was taken with a Nikon D5, for those wondering.