Riley Testut :fatpikachu:

Building emulators and app stores for iPhone with [@shanegill.io](https://threads.net/@shanegill.io/ )

Website: https://rileytestut.com
AltStore: https://altstore.io
Patreon: https://patreon.com/rileyshane
Threads: https://www.threads.net/rileytestut

Public Key

npub1yk0x57sfjc8393evastgqnergp077cgtl04ugts608rk37rd9w6q8xg32h

NIP-05 Address

rileytestut_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqszt8n20gyevrcjcukwc95qfu35qhl0vy9lh67y9cd8n3mglpkjhdqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dswvhhf2

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1yk0x57sfjc8393evastgqnergp077cgtl04ugts608rk37rd9w6q8xg32h

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-03-12 15:26:36 UTC

Took a lot of effort to make it all work seamlessly, but it’s pretty cool seeing likes appear in AltStore from both Mastodon and Bluesky 😊
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/216/901/967/563/011/original/75b606f1b4a89285.png

2026-02-05 21:26:01 UTC

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LMAO
we even submitted AltStore Classic a few months ago to the App Store to test the waters and ofc it was still rejected 🫠

2026-01-30 15:21:39 UTC

Just landed in Brussels for #FOSDEM! If you’re also attending would love to say hi, I’ll mostly be hanging out near the Social Web and Policy devrooms 👋

2026-01-27 18:49:52 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@verge/115968010135522122
Apple Newsroom (September 2025)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/968/559/048/208/011/original/3d8d88f7672e8b8f.jpeg
#note1z7c…76ha

2026-01-18 20:34:38 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@rileytestut/115917812751736532
OK nevermind, THIS is the coolest thing I’ve ever done to my iPhone
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/918/008/945/189/923/original/37194654eb4ef187.mp4
#note10vk…cvgq

2026-01-18 19:44:51 UTC

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Shoutout to the Nugget app (amazing name) for making this possible without jailbreaking! https://github.com/leminlimez/Nugget

2026-01-18 19:44:13 UTC

TIL iOS has hidden support for custom animated wallpapers and this is probably the coolest thing I’ve done to my iPhone in years
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/917/802/511/157/264/original/2bd73854845bf74b.mp4

2025-10-09 11:55:35 UTC

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we’re generally leaving it up to each recipient to decide if they want to disclose the amount, but A New Social mentioned in their blog post we donated 20k to them 🙂 https://blog.anew.social/altstore-a-new-social/

2025-10-09 00:20:10 UTC

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yes, the donation is entirely separate from what we’re paying them for their managed hosting service (but I’ll admit that’s something we could’ve made more clear)

2025-10-07 14:03:53 UTC

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While this solves our problems, we are far from the only Fediverse project that could use some funding and we want to support the growth of the entire ecosystem.
So to give back to the open social web, we’re also donating $500,000 total to these incredible Fediverse-related projects 🎉
@npub163h…mv0n
@npub1nd2…glr8
Tapestry by @npub1wha…fj2r
@npub1ksv…e4yd
[@bsky.brid.gy](https://bsky.brid.gy/ )
@npub1mqm…3jun
@npub1zln…fptt
@npub1yec…6x5s
@npub1tlf…wz08
The Fediverse as we know it would not exist without them, so please check them out!

2025-10-07 14:03:11 UTC

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So in order to grow the team, I’m thrilled to announce AltStore has received an investment of $6 million USD from [@cpaik](https://threads.net/@cpaik/ )! Chris was an early investor in Patreon & Twitch, and we’ve been close ever since he sideloaded the manga reader Paperback with AltStore years ago
Additionally, Flipboard CEO @npub17fe…w0a6 will also be joining our Board of Directors! Mike’s experience with Flipboard & @npub1ekk…vy6m will be invaluable as we expand to the Fediverse, and I couldn’t be happier to have both him + Chris on board

2025-10-07 14:02:30 UTC

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To get this all done however, we realized we needed more help.
From the beginning it’s been just [@shanegill.io](https://threads.net/@shanegill.io/ ) and I working on everything thanks to donations to our Patreon, but the truth is we’re starting to reach the limit of what just 2 people can do — and that’s without joining the Fediverse or expanding to new countries.

2025-10-07 14:02:11 UTC

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That's not all, we'll also be officially launching AltStore PAL in Brazil, Japan, and Australia later this year, with UK to follow in 2026 🌏
This is the first time alternative app marketplaces will be available outside the EU and we are doing everything we can to get ready — stay tuned!

2025-10-07 14:01:38 UTC

Yes it’s true, AltStore is joining the Fediverse 🥳
Developers can now federate apps, updates, and news alerts to the open social web via our custom Mastodon server, and all likes, boosts, and comments will appear natively in AltStore.
We plan to release this officially soon — but you can check out a beta version TODAY at https://explore.alt.store and start following accounts like @npub1gn2…zxx5!
RE: https://fosstodon.org/@altstore/115333241366044607

2025-06-09 18:06:53 UTC

THEY ACTUALLY DID IT #WWDC25
https://mastodon.social/@rileytestut/114631624094175561

2025-05-31 19:59:17 UTC

absolute garbage
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/604/215/726/436/098/original/7146511765c60190.png

2025-05-16 14:27:27 UTC

One of the biggest benefits — by far — of using Patreon for payments in Delta is the ability to issue refunds. I genuinely can’t imagine handling our customer support without that
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/05/15/andy-allen-app-store-feature-stagnation

2025-05-12 20:30:10 UTC

Adding a new screen to Delta to inform users about the differences when using In-App Purchase instead of donating directly to our Patreon — what do y’all think?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/496/753/302/549/356/original/76635cb3d3013d52.png

2025-05-06 19:13:22 UTC

Guess what — you can now self-publish your apps on AltStore PAL completely FREE!
Just connect your Apple Developer account with PAL and make an AltStore source. Then you can distribute notarized apps by simply uploading them to your web server like the good ol’ days 👌
https://fosstodon.org/@altstore/114462312630254080

2025-04-02 18:06:39 UTC

Switch 2? No thanks — I’ll stick to emulating Super Mario Odyssey on my iPhone 16 😌
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/269/696/113/280/350/original/dda85e6a290f21e8.mp4

2025-03-08 14:54:15 UTC

Google happily removed all their diversity programs and donated $1 million to a fascist, all for it to have absolutely _no_ effect on their DOJ antitrust case
Hope Tim is watching! https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/03/07/google-doj-chrome-anthropic-break-up/

2025-03-06 17:19:39 UTC

Apple’s shakedown of Patreon creators begins 🙄
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/116/629/303/061/513/original/e81ec80f1b5bcecb.png

2025-02-05 20:17:47 UTC

Thanks for the Streisand effect Apple :)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/953/122/734/851/807/original/cd3f5b751518c527.png

2025-01-31 01:08:39 UTC

Name a company better at reading the room than Apple (spoiler: literally any) https://www.macrumors.com/2025/01/30/apple-x-ads-talks/

2024-12-27 20:01:27 UTC

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doesn’t matter what signing certificate you use (because AltStore will resign it with the user’s personal developer certificate behind the scenes), so you can export with any valid provisioning profile + certificate combo 🙂

2024-12-27 18:44:18 UTC

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yup! the process is a bit different though — instead of uploading your apps to App Store Connect for notarization, you’ll just export the .ipa file directly from Xcode and host *that* on your server, then point `downloadURL` to that in the source JSON
Otherwise it’s exactly the same process as a PAL source (except you *don’t* include a `marketplaceID` for your app) https://faq.altstore.io/developers/make-a-source

2024-12-23 14:07:27 UTC

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great skin choice too! 😄

2024-12-22 20:03:27 UTC

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as someone who’s dad worked on tax software in the 1980s I apologize on his behalf

2024-12-22 03:37:34 UTC

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🙌

2024-12-21 16:38:13 UTC

Apparently online multiplayer works with ROM hacks too 🤯
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/691/791/440/256/092/original/0fddb8fba5d483b2.mp4

2024-12-21 15:22:25 UTC

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hmm any chance you’re trying to connect between 2 devices on same WiFi network? That can cause weird issues like this (or also could be something completely unrelated)

2024-12-20 20:13:17 UTC

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we’re in the “small business program” so it’s a reduced commission of 12%, but yes we do pay that on all purchases made by pressing that link-in app

2024-12-20 15:09:23 UTC

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🥳 this is the way!

2024-12-17 21:48:25 UTC

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thanks Devon 🙏

2024-12-17 21:47:39 UTC

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yup 😂 they *really* don’t want it to grab people’s attention lol

2024-12-17 19:30:57 UTC

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I really wanted to get this update out before the end of the year to thank all our Patrons who have been incredibly supportive of us this whole time. Our entire income comes from y’all, so we truly couldn’t be doing this without you 💜
We have SO much more planned for Delta and AltStore next year, so if you’d like to become a patron yourself to support and follow along with development, please consider donating at https://patreon.com/rileyshane 🙂

2024-12-17 19:30:03 UTC

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About that full-screen alert: technically, we owe Apple a commission on all donations made within 7 days of pressing “Confirm” — but that’s fine!
However *if* you wanted to donate without giving Apple a cut, you can:
• Join our Patreon THEN view the alert
• View the alert and press “Cancel”
• View the alert and press “Confirm”, then join more than a week later
We genuinely don’t care through, so feel free to go through the flow just to experience it. We appreciate all donations the same :)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/669/819/483/265/864/original/9e88d5a2ad68ca40.png

2024-12-17 19:27:58 UTC

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Unsurprisingly, it also came with some pretty strict requirements. Most notably, we had to use 1 of only 4 approved phrases. So if you’re wondering why it’s phrased “Buy for $3 from altstore.io/patreon”, that’s because it’s the only phrase that included a specific price 🙃
Some other fun requirements:
• Must conform to 1 of 3 approved UI templates
• Must display a full-screen system warning when tapped
• Can only appear in exactly ONE place in the app
• Can not be displayed in a modal/pop-up
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/669/810/780/691/659/original/541d81733c2071cb.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/669/811/088/934/324/original/7c1430f0b61cb268.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/669/811/352/709/727/original/d5aec6f63ab218be.jpeg

2024-12-17 19:24:55 UTC

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Before Delta was in the App Store, we offered a beta version for patrons through AltStore because all Delta users were implicitly AltStore users. Now however the majority *aren’t* AltStore users, so we needed a new way to give our patrons their benefits
Another wrinkle: Apple forbid us even mentioning our Patreon in Delta. So not only are our App Store users unable to receive Patreon benefits, but most are unaware we even have a Patreon at all!
This entitlement solves both these issues 👍

2024-12-17 19:24:01 UTC

1 small step for an app, 1 giant leap for the App Store: Apple-approved external purchases are here!
Thanks to the “External Purchase Link” entitlement, Delta can now include a link to [@shanegill.io](https://threads.net/@shanegill.io/ ) and I’s Patreon 😧
More importantly, users can also now connect their Patreon account in Delta to access patron-exclusive features outside the EU for the first time ever — including DS Online Multiplayer!
Update now and taste the forbidden fruit of external purchases today 🍎
https://fosstodon.org/@altstore/113669787951830819

2024-12-16 21:01:45 UTC

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(before people ask: no this is *not* the public release of DS Online Multiplayer. That will be the next major Delta update (1.7), which is coming along well and we’ll be sharing more soon!)

2024-12-16 21:01:07 UTC

👀 took some back-and-forth with Apple, but looks like there’ll be one last Delta update to close out the year after all! Aiming to release tomorrow 🤞
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/664/515/289/054/340/original/151f856df28db89a.jpeg

2024-12-14 15:40:01 UTC

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*Despicable Me 4 🙃 at least streaming is original!
(fully agree with your premise though)

2024-12-13 17:35:43 UTC

To celebrate Delta winning MacStories’ App of the Year, @shanegill.io/@threads.net and I decided to make a pilgrimage to the Nintendo mothers̷h̷i̷p̷ shop 😌
Finally the Sora amiibo is mine!!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/646/720/756/884/187/original/643613365d04780f.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/646/720/950/109/817/original/1f1feccb58cb4b83.jpeg

2024-12-09 17:26:20 UTC

Can’t express how much this award means to me 🥹
I made peace long ago with the fact Delta would never be eligible for any App Store awards, so to not only be nominated but win App of the Year is a dream come true
Thank you MacStories team, this is probably my favorite award I’ve ever received 💜
https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/113623705420304879

2024-12-04 16:17:35 UTC

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hell yeah I love the McElroys, honored to be amongst them 🫡

2024-12-03 21:06:22 UTC

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thanks!!

2024-12-03 21:00:02 UTC

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thanks Gilad 🙏

2024-12-03 20:59:37 UTC

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thanks!! we’ll do our best 🫡

2024-12-03 20:52:23 UTC

I promise I’ll only mention this once, but I’m excited to announce [@shanegill.io](https://threads.net/@shanegill.io/ ) and I were selected for Forbes’ 30 Under 30 🥳
Honored to follow in the footsteps of incredible role models like Elizabeth Holmes and SBF!! https://www.forbes.com/profile/altstore/?list=30under30-games/

2024-12-01 00:03:43 UTC

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it’s not a non-starter, but it’s certainly the reason I haven’t prioritized it (especially the fact there’s no permanent local storage, which is a support nightmare…)
I am planning to update Delta Sync with both iCloud support as well as on-demand ROM downloading though, so once that’s in place I think it would make sense to port it over 🙂

2024-11-27 15:06:59 UTC

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this must be your first time dealing with laws about technology 😅

2024-11-27 13:48:54 UTC

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that is not how the law works John, you do not have a right to defy laws you disagree with — but you’re right that that is how people like Elon, Trump, and Tim Cook think the law works though

2024-11-24 17:05:47 UTC

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that’s the wildest part to me. Based on actual, real conversations we’re having with the EC rn, I am very confident that this is not going to end well for Apple — but it seems like they genuinely don’t realize this?

2024-11-24 16:51:28 UTC

Apple’s complete abuse of Notarization is going to be the reason the EC comes down hard on them, and it’s wild how ignorant they are 💀
They just truly don’t give a flying fuck about indie developers
https://mastodon.social/@maczydeco/113527850662678715

2024-11-23 18:38:44 UTC

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I have one binary/lambda that is launched for all endpoints, and I just route requests to the correct handler internally. I agree having separate binaries for each endpoint would be…not ideal

2024-11-23 02:35:21 UTC

Are you kidding me Apple Intelligence?? It’s Thanksgiving next week
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/529/934/136/271/550/original/a4a54356b3ca5905.png

2024-11-22 17:03:34 UTC

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it almost makes me want to do more backend dev 😂

2024-11-22 17:02:26 UTC

Right on schedule, iOS 18.3 has started appearing in AltStore PAL’s logs!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/527/681/358/516/295/original/8e6d19596f9472f5.jpeg

2024-11-22 01:25:18 UTC

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thank you! And thanks for helping make such a great product, I love GitBook 😄 it’s saved me countless hours of busy work!!

2024-11-22 01:18:52 UTC

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still can’t believe how it all turned out :’)

2024-11-21 22:32:06 UTC

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it’s all worth it to see everyone replaying their favorite games 😄 thanks!

2024-11-21 19:40:51 UTC

Minor anniversary: 8 years ago today I first announced Delta as the successor to GBA4iOS 🎉
Based on conversations with Apple at the time, I was (naïvely) optimistic I’d be able to put it in the App Store…I just didn’t expect it to take another 8 years 🙃 https://x.com/rileytestut/status/800836650863443968
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/522/641/975/707/221/original/09a1b32da54ccee6.png

2024-11-21 16:58:23 UTC

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who knew server dev could be so fun 🙌

2024-11-21 16:27:04 UTC

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TIL!

2024-11-21 16:17:18 UTC

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yes you can test everything locally without a VM and through Xcode! Only downside is you need to structure your HTPP requests differently for Lambda to parse it (which is normally handled automatically by AWS), but besides that it all works as expected

2024-11-20 21:36:30 UTC

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initially Vapor, but later switched to AWS Lambda + the official Swift Lambda runtime https://github.com/swift-server/swift-aws-lambda-runtime

2024-11-20 21:27:59 UTC

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started off with Vapor, but later decided to use AWS Lambda so I'm now using the official Swift AWS Lambda runtime. Super easy getting it all set up too https://github.com/swift-server/swift-aws-lambda-runtime

2024-11-20 19:00:51 UTC

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Node and Express certainly have the more mature ecosystems, but as someone with primarily frontend experience picking up server-side Swift was a far easier transition. If you have experience with Node/Expresss/whatever though, it’s probably not worth switching over (but depends on use case)

2024-11-20 17:25:44 UTC

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FWIW I was originally planning to use something more “tested” like Node, until I realized the app licensing framework Apple provided was Swift-only. Since I had to figure out a way to get that working on a server I figured I might as well fully commit to Swift, and yeah 7 months later I’m SO glad I did https://developer.apple.com/documentation/applicensedeliverysdk

2024-11-20 17:24:17 UTC

I really, really can’t say enough positive things about server-side Swift. I literally had no backend experience before this year, but I decided to write the entire backend for AltStore PAL in Swift and after some initial hiccups (*cough* URLSession *cough*) it’s been remarkably smooth sailing. Plus I can still use Xcode to develop everything & cross-compile for Linux!
If you’ve been wanting to experiment with server-side Swift, there’s really no better time to start https://swift.org/documentation/server/

2024-11-18 04:53:25 UTC

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!!! incredibly jealous

2024-11-17 16:38:18 UTC

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would also love to be added :) @riley.social https://bsky.app/profile/riley.social

2024-11-16 23:45:32 UTC

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I don’t 🙃

2024-11-16 20:45:45 UTC

the FOMO has gotten to me so I redownloaded Bluesky, you can find me @riley.social https://bsky.app/profile/riley.social
Mastodon will still be my primary home for a bunch of reasons, but if you’re active there feel free to say hi 👋

2024-11-14 19:18:52 UTC

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for ~reasons~ the AltStore version listed in the Settings app doesn't always match our marketing version, so we recommend checking the version in AltStore's Settings tab which will show the marketing version. Confusing I know 😅
(this is because every single build we notarize requires it's own unique version number, even if we never release it publicly. So internal notarized builds basically cause all future updates to be out of sync)

2024-11-13 14:24:26 UTC

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happy birthday!! 🥳

2024-11-08 19:10:29 UTC

Thanks to Gizmodo for letting me nerd out about emulation! So much effort goes into preserving these classic games, it’s inspiring how passionate the emulation community is 💜 https://gizmodo.com/how-does-game-emulation-work-and-why-is-it-such-a-legal-minefield-2000517664

2024-11-06 13:36:28 UTC

Welp, haven’t felt this deflated in years :(

2024-11-05 19:06:05 UTC

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that’s what I’m hoping for 🤞

2024-11-05 18:48:54 UTC

Doing my part to turn Texas blue 🇺🇸
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/431/840/674/863/802/original/cb4c1be1b1353888.jpeg

2024-11-01 03:06:46 UTC

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hell yeah!! 🔥

2024-11-01 02:32:04 UTC

Happy Halloween to me 🎃
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/405/350/436/799/037/original/c7e81d7e2b9c2b2e.png

2024-10-31 16:07:31 UTC

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but then you wouldn’t be able to extend the songs to 60mins 🤪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/402/894/524/302/500/original/8060faedea8a5967.png

2024-10-31 16:01:55 UTC

As someone who listens to music while showering to pump me up for the work day, my productivity will be approximately 100x better now thanks to the Nintendo Music app
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/402/872/506/783/961/original/c08ef12c2ba025af.png

2024-10-31 15:57:51 UTC

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lol amazing 👏 somewhat similarly I had an unknown song stuck in my head since I was like 5, but it wasn’t until a couple years ago I finally figured out what it was (a Disney parade song lol) https://youtu.be/jar199PLTXY?si=keA5-imS58vkvmSL

2024-10-29 19:41:00 UTC

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honestly I’m just horrible at window management and restarting is faster than closing all my windows from the previous day 😅 (and having more than ~10 active windows stresses me out…)

2024-10-29 19:20:37 UTC

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meanwhile I reboot my iMac every morning for a fresh clean slate 😌

2024-10-29 13:04:52 UTC

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what cartoon??

2024-10-26 14:36:50 UTC

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😂

2024-10-26 02:32:09 UTC

Panoramas are hilariously broken on iOS 18.2 for me lol
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/371/374/990/299/594/original/19e24e4735c19634.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/371/375/637/044/665/original/7fd922439045d8ca.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/371/376/812/691/261/original/80dd3258af613f5c.jpeg

2024-10-25 14:12:53 UTC

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🙃 hope it’s useful when you did get home at least!

2024-10-24 18:57:06 UTC

HALLELUJAH!! Can confirm, on iOS 18.2 I can finally test installing apps with AltStore PAL without having to fly to Europe 🙌
This is going to make debugging SO much easier jfc
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/363/920/389/011/620/original/66c19fcd65ef7e3d.mp4

2024-10-24 18:40:18 UTC

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woo glad it works l with 3 people!! (I’ve only been able to test with 2 people total so far)

2024-10-24 15:26:27 UTC

At long last, the first beta of Delta with online multiplayer is now available! If you're a patron, you can try it out now with AltStore PAL/Classic 🎉
And for everyone else, we're working hard to polish it up and fix all the bugs so we can release it to everyone ASAP — stay tuned!
https://fosstodon.org/@altstore/113363024819237857

2024-10-24 03:08:50 UTC

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if you’re on 18.2 you can test installing alternative marketplaces from websites (e.g https://altstore.io/download), which means they’ll download but you still can’t launch them
I’m also assuming it means I’ll be able to actually test installing apps with AltStore PAL without having to fly back to Europe, but need to wait ~72 hours for Apple to process my UDID to confirm cc/ @npub1e0x…xqda

2024-10-23 19:05:39 UTC

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🙌

2024-10-23 18:16:13 UTC

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sorry about that! We just made some server-side changes to hopefully fix this, are you still seeing the update?

2024-10-23 16:58:41 UTC

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doesn’t seem like it, but hiding the status bar does at least (which most games do anyway)

2024-10-23 16:57:15 UTC

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is there an option for that? Didn’t see anything when looking around, but maybe I missed it