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This looks like a really solid app. I like that it's 17 MB and uses the ContainerAPIClient library directly. 28 commits in 3 days, 5,015 lines of Swift, every

by simonw 4mo ago

This looks like a really solid app. I like that it's 17 MB and uses the ContainerAPIClient library directly. 28 commits in 3 days, 5,015 lines of Swift, every commit "Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5". Also neat that it's signed/notarized. I installed it and it downloaded the necessary container platform stuff on first launch. Suggestion: add a getting started tutorial to the site which suggests an image to try out and has screenshots (or a silent video) showing you how to get that image up and running and what you can do with it. The create image dialog suggests "nginx:latest" but that's not a great starting demo.

thefourthchime 4mo ago
The AI-Maxing copy on the website kind of gave it away. Doesn't mean is not a great app though!
- throwitaway222 4mo ago
  I think we're past the point where agentic coding is a given now.
  - danpalmer 4mo ago
    Coding yes, copywriting, design, identity, no. Using AI doesn't mean giving up on quality, unless you don't care about quality. Most of these issues come from folks who don't really care about quality and ship the first slop that comes out.
    - deleted 4mo ago
      [deleted]
    - throwitaway222 4mo ago
      Agreed
    - Klonoar 4mo ago
      > Using AI doesn't mean giving up on quality Look, I'm as anti-AI as the next guy but their homepage is good. They didn't compromise on quality. Call a spade a spade.
      - tomgp 4mo ago
        I think the issue is that the prose on the homepage gives off AI marketing BS "Everything you'd expect. Nothing you don't." "Native down to the pixels" etc. in an age where the web is stuffed full of low value llm generated content this is a strong negative signal for me (and i suspect others). No reflection on the app itself which I've yet to try but seems like a great idea
        danpalmer 4mo ago
        > Everything you'd expect. Nothing you don't Yeah this is it. I don't know what you think I expect? I'm reading your marketing copy, it's your job to market it. There are few brands in the world that can get away with forcing the buyer to do their own marketing. In this context it's grossly unearned confidence, the type you only get from idiots and LLMs.
    - RossBencina 4mo ago
      > Most of these issues come from folks who don't really care about quality and ship the first slop that comes out. Brings to mind The Show's "ugly MySpace" episode: https://archive.org/details/zefrank-theshow-083 https://archive.org/details/zefrank-theshow-083 It would be nice if everyone prioritised, and was capable of, shipping polished products. But more likely the apps you're bemoaning come from folks who are not product designers. Even prior to genAI there were plenty of developers (myself included) who had patchy competence in some subset of {copywriting, documentation information architecture, visual design, identity, UI/UX, ...}. I know good developers for whom UI coherence is "not their problem," although they know well enough that it needs to be someone's problem. "Programmer art" is also a thing. I would argue that the non-coding parts of many open-source projects are what lets them down, and when it is good it is usually documentation that impresses me the most. But I think Ze Frank's view might be that, given the sudden drop in barriers to entry, it is amazing that everyone is having a go and trying to express themselves.
- satvikpendem 4mo ago
  The description of this submission that literally says "Mostly vibe-coded" didn't give it away?
  - Hamuko 4mo ago
    You don't see the submission description when you open the link from the front page.
- amelius 4mo ago
  Can't someone vibe-code a MacOS that runs on Linux?
  - mmmlinux 4mo ago
    Have at it.
xinit 4mo ago
Great suggestion. Coming up.
joka88xj 4mo ago
A tutorial with a slightly more realistic example would help a lot here. nginx:latest shows the plumbing works, but it doesn’t really show where Apple Containers feels different from Docker Desktop or OrbStack. Something like a tiny app with a volume, port mapping, and a simple rebuild loop would make the value much easier to see.

by simonw 4mo ago

thefourthchime 4mo ago

The AI-Maxing copy on the website kind of gave it away. Doesn't mean is not a great app though!

throwitaway222 4mo ago
I think we're past the point where agentic coding is a given now.
- danpalmer 4mo ago
  Coding yes, copywriting, design, identity, no. Using AI doesn't mean giving up on quality, unless you don't care about quality. Most of these issues come from folks who don't really care about quality and ship the first slop that comes out.
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
  - throwitaway222 4mo ago
    Agreed
  - Klonoar 4mo ago
    > Using AI doesn't mean giving up on quality Look, I'm as anti-AI as the next guy but their homepage is good. They didn't compromise on quality. Call a spade a spade.
    - tomgp 4mo ago
      I think the issue is that the prose on the homepage gives off AI marketing BS "Everything you'd expect. Nothing you don't." "Native down to the pixels" etc. in an age where the web is stuffed full of low value llm generated content this is a strong negative signal for me (and i suspect others). No reflection on the app itself which I've yet to try but seems like a great idea
      - danpalmer 4mo ago
        > Everything you'd expect. Nothing you don't Yeah this is it. I don't know what you think I expect? I'm reading your marketing copy, it's your job to market it. There are few brands in the world that can get away with forcing the buyer to do their own marketing. In this context it's grossly unearned confidence, the type you only get from idiots and LLMs.
  - RossBencina 4mo ago
    > Most of these issues come from folks who don't really care about quality and ship the first slop that comes out. Brings to mind The Show's "ugly MySpace" episode: https://archive.org/details/zefrank-theshow-083 https://archive.org/details/zefrank-theshow-083 It would be nice if everyone prioritised, and was capable of, shipping polished products. But more likely the apps you're bemoaning come from folks who are not product designers. Even prior to genAI there were plenty of developers (myself included) who had patchy competence in some subset of {copywriting, documentation information architecture, visual design, identity, UI/UX, ...}. I know good developers for whom UI coherence is "not their problem," although they know well enough that it needs to be someone's problem. "Programmer art" is also a thing. I would argue that the non-coding parts of many open-source projects are what lets them down, and when it is good it is usually documentation that impresses me the most. But I think Ze Frank's view might be that, given the sudden drop in barriers to entry, it is amazing that everyone is having a go and trying to express themselves.
satvikpendem 4mo ago
The description of this submission that literally says "Mostly vibe-coded" didn't give it away?
- Hamuko 4mo ago
  You don't see the submission description when you open the link from the front page.
amelius 4mo ago
Can't someone vibe-code a MacOS that runs on Linux?
- mmmlinux 4mo ago
  Have at it.

xinit 4mo ago

Great suggestion. Coming up.

joka88xj 4mo ago

A tutorial with a slightly more realistic example would help a lot here. nginx:latest shows the plumbing works, but it doesn’t really show where Apple Containers feels different from Docker Desktop or OrbStack. Something like a tiny app with a volume, port mapping, and a simple rebuild loop would make the value much easier to see.