Andy Ihnatko's Avatar

Andy Ihnatko

@ihnatko.bsky.social

Intermittently-beloved technology journalist and pundit. Tech contributor to WGBH Boston Public Radio. Podcaster (MacBreak Weekly on TWiT.tv and Material on Relay.fm). Former Chicago Sun-Times and Macworld columnist. Opera riff-raff. He/Him.

8,025 Followers  |  265 Following  |  651 Posts  |  Joined: 07.06.2023  |  1.4074

Latest posts by ihnatko.bsky.social on Bluesky


Preview
John Adams John Adams - Kindle edition by McCullough, David. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading John Adams.

David McCullough's Pulitzer-winning biography of John Adams is just FOUR DAMN DOLLARS on the Kindle store. One of my favorite books...he really brings a great man and that era to life. I wind up re-reading it every year or two.

amzn.to/4rfwGpE

17.02.2026 11:27 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
Post image

Surf and turf, Winter style.

16.02.2026 18:24 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

A triplet of Hooded Mergansers. No doubt they're quite grateful that at least _some_ of the cove is finally splashy again, instead of crunchy.

15.02.2026 02:12 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Today's discovery: if you google "Mustache," the Google logo sprouts a series of mustaches.

14.02.2026 00:22 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Fab!!

13.02.2026 18:01 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

My range of emotions when I arrived at the library and saw the white smoke: (1) Surprise that I hadn't heard the sad news about the Library Pope; (2) Relief that the conclave had agreed on a new one so quickly; (3) Disappointment that I hadn't even made the shortlist (I checked my messages...nada).

11.02.2026 02:30 β€” πŸ‘ 36    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Steve Martin Writes the Written Word: Collected Written Word Works by Steve Martin Steve Martin Writes the Written Word: Collected Written Word Works by Steve Martin - Kindle edition by Martin, Steve. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Steve Martin Writes the Written Word: Collected Written Word Works by Steve Martin.

This collection of interesting word usements structured by @stevemartinreally.bsky.social is just THREE DAMN DOLLARS on Kindle. amzn.to/3M2Zv9F (Amazon affiliate link)

11.02.2026 02:21 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm very sad about it. I usually get to talk to my friend @alexlindsay.bsky.social a minimum of three hours a week. Do you have any idea how much that would cost, at his usual hourly consulting rate?

26.12.2025 00:31 β€” πŸ‘ 27    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Wishing a Very Messy Kindle to all of those who observe the holiday and who tap "Send" before realizing that autocorrect screwed up the greeting.

25.12.2025 23:50 β€” πŸ‘ 62    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

TAKE DOWN THE ILLEGITIMATE REGIME THAT DROVE OUR BELOVED BULLWINKLE BALLOON INTO UNDERSERVED EXILE

27.11.2025 19:16 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

About to record EPISODE 1000 of the MacBreak Weekly podcast on @twit.tv ! Does this mean we have tenure, and can never be thrown out of this institution no matter what we do or say? LET'S FIND OUT SHALL WE YES I THINK WE SHOULD

25.11.2025 17:33 β€” πŸ‘ 59    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 1

And every customer is a repeat customer. They're all going to want orange cones again when the leaves turn green after winter.

10.11.2025 07:13 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Business idea: a service that will go around at the start of Autumn and replace all of a client property's high-visibility orange cones with high-visibility green ones, in the interests of higher visibility when all the leaves are orange.

10.11.2025 07:13 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Ok, I admit that the password to the security cameras on _my_ crown jewel collection is "LOUVRE," too. So maybe I shouldn't be so judgy.

But in my defense, I don't have that word literally on a big sign on my front door. It's a much more oblique choice.

08.11.2025 17:44 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

CAKE

06.11.2025 02:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

I think this exhibit was some sort of art piece. Therefore, I chose to project my perceptions and preconceptions into it. @museumofscience.bsky.social

06.11.2025 02:02 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yup! I successfully attached myself to one of my favorite shows.

05.11.2025 01:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Q: Is there anything more cool than a two-story-tall working Van de Graaff generator?

A: Possibly a two-story-tall working Van de Graaff generator with Elvis Costello performing selections from "My Aim ls True" inside the safety birdcage. Otherwise...no.

05.11.2025 01:06 β€” πŸ‘ 29    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Nice guy. Kept asking me if I needed a place to hang up my hat. Big hockey fan.

01.11.2025 13:07 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

It's the obligation of an artist to be patient and thoughtful, rather than accept the first furtive flash of inspiration.

(Also, that @museumofscience.bsky.social exhibit is so large that a selfie with my hand up one of the nostrils wasn't really possible. So, to hell with it: I went with "arty.")

29.10.2025 16:25 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks! I've bookmarked this video for later.

24.10.2025 19:09 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Excellent talk and you presented technology very well.

24.10.2025 17:46 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Screenshot of a YouTube player window. The video is entitled "Great ideas start on Mac" and was posted to the Apple official channel. The frame is paused on an image of a MacBook screen, with an empty document. Closed-Captioning is enabled and shows a quote attributed to Jane Goodall: "Every story you love, Every invention that moves you, Every idea you wished was yours, All began as nothing."

Screenshot of a YouTube player window. The video is entitled "Great ideas start on Mac" and was posted to the Apple official channel. The frame is paused on an image of a MacBook screen, with an empty document. Closed-Captioning is enabled and shows a quote attributed to Jane Goodall: "Every story you love, Every invention that moves you, Every idea you wished was yours, All began as nothing."

A pair of satellite images of the White House. An outline of the footprint of the East Wing shows the site before and after demolition,

A pair of satellite images of the White House. An outline of the footprint of the East Wing shows the site before and after demolition,

The debut of Apple's big "Great ideas start on Mac" campaign happened during the same week as the demolition of the East Wing and the disclosure of Apple's financial contribution supporting it.

I wonder if Apple Marketing regards this as Bad Timing, or _Perfect_ Timing?

24.10.2025 19:09 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

My panel/talk at the @museumofscience.bsky.social went great! Why, I felt as though I had the whole world at my back...

24.10.2025 15:38 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
The Loneliness Epidemic: Big Tech’s Role and Responsibility Why are we lonelier than ever in a hyper-connected world? Join us for a timely talk on how tech shapes our social lives.

Boston peeps! I'm speaking at the Museum of Science Wednesday night. It's a neat event about technology and loneliness, and the panel features some folks I'm keen to speak with.

Admission is free! Reserve a seat here:

www.mos.org/events/subsp...

20.10.2025 20:06 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

In legal terms, this mini basketball hoop up on a phone pole is the very definition of an "attractive nuisance." Any sensible person walking by would stop underneath it and pretend to be a Catholic saint. If I'd been hit by a car, the hoop's owner would be held liable for my medical expenses.

18.10.2025 03:33 β€” πŸ‘ 61    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

And over at the Metropolitan Opera House, mezzo Isabel Leonard is featured as Diana in a special Saturday matinee performance of Donizetti's "Golden Lasso d'amore."

(Okay, sorry! But they're actually performing an opera adaptation of Michael Chabon's _Kavalier and Clay...)

09.10.2025 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Stay tuned. :)

09.10.2025 02:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

Wow. This was another of those times then I gave Gemini a prompt and was so pleased with the result that I uttered a grateful profanity.

(This was definitely the first time I've said "I'm very happy with my speaker headshot.")

"Convert this photo to a 1-bit bitmap, using Atkinson-style dithering."

09.10.2025 02:14 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Today's writing output, so far:

2500 word draft to explain a nuanced interplay between technology, government policy, and freedom (roughly two hours)

150 word author bio (roughly an hour)

08.10.2025 19:57 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

@ihnatko is following 20 prominent accounts