We're always delighted to have returning guests on the show, and so we're pleased to have Gedeon Maheux from The Iconfactory join us again. This time we're talking about the Kickstarter for their wonderful retro gaming app, Ollie's Arcade.

We also delve into retro-gaming memories, have a very open discussion about Apple, Nazis, ICE, and why little acts of kindness can really make a difference in our not so great world at the moment.

What are your retro gaming memories, do you remember playing Snake, or even the original Frenzic? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come join the discussion on our Discord server.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

"Don't you people backup? I backup, and I don't even know what backing up means!" - Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship

If you have any kind of file that's important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you'll want to make sure it's kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn't really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.

Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn't in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.

• Mastodon Links:

  • Jae: jae@mastodon.me.uk

  • James: jsbilsbrough@mastodon.me.uk

  • Gedeon: gedeonm@mastodon.social

  • IconFactory: Iconfactory@iconfactory.world

• IconFactory Website

• Ollie's Arcade on KickStarter

1. 00:00:04: Introductions

2. 00:05:13: The Elon Evilness Update

3. 00:08:36: Ollie’s Arcade Kickstarter

4. 00:37:09: Retro Gaming

5. 00:51:55: Apple, Nazis, and Acts of Kindness

6. 01:10:57: Wrapping Up

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW

• (00:00:04) - Introduction
• (00:05:13) - The Elon Evilness Update
• (00:08:36) - Ollie’s Arcade Kickstarter
• (00:37:09) - Retro Gaming
• (00:51:55) - Apple, Nazis, and Acts of Kindness
• (01:10:57) - Wrapping Up

It's been a lot longer than we planned between episodes, but we're happy to be back in 2026 with a great chat with Mike Saunders from The Document Foundation who maintain the wonderful LibreOffice suite.

We chat about why it's important to have alternatives to Microsoft Office, the history of LibreOffice, why a truly open document format is so important as well as random detours into the concept of modern word processors for vintage hardware!

What's your view on LibreOffice and the reasons for needing alternatives to things like Office 365 and Google Docs? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come join the discussion on our Discord server.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

"Don't you people backup? I backup, and I don't even know what backing up means!" - Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship

If you have any kind of file that's important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you'll want to make sure it's kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn't really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.

Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn't in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.

• Mastodon Links:

  • Jae: jae@mastodon.me.uk

  • James: jsbilsbrough@mastodon.me.uk

  • LibreOffice: libreoffice@fosstodon.org

  • The Document Foundation tdforg@fosstodon.org

• LibreOffice

• The Document Foundation

1. 00:00:04: Introductions

2. 00:07:39: Apple’s Open Source Contributions

3. 00:10:10: Proprietary Software

4. 00:13:39: Libre Office

5. 00:18:26: Why Do We Need Alternatives to Microsoft Office

6. 00:34:13: Misconceptions About Document Formats

7. 00:43:04: Cloud & Privacy

8. 01:05:08: The Importance of Updates

9. 01:16:28: Wrapping Up

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW

• (00:00:04) - Introductions
• (00:07:39) - Apple’s Open Source Contributions
• (00:10:10) - Proprietary Software
• (00:13:39) - LibreOffice
• (00:18:26) - Why Do We Need Alternatives to Microsoft Office?
• (00:34:13) - Misconceptions About Document Formats
• (00:43:04) - Cloud & Privacy
• (01:05:08) - The Importance of Updates
• (01:16:28) - Wrapping Up

What makes a beautiful app interface, a stunning icon, or that little bit of UI magic that shows the care poured into the design process? Our returning guest is Gedeon Maheux, co-founder of Icon Factory, who joins Jae and James to talk about how human design will always beat out generative AI and how the latter is having a substantial impact on their business.

Do you have a favourite app design, or maybe an icon that always gives you a certain feeling? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come join the discussion on our Discord server.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

"Don't you people backup? I backup, and I don't even know what backing up means!" - Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship

If you have any kind of file that's important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you'll want to make sure it's kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn't really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.

Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn't in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.

• Mastodon Links:

  • Jae: jae@mastodon.me.uk

  • James: jsbilsbrough@mastodon.me.uk

  • Gedeon: gedeonm@mastodon.social

  • IconFactory: Iconfactory@iconfactory.world

• IconFactory

• Louis Mantia's Blog

• Previous Appearances by Gedeon:

  • Can You Hear Me - iPhone 16 Event

  • Weaving a Tapestry

  • A Good Day to Podcast

  • Ollie, Space Karen, and an API

1. 00:00:04: Introductions

2. 00:07:17: The State of the IconFactory

3. 00:16:36: App and Icon Design

4. 00:27:22: Designing for Liquid Glass

5. 00:46:26: Icon Variety

6. 00:52:51: More Than Just Icons

7. 01:13:10: Closing Thoughts

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW