SkyBridge; Scroll (Preview); Pico (Part 1)

Time has been more kind to me this week, so we finally get a proper Wednesday edition!

Today, we traipse across three diverse resources, one of which we bookmark for a later deep-dive.

TL;DR

(This is an AI-generated summary of today’s Drop.)

(Well, the URLs are back, but Perplexity forgot how to do inline links, again.)

• SkyBridge: The blog post introduces SkyBridge, a service that connects Mastodon and Bluesky social media platforms by converting API calls between them. It has been tested with the Ivory app for macOS/iOS and allows users to centralize their social media experience. Instructions for use are provided on the SkyBridge website[https://skybridge.fly.dev/].
• Scroll (Preview): Scroll is presented as a new language and alternative to Markdown, BBCode, and Textile, which also functions as a static site generator. It is part of an ecosystem that allows for the creation of data-driven content and is built on Tree Notation. The author plans to explore Scroll further and invites readers to share their experiences with it[https://scroll.pub/].
• Pico (Part 1): Pico is highlighted as a set of services that enable users to publish content without any installations, using common SSH tools like rsync, scp, or sftp. The post includes an example site and details the features of Pico, such as asset storage, custom domains, and no bandwidth limitations, encouraging readers to try it out[https://pico.sh/].

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SkyBridge

For folks who are in the Bluesky and Mastodon worlds, SkyBridge (GH) is live!

This is an app/service that attempts to convert Mastodon API calls to Bluesky API calls, and further tries to implement enough of the Mastodon API that apps will be happy connecting to it.

The developers have only tested it with the Ivory macOS/iOS app (which is my main daily driver), and I can confirm it does work (though some of the embedded media cards do not always render correctly).

With the ability to follow folks on Threads (if they enabled that), and having Bluesky in the same app I use Mastodon in, I’m getting close to the “one true client” endstate I’m hoping becomes a reality for everyone.

Follow the instructions (they’re very clear) to start centralizing your socmed experience!

Scroll (Preview)

This is more of a “hey, this exists!” section, since I’m still wrapping my noggin around Scroll (GH). It’s a new language and Markdown+BBCode+Textile alternative, combined with a static site generator that is mostly written in a new language called Grammar which are both built on a new syntax called Tree Notation.

It has many principles associated with tech such as R Markdown or Quarto, with the notion of cells (Scroll calls them “heredocs”). You can get a feel for this in the introductory blog post.

I found out about it via this new-ish blog post which lets you combine datasets into a Scroll document to make data-driven content. Sure, we we can already to with with R Markdown, Quarto, and even Typst.

As the FAQ notes:

Scroll evolved based on the theory that instead of one language for writing it would be better to get to choose from an ever evolving ecosystem of thousands of mini-languages, and mix and match them to better fit your domain.

There is a showcase blog which is written 100% in Scroll, which sold me on the idea of carving out time to dig into it a bit more.

But, I didn’t want to hold out on the discovery, since it is very, very likely an intrepid reader will have more time to poke, and do a better job poking than I may.

If you do, drop me a line, otherwise, expect a Knowledge Drop on Scroll in the very near future!

Pico (Part 1)

Pico (GH) is just plain super cool. The site is a set of services that lets folks publish content without needing to install anything. The two folks that run it accomplished this feat by realying on the SSH tools we already have installed on our systems.

Want to publish a blog post? Use rsync, scp, or sftp.

Want to publish a website? Use rsync, scp, or sftp.

Want to share a code snippet with a colleague? Use rsync, scp, or sftp.

You can do all that immediately after a quick call to ssh pico.sh.

I made a very sad example site for Drop readers to check out, but it only took 14 seconds to create the dir/file and then upload it. Try that with any other service out there. That hosting part of Pico is kind of bonkers robust, too:

• 25MB asset storage with free tier
• 10GB asset storage with pico+ (paid$)
• No client-side installation required to fully manage static sites
• Distinct static sites as projects
• Unlimited projects, created instantly upon upload
• Deploy using rsync, sftp, or scp
• Promotion/rollback support
• Managed HTTPS for all projects
• Custom domains for projects
• Custom redirects
• Custom headers
• SPA support
• Image manipulation API
• Private projects
• No bandwidth limitations

I’ll show off some other Pico apps/capabilities in some follow-up Drops, but do not wait for me!

With all of this “AI” madness around us and massive web portals for giant services, it’s a breath of fresh air to see some massive creativity evolve in such a minimalistic way.

FIN

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