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PODCAST

Merge Conflict

Merge Conflict is a weekly discussion with Frank and James on all things development, technology, & more. After years of being friends, Frank and James finally decided to sit down and start a podcast about their lives as mobile developers using C#, Xamarin, and .NET MAUI. Much more than just another mobile development podcast, Merge Conflict, reaches all areas of development including desktop, server, and of course mobile. They also cover fun things happening in the world of technology and gaming

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All Episodes

47:15

510: AI Agents: Claws, Copilot, GUI vs CLI Debate

Merge Conflict ·

2026/04/13

James and Frank dig into the messy world of AI agents—Claudes, Copilots, “claws”—and why now is the wrong time to over-box these tools. They debate GUI vs. CLI futures, explain when AI should be invisible and baked into workflows, and warn about AI-produced “slop” and long-term maintenance. Plus, James’ Light Phone/e-ink experiment adds a practical take on simplicity and real-world tradeoffs.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge Conflict: Twitter,

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42:11

509: How AI Fleets Fixed 31 Issues in Two Days

Merge Conflict ·

2026/04/06

In this episode Frank and James riff on everything from accidental source‑map leaks (yes, even Apple slips up) to using Copilot and multi‑agent AI workflows to triage issues, write PRs and even plan trips. They share hands‑on tips—use “plan mode” and deep research, turn plans into issue artifacts, run multi‑model code reviews, cap concurrent agents (~3), and babysit agents—to boost productivity while avoiding chaos and burnout. Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter,

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40:16

508: Agentic Workflows - Markdown Automation for...

Merge Conflict ·

2026/03/30

At MVP Summit we dig into Agentic Workflows — write Markdown prompts that drive AI agents to run CI, open PRs, and automate cross‑repo tasks — and MAUI DevFlow, which lets agents interact with native UIs to click, screenshot and validate designs. Listen for practical takeaways on ditching brittle YAML/scripts and automating tedious maintenance and testing, plus the real caveats: security front‑matter, a compile/lock step and token costs.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James:

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43:18

507: iCircuit UI Roast: Toolbar, Popovers, and Polish

Merge Conflict ·

2026/03/23

In Episode 507 James grills Frank about UI choices in his iCircuit app—crowded toolbars, popover behavior on iPhone vs iPad, and flaky TestFlight/App Store review timing. They trace a nasty bug to Apple’s deprecated OpenURL behavior in iOS 26, debate in-app browsers vs Safari and multi-window docs, and remind developers that subtle platform changes and lack of polish can silently break UX—practical lessons for shipping mobile apps. Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter,

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52:59

506: We have no skills

Merge Conflict ·

2026/03/16

James and Frank unpack the exploding world of AI coding agents—covering instructions, MCP tools, custom agents, hooks, plugins and why “skills” matter. They walk through the new .NET Skills repo (P/Invoke, MSBuild, diagnostics, binlogs), show how skills act like practical, on‑demand tutorials for niche tasks, and sketch how tooling will soon auto-load the right skills so agents can just do the thing for you.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge

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1:03:59

505: 8GB of RAM Isn't Good Enough #MacBookNeo

Merge Conflict ·

2026/03/09

On this episode we wade through Apple’s drip‑fed “event week,” from the budget iPhone 17E to the new MacBook Neo/Air M5 and the pricey Studio Display, and argue who each device is really for. The big takeaway: 8GB of RAM is borderline unusable for modern web and dev workflows—buy up if you can—while the Air M5 looks like the sweet spot; plus a fun detour on using Copilot/Fleet to scaffold apps in minutes.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge

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49:26

504: 15 Years of iCircuit

Merge Conflict ·

2026/03/02

Frank Kruger celebrates iCircuit’s 15‑year journey—from an iPad‑era $20 launch and surprising overnight success to the present—unpacking the tradeoffs between maintaining a flagship app and chasing new side projects. He offers candid lessons on pricing, backporting legacy fixes, modernizing pipelines, and explains how AI agents have reshaped his workflow and will power the next wave of iCircuit features. Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge

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47:49

503: Welcome to Tiny Tool Town

Merge Conflict ·

2026/02/23

On this episode we dive into Tiny Tool Town — a GeoCities‑style app hub for tiny developer utilities — and James walks us through building Tiny Clips, a Mac toolbar screen‑capture app he prototyped and shipped using Copilot, agentic workflows, and a plan‑implement‑review cycle. Expect practical takeaways on multi‑model AI pipelines (planning with 5.2, coding with Codex/Opus), CI/publishing tips, sandboxing/TestFlight pitfalls, and why tiny apps are booming.Follow Us Frank: Twitter,

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48:55

502: Rectified Flow Revolution - AI Image Generation...

Merge Conflict ·

2026/02/16

Discover the machine learning breakthrough changing everything: rectified flow. Frank breaks down how this revolutionary technique replaces 1,000-step diffusion with just 10, delivering faster and higher-quality image and video generation. Learn why major players are adopting it and how it's democratizing AI for everyday creators.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge Conflict: Twitter, Facebook, Website, Chat on Discord Music : Amethyst Seer -

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35:57

501: Autopilot, Fleets, and Parallel Agents Explained

Merge Conflict ·

2026/02/09

In this episode James and Frank walk through the latest Copilot CLI power-ups—Autopilot loops, experimental Fleet/parallel agents, and Opus model/context updates—while demoing how they used plan mode to spin up a full MAUI pet‑insulin app end-to-end. Learn what Autopilot and Fleet actually do, how parallel agents orchestrate work, plus practical tips (watch your context window, use plan mode) for turning AI agents into fast prototypes.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James:

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54:43

500: How Frank Builds Apps Has Changed Forever

Merge Conflict ·

2026/02/02

On our 500th episode James and Frank celebrate the milestone, reminisce about their mobile‑dev roots, and dig into how AI, the Copilot CLI/SDK and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) are reshaping workflows. Frank demos an MCP‑powered tool that turns app reviews into prioritized GitHub issues and automations — a real example of AI-as-glue — with practical takeaways on prompt engineering, UI extensions, and when to automate versus curate manually.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog,

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48:41

499: Going Full Ralph, CLI, & GitHub Copilot SDK?!?!

Merge Conflict ·

2026/01/26

In episode 499 James and Frank dive into the messy, exciting world of coding agents — from burning through Copilot credits and avoiding merge conflicts to practical workflows for letting agents run tasks while you sleep. They share real tips: break big features into bite-sized tasks, have agents ask clarifying questions, and use Copilot CLI or the new SDK to resolve conflicts, auto-fix lint/build failures, and automate mundane repo work.The conversation then maps the evolution from simple

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38:47

498: CI/CD fro Mac Apps: GitHub Actions to Notarize

Merge Conflict ·

2026/01/19

This episode opens with mic and Nintendo banter before plunging into macOS release pain points: sandboxing, hardened runtime, notarization, Sparkle auto‑updates, and automating releases with GitHub Actions and tags. James and Frank offer practical tips—drag builds into /Applications to test signing—and unpack .NET 10 trimming/reflection pitfalls and CI/CD quirks for anyone shipping native apps outside the App Store. Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog,

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51:09

497: Turning Machine Code into C with AI

Merge Conflict ·

2026/01/12

In this episode James and Frank dive into the practical realities of using AI in everyday development—arguing that AI shines in brownfield (existing) code because it respects your architecture, while greenfield work rewards iterative prompting. They unpack model quirks: context-window limits, hallucinations, and why trying different models matters. The heart of the show is Frank’s nerdy delight: feeding a 64KB EEPROM through a disassembler and having Sonnet decompile it into readable C, exposing a

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1:12:35

496: All The Holiday Hacks

Merge Conflict ·

2026/01/05

Follow UsFrank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge Conflict: Twitter, Facebook, Website, Chat on Discord Music : Amethyst Seer - Citrine by Adventureface ⭐⭐ Review Us (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/merge-conflict/id1133064277?mt=2&ls=1) ⭐⭐ Machine transcription available on http://mergeconflict.fm

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1:24:35

495: 2025 Wrapped - The Official Year of AI Development

Merge Conflict ·

2025/12/29

James and Frank unwrap 2025 as the Year of AI Development, covering new models, the rise of agents, and editor integrations like Copilot in VS Code that changed how developers write and maintain code. You’ll hear practical takeaways—how next-edit, local models, RAG/vectorization and app‑on‑demand sped prototyping, slashed maintenance time, and why the hosts think the AI boom has legs into 2026 despite looming uncertainty.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge

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30:41

494: TV Evolution- CRTs, Aspect Ratios, and Beyond

Merge Conflict ·

2025/12/22

Dive into the fascinating world of CRT technology in this episode of How CRTs Work! Discover how these iconic monitors influenced video playback and gaming, from interlaced scanning to the art of synchronization. Learn about the unique challenges of emulating CRT effects today and the lasting legacy of these early technologies. Perfect for retro tech enthusiasts and curious minds alike!Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog, GitHub James: Twitter, Blog, GitHub Merge Conflict: Twitter, Facebook, Website,

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55:53

493: Git's most powerful but underutilized tool

Merge Conflict ·

2025/12/15

In this episode of 'Merge Conflict,' James and Frank dive into the intricacies of Git work trees, exploring how they revolutionize local machine development by allowing developers to manage multiple branches simultaneously. Frank initially struggles to grasp the concept, but James breaks down the functionality, explaining how work trees enable parallel branching and commit management. From managing complex code branches to optimizing lighting setups, this episode is packed with insights that are

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51:18

492: SwiftData & CloudKit Sync "Just Work" Right?

Merge Conflict ·

2025/12/08

James and Frank break tradition by recording Merge Conflict together in person, sharing laughs about ferries, sea shanties, and their annual Seattle holiday meetup. The conversation dives deep into Swift Data versus Core Data, CloudKit syncing, and the quirks of building modern apps with AI assistance. Along the way, James reveals his new weight‑tracking app experiment, complete with charts, HealthKit integration, and lessons learned from coding on planes and trains.Follow Us Frank: Twitter, Blog,

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50:56

491: Gemini 3.0: AI's Leap in UI Design?

Merge Conflict ·

2025/12/01

Join us as James and Frank delve into the fascinating world of AI-driven UI design with Gemini 3.0, exploring its creative capabilities and potential to revolutionize aesthetics. Discover the latest AI model advancements, including GPT-5.1 and Codex, and gain insights into real-time trace debugging and distributed programming. Plus, we tackle the evolving landscape of Integrated Development Environments, AI tool integrations in Visual Studio Code, and cutting-edge developments in robotics and

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518 results

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