Overview
Simon Willison built a custom macOS presentation app in 45 minutes to present his LLM talk at Social Science FOO Camp. The app solves a key problem with web-based presentations - browser crashes can destroy your entire deck - by providing a dedicated presentation tool that loads URLs as slides.
Key Points
- Built Present.app in ~45 minutes using Swift/SwiftUI - demonstrates rapid prototyping capabilities of modern development tools
- Solves the critical vulnerability of browser-based presentations - eliminates risk of losing entire deck to browser crashes
- Incredibly lightweight at 355KB (76KB compressed) - shows Swift apps can be remarkably efficient
- Combines web presentation flexibility with desktop app reliability - bridges gap between web-based slides and traditional presentation software
- Used as a ‘gimmick’ during his LLM state update talk - live-coding demonstrations can become powerful presentation tools themselves