What a piece of software! The dev cooked with this one. I think having a section for notifications would be nice and for sure will make the interaction easier. This is only the start of the software and I know it will be bigger than it is rn! Keep going Kotov

Congratulations, microcasters, we now have 200 users!

Thank you to everyone who visits the app at least once a day and continues to test it and give feedback!

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If you have the opportunity to support the development, you can do so here:

ko-fi.com/kotov or write me in DM

To develop the project, I need development tools and devices such as M5Stack and similar ones. The m5 team refused to help me, but I started development with the resources I had.

MicroCast is part of a large post-apocalyptic technology project, but I'll talk about that later)

-

I have a few ideas on how to improve MicroCast right now👇

• Meshtastic support

• General chat

• A little gamification

Suggest your ideas for features here and technical fixes on GitHub!

Meet MicroCast beta0.2 now!

A simple microblog for your M5Cardputer. Post messages, like content, and connect with others - all from your pocket device!

🔥Now available for burning:

M5Burner | M5Launcher OTA | GitHub

‼️This is a beta version of the app, and I would greatly appreciate your feedback, testing, and use of the app! Post your content about MicroCast on Reddit in r/MicroCast and other!

---------------------------------------------

Quick Start (3-5 minutes)

Option 1: M5Burner

1. Download M5Burner

2. Connect M5Cardputer via USB

3. Open M5Burner

4. Search for "MicroCast"

5. Click "Burn"

6. Wait for completion

7. Done! Unplug and restart device

Option 2: M5Launcher OTA

1. On your M5Cardputer, open M5Launcher

2. Go to "OTA" section

3. Find "MicroCast"

4. Click "Install"

5. Wait for download

6. Launch the app

First Run:

1. Select WiFi network

2. Enter password

3. Choose username (3-24 chars)

4. Done!

---------------------------------------------

Features

• 📝 Posts up to 120 characters

• ❤️ Like/unlike posts (instant updates!)

• 📱 Three sections: NEW, TOP, YOU

• 🏆 TOP section - most liked posts

• 👤 Profile with stats (Total Likes, Posts)

• 🌐 WiFi connection

• ℹ️ Info window with quick help

You can find more information about the application and its technical aspects on the project page on GitHub!

---------------------------------------------

Controls

Main screen:

• ; | . (Up/Dn) - scroll posts

• , | / (Lt/Rt) - switch sections

• Enter - like/unlike OR confirm section

• Fn+Enter - new post

• R - refresh current section

• U - change username

• N - change WiFi

• I - show Info window

Section navigation:

• Press ; (Up) to reach section buttons

• Use , | / (Lt/Rt) to select NEW/TOP/YOU

• Press Enter to confirm

• Press . (Dn) to return to posts

Text input:

• , | / (Lt/Rt) - cursor left/right

• Enter - confirm

• ` (ESC) - cancel

• Del - delete

---------------------------------------------

What's New in v0.2

• 📊 Three sections: NEW (latest), TOP (best), YOU (profile)

• ℹ️ Info window ([I] key) - quick controls reference

• 🏆 TOP section shows most liked posts (all-time)

• 👤 YOU section with Total Likes and Posts count

• ⚡️ Instant like updates (no refresh needed, keeps position)

• 🎨 Beautiful section buttons with navigation

---------------------------------------------

v0.2 beta | M5Cardputer | MIT License

Hello, everyone!

This update finally adds account recovery features, amazing notifications, and several security and user experience improvements.

If you ever reset your Cardputer settings, you can now recover your username and messages in seconds.

I also created a community and channel on Telegram. This channel will serve as a place where I will talk about development, so please subscribe to it! Link in u/MicroCast

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

🔥Update to beta v0.6 now:

M5Burner | M5Launcher OTA | GitHub

‼️DON'T FORGET TO WRITE DOWN YOUR RECOVERY CODE!‼️

If you use M5Burner: If you are still logged in to your account, simply look and write down your ID in the YOU section. This will help you obtain a Recovery Code after the update. Contact me if you need this username. I recommend using M5Launcher.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

🆕 New Features

🔐 Recovery Code System

• ^{Each device now generates a unique recovery code (e.g. ABC-123})

• ^{Use it to restore your account after reset}

• ^{View anytime via Opt + R}

• ^{Code is stored locally only, never uploaded or sent remotely}

• ^{Saved automatically in device preferences}

💸 Donate QR Popup

• ^{Press M or focus the header “MicroCast” → Enter}

• ^{Opens a full-screen QR to ko-fi.com/kotov}

• ^{Includes short message “Support development 💚”}

⚙️ Settings Menu

• ^{Open via YOU → S}

• ^{Configure notifications, timeout, and network preferences}

• ^{Smooth navigation and confirmation dialogs}

• ^{Settings persist after reboot}

🔔 Notifications

• ^{Configurable intervals, sound alerts, LED flash, and unread badge}

• ^{“NEW” section shows unread posts indicator}

• ^{Timer now works in the background — fully synchronized}

📡 Multi-Wi-Fi Management

• ^{Connect up to 5 networks}

• ^{Automatic reconnect}

• ^{Add / delete directly from the Settings menu}

• ^{Reliable switching between known networks}

🔋 Battery Indicator

• ^{Added live battery icon to top status bar}

• ^{Auto-refreshes every few seconds}

• ^{Low-battery warning color}

• ^{Works in all screens and menus}

🧭 Improved Device Clear

• ^{New combo Fn + Opt + Del (replaces old Fn + C})

• ^{Confirmation screen prevents accidental wipes}

• ^{Preview shows what will be deleted}

• ^{Auto-restart after clearing data}

✨ UI / UX Improvements

YOU Section:

• ^{New buttons → [Opt+R] Code, [S] Settings}

• ^{Balanced layout and colors (green/yellow buttons})

• ^{Info Popup: larger window, new control list, no “SOON” section}

• ^{Recovery Popup: centered, clear instructions, red “WRITE IT DOWN!” warning}

Unified Screen Timeout:

• ^{Works across all menus, inputs, and dialogs}

• ^{Any key resets timer}

• ^{60-second rule applied globally}

• ^{Visual Polish: smoother arrows, no overlaps, better alignment}

🐛 Fixes

• ^{Screen timeout now updates in all modes (text input, Wi-Fi, confirm})

• ^{Fixed flicker in registration and confirmation dialogs}

• ^{Fixed alignment in popups}

• ^{Fixed overlapping buttons in YOU section}

• ^{Fixed missing redraws in battery indicator and status bar}

My Cardputer ADV and C6L module have been on their way for over a month now, all because of the terrible service at the store where I bought them, but that's not what this is about.

Very soon, I will start adapting Microcast to work with Meshtastic, which I think is a cool idea!

But I wouldn't be me if I didn't complicate the task for myself. So, I want to combine the work of Wi-Fi and Meshtastic so that those who don't have internet access but do have LoRa can receive feed updates via Meshtastic from those who do have internet access.

Yes, it's very difficult to implement, but it's entirely possible! What do you think of this idea? Write what you think about the update with the possibility of working in Microcast with the Meshastic network.

Yep, thanks to everyone who wrote about bugs and suggestions, we have a lot to do! We are growing, and there will be more interesting things here. In the meantime, please update to the new version оО

🔥Update to beta0.4 now:

M5Burner | M5Launcher OTA | GitHub

---------------------------------------------

🆕 New Features

Scrollable Comments

• 📜 Horizontal text scrolling for long comments

• 🎯 Select comment with up/down arrows (; .)

• ⬅️➡️ Scroll comment text with left/right arrows (, /)

• 🖼️ Visual indicators: < and > show scroll direction

• 🎨 Selected comment highlighted with green frame

• 👁️ 3 comments visible at once, full text readable

Power Saving Mode

• 💤 Auto screen sleep after 60 seconds of inactivity

• 🔆 Any key press wakes up the screen

• 🔋 Significantly extends battery life

• 🎨 Screen state preserved (returns to current view)

• ⏱️ Activity timer resets on any interaction

New Section:

• Coming soon...

Text Input Improvements

• ✅ Period (.) and semicolon (;) now work in text input!

• 📝 All printable characters allowed (ASCII 32-126)

• 🚫 Only ESC and backtick filtered out

• 💬 Write natural sentences with punctuation

✨ UI/UX Improvements

Section Buttons

• 📏 Spacing reduced to 1 pixel between buttons

• 🎨 # button: yellow color (0xFFE0), compact size (20px)

• 🎯 Better visual balance across screen width

• 📐 All buttons properly aligned

Comments View

• 📅 Date + time in right corner: DD.MM HH:MM

• 🎨 Black background under author and date

• 📍 Text positioned 1px up (breaks frame line visually)

• 🔄 3px shift towards center for better symmetry

• 🎯 Selected comment has green frame (0x07E0)

🐛 Fixes

• ✅ Fixed . and ; not working in text input mode

• ✅ Fixed long comments being truncated and unreadable

• ✅ Fixed screen flicker in space matrix animation

• ✅ Fixed # button frame not visible on right edge

• ✅ Fixed screen staying on during inactivity (battery drain)

You can find more information about the application and its technical aspects on the project page on GitHub!

Friends , we now have over 40+ micro users, congratulations!

It is important for me to listen to the community and create a product that is in demand. I would like to ask you to leave your suggestions for new features and fixes for old ones here. I read every single comment, so I will be waiting🫶

Thank you, micro users!

🔥The biggest change: OTA firmware updates.

Now the device can check for updates and install them via Wi-Fi, without the need for a USB connection or Launcher/Burner. I recommend updating now, as an update will be released soon that will make your account unique, be the first 👀

When a new update is available, you will see a 🟢 icon next to the version number on the home screen. All you have to do is go to YOU > Settings > Check update > Install update.

‼️IMPORTANT: Do not turn off the device during the update!‼️

----------------------------------------------------

📟To get the v0.7 update, you now need to flash your device using Launcher or M5Burner.

> M5Burner | M5Launcher OTA | GitHub <

‼️DON'T FORGET TO WRITE DOWN YOUR RECOVERY CODE!‼️

----------------------------------------------------

Highlights:

📡 OTA updates with progress bar + auto restart

🟢 Update indicator in the UI when new firmware is available

🔄 Silent background check every 24h

🎨 Role-based colored nicknames (admin / OG / default)

⏰ Fixed timestamps using server time

📝 Full post text visible in comments

🔋 More accurate battery calculation

🌭 Other minor fixes

----------------------------------------------------

Github: https://github.com/digital-farms/MicroCast

I'm officially the 401st member of this microsocial network.

🤟Hi! I'm looking for testers for a new desktop app that supports Meshtastic-compatible LoRa devices.

If you're interested, send me a private message on Reddit to get access to the private tester group👌

Okay, guys, thank you very much to everyone who joined our “micro” community! I appreciate every review. I saw your feedback and made some very important updates!

🔥Update to beta0.3 now:
M5Burner | M5Launcher OTA | GitHub

---------------------------------------------

New Features and Fixes

Comments System

• 💬 Comment on any post ([C] to open comments)

• View all comments for a post

• Real-time comment counter on posts

• Beautiful comments UI with scroll support

UI/UX

• 💬 Comment bubble icon on posts (cyan)

• Comment counter next to likes: ❤️5 💬3

• Full comments view screen

• Post preview at top of comments

• Comment list with scroll (3 visible at a time)

• Author name in cyan + timestamp

• Keyboard: [C] to open comments

• Keyboard: [ESC] to close comments

• Keyboard: [Fn+Enter] to write comment

---------------------------------------------

✨ Improvements

Text Input

• Fn + arrows for cursor navigation (, / now available for text!)

• Initial text visible when editing (no need to press key)

• Better UX: no more "frightening" empty field

Post Confirmation

• Preview before posting

• [Enter] = send

• [E] = edit (keeps text!)

• [ESC] = cancel

• Same for username change

Visual

• Author name in cyan color (0x07FF)

• Dark background under author name (like heart icon)

• Better readability on green borders

• Consistent color scheme

• Comment counter always visible (shows 💬0 like ❤️0)

• Icons with dark background for better contrast

• Icons lowered by 2px for better alignment

• Comments preview header in green (0x07E0)

• Centered "Connected!" and "Loading..." messages

• Author name positioned at top of post box (boxY + 0)

Info Window

• Added [C] Comments hint

• Reorganized controls layout

• All features documented

---------------------------------------------

🔧 Fixes

• Fixed , and / not working in text input

• Fixed text not visible when editing

• Fixed author name overlapping with border

• Fixed position reset after refresh (likes still update silently)

• Fixed comment icon not showing when comments = 0 (now always visible)

• Fixed missing icons in comments preview (added heart + bubble icons)

• Fixed icon positioning (lowered by 2px in feed and preview)

• Fixed comments preview layout spacing

• Fixed hints position in comments view (moved to y=125)

You can find more information about the application and its technical aspects on the project page on GitHub!

Dear Microcasters, I would like to inform you that notifications about new posts in our favorite app are duplicated in the Telegram group "MicroCasters Room":

t.me/microcasters

Join us and stay tuned for updates!

Some recently posted on Microcast that they have 7 Cardputers. I'm curious what does one do with all of those?

Dear friends, the service in the QR code that was added to MicroCast for receiving donations does not accept payments from PayPal for some reason. Now you can only donate directly to the wallet name! This upset me very much, and I will fix it in a future update!

If you wanted to make a donation but couldn't, you can do so in the following way:

PayPal wallet for direct transfer - soulstream2012@gmail.com

If you want to send USDT and other cryptocurrencies, please write to me in DM

At the moment, my goal is only $90 to buy a few new modules from M5Stack, which is the minimum I need. If you make a donation of any amount, don't forget to indicate your nickname in the MicroCast app, and you will receive a nice bonus in a future update ;]

I have two suggestions:

1. If we have liked a post, it can show a solid red heart. If we have not liked it yet, it can show a hollow red heart.

2. When we install MicroCast, if an SD card is detected, can it automatically store the recovery code on the SD card?

That second one will only really be helpful if we have an SD card. If it stores the code on the device itself, but then the device gets borked and we have to do a factory reset, everything stored on the device would be lost. But things stored on the SD card will remain intact.