Jonathan

New blog post: running R and Python together on an HPC compute node with Positron, including the setup and the snags. Check it out if you routinely work in both languages (regardless of whether you use HPCs or not). miketalbot.io/blog/posts/2...

Coming to posit::conf(2026) in person or virtually? Come hear my talk on Quarto Notebooks and you will learn the meaning of these MYSTERIOUS SHAPES.

My favorite little feature from the Positron 2026.08 release: we now check your R scripts (and Python scripts, Quarto files, etc.) to see if they refer to any packages/modules that are needed to run the script but aren't installed. If they do, you'll get a little notification and an install button!

A couple of days ago someone said "bear with me" and I had a great idea for a reality TV show called Bear With Me about a guy with a literal bear as a pet In every episode the guy goes to a different place with the bear and acts nonchalant about it while everyone else loses their minds

Latest version of Positron can open xlsx files in the data viewer(!) and it has a dropdown menu now for previewing different formats of #QuartoPub documents And—most importantly, but also from a few weeks ago, so less new—the plots panel can pick up dimensions from chunk options!!!! #rstats

When we started working on Positron, we began by asking "what did we always want to do in RStudio, but couldn't"? Years of community upvotes on RStudio's issue tracker helped us form that wishlist. Here's how some big ideas made their way to Positron: opensource.posit.co/blog/2026-06...

Today we're releasing AI for RStudio. It's really, really good—I'd encourage you to point it at the messiest data sources you have and see what it can do. www.simonpcouch.com/blog/2026-03...

Got the new Windows 11 update, and I have to say it's pretty handy to know what I'm going to download tomorrow

My keynote about data science tools at posit::conf is now online! I originally meant it to be a talk about Positron, but as I was writing it, it took a left turn through the history of RStudio and into the philosophy of tool design & how to build stuff for people. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGre...

Is #Positron going to replace #RStudio? 😱 (This is the worry I keep hearing lately 👀) Posit Software Architect @jmcphers.bsky.social says, "there are certainly no plans to get rid of RStudio." Watch the full #DSHangout video with Jonathan here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sROVZ83FNg #rstats #databs

Ever wonder how the #tidyverse came to be? 🤔 #TheTestSet's first episode features @hadley.nz on his accidental empire of #RStats packages, bear encounters, and more! Stream it at thetestset.co, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. #DataAnalytics #PodcastLaunch

Positron now supports a chat panel with Claude and it's pretty neat

TOMORROW IS A BIG #DSHANGOUT! We have 2 featured leaders, & they're both keynote speakers at #positconf2025 😍 Thurs May 29 @ 12pm ET meet: 👋🏼 Kieran Healy, professor of sociology at Duke 👋🏼 Jonathan McPherson, software architect at Posit 📆 Add to your calendar @ pos.it/dsh #databs #rstats #python

We're delighted to announce Jonathan McPherson – software architect at Posit – as keynote speaker at posit::conf(2025)! If you're curious about how thoughtful design principles can improve the data science tools you use, you won't want to miss this! Join us Sep 16-18 in Atlanta. pos.it/conf

@lionelhenry.bsky.social and I are so excited to finally announce Air - an extremely fast R code formatter! 🎉 With Air, you'll never need to worry about styling your #rstats code ever again. All you need to do is save, and Air takes care of the rest. www.tidyverse.org/blog/2025/02...

Talks from posit::conf 2024 are all online! Here's what I've been working on for the last couple of years. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uRc...

5 year old: What's happening, big guy? Me: Don't call me "big guy." It's kinda weird. 5 year old: You'll get used to it, big guy.

12 year old: *shows me an elaborate PowerPoint presentation he made for a game show called "The Rice is Right", in which contestants must watch a short, close-up video clip of a granular substance and guess whether it is rice* Me: 12 year old: This idea came to me in a dream

Buck up, baby blowfish. Just puff up bigger than your sadness and scare it right off. That's the only way to live in the awful old ocean. -- Cathrynne M. Valente, Radiance

While I identify as a Christian, I think the #HeGetsUs #SuperBowl ads were awful. I don't think Jesus needs or wants our slick marketing campaigns. It cheapens the Man of Sorrows to put him on billboards and bumper stickers. He isn't a product.

2 hours left on the Terry Pratchett humble bundle. All the ebooks for the cost of one hardback. You may want this...

Dear Manufacturers of Children's Drinkware and Manufacturers of Garbage Disposals, One of you needs to change the diameter of your product. I don't care who. Sincerely, Every Parent in the World

If you're working on software meant to last a long time, use long, unique names for all non-local identifiers (functions, classes, etc.). Future You is gonna need to find references, and Future You is only going to be able to use "find string".

Hello, world.