A blog
I've been putting off creating a blog for all of my tech thoughts for some time. There always seemed to be more important things to do. As is evidenced by this blog, I've finally given up. As time has...
View ArticleA blog app in Django
As I said in the previous post, this blog is not using Wordpress. In fact, it's not using any commonly available blog application. Instead, I wrote my own blog app for it in Django. Yes, it is...
View ArticleA new compiler
I know many of you switched to Clang/LLVM the second it shipped with Snow Leopard, but I've been a bit timid with regard to that switch. So, I've been merrily compiling Pear Note with gcc 4.2 until...
View ArticleIndie+Relief
Unless you've been disconnected for the past week, you've likely heard about the destruction in Haiti. A bunch of us Mac developers have gotten together and decided to give all of our income from sales...
View ArticleScripting QuickTime's web plugin
I'm not much of a web programmer. I can usually hack things together, but I've never done anything serious. What I have done has largely been server-side, so I'm basically a noob when it comes to...
View ArticleA bit of style
I finally got around to adding a bit more design to this blog (but only a bit). So, instead of the boring grey of before, there's a bit of color and even a bit of a picture I took. If you're looking at...
View ArticlePremium computers are not dying off
This post is a response to this post by Charlie Stross and the discussion that it has prompted across the Internet. I don't entirely understand why people across the web are nodding their heads in...
View ArticleBNRPersistence
One of the things that's bugged me about Pear Note for a long time is that search took way too long. Search is one of those things that should be instant while you're typing. The reason it was slower...
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Lenses abound
My name is Chad, and I have a problem. I've become addicted to lenses. OK, perhaps addiction is a bit strong of a word, but it's definitely a fun hobby.A couple years ago, I stepped up from point and...
View ArticleChoosing not to worry about piracy
There's been a lot of talk amongst the Mac developer community the past couple of days about preventing piracy in apps found on the new Mac App Store (e.g. here and here). Much of it has implied that...
View ArticleGoogle makes web video harder
Today, Google made publishing video on the web harder. They announced that they will stop supporting H.264 video in HTML5 <video> elements in Chrome in the next couple months. As someone who...
View ArticleAvoid Verizon Wireless
Yes, I know the tech world is excited about the iPhone coming to Verizon. Many have proclaimed that Verizon is the best network in the U.S. In general, Verizon defenders claim better coverage and fewer...
View ArticleBacking up
I love backup. I know that sounds weird, but I love backup. Before most information was digital, backing it up was incredibly hard. Consequently, the data of our lives was always in danger of being...
View ArticleChoosing an everything bucket
Up until now, I haven't used an everything bucket (though I have talked about them a bit in contrasting them to Pear Note). I never saw the use for them. Like Alex Payne, the filesystem was plenty for...
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My workspace
I thought it might be fun to document my workspace to show off the glamorous life of working from home. So, this picture above is my desk. It's located at one end of our dining room. The rest of the...
View ArticleSandboxing from a SELinux/Mac developer
Who am II'm in a unique position with regard to the current Mac App Store sandboxingdebate. I'm a Mac app developer who, until recently, was an SELinux developer. SELinux is a Linux access control...
View ArticleCrash after opening an NSDocument subclass
I've been dancing with this bug for the past day and a half. Now that I found the problem, I thought I'd detail it here for anyone else having the issue to find in the future.The problem I've found is...
View ArticleOS X is not ready for sandboxing
In my previous post, I talked a bit about the high-level approach Apple was taking to sandboxing and the problems therein. Sadly, Apple has not changed their position on this at all yet. So, for now,...
View ArticleHistory repeats itself
Today I find myself remembering the day Fedora Core 2 launched. As you may remember, I used to be an SELinux developer. Today, as sandboxing becomes mandatory on the Mac App Store, I think we may be...
View ArticleThe Wonderful World of Text
I just got back yesterday from CocoaConf DC, which was a fantastic conference (and that’s coming from a guy who doesn’t generally like conferences). I even got to speak. I’ll post more about the...
View ArticleCocoaConf
As I wrote last week, I attended and spoke atCocoaConf DC. CocoaConf is a Mac and iOS developer conference that’s held in different locations throughout the year (the next one will be in Columbus, Ohio...
View ArticleBaltimore Cocoa comeback
To Baltimore-area Cocoa developers:I've missed Baltimore Cocoa (or at least having some sort of Cocoa developer group). So, I've talked to Zach Waugh, Ed Schmalzle, and Chris Ashworth about...
View ArticleDoes this count?
I've complained that sandboxing was not ready to be mandated for all Mac App Store apps before, and pointed out that Apple seemed to know this as they had not sandboxed any of their own apps. Well, the...
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Photography gear
A couple years ago, I cataloged my growing photo kit. Since that time, I've expanded a bit and certainly learned a ton about photography. I thought it was about time to catalog my current kit again....
View ArticleVoiceOver support for custom text editors
When I originally released Pear Note for iPad a little over a year ago, it did not include VoiceOver support. I had hoped to include it in 1.0, but ended up pushing it off. Soon after release, thanks...
View ArticleTimes have changed
I know this has been said by many of you before, but last night this really hit home for me. The social status of computer geeks has really changed in my lifetime, especially for the younger...
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