iPad - On Two Years of Use
Can you believe it, the iPad has been around only two years, two! Yet it feels like there was never a time before we had them. I was one of those who pre-ordered the original iPad on launch (and the iPad 2 on its launch). I also wrote three blog posts back then, and it seems my usage patterns have not changed that much: Apr 4, 2010 iPad First Impressions - written after 24 hours of use Apr 12,2010 It’s Been One Week Since You Looked at Me - after 1 week of use May 15, 2010 iPad Update - After Almost a Month Traveling With It - in Eastern Europe as my only computing device.
The Markdown File Extension
The correct file extension for markdown files is: .markdown That is all. No others. Make it so! Update: It seems the GitHub .md extension is becoming canonical for those who prefer shorter file names. And Dr Drang @drdrang uses it. Who am I to argue. But I’ll be sticking with .markdown. I suppose I’d better say why: We no longer live in a 8.3 world, so we should be using the most descriptive file extensions.
You Are Not Ruthless Enough
Chris Parker writing in You Are Not Ruthless Enough on being ruthless instead of lax when crafting software: Being ruthless to yourself is having the discipline to become a better developer - not letting yourself get away with the easy or convenient. Being ruthless to your objects is having the discipline to write the API which separates their responsibilities effectively. The combination is what enables you to produce consistent results - to keep shipping, to keep creating great software, and to keep improving.
The 10 commandments of good source control management
Troy Hunt lists the The 10 commandments of good source control management in his blog. I use git and github for eveything, including this web site and blog. Stop right now if you’re using VSS – just stop it! If it’s not in source control, it doesn’t exist Commit early, commit often and don’t spare the horses Always inspect your changes before committing Remember the axe-murderer when writing commit messages You must commit your own changes – you can’t delegate it Versioning your database isn’t optional Compilation output does not belong in source control Nobody else cares about your personal user settings Dependencies need a home too None of these things are hard.
Is Antivirus Software a Waste of Money?
Not astonishing at all in Wired’s Is Antivirus Software a Waste of Money? by Robert McMillan: He doesn’t use antivirus software. As it turns out, many of his security-minded peers don’t use it either. The reason: If someone is going to try and attack them, they’re likely to use a new technique, one that most antivirus products will miss. “If you asked the average security expert whether they use antivirus or not,” Grossman says “a significant proportion of them do not.
Presenting a Professional Indie Image
In Presenting a Professional Indie Image on the Noverse Blog, I present a checklist of all the things you need as an indie to present yourself to strangers via email with some credibility: You are what you do, not what you say. – C.G. Jung As my Hiltmon.com blog takes off, I am starting to get emails from indie developers promoting their wares. This is great, I love getting them, looking at new products and helping out where I can.
Serious and Snark
One of the key reasons I separated hiltmon.com and noverse.com at the start of this year was to separate my serious business voice from my larrakin personal voice. Last evening, on twitter, it seems some of the indie celebs are doing the same: @marcoarment @gte @gruber My only handicap is I am afraid to tarnish red-sweater with too many crazy posts, so I’m building a new blog… @danielpunkass, Twitter David Barnard points out that your business should have a voice:
Thank you for a great February
It’s been two months since I consolidated all my sites into this blog and started writing more. This blog just has a great February and I thought I’d share some stats.
The End of Advertising
Daniel Jalkut, writing in his Red Sweater blog in The End Of Advertising: If I want to know what a lawnmower is, Google. If I want to know which lawnmower to buy? Amazon, or another site that strives to empower customers, not advertisers. I think we all do this without knowing it.
TSA:Fail
Steve Moore, an experienced ex-FBI Counterterrorist Agent writing in TSA: Fail: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was formed to ensure America’s freedom to travel. Instead, they have made air travel the most difficult means of mass transit in the United States, at the same time failing to make air travel any more secure. TSA has never, (and I invite them to prove me wrong), foiled a terrorist plot or stopped an attack on an airliner.