Dangerware
Dangerware is common in business and government. Dangerware is just ordinary software, but the way it comes into being creates the danger.
- It starts with a basic prototype written in a hurry.
- This is quickly put into production to run the business.
- The prototype screws up repeatedly when faced with new scenarios.
- Resources are tasked to add (not update or correct) the prototype to deal with the latest screwup.
- This process repeats until the resource (or original business person) is tasked to a new project, or the cost of screwup is less than the cost of resources to mitigate.
I call this software dangerware.
A Yosemite Markdown Spotlight importer
All my text and writing is in Markdown formatted files and I would like to search them using Spotlight. The editors I use do not have an importer (they have Quicklook only), so this is not available directly.
Changing the RichText Spotlight importer trick worked in previous versions of OS X (see how in A Simple Markdown Spotlight Importer), but since System Integrity Protection in OS X El Capitan, this no longer works.
Making and maintaining high resolution charts for Indesign CC
One of the biggest headaches I have using Adobe Indesign is the creation and especially maintenance of charts and graphs. In my case, my fund publishes several high quality books and one-pagers monthly and I need to update a bunch of charts and graphs. I also need to print these at a very high DPI, hence Indesign.
I used to use Adobe Illustrator graphs. They are rudimentary, but very customizable. Every month I had to load an Illustrator file for each image, update the graph data and then spend time tweaking the results. Only then could I open Indesign, update links and move on. This took a lot of time.
Brown M&Ms: A Quick Way to Determine Code Quality
My business runs on code. Every day, my team and I deploy new systems, patches and add new features to our mission-critical code base. And we rarely have a problem.
That’s because we have a quick way to determine if the programmer attended to the details of the product and code, and whether we then need to hold the deploy for a deeper check and test or can run a lighter test and confidently push it out.
Why I Subscribed to Apple Music
Just over 3 months ago, Apple released Apple Music and I signed up for the free trial as we all did. My expectation was that I would play with it for a few days, get over it and never use it again. I expected the same experience I got from Spotify and Pandora before and I never subscribed to them. I expected the same old same old and no reason to use it.
The Simple C++ Makefile - Executable Edition
I develop a lot of applications in C++ using Xcode on OS X and deploy them to CentOS Linux Servers to run. I follow the Simple C++ Project Structure (and the Xcode edition) to code up each product.
However, Xcode is not available on Linux. To compile and deploy (and to test compiles and deploys), I use standard Unix Makefiles, available almost everywhere.
In this post I will show you the Makefile I use for multi-platform C++ executable builds and explain what each line and command does in detail. For Library builds, I have a similar, but different Makefile, see The Simple C++ Makefile - Library Edition (Coming Soon).
Saturday Afternoons Watching Rugby Union
Growing up, Saturday afternoons were for watching Rugby Union games with friends and family. No matter what was going on at home, with friends, at school, or in the country I lived, the world stopped for the two games that were televised live. I am as far away from that world as one can be, yet it is with me right now.
It began with my grandfather. He played as a kid as evidenced by a hook nose and a deep understanding of the game. There were only two times we could not bother him, his post-lunch nap, and when the rugby was on. But if we were there when the game was on, he would talk, explaining the rules, the nuances, the players positioning and decisions. Rugby was real-time, dynamic chess for him, a thinking person’s sport, and he imbued that thinking, understanding and love of the game in all his grand-children.
The 'It has happened before, it will happen again.' Apple
The Apple I know and loved was doomed, so the press said. It was the crazy, emo teenager of a company. Willing to try anything, mad, crazy, radical, different and apt to succeed and fail in spectacular fashion. Against all odds, the Apple of old did not fail. Because of this we now have amazing computers, thin and light laptops, iPods, OS X, iPhones and iPads. Can you imagine a world without Apple products?
Open Extension-less Files in your Favorite Editor on OS X
Xcode does a horrible job of editing Makefiles (and other extension-less files like dot-files). If you right-click in Xcode on a Makefile and Open with External Editor, OS X opens it in TextEdit. Which is worse.
The issue is that TextEdit is associated with extension-less files. Usually to change how files are opened, you select the file in Finder, right-click and choose Get Info from the menu. You then choose the editor in the Open with dropdown and click Change All…. But this does not work for extension-less files, it throws the below error.
How the Apple Watch has changed my Behavior for the Better
I have the nerd watch, the 42mm Space Gray Aluminum with the Black Sport Band. It was ordered at launch and arrived late. I have been wearing and using it every day since.
The Apple Watch is a perfectly good watch for doing watch-like things, like telling the time. But if you view it as a wrist computer, one that has had a real impact on how one acts and behaves, it is something uniquely special.