APPropriate Behaviour
The book about all the things software writers do that aren't writing software.
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Monthly Archives: January 2015
I’ve realised that when I read that a tool or framework is “opinionated”, I interpret that as meaning that I’m going to have to spend time on working out how to express my solution in its terms. I have enough … Continue reading
The Tankard Brigade
I have a guideline that seems to apply to many pursuits and hobbies: any activity can be fun until there’s too high a density of men with beards and tankards. Of course, they aren’t all men (though many are) and … Continue reading
Posted in whatevs
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Some people like to refer to OS X as UNIX-like when it’s actually a UNIX. There was a time when it was UNIX-like and some people liked to refer to it as a UNIX, but it’s not now.
The other pink dollar
How did (a very broad and collective) we go from selling NeXT at $440M to selling Tumblr at $1.1B, in under two decades? Why was Sun Microsystems, one of the most technologically advanced companies in the valley, only worth two … Continue reading
Posted in Business, economics
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…and in the end there will be the command line.
You’re pretty happy with the car that the dealer is showing you. It looks comfortable, stylish, and has all of the features you want. There’s a lot of space in the trunk for your luggage. The independent reviews that you’ve … Continue reading
Posted in architecture of sorts
3 Comments
But where to go?
I agree with John Gruber here: it’s not like Apple’s stuff has become worse than a competitor’s, it’s just that it’s not as good as I remember or expect. It could be, as Daniel Jalkut suggests, rose-tinted glasses[*]. I don’t … Continue reading
Posted in GNU, Responsibility, UNIX
1 Comment
zed shaw: It didn’t matter that most of these detractors admitted to me that they don’t code C anymore, that they don’t teach it, and that they just memorized the standard so they could “help” people. […] I cannot help … Continue reading
On switching to Linux
In November, I switched to GNU/Linux at home (I still use OS X at work, because I still write Objective-C in Xcode at work). Or rather, I switched back: I’d been using it around a decade ago. In December, I … Continue reading
Posted in advancement of the self, GNU, Mac
6 Comments
Layers of Distraction
A discussion I was involved in over on Facebook reminded me of some other issues I’d already drafted for this blog, so I stuck the two together and here we are. Software systems can often be seen as aggregations of … Continue reading
