Seeking, I am. Found, I have.
For the past year or so, I had serious doubts and questions about myself as a software developer for Apple’s platforms. Now, I think I have found the answers.
Latest
I'm taking a break from the fediverse.
I'm taking a break from the Fediverse, as I can't quite get myself up to start fresh and harshly curate my social media feeds.
I'm taking a break from streaming Package Resolved.
When I started streaming this year, I got relatively positive reception. Over time, however, reception has been on the decline, and developing the project wasn't as fun as it used to be.
My passion for Apple development is waning. Surface might hold the answer.
It's been quite some time since I realized I had a problem as an Apple developer. Perhaps the answer I seek is diversifying my tech. It's an opportunity to grow and expand, to explore and rediscover, to reflect and re-enjoy computing as a whole.
What am I looking for?
It’s been over a month since I went on my hiatus from developing for Apple’s platforms, personally. Yet as I see copious amounts of posts about the Vision Pro and all the fun things indie devs are doing for it, I have to ask: what am I looking for?
A ghost in the shell
In short, I am extremely disappointed in Automattic’s recent behavior and have moved my content to a self-hosted solution. I have yet to figure out what the best approach will be for Indexing Your Heart’s website, since it is the only other major site being hosted on Tumblr.
My love of developing for Apple’s platforms is dying
There; I’ve said it. For some friends and colleagues of mine, this comes as no surprise to them. But for those that have stuck with me for Fedigardens or took a peek into Indexing Your Heart, this will likely be the first time that you’ve heard this.
Returning to the core - my 2024 goals
When things are left to interpretation, goals and ideas get muddied, and it’s difficult to determine whether I’ve made any real progress outside the concrete ideas I had. This year, I want to return to my core and set some tangible goals I’d like to attain.
2023 - A year in review
2023 has been an interesting year for me. I wanted to focus on maintaining the various gardens of my life, such as app development, physical health, and mental/social/emotional health. I feel that I’ve done a decent job overall, though some areas could’ve better improved.
Response to The Linux Experiment
Nick from The Linux Experiment recently published a video titled "I used a MAC for 30 days, and I'm glad it's over". I'd like to provide my perspective on this video and constructively criticize the points that Nick has mentioned.
Becoming The Gardener - 2023 Goals
When I established my goals for last year, I had taken a different direction and declared it my “Snow Leopard” year. I won’t echo my reflections on this from yesterday’s post, but I did appreciate how open-ended I made that particular goal. So, this year, I’m making a broader set of goals again.
Introducing Fedigardens, and why I’m not fond of Hyperspace Desktop
The app space for the fediverse was sparse when I started working on the Hyperspace project back in 2019. Although there were a good handful of clients on mobile and a couple decent web interfaces, I felt none of them were fully suitable for college students to use.
goals
2022 - A year in review
When I started writing my goals out for 2022, I had thought it would’ve been my “Snow Leopard” year, where I focus more on refinement and general improvement rather than big, ambitious (but realistic) goals.
devlog
I’m migrating to Jira
For the past four to five years, I’ve been using YouTrack as my personal issue tracker for all of my various projects. Despite this, I’ve been slowly migrating my project tracking to the more widely used Jira.
ios
Using Core ML in a Swift Playgrounds app
I love playing with machine learning, especially with the Core ML framework; I use it in Give Me a Sniglet to determine the validity of possible words, for example. On the Mac, Apple makes it easy to create or convert ML models for use in apps with Xcode.
reflection
The iPad will not replace my Mac, and that’s fine
The notion of an iPad being able to replace a Mac, pixel for pixel, has always been strange to me. While the proposition is tempting, and I could realistically see myself doing that in the future, the iPad won’t be able to completely replace a Mac for me. And I’m totally okay with that.
opinion
Okay, I’ll take sideloading... sort of
In preparation for this seemingly inevitable event, I’m going to discuss my current thoughts about sideloading as both a consumer and a developer.
reflection
The Witness - A metaphor of perspective and my college journey
After spending about two weeks playing The Witness, I realized that the game is a great metaphor for the journey I’ve been on for the past four years at Goucher College.
opinion
On Viticci’s “Rediscovering the Mac- An iPad User’s Journey into
Federico Viticci from MacStories recently published an article about his realizations throughout his journey. I agree with a lot of the points he addresses and some of his conclusions, though there are some areas where I disagree.
opinion
On Apple’s Response to App Improvements
Apple published a response yesterday about the App Improvements process. I’m glad that the criteria have been clarified, though I still believe this should have been clearer from the start. Nonetheless, it’s a welcome change.
opinion
Apple has an App Store problem
I’m well invested in the Apple ecosystem. I thoroughly enjoy using Apple’s product and how seamless they work with each other. However, Apple’s latest behaviors in defending one of its strong suits, the App Store, has been leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
opinion
On the Topic of Updating on the App Store
It appears that Apple’s “App Improvement System” is taking effect as of recently. Many indie game developers, app developers, and sticker creators are being plagued with emails from Apple’s system, telling them to either update their product or it will be automatically removed.
devlog
Moving on...
I was content with my website, going strong for nearly four years on GitHub Pages with custom CSS and Jekyll static site generation. In recent iterations, I focused a lot on speed and readability by trimming out large images and focusing heavily on text posts.
My Snow Leopard Year - 2022 Goals
However, I want a different approach this year. 2022 will be eventful for me for various reasons: graduating and finding a place for myself, for one. I want to spend this year refining what I know and making even better products than before.