Blog

Gems

Steve Jobs: Take a closer look

Leslie Berlin, from the Steve Jobs Archive, shares a favourite photo from 1984. It shows Steve Jobs, aged almost 29, bent over to watch a stranger use a Macintosh through a shop window in New Orleans.

Essays

Social Media is a Major Cause of the Mental Illness Epidemic

Social media has changed how we connect, but new research shows it hurts mental health, especially for teen girls. Studies prove platforms like Instagram cause poor mental health, not just relate to it.

Development

The Swift Programming Language book now published with DocC

The Swift Programming Language book (TSPL) is now published using Swift-DocC starting with Swift 5.8, enabling content contributions under the Swift Documentation Workgroup’s guidance.

Development

Onboarding Tutorials vs. Contextual Help

Tutorials interrupt users, don’t necessarily improve task performance, and are quickly forgotten. Contextual help signals can avoid these pitfalls but require unintrusive ways to activate.

Monthly Updates

Monthly update #0393 • January 2023

Monthly update 393 • January 2023 • 2023-01-01 - 2023-01-31

    Projects

    Quiet 4.0 and a commitment

    TLDR: Quiet 4.0 is a restart of Quiet and a commitment to support it for a while.

    Gems

    The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

    We were like strangers on a train, the passengers and I, hurtling through the night, revealing intimacies we would never have dreamed of sharing during the brighter light of day.

    Essays

    Your own personal website

    Owning a corner of the internet gives you control. A personal website lets you build something lasting. Here is why you should create one, how to start, and what to include.

      Gems

      The Strangely Beautiful Experience of Google Reviews

      I slept under the overpass that night, and in the morning, I wrote a review: “Reasonably good bridge. A little loud for sleeping.” I gave it four stars. After I set off on my bike, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

      Mac

      20 years of Safari

      Safari was introduced in Mac OS X Panther on January 7, 2003. It was also included with the first generation iPhone, which was released in 2007.

        Development

        New Year, New Me

        The Vapor team has launched a new design for their blog, marking the initial step in updating all Vapor websites to reflect the framework’s maturity and provide a consistent, modern look.

        Essays

        Using RSS feeds

        RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, offers a clean, efficient way to stay updated with your favourite websites without the distractions of modern web browsing.

          Books

          Build by Tony Fadell

          Tony Fadell’s Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making distills lessons from his 30-year career in Silicon Valley, where he led teams creating the iPod, iPhone, and Nest Learning Thermostat.

          Monthly Updates

          Monthly update #0392 • December 2022

          Monthly update 392 • December 2022 • 2022-12-01 - 2022-12-31

            Journal

            Goals of 2023

            This year’s theme is being more positive. I am pessimistic.

            Gems

            What is a Wildcard Person?

            You know that person on your team who seems to be good at everything? I mean the literal definition of the word good. Not master. Good. When a problem comes up that nobody else has any experience with, this person volunteers to jump in head-first.

            Books

            Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

            Viktor E. Frankl’s Man's Search for Meaning recounts his survival in Nazi concentration camps during World War II and introduces his psychological theory, logotherapy.

            Development

            The Future of Foundation

            Apple announced a new open-source Foundation project, rewritten in Swift to eliminate C code wrapping, improve performance, and simplify contributions.

            Monthly Updates

            Monthly update #0391 • November 2022

            Monthly update 391 • November 2022 • 2022-11-01 - 2022-11-30

              Books

              No Plan B by Lee Child

              No Plan B, co-authored with Andrew Child, witnesses Reacher a 'suicide' that's murder, leading to a prison release scheme and organ harvesting.

              Mac

              Sync podcasts to iPod

              So, I do not have have a smartphone anymore. After a while I missed listening to music and podcasts; therefore, I bought an iPod Classic.

              Development

              Swift project in 2023

              The Swift Core Team has shared a roadmap for the next year, highlighting plans across workgroups, though these are not tied to specific releases and may evolve.

              Development

              System Fonts CSS

              System fonts used on this website...

              Development

              Permission request guidelines

              A good user experience for a permission request is important, because often permission request are the first thing the user sees.

                Monthly Updates

                Monthly update #0390 • October 2022

                Monthly update 390 • October 2022 • 2022-10-01 - 2022-10-31