What are the xpc system daemons?
If you see xpc.roleaccountd, xpc.smd, or xpc.uscwoap running on your Mac, here is what these XPC processes do.
Mac
Blog
De Cock en de dood van een profeet by A.C. Baantjer
De Cock looks into the murder of a failed theology student who had taken up the cause of young people with few chances.
Books
Les Chants Magnétiques (Magnetic Fields) by Jean-Michel Jarre
A 1981 electronic landmark I found years later, Jarre's Magnetic Fields, four parts of pure synthesiser music.
Music
Monthly update #0274 • February 2013
Monthly update 274 • February 2013 • 2013-02-01 - 2013-02-28
Monthly Updates
Zion by Hillsong United
Hillsong United's 2013 album reworks worship through electronic textures, the home of the song Oceans.
Music
NSAssertionHandler
In Objective-C, Foundation has macros like NSAssert for methods and NSCAssert for functions. They also have versions for parameters: NSParameterAssert and NSCParameterAssert.
Development
The Janus Reprisal by Robert Ludlum
In Robert Ludlum’s The Janus Reprisal, co-authored with Jamie Freveletti, Covert-One's Jon Smith survives a terrorist attack in The Hague and chases a Pakistani warlord across Europe.
Books
NSURLCache
NSURLCache is the built-in, automatic HTTP(S) cache used by NSURLConnection, NSURLSession (default/ephemeral configs), and WKWebView.
Development
De Cock en het duel in de nacht by A.C. Baantjer
After a death notice for a notorious burglar arrives, De Cock and Vledder face a run of mysterious murders.
Books
Monthly update #0273 • January 2013
Monthly update 273 • January 2013 • 2013-01-01 - 2013-01-31
Monthly Updates
NSValue
NSValue is the lightweight way to put any C scalar or struct (int, float, CGPoint, CGRect, NSRange, etc.) into an object so it can live in NSArray, NSDictionary, NSSet, etc.
Development
The Killing
The Killing is a Danish crime drama series. It aired on DR1 from 7 January 2007 to 25 November 2012. Søren Sveistrup created it. Sofie Gråbøl plays Sarah Lund, a detective in Copenhagen who cannot let go of a case until she finds the truth.
TV Series
NSLocalizedString
NSLocalizedString is a macro in Foundation that gives a localised version of a string. It takes a key to find the string and a comment to help translators.
Development
Worship by Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith's 2001 release, a set of songs written for the gathered church. I came to it well after release and have returned to it since.
Music
Useful macOS defaults: Dashboard
Handy defaults write commands for com.apple.dashboard, controlling the legacy Dashboard widgets feature.
Mac
Burning Lights by Chris Tomlin
Chris Tomlin's 2013 album sets bright, singable worship around the image of light against the dark.
Music
Monthly update #0272 • December 2012
Monthly update 272 • December 2012 • 2012-12-01 - 2012-12-31
Monthly Updates
De Cock en de ontluisterende dood by A.C. Baantjer
Two teachers are found dead on an Amsterdam car park within a short time, and an identical killing in Friesland brings De Cock into the case.
Books
Reflecting on the year 2012
Reflection on the year 2012, checking progress of the goals, and some numbers.
Journal
Merry Christmas
Years of reflection make Christmas even more meaningful. The birth of Jesus offers hope that lasts through all seasons.
Christianity
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), directed by Peter Jackson, is based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. Martin Freeman plays Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who leaves his comfortable home to join a company of dwarves on a quest to reclaim their lost kingdom.
Movies
Going Public by Newsboys
The Newsboys' bright 1994 album Going Public mixes pop rock and wit with songs of grace, an old record I found later.
Music
De Cock en een duivels komplot by A.C. Baantjer
Three scientists who made a remarkable invention are murdered, and De Cock must work out who wanted them dead.
Books
KVC Collection Operators
The article discusses Key-Value Coding (KVC) Collection Operators in Objective-C, which provide a concise, Ruby-like syntax for performing aggregate operations on collections using valueForKeyPath:.
Development
Monthly update #0271 • November 2012
Monthly update 271 • November 2012 • 2012-11-01 - 2012-11-30
Monthly Updates