I have a multi-monitor desktop setup, as many programmers do, 3 in my case (two apple thunders and one dell 4k in portrait). I use spaces extensively as a regular way of working. I usually have several Xcode projects going for various clients and my own stuff, as well as other projects using other editors and a lot of Terminal windows. Each Xcode project probably has anywhere from 3 to 8 windows open, each usually with a few tabs. Naturally I spread them across the displays as is convenient. (I love the portrait 4k monitor to have one luxurious long view of my main coding window.) [Read more…]

Despite running a(n obscure) Mac app listing site for years, I've actually been hoping Apple would eventually create their own central, built-in way to find and obtain Mac apps. When iOS devices got one, it seemed like it was inevitable. They've had the pieces in place for a while now, just going unused. 90 days from now, the Mac ecosystem changes completely. So many questions, possibilities, worries.

One indication that Apple should do something came years ago when I went around asking Mac owners how they found new software for the Mac. Did they go to VersionTracker, MacUpate, lesser-known sites (I had hopes)? The answer: they never heard of any of these sites. Only a minority of Mac users that I talked to had anything other than what came on their computer, with the possible exception of Office or Photoshop. Other people thought that all you could buy for Macs was the few items found in the Apple store (or before that, reseller shops). [Read more…]

Some things need not be backed up by Time Machine.

For instance, take my ~/tmp folder, where I dabbling in trying to build source code projects, often to no ends. And if it is great stuff, then I do the install into /usr/local and it gets backed up from there. [Read more…]

Spaces, for the lack of a simple checkbox, is practically useless. [Read more…]