A personal notebook on software, books, films and the occasional voyage into big ideas.
After a few weeks in closed testing and distribution review, Jargon is now available on Google Play and F-Droid . Jargon is my free and open-source Android reader for the Jargon File: more than 2,300 entries that document the language and culture of early computer hackers. You can browse alphabetically, search terms and definitions, follow cross-references, save favorites, or use “Surprise me” to…
Apple is now reviewing the native iOS versions of C2K and Jargon for public release on the App Store. C2K began on Android as my free, open-source Couch to 5K and 10K trainer. I later built a native Swift and SwiftUI version for iPhone, took it through internal testing, and submitted it for public release. Jargon, my offline reader for the Jargon File, now has a native iOS version too. Like the…
Update: C2K has completed internal testing and is now under review for public release on the App Store . C2K started as an Android app - I published it to F-Droid and later put it on Google Play too . People kept asking about an iPhone version, so I built one: a real Swift/SwiftUI port, built from scratch for iOS. It's now far enough along that I'm running it through internal TestFlight testing.…
Finding things to criticize is easy. Spend an hour online and you can collect enough disappointments, mistakes, and bad decisions to write about for the rest of the week. A terrible movie, a frustrating product, a bad idea, or a stranger who is wrong is always waiting. I do not want to create that record. I would rather spend my words on the things that made life better. Attention has limits…
Someone has made your work easier this week. They answered a question, wrote something down, caught a mistake, or quietly did something useful. Tell them. We are often quick to speak when something goes wrong. Problems create tickets, messages, meetings, and retrospectives. Good work can pass quietly. It worked, so we move on to the next thing. The person who did it may never know that it…
Update: Jargon has completed closed testing and is now available on Google Play and F-Droid . Jargon , my fully offline Android reader for the Jargon File, is now in closed beta on Google Play. Before I can make it generally available through the Play Store, I need people to install it, use it, and help me make sure it works well beyond my own devices. If browsing through more than 2,300 entries…
I own a paperback copy of The New Hacker's Dictionary . It's been on my shelf for years, the MIT Press edition of the Jargon File, and I still pull it down every so often just to read entries at random. When I sat down to build the next hackerapps.com app, I didn't have to think hard about what to make. I made an offline reader for it. It's called Jargon . What it does Jargon bundles the entire…
I often do not want to go for a walk. I can find plenty of reasons to stay home. I feel tired. The weather does not look right. I have things to do. Sitting still sounds easier than finding my shoes and getting out the door. Once I go, I never regret it. I may not walk far. I may come home with the same problem I had when I left. Still, something changes along the way. I feel less restless. My…
Most of us spend far more time consuming than creating. When we want something, we look for someone who has already made it. We search, compare, and buy. Often, that is the sensible choice. Sometimes, though, we should make the thing ourselves. Consumption is the easy answer Buying is fast. Someone else has already done the work, learned the skill, made the mistakes, and turned the result into…
A year ago today, I started turning this site into my own corner of the web. I added an About page, a /now page , a values page , a uses page , and a colophon . I added places to write about books, software, leadership, and whatever else I was thinking about. None of it was especially complicated or novel. I had simply made a place of my own. I did not know whether anyone would read it. I still…