02.23.10
Posted in Apple, Journal, News at 9:29 pm by Pablosan
I’ll get back to Agile Blind Spots in my next post, but I have discovered a great app and piece of hardware that has turned my iPhone into an art easel.
Brushes is an iPhone app that was highlighted during the introduction of the iPad a few weeks ago. One of my hobbies is Graphic Arts and I have often bemoaned the fact that I can’t find more time to spend on it. I even carry around a Wacom tablet… that rarely gets used: partially because there is a (very little) bit of setup required, but mostly because I’ve never been able to get comfortable with drawing in one place (on the tablet) while watching someplace else (the monitor) to see how it looks.
Once the iPad rumors hit a fevered pitch, my first thought was that it would make a great graphic arts platform. When Apple highlighted Brushes during the iPad unveiling I decided to purchase it for my iPhone. I played with it a little, but found the lack of accuracy due to using a fingertip somewhat off-putting. I’ve put in many hundreds of hours sketching with a pencil or pen so that approach is completely natural to me. I thought using my fingertip would be close enough to be satisfying, but… well, it isn’t. I really need a writing utensil in my hand.
While I’m really excited about the iPad, it’s looking like it will not ship with a stylus and this is a bit of a disappointment. Enter Ten One Design and the Pogo Sketch, a stylus that works with the iPhone, with newer Macbook trackpads and the iPad (well, once they’re released anyway… Hurry up Apple!!!).
But wait, there’s more! The pièce de résistance: due to a built in Web server that allows you to transfer drawings from Brushes on your iPhone to your Mac and a companion Mac app, Brushes Viewer, you can get a high resolution version of your small-screen artwork. Since the iPhone app actually records your strokes, it can replay those strokes at a higher resolution. Not only that, you can actually watch yourself create your masterpiece and save it off as a Quicktime movie! The max resolution for a static image is 1920 x 2880 and it looks incredible. While I wasn’t happy with the results I was getting using my fingertip, I’m very happy with the results using a stylus. Here is a medium quality (960 x 640) version of my first attempt using a stylus (click on the image to see it full size):
Paul Nelson, 15 February, 2010
The combination of the Brushes app, the Pogo Sketch stylus and Brushes Viewer means I can carry an art studio in my pocket… well, close enough.
I can’t wait to play with Brushes and the Pogo Sketch on an iPad! Oh… and look for a nice tie-in with my Agile Blind Spots series of articles soon!
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09.15.09
Posted in Agile, Journal, News at 9:04 pm by Pablosan
Well, there you have it. I made my choice! I’m hanging out my shingle, striking out on my own, etc. People keep asking me if I’m excited. Terrified is, I think, more appropriate.
But I am not completely alone. I’ll be working very closely with these guys. Just to give you an idea of how hip this group is, take a look at their office! Yep, it’s a boat and, yes, they have a nice view of Lake Erie and the Cleveland skyline.
This new opportunity will give me the privilege of continuing to pursue my passion: helping software development teams have a lot of fun making real progress on real projects.
It seems that the current Agile Hype is around Kanban, so I thought I’d tie that in as well. I am both impressed with and concerned about kanban for software development, a new-ish methodology taking ideas from Lean and from the Toyota Production System (TPS). There are many great ideas in this newest evolutionary step in Agile: a focus on quality, limiting work-in-process, balancing demand against throughput, effective prioritization, pull don’t push, continual improvement, eliminating waste, and many more. All of these are powerful concepts (David Anderson gave an excellent talk on kanban, which you can find here).
Why the concern? Well, it seems that certain other Agile methodologies have ended up being more about creating marketable intellectual property than solving real-world problems. And I think that’s an easy trap to fall into. Marketing an idea is important to it’s survival, and that is going to create tension. As long as those behind the Kanban approach stay focused on solving real-world problems, we’ll be fine, but they will have to fight against the urge to over-market their ideas.
I hope they succeed, because I think this latest incarnation of Agile is a very good thing! And I’m looking forward to proving that out over the next several months while watching kanban for software development continually improve!
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07.01.09
Posted in Apple, News, Software Development at 2:13 pm by Pablosan
Back in August, 2008 you may remember a series of posts covering my signing up for the iPhone Developer Program. I finally gave up on my updates because… well, the posts would have been redundant: “still nothing.”
While wrapping things up in Buenos Aires, I received an interesting email from Apple. The email contained an iPhone Developer Program Activation Code! The email arrived on 25 June. On 26 June, after completing the online process, I received another email from Apple with the following banner:
Certified iPhone Developer!
Woohoo! I’m certifiable (like I needed Apple’s confirmation to prove THAT)! Now, what did I do with that iPhone app, completed 10 months and 10 days ago…
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04.09.09
Posted in Journal, News, Software Development at 1:02 pm by Pablosan
I know this news is somewhat old, but I just ran across it last week. I have known that IBM announced a round of aggressive layoffs in North America. What I didn’t know is that they are “offering outgoing workers in the United States and Canada a chance to take an IBM job in India, Nigeria, Russia or other countries.”
It seems that this news has garnered it’s fair share of “simple solutions” and accusations of Naziism (speaking of simple solutions, Steve Yegge has some interesting thoughts).
As is usually the case, I find myself at odds with the “common wisdom.” Maybe I have a unique perspective, but I’m probably just being contrarian. At any rate, I don’t find this offer offensive. From my vantage point, nothing has changed and this is nothing new. Professional careers in IT for U.S. workers have been on the decline for some time now (“some time” being… oh, I don’t know… a DECADE or more). Moreover, sending U.S. citizens off to foreign countries to earn their keep has been going on for far longer than the aforementioned decline. The only difference I see is that IBM has chosen to be open and honest about the practice. I applaud them for their candidness.
I like the idea of having one more option. It doesn’t sound to me like anyone is being forced to accept a position overseas, and I’m sure there are some who would jump at the chance to spend a little time abroad at the company’s expense. Why not look at it as an opportunity, with pros and cons, just like every other opportunity? I have friends at my current company who have quite enjoyed having their relocation costs covered and are now living an extravagant lifestyle by our standards, albeit on another continent.
Is it ideal? No, it’s life. Make the best of it.
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02.15.09
Posted in Apple, Journal, News, Travel, Uncategorized at 12:40 pm by Pablosan
Leading up to Christmas and her birthday, my eldest daughter had been asking for a new computer. She has been using a hand-me-down Titanium Powerbook (the G3, 500 MHz version), which is still in perfect operating condition, but runs a bit slow. So, for her birthday and not knowing for sure how I wanted to handle it, I gave her a “Free Computer Upgrade” coupon. Yes, it was a bit of a copout, but I had my reasons: primarily I wanted to wait for MWSF, to see what Apple might have up their sleeve.
A couple weeks later I had made my decision: buy her a netbook. So Karyssa and I sat down together to order an HP Mini 1000. Over the next week or so, Karyssa and I looked for an email informing us it had shipped. The email finally came and we watched the progress of the package as it made its way from Shanghai, China to Dallas, Texas.
I was a little worried: concerned that maybe this wouldn’t work out. Once the netbook actually arrived, I was disappointed that it did work out. I knew within the first hour of her using it, Karyssa was very happy with her new computer… and I wanted one. I mean, there are a couple concessions (the screen can be a bit small for some things, and the keys on the keyboard are a shade smaller than standard keys), but it would easily handle the vast majority of my needs. And HP has done an incredible job putting a very slick UI on top of the standard Ubuntu Linux distro. The fit and finish of both the hardware and software — the way they complement each other — reminds me more of Apple than of HP.
My move to The Cloud will be complete when I switch to an HP Mini 1000. And at one third the weight and 40% the size of my 17″ Macbook Pro, it will fit incredibly well with my plans to travel light.
It’s time to start saving my pennies!
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02.12.09
Posted in Apple, Journal, News at 3:54 pm by Pablosan
I tried about a year ago: I’ve decided it’s time to try again.
Up until this week I’ve been using Apple’s MobileMe to keep my laptop and iPhone in Sync, even though I really prefer Google’s apps. Due in large part to a recent announcement, I was eager to make the move. As of last night, my transition is complete: my email, contacts and calendar are now all sync’ed to Google’s apps.
Real-time sync capability wasn’t the only feature missing, however. If I store everything up in The Cloud, how do I access it when I’m off the grid? Shortly after my first, failed Cloud Move Attempt, Google announced Gears as well as offline capabilities for Docs. In the last few weeks, Google completed their trifecta with the release of Gmail offline and Google Calendar offline. Ya gotta love Google! …well, mostly anyway.
Early reports suggest their are still kinks to work out of their latest offline offerings, but I fully expect these to be ironed out in a nice, iterative fashion, as is Google’s modus operandi.
In my opinion, offline data access is essential to the success of services in The Cloud. I may not always have internet access when I need access to my data.
So it begins… again. I may not make it, but I know it’s a lot closer to being ready this time than it was a year ago. So far so good!
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10.30.08
Posted in Journal, News, Software Development at 1:50 pm by Pablosan
I arrived back home from the Boulder.me event Tuesday night, and I am very glad I was able to be a part of that experience. Everyone there referred to it as the “Speed Dating” version of interviewing. On Monday I interviewed with 14 different companies in seven hours (30 minutes per company). It was a blast, though I was exhausted at the end of the day.
There were several significant insights gained along the way, and I’ll be sharing a few of them in my next few posts. Very early in my trip I sent out a tweet stating “‘Company Starters’ are in it to earn money, while ‘Start-up Companies’ look to make money: subtle but significant.” That was my first insight and it was reinforced many times as I talked to different companies.
Most of my career has been focused on earning money. If I hone my skills and work hard, I increase my chances of remaining gainfully employed. Even when I dreamed of starting my own business, I was always thinking about sustainability: how would I make sure I earned and retained customer respect so that I could enjoy a continual revenue stream? And there is absolutely nothing wrong with those statements: quite the contrary. It is an honorable approach which many have followed to grow successful businesses.
I knew, intellectually, that Start-ups didn’t exactly fit this mold. I really had no idea what that meant, though, until a few days ago. Having the opportunity to talk to about a dozen Startup companies (not all who participated in the Boulder.me event were Startups), I think I finally get it. The goal of a Startup is to sell their product. However, this is quite different from a traditional, mass-produced product. There is only one copy of the product they are “manufacturing” and they are looking to sell to the highest bidder: they are looking to make money.
Up until a few days ago, I didn’t hold this latter approach to business in very high regard (putting it lightly), and I still think there are some interesting implications to placing the top priority on finding a buyer for your product. But I came to realize that this, too, is a respectable approach to succeeding in business. Furthermore, the Startup approach puts the business objectives in sharp focus: if a specific task, feature, etc. does not directly impact the product’s marketability, it is discarded. Waste – of time, resources… anything – is virtually eliminated. There is no excess; no “padding”; no escape-clause. The amount of intensity, passion and focus this brings to a company is a very good thing indeed!
I count it a privilege to have had the opportunity to meet so many Startups and gain my first glimpse into this exciting approach to growing a business. In fact, they very well may entice me to join them!
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10.21.08
Posted in Journal, News, Software Development, Travel at 4:19 pm by Pablosan
While the last couple months have been quite eventful, I haven’t felt at liberty to share some of it publicly for several, mostly boring reasons. Today I decided to lift the Cone of Silence a bit.
I have had some incredible opportunities to meet with some great, like-minded developers in the Midwest and to coach a great deal of developers as we all seek to improve our craftsmanship. In the same timeframe, I also ran across an intriguing approach to getting top-notch talent together with some interesting Startup companies.
Toward the end of September, during one of my daily newsfeed perusals, I ran across a post on YCombinator’s Hacker News site, advertising a unique opportunity in Boulder, Colorado. The Boulder New Tech Meetup set up an all-expense paid trip for 100 developers to meet with nearly 20 Startup companies in the Boulder area. The Startups (my guess is with a little help from their VC’s) are footing the bill, and the user group is providing the volunteers to handle the logistics. They advertised this through the website Boulder.me and, after encouragement from my wife, I decided to throw my hat in the ring.
They recently wrapped up the selection process (from nearly 400 applicants) and, yes, I’m going to Boulder! I am very much looking forward to spending three days in the Boulder Startup scene! And I suspect that, much like my experience in the Midwest, I will have the privilege of meeting fellow developers committed to honing their craft… that is, whenever there isn’t enough of a base to warrant a trip to the slopes! 
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09.30.08
Posted in Journal, News, Software Development at 11:10 pm by Pablosan
I started my CodeNotes project for several reasons, and one of them was more of a hope than an expectation. Knowing that I still have much to learn, I wanted to make some of my coding examples public with the hope that others, either with more experience or simply with a fresh pair of eyes, could provide some feedback.
I haven’t built a feedback mechanism into CodeNotes at this point, and there is no plan to change that in the near future. My contact information is easily obtainable, though, and I have been pleased that people have been providing feedback. To many of you, thank you for your kind words, suggestions and even, at times, criticism.
My most recent feedback was on my first Erlang article. In the original version of the article I had commented that I didn’t like my approach but that it was the only way I knew to code the solution. Thanks to an email conversation with Hans “Uli” Niedermann, I have a new version of the article up which, based on his suggestions, contains a much more elegant solution to adding test run time to the output. Mind, this is still not “right”, in that I have added the code to my test when it should be added to the test framework.
So for now, thanks, Uli, for your excellent suggestions. I hope to reciprocate by making a contribution back to the Erlang community soon. For now, you will all just have to make do with the updated article. Consider it a small down-payment.
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09.03.08
Posted in Apple, Go, Journal, News, Software Development at 11:28 am by Pablosan
It’s been over a week since I submitted my iPhone Developer Program application, and I still don’t even have official word that Apple has received it. I’m doing my best to be proactive, but I haven’t found a lot that I can do to get answers. I’ve sent off a message via Apple’s “Contact Us” link, but I have very little confidence that anything will come of it.
I know that they aren’t hurting for applicants and I know I’m a very small fish in a very large ocean, but I have always chafed at external and unnecessary delays. I’m quite proud of the work I’ve accomplished and would like the chance to show it off to the world and see how I fare, even if it is a piddly little app.
I know I’m not the only one in this situation, but it is freakishly quiet out there… maybe I should take that as a sign, but for now, I intend to provide occasional updates on this issue here until it has been resolved.
In the meantime, I’ve got some ideas percolating on the game of Go and a new Erlang article or two to publish. Just be prepared for news bulletin interruptions to this blog as notable things occur on the iPhone Developer Program front.
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