Category: blog

This project was a few weeks in the making. When I started there was a problem with some of the software not behaving. I leave the hardware driver voodoo to those that understand it. After an update this morning I was able to get all the parts working. So what exactly is a WiFi VPN access point? It’s the combination of several pieces of hardware and software that when running on my Pogo provides me with:

One thing that’s taken a few days to sink is how Apple managed to improve the keyboard on the new MacBook model. During the announcement Tim Cook mentioned that the key tops were 17% larger than the current MacBook keyboards. I noted it in my live blog on Monday, but didn’t think too much about it. This evening I thought about going to an Apple Store to see it in person, but decided to do a virtual comparison first.

The security researchers also claimed they had created a modified version of Apple’s proprietary software development tool, Xcode, which could sneak surveillance backdoors into any apps or programs created using the tool. Xcode, which is distributed by Apple to hundreds of thousands of developers, is used to create apps that are sold through Apple’s App Store. § The article goes onto say, “It remains unclear how intelligence agencies would get developers to use the poisoned version of Xcode.

Of of the things announced today, Apple’s ResearchKit strikes me as the one thing that will have a long-lasting impact on the world. I think Apple might realize it too. Making ResearchKit open source was a main point in the presentation. Until now, taking part in a medical study has usually required traveling to a hospital or facility to complete tasks and fill out questionnaires. With ResearchKit, you can use your iPhone to perform activities and generate data wherever you are, providing a source of information that is more objective than ever possible before.

I watched the Apple event this morning so you wounldn’t have to. Tim Cook covered a lot ground in the 90 minuite event. The last half-hour was devoted the Apple Watch. Apple TV HBO GO coming to Apple on April 12th, for $14.99/mo. Apple TV price cut to $69. Miscellanious Apple Pay coming to Coke vending machines. CarPlay has every major car maker committed to using it. 40 new car models with CarPlay coming in 2015/2016.

It’s time for my weekly word count check-in. At the end of every week, I post a screen shot from my writing results spreadsheet. This shows the current week and the three before. My week starts on Monday. The numbers are current through Sunday night. I also only average over six days. This allows me one day of no writing that doesn’t impact the weekly totals. I was shooting for more, but a bug in the Pogo software left me spending my time troubleshooting instead of writing.

We have been looking forward to this day just as much as many of you. Our inboxes have been flooded in recent weeks by people asking us to stop teasing and finally announce a release date. Thank you all for your excitement, here is your answer. § Yay! As it stands in the beta version, exported ePubs will validate.

One of the great features of Mac OS X is having Time Machine backups of your data. Time Machine can work with an external hard drive plugged in to a USB port, or it can operate over the local network. I have a laptop that spends most of its time on my lap. An external hard drive is just inconvenient. I also don’t want my backups to happen only when I remember to plug the drive in.

On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, researchers disclosed a new SSL/TLS vulnerability — the FREAK attack. The vulnerability allows attackers to intercept HTTPS connections between vulnerable clients and servers and force them to use ‘export-grade’ cryptogrpahy [sic], which can then be decrypted.. § This all traces back to the Clinton administration. The US government wanted decided that cryptography was the same as military weaponry. This led to an export ban in which US designed crypto apps couldn’t be sold outside the US borders.

I’m bad at groceries. I don’t keep an updated list, and often forget the list when I go shopping. One thing that seems to elude me is pancakes. I continually forget to put pancake batter on the shopping list. Not that it would do much good. I’d probably forget the list anyway. So when I saw someone mention National Pancake Day on Twitter over the weekend, I planned for it. The restaurant chain IHOP promotes this as a charitable event, with funds raised today going to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals charity.