Is 2017 the year the web turned dark?

And we realized it could be a force for evil, as well as good?

http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/20/technology/tech-dark-side/index.html

AI, Clouds, Enterprise, IoT, Wearable, Security, AR/VR, Digital Wallet, AMP, Hybrid.

10 Mobile App trends for 2018 (and in more detail).

https://www.mindinventory.com/blog/mobile-app-development-trends-2018/

Apple apologizes to Users for the Battery Fiasco

In an open letter, Apple offers a reduced price on replacement battery, as well as promises changes to next iOS update to provide details regarding iPhone’s battery status.

https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/

Give Gamers the Odds!

Apple will require developers to publish the odds of winning anything when buying in-app "loot boxes" for game prizes. This has been a big issue since some prizes are nearly required to advance the game, while being hard to get.

https://amp-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-games-must-disclose-loot-box-odds-2017-12

Follow up on the Legality of Loot boxes:

https://www.lawofthelevel.com/2017/12/articles/gaming/apple-app-store-loot-boxes/

Holiday Songs for Developers

For the techies decked out in ugly Christmas sweater, enjoy this set of revamped songs sure to make you smile. I especially like "Ode to CSS". https://thedailywtf.com/articles/developer-carols-merry-christmas

25 Questions Mobile Developers should ask their Clients

Mind Inventory compiled a comprehensive list of questions that as a mobile developer, you should ask your client. Past projects would have been easier if I had asked all of these questions up front.

https://www.mindinventory.com/blog/mobile-app-development-client-questionnaire/

MagFest celebrates video games and video game culture

I will be attending MagFest, first weekend in January at Gaylord National Harbor, to enjoy talks about video games, playing video games, and even music about video games.  if gaming is a culture, MagFest celebrates it!

http://super.magfest.org

ps. It also has the largest collection of early era computer game coin-ops that can be found anywhere!  All open for free for 72 hours straight!

Christmas Eve Technology, the NORAD Tracking of Santa Claus

What started out as a mistaken call by a child to the Continental Air Defense Command (pre-NORAD) in 1954 asking for Santa, has turned into a multi-service holiday event. The latest incarnation website received over 20 million hits ever Dec 24th!

https://www.noradsanta.org/

ps. If you want the full story, check out the Wiki article on tracking Santa.

A comprehensive list of reason to use Cross Platform development Mobile Development

Full disclosure, I disagree with his conclusions, but this list will show you the arguments managers use to justify hybrid mobile development. 

http://www.mindinventory.com/blog/reasons-to-choose-hybrid-mobile-app-development/

Start Magic Leap gives a glimpse of their VR Future

Magic Leap greatly anticipated VR glasses have been announced! They are called Lightwear (pun intended) and are an entirely self contained VR/AR solution (no PC need to be attached).

http://www.businessinsider.com/magic-leap-reveals-smart-glasses-photos-2017-12

Rumored Apple plan for single app on all Apple platform

If this is true, it is big news for Apple developers. Supposedly project “Marzipan” will allow for one common code base for both Mac & iPhone apps.  It would have to be simplest denominator interface, but this would work for a lot of low end apps.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-20/apple-is-said-to-have-plan-to-combine-iphone-ipad-and-mac-apps

Advanced Swift topic from Realm Academy

Realm IO, creators of mobile tools & solutions, has a Academy that provides videos on several developer topic. Here is series of videos on Advanced Swift!

https://academy.realm.io/posts/learning-path-advanced-swift/

How to Teach Dumb Machines to be Smarter then Humans

Possibly the simplest, and easiest to understand, explanation of Generic Algorithms in relationship to Machine Learning.  I have always been a fan of CGP Grey's educational videos on history and social issues, but he is just as good with technical ideas. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9OHn5ZF4Uo

Traits vs Mixins in Swift

This article is a bit dates (Swift 2), but it gives a good introduction to concept of Traits & Mixin, important concepts in Protocol based programming.

http://machinethink.net/blog/mixins-and-traits-in-swift-2.0/

DNA Sequencer from Legos!

This Professor build a DNA Sequencer that used colored Legos as a way to teach science to visiting primary school students. It sort of looks like a Lego Turing machine to me. Say, that is an idea for a Makers Fair project! 

https://samnicholls.net/2017/03/15/lego-sequencer/

The Last Lecture, what one Prof had to say on the last talk he ever gave

Possibly the most entertaining, fascinating and all around powerful lectures I have ever watched. It made me wish I had known this teacher. Here is his full Last Lecture of the late  Prof. Randy Pausch, formerly of Carnegie Mellon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

AOL Instant Messenger rides off into the sunset

AIM shuts down today. We knew it was coming, and I had talked about in in Oct, but now that it is here, I am a bit sad. CNN talks about AIM's lasting legacy.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/15/technology/aim-shuts-down-legacy/index.html

InstaSaber, an Augmented Reality Star Wars App puts a light saber into your hands

To celebrate the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, here is a video about an AR iOS app that converts a paper tube in your hand into a glowing Light Saber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCp6_vFb-mY&feature=youtu.be

James Dempsey Inspiration Talk at RWDevCon 2017

James Dempsey, long time Apple expert and founding member of the Breakpoints (hey, look it up) gives a talk at RWDevCon on new tricks, and how to learn them.  Enjoy the video and transcript.

https://www.raywenderlich.com/177118/rwdevcon-2017-inspiration-talk-new-tricks-james-dempsey

Imagery - Managing Remote images on iOS, Mac & tvOS

If I wanted to create a image manager, complete with caching, asynchronous downloads, image compression & transition animations, it would look a lot like Imagery! Luckily I don't have to, I can just use this Open Source pod. 

 https://github.com/hyperoslo/Imaginary  

Swift 4 support for JSON encoding Explained

A brief, but succinct explanation of how Swift 4 handles JSON encoding/decoding.  It is finally built into the Language! Thanks to the author Eli Ganem @eli_ganem

https://www.raywenderlich.com/172145/encoding-decoding-and-serialization-in-swift-4

Review of MS Surface Precision Mouse with a Mac

Using a high end Microsoft mouse with your Mac. I energetically agree with this authors views. I rarely use Apple’s products, and prefer to use a PC style Mouse instead. 

https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/09/review-microsoft-surface-precision-mouse/

News Break for Software Geek #1

BREAKING NEWS: The programmer accused of writing unreadable code declined to comment.

Apple's Top App List comes out

Apples' list of most downloaded iOS Apps of 2017 reveals some curious trends.  Progress in AR and real-time competitive games should not be a surprise, but the interest in mental health & storytelling apps startled me.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/12/apple-reveals-2017-most-popular-apps-music-and-more/

Design Patterns that matter for Mobile Apps

A List of UX Design Patterns specifically for Mobile apps, that really make a difference if you use them!

https://www.raywenderlich.com/167174/design-patterns-mobile-apps-which-why

All Hail Null Island!!!

One of the most photographed, and occasionally visited, locations in the world. And it doesn’t exist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjvIpI-1w84

CryptoKitties Mania is hitting the Net

The Joys of BitCoin speculation combined with the Cuteness of Cat Video, CryptoKitties has become the most popular app on the Ethereum network. You literally breed and sell Virtual Kitties.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-04/cryptokitties-quickly-becomes-most-widely-used-ethereum-app

An excellent Google produced series of Videos on Machine Language

First in a series of videos from Google Cloud explaining the details of Machine Learning development. The series is called “AI Adventures”, and it gives more details then most such works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKW8Ndu7Mjw

Donut - an Open Source iPhone View for arranging views circularly

Donut is an Open Source iPhone View for arranging views in the shape of, uh, well, a doughnut.  It is actually more visually appealing that I am making it sound. It is also an example of why CocoaPods are changing how people develop iOS apps. 

https://github.com/cokaholic/Donut

AI Program writes a musical Lullaby to help you sleep

A health company sponsored a project to have an AI and a Human create different Lullabies, to help people sleep.  The Human-made one is much better, but the AI one is not bad.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/artificially-intelligent-machine-composed-lullaby-11599978

Swift on the Server State of the Union at Swift Summit 2017

Video and transcript of the presentation by Chris Bailey at Swift Summit 2017 discussing the State of the Union of running Swift on Servers.  Nicely done!

https://www.skilled.io/u/swiftsummit/ibm-kitura-swift-on-the-server

Alexa Games are Booming

A description, and video, about the Future of Alexa voiced-base games. Echo Buttons will be shipping shortly (for multiplayer play) and a Destiny 2 AI with Alexa. 

https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/cceec3df-5b54-4f24-9e1d-d922627bb6ed/alexa-let-s-play-a-game-introducing-new-gaming-experiences

7 Easy to Explain Reasons why Mobile App development has boomed

An excellent break down of the reasons why Mobile Apps have changed the world, and the demand for App programmers.

https://www.mindinventory.com/blog/why-the-demand-of-app-development-has-gained-high-momentum/

Serious Mac High Sierra Security Bug

Just in case you haven't heard, there is a new QE Testing positioning opening at Apple. Or at least, there should be. 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/28/technology/macos-high-sierra-bug/index.html

New YouTube album created with AI

This Artist used AI program to accompany her vocals on her YouTube video.  Amper software provided the harmonies, chords, and sequences of the performance. 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/21/technology/future/taryn-southern-ai-music/index.html

Natasha the Robot, a must for any iOS developer

Besides being a great iOS Evangelist, Natasha The Robot is one of the best iOS Developer pundits. Not only does she keep track of the industry with useful postings, she writes some of the best technical articles around.  I read her newsletters regularly!

https://www.natashatherobot.com/

Capital One releases Critical Stack software

Critical Stack, a tool designed to help build security into the container orchestration process, will be published by Capital One.  Every tech company is becoming a software publisher.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/21/capital-one-begins-journey-as-a-software-vendor-with-the-release-of-critical-stack-beta/

Kotlin language compatible with iOS/Mac

Kotlin, the Swift-like programming language for Android, now supports access to Objective-C APIs on iOS and macOS. This allows you to program an iOS/Mac app using Kotlin!

https://blog.jetbrains.com/kotlin/2017/11/kotlinnative-v0-4-released-objective-c-interop-webassembly-and-more/

Google's Fuchsia will use Swift

Surprise announcement, Google secret Fuchsia project will support Swift. Fuchsia is not a flavor Android, but a new universal OS, but will allow Swift development on a huge range of devices. 

https://www.theverge.com/google/2017/11/20/16681556/apple-swift-language-google-fuchsia-os-open-source

Images of Earth for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving all. No tech postings today, just some images that hopefully show you how beautiful the world is. Everyone needs to cherish the Earth and the people on it!

https://www.popsci.com/best-images-earth-from-space

Previously on Mage Steve

Ok, I told a fib when I said the previous page was my first posting. It was my first posting on Blogger.com  For the past four months; I have been logging my daily ramblings on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn, without missing a day.  I will continue to do this but have decided to use this site as the initial location to write.

Why start blogging on Aug 4, 2017?  On that day, I gave a talk on Siri Programming at iOSDevCampDC 2017. It was the first big conference I had presented in awhile, and it made me think about personal branding. I have always given talks and presentations at local developer meetings (and now Meetup) but had not given a Conference talk since MacWorld eras.  Nor had I written many articles since MacTutor/MacTech days.  I am an active poster on Facebook, but I write that for my friends (besides talking about programming, I talk about interests like swordplay, gaming, cosplay, etc.).  I did not have a voice aimed exclusively at the developer community.

And I felt like I had something to contribute.

So I am going to change that.

I am writing more. Soon you will see articles posted on various sites. I am contributing more to Open Source. Soon you will see Open Source project created by me. I am presenting more, to venues large and small. Soon you will see my presentations posted for everyone to view.

In the meantime, here are the past four months of postings from other sources.  Enjoy!

p.s. Future postings will NOT be this long!

______________________

Wed Nov 22

Yes, some of us still use old login names that we created 30 years ago (I used Mage Steve in the old AOL days because Wizard Steve did not fit the service's 10 character limit).  Here are some thoughts on why.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/11/why_some_people_cling_to_their_old_internet_screen_names.html

Tue Nov 21

For those who think the Internet is unstoppable, no it isn't. And it needs to be protected, or things like this can happen.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/21/skype-china-app-store/

Mon Nov 20

​FCC solicited opinions on Net Neutrality, and suspiciously the online responses do not match ones made by real people. Could someone be using Bots to bias the results? Has this ever happened before?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/11/17/trump_s_fcc_is_about_to_destroy_net_neutrality.html

Sun Nov 19

A Step by step listing of items you should do for Business, or personal, Branding. I think I will start following some of these.
https://sproutsocial-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-branding/amp/

Sat Nov 18

A good explanation of Capital One exiting the Mortgage business.
https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/11/17/what-to-make-of-capital-ones-decision-to-exit-mortgage-origination-business/amp/

Fri Nov 17

It’s Friday. Have a laugh at this ancient Tech and feel old.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/oh-jeez-oh-man-oh-jeez

Thu Nov 16

I have seen the Tech Future, and it is "Fabulous". AI, VR and smart fabrics, oh my!
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/13/technology/future-of-fashion-tech/index.html

Wed Nov 15

For XCode developers, a Git Repository full of information on optimizing and speeding up Swift build times.  Fix bugs Faster!
https://github.com/fastred/Optimizing-Swift-Build-Times

Tue Nov 14

Old co-worker (who you may have heard of) posts about what he thinks Students should unlearn when they start work.
https://www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2017/11/07/guy-kawasaki-every-employee-should-unlearn-this-lesson-after-college.html

Mon Nov 13

Jetpacks have been around for years, but this guy has a new design that broke the speed records. The navigation is based on Iron Man designs!
http://www.cnn.com/videos/cnnmoney/2017/11/09/iron-man-suit-world-record-lon-orig.cnnmoney

Sun Nov 12

Good tips on why it is not only necessary to reuse Tech talk that you give now and then, but it is a good!
https://be.noti.st/2017/do-i-need-to-write-a-brand-new-talk-every-time

Sat Nov 11

Google is trying to do more than Map the world, they are trying to index it!
https://www.wired.com/story/googles-new-street-view-cameras-will-help-algorithms-index-the-real-world

Fri Nov 10

I will never again think clicking thru a Powerpoint presentation needs to be boring. James Veitch’s TED (and other talks) are entertaining as hell!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QdPW8JrYzQ&list=RD9JkJpyqNDUI&index=4

Thu Nov 9

This has got to be the high tech game for the holidays this year. AR system for your phone complete with a light saber, so you can fight Sith, play Star War Chess, or command a battlefield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnZj461eruQ

Wed Nov 8

For anyone who debugs using iOS Simulator with XCode 9, this is a great list.
https://www.appcoda.com/ios-simulator-tips-tricks/

Wed Nov 8, second posting of day

Can I announce Twitter expands to 280 characters in less than characters 140? Yes, yes, yes, yes.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/07/technology/business/twitter-reacts-280-limit/index.html

Tue Nov 7

So that is what that whistling sounds from the Modem was about! I thought it was to annoy parents.
http://www.windytan.com/2012/11/the-sound-of-dialup-pictured.html

Mon Nov 6

Judge rules Freedom of Information does not include tech details to crack a locked iPhone.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/10/01/details-of-fbi-unlocking-tool/

Sun Nov 5

Has it been 34 years? Here is the technology behinds the movie "Wargames".
http://www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm

Sat Nov 4

High Schooler Shaking Up Artificial Intelligence.  Can we hire him?
https://www.wired.com/story/meet-the-high-schooler-shaking-up-artificial-intelligence/

Fri Nov 3

Who says you need computers for Augmented Reality? This town used paint to catch drivers attention at walkways.
https://www.boredpanda.com/3D-pedestrian-crossing-island/

Thu Nov 2

A starting Mixed Reality experiment. I loved the knocking down the walls bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyB97rJ5lRE&feature=youtu.be

Wed Nov 1

Why I wanted to work at Capital One, explained by coworker.  Good job, Alex!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLSa5aqQm2g
@jacabanilla

Tue Oct 31

A smart combo of drone & dirigible, that might just work. They still need to scale it up to human size.
http://www.popsci.com/plimp-plane-blimp-drone
The Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAzMcLcbKCE

Tue Oct 31, second posting of day (Halloween)

Ahhh, just ahhh...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PBkkHi_yeQ

Mon Oct 30

All about NetTrek and the History of a vintage Mac game, by its author Randy Carr.
http://www.fatlion.com/nettrek/index.html

Sun Oct 29

I wondered why Apple dropped the 6 color logo, the most recognized Tech brand around. It looked great on clothes!
https://designyoutrust.com/2017/09/when-apple-was-selling-clothes-in-1986/

Sat Oct 28

Isn’t this the start of a half dozen different bad Sci-Fi movies? A visiting “comet” is heading to our solar system.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/27/us/mystery-object-solar-system-trnd/index.html

Fri Oct 27

High-tech mirror only works if you smile! It was designed to uplift the spirits of cancer patients.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/24/technology/smile-mirror-cancer-patients/index.html

Thu Oct 26

Amazon Key service uses webcam & electronic door system to allow delivery within your home when you are not there.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/25/16538834/amazon-key-in-home-delivery-unlock-door-prime-cloud-cam-smart-lock

Wed Oct 25

Did you know QR Codes stood for "quick response"? I didn't. China is using them everywhere!
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/08/technology/china-qr-codes/index.html

Tue Oct 24

A good article explaining real-world uses for iBeacons (especially but not limited to travel industry).
http://www.mindinventory.com/blog/why-ibeacons-are-becoming-a-necessity-for-the-travel-industry

Mon Oct 23

Apple new Chicago store along the river is beautiful. And the beginning of more stores likes it across the country.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/10/21/apple-michigan-avenue-location-gallery/

Mon Oct 23, second posting of day

Any iOS developer would like to work with me on an Open Source Augmented Reality framework, send me note!

Sun Oct 22

An era of Giant Manned Robot Battles between Nations has arrived. Entertainment for the masses, move over Rome!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ijBAKIw4TA

Sat Oct 21

Cutting Edge Retro Tech: AppleCrate II, a parallel computer using 17 Apple // motherboards. The mind boggles.
http://michaeljmahon.com/AppleCrateII.html

Fri Oct 20

More Retro Computing: a massive library of C64 apps/games (25000+) for your uses.
  http://www.gamebase64.com

Thu Oct 19

Strange IP Case has been settled. if you take a photo, you own the copyright. Who owns it if a monkey takes a photo?
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/12/asia/monkey-selfie-settlement/index.html

Wed Oct 18

Capital One is not a Banking company that is good at tech, they are a Technical company in the area of Banking!
http://www.cetusnews.com/business/Capital-One-Wants-To-Train-All-Employees-In-Technology.rkeshDGWnZ.html

Tue Oct 17

Retro Rule! A mini Commodore 64 for you to play all your old classic 8 bit games.
https://thec64.com

Mon Oct 16

Christine will auction a formerly lost Da Vinci painting for over $100 million. It was purchased for $60 in 1958!
http://www.cnn.com/style/article/da-vinci-painting-auction/index.html

Sun Oct 15

Steve Wozniak is creating an institute to help educate & train all ages for a tech career.
http://www.iclarified.com/62916/steve-wozniak-announces-formation-of-woz-u

Set Oct 14

The Applicance Wars have started. Google & Amazon hardware won't run the others services.
http://fortune.com/2017/09/27/amazon-google-youtube-echo-show/

Fri Oct 13

Two Day Swift Conference in Boston at end of next month. Such events are getting popular!
http://swiftfest.io

Thu Oct 12

This is by far the best light show event of holiday seasons that we have found in Northern Virginia!
https://www.novaparks.com/events/winter-walk-of-lights

Wed Oct 11

Columbia University Professor reconstructs Apple ][+ on a FPGA board for a class project.
http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~sedwards/apple2fpga/

Tue Oct 10

Recognizing bad behavior in ourselves is always harder than finding it in others. I plead guilty to several.
https://www.sitepen.com/blog/2017/04/18/7-habits-of-highly-ineffective-developers/

Mon Oct 9

Generate 4 Pull Requests of some Open Source code to support this Hacktoberfest! And with a t-shirt!
https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com

Sun Oct 8

NY Times video on how China is changing the Internet, for good & bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAesMQ6VtK8&feature=youtu.be

Sat Oct 7

Facebook new $1 Billion Data Center to be built in Virginia, just outside Richmond.
http://www.kitv.com/story/36529685/facebook-invests-1-billion-in-virginia

Fri Oct 6, second posting of day

An end of an Era.  The world changed thanks to Instant Messaging technologies.  I personally think they wasted an opportunity.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/06/aol-instant-messenger-shut-down/

Fri Oct 6

For the west coast, a great new Swift conference.
http://www.swiftsummit.com/

Thu Oct 5

Two electric cars within 18 months, 20 cars within 6 years. GM is going Electric!
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/02/technology/gm-electric-cars/index.html

Wed Oct 4

Today starts Game Hopper Celebration in Orlando, the world's largest gathering of women technologists!
https://ghc.anitab.org

Tue Oct 3

The Library of Congress has always had an incredible collection, but new API & Online Space open it up more!
https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-129/

Mon Oct 2

Virtual Currency will replace Nation based Money? Ending Banking as we know it? I don’t buy this.
http://theantimedia.org/imf-head-foresees-end-banking-triumph-cryptocurrency/

Sun Oct 1

If this tech works, it would be a blessing around the world.  I do wonder how it effects battery life.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/28/technology/smartphone-mosquito-lg-k7i/index.html

Sat Sept 29

1st in a line of Amazon gadgets to help play Alexa multiplayer games. Single button interface perfect for Gameshows.
http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/echo-buttons-and-amazon-echo-will-turn-alexa-into-a-dungeon-master-w505885

Fri Sept 28, LTCNZ

Sometimes humor is so funny, it is painful. Especially when it is so true.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocwnns57cYQ

Thu Sept 27

I wish Apple had this good a lineup of voice-activated devices. Now Amazon has improved the Echo line.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/09/27/amazon-new-echo-speakers-4k-fire-tv/

Wed Sept 26

Sometimes it is the hidden features of a new release which are the ones you a fall in love with. Try some of these:
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/25/technology/gadgets/ios-11-features/index.html

Tue Sept 25

Sitting for long periods is deadly, while standing for only a few minutes each hour, makes a difference!
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/11/health/sitting-increases-risk-of-death-study/index.html

Mon Sept 24

You got to love a company that makes a blooper video of their Rocket crashes. They did get it right by the end!
http://www.popsci.com/watch-spacex-rockets-crash-and-burn-in-spectacular-blooper-reel

Sat Sep 23

I discovered this for myself today. Wow, what a difference.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-apple-finally-made-siri-sound-more-human

Sat Sep 22

A 1979 Prediction of what computers are good for, and where they will go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNT1L3jGjbA&feature=youtu.be

Fri Sept 21

A little dated, but here is how Crooks hacked into a Casino using a Fish Tank.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/07/21/how-a-fish-tank-helped-hack-a-casino/

Thu Sept 21

An unusual post, but it will be available nearby soon, so here is all you need to know about Nitro Cold Brew Coffee.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-cold-brew-coffee-nitrogen-bubbles-tastes-better-2015-8

We Sept 20

A Swift Conference for people who use Swift on things other then iOS/Mac.  Hosted by Amazon in Austin, TX.
https://www.swiftcloudwork.shop

Tue Sept 19

You will need a Time Machine to find one, but here is all you need to land a Space Shuttle. From Space.  Safely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb4prVsXkZU

Mon Sept 18,

I am a big fan of flagship Mario games; Super Mario Odyssy will be Nintendo latest. They are always the best games for the platform!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKWBv-djiKk

Sun Sept 17

Apple creating larger Apple Plaza locations, including converting DC’s Carnegie Library into an event space.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/07/27/apple-granted-permission-to-renovate-dcs-carnegie-library-with-63000-square-foot-store

Sat Sept 16

Apple’s 1st Emmy was not a technical one, but a creative one, for this touching 2012 commercial “Misunderstood”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_qOUyXCrEM

Fri Set 15

Apple won a technical Emmy for the integration of Siri & Apple TV. I bet you didn't know this was Apple’s 2nd Emmy.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/29/apple-wins-emmy-award/

Thu Sept 14

This is the best explanation I have seen of Apple's newly announced iPhone X.  Yes, I am probably going to get one.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/09/12/iphone-x/

Wed Sept 13

Capital One won the Tech Titans Corporate Innovation Award! Specifically for its car-buying app Auto Navigator.
https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2017/08/22/how-an-innovation-at-capital-one-turbo-charged-the.html

Tue Sept 12

I had one of the first LAN party at my place in Chicago in 1986, where we had 5 Mac playing MazeWar+.
https://www.polygon.com/features/2015/5/21/8627231/the-first-first-person-shooter

Mon Sep 11

There may be a more then a lot of bandwagoning here, but VR is a hot hiring topic.
https://thenextweb.com/insights/2017/08/02/virtual-reality-is-the-top-skill-for-freelancers-according-to-study/

Sun Sep 10

Silly, but clever hack for NYC Maker Faire: an electronic glove that counts each high-five you give another attendee.
http://makezine.com/2017/08/25/counting-high-fives-world-maker-faire/

Sat Sep 9

One of these days, I knew someone was going to have to make one of these things, a Remote Controlled Lawnmower.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/09/08/autonomous-robotic-mower-review-husqvarna/

Fri Sept 8

Square is moving into the traditional bank arena. I wonder if he will keep a tech focus.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jack-dorseys-square-seeks-to-start-bank-offer-loans-2017-09-06

The Sept 7

A great article from Facebook explaining their massive scale continuous delivery. No one is doing it better.
https://code.facebook.com/posts/270314900139291/rapid-release-at-massive-scale/

Wed Sept 6

Google unveils its ARCore platform for building augmented reality apps on Android. Looks a lot like Apple’s AR Kit.
https://developers.google.com/ar/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nffzkkdq7GM&t=2920s

Tue Sept 5

If you remember when this tool, was replaced with that tool, you are an old Apple Service Engineer.
http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/7d82a6ae-b6a5-4ebb-a95b-e0265c54e00c-original.jpeg
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154972235076172&set=a.10150971238716172.420536.601606171&type=3&theater
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DI-eUCdW4AIbCVm.jpg:large

Mon Sept 4

Apple finally gives a luke warm call for Net Neutrality. They should have done more, and sooner.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/31/technology/business/apple-net-neutrality/index.html

Sun Sept 3

Tim Cutler’s excellent site on the history of computer games, including reviews of past classics. Worth reading!
Check out his Hall of Fame.
http://www.filfre.net/sitemap/

Sat Sept 2

By using After Effect files, Lottie from AirBnB moves animation away from the programmers into the designers hands. I saw the SDK at the Android Summit, but it is cross platform (iOS, Android, Mac, etc).  I hope to write about it in the near future (yes, I am back to writing technical articles).
https://airbnb.design/introducing-lottie/

Fri Sept 1

It was a good idea, but as they say, there were issues.
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-08-10-what-happened-to-google-s-effort-to-scan-millions-of-university-library-books

Thu Aug 31

My company’s name is appearing everywhere.
http://dcist.com/2017/08/verizon_center_dropped_the_call.php

Wed Aug 30

It is not programming or tech, but we will be spending the week in Atlanta at one of the largest SciFi Cons around!
http://www.dragoncon.org

Tue Aug 29

My company’s name is appearing everywhere.
http://dcist.com/2017/08/verizon_center_dropped_the_call.php

Mon Aug 28

From my personal library, Pixar’s Renderman (1990) for the Mac. This was released to a very limited market before Toy Story came out.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIU4u4jW0AAgRNz.jpg

Sun Aug 27

You can't blame the manufacturers of a legitimate tech item when owners use it dangerously. This was a good decision.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/26/apple-responsible-for-texting-while-driving-case/

Sat Aug 26

Michael Cook gave a talk at Android Summit 2017 this week. His work with animated icons is fantastic!
https://cookicons.co

Fri Aug 25

It has been awhile, but I will be teaching Laser 102 Advanced Techniques class at NoVA Labs next month. Come on by!
https://www.meetup.com/NOVA-Makers/events/242650597/

Thu Aug 24

Here is an interesting article, about how the bias of the photos used to identify subjects using ML actually increased the sexual bias.
https://www.wired.com/story/machines-taught-by-photos-learn-a-sexist-view-of-women

Wed Aug 23

Justice Department wants everyone's name who VISITED a site about protesting Trump's inauguration.  Hell no!
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/17/opinions/justice-department-inauguration-protest-data-dreamhost-filipovic-opinion/index.html

Tue Aug 22

For higher price, Apple wants to show movies immediately after the films appeared in the theater. Would you pay more for this?
https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/18/apple-comcast-movie-rental-theaters-universal-warner-bros/

Mon Aug 21

My new VR glasses!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHxl9xNXYAIJj9x.jpg
http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/ee3fb0ab-9fc1-4fc6-8add-c681e7515512-original.jpeg

Anyone want to purchase an Apple 1 computer? The last one to go for sale went for a mere $1 million.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/21/working-apple-i-auction-charitybuzz/

Sun Aug 20

I need to decided what conferences to attend this fall. Swift by Northwest is high on my list.
https://swiftbynorthwest.com

Sat Aug 19

Apple Stellar Invaders, from my personal library. One of the rare official Apple-Labeled Game (yes, an unlicensed rip-off of Space Invaders).
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHm_UP8W0AAu_P9.jpg

Fri Aug 18

My Maker group decided to create one of these and show it at an upcoming Faire! Ideas on expanding it anyone?
http://projection-mapping.org/the-most-awesome-sandbox-ever/


Thu Aug 17

Yes, AI is an important future at Capital One.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalone/2017/08/07/a-conversation-on-ai-machine-learning/

Wed Aug 16

It is simply, law enforcement officials should require a warrant to obtain location data from cell phone.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/16/cellphone-location-data-u-s-supreme-court/

Tue Aug 15

Wow! Unity will be dropping their UnityScript, and will exclusively support C#. No plans for Swift either!
https://blogs.unity3d.com/2017/08/11/unityscripts-long-ride-off-into-the-sunset/

Mon Aug 14

One of the best break down of the Swift 4 changes and improvements.
http://www.appcoda.com/swift4-changes/

Sun Aug 13

I will be starting Udacity's VR Nanodegree program tomorrow. This should be fun!
https://www.udacity.com/course/vr-developer-nanodegree--nd017

Sat Aug 12

NovaLab (My local Maker group), along with myself, will be attempting to make this type of Tactile Display.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvtfD_rJ2hE

Fri Aug 11

In 1983, I was one of the first non-Mac employees at Apple to program the original Mac.  Here's my lamp from that era!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DG95LghUwAEIYaE.jpg

Thu Aug 10

People want this! Crowd funding raised $2 million for a credit card that holds other credit cards.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fuze-card-your-whole-wallet-in-one-card-money-technology#/

Wed Aug 9

An end of an era. It is safe to say there would have been no iPhone or iPad without the iPod first.
https://www.wired.com/story/goodbye-ipod-and-thanks-for-all-the-tunes/

Tue Aug 8

VR World needs more tools like this.
https://vr.google.com/blocks/

Mon Aug 7

An iconic use of Apple's new ARKit, playing the table game from the original Star Wars movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--LCq_kD9FI

Sun Aug 6

Very Interesting. - "BBC - Future - The ghostly radio station that no one claims to run"
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170801-the-ghostly-radio-station-that-no-one-claims-to-run?ocid=ww.social.link.facebook

Sat Aug 5

New $3000 Hololens 2 on display at the Microsoft store. Unlike the VIVE and other VR devices, this visor does not need an attached PC.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGhUGVTXgAAcxG3.jpg

Fri Aug 4

The auditorium a few minutes before my talk about programming Siri at iOS Summit.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGabnUsXsAII8I4.jpg

Welcome to Mage Steve's Developer Magic!

Greetings from Mage Steve!

If you have stumbled upon this page, I hope you have an interesting in Technology, the Internet, and Software Development with an eye to Apple products. My name is Steve Sheets, and I am a 40-year developer of Apple software. These pages will be my chance to put up daily posting and links regarding topics that I hope others find interesting.

As for my background, I have written professional software for the Apple ][, Apple ///, Lisa, Mac, iPhone, iPad Apple TV & Apple Watch. Don't worry, I also have written for Windows, Android & recently VR hardware.  Besides a long career as an independent developer, I have worked at Apple Computer, America Online, and Capital One.  It doesn't matter the size of the team, as long as it has excellent people to work with, and an exciting product.  I have written articles for computer journals, as well as taught classes about software programming, so I not only do I like to make things, I love to educate others.

Do expect to see something new every day!

My daily ramblings are also posted on Twitter (@magesteve), LinkedIn (steve-sheets-2354bb9) and Facebook (steve.sheets).

I will stop learning new things, the day I stop breathing.