Category Archives: Programming

A New Tool To Get Work Done

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I have been struggling for a bit with my computer. I have had it for over 6 years, and while it still works, there is less and less that it can do. The newest version of the operating system isn’t supported on it and because of that development tools were becoming less stable.

I have been looking at new computers for many months, now. The computer I was replacing is a 27″ iMac. It’s a huge screen on a fully desktop computer. But, I wanted to switch toward something more portable. I started to look at the MacBook Air. I liked the idea of the computer. They were small – only a 13.3″ display and were limited in upgrades, but the ability to be portable was a plus. It would allow me to move around and work in places that would have fewer distractions.

Well, then Apple released a new set of MacBook Pro laptops. They had many of the features that were missing from the Air – more upgrade options, larger screens, and more external ports. They made a lot more sense – but the price was quite a bit higher. I priced out several and then put the idea aside. I couldn’t really rationalize spending that amount of money. Then Black Friday sales showed up. There were several MacBooks listed at various places – some of them local and available that day. I spent the day debating it and eventually decided the factors that really mattered. I needed a computer that I could work on anywhere I needed to. It had to be portable and be able to run the software that I used – mainly Xcode. It ideally had to have enough hard drive space in order to install what I needed and work comfortably. What I found was a decent compromise. The cost wasn’t as high has it could have been. The screen was smallish. The drive was a bit smaller that I would have liked, but the form factor was decent and I could work around the flaws without too many issues.

So, I ended up taking home a brand new MacBook Air M1 with a 512GB SSD drive and 8GB of RAM. I would have liked a larger drive, but I can get by with this. It will also keep me from hoarding everything on the face of the planet. I have to force myself to watch what I put on here and remove things as I don’t need them. So far, I’m doing just fine.

Heck, I’m sitting with the computer on my lap on the couch right now writing this. It really has opened up new things for me. The keyboard is comfortable and has a nice form factor. The trackpad takes some getting used to, but it’s working pretty well. The screen – though small – does just fine. If I need a larger one, external displays are an option. So far, I’m really liking it. The computer has no fan, so it is extremely quiet. I don’t do a ton of video, or photo processing so the RAM limits haven’t really caused an issue.

Overall, I’m happy with the choice. I figure if I was going to have an issue, it would have happened by now. So, yeah. It’s a nice little laptop.

A Big Step For An Old App

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I finally created a page for my new Time Clock Helper – Advanced App.

I am going to start working on screenshots today and hopefully get it submitted by the end of the day for review by Apple. If everything goes right it should be in the app store by tomorrow. It’s been a long road to get here, and it feels good to finally get the app out into the world and see what people think of it.

The app was created from scratch using Swift and SwiftUI. I learned a ton to get it to this point and I’m happy for the experience.

The app has a clean interface, but still allows for user flexibility. But, for the the most important aspect is that none of that came at the expense of usability. I kept the interface simple, but still feature rich.

Time Clock Helper – Advanced

Huh… So Much For Once A Week

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I thought I’d follow up a bit with what I’ve been up to over the last few weeks. I have been hard at work on my newest version of my Time Clock Helper app. It is almost ready for release, I’m working on some help screens right now, but other than that it all works. It does several things that the original app didn’t do, so that is handy. It also gives the user more control over what they will see on the screen and how they interact with it.

It has been slow going since I’ve been working on learning SwiftUI at the same time. I like it for the most part, but some parts of SwiftUI are a bit unclear, or unstable. I have learned a lot, though. It makes it nice going between different devices and letting Swift take care of making sure everything is laid out in a decent manner. It sure beats the hours I used to have to spend getting constraints just right for a storyboard. Changes can now take seconds to implement that used to take minutes or hours before.

So, yeah. SwiftUI has been worth the effort to learn and it promises to get easier and more powerful in the future.