Vincent Ritter

Thoughts

My thoughts, micro blog style. Usually short showing off ideas, screenshots and other things that might be on my mind on the day.

Does anyone have any recommendations on getting into game development? Specific to iOS and Mac ecosystem. Is Unity the go to place? I know C# so that’s ok with me. Or should I concentrate on native dev (via Xcode)?

I’ve been doing a bit of product research for my next project and it turns out that not many show off the user interface on any marketing page. You have to create an account and see what awaits... urghhh.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro looks good on paper. Shame about their website once again. Funny to see that the keyboard is a “feature”, but I’ll give them that. Missing my old 17-inch now which no longer works. I loved that screen.

Apple is making bad calls lately... which also includes showing a trailer of a total different show and confusing you when you want to watch one of the Apple TV+ series. Such a massive shame. For All Mankind = See trailer = wtf??? Come on!!!

After all day of going back to previous working builds of Gluon… I finally found the issue. However, I don’t understand why it happened… there must have been some weird character or some spacing issue in the code that I, and the code editor, didn’t see.

So, that’s two weeks of pondering, two evenings this week and 7 hours today to fix the issue. Sometimes development is weird and comes down to probably just one little character. The worst part was that the changes worked initially, but then didn’t the next day. Maybe something was cached.

Happy to report that it’s working on both platforms now nicely. I pushed out an update to the iOS version that includes under the hood changes. Android can now progress, finally, and I’m happy that I managed to update the core project nicely.

I’m planning to launch Android from scratch, which means a new link and also a new store version. The reason for that is simple… I made a typo in version numbers but I can’t un-see it and I can’t correct it either, because Google Play Store will complain.

For a proof of concept I started up a new iOS SwiftUI project on Xcode last night. The simulator/preview worked once and then it never worked again. So frustrating. Scrap that idea then.

It’s getting close to December, which means I will attempt another one of my code challenges. I’m totally aware that I have many things going on already, but that’s how I work best. The code challenge will have to do with servers. More soon.

Sometimes I have to use Google Meet for clients. I’m happy this now works natively in Safari. Which means I no longer have to download Firefox each time and then delete it after the meeting. And yes, I used to do exactly that until today!

Ooo, interesting. Apple rejects apps being uploaded with Xcode 11.2 builds… which came out last week. You need to grab 11.2.1 from the dev portal because, naturally, the App Store version hasn’t been updated.

I’m not sure if it’s iOS 13, but since around summer time my phone’s internet connection is super flaky. Two bars most of the time and hardly, seemingly, any internet connection. It’s that or the cell towers here are swamped.

I wish Apple still made their AirPorts or integrated wireless into a HomePod or some other device. Bloody miss them. Tight integration with the OS and also easy to set up.

I wanted to extend my current setup to cover the other end of the flat but didn’t want to spend €100 for a “mesh” extender for it. Found an old Time Capsule and had an Airport Express… so I created a new network, moved the Airport Express to a good spot to extend it. Took me less than 5 mins to do it all. It works. Ace.

Apple Mail for macOS can’t count in Catalina:

NOPE.

WRONG again!

Purple is correct now, now that I moved the “2” messages I actually have. Annoying that 2 messages = 6.

… and nope. No threads either.

Anyone know how to reset that easily?

Many days, weeks and months have passed lately where I want to rewrite my whole website and make my own Rails powered CMS. I think about it every single day at the moment.

Reading and getting lost in thoughts, the world around disappearing. Listening to my New Music Mix on Apple Music. Suddenly, a voice brought me back to the here and now. I Am Loving Awareness playing through my headphones. Surreal. I am back.

Very late night client changes. “Urgent”. Thankfully I’m feeling charitable. Tempted to send my container mockup and saying “here you go, done!”.

Haven’t posted in a while. Not even sure why I’m writing this. Maybe to get into the flow again. Was completing a client project, which I’d love to show one day. Many ideas in my head. Many plans. I’m doing well and I’m happy. Reading another book.

The frustrating part of learning more about Apple Arcade games is that the App Store listing preview text (shown without tapping the “more” button) always starts the same.

“Play [Some Game] with Apple Arcade, a game subscription service...” blah blah

My current home screen. Great quote by Bruce Lee:

One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.

I’ve been using Outlook on iOS the past few days. I really like that A: it works and B: it has the concept of a “focused” inbox. So I’ll only get notified when someone emails me directly. Other mail like bills etc don’t seek attention. Nice!

Just sketching out some ideas for a really simple web template/layout for my apps like Gluon or Status. Ideally something I could re-use easily without much hassle. Let’s see. Notebook and pen at the ready!

Not a very productive week for me so far. However, not every day or week is perfect. I’m sure in a few days I’ll be back in the swing of things. Perhaps my mind needs some time to think… let’s see what it comes up with.

Just been using Windows for a bit, installing a few apps and services. One thing that strikes me… Apple’s own apps are really bad on it. It’s like they make no effort. Compare that to Microsoft products on the Mac… they really do their best. Not perfect, but still really great.

A good example would be OneDrive. It integrates really well into Windows and also, surprisingly, into macOS too. I wish Apple took a few pages from “the other companies”. And I also think they should take that to their own platforms too.

I know it’s not in Apple’s interest, I totally get it, but the quality of apps you get seems to be, lately, much nicer from third parties. Even if it’s on a third party platform.

I was dreaming, the past few nights, that I was converting over to use Microsoft Windows and the Surface Pro line as my main devices… Interesting thoughts for sure.

I’m working on a nice client project that also includes sound clips of certain animals. But when I download them,  Music stops playing and adds the file to my library and plays it… 😭

The Books app in iOS13 has a new feature that gives you reading goals and other gamification. If you like reading on your devices but don’t want to gamify it, like I do, you can turn it off in the Settings app (-> Books -> Reading Goals).

I’m thinking of adding a “Save this planet” section to my apps (in settings or so). It could include links on great charities that one can donate to and perhaps spread more awareness about that whole topic.

A new quirk of mine… once I finish my coding sessions… I close all active windows and collapse the folders. So when I come back, I only see this:

Really great to focus on what you want to work on in that moment. A bit of zen to chaos.

With the 1Hz display on the Apple Watch, I’m wondering what a 1Hz iPad/e-reader would look like. I hope that they explore that space. That would be quite exciting!

I think I’ll slowly move away from small companies that are funded mainly by venture capital. When I come across an app or service, that you pay for, you know that the indie developer, without funding, put all his heart and energy into the product.

I’d rather support them, than the “cash sheet to pay back investors”. Knowing truly that my money goes to the developer and his family. Knowing that when they get paid they are truly relieved and, I hope, happy.

The world is at a strange spot and I wish non funded companies would dominate and be the norm.

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