James Thomson

Indie iOS / Mac developer from Glasgow, Scotland. Maker of the PCalc scientific calculator, and a cool dice app. Occasional writer, conference speaker, D&D player, and podcast pundit.

Public Key

npub1kcfw4tugzm5m7fh5pcr3qjpku4xehd9lmv80xpkr290lwtschfmqct6xux

NIP-05 Address

jamesthomson_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstvyh247ypd6dlym6qupcsfqmw2nvmkjlakrhnqmp4zhlh9cvt5asprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wdmksetjv5hxxmmdqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6ky8l65uu

Publishing to

relay.noswhere.com

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub1kcfw4tugzm5m7fh5pcr3qjpku4xehd9lmv80xpkr290lwtschfmqct6xux

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Last Notes

2024-09-09 18:38:12

Genuinely, most interesting thing in this whole keynote is the hearing aid support in AirPods Pro.
And this is how you know I am in my 50s.

2024-09-09 18:20:08

You will also need to be backed by larger cashes.

2024-09-09 18:09:49

Why is that person shoving ice lollies in her eyes?

2024-09-09 18:02:40

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@npub1sdu…w074 I do wonder if there's an API.

2024-09-09 17:59:57

Good luck, @npub1sdu…w074.

2024-09-09 17:52:11

Image Playgrounds still looking like The Worst.

2024-09-09 17:48:33

We seem to have reached the age where Apple starts giving us buttons and stops taking them away.

2024-09-09 17:36:09

There are many sounds that are concerning in daily life, like people.

2024-09-09 17:10:54

Oh great, people playing music on their watch on the subway. Yay.

2024-09-09 11:35:28

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@npub1sdu…w074 What about a little device with a camera that clips onto your clothing and projects information onto your hand?

2024-03-14 22:34:42

If you have a Vision Pro, and want to play with a (very) early version of the PCalc About screen on it, you can join this TestFlight:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/6l5z8Rmu
Right now, it's just the ability to move around the map from the iOS version to some preset locations and look about. I'm slowly learning how to do things in RealityKit. The bananas will come eventually.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/096/406/782/300/662/original/f7e49802dbf6ba34.mp4

2024-03-13 17:03:48

Achievement unlocked: Made myself feel motion sick while wearing a Vision Pro using my own code.

2023-12-07 14:39:27

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Hey, I’m finally a muse 🙂

2023-12-06 16:21:15

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@npub1psd…9sr7 I wish they would just reply “honestly, I have no idea whatsoever” rather than confidently present this nonsense as true. I genuinely think these systems will actively make society worse at a time where we don't need any help in doing that.

2023-12-06 15:49:05

Your regular reminder not to trust anything that a LLM tells you.
Google has updated Bard to a new “greatly improved” model, and it's still talking utter bullshit half the time when I ask it for facts about myself.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/534/259/703/988/387/original/bf17e9ffd4065598.jpeg

2023-11-11 14:06:48

Only the second time I’ve had it in my life, but tinnitus _sucks_. At least this time round technology is a lot better.
I have @npub19wj…8n03’s Dark Noise outputting just the right low frequency via my HomePod minis, so the room is bathed in some kind of weird anti-tinnitus force field.
No idea how it works, but it does and I’m very grateful.

2023-09-20 15:34:51

If you are still targeting macOS 11 on Apple Silicon with your apps, building with Xcode 15, and are seeing reports of a crash at startup, make sure to pass -Wl,-ld_classic (exactly that string) in the “Other Linker Flags" build setting, particularly if you are using C++.
That will force the use of the old linker, which doesn't have this issue with macOS 11. It's documented as a known issue in the Xcode release notes, but I know many developers who missed it, including myself!

2023-09-15 15:57:42

The new version of Dice by PCalc also features the Relay FM fundraiser for St Jude, which is a very worthy cause!
https://stjude.org/relay
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/069/984/020/847/429/original/529c77b9a6218f92.png

2023-09-15 15:27:57

Boosts appreciated on this Dice by PCalc post btw - I'd like the widgets to get widely seen just in case App Review decides to un-approve them again…
https://mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/111069751823240860

2023-09-15 14:58:34

Dice by PCalc 2.7 is out now with full support for iOS 17 and macOS 14, complete with fully interactive standalone dice rolling widgets!
iOS:
https://pcalc.com/store/dice
Mac:
https://pcalc.com/store/dicemac
It also comes with some adorable new baby polar bear dice. The bears definitely do not get dizzy when you roll them. They love it!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/069/751/557/496/240/original/7937cc5c61022c9c.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/069/751/144/821/005/original/db55c08d0268f878.png

2023-09-15 12:28:03

Finally the UK website came up, and I could order fine via that. The app just was completely messed up. I'm in the 27 Sep - 2 Oct window now though for all that delay…

2023-09-15 12:12:26

https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/069/098/298/776/079/original/c01224018a05fb59.png

2023-09-15 12:02:24

You would have thought the finishing touches would have been done days ago.

2023-09-12 22:13:51

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@npub1sy6…5dxr Several bugs I was assured would be fixed are not fixed in the RC. Sigh.

2023-09-12 22:12:22

And this is why we test things, rather than blindly submit when you get the final Xcode build.
I have _no idea_.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/054/470/441/323/511/original/16ee41707b51ecff.png

2023-08-31 19:59:54

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@npub1c35…9pmh Yeah…

2023-08-31 19:54:06

Embracer Group has started to close studios now that the money has run out after their big purchasing spree, including Volition today who made two of my all-time favourite games in Saints Row 3 and 4.
Sad day for the games industry and everybody who got “embraced”.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/985/979/016/600/934/original/e36e11cb1ed92c28.jpeg

2023-08-30 16:40:56

I would like to buy whoever wrote the new one-click upload dialog in Xcode 15 the beverage of their choice, as it has saved me so much time already.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/979/550/037/221/039/original/1ed1c5ba0763f501.png

2023-08-24 15:20:55

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@npub1u24…32pl It was “programmers’” originally, but let’s be honest, these days it’s more panda 🙂

2023-08-18 13:15:16

It will surprise nobody to learn that I backed this wonderful book of letters and notes from the archive of Douglas Adams, but it was a surprise to me to find out my wife had independently bought me another copy for our anniversary!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/910/800/184/252/715/original/eb6fd643004fcd83.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/910/800/335/819/600/original/7b0b39684672cbae.jpeg

2023-08-10 22:00:37

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@npub1sy6…5dxr Maybe next year they'll let me actually just run code inside the widget :)

2023-08-10 20:50:52

I’ve been playing around with a prototype calculator widget for PCalc on iOS 17, and I don’t think - currently - it’s feasible.
It’s a bit sluggish because of the round trip through the AppIntent and re-rendering the widget, for one. But also, if you type too fast, and tap while it’s rendering, it just randomly opens the app.
I’m not sure if that’s a widget bug, or if there’s a way to turn off the opening behaviour, but right now I don’t think I can ship this.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/867/291/479/488/966/original/9c1887c755f90c3a.mp4

2023-08-02 17:26:14

Turns out, there’s an account on Instagram that’s cloned mine, is impersonating me, and sending DMs to my followers. They’ve also blocked me, so I can’t report them.
It’s https://instagram.com/stressspanda (note the three S’s in the middle of the name)
Mine is https://instagram.com/stresspanda
If you’re following me on Instagram, could you please report it, and watch out for scam DMs from the bad one.
Must say the timing was amazing for today 🤬

2023-07-03 16:00:20

Adult life mostly consists of exclaiming “christ, that happened ten years ago!” about a variety of different events until you die.