E-Scribe News : a programmer’s blog

About Me

PBX My name is Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using as much open source software as possible. From September to June I teach web design and other important non-photographic professional skills to photographers. In the '90s I wrote technology commentary and reviews for magazines, newspapers, and web publications, including Wired, Salon.com, FamilyPC, the late lamented Web Review, and the Chicago Tribune. Feel free to email me.

Colophon

This runs on Django, served by Apache and mod_python. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive. The markup engine is Markdown.

The Book

Book cover I'm co-author of "Python Web Development with Django", an excellent guide to my favorite web framework. Published by Addison-Wesley in October 2008, it is available from Amazon and your favorite technical bookstore as well. Click on the book title above to learn more.

Pile o'Tags

ajax apple blogs browsers business design django ebay fp fun google hardware haskell intellectual property iphone javascript linux media mobile open source os x oscon oscon2007 palm php programming python rails rants reading risks ruby site spam textmate the well tips tools unix vcs web development web frameworks webservers wmassdevs

Stuff I Use

Akismet, del.icio.us, Django, dpaste.com, Emacs, FreeBSD, Freenode, jQuery, LaunchBar, MacPorts, Markdown, Mercurial, OS X, Postfix, Python, SQLite, Subversion, TextMate, Trac, Ubuntu Linux, wmii

Spam Report

At least 49707 pieces of comment spam killed since January 12th, mostly via Akismet.

iPod touch: holding steady

It will surprise few that I have not yet given Apple $10 for the privilege of upgrading my iPod touch ("iPt") firmware from 1.1.5 to 2.x.

Update: A month after posting this, I took the plunge. Version 2.2 came with some nice little improvements. I still miss my shell, but at least I have an SSH app!

At first, I resisted out of attachment to the open source software I had installed via Cydia -- with no supported "upgrade" process per se, I would have had to reinstall all my packages manually. Then I saw that my core uses of the iPt (email, web browsing, audio, calendar, contacts) all used the Apple software, so I leaned toward the upgrade.

I tried to find out what I would actually be getting, besides the obvious access to the App Store. (I ruled out the App Store as a factor because I still wanted to go open source for third-party additions when the time came.) So I asked many people, online and in person, what benefits the upgrade offered besides the App Store. This was less than satisfying.

On average the answers boiled down to 1) "The App Store is awesome!", 2) "More stable!", and 3) "Fewer dropped calls!" Given that I wasn't asking about the App Store, have had no stability problems, and don't have an iPhone, this left me uninspired, and I decided to wait.

What am I waiting for? Not sure. Maybe a future 2.x version that delivers something that I want. Or Apple support for Cydia or similar. While I'm dreaming, I suppose I could wish for it to be free too.

Friday, October 17th, 2008
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Some related posts: The iPhone keyboard doesn't suck • Latest iPhone SDK bug reports • iPod touch: one week down, one week to go • A farewell to Palms (hello, iPod touch) • iPhone hacking • iPhone, youPhone, weallPhone • What is the iPhone running, really? • Best feature of the new MacBook Pro • Wozniak pro-open-source comments • Mining Monday: the hardware collection

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