January 19, 2020

0AD – Open Source Age of Empires – Wait, what?

The original Age of Empires, from Ensemble Studios and published through Microsoft, is one of my favorite games. In fact, I feel AoE, is one of the best games written. Make no mistake, AoE is still available on Steam in the AoE HD Edition. While I have mixed feelings about how Microsoft has handled this title and their treatment of the original devs, it’s a great game and can be had for cheap during a Steam sale. However, it’s not available for Mac or Linux. Or is it? After making a comment about AoE, I was told there was 0AD, an open source project to bring an AoE style game back to life. I immediately jumped on board, downloaded a copy, and 0AD absolutely looks and plays like an AoE themed game. If you didn’t know better, you would say the band got back together and released this as the next game in the series. The buildings, play style, tech […]

January 18, 2020

Encrypt Plain Text with Paranoia Text Encryption

I run into this situation fairly regularly. I have a password, server name, or database credentials I need to share to a different machine, but obviously don’t want to send it in plain text. Isn’t there a simple way to encrypt just that data and send it through Slack, iMessage or Mini Note? Many people would say that’s what password managers are for. And they’re right. But, what if I don’t want to buy yet another copy of said tool, or I’m sending this to a Windows machine, or an iPad? There is a more direct and simple answer, Paranoia Text Encryption. This is a free tool for Mac, Linux, Windows, iOS, Android, and as a web page, that encrypts small fragments of text so you can send it over a less than secure channel. This is exactly the type of tool I have been looking for. Most encryption tools want to encrypt a file, or the volume. I want […]

January 17, 2020

Switching from SQLPro Studio to Valentina Studio

I am in no way an SQL guru. My Select statements are cringeworthy to those who know what they're doing. To that end, I went searching for a tool to help diagram a database so I could better understand the data. What I walked away with, and what has become my SQL editor of choice, is Valentina Studio. Turns out diagramming is one small part of what Valentina Studio can do. It's a full featured SQL IDE loaded with features that can all be used for free. It connects to MS SQL, Postgres and MySql. It has a wonderful UI presentation that makes it easy to see the results of your query. It features tabs, syntax formatting, easy navigation and a host of information about the query and the database itself. Previously, I had been using SQLPro Studio, which was a decent IDE I purchased from Bundlehunt. It worked, it got the job done, and I have no regrets. However, […]

January 14, 2020

Building a Development Environment

I've already discussed the machine I use for development, a Mac Pro with a couple of cores and a dash fo ram. But what about the actual development environment? Not the tools, but the environment you create to keep yourself focused and motivated? The reason I chose a Mac Pro is so I can have multiple monitors. In reality, I have 4 on my work machine, and 3 on my home machine. They are arranged so that I can get to my clipboard, Slack, notes, spreadsheets and whatever else without having to open and close windows all the time. It is painful experience trying to copy and paste dozens of pieces of information from one app to the other when you have to switch back and forth. Another huge benefit, especially when working in "open space" offices is noise cancelling headphones. I honestly can't stand the ring of someone's phone, the knock of a Slack message or the ding of […]

January 12, 2020

Productivity Tools for 2020

As we get 2020 underway, I wanted to list a few of the tools I've been using that make a huge difference in my productivity. I use these on a daily basis and they have proven their worth on multiple occasions. This isn't a complete list, but just about everyone can benefit from these tools. They are extremely powerful in what they do, yet easy to learn and understand. Productivity Tools for 2020 2Do – My choice for task management when testing, for creating checklists, for creating ToDo lists and keeping track of bills and appointments. Alfred – An automation and workflow tools I have recently added that has already saved huge amounts of time. Navigate Finder using the keyboard, set up custom web searches, find files, set up snippets, make a clipboard manager and build workflows. I've made several of my own custom searches and built some very nice workflows. CodeRunner – My choice for writing and testing small […]

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