iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Deane

@samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy

22 followers 1 following 381 posts

A microscopic cog in your catastrophic plan. Indie app/game developer (macOS/iOS/Swift/Godot) at Elegant Chaos. As an experiment I’m mostly posting technical […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ mastodon.org.uk/@samdeane, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

Posts Replies Media

Reposted by Sam Deane

Jeff Moss @thedarktangent.defcon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

With all the new G's (New GTLDs that ICANN has approved) coming up like .pdf now is a great time to disable search from your browser bar so you don't accidentally end up at a malicious site. For FireFox or Tor Browser do: - about:config - set browser.fixup.alternate.enabled false - set keyword […]

Original post on defcon.social

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 21h

More food for thought. seangoedecke.com/softwares-centaur-…

seangoedecke.com

Software's centaur age may last decades

We are currently living in the age of centaurs (2022-20??). Right now, human engineers paired with AI coding systems are more effective than either by…

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

Cartoon from the latest Private Eye, with a different perspective on the whole thing…

child: “What’s AI daddy”
parent: “it’s god’s way of making more plumbers”

Reposted by Sam Deane

daniel:// stenberg:// @bagder.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

"The people holding up the internet" A good-looking but somewhat depressing exposé about the people holding up current digital infrastructure as a hobby. sheets.works/data-viz/holding-up-th…

The people holding up the internet

Four billion phones ask one text file what time it is. One lecturer keeps it in his spare time. We counted the rest.

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

I’ve been in roles where pretty much all I did most days was review other people’s code. It wasn’t always what I wanted to be doing, but we were trying to establish a review culture and a coherent architecture - and not just a bunch of loose cannons working away in their own corners - so I took […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Websites that don’t strip whitespace from around their email fields. Sheesh. What can you do?

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

@chama.pro so of our sample of two people, the clear conclusion is that neither of us can decide 😂. This is progress, as I now know I’m not alone in my prevarication. Anyone else out there who is equally undecided…?

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

(* my imaginary editor has just pointed out that nobody pays me for my software either, but that at least is a problem I’m trying to solve… slowly… when I’m not distracted… 🙃)

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

Also: I value the associated agonising over each word, and the things my brain is forced to do to express myself, so wouldn’t use an agent for it. I can really see the temptation though. I can imagine a world where I had a conversation with an agent about what I was trying to write - like I […]

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

I like writing blog posts, but as an indie (hence my own boss), the tension between Getting Shit Done™, and Writing About The Shit I’m Supposed To Be Getting Done / Did Get Done™ is immense. I have a near-infinite ability to get distracted, and consequently a crushing guilt complex about being […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

@chama.pro oh yeah, I know how each alternative works - been there, done that, but thanks for checking. As you say, the generated symbols are internal whether you want it like that or not 🤦‍♂️. You can however put a string literal localisation key in the package and a translation in the app […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

I should probably write a blog post about this, but… You have UI code in a package. It embeds semantic string keys, and expects a catalog even for the default language to supply the real string. Where do you prefer to put the catalog? In the package, you can use a swift-generated symbol […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. I really like that swift-format is built in to SwiftPM, so that I don’t have to depend on another tool, but… … swift-format seems really… flawed? Especially the linting? Are there any plans to make it better?

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

I was reminded of the existence of the Apple Pippin today. 🤯

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Much to my non-surprise, 27.0.1 did not fix my Razer Kiyo Pro camera 🙁. Razer tech support were less than helpful - the product is discontinued now and in any case, the number of fucks they give about macOS support for anything is vanishingly small. Sigh.

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Is it me, or is Onelink viral in a scam-adjacent sort of way? The service is presumably legit (?), but I feel like I’m being auto-signed up to it without my consent, and having to actively fight to stay off it.

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

This means what exactly, Xcode?

Confusing “Developer Documentation” information panel which says “Unknown” with a red cross next to it.

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

The year, 2030: The 135th generation of AGIs - now far surpassing the intelligence of not only humans, but also the lizard people who secretly rule the earth, the dolphins who permit it, the mice who designed the whole show, and the pan-dimensional beings masquerading as cats who would […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

Did I ever mention how much I hate the ITV/STV player?

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

Wouldn't it be nice if Xcode could use swiftly to manage its Swift toolchains. With the unification of build systems, it feels like we're slowly creeping towards this sort of future. Maybe?

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

I mean, don’t get me wrong, we should definitely regulate the fuck out of this stuff. I just foresee a situation where the small people are in danger of being sued by a mega corporation because their agent did something bad to it, and their only recourse is to sue the mega corporation who sold […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

The suggestion is that ai companies be held accountable for the actions of their agents. It would certainly be a start. Like any vendor of a dangerous tool, the ai companies will then make the user sign some sort of disclaimer saying “what I do with this tool is my responsibility, not yours” […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

@bagder luckily that sort of thing would never happen today… oh… wait…

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

I’ve mostly used Codex on the $20 plan. Recently I often hit my 5h limit an hour or two ahead of schedule. My free(ish?) Copilot stuff just blows through rapidly now that they’ve changed the billing, so that sucks. I figured signing up for the $20 Claude too would get me more for less than […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

It's not the end of the world, and as developers we can understand how it happened, but the whole Xcode 27.1 > Xcode 27.2 thing is not the greatest look. Sort of says “we’ll do any daft thing if marketing/legal ask us to”. Which of course is the truth, but it's annoying having to be reminded of […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

Pet peeves no 3428: Streaming service apps that ask me who is watching… ON MY OWN DEVICE, THAT I NEVER SHARE WITH ANYONE! EVER! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

Is there a setting that tells the login screen to use 24-hour time. Everywhere else on the mac is set to do it, but I’ve just noticed that on golden gate at least, it’s refusing!

Photo of login screen showing 4.42 in the afternoon instead of 16.42

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

reader: restarting the computer did not fix the issue

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

Grrr

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

I may have adjusted my agents.md file to make it sound a bit more... like me…? 🤔

Text from the agent:

"Quite right—I inverted your meaning. If that guard succeeds, the button exists and the manager has configured it. My “created too early” diagnosis was bollocks.”

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

Hmm…. Golden Gate on the mac seems to have completely broken the Razer Kiyo Pro camera support 😭 It was always a bit flaky, but now FaceTime knows that the device exists, but is showing no video from it.

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

Finally made it back to Stornoway after #iOSDevUK - yay! Luggage still in Glasgow - boo! 1-0 to the Glasgow baggage handlers, it would seem.

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Reposted by Sam Deane

laura lemay @lemay.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

This is Just to Say (by Cato, a tabby cat): I have stolen the plums that were on the counter and which you probably would have preferred I did not I'm not sorry they were so rolly so fun I put them under the couch #Caturday #CaturdayEveryday #Cags #CatsOfMastodon

A container of small purple plums on the counter. Some of them have tooth marks.

Cato, a tabby cat, looking innocent. (He is not)

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026

Well #iOSDevUK was a blast - reconnected with many old friends and made some new ones. Thanks to all who made it happen!

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 06/09/2026

Arrived in Aberystwyth for #iOSDevUK. I think I was last here some time around 98-99? The hill up to the uni is still a bastard. My legs are older now too…

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/09/2026

@Migueldeicaza ooh look @schmerg

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

I’m not saying that Stornoway to Aberystwyth is a long way, but I’ve already set off for iOSDevUK 🤣.

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

@stroughtonsmith it is also mad that you can't debug a macOS app on the “simulator”. They have the virtualisation framework. It ought not to be that hard to have Xcode manage virtual macs for you which you can launch into & debug from the IDE.

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Reposted by Sam Deane

Low Quality Facts @lowqualityfacts.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/08/2026

I know that Elon Musk gets a lot of hate on here, but hear me out. I think we could hate him more. We have the capacity, we all just need to put in a little more effort.

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

In today's episode of WTF?, the normally reliable @zeninternet seem to have sent a loan router to me somewhere in Dartford (South East England). As I live on an island in the North West of Scotland, this is somewhat non-optimal 😬 Slightly frustrating... especially since it's only being sent so […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/08/2026

@finestructure I just did the same thing. Maybe I found a different person - maybe not. Their site still has a Twitter link in the footer. I unfollowed. I get that not every feels the same way, but for me, sticking with that link is a political statement (or a statement of indifference to the […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 22/08/2026

Anyone have any colour printer recommendations for my mum, who is an artist and does a lot of photographic printing? She has a reasonably modern MacBook Air, but not a lot of space. I keep pushing her towards a laser as she’s had a succession of bad ink jets, but they tend to be too bulky.

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

@Migueldeicaza this is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that will make America great again… 🤦‍♂️

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

@finestructure I assume that there are already programs that adjust the word choices to obscure signatures? Presumably we have discernible signatures ourselves. Given a large enough corpus of our output, we're likely to make the same word choices on average? What we actually need/want is to […]

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

Kickstart Exchange is a nice idea. Unfortunately I'm allergic to all advertising, and promised myself that I'd never work on an app that showed adverts of any kind - even for my pals. I know we have to have some way of finding about cool new stuff - I just think it should be an active act, not […]

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Original post on mastodon.org.uk

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Reposted by Sam Deane

Vee @veroniqueb99.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026

Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 14/08/2026

Why just until Xcode restarts? Infuriating…

Dialog saying:

Allow “Codex” to access Xcode?

The agent wants to use Xcode’s tools to perform actions like building, testing, or modifying code.

Path: /Applications/ChatGPT.app/Contents/Resources/codex
PID: 80168
Signed by: OpenAI

[x] Don’t ask again for this agent binary until Xcode restarts

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026

An unintended consequence of the coming automation revolution may be to remove a major reason for offshoring. You don’t save wages when you’re not paying people in the first place! Moving lots of things closer to home makes sense again, given the geopolitical climate, supply chain issues […]

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026

I was recommended Chad Fowler's “The Pheonix Architecture”. I've not got far, but it's already resonating: “This transition isn't just technical. It's deeply psychological, and that psychology shapes architecture. Many developers identify as builders and craftspeople. We take pride in elegance […]

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Sam Deane @samdeane.mastodon.org.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026

Turtles all the way down? simonwillison.net/2026/Jul/16/firef…

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