Carl Sziebert » Mac OS X

Mac OSX + Subversion = Versions

Carl Sziebert — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:58:46 +0000

This morning I received a shocking email… Pico and Sofa have finally released the beta of Versions, a brand-spanking-new Subversion client for the Mac. Having been stuck with svnX for so long, Versions is a welcome addition to my development tool chest. There are a few quirks when using the app. For example, when right-clicking on the repository bookmark, I would have expected it to have entries for adding working copy bookmarks. That is not the case, you’ll find that menu item only on the “+” button at the bottom of the interface. Regardless, if you work on a Mac and use Subversion for source control, give Versions a look.

13949712720901ForOSX

Carl Sziebert — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:46:06 +0000

You’ve read my rant about Java 6 being missing from the recent Leopard release, now you can help make a poor, not-so-humble geek’s wish come true. All you need to do is post a short entry on your blog with a reference to the string ‘13949712720901ForOSX‘. Doing so, means that you are casting your vote to tell Apple to fix it’s cranio-rectal inversion. Plus, you’ll be helping me and the 5 (there’s many, many more out there I am sure) other developers that actually write Java on a Mac out a ton. But why ‘13949712720901ForOSX‘ you ask? The actual meaning of the string is a bit entertaining. Translated from decimal notation to hex, the numeric portion is ‘0xCAFEBABE405'. Yup, you read that correctly. Who says ~~Apple~~ Sun engineers don’t have a sense of humor? What’s more entertaining is that 405 is the HTTP response code for ‘Method not found.’ You can read more about the effort to bring Java 6 to a Mac near you and the meaning behind the magical string at the Sun Babelfish blog.

WTF: Apple ships Leopard without Java 6

Carl Sziebert — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:59:17 +0000

Having been a Java developer for the better part of a decade and an Apple fanboy for longer than that, I am left wondering what the hell they were thinking when they decided to not add Java 6 to Leopard. Keeping in mind, of course, that Apple has been notoriously bad about updating Java for OS X, the release of Leopard took just over 2 years to complete. They couldn’t find the time to get it done? James Gosling is quoted for saying that Mac OS X is his preferred platform, but that he laments Apple’s decision to ‘roll their own’ JDK. I, like many other developers, believe that the time has come for Sun to regain control and promote Java on the Mac to a first class citizen by providing a JDK along side Windows, Linux and Solaris. It has been well over a year since Apple posted the preview release of JDK6. Then in preparation for the launch of Leopard, the download was removed from the ADC site leading many of us to believe that our wish had come true. Sadly, this is not the case and is the number one reason why I won’t be upgrading anytime soon. Java is my bread and butter, it is how I keep my bills paid. So until Apple gets their shit together, I’m sticking with Tiger and the preview release of Java 6.