TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Creation

Volume Number: 25 (2009)
Issue Number: 02
Column Tag: Editorial

Creation

Go make something - it'll make you a better tech, no matter your specialty

by Edward Marczak

Introduction

What is MacTech Magazine? There are certainly deeper questions in the universe, but this one is certainly pertinent to me and the readers of this magazine (you!). MacTech is certainly unique in that it straddles a fair range of disciplines; from interested techie, to system administrator to developer: we don't discriminate. Why is this question so pressing? Perhaps it is now more than ever.

Today, MacTech online and in print is read by 150,000 readers in 175 countries. Unfortunately, we rarely hear from the bulk of you. When we do, though, it's often about wanting a certain topic covered, or, to tell us that the content is starting to lean in a direction that feels skewed to "not me." Let's overcome that.

In the beginning...

A little background: I'm currently 38 years of age. So, I'm not the oldest technologist around, but in the computer field, I'm certainly aged. I'm fine with that, as I have experience and a perspective that people just getting into the field often do not. I also consider myself fortunate for being in the right place at the right time. I got to ride a very unique wave in watching computers develop. Yes, I've used punch cards and TTY based machines, modems with acoustic couplers and 300-baud "direct" modems. I've dialed into BBSes, surfed BitNet, telnetted into MUDs, retrieved files via gopher and shoved packets over protocols other than TCP/IP and mediums that were not twisted pair Ethernet. What good memories.

Attending university, I didn't really have much choice in a program to take, as computers were still relatively new and being fleshed out. If you were interested in computers, you took Computer Science, rife with math, assembly, Pascal and C. C++, Python, Ruby and Java either didn't exist or simply were not taught at the time, and System Administration was not a formalized discipline.

Here's where these stories come together: in my first job(s) out of school, IT (called "MIS," or, Management Information Systems, at the time), was still evolving. No matter your title, you were pretty much a techie. You wore many hats, from system and database administration to hardware guru to developer. I'll admit that, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the scope of all those functions was certainly much smaller and more knowable. However, thanks to the evolution of Unix, System Administrators knew how to code; In C, typically. In the late 1990s, I worked with a gentleman that was the system administrator for a lab of SGI IRIX workstations used for graphics production. He also wrote custom shaders and effects for the custom 3D software they were using. Show of hands: how many of us do that today? OK, perhaps we don't need to go quite that far.

After reading over that, however, you should ask yourself what practical ways there are to increase your value. If you're a developer, learn a new API, better understand the low-level hardware that your code runs on or, better yet, learn how to package your final product in a way that makes it easy for end users and system administrators to install. If you're a system administrator, setting up a server, adding users and setting permissions are all fine activities. But when you have 100 (or more) users, have you thought about automating this process? What is your answer to "can we drop file X in each user's home directory?" If it's "really? That will take so much time!" you can be doing better.

And really, that is why MacTech is here. We like talking about all of these issues. We enjoy the practical and the esoteric (which, when it comes to OS X, admittedly are sometimes the same). Sys Admins: you're better when you can script (in any language). You're better when you understand the file system structure, and you're better when you understand a problem due to a log entry you found that makes sense because you've been studying Cocoa. Developers: you're better when you understand how all of the parts outside of your application interact with the systems of end users (can you say, "FileVault" and "network home directories?"). You're better when you sit with the person responsible for installing your software on hundreds of machines and then watching it run.

MacTech is here to make you better. If you are interested in a particular topic, but haven't seen it, let us know! But very often, a solution comes from what we now consider to be a separate discipline. To check my beliefs, I started this very conversation with some of the top developers and system administrators today.

Nigel Kersten, Mac Operations Tech lead at Google summed up this philosophy more succinctly by saying, "sysadmins should learn more from software engineering principles. No script is too small to benefit from functional/unit tests, peer review, version control, release cycles and bug reporting systems. This all holds true for pretty much everything sysadmins do." So, when MacTech publishes an article on version control systems (git, subversion, and so on), it's not just for developers. Really!

Reinforcing this point was Dave Schroeder, Senior Systems Engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "There's a lot of crossover between many tools and techniques that have value in both developer and sys admin circles. Apple has taken this same approach with WWDC, combining developer and sys admin content into one conference. Some argue these should fundamentally be separated - but that can be costly, especially for a platform that is still in its relative infancy in the enterprise realm. There's more benefit at present in keeping such content together because of the overlap that often exists: a lot of highly technical topics on the Mac OS X platform have common roots."

When asking Marcus Zarra, Owner of Zarra Studios and blogger for Cocoa is my Girlfriend, he stated, "[f]rom my point of view, Mac Tech needs to cover the entire gambit of the Macintosh now. It is getting bigger and I am starting to see it in companies more often. Getting into companies means that we need sys admin content to help teach the new sys admins. The Macintosh is no longer just about the artist or the independent developer." Yes! It's a great time to be a part of the Mac scene. Market share for Apple products increases daily. OS X shows up in more and more places- expected and unexpected. There are more switchers- business and personal- every day. MacTech is interested in providing technologists the knowledge to contribute meaningfully to this new ecosystem.

Thomas A. Limoncelli, author of "Time Management for System Administrators," (O'Reilly and Associates) says, "The #1 thing people can learn is to automate processes. Whether that means learning AppleScript, Perl, Python, or Puppet. People often think of automation as a way to save time, but automation also prevents errors and/or adds consistency, which is more valuable."

Finally, Mark Dalrymple, Software Engineer and author, generalizes what to learn this way: "[Learn] everything :-) If you're not learning something new, you're stagnating, which is no fun. Eventually you get left behind, and everyone else gets to play with the new toys."

Get Involved

Getting involved can mean several things. First, go create. Choose the itch, then scratch it. Second, have the conversation. Which conversation? Any. Blog about your experiences, get involved on mailing lists, in forums and meet your peers at events large and small. There is also one more way: send us at MacTech an e-mail, and let us know what you'd like to see. letters@mactech.com is read by all editors; we're listening. MacTech has been in print in one form or another since the first Macintosh shipped (1984). We realize that times and trends change, and we're all in the midst of a sea change, right now. There's some great content already lined up for upcoming issues, but let us know how all of this is affecting you, and it will be reflected in our content. We're looking to fuel your knowledge, which creates more value for you.


Ed Marczak knew even from the punch card and TTY days that technology was in his future. He finds all technology interesting, but chooses OS X when possible. When not computing, he spends time with his wife and two daughters.

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Tokkun Studio unveils alpha trailer for...
We are back on the MMORPG news train, and this time it comes from the sort of international developers Tokkun Studio. They are based in France and Japan, so it counts. Anyway, semantics aside, they have released an alpha trailer for the upcoming... | Read more »
Win a host of exclusive in-game Honor of...
To celebrate its latest Jujutsu Kaisen crossover event, Honor of Kings is offering a bounty of login and achievement rewards kicking off the holiday season early. [Read more] | Read more »
Miraibo GO comes out swinging hard as it...
Having just launched what feels like yesterday, Dreamcube Studio is wasting no time adding events to their open-world survival Miraibo GO. Abyssal Souls arrives relatively in time for the spooky season and brings with it horrifying new partners to... | Read more »
Ditch the heavy binders and high price t...
As fun as the real-world equivalent and the very old Game Boy version are, the Pokemon Trading Card games have historically been received poorly on mobile. It is a very strange and confusing trend, but one that The Pokemon Company is determined to... | Read more »
Peace amongst mobile gamers is now shatt...
Some of the crazy folk tales from gaming have undoubtedly come from the EVE universe. Stories of spying, betrayal, and epic battles have entered history, and now the franchise expands as CCP Games launches EVE Galaxy Conquest, a free-to-play 4x... | Read more »
Lord of Nazarick, the turn-based RPG bas...
Crunchyroll and A PLUS JAPAN have just confirmed that Lord of Nazarick, their turn-based RPG based on the popular OVERLORD anime, is now available for iOS and Android. Starting today at 2PM CET, fans can download the game from Google Play and the... | Read more »
Digital Extremes' recent Devstream...
If you are anything like me you are impatiently waiting for Warframe: 1999 whilst simultaneously cursing the fact Excalibur Prime is permanently Vault locked. To keep us fed during our wait, Digital Extremes hosted a Double Devstream to dish out a... | Read more »
The Frozen Canvas adds a splash of colou...
It is time to grab your gloves and layer up, as Torchlight: Infinite is diving into the frozen tundra in its sixth season. The Frozen Canvas is a colourful new update that brings a stylish flair to the Netherrealm and puts creativity in the... | Read more »
Back When AOL WAS the Internet – The Tou...
In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has resulted in this week’s show being a bit shorter than normal. We also go over some more updates on our Patreon situation, which has been... | Read more »
Creative Assembly's latest mobile p...
The Total War series has been slowly trickling onto mobile, which is a fantastic thing because most, if not all, of them are incredibly great fun. Creative Assembly's latest to get the Feral Interactive treatment into portable form is Total War:... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Early Black Friday Deal: Apple’s newly upgrad...
Amazon has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 16GB of RAM on early Black Friday sale for $200 off MSRP, only $799. Their prices are the lowest currently available for these newly upgraded 13″ M2... Read more
13-inch 8GB M2 MacBook Airs for $749, $250 of...
Best Buy has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 8GB of RAM in stock and on sale on their online store for $250 off MSRP. Prices start at $749. Their prices are the lowest currently available for... Read more
Amazon is offering an early Black Friday $100...
Amazon is offering early Black Friday discounts on Apple’s new 2024 WiFi iPad minis ranging up to $100 off MSRP, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis anywhere... Read more
Price Drop! Clearance 14-inch M3 MacBook Pros...
Best Buy is offering a $500 discount on clearance 14″ M3 MacBook Pros on their online store this week with prices available starting at only $1099. Prices valid for online orders only, in-store... Read more
Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C on early Black F...
A couple of Apple retailers are offering $70 (28%) discounts on Apple’s AirPods Pro with USB-C (and hearing aid capabilities) this weekend. These are early AirPods Black Friday discounts if you’re... Read more
Price drop! 13-inch M3 MacBook Airs now avail...
With yesterday’s across-the-board MacBook Air upgrade to 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance 13″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, to a new low starting at only $829... Read more
Price drop! Apple 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs now...
With yesterday’s release of 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs with 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance Certified Refurbished 15″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs to a new low starting at only $999.... Read more
Apple has clearance 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs a...
Apple has clearance, Certified Refurbished, 15″ M2 MacBook Airs now available starting at $929 and ranging up to $410 off original MSRP. These are the cheapest 15″ MacBook Airs for sale today at... Read more
Apple drops prices on 13-inch M2 MacBook Airs...
Apple has dropped prices on 13″ M2 MacBook Airs to a new low of only $749 in their Certified Refurbished store. These are the cheapest M2-powered MacBooks for sale at Apple. Apple’s one-year warranty... Read more
Clearance 13-inch M1 MacBook Airs available a...
Apple has clearance 13″ M1 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, now available for $679 for 8-Core CPU/7-Core GPU/256GB models. Apple’s one-year warranty is included, shipping is free, and each... Read more

Jobs Board

Seasonal Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - J...
Seasonal Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Read more
Seasonal Fine Jewelry Commission Associate -...
…Fine Jewelry Commission Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) Read more
Seasonal Operations Associate - *Apple* Blo...
Seasonal Operations Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Read more
Hair Stylist - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPen...
Hair Stylist - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Read more
Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPenney (...
Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Mall Read more
All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.