@jamesthomson@mastodon.social cover
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jamesthomson

@[email protected]

Indie iOS / Mac developer from Glasgow, Scotland. Maker of the PCalc scientific calculator, and a cool dice app. Occasional writer, conference speaker, D&D player, and podcast pundit.

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@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Writers: Generative AI models were built on our stolen works, are deeply unethical, and risk devaluing our entire profession.

Artists: Generative AI models were built on our stolen works, are deeply unethical, and risk devaluing our entire profession.

Developers: Wheeeeeeeeee!

jamesthomson OP ,
@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

@Drwave Let me know if you come to any conclusions…

jamesthomson OP ,
@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

@agiletortoise @Drwave This meat tastes suspiciously familiar.

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Deep sigh.

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/13/google-gemini-siri-capabilities-report/

Meme format that says “A COMPUTER CAN NEVER BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE THEREFORE A COMPUTER MUST NEVER PROVIDE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT”
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@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Dice by PCalc 2.9 is out now!

My dice rolling app now fully supports all the 26 OS updates and has a shiny Liquid Glass redesign.

I've also reworked the reroll function, so it remembers the starting state of the last dice roll, including advantage, disadvantage, and any dice functions. Exploding dice now work properly too, and actually explode!

iOS:
https://pcalc.com/store/dice

Mac:
https://pcalc.com/store/dicemac

A screenshot of Dice by PCalc showing the settings window which looks more in keeping with the Liquid Glass styling of the OS.

A screenshot of Dice by PCalc showing the settings window which looks more in keeping with the Liquid Glass styling of the OS.
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@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Me: I really hate the advert when you search on the App Store, I wish Apple would change that.

Apple: Wish granted!

Hello, In early 2026, Apple Ads will introduce additional ads in App Store search results. For each search query, there may be multiple ad positions available, including the existing top position. This will be supported on devices using iOs and iPadOS 26.2 and later.
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@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

I feel there should be an equivalent to the earthquake magnitude scale for internet outages, so we can come on here and be like “was that a 3.1?”. Measure it in Flares or something.

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

You spend years wanting more colour in Apple products, and then they run out of dye.

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

New gender just dropped.

An Amazon listing for “Mini Brands 24 Pieces Books Advent Calendar by ZURU, Collectible Seasonal Toys for Girls, Boys, and Collectors”.
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@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Thought I had a Liquid Glass rendering bug, actually had water on my phone screen.

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

I don’t think cats would love sitting in boxes quite so much if they knew what Schrödinger had been up to.

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com to proceed.

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Computers didn’t pass the Turing Test, humans failed it.

@louie@pdx.social avatar louie , to random

I’ve noticed that users who haven’t updated to iOS 26 are complaining about app icons looking Liquid Glass, because Apple’s strategy is to pre-render the effects and back-port those.

Users are confused who’s at fault. They blame the developer, rather than Apple for this strategy.

jamesthomson ,
@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

@louie It is possible to override it, and use different icons on older systems, but it's an undocumented flag to the asset compiler.

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

PCalc 3.14 - the π release! - is now out for iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, watchOS & tvOS 26:

https://pcalc.com/store/pcalc

As well as full support for iPadOS 26 multitasking, there's a new default dark theme, a Control Center button, and a completely reworked set of alternative icons, all including dark variants.

macOS 26 support will come soon, as well as Dice updates - just not today. I have been trying to set myself slightly more realistic goals this year!

A screenshot of PCalc running on iPad OS in a bigger window as an iPad class application.

A screenshot of PCalc running on iPad OS in a bigger window as an iPad class application.
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@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

"Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation."

@louie@pdx.social avatar louie , (edited ) to random

Having made several Liquid Glass app icons so far— I can’t see any benefit that comes from making them this way vs just being a static image.

I literally cannot see any benefit. Even all the dynamic lighting doesn’t seem to happen inside the app icon; it only happens on the app icon shape.

I can make icons much more easily in Photoshop / Illustrator. Icon Composer isn’t helping. If anything, it’s frustrating.

jamesthomson ,
@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

@louie I like being able to use the same assets to make the dark mode and tintable variants, and it’s nice having it all be vectors, but it does limit the amount of personality somewhat.

@louie@pdx.social avatar louie , to random

🍌 They’re here. Super Storage, Vol. 2 (Bananza Edition).
If you like them, don’t forget to like (donate), comment (email), and subscribe (to RSS).

🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/icons/super-storage-vol-2.html

jamesthomson ,
@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

@louie Those are lovely!

@jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

Finally got a couple of the pride t-shirts I made for Dice by PCalc, and the designs turned out pretty nice in person!

http://pcalc.fun

A t-shirt with a lesbian pride Dice by PCalc icon

A t-shirt with a lesbian pride Dice by PCalc icon
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@NanoRaptor@bitbang.social avatar NanoRaptor , to random

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    jamesthomson ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    @NanoRaptor Turns out our company is officially 10,007 days old.

    jamesthomson ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    @NanoRaptor If the servers for my brain are still running!

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    This is the least important thing happening in the world right now, but I am still getting followed by tons of bots a day on Mastodon, that all fit the same pattern of having zero followers, and following exactly 40 people. Usually the same combination of people, including @stroughtonsmith , @siracusa , @marcoarment , and sometimes @Gargron himself.

    jamesthomson OP ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    @Gargron @stroughtonsmith @siracusa @marcoarment Yes, new users, but always following exactly 40 people. I’m not entirely convinced these are real people. I don’t have a problem being recommended - that is flattering!

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    It's called iOS 26 because it will take 26 months to explain to your parents how to use their phone again.

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    Could we maybe stop talking about LLMs like they are becoming sentient? Amongst other stolen data, they have been trained on a whole bunch of text from science fiction stories about computers becoming sentient, and statistically know how to write that kind of thing.

    You're not creating Skynet here, it's just seen The Terminator a hundred times and is quoting your favourite lines at you.

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    Well, I guess I won’t be filing any more bugs then.

    I can see some maybe semi-legitimate uses for training an LLM on developer content - like potentially on dev forums or something like that. But not on my sysdiagnose logs that in the same dialog it says might contain sensitive information, and with apparently no opt-out.
    https://hachyderm.io/@cocoafrog/114355281286615868

    @NanoRaptor@bitbang.social avatar NanoRaptor , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    jamesthomson ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    @NanoRaptor “Tired and Lacking in Meaningful Purpose”

    @NanoRaptor@bitbang.social avatar NanoRaptor , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    jamesthomson ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    @NanoRaptor I think I’ve been a Mac developer for something like 85%% of the existence of the platform.

    That feels impossible.

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    Tried out the new and popular “Deepseek” LLM with my standard “tell me facts about the author of PCalc” query. At least half were misleading or straight up hallucinations. LLMs are not a suitable technology for looking up facts, and anybody who tells you otherwise is… probably trying to sell you a LLM.

    2. PCalc's Origins: PCalc was initially a side project Thomson developed in his spare time while working at Apple. It started as a simple calculator but grew into a full- featured application over time. (Also completely untrue, I wrote the first version four years before Apple, and didn’t release an update until I’d left again)
    5. Humorous Easter Eggs: PCalc is known for its playful and humorous elements, such as the "RPN mode" easter egg that displays a fictional. history of Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) in a lighthearted way. (This is nonsense)
    10. Passion for Retro Computing: Outside of PCalc, Thomson has a keen interest in retro computing and has worked on emulators for classic computers like the Acorn Archimedes, showcasing his love for computing history. (I have never worked on an emulator in my life)

    10. Passion for Retro Computing: Outside of PCalc, Thomson has a keen interest in retro computing and has worked on emulators for classic computers like the Acorn Archimedes, showcasing his love for computing history. (I have never worked on an emulator in my life)
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    jamesthomson OP ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    @NanoRaptor
    You do dinosaur comics, apparently! So you are… Ryan North?

    Tell me five facts about t... Ah, you're referring to Nanoraptor, the artist and content creator known for their work on social media platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram! Nanoraptor is particularly famous for their humorous and relatable comics, often centered around dinosaurs, animals, and everyday life. Here are 10 facts about Nanoraptor: 1. Signature Style • Nanoraptor is known for their simple, expressive, and colorful art style. Their comics often feature dinosaurs, animals, and anthropomorphic characters in humorous or relatable situations.
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    jamesthomson OP ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    @NanoRaptor The evidence mounts!

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    I wrote up the 25th anniversary of the unveiling of the Mac OS X Dock at Macworld Expo, from the perspective of a scared twenty-something engineer.

    It's me. I'm the engineer.

    https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at-a-time/

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    Can’t tell if this sale price in Lidl is a really good deal or a really bad deal.

    A price label for a blender showing that it’s reduced to 14.99 from “NaN”
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    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    Love this annoying window inside Photoshop which has all the design sensibilities of a malicious popup on a porn website.

    A screenshot of a window that says: “Adobe Genuine Service Alert Your device is running an old version of Adobe Photoshop Update to the current version of Photoshop to enjoy the latest new features, security updates and bug fixes. Update now Learn more”
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    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    This is not a new thought at all, but I am frequently reminded of it. If you like a thing that somebody has made, be it art, apps, food, or whatever, consider telling them.

    This post brought to you by the number of times I have told an author that their book means a lot to me, and they seem visibly moved. Turns out, creators are actually people too!

    On the other hand, if you don’t like something, shut the fuck up.

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    Have had what looks like hundreds of bots following me overnight. This place really does feel like Twitter five years ago!

    jamesthomson OP ,
    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar

    Every single one of the several hundred users is following exactly 40 people, has no followers or posts, and was created today. Not at all suspicious.

    @jamesthomson@mastodon.social avatar jamesthomson , to random

    Looking forward to the skit at the start of the keynote with all the third party developers in a hydraulic press.