Moving techpad to HTTPS (and why I put it off for years)
Finally switching this blog to HTTPS with Let's Encrypt's free certs, cron-job renewals, and the four years of mixed-content cleanup nobody warns you about.
Tutorials
Tutorials
Finally Fixing My Lazy Passcode
Prompted by the Apple/FBI encryption fight, I finally fixed my lazy four-digit passcode, turned on FileVault, and set up real two-factor auth. Here's exactly what I changed.
Turning On Encrypted Backups (Finally)
The Apple/FBI news made me actually check my own devices this weekend — turns out my passcode was still 4 digits and my iTunes backups weren't encrypted at all.
Killing the IE8 Hacks (Finally)
Microsoft cut off support for IE8, 9, and 10 this week, so I finally ripped every last legacy IE hack out of techpad's stylesheet. Here's what that cleanup actually looked like.
Swift Runs on My Ubuntu Box Now, and I'm Weirdly Excited About It
Apple open-sourced Swift this week with Linux builds, so I spent Saturday getting it running on Ubuntu instead of doing yard work. Notes on the install, the REPL, and why it matters more than the headlines let on.
The Windows 10 November Update Ate My Saturday Afternoon
Notes from actually running the Windows 10 November Update (build 10586) this weekend, including the audio driver headache nobody warned me about.
Finally Updating to iOS 9 (And What Actually Ate My Storage)
A weekend spent wrestling a nearly-full iPhone onto iOS 9, plus the storage trick Apple quietly built in to make the update less painful this time.
The Windows 10 Settings I Turned Off Before I Trusted It
A walkthrough of the Windows 10 privacy settings worth switching off, including Wi-Fi Sense, the advertising ID, and the update-sharing feature buried in Advanced Options.
Killing the Get Windows 10 Icon for Good
Sick of the Get Windows 10 nag icon reserving an upgrade you never agreed to? Here's exactly how to kill it, three different ways, including the one that actually stuck.
Two Weeks Into Windows 10, Here's What I Actually Turned Off
Two weeks after upgrading, a rundown of the actual Windows 10 settings worth changing, from Wi-Fi Sense to the telemetry dropdown nobody reads.
The Windows 10 Settings I Turned Off First
A walkthrough of the Windows 10 privacy and Wi-Fi Sense settings worth flipping off right after you upgrade, plus a few complaints along the way.
The Windows 10 Settings I Turned Off Immediately
Two weeks after upgrading, here's exactly which Windows 10 privacy and Wi-Fi Sense settings I turned off, plus the Disk Cleanup trick that got me back 12GB.