I have published two big updates to the Aqua Screenshot Library that I wanted to share.
First, I have published a full set of Mojave screenshots. This page has three galleries. You can check out Mojave in Light Mode and Dark Mode, as you may have expected. The more I use it, the more I think Dark Mode isn’t for me, but more on that later. In the mean time, bask in all this dark glory:
Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of this blog.1 Excuse me while I catch my breath after writing that.
The original name of the site was ForkBombr. I bought the domain from a friend for a couple of slices of pizza. That name may seems weird, but its a programming term that I thought was clever. The idea was that a single interest could spin up into an obsession, and as it was 2008, I had to drop the e from the name.
Every September, I donate all 512 Pixels revenue to highlight and raise money for a cause that is very close to my heart: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
It’s a month that is of vital importance to my family. As some of you may know, our oldest son was diagnosed in May 2009 with a malignant brain tumor. In the blink of an eye, we went from a young family with a seemingly-healthy six month old baby to a young family facing the reality that our son was gravely sick.
I’m really glad to be announcing a project that started at the end of last year. I have worked my way through every major release of macOS since the Mac OS X Public Beta and catalogued them in an extensive collection of screenshots.
Currently, the library includes 1,502 images. That’s 1.6 GB worth of screenshots.
These images came from the OS, running on actual hardware; I didn’t use virtual machines at any point. I ran up to 10.2 on an original Power Mac G4, while a Mirror Drive Doors G4 took care of 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5. I used a 2010 Mac mini for Snow Leopard and Lion, then a couple different 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros to round out the rest.
(I switched to a Retina machine as soon as I could. The 2012 Retina MacBook Pro will run Lion, but the one I borrowed from a friend for the project could only run Mountain Lion. I would like to re-capture my Lion images at Retina quality in the future. Sadly, original Retina MacBook Pros are a little too pricey on eBay currently.)
The Henry Ford has a special exhibit that recently opened:
Crystal-clear plastics were born out of scientific research during World War II and were swiftly co-opted for creative applications in fashion, our homes, and technology. A car’s windshield is clear because we need to see through it to keep us safe as we drive. But a see-through telephone? That invites us to look inside an object and question how it works.
WWDC dates have been announced for June 4-8, and I’m thrilled to announce that on Wednesday, June 6, we will be hosting a live show in conjunction with AltConf. In fact, AltConf is hosting a podcast festival, and ATP will be doing a live show Monday evening. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
Tickets are just $5, so grab one before they are gone. All of the proceeds will be going to AltConf, to help them continue to support our community with their wonderful events.
Last month, I shared a little bit about Operation Broken Silence, and about how I wanted to help them fund an 8th grade classroom in a school they sponsor in the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan.
We’ve already raised over $2,000 for the classroom, and as my brother writes, work is already being done with those funds:
Last update, we announced that this year we would be adding the final grade and classroom to the primary school in Yida. That process is now underway and, at the moment, it appears we are on schedule!
While we nerds get excited about new hardware and software, I think we’re all aware that there’s a big world out there beyond tech. A world that is hurting, with people in need. One corner of that world is the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan, full of people who have fled the genocidal rage of Sudan’s leader, Omar al-Bashir.
The first step is getting them into school, and that’s where you and I can make a difference. Operation Broken Silence runs a primary school in the camp and is planning to open a high school, but needs help funding the 8th grade classroom.
If you enjoy my work at 512 Pixels, consider becoming a member to help support it. Memberships run $5.12/month or $51.20/year1 and include a monthly newsletter featuring interviews, guest posts, Apple history topics and more. Members also get to see my videos before I publish them to YouTube, one of which should be going out very soon. Thanks!
See what I did there? I believe it was actually Viticci’s idea… ↩︎
Several months ago, I launched a membership program to help support my writing and other projects here at 512 Pixels.
If you haven’t checked it out, read a little more about the benefits of membership here. On weeks like this, without an RSS sponsor, I’m extra thankful for those of you who have signed up.
Early last year, I tweeted that I wanted to collect every color of iMac.
A month later, I had all 13 colors of iMac G3 in my office. I took a bunch of photos and made a video of the process. I then went on a summer-long tear writing about every generation and permutation of the CRT iMac. This work then morphed into an ebook about the iMac and the road from the classic Mac OS to Mac OS X.
While we’re on the topic of my recent appearances, I was pleased to sit down with David Sparks and Jason Snell to talk about my early attempt at being an Apple blogger, a fateful meeting over tea and how I ended up leaving my job two years ago.