New Icon

Lauren has been working on an icon set for Shift for several weeks now. We would like to introduce the new icon for Shift.

As always, please let us know of any suggestions or comments.

Ticket #98: Blog Spam

Ok, we have been upgrading chyrp as it plows along to v2.0. I must say, it's not bad as blogging software goes, but the database is rather embarrassing. There is a groups table and a permissions table, but instead of joining those with an associative entity there is just a list of permissions in a permissions field in the groups table. Not joking.

Anyway, one of the changes as of late was the migration from Akismet to Defensio for spam blocking. Can't say I'm too happy about that because now everything is marked as spam. However, we get about 50 real spam messages a day, so not using it really isn't an option.

So, until we take a look at fixing things (or redesigning this whole site), just know that your messages may get marked as spam. We will just keep checking in on them and approving any valid messages.

Thanks, Nate

A Bundle of Bundles

Allow me to preface this post with a disclaimer: It may be a little technical in the way of OSX development. I will add Wikipedia links for those still interested in reading on.

What is a bundle?

A Bundle is ultimately a folder in file's clothing. They are a great part of OSX and you already use them everyday. They allow people to write code for a program without muddling through the actual code of the program. Essentially, people can jump into the project without having to familiarize themselves with the existing code-base of Shift.

I know what a bundle is; get on with it!

We wanted to add support for RDBMS in a completely modular fashion. This way someone could easily add support for something like PostgreSQL without ever having to touch Shift code. We are in the process of nailing down a Formal Protocol which can then be implemented by different people to add support for a specific RDBMS. The planning for the protocol is definitely in it's infancy right now. If you're interested in getting involved with Shift or possibly adding support for a specific RDBMS you can see our notes on what we've started in the wiki. Our goal for the 0.5 release is to have support for both MySQL and SQLite in Shift. We've set up a separate repository for the bundles. To checkout the repository just paste this into terminal:

svn co http://svn.shiftosx.com/bundles

Once the protocol reaches a comfortable level of maturity I plan to add a semi-in-depth guide on creating a bundle. Until then I'll leave you with this screenshot.

Jonathan

New Core Team Member - Lauren Herda

Hey everybody. I'd like to introduce you to the latest member of the Shift Core Team: Lauren Herda. She will be taking on the Lead Designer role and will be in charge of the visual direction and branding for the Shift Project. She has already begun work on new icons for Shift and you can follow her progress on the Shift Ohloh Page.

Posting has been slow as of late, but we are still working hard and have some very, very cool things to release in the next few days. If you can't wait, check out the current 0.5 branch and you will see a small bit of the fruits of our research and labor.

Until then, - Nate

BRB

Just wanted to write a quick note to update you all on Shift. There has been a little bit of development done on 0.5 since the last update, but we have been distracted as of late by a paid iPhone development job. On top of that, Crossman leaves for vacation today and gets back the day I leave on another business trip. Ugh.

Anyway, things are still alive over here, but it will probably be another week or two before any more commits appear in trac. We will still be monitoring the blog and trac, so feel free to connect with the team at any time.