https://thermalcorner.net/ Recent content on Thermal Corner Hugo -- gohugo.io © 2025, Jonathan Ruiz Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/an-update/ Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/an-update/ Life has changed a lot recently. I don’t really plan to go too into detail in this post but I did want to write something today. I have been feeling the urge to write more. I gave the blog a more simple theme and new look to try and inspire me to share more. I haven’t ever kept up with writing on this blog. I do like to write here though and share my thoughts free from any walled garden. https://thermalcorner.net/post/ticcitabs/ Mon, 26 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/ticcitabs/ Ticci Tabs on The App Store. How does one visit their favorite 6 or 7 websites? One place to read articles or scroll through news. Separate from Safari or your browser. No weird formatting issues because an RSS reader was parsing the content. This was the initial idea for Ticci Tabs. Listening to Connected one of my favorite tech podcasts, this idea came from one of the hosts Federico Viticci. As Federico was describing this app he wanted I started to visualize what it would look like. https://thermalcorner.net/post/all-i-remember/ Sat, 20 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/all-i-remember/ Brian Eno has a long and very impressive career in music. He’s one of those musicians that still makes new music despite being very seasoned in his career. I think I first started taking note of his work when I heard some of the albums he made with David Bowie like Low. Nonetheless this music video and song has captivated me. It feels very biographical and just hypnotizing with its visuals and melodies. https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-for-the-vision-pro/ Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-for-the-vision-pro/ When Apple launched the Vision Pro I was really excited to finally see their long rumored headset. I listened to lots of different podcasts where press got to talk about their 30 minute demos. Then as Apple launched the Vision Pro in February anyone was able to book a demo as long as they were close to an Apple Store. So I went in not knowing what to expect in the demo. https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-post-launch/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-post-launch/ Working towards launching the 1.0 of my link saving app Bridges has finished. On Tuesday November 14th the app officially launched for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Its reception has been really encouraging and went better than expected. There was a few people that I though would review the app or speak about it and did. I didn’t really have a proper press kit and that might have hurt my chances for some publications. https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-1.0/ Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-1.0/ Today I’m excited to launch the 1.0 of my next app Bridges. It’s the link saving app I’ve always wanted. Im happy to say it is available now on the App Store and the Mac App Store. Bridges is great at saving links and keeping them all in one place but it does a lot more than just that. Bridges aims to make some tedious tasks easier. If you ever had reoccurring tasks to save links for a podcast, blog post, or newsletter you’ll love Bridges. https://thermalcorner.net/post/relayfm-for-st.jude-2023/ Fri, 22 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/relayfm-for-st.jude-2023/ RelayFM is running their annual fundraiser for St.Jude. A children’s research hospital in Memphis Tennessee. Relay is the podcast network of some of my favorite podcasts and people on the internet. St.Jude provides free care for children who have cancer and its one of the best hospitals in the world. They share their research and have made huge strides to end childhood cancer. Their goal is to have the survival rate at 100%. https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridgesformacos/ Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridgesformacos/ Today I’m thrilled to announce the first beta for Bridges on the Mac! The Mac has always been an important platform on the roadmap for me. I initially built Bridges for the iPhone but the goal was to have it on every major Apple platform. Today users get to download and use Bridges on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Bridges is an app I wanted for myself for a long time. I wanted something quick and focused that helped me save formatted links for podcast show notes. https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridgesforipad/ Mon, 21 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridgesforipad/ It’s been a while since I did a post about my link formatting app Bridges. I wanted to talk about where it is in development and what I’m working on next. It’s been in TestFlight longer than I thought but I have a plan to launch soon. Bridges aims to be a fun utility app for people composing links for podcast show notes or blog posts. With Bridges you have an easy way to save formatted links from the share sheet or enter them manually. https://thermalcorner.net/post/first-impressions-of-mac/ Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/first-impressions-of-mac/ I haven’t updated my Mac in 3 years. Getting a new Mac is very exciting and slightly burdensome all in one. Making your Mac yours is something all Mac users do. I think especially developers there’s all sorts of settings and weird things we like to do when setting up a new Mac. After 3 years I was finally ready to upgrade from my M1 MacBook Air. It was my first Apple silicon Mac and the best computer I had had until now. https://thermalcorner.net/post/building-the-system/ Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/building-the-system/ “Getting started is the hardest part” is a very popular phrase. I think it does get to the point though. Often times the biggest friction to getting a task done is letting the human mind wonder where to start. If you don’t have a clear plan then whats step one or two. What are their end goals or what do they let you tackle next? Being an indie developer or making anything yourself requires lots of discipline. https://thermalcorner.net/contact/ Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/contact/ Hello friend! If you would like to get in touch with me you can send me an email at: refactoredd@icloud.com. Or you can send me a message or reply on Mastodon. https://thermalcorner.net/post/my-next-mac/ Wed, 02 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/my-next-mac/ For the longest time I would try to sell the Mac I had to upgrade to a new one. Thats because I always felt I was pushing the limits of my new computer. I would be making it too hot with Xcode or it wouldn’t be fast enough. After I got my M1 MacBook Air this stopped. I didn’t feel the urge to upgrade all the time. I could build the apps I had in my head and my Mac could keep up with me. https://thermalcorner.net/post/my-thermal-corner-of-the-net/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/my-thermal-corner-of-the-net/ I really don’t like talking about Twitter at this point. I know it’s called something else now but it died when Elon bought it in my book. The people I cared about there the Apple community left for Mastodon. I was happy with that its built on a federated platform that encouraged third party apps like Ivory. I think there was still kind of an uncertainty though. Many people liked to use Twitter to see what celebrities were up to or their favorite sports team. https://thermalcorner.net/post/be-kind-to-yourself/ Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/be-kind-to-yourself/ There’s just been a lot going on. That’s what I feel like I tell myself every day. Whether it’s day job challenges, family stuff, or something else. Life always has times of fast pace and slow downs. Ups and downs there’s nothing unique really most people have this. But I think there is something a little different and I feel like people who have passion projects or multiple ones. Often have their mind taken up by them. https://thermalcorner.net/post/wwdc-2023/ Thu, 08 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/wwdc-2023/ WWDC 2023 It’s 1984! This is one of the most exciting WWDC’s in a long while. It’s one I’m sad I missed out on in person but one I’ve enjoyed quite a bit. The Vision Pro Apple announced has taken over media coverage and developers minds for what apps to make for it. It’s the closest thing we are getting to another iPhone. This is how I thought it would be going in. https://thermalcorner.net/post/my-experience-at-deep-dish-swift/ Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/my-experience-at-deep-dish-swift/ As soon as the Deep Dish Swift conference was announced I knew I wanted to go. The thought of meeting so many amazing developers I have admired or ones I’m learning of for the first time was exciting. I also was a little unsure of what to expect because you never know what the turn out would be and I have only attended a few other conferences. The conference I had been to the most is AltConf. https://thermalcorner.net/post/preparing-for-a-1.0/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/preparing-for-a-1.0/ I think I have gotten my app Bridges to the point where I want to ship it as a 1.0. I wanted to get it released before the upcoming DeepDishSwift conference I am excited to go to but that won’t be happening… Life gets in the way and it’s hard to find time. Lots of indie/solo developers encounter this and know it well. I have shifted the goal to shipping before WWDC and June 5, 2023. https://thermalcorner.net/post/an-update-on-the-year-of-realization/ Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/an-update-on-the-year-of-realization/ This year I set a yearly theme for myself to be the year of realization. I thought it would be good to give an update as to how it’s been so far. When I posted that I talked about realizing lots of ambitions and projects I have been working on through the years. My app development with my new app Bridges and getting paid to edit podcasts. I’m pleased to say both are going very well. https://thermalcorner.net/post/twitter-cuts-off-3rd-party-clients/ Fri, 13 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/twitter-cuts-off-3rd-party-clients/ The biggest middle finger to developers I’ve ever seen. I have left Twitter for a while now but this is wild. Yesterday with no notice they just shut off access for 3rd party apps like Tweetbot and Twitterrific. No communication no word nothing. Twitterrific’s blog post. https://thermalcorner.net/post/launching-the-bridges-beta/ Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/launching-the-bridges-beta/ Launching the beta for my app Bridges was really fun. I had planned a day for myself to release it and I hit that goal. Leading up to it was feelings of excitement and a little nervousness. I was eager to see what the reception would be like and how many people would download and use the app. I think it went really well and the app got more downloads than I thought. https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-beta/ Tue, 10 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridges-beta/ Today I am launching the first beta of my new app Bridges! It is the link formatting app that I’ve always wanted for myself. I’ve written about it here before but I wanted to give a more detailed overview. When I had my podcast Everyday Robots I would spend lots of time collecting links for show notes. Assembling topics to talk about and keeping a list of references. When it came to publishing the show I wanted all the links to be in a nice format with custom titles. https://thermalcorner.net/post/algorithm-after-effects/ Fri, 06 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/algorithm-after-effects/ A few weeks ago I deleted the YouTube app off my phone. It was in line with my desire to get rid of social media apps that rely on algorithms to feed you content. I have social media apps on my phone like Ivory for Mastodon my now most used one. Others like Glass and Discord but they are all non algorithm based. Like most people I had become victim to checking apps too much because I knew the timeline would change and something new would pop up. https://thermalcorner.net/post/launched-a-patreon/ Tue, 03 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/launched-a-patreon/ Launched the podcast I edit for my friend Charlie Chapman is launching a Patreon! I’ve mentioned the show before and if you enjoy this blog I think you’d love the show. Each episode Charlie interviews a new person and you get to hear how they Launched their app or product. Many are from the Apple community but not exclusively. I’m really excited for Charlie and to see where this goes. The Patreon has three tiers. https://thermalcorner.net/post/the-year-of-realization/ Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/the-year-of-realization/ One of my favorite podcasts Cortex has a wonderful concept for yearly themes. Instead of goals you have themes of what you want to accomplish and move towards. To help keep track of this they have a theme system journal. It’s very hard for me to keep a habit of journaling. And the cool thing about the journal is it doesn’t really pressure you to do so. I’ve always wanted to give the theme system journal a try and a yearly theme. https://thermalcorner.net/post/2023/ Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/2023/ With 2022 coming to a close I wanted to write one more blog post for the year. This year like many others has gone quite fast. There was quite a lot that has happened for me both personally and for my side projects. As December has been moving forward I feel tons of excitement and happiness. Things are starting to really gain momentum for me. I feel like lots of bets I have made for myself in the past are going to be realized soon in the next year. https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridgesannouncement/ Thu, 15 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/bridgesannouncement/ Its been a long while since I have done anything on the app front but thats gonna change. Its a little scary talking about it so early but its something I’m really excited about and would like to share. When doing my podcast or just in day to day activities I had often found myself needing save formatted links. Things I wanted to share or stuff I wanted to save. But I would also need those links to be formatted sometimes in markdown sometimes as hyperlinks. https://thermalcorner.net/post/the-gate/ Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/the-gate/ Developer Programmer Coder These are some labels that describe the people I admire. The type of person I see myself being and want to be. For the longest time it felt like that title has eluded me. I never had any formal computer science classes. All of my programing skills and knowledge has come from trying things on my own or through tutorials. I have had people through the years reach out and help as well. https://thermalcorner.net/post/finding-my-voice/ Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/finding-my-voice/ This blog has largely been inactive with the occasional post but now I intend to change that. Finding my voice as a writer is an exciting prospect to me. I think of this blog as a blank canvas something for me to share my ideas with the world. My small corner of the internet I have ownership of. I think lots of people in the Apple community are entering a weird unknown post Twitter world. https://thermalcorner.net/post/post-twitter/ Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/post-twitter/ We are in a post Twitter world. There are amazing people in the Apple community still using it but I think the writing is on the wall. People are leaving and it doesn’t feel the same. For many of us Twitter was Twitter because of the amazing people that were on it if they are gone then Twitter is gone. Becky Hansmeyer has one of my favorite blog posts pointing out what well miss as a community. https://thermalcorner.net/post/twitter/ Fri, 11 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/twitter/ Some personal news! I’m thrilled to announce! My latest app… Twitter is the defacto platform for people in the Apple community to share their work. It is probably the main reason I joined the platform, and why I am still there. But with Elon’s takeover its just been day after day of problems and chaos. Lots of famous tech sites with huge teams of writers can’t keep up with all the changes. https://thermalcorner.net/post/twitter-mastodon/ Tue, 08 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/twitter-mastodon/ Twitter has had some eventful few weeks. It’s been taken over by a Billionaire who doesn’t even understand what he overpaid for. Elon is constantly going back on things he says because he’s learning as he’s going. It’s kinda funny to watch but it’s also amazing that he did not think any of this through and paid 44 Billion dollars. With the “water cooler” of the Apple community in disarray people are looking towards alternatives. https://thermalcorner.net/post/launched/ Wed, 05 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/launched/ I’m finally getting back into podcasting again! It has been something I have missed so much since I had to let it go. I had an Apple themed tech podcast called Everyday Robots with a good friend of mine Mark Fransen. Each week we would chat about the Apple news of the week or I would interview people in the Apple community. I edited and produced the show and we made over a hundred episodes. https://thermalcorner.net/post/davidsmithsapplewatchultrareview/ Thu, 29 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/davidsmithsapplewatchultrareview/ David’s one of the leading Apple Watch developers and knows the device inside and out. There are many great reviews out there but this is one I was excited to see. He doesn’t disapoint taking the Ultra out on a hiking expedition in Scotland to review it. I still haven’t tried one on yet and I want to. I keep thinking I’ll want to trade in my series 7 for it after see it. https://thermalcorner.net/post/myfavoritepodcasts/ Wed, 28 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/myfavoritepodcasts/ Podcasting is something I love a lot. I even made one and got into editing and producing them. I hope I can get to a point where I can get back to that. In some ways I have but can’t share yet… I wanted to share with you some of the podcasts I subscribe to and never not listen to. I often listen to many similar podcasts. You may think that shows with the same topics would be redundant but it’s the hosts and their ideas that make each one unique. https://thermalcorner.net/post/acooliphone/ Sat, 24 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/acooliphone/ Another thing that I have noticed from my iPhone 12 mini to the 14 Pro is it runs way cooler. I use CarPlay with my iPhone at least once a day. Living in California it is often very hot. There were many times using my 12 mini where I had to hold it up to the air condition vent to cool it down while driving. I think lots of this is down to how small the iPhone is and how it can’t really dissipate the heat well. https://thermalcorner.net/post/relayfmforstjude/ Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/relayfmforstjude/ Every year the folks at Relay FM help raise money for St.Jude. Relay is one of my favorite things not only because they host so many podcasts I love but because they do things like this. One of the co-founders Stephen Hackett had his child’s life saved by the cancer research that St. Jude does. He’s shared his story about that and even has some info on the donation page. You should definitely check this out. https://thermalcorner.net/post/fromminitopro/ Wed, 21 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/fromminitopro/ This is a tablet! This was my first thought holding my new phone. I thought I had the iPhone 14 Pro Max but realized the iPhone 12 mini was just that much smaller. The iPhone 12 mini as I wrote about before was my favorite iPhone ever. It was the perfect size to hold and had enough new features that it didn’t feel left behind. But sadly Apple has decided that for now at least the mini is on hiatus. https://thermalcorner.net/post/the-iphone-mini/ Tue, 06 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/the-iphone-mini/ We are on the eve of an iPhone event. For Apple fans like me it’s a very exciting time. But this year is different, I know tomorrow Apple will show a few new iPhones a “regular” one and a “Pro” one. Both coming in two sizes to give people options. But something will be most likely missing from the lineup. My favorite iPhone. The iPhone 12 mini has been my daily iPhone for almost 2 years now. https://thermalcorner.net/post/betalife/ Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/betalife/ My plan at first was to resist the urge to install any of the betas that came out of WWDC this year. I thought to myself that I do so every year and while it’s fun. I should try to do something different this time around. To embrace the stable iOS and macOS operating systems that I use everyday on my main devices. I don’t have any test devices or spare Macs just one iPhone and one Mac. https://thermalcorner.net/post/stephenhacketts2023applehistorycalendar/ Wed, 06 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/stephenhacketts2023applehistorycalendar/ Last year I bought Stephen Hackett’s Mac hardware calendar. I have never really kept up with physical calendars but this one seemed to cool to pass up. It includes fun Mac Hardware facts during the year instead of major holidays or things like that. All of the photos for the calendar were taken by Stephen and were really well done. Having lived with it for seven months I have enjoyed it a lot. https://thermalcorner.net/post/from30pintolightning/ Mon, 27 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/from30pintolightning/ I can feel myself turning into that next stage of my life. Taking a step back to think about where I am and where I want to be. I’m not throwing out all my computers and changing all my interests. But I am thinking of lots of things I have in a new light. It started small and it has been growing in my sub conscience. I have started to take some of these feelings and turn them into actions changing my day to day habits. https://thermalcorner.net/post/wwdc22/ Mon, 06 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/wwdc22/ With WWDC just getting started this year and the first partially in person one at that, there is lots going on in the Apple world. Seeing my Twitter timeline with people meeting in person, getting excited for announcements, its one of my favorite times of the year. This is my first impressions of the announcements and what I’m excited about. I think the first thing that feels almost like a sigh of relief is no AR device paradigm shift. https://thermalcorner.net/post/balticaquascaphe/ Fri, 03 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/post/balticaquascaphe/ I’m no watch expert. I do find my interest in watches expanding though. I regularly go on sites like Hodinkee & Worn & Wound just to name a few. In the last couple of years I have been learning about how they work, what types there are, and seeing what styles I gravitate to. I definitely don’t need another expensive hobby and watches like many things I’m into can get very pricey. https://thermalcorner.net/about/ Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://thermalcorner.net/about/ Hello 👋 my name is Jonathan Ruiz welcome to my blog. Its mostly my thoughts and opinions with occasional reviews of things I like. I am a self taught iOS developer mostly working in Swift and UIKit trying to build cool things. For my Mastodon account follow me at: @refactoredd Thanks for stopping by tell a friend if you enjoy this blog 🙂