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All things wise and wonderful...

If you'd like to learn:

• how to develop a Mac, iPhone or iPad app that can remotely access any SQL database on the Internet

• how to access the power of Unix from a Cocoa app

• how to build Mac OS X Installers, Preference Panes and Launch Daemons

• how to build Unix software like Postfix, Dovecot, Fetchmail, and even databases like MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL from their source code, from the Unix command line

• how we learnt how to build all these amazing stuff :-)

Then, you've landed on the right page.

SCUOLA • The Cutedge School for Excellent Software Design

There is a whole lot of power inside a Mac or iOS device. Our Cutedge projects demonstrate that single fact. 

On one hand, there's Apple's renowned user-interface. This allows us to build agile, easy-to-use, end-user systems, so that small businesses can work like big businesses, even without IT departments.

On the other hand, there's something people don't always know about Apple's machines. Hidden inside every one of these cute consumer items is a ferociously wicked, muscular power that's waiting to be unleashed. 

That's because Apple chose to build their Mac and iOS devices on top of Unix, and so everything that powers the Internet today runs on our beloved machines—from database servers like MySQL and PostgreSQL, to mail servers like Postfix, to web servers like Apache. 

Between the agile, mobile, easily understood interface on top, underpinned by pure unadulterated power at the bottom, you have the wherewithal to handle any task you care to throw at it. And you can do the job reasonably quickly, reliably and, most importantly, cheaply.

It's a Software Developer's Nirvana

But why don't more people know about it? Though there's a lots of people coming over from Windows to work on iOS, there's still not much interest about developing for the Mac.

But I believe you solve a wider range of problems, especially for use by businesses, if you take advantage of the whole Mac/iOS ecosystem. I don't think we've really built the kind of systems we're capable of building, given the quality of the tools we have at our disposal.

Teach It and They Will Come?

This is a software developer's Nirvana, and I believe I can show it. I'm putting together the ideas and concepts I've learnt over the years. 

For years, while working from home and watching my kid grow up, I've thought of growing the scale of my operations, but I didn't have the space to do it. Getting good software development jobs, though, wasn't really too hard. I've turned away more jobs than I can remember. One of the reasons was, there's not enough software development talent near where I live, so I can't really build a company that could scale with the jobs I thought of taking on. And another reason was, Apple wasn't too popular for a long time. (I'm still not sure it is even now).

But now, I do have the space. And I increasingly have the time. If I could teach what I know, could I grow the quality of the software development talent around me? That's the idea for this page.

Come and look for me

I have a shophouse at Bedok Reservoir. It's at Block 740 #01-3177, Singapore 740470, facing the reservoir. It's a great, peaceful place, with tall trees filled with lots of birds and their chirping, and a nice breezy wind, all year round.

I use one half of the shophouse. The other half is occupied by a cafe, called Secret Hideout. It's a nice space. You'll find me there most days if you'd like to talk about Mac & iOS programming. We'll grab some coffee from next door.

This is where I work from. It's big enough for a class of six if I were to do a course. There's a smaller space inside, too.

It's not much for the moment. But enough to work from. The bottom line is, if you really want to learn and go deeply into developing for the Mac and iOS devices, there's really no better place to go and learn from, for a thousand kilometres or two, around where I live. Really :-) I can prove it.

Contact

September 2012