Archive for January 2, 2025

Thursday, January 2, 2025

op run

Mattt Thompson (tweet):

This core insight — that configuration should be separate from code — led to the widespread adoption of .env files.

[…]

You add this file to .gitignore to keep it out of version control, and load these variables into your environment at runtime with a tool or library.

[…]

op lets you manage 1Password from the command-line. You can do all the CRUD operations you’d expect for items in your vault. But its killer features is the op run subcommand, which can dynamically inject secrets from your 1Password vault into your application’s environment.

Instead of storing sensitive values directly in your .env file, you reference them using special op:// URLs[…]

It’s great to see NSHipster back after a five-year hiatus.

The HFS Pixel

Encyclopedia Macintosh (p. 65, via Alex Rosenberg, rezmason):

HFS and MFS disks can be distinguished by the presence or absence of the HFS pixel. You can tell if a drive or disk is formatted as HFS or MFS by looking for the “HFS pixel” in the upper-left corner of any window from the drive or disk. If this pixel is on, the drive or volume uses the HFS; if it is off, the drive or volume uses the MFS.

[…]

The HFS pixel can be seen in the left window between the two horizontal lines just above the folder icon. In the center window it is not present. An enlargement of the pixel is presented at right.

This reminds me of Norton Disk Light, which used a single flashing pixel in the top-left corner of the display (back when the menu bar was rounded) to indicate disk activity.

Mihai Parparita:

Looks it went away in System 7, even with the B&W window frame.

Alex Rosenberg:

Seems equally likely they didn’t carry over the feature when rewriting the Finder in C++ for System 7.

Jim Luther:

MFS was so ignored in the Finder’s System 7 rewrite that the Finder crashed if you mounted a MFS volume with a long volume name. I found and reported that bug when learning about the File Manager when I switched from Apple II to Macintosh Developer Technical Support.

Update (2025-01-06): Josh Justice:

Who remembers positioning the cursor in System 7 so that it showed 1 pixel between it and the progress bar, so you could tell if it had progressed?

Who remembers trying this in Mac OS 8+ and being frustrated that the beautiful gradient made it harder to tell if there was progress? 😄

Update (2025-01-07): HACKTRIX (via Josh Hrach):

The XYZZY code is a simple cheat code for Minesweeper that helps you find the mines without clicking on the cells. To use this code, open Minesweeper, then type the letters xyzzy and hold the shift button for three seconds. Then minimize all open programs and look closely in the top left corner of your monitor screen. You will see a single pixel turned white.

Two Foreground Windows

Pierre Igot:

1) In the Finder, select an item and make its name editable.

2) WHILE THE NAME IS EDITABLE, click on the window of ANY ANOTHER APP to leave the Finder in the background.

3) Click on ANOTHER Finder window to bring the Finder back to the foreground.

Result: TWO FOREGROUND WINDOWS!

This is a really old bug.

Previously:

Bench Shut Down, Then Acquired

Charles Rollet (Hacker News):

Bench, a Canada-based accounting startup that offered software-as-a-service for small and medium-sized businesses, has abruptly shut down, according to a notice posted on its website.

[…]

The company’s entire website is currently offline except for the notice, leaving thousands of businesses in the lurch. Bench touted having more than 35,000 U.S. customers just hours before it was shut down, according to a snapshot saved by the Internet Archive.

Bench, which had raised $113 million from high-profile backers such as Shopify and Bain Capital Ventures, developed a software platform to help customers store and manage their bookkeeping and tax reporting documents.

[…]

Bench’s notice says its customers should file a six-month extension with the IRS to “find the right bookkeeping partner.” It also says customers will be able to download their data by December 30 and will have until March 2025 to do so.

Ian Crosby:

I’ve avoided speaking publicly about Bench since just over 3 years ago when I was fired from the company I co-founded.

[…]

In November 2021 I went out for what I thought would be a regular lunch with one of my board members. We had just raised a Series C and turned down a highly lucrative acquisition offer. We had budding partnerships with companies like Shopify that were interested in the technology we were developing. We were winning.

The board member thanked me for bringing the company to this point, but that they would be hiring a new professional CEO to “take the company to the next level.”

Charles Rollet (Hacker News):

The San Francisco-based HR tech company Employer.com focuses on payroll and onboarding, in contrast to Bench, which specializes in accounting and tax. Employer.com’s chief marketing officer Matt Charney told TechCrunch the company will revive Bench’s platform and provide instructions for customers to log in and obtain their data.

Dare Obasanjo:

12,000 small businesses who were left in a lurch just before tax time may have been saved.

This reminds me of the Synapse whose customers lost money when it failed but wasn’t FDIC insured. This is the risk of betting on startups for your financial needs.

Bench (Hacker News):

This acquisition ensures that Bench customers can continue relying on the same high-quality service they’ve always received, while also opening the door to future enhancements and capabilities powered by Employer.com’s extensive resources. Employer.com is committed to empowering small businesses with the tools and support they need to thrive, and Bench’s expertise in financial management aligns perfectly with that mission.

wdaher:

For Bench customers that want to look elsewhere, Pilot is doing free migrations from Bench to QBO, even if you don’t want to use Pilot. (So you can even take advantage of it if you want to instead DIY or work with some local firm.)

Previously:

Update (2025-01-08): Nicholas C. Zakas (via Ruffin Bailey):

Here’s @bench clarifying that no one is getting refunds.

Copyright © 2000–2025 Michael Tsai.