News From Timo

I spent a bunch of time importing music from the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu New Caledonia, and Papua New Guinea. I got far enough into it that I wanted to start listening to the newly ripped music both at home and when I was out and about. I have VLC on my phone that I use to play some music, but that meant I have to import each song to each device. I also want to remove myself from the algorithm-based services.

It felt like I was going backward, looking at local music storage and manually syncing. The internet I want isn’t centralized with a few services controlling what I see and hear. A decentralized internet would give me autonomy and control. So instead of loading up my music on an old MP3 player and yelling at the clouds, I did something better. I installed an open source web streaming service at home with an overlay VPN that gives me access to it on all my devices. No Spotify. No Apple Music. No algorithm deciding what I hear next.

Here is how it works:

I installed Jellyfin media server on my home debian linux desktop and imported all the music that I have. I installed the iOS app on my phone and pointed it to the media server. All my music was instantly available. It even has an offline mode. But since I have installed Nebula, I am able to get to any of my devices regardless of what network I am on. Nebula is very sweet. It isn’t a VPN that connects networks, but is an overlay network that connects any host you install it on to the same virtual network. There are clients for most platforms (including iOS and Linux) and is open source.

I am now living in a future where I have a network that has all my devices on it, controllable and accessible by me, without a cloud service pushing their crap to my devices. I am now looking at replacing my home automation, smart speakers, and even my phone so that I actually own my devices and the service they connect to. I am NOT going off the grid, but setting up my own grid in a decentralized way. You know, like the internet we helped build.

Imagine that.

Over the holidays each year, I try and work on a project that is interesting and requires a bunch of uninterrupted time. This year, I decided to investigate a way to solve NFC on iPad. The idea was to simply hand someone an iPad and have them authenticate quickly. I had already written proof of concept app for using AutoFill on iPad, CryptoTokenKit driver for CCID readers for RFID tags, and an app that could send the correct APDU commands. However, I still wasn’t happy. The reader is connected via a USB cable with an adapter. I wanted something that showed that you could do a quick handoff of to an NFC enabled iPad.

I found a CCID (smart card USB) NFC board from ACS and it worked great with my CryptoTokenKit extension. It was small and had a board connector to USB-A. The Apple multimedia connector has USB-C, USB-A and a place to pass power through. I hooked it all up and it worked fine, but it’s a mess of cables and connectors. I then designed a case and did a bunch of 3d prints. I ended up with an enclosure that attached to the back of the iPad, was completely self contained, could power the iPad, and you could just tap an RFID card or tag.

When trying it out, there was something magical about having it all together and to log in to a website or app with a tap. I found myself going back and authenticating again since the process was so smooth.

I made a video and an article on our site showing the whole process:

twocanoes.com/knowledge…

That article has a link to the app and to readers that work. We have a few customers that are excited about it and I just love the feeling of passing them an iPad, having them tap it, and allowing them to get right to work. Works like it should.

I am working on an update to DFU Blaster to reorganize the UI a bit to make it a bit more compact (DFU Blaster Pro is an app from Twocanoes Software to easily put a Mac into restore mode and automate the restore process). SwiftUI makes putting keyboard shortcuts in the menus difficult so I added in the keyboard shortcuts but didn’t have a good way to add them to associated menu item. SwiftUI seems to lean towards menu-less apps (iOS influenced?) and it wasn’t worth it to me force a mac specific feature.

I took a look with fresh eyes and using SwiftUI @State, I can detect when the command key is down, set a state, and then show the keyboard shortcuts in next to the UI element it triggers. I neat side effect is that all the keyboard shortcuts require the command key, so you are about 1/2 way to typing the shortcut when hitting command.

As always, the current beta is here

listening to some sweet 90s music from the solomon islands on my sony walkman. totally normal thing to do in 2026.

Password Utility is one of those apps that I wrote for myself, but thought it would be useful for others… A simple keystroke and your login password is copied to the pasteboard. Makes viewing keychain items and approving password prompts SO much easier.

New video on the new RFID reader and app is finished. Getting ready to post!

Amazing work in 2025 by Accelerate Climate Solutions. We share an office with this non-profit organization. (The founder is my wife Cathy Clarkin).

I was involved in the Solomon Islander intern project where Accelerate Climate Solutions had interns in the US and the Solomon Islands document stories of climate change from elders in the community.

Check out the full report.

3d printing an NFC enabled case for an ipad. because i can.

Hard to believe I am still riding my bicycle to work on December 19th. The new office is only 1 mile from the house, and most of it is a path through a park, which helps. As long as it is dry and there isn’t much ice, I probably will avoid a bad spill.

Setting up the video studio in our new office. Lots of ideas for the new year, most of them incredibly nerdy.