My Favorite Place in GenevaMy favorite place in the city of Geneva is the main train station of Cornavin, because I can quickly jump on a train and leave that shithole of a city behind me as fast as possible.
Open Source ForbiddenWhat I’m going to tell you today might seem incredible, but just the same way as LLMs are banned from many workplaces these days, or mobile apps were outlawed by many an IT department 15 years ago, I was consulting 20 years ago for a large firm (a very large Swiss firm, actually) in which… Open Source code was explicitly forbidden to ever be put into production.
Lucky ManI moved back to Buenos Aires in January 1998: merely 2 days before I boarded the last Swissair flight I would ever take, my girlfriend at the time (and, needless to say, one of the major reasons I had decided to move back to Buenos Aires for) called to tell me that she had unilaterally decided to break up with me.
My Grandmother Herta SchlerffThe name of my maternal grandmother was Herta Schlerff. She died 40 years ago, when I was 11 years old. She suffered a series of chronic health problems, including a couple of heart attacks and a broken hip, but she died peacefully, in her sleep, one morning of April 1985 at the Clínica Olivos, near the corner of Arenales and Maipú Avenue, in Vicente López, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A Famous Swiss Clock in JavaScriptIf you visited Switzerland, you will have noticed the beautiful SBB clocks on every single station in the country; they all behave similarly, and have been a staple of Swiss design during the past 80 years.
Filling the Timesheet with HTAsIf you are currently employed or have worked in the past in a Swiss company, you know how important the all-powerful timesheet is to your employer. Every company comes up with their own version of it, particularly those who are cheap enough not to pay a monthly SaaS subscription to one of those gazillion timesheet services online. Most of those home-made contraptions use Excel, because why not.
Two Thirds of the Way InRemember when I told the story of how I got started in the tech industry? In it, I said that
Ancestors from Geneva and BeyondI’ve already written about my grandmother Herta, about one of my Polish ancestors in the 16th century, and about how my four grandparents arrived to Buenos Aires at various points of the early 20th century. Now it’s time to learn about some great-great-grandparents from the side of my maternal grandfather.
Use a BidetOne of the things that I missed the most when moving from Argentina to Switzerland in 1991 wasn’t the meat, nor the alfajores, nor the dulce de leche, but the humble bidet in every bathroom.
Swiss SaaS You Probably Never Heard AboutI’ve recently talked about Proton and about how happy I am with their services, but it turns out that Switzerland has to offer much more in the realm of privacy-conscious SaaS.
BorgesI didn’t grow up in a family where literature played any significant role, other than entertainment, that is. My mother enjoyed reading novels by Jacqueline Susann and Harold Robbins. My mathematician grandmother read French paperbacks from the collection “J’ai Lu” by authors ranging from Agatha Christie to Guy des Cars.
When My Grandparents Arrived to Buenos AiresAn article on the Argentine newspaper Clarín prompted me to visit the CEMLA search engine and search for the arrival details of my grandparents migrating to Buenos Aires, and guess what, I found them.
The Proton SuiteFirst, a mandatory disclaimer: this is not a sponsored post (there are none in this blog, btw), just me telling the story of how I became a happy Proton user during the past 5 years; I’m not affiliated with them in any way.
1996My life rebooted in July 1996; the day I decided to drop out from college, to get my driving license, to start going out at least twice a week, and to take a sabbatical from everything. Yes, I pretty much took all of those decisions at the same time.
Kosmaczewski's LawI was talking recently with Graham and an observation came to my mind, one that I hereby state as Kosmaczewski’s Law: “The flow of knowledge is inverse to the flow of fascism”.
Serving in the Swiss ArmyThis week it’s been 30 years since I first joined the Swiss Army. Involuntarily, that is. I had just finished my Maturité exams, and had subsequently enrolled as a student of Physics in the University of Geneva.
Swiss ArmyThe war caused by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is shaking the foundations of Swiss neutrality. Needless to mention that neutrality is a main staple of Switzerland, held and cherished since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, just like mountains, milk chocolate, militia, billionaires, overpriced mechanical watches, Victorinox knives, banks, and Nespresso capsules.
The End of the Tunnel?From a Swiss perspective it would be easy to think that the COVID-19 crisis is reaching its end. That’s a rather myopic point of view; the truth is that many places in the world are going through the worst patches at this point.
Vaccines and Software DevelopersI am a bit tired and disappointed by the attitude of many in our industry, people supposedly eager to test new technologies and “move the human race forward”. Yes, just like the Apple ads of the 90s campaign “Think different” used to say.
COVID-19 Vaccination ProgressThe (low) speed of the COVID-19 vaccination in Switzerland is infuriating. The current graphs show almost a linear progression. Linear, not quadratic, not exponential. Linear. Fucking linear. They say it’s going to accelerate from now on, well, we’ll see about that.
Thirty YearsAs the taxi rushed away from my old home along Avenida del Libertador, I looked through the rear windshield for one last time. My mother barely acknowledged my gesture. She was silent, and most probably did not want to turn around. She hid her eyes behind her sunglasses, trying not to think about what laid ahead of us, in a journey that, a few days later, would take us to Europe.
How to Desperately Suck at ClichesI was born in Argentina. This fact, all by itself, provides a rather unlimited amount of smiles in every person I meet.
Eight Steps To Build A Better Swiss Software IndustryThe Swiss are the best at many, many different domains. Which is a rather surprising and seriously fantastic feat for such a small country with merely eight million people, divided in four quite distinct linguistic groups.
New Swiss Conference: GOTO Zürich!We are proud to participate in the first GOTO Zürich for Developers + GOTO Zürich For Leaders Conferences as one of the sponsors! The GOTO Conferences happen all over the world, in Berlin, Amsterdam, Århus, Chicago, Prague and now Zürich too!
A Mobile Developer Lab the Size of a Country!Last week we attended with Bertrand Dufresne the 2012 edition of Mobilism in Amsterdam, an awesome event set up by many great people, among them Peter-Paul Koch, Stephen Hay and Krijn Hoetmer.
Swiss App Awards 2012 Winners!We proudly present the winners of Swiss App Awards 2012: Best User Experience App: Pilotifant for iOS, by WIRZ/Millform AG Most Downloaded App: SBB Mobile for multiple platforms, by SBB AG Best Web App: AppAware for Android, by 42matters AG Best Game App: MonsterUp for Windows Phone, by kariosgames.com Best Bank App: MoneyBook for iOS, by noidentity gmbh People’s Prize: Swisscom Fan-Glocke for iOS, by Swisscom AG/DU DA Group/Saatchi&Saatchi App of the Year: Pilotifant for iOS, by WIRZ/Millform AG Interestingly enough, the contest was truly cross-platform, and there were winners on iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other platforms.
Swiss App Awards Nominees!The jury of the Swiss App Awards has just published the official list of nominees in each category!
Swiss App Awards: Don't Forget!The deadline of the Swiss App Awards is approaching! Don’t forget to submit your application using the form before January 15th!
Swiss App Awards 2012: Submit your app now!I’m honored to announce that I will be part of the jury of the next Swiss App Awards 2012, to be held in Zürich, on January 27th, 2012!
Votar en SuizaComo muchas cosas en la vida, el pasaporte colorado no viene gratuitamente. Una de esas cosas que hacen a la vida suiza es la obligación de hacer la colimba (o de pagar el impuesto militar si no sos apto para el servicio). La otra es la capacidad de votar. De la colimba, ya escribiré otra vez, pero esta vez hablaremos del voto.
Pais CentralHace mucho tiempo, Luisa, una amiga de toda la vida, me hizo una de esas preguntas que te dejan en offside y quedan picando durante largo rato: “que se siente vivir en un país central?”
Article in the SonntagsZeitung: "Die neuen Schweizer Macher"The SonntagsZeitung, the most widely read Sunday newspaper in Switzerland, features today an article + infographic about Swiss developers making mobile applications, and akosma software is featured (among many other friends and peers) together with the swissinfo iPad app!
20 Years AgoExactly 20 years ago, on Wednesday February 20th, 1991, my mother and I arrived to Geneva, Switzerland, from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Advanced iOS 4.2 Training Course – Zürich, February 7th and 8th 2011 – Enroll now!akosma software is happy to announce the Advanced iOS 4.2 Training Course jointly organized with Trifork GmbH. This course requires that the attendees are familiar with Objective-C and have developed at least a few simple iPhone applications. The attendees should bring their own MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with the latest iOS SDK installed. This class will take the attendees through the following subjects:
Article dans com.in MagazineLe 7 septembre dernier, à Zurich, s’est tenu “Mobile App Stores”, un colloque à propos des plus importants systèmes de distribution de software pour téléphones mobiles. Au programme, des présentations de l’App Store de Apple, de l’App World de BlackBerry, l’Ovi Store de Nokia et également sur des applications web mobiles, construites avec les derniers standards tels que HTML5 et CSS3. Le ton a été donné d’emblée. Marc Carrette et Rami Omari de Sogeti (du groupe Cap Gemini) ont clairement mis en relief l’impact économique qu’ont eu les App Stores depuis 2005. A ce jour, plus de 250'000 applications y sont enregistrées. Ce n’est donc pas un hasard si Apple considère son App Store comme “le plus important événement dans l’histoire du software mobile.”
SwissairWhen I was a student in university, I used to work in Geneva Airport, aka GVA, as a part-time luggage handling employee, an “auxiliaire” as we were called, in a now extinct company once called Swissair.
"Dev Day for iPhone" sur Le Temps«Face à cette demande, il manque des développeurs pour iPhone en Suisse. Nous devons être une centaine en Suisse romande et n’arrivons pas à répondre à toutes les offres» confirme Stephan Burlot, de la société Coriolis, à Chevilly (VD). «Bon, de nombreux développeurs viennent du monde de l’open source et ne sont pas forcément à l’aise avec le monde plus fermé d’Apple», sourit Adrian Kosmaczewski, directeur d’Akosma Software, à Pully.
Applications iPhone: il est temps de s'y mettre!Le prochain mercredi 16 juin j’aurai le privilège de partager la scène avec Marco Scheurer de Sen:te, Surane Ragavan de abonobo, et Bertrand Baeriswyl lors du séminaire First “Applications iPhone: il est temps de s’y mettre!” organisé par Rezonance, créateur de liens en Suisse Romande:
Interview by iPhoneDevSuisseLast Wednesday I was interviewed by Junior from the iPhone and iPad Dev Group website (@iPhoneDevSuisse in Twitter).
First iPads in Switzerland!Queuing in front of the Fifth Avenue Apple Store, 767 Fifth Avenue, New York City, Saturday at 0515:
Roundup of Swiss Companies Writing Mac AppsA lot has been said and done about the iPhone, but there’s much more to Cocoa and Objective-C than our beloved pocket device.
Article on SonntagsZeitungDer Programmierer Adrian Kosmaczewski aus Lausanne arbeitet bereits seit knapp drei Monaten mit einer Vorabversion des Betriebssystems. Sein Urteil fällt eindeutig aus: “Ich bin sehr beeindruckt und empfehle dieses Upgrade jedem Mac-Nutzer”.
Interview sur Le TempsInterview by Anouch Seydtaghia published in Le Temps (download PDF of the website article or the PDF of the printed article).
Article on the Tages AnzeigerZum Umdenken hat Apple selber aktiv beigetragen, indem der Konzern das iPhone im Sommer 2008 für aussenstehende Entwickler öffnete und auf die extreme Geheimhaltung der früheren Jahre verzichtete. Seither kamen schon mehr als 50 000 Anwendungen zustande, und Hunderte von Entwicklern erzielen damit ein regelmässiges Einkommen. «Es sind diese selbstständigen Programmierer, die Apple das Sektiererische nehmen», meint Adrian Kosmaczewski, ein Entwickler aus Lausanne, der zusammen mit zwei Kollegen angereist ist und kurz davor steht, ein eigenes Unternehmen für iPhone-Anwendungen zu gründen. «Apple war wie eine königliche Familie, leicht verdorben und leicht durchgeknallt. Entwickler wie wir, die von aussen dazustossen, bringen das nötige frische Blut.»
Felicidades De InmigranteEste es un mensaje para SpinDoctor: en Ginebra se consigue Mantecol!!! He aquí la prueba (la latita de Aromat es para probar que la foto la saqué en Suiza ;)
PuntualidadEn todos las estaciones de tren de Suiza, todas y cada una, sin excepcion, desde Zurich hasta Ginebra pasando por Lausana, Berna o Maienfelden (el pueblito de Heidi) existen unos relojes con cuadrante blanco, sin cifras ni numeros romanos, que indican todos exactamente la misma hora.
PropagandasLa publicidad suiza es de lejos la peor del mundo. Tiene cierta logica que sea asi, si uno piensa que es un pais con tal nivel de consumo que ni siquiera es necesario promover productos; se venden solos. La gente compra. Es una buena manera de definir el suizo como un consumidor; el suizo consume constantemente, freneticamente, es avaro, vive en abundancia de cosas que generalmente tienen reputacion de buena calidad, son caras pero en realidad no valen tanto. Pero el suizo esta dispuesto a pagar el precio.
CobaniAyer me tome el tren con Laura, estabamos los dos en Ginebra, y nos volvimos juntos para Lausanne. En la estacion de tren, primero nos asombro la cantidad de canas (en realidad, agentes de seguridad privados, armados y con walkie-talkie) que andaban dando vueltas por ahi. Supuestamente uno se tendria que sentir mejor al verlos. En realidad, como toda fuerza policial, lo primero a lo que se dedican es a cercenar libertades. Pero esto que les voy a contar ya supera toda imaginacion.
A No ConfundirseEn francés es facil equivocarse: una “avenue” no es siempre una avenida como estamos acostumbrados en Buenos Aires; para toda via de transito rapido, con al menos tres carriles por mano, los de habla francesa prefieren el termino “boulevard”, que convengamos tiene mas carisma que avenue. Tiene mas “marketing”, no se como definirlo. Donde estas? Estoy caminando por el Boulevard. Es bastante cheto.
MeteorologíaEl tiempo en estos lares es tan malo durante el año, que cuando sale el sol, despues de varios meses de invierno lluvioso, cubierto y gris, la venta de anteojos de sol explota, tanto estamos todos literalmente encandilados por el astro rey. Y los que no andan con polaroids, andan con los ojos entrecerrados como chinos.
CointrinSix heures du matin. La camionnettte blanche vient tout juste de partir, et un vent froid, puissant, rentre par mes narines. Un bruit de fond, toujours présent, me fait grincer les dents, fermer les yeux. Je mets en place mes oreillettes, ce qui réduit (heureusement) ce flot de décibels qui ne cesse jamais.
CR963 ans. 3 ans de ma vie qui passent devant mes yeux en regardant les gens en ce cours de repét. Des visages, des événements, des souvenirs.