• Mac mini + duckyPad

    duckyPadWhen I handed back my work laptop a few months ago, it occurred to me that I needed a new computer. My 2015 MacBook Air is still going strong but it’s many, many years old, and I knew it would struggle with streaming or playing games. So off I went and merrily started pricing new MacBooks when I suddenly wondered… maybe I don’t actually need a laptop?!  It was a strange feeling. But I’ve got the Air and an iPad, and it’s not like I need to do work on the road. So I ended up choosing a Mac mini M2 Pro, and so far I’m really happy* with it.

    I realised today though that I needed to update my duckyPad. Many of my shortcuts were related to work and therefore obsolete, and I also noticed that a few macros weren’t working anymore. So I downloaded the latest Mac ARM Configurator app and fired it up. Unfortunately it failed to connect to the duckyPad. Hmmm. I went through the troubleshooting and added some permissions, but that didn’t fix it. I also dug around in the official Discord to see if anybody had similar issues. I figured maybe there was some issue with the latest Macs, so my next approach was to plug it into the old MacBook Air, which still had an old version of the Configurator on it. That’s when I remembered that with the old version, you didn’t connect to the duckyPad directly but instead used an SD card reader. D’oh! As soon as I did that, it told me that my firmware was out-of-date. Makes sense.

    I went back to the Mac mini and followed the instructions for updating the firmware, which included using Brew to install a utility. That worked perfectly and I was able to then flash the firmware, and as soon as that happened I was able to directly talk to the duckyPad. Brilliant! I was able to remove all the old work macros, set up some new ones, and fix the old ones. (It turns out that I was using “HOLD” in some of them, which has since been replaced by “EMUK.”) The only challenge is that the Configurator is oddly unresponsive when you’re editing. I had to often click multiple times to get it to register or to change focus. Not sure why that is. It works; it’s just super super slow. When I was done, I hit “Save” and the new config was written to the pad.

    And incidentally – there’s a new duckyPad Pro coming! It’s got more keys, and knobs. I don’t really need it, but it looks cool.

    * My only complaint about the Mac mini is that without a Mac laptop or keyboard, I don’t have Touch ID. That gets really annoying when typing my long master password into Strongbox. I’ve seen a few folks though that have hacked a standalone Touch ID button though… A project for another time. 🙂


  • Photo Post

    One of the things I was most excited to see in Heraklion was the Phaistos Disc. This clay disc was discovered in Crete in 1908 and is covered in symbols from an unknown language. No one knows what it means. I learned about the disc a few years back when I was researching “mysteries” to knit into a scarf. (I ended up going with the Wow Signal.) Isn’t it cool? Now we have a smaller magnetic version stuck on our fridge.

    One of the things I was most excited to see in Heraklion was the Phaistos Disc. This clay disc was discovered in Crete in 1908 and is covered in symbols from an unknown language. No one knows what it means. I learned about the disc a few years back when I was researching “mysteries” to knit into a scarf. (I ended up going with the Wow Signal.) Isn’t it cool? Now we have a smaller magnetic version stuck on our fridge.


  • Photo Post

    That’s it. Final flight selfie. 8hrs and we’re home… ❤️✈️

    That’s it. Final flight selfie. 8hrs and we’re home… ❤️✈️


  • Photo Post

    A quick catch up in Singapore with the best team ever. ❤️ #awsdeveloper #apjdevrel

    A quick catch up in Singapore with the best team ever. ❤️ #awsdeveloper #apjdevrel


  • Photo Post

    Time to go home. ❤️✈️

    Time to go home. ❤️✈️


  • Photo Post

    Why yes, there is a Ferris Wheel directly outside our hotel room and it starts running before 9am. 😳🎡

    Why yes, there is a Ferris Wheel directly outside our hotel room and it starts running before 9am. 😳🎡


  • Photo Post

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest

    A perfect Oktoberfest day. Two years ago it was rainy and cold, but today we had blue skies and sunshine. We caught up with friends, enjoyed beer and Bavarian food, bought some souvenirs, and escaped before it got too crowded. ❤️🍻☀️ #oktoberfest


  • Photo Post

    Auf Wiedersehen, Greece! Back to Munich… 🇩🇪✈️

    Auf Wiedersehen, Greece! Back to Munich… 🇩🇪✈️


  • Photo Post

    I’ve never been to a restaurant that had an entire separate menu just of olive oils! Thanks to @peskesi for a wonderful evening of local food served with generosity and pride. (And though he was initially skeptical of the dessert, it was delicious!)

    I’ve never been to a restaurant that had an entire separate menu just of olive oils! Thanks to @peskesi for a wonderful evening of local food served with generosity and pride. (And though he was initially skeptical of the dessert, it was delicious!)

    I’ve never been to a restaurant that had an entire separate menu just of olive oils! Thanks to @peskesi for a wonderful evening of local food served with generosity and pride. (And though he was initially skeptical of the dessert, it was delicious!)

    I’ve never been to a restaurant that had an entire separate menu just of olive oils! Thanks to @peskesi for a wonderful evening of local food served with generosity and pride. (And though he was initially skeptical of the dessert, it was delicious!)

    I’ve never been to a restaurant that had an entire separate menu just of olive oils! Thanks to @peskesi for a wonderful evening of local food served with generosity and pride. (And though he was initially skeptical of the dessert, it was delicious!)

    I’ve never been to a restaurant that had an entire separate menu just of olive oils! Thanks to @peskesi for a wonderful evening of local food served with generosity and pride. (And though he was initially skeptical of the dessert, it was delicious!)



ABOUT

My name is Kris. I’ve been blogging since the 90’s. I live in Sydney, Australia, and I spent most of my career in the tech industry.

No AI used in writing this blog, ever. 100% human-generated.


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