Thoughtful writing on software, hardware, and the apps worth keeping.
This is a personal blog by Dr. Holger Handel — computer scientist, tinkerer, and firm believer that good software should feel like it belongs. You’ll find writing about native Apple development, the occasional hardware detour, and the apps I build and ship for iOS and macOS. In addition, I will write about other stuff I am excited about, mostly related to new technology.
The design is intentionally vintage — this blog is a reverence to the classic Kubrick theme, one of the oldest WordPress defaults still worth keeping. Some things age well. That’s rather the point.
What I build
Native applications for Apple platforms. Every app is written in Swift, combined with C++ to take full advantage of the hardware it runs on — no cross-platform compromises, no Electron wrappers, no unnecessary complexity.
I build for iOS and macOS because I care about the craft. Fast launch times, intuitive interfaces, and features that earn their place.
Philosophy
I build software I actually want to use. That’s the filter every app has to pass before I write a single line of code — would I reach for this myself? If the answer is yes, it’s worth building properly.
The same is true for writing. Every article here starts with something I had to figure out myself — a problem I got stuck on, a concept that took longer to click than it should have, a tool that turned out to be more interesting than I expected. If I learned something worth knowing, it’s worth passing on.
That’s the whole motivation. No content strategy, no SEO agenda — just the things that genuinely matter to me, shared in the hope that they matter to someone else too.
From the Blog
Latest articles on development, technology, and the craft of building software.
Implementing Turn-Based Multiplayer Games with GameKit
Apple’s GameKit framework provides a turn-based multiplayer system through GKTurnBasedMatch that handles the heavy lifting of asynchronous online play: match creation, push notifications, and server-side state storage. Players take turns without needing to be online …
The Apps
Four In Space 3D — iOS
The classic Connect Four — reimagined in three dimensions. Drop tokens on a 4×4×4 grid, compete against AI or challenge players worldwide through Game Center.
Markdowner — macOS
A clean, native Markdown editor for macOS. Edit and preview your files with tabs, syntax highlighting, and instant rendered previews. Lightweight and lightning fast.