If you read a site and care about its well being, then you should not block ads or you subscribe to sites like Ars that offer ads-free versions of the site. If a site has advertising you dont agree with, dont go there. I think it is far better to vote with page views than to show up and consume resources without giving anything in return.

Let's be clear here: I don't run an ad blocker. I do run a Flash blocker, because Flash is unstable and insecure. And no, I will not white-list you to let you load Flash automatically.

And before you ask, you can't have my root password either.

I also don't keep a list of sites I'm not welcomed at. For the half dozen times a year I read a story on Ars (at most), I'm not going to feel guilty either.

Look, in the comments you have admitted you don't control the content of the Flash:

We don't allow ads with non-user initiated sound. So unless you interact with the ad you shouldn't hear a thing. If you ever do then let us know so we can fix it/nuke it.

If ads make sound uninvited, tell you?!? Are you serious? What if they use some new Flash exploit to root around and steal my private key, or otherwise execute arbitrary code on my computer?

Should I tell you then, too?

The first step to getting on my white list is to write your own Flash, not just serve someone else's. Taking people's security that cavalierly probably should be criminal.

You can't just say "Oh, that's on Adobe." By now you know what an insecure mess Flash is.

If you serve me HTML ads, I'll be happy to view them. I'm not sure if you've heard, but it turns out that you can do a lot of cool things with HTML.

Also I just checked, and Javascript can (indirectly) detect my Flash blocker. There's no reason you should try to blame users like me rather than take the responsibility on yourself. The difference between my Mac and an iPhone is that you're able to detect the latter without much effort, but the former would take a little more effort on your part.

Look, I'm sorry I cost you a fraction of a penny. But the potential pain for me in choosing to run Flash is far, far greater. And if you really cared about your users, you'd know that and have moved on from Flash already. Don't try to lay a guilt trip on me!

I'll see you in six months. Not intentionally, that'll just be the next time I have reason to visit Ars. Maybe you'll have this sorted out by then.

• Presentation
  • Helvetica Neue. Because no other font comes close.
  • A streamlined and less boxy design.
  • Removal of side bar. Most of its functionality will be merged into the footer, and the search into the header.
• Content:
  • More frequent posts, as I attempt to kill my fear of sucking by doing so more often.
  • More focus on iPhone and Mac development.
  • Less focus on Windows development, since I don't have to do it anymore.

Looked at one way, that's a 200% estimation overflow. But more realistically, it means it was pretty small and I tackled it in the wrong way. I had to refactor some code early that I left alone for too long. I should've written in the right way to begin with, and I should have realized it was wrong sooner, and I should have stopped trying to make it work.

More pragmatically, maybe I should have known better. But, of course, I didn't. And that's okay! I know better now.

What's my point in posting this?

Mostly, it's this: iPhone development isn't nearly as hard as I've made it out to be. Useful applications can actually be quite small and still be useful. Simple things are simple. When they're not simple, it's time to fix something.

I'll post a link here when I finish the project. It'll be a bit before I can devote another day to it. But I'm excited by its usefulness, its simplicity, and the idea of having an app in the App Store of my own.

I'm often saddened by the infantilising effect of high technology on adults. From being in control of their world, they're thrust back to a childish, mediaeval world in which gremlins appear to torment them and disappear at will and against which magic, spells, and the local witch doctor are their only refuges.

I want my software to fail because it sucks, or is buggy, or doesn't have the right features, not because Apple can shut me down over a minor difference of opinion.