TMO Background Mode Interview with macOS Software Developer Sander Berents
Sander Berents has been fascinated by astronomy since childhood when he started using his older brother’s telescope. In his teens, he also became immersed in BASIC and assembly language programming with his TRS-80. Later, he earned an M.S. in astrophysics. His earliest jobs involved computer programming, and nowadays, he’s an independent, professional macOS software developer and the developer of the macOS app called Observatory. Version 1.0 was released in April 2016. We chatted about the development of Observatory, written in Objective-C and C++, which has several important features for astrophotographers: plate solving, image stacking and a digital blink microscope used for discovery. This app can also be used as a non-destructive photo library for astrophotos. Sander chatted about life as a developer and explained a little bit about how astronomers use his app.
Sponsors
This week, our sponsor is Molekule.
Molekule is a complete reinvention of the air purifier, not just an improvement on existing, outdated technology. It was developed by a scientist whose son suffered from asthma and who was frustrated by the fact HEPA air purifiers did not relieve his son’s symptoms.
Molekule introduces a breakthrough science that is finally capable of destroying air pollutants at a molecular level. Molekule’s PECO technology goes beyond HEPA filtration to not just capture but completely destroy the full spectrum of indoor air pollutants, including those 1000x smaller than a HEPA filter can trap, that is, 0.3 micron.
The results have transformed lifelong allergy and asthma sufferers’ lives. One customer even said that she was “able to breathe through her nose for the first time in 15 years!”
Technology development of Molekule has been funded by the EPA.
Molekule’s technology has been personally effective and verified by science, but most importantly, it’s been tested by real people. Molekule has already helped allergy and asthma sufferers around the country better cope with their conditions and significantly reduce their symptoms.
And now, Molekule has a special offer for BGM listeners. Visit molekule.com, and save $75 off your first order. At checkout, just use the promo code provided in the podcast.
Show Notes
My Background Mode interview with Sander Berents
- CodeObsession on Twitter.
- Sander's Website.
- [email protected]
- Review of Observatory
- Observatory was reviewed in the March, 2018 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine.
- Support TMO when you buy your Apple gear from Apple.
- The story of my Background Mode podcast.
- TMO Background Mode Twitter feed.
- Archive of all Background Mode Shows.
- Background Mode at iTunes.
- Send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected]