1921
The collapsing quality of dev.to (2021)
Why is it getting so much worse?
New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 3,821 posts.
1922
The Composition over Inheritance Principle (2020)
In Python as in other programming languages, this grand principle encourages software architects to escape from Object Orientation and enjoy the simpler practices of Object Based programming instead.
1923
1924
Speeding up this site by 50x (2014)
I've seen all these studies that show how a 100ms improvement in page load time has a significant effect on page views, conversion rate, etc., but I'd never actually tried to optimize my site. This blog is a static Octopress site, hosted on GitHub Pages. Static sites are supposed to be fast, and GitHub Pages uses…
1925
Hardening macOS
Quick and easy guide for securing macOS systems, for both laymen and security enthusiasts. Last updated for Golden Gate.
1926
Build a PinePhone App with Zig and Zgt
Can we use Zig to code PinePhone Apps? Maybe make them simpler and safer? Let's find out!
1927
SMS phishing is way too easy
Impersonating someone in SMS texts is way too easy, we must change this to prevent social engineering fraud.
1928
How to avoid being a secretary for engineers (2018)
If we just see our task as documenting solutions that engineers have solved, it removes the creativity and critical thinking dimension from tech comm. The creative dimension in tech comm comes into play as we identify and solve tech comm challenges, such as devising ways to simplify complexity or otherwise improve the…
1929
On the dangers of cryptocurrencies and the uselessness of blockchain
Earlier this month, I and others wrote a letter to Congress, basically saying that cryptocurrencies are an complete and total disaster, and urging them to regulate the space. Nothing in that letter is out of the ordinary, and is in line with what I wrote about blockchain in 2019. In response, Matthew Green has…
1930
A Random Distribution of Wealth (2017)
W hat happens, if 100 persons in a room are given $100 each and give away a Dollar to one randomly chosen person in this room each tick of the clock? How is wealth distributed over time by pure chance?
1931
1932
1933
What it feels like when Rust saves your bacon
You’ve probably heard that the Rust type checker can be a great “co-pilot”, helping you to avoid subtle bugs that would have been a royal pain in the !@#!$! to debug. This is truly awesome! But what you may not realize is how it feels in the moment when this happens. The answer typically is: really, really…
1934
Apple is not defending browser engine choice
Some folks claim that Apple's mandated inadequacy for browsers and their engines is somehow beneficial to the cause of ensuring a diverse pool of web engines. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but to understand why, we need to understand how browsers are funded. With that understanding, we can see that not only…
1935
Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part IIIb: Officers
Bret Devereaux (A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry)2022157 points22 commentsHistory & Retro Computing details
This is the continuation of the third part of our three(ish) part (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc) series looking at the role of the general in commanding pre-gunpowder armies in battle. Last time we look…
1936
Revisiting the principles of data-oriented programming
Principles of Data-Oriented Programming. Benefits and costs of Data-Oriented Programming. DOP vs OOP. DOP vs FP.
1937
1938
Advice for academic refugees
Recently I met a new coworker, a now-former professor who left academia.
1939
Things I do every time I start a Django project
Personal site of Brenton Cleeland
1940
Nonprofit boards are weird
With great power comes, er, unclear responsibility and zero accountability.
1941
How safe is Zig?
I keep seeing discussions that equate zig's level of memory safety with c (or occasionally with rust!). Neither is particularly accurate. This is an attempt at a more detailed breakdown.
1942
Schroedinger's streaming service just died
The sex industry has pioneered every new communications tool since the printing press: in my own lifetime, I've watched it take the lead in VCRs, desktop publishing, BBSes, digital text, digital images, digital videos, live streaming services, cryptocurrency, and VR. It would be easy to conclude that being interested…
1943
Mental Model: Difficult Problems vs. Hard Work
How to model work that interacts with ambiguity
1944
Random Ultima Online anecdote #2 – Horses inside players (2014)
I just stumbled across this old story I told somewhere, and thought I’d share more widely.
1945
Code vs. No-code
There was a conversation on Twitter this week that helped to clarify my thinking about something, and I wanted to share. There is a sort of tension between “code” and “no-code” (sometimes “low-code”) solutions. People who consider themselves software developers see people trying to use no-code solutions to do things…
1946
Repurposing an old Android phone as a web server
A programmer's blog with posts about Ruby, web development, algorithms and data structure.
1947
How I would sell OpenBSD as a salesperson
Let's have fun, I'm now a salesperson and I have to convince customers to buy OpenBSD, here is how I would proceed.
1948
JVM Anatomy Quark #10: String.intern (2019)
"JVM Anatomy Quarks" is the on-going mini-post series, where every post is describing some elementary piece of knowledge about JVM. The name underlines the fact that the single post cannot be taken in isolation, and most pieces described here are going to readily interact with each other.
1949
Chasing utopian energy: How I wasted 20 years of my life
Utopian energy is an imagined form of energy that’s abundant, reliable, inexpensive, and also clean, renewable, and life-sustaining. But utopian energy is as much a fantasy as a utopian society. Seeking the fount of perfect energy allows us to pretend there aren’t real-world tradeoffs between, say,
1950
Why is Apache clinging to OpenOffice?
Why is Apache clinging to OpenOffice? It's dead. Its last major release was version 4.1, from 2014! In contrast, LibreOffice's release schedule is robust: Timelines of major product releases. OpenOffice is light blue, LibreOffice is green. (source) In 2020, LibreOffice wrote a constructive letter, outlining a path for…