Category: English
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Input lag: 1977-2017
Input lag: 1977-2017 is an essay about the time it takes several computers to display a character from a keypress. A lot of newer computers take 3 to 5 times more than 30 to 40 years old computers.
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Google Maps’ Moat
Google Maps’ Moat, by Justin O’Beirne. On the competitive advantage that Google Maps has over Apple Maps – equally interesting for map nerds and business people.
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Shelter from the Storm
Mars soundtrack (the National Geographic tv-show) is fantastic. Nick Cave is just the perfect voice to convey that feeling of exploration and fear. Moon, Interstellar, The Martian, etc; it seems sci-fi movies got an appreciation for soundtracks that have a major role in the film – and I enjoy that. As much as I like Cave’s main…
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Agile according to Basecamp
Running in Circles is Basecamp’s view of agile product management. They acknowledge the value of working in cycles, but add three pieces: having the time to focus, being able to modify the original plan, and tackle the core unknowns of the feature first. The first two are enablers that are provided to the makers by management.…
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Module counts
I came across Module Counts, which tracks the number of published modules for major language package managers. At this point, npm has 600k packages published, which is 3 to 4 times what any other package manager has. I’m not aware of download statistic across different package managers, but npm has surpassed the 2 billions downloads…
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Are you serious
This puts me in the perfect mood before going for a walk in this sunny and cold Saturday.
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Software architecture failing
Software architecture failing: tech writing is biased towards what the big ones do, which usually doesn’t fit most other contexts – but, who got fired for choosing IBM, right? Although I feel connected to this rant at an emotional level, I do think it’s necessary to elaborate more and make a positive contribution: help to…
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The language of programming
The language of programming is about the struggles non-native English speakers face when learning to program. Hat tip: Manuel.
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Touch typing in Dvorak
On November 2016 I had a free month between jobs. Apart from some resting, reading, and general preparations for my new adventure, I still had quite a bit of free time to do new things or build good habits. It was while cleaning my office that I found a keyboard I had bought a couple of years…
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Weekend clean-up
I spent the weekend reorganizing things, including my blog. I’ve got a new WordPress theme (independent publisher) which looks a lot more lightweight. I’ve consolidated the essays section with stuff that grew out of individual posts (I keep thinking that someday I’ll have the time to publish them as independent e-books), polished the about, fixed some…
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Learning to learn
What does it take to acquire new skills and knowledge? Or a review of Dreyfuss model of skill acquisition.
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The thing that get us to the thing
Past Saturday, AMC aired Halt and Catch Fire season finale. I saw this tv-show grow over 4 seasons and I’m sad it’s over. HACF resonated with me because it was about the pleasure of making things work and the cost of pursuing your dreams. We need a whole lot more stories about the woes and joys of creation to…
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The pleasure of finding things out, by Richard Feynman
This was the first book listening experience that I’ve actually finished. Sean Runnette‘s voice was adequate for setting the tone and rhythm – actually, sometimes I felt I was listening to Feinmann himself! Having read Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, What Do You Care What Other People Think? and some other papers/videos, most of the stories in…
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Turns out algorithms are racists
«Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.» — Melvin Kranzberg’s six laws of technology One of the things I was very into a decade ago was studying the intertwine between technology, culture, and society. From those years, I developed a sensitivity about my role as an engineer, or as an enabler of…
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Code and decision trees
An example on how changing the language for thinking may help us to simplify our programs.
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A new middle class
In this paper, we make the case that the high-productivity digital firms are starting to generate a new middle class. It’s a virtuous circle. Consumers flock to those firms because they offer lower prices and better service. Workers migrate there from low-productivity firms because the high-productivity firms offer better wages for the same occupations—and, often,…
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The Google repository
I’ve been reading how Google organizes its codebase: they maintain a hyper-large repository containing everything, since the beginning of the company. I guess you may find Gmail, Photos, or AdWords there. You won’t find Android or Chrome, though – these are open source projects. The repository is 86Tb of data, 1 billion of files, and 35 billion…