Technology Commentary

A lot of people are looking for ways to get off networks run by dipshit billionaires right now, and also for refuges online that don't come with their own terrible problems. I want to help them find some.

The IndieWeb is more than just webmentions. It's about having your own website, sharing links to other websites, and being part of communities that work towards building a better web.

By embracing chaos engineering, companies can avoid outages and ensure a seamless experience for their users, even when disruptions occur.

Posted on Friday 8 Nov 2024. 410 words, no links. By Matt Webb.

Hello AI enthusiasts.

This week’s system design refresher:

MVP is such a misused term in product development that it’s now almost useless. In many organisations, it describes the initial version o...

We held the 39th edition of Internet Identity Workshop last week. Like always, it was a great week.

Although generative AI and large language models have been pushed as direct replacements for certain kinds of workers, plenty of businesses actually doing this have found that using this new techno…

Web dev at the end of the world, from Hveragerði, Iceland

Ben Rubin, cocreator of hit pandemic chat app Houseparty, has launched a new group messaging platform that aims to solve the problems undermining trust in public conversation—using blockchain. If it fails, that’s OK by him.

At scale there are no rollbacks and no cut-overs. Your software only moves forward.

The chatbots-as-search paradigm encourages us to just accept answers as given, especially when they are stated in terms that are both friendly and authoritative. The chatbot interface invites you t…

SpaceX’s triumph is downstream of a dream and getting the cost structure necessary to make it happen; Elon Musk is trying the same approach for Tesla self-driving cars

So much technology, so little understanding.

The NY Times has had a difficult time covering the 2024 election in a clear, responsible manner. But I wanted to highlight this sh

Discover why Application Performance Monitoring (APM) may not be the best solution for every app. Learn about the hidden costs, reactive pitfalls, and when a proactive approach to performance can be more effective.

If your favorite content management system feels like it’s sinking into a shallow well of hubris, you might want alternatives. I have a few ideas.

You’re getting hit by pre-election chaos everywhere online. Let’s take a step back and get a bit of a palate cleanser. A little Tedium goes a long way.

The man who attempted to sue Linux out of existence died a month and a half ago with little notice by the Linux and open source communities.

People might argue that JSON Schema is overkill or outdated. But in this article, we’ll explore that it is not the case and understand how…

Exploration of C++ complexity with first-hand experience of compiler bugs

Reflections on A Philosophy of Software Design — Part 1

Artificial intelligence has always been around us, with [Timothy J. O’Malley]’s 1985 book on AI projects for the Commodore 64 being one example of this. With AI defined as being the the…

Soundtrack: EL-P - Flyentology At the core of Microsoft, a three-trillion-dollar hardware and software company, lies a kind of social poison — an ill-defined, cult-like pseudo-scientific concept called 'The Growth Mindset" that drives company decision-making in everything from how products are sold, to how your on-the-job performance is judged. I am

Posted on Friday 1 Nov 2024. 1,016 words, 13 links. By Matt Webb.