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qnm

16 karma · joined May 9, 2011

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/qnm; my proof: https://keybase.io/qnm/sigs/AvTVQ3TkbF3zLwQioQ-zveq_dVSToUfHyg4TPJ3EWQw ]
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qnm··on Sir Clive Sinclair has died
My first computer was a home-built ZX81 (manufactured in my hometown of Dundee) given to me by a capable and nerdy family friend, which was quickly replaced by a ZX Spectrum Plus 2 (it had colour and built-in tape deck) that Christmas - a move which has shaped my life ever since.

I have fond (ish!) memories of typing in hex codes and BASIC from computing magazines to create games and demos, and having the ability to see and edit that code almost certainly give me the start of the career I have now.

RIP Sir Clive.

qnm··on Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today
Was about to write the same thing! I had never heard of a Tesla valve prior to Nuraphone, but it’s a brilliantly simple design that works really well for this case.
qnm··on Embracing Asynchronous Communication at Gitlab
I did not know you had these courses in Coursera. Great to know, I’ve signed up!
qnm··on Show HN: Run VSCode on iPhone and iPad
This is neat. I’d love to be able to code in an iPad.

Related, I found GitPod a while back, it offers a VSCode experience and also manages running services for you.

https://www.gitpod.io/

qnm··on Tarsnap GUI for the desktop
Looks good. I think it's time to try tarsnap again.

I recall that there was this one GUI tool[1] for OSX but I was never able to get it to work correctly.

[1] https://github.com/casperstorm/Bob

qnm··on Sourceforge Hijacks the Nmap Sourceforge Account
I think the problem is that abandoning your project on Sourceforge doesn't have the intended effect.

"SourceForge, the code repository site owned by Slashdot Media, has apparently seized control of the account hosting GIMP for Windows on the service, according to e-mails and discussions amongst members of the GIMP community—locking out GIMP's lead Windows developer. And now anyone downloading the Windows version of the open source image editing tool from SourceForge gets the software wrapped in an installer replete with advertisements."

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/05/source...

qnm··on Flying faster with Twitter Heron
Not that I can find. I don't see any indications that they intend to open-source Heron either.
qnm··on Wabi-sabi
Perhaps. An item gains wabi-sabi through stressors increasing imperfection?
qnm··on LinkedIn.com currently pointing to a parked domain
Looks like it's back now.

I suppose someone forgot to renew their domain! Awkward.

qnm··on Rails 3.1 HackFest
There are significant changes that I wouldn't normally have expected in a point release.

To your point, the community has rushed to support many of these changes so it's unlikely to be a big deal.

qnm··on Rails 3.1 HackFest
This is a great idea. 3.1 is way more 'breaky' than I'd expect from a point release, but the new features are great. Let's make it an awesome release!
qnm··on Github is Your New Resume
Github[0] gives Junior developers another way to get an interview. Those with minimal professional experience are able to show - to some degree - that they can code, use a VCS and have an understanding of the push/pull/fork contribution model. Bonus points for contributions, bug reports etc.

I don't believe it replaces one, but for those without a well-seasoned resume, a Github profile works well as a conversation starter.

[0] Or any public VCS, of course.

qnm··on Tesco: Homeplus Subway Virtual Store (Movie
What a fantastic idea! Cleverly bridges the divide between a bricks 'n' mortar store, and an entirely virtual one.

I wonder if folk are more comfortable ordering from this pseudo-virtual store than a fully online store? I would assume so.

qnm··on Washington Post Hacked: 1,270,000 Emails and User IDs Compromised
I received one of these emails. What I don't understand is why - I've never used the Washington Post jobs site. I live in Sydney...
qnm··on "Bitcoin" trademark application
Perhaps an intern thought they needed something new to mine for when the resources of WA run out.
qnm··on Things Everyone Should Do: Code Review
We're adopting an approach where all developers fork our main git repo, and code review is applied to all pull requests before a merge.

It's yet to be seen if this overhead is worthwhile.

Review before commit is a very low-overhead approach, and the side effects of distribution of systems knowledge and pride in your code make it a tempting alternative.