Blogs

Let’s go for my web review for the week 2023-42.


F-Droid version of KDEConnect uninstalled by PlayProtect - Help - KDE Discuss

Tags: tech, android, google, trust

This will lower even more the trust we can have in those devices. The only way to really own them seems be to just blow the warranty and flash them…

https://discuss.kde.org/t/f-droid-version-of-kdeconnect-uninstalled-by-playprotect/5992


I’m banned for life from advertising on Meta. Because I teach Python. — Reuven Lerner

Tags: tech, facebook, ai, machine-learning, automation, criticism

The risks of too much automation… this is chilling to see what using machine learning based system all the way can lead to. It’s just a ridiculous situation and no way to get out of it.

https://lerner.co.il/2023/10/19/im-banned-for-life-from-advertising-on-meta-because-i-teach-python/


We Were Wrong About the GPLs — /dev/lawyer

Tags: tech, foss, licensing, law

Interesting line of argument regarding Free Software licenses. I wonder what the judges will conclude in the end… this could have important consequences.

https://writing.kemitchell.com/2023/10/13/Wrong-About-GPLs


Google-hosted malvertising leads to fake Keepass site that looks genuine | Ars Technica

Tags: tech, browser, google, attention-economy, security

This is a bad case of content moderation if it gets presented to users like this… but Google is not going to leave advertisement money on the table. The way browsers changed in recent years also make this kind of deceptions easier (harder to check certificates, hard to spot punycoding).

https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/10/google-hosted-malvertising-leads-to-fake-keepass-site-that-looks-genuine/


Atlas of Surveillance

Tags: tech, surveillance

US centric but a very welcome tool. Let’s hope we get similar initiatives for other countries as well.

https://atlasofsurveillance.org/


Encrypt. Now.

Tags: tech, privacy, surveillance, politics

Definitely very important as our privacy is attacked once more…

https://blog.tripu.info/encrypt/


Multi-modal prompt injection image attacks against GPT-4V

Tags: tech, ai, gpt, security

This is a hard problem to solve, and going multi-modal makes it harder in my opinion.

https://simonwillison.net/2023/Oct/14/multi-modal-prompt-injection/


Llemma: An Open Language Model For Mathematics | EleutherAI Blog

Tags: tech, mathematics, ai, machine-learning, gpt

On specialized and formalized domains like this it might lead to something interesting. That said there’s a tension with the fact that it doesn’t know when it doesn’t know which might be problematic. Also I wonder how it fares compared to computational models like WolframAlpha. In the end very formal domains like this have large knowledge bases already available.

https://blog.eleuther.ai/llemma/


LocalAI

Tags: tech, ai, machine-learning, gpt, foss

A good way to get some control back if you want to use a LLM. You can host it locally, it’s free software. Definitely a step in the right direction.

https://localai.io/


LocalSend

Tags: tech, tools, foss

Looks like a nice FOSS tool to share files between devices without going through the Internet.

https://localsend.org/


SSH server & client security auditing

Tags: tech, ssh, tools, security

Looks like a nice tool to check if your SSH config is secure. Works both for servers and clients.

https://github.com/jtesta/ssh-audit


Organizing multiple Git identities | Garrit’s Notes

Tags: tech, tools, git

This is pretty much exactly how I organize my projects. I highly recommend this approach, works very well.

https://garrit.xyz/posts/2023-10-13-organizing-multiple-git-identities


An Interactive Intro to CRDTs | jakelazaroff.com

Tags: tech, crdt, web, distributed

Long article in two parts (make sure to read the second one as well) showing how to build an interactive painter with CRDT. Nice way to understand how they work.

https://jakelazaroff.com/words/an-interactive-intro-to-crdts/


Surfacing request errors when using HTMX

Tags: tech, web, frontend, htmx

Nice explanation on how to handle request errors with HTMX. It’s in fact relatively simple even though there’s a couple of pitfalls.

https://xvello.net/blog/htmx-error-handling/


Inside STL: The different types of shared pointer control blocks - The Old New Thing

Tags: tech, c++

This is a too little known fact in my opinion. Good thing someone sheds some light on it.

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20230821-00/?p=108626


Why async Rust? - Without boats, dreams dry up

Tags: tech, rust, asynchronous, community

Good exploration on how and why async Rust was designed. As usual it’s not purely for technical reasons, there’s a human and community factor to it.

https://without.boats/blog/why-async-rust/


Learn Wayland by writing a GUI from scratch

Tags: tech, graphics, wayland

Understanding the Wayland protocol by going all the way back to what’s going on with the domain socket. Can serve as a nice introduction.

https://gaultier.github.io/blog/wayland_from_scratch.html


What Every Developer Should Know About GPU Computing

Tags: tech, gpu, computation, architecture

Nice primer on how computation works on GPUs. Goes a bit into the architecture as well. Good starting point.

https://codeconfessions.substack.com/p/gpu-computing


Wrapping Meshes With Geodesic Walks - Casey Primozic’s Homepage

Tags: tech, 3d, web, geometry

Very interesting computational geometry tricks. You can make interesting shapes out of this.

https://cprimozic.net/blog/wrapping-meshes-with-geodesic-walks/


Fluid Simulation

Tags: tech, 3d, gpu, graphics, simulation

Nice notes breaking down how to simulate fluids. Easily translates to GPU computation too.

https://kyndinfo.notion.site/Fluid-Simulation-f0516d9d12e245a08ae5c7545ac822dd


API design principle: Reading a property or adding an event handler should not alter observable behavior - The Old New Thing

Tags: tech, programming, api, design

Definitely a good principle to follow when designing APIs. Otherwise you make them less obvious and more dangerous to use.

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20231016-00/?p=108895


Why Software Design Matters - by Kent Beck

Tags: tech, software, design, programming

Yes, definitely this. Plenty of reasons why it’s important.

https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/why-software-design-matters


To Design or Not To Design? - by Kent Beck

Tags: tech, agile, tests, design, craftsmanship, business

There will always be some design and some testing. The intensity of both activities needs to be properly managed over time though.

https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/to-design-or-not-to-design


Write more “useless” software | nicole@web

Tags: tech, learning, programming

Play is definitely needed for growth. It’s true for kids, it’s still true for so called grown ups.

https://ntietz.com/blog/write-more-useless-software/


Software engineering is about thinking, not typing | Organizing Chaos

Tags: tech, engineering, productivity

Definitely this. Also with experience you tend to type less and influence others more.

https://jordankaye.dev/posts/thinking-not-typing/


Manage Your Capacity, Not Your Time - The Engineering Manager

Tags: management, productivity, time, energy

Good advices. Keep some slack, have an idea of your energy level, that’s what impacts your capacity. Time is a given you can’t do much with it.

https://www.theengineeringmanager.com/management-101/manage-your-capacity-not-your-time/


Diving into Engineering Metrics - by Nicola Ballotta

Tags: tech, engineering, management, metrics

Good starting point before really exploring this field deeper. Especially important here is the last section on how to use them properly. Be cautious, keep people well-being in mind at all time.

https://hybridhacker.email/p/diving-into-engineering-metrics



Bye for now!