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Hacker, Hack Thyself
2.6.2017
We've read so many sad stories about communities that were fatally compromised or destroyed due to security exploits. We took that lesson to heart when we founded the Discourse project; we endeavor to build open source software that is secure and safe for communities by default, even if there are
Drugs, Code and ICOs: Monero’s Long Road to Blockchain Respect
4.2.2017
CoinDesk explores the alternative digital currency monero and its long road to becoming of the industry's most talked-about projects
I'm Loyal to Nothing Except the Dream
30.1.2017
There is much I take for granted in my life, and the normal functioning of American government is one of those things. In my 46 years, I've lived under nine different presidents. The first I remember is Carter. I've voted in every presidential election since 1992, but I do not
An Inferno on the Head of a Pin
17.1.2017
Today's processors contain billions of heat-generating transistors in an ever shrinking space. The power budget might go from:
1000 watts on a specialized server
100 watts on desktops
30 watts on laptops
5 watts on tablets
1 or 2 watts on a phone
100 milliwatts on an embedded system
That's
Let's Encrypt Everything
23.11.2016
I'll admit I was late to the HTTPS party.
But post Snowden, and particularly after the result of the last election here in the US, it's clear that everything on the web should be encrypted by default.
Why?
You have an unalienable right to privacy, both in the real world
Can Software Make You Less Racist?
25.8.2016
I don't think we computer geeks appreciate how profoundly the rise of the smartphone, and Facebook, has changed the Internet audience. It's something that really only happened in the last five years, as smartphones and data plans dropped radically in price and became accessible – and addictive –...
On Tokens and Crowdsales: How Startups Are Using Blockchain to Raise Capital
20.8.2016
A look at the ways startups are utilising blockchain-based software tokens, and the various decentralized business models taking shape around them
The Raspberry Pi Has Revolutionized Emulation
25.7.2016
Every geek goes through a phase where they discover emulation. It's practically a rite of passage.
I think I spent most of my childhood – and a large part of my life as a young adult – desperately wishing I was in a video game arcade. When I finally obtained my driver's
Computer says NO to HTML5 document outline
9.6.2016
What a brilliant idea! For the longest time HTML5 specified, and advised developers, that it no longer mattered what the number (1 to 6) was in a heading element (when used in conjunction with sectioning elements). What mattered was the nesting level of the H1-h6 in sectioning elements, just like...
Computer says NO to HTML5 document outline
9.6.2016
What a brilliant idea! For the longest time HTML5 specified, and advised developers, that it no longer mattered what the number (1 to 6) was in a heading element (when used in conjunction with sectioning elements). What mattered was the nesting level of the H1-h6 in sectioning elements, just like...
The Golden Age of x86 Gaming
21.5.2016
I've been happy with my 2016 HTPC, but the situation has changed, largely because of something I mentioned in passing back in November:
The Xbox One and PS4 are effectively plain old PCs, built on:
Intel Atom class (aka slow) AMD 8-core x86 CPU
8 GB RAM
AMD Radeon 77xx
Your Own Personal WiFi Storage
7.5.2016
Our kids have reached the age – at ages 4, 4, and 7 respectively – that taking longer trips with them is now possible without everyone losing what's left of their sanity in the process. But we still have the same problem on multiple hour trips, whether it's in a car, or
They Have To Be Monsters
29.4.2016
Since I started working on Discourse, I spend a lot of time thinking about how software can encourage and nudge people to be more empathetic online. That's why it's troubling to read articles like this one:
My brother’s 32nd birthday is today. It’s an especially emotional day for
Here's The Programming Game You Never Asked For
15.4.2016
You know what's universally regarded as un-fun by most programmers? Writing assembly language code.
As Steve McConnell said back in 1994:
Programmers working with high-level languages achieve better productivity and quality than those working with lower-level languages. Languages such as...
The woes of date input
19.1.2016
One of the many new input types that HTML5 introduced is the date input type which, in theory, should allow a developer to provide the user with a simple, usable, recognisable method of entering a date on a web page. But sadly, this input type has yet to reach its full potential. Briefly, the date...
HTML Developers: Please Consider
9.12.2015
ARIA is an amazing technology, it allows developers to add meaning to meaningless HTML or override meaning on HTML that is being repurposed and sometimes misused, so that users who rely upon the meaning of HTML, as implemented in browsers, can understand and interact with HTML User Interfaces...
HTML Developers: Please Consider
9.12.2015
ARIA is an amazing technology, it allows developers to add meaning to meaningless HTML or override meaning on HTML that is being repurposed and sometimes misused, so that users who rely upon the meaning of HTML, as implemented in browsers, can understand and interact with HTML User Interfaces...
Why and How Banks Should Embrace Blockchain Tech
18.8.2015
In the second part of his three-part series, angel investor William Mougayar looks at why and how banks should start embracing blockchain technology
On HTML belts and ARIA braces (The Default Implicit ARIA semantics they didn’t want you to know about)
14.4.2015
Updated: 3rd August 2020 The question of whether HTML elements need the addition of ARIA role attributes to expose their semantics, is one that surfaces on a regular basis. The answer is maybe for a subset of elements, but increasingly no. ARIA roles add nothing to default semantics of most...
On HTML belts and ARIA braces (The Default Implicit ARIA semantics they didn’t want you to know about)
14.4.2015
The question of whether HTML elements need the addition of ARIA role attibutes to expose their semantics, is one that surfaces on a regular basis. The answer is maybe for a subset of elements, but increasingly no. ARIA roles add nothing to default semantics of most elements In some cases...