All my blog posts and articles
Very clever! An Automated GPS-Free Location System For Cars | IdeaFeed | Big Think: > It works through the use of two simple cameras, which collect video data that is then compared to an OpenStreetMap area map. Through a process of elimination that takes place within an average of 20 seconds of driving, the system is able to figure out exactly where the car is. During tests conducted in Germany, it located cars to within 3 meters of their actual positions.
You probably don’t know what a social login button is so forgive this bit of geekyness. I am sure you’ve seen them: “login with facebook or twitter?” If an app or a site wants to “save you the trouble” of registering a username and password, they may “make your life easier” by allowing you to regist...
Read more →My favorite mustard these days is the Dijon from Trader Joes’s! The Yellow Commodity Hotter Than Gold – Yahoo! Finance: > Mustard has always been seen as the perfect, zesty accompaniment to the all-American hot dog. But now it’s proving to be hot in an altogether different sense.
I always thought that startups are over glamorized. They are not for everyone. On the other hand, some people also over stress about the ‘risk’ of joining a startup, which I don’t by either. Check out: [Alex Payne — Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup](http://al3x.net/2013/05/23/lette...
Read more →An interesting post from my pal Peter Miller about how we all view the world through our own biases and it’s hard to disentangle those from what might feel like clear eyed reasoning. (See Peter, I summarized your article in one sentence 🙂 [Politics and the Soul | ZeitgeistSurfer](http://zeitgeistsu...
Read more →This bit of advice rings very true to me. Read the whole article, but here’s a tasty bit. @andrewchen: New essays for 06/03/2013: > 1) Learn to make something. Anything. First and foremost, I think it’s important to learn to make something. Anything. It could be an app, blog, table, YouTube channel, video tutorial, or anything else. Then study the people who have become successful enough to support themselves in this craft, and study them, copy them, stalk them, and meet them.
I love this article revealing the beautiful hidden complexity of the lowly magsafe connector. Ken Shirriff’s blog: Teardown and exploration of Apple’s Magsafe connector: > Have you ever wondered what’s inside a Mac’s Magsafe connector? What controls the light? How does the Mac know what kind of charger it is? This article looks inside the Magsafe connector and answers those questions.
I don’t agree that it’s a “major problem for computer science” – by a long shot. But still it is odd that often Computer Science students are not exposed to ‘modern’ source control management systems or version management systems, or maybe even “any” SCM at all. [Version Control and Higher Educatio...
Read more →[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zngK13FMgXM&w=560&h=315]
I remember when this project was first announced and ‘PR’d. It’s just another good reminder about the unpredictability of these world-changing projects. Sad but interesting: Electric car company Better Place shuts down after burning through $850M | VentureBeat: > Better Place is the electric car company that hoped to change the world with its ambitious battery-swapping stations. But today it said it’s shutting down. The closure brings to an end arguably the most audacious “clean tech” company ever attempted.
If you are, or ever were, a Billy Joel Fan you will really like this interview. Fascinating to read what seem to be the reasonably honest thoughts and feelings of a Rock Star! [Billy Joel on Not Working and Not Giving Up Drinking – NYTimes.com](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/magazine/billy-joel-...
Read more →Do you watch Mad Men? I know it’s very good. I always watch it. But sometimes, it doesn’t make sense, and I wonder, have I been sucked into a reality distortion field myself? Is it really good? [REVIEW: Mad Men – Episode 8: The Crash – Celebrity Gossip, News & Photos, Movie Reviews, Competitions – ...
Read more →Can Cholesterol Drugs Undo Exercise Benefits? – NYTimes.com: > An important new study suggests that statins, the cholesterol-lowering medications that are the most prescribed drugs in the world, may block some of the fitness benefits of exercise, one of the surest ways to improve health.
Starters Guide to iOS Design: > As someone who does work on both the development and design side of iOS apps I find that many designers struggle with the transition to UI work, or with the different processes involved in iPhone and iPad app design. In this guide I’ll describe the deliverables you’ll be expected to produce, outline the constraints of the medium and introduce fundamental iOS and UI design concepts.
Yahoo, Tumblr, and the Loyalty Factor – Ben Gomes-Casseres – Harvard Business Review: a blog post analyzing f some of the strategic issues underlying the Tumblr/Yahoo deal: > “…Still, after the initial shock subsides, can Yahoo...
Read more →How to Be a ‘Woman Programmer’ – NYTimes.com: > But none of it qualified me as extraordinary in the great programmer scheme of things. What seems to have distinguished me is the fact that I was a “woman programmer.” The questions I am often asked about my career tend to concentrate not on how one learns to code but how a woman does.
International Space Station switches from Windows to Linux, for improved reliability | ExtremeTech: > The United Space Alliance, which manages the computers aboard the International Space Station in association with NASA, has announced that the Windows XP computers aboard the ISS have been switched to Linux. “We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable.”
Kirk McDonald: Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won’t Hire You – WSJ.com: > According to one recent report, in the next decade American colleges will mint 40,000 graduates with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, though the U.S. economy is slated to create 120,000 computing jobs that require such degrees. Now, I don’t know where this gentleman, Kirk McDonald got this statistic but if you are teaching computer science then it’s a pretty sobering statistic. I am going to try digging deeper to see if I can find the source.
Here’s my five-step plan for world domination: 1. I am creating a comprehensive taxonomy of characteristics of smartphone apps. Much more detailed than a feature list: “is it on android or iPhone” but really micro. I will have 20 different user interface ‘styles’ defined scientifically. I will ...
Read more →Here’s what I think: If economic analysis says that technology does not contribute to the overall productivity of the country, check the analysis. It’s incorrect. It’s self evident and obvious that technology – computers, smart phones, tablets, cloud computing, robotics, and on and on make us more ...
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