alcinnz

alcinnz, 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago) to random

Hey, does anyone have any software development work that needs doing? I have some free months that need filling with contracts!

I know a number of languages including but certainly not limited to Python, Java, C, JavaScript, Vala, Haskell, Lua, Julia, GLSL, & more.

I have experience with standards & standards-setting, geospatial data, metadata, linked-data, opensource, static websites, GTK apps, & I'm developing a browser engine.

Also: I enjoy speaking!

#FediHire

alcinnz, 6 months ago to random

One thing us developers can do for the environment: Write more efficient software!

You might save some electricity, thus making it easier to switch the grid fully over to renewables. But what really matters is for you not to be the reason your users buy new hardware!

Depending on how large your audience is and how green your other habits are, this might be the single biggest thing you can do! Probably not though.

alcinnz, 10 months ago to random

It seems the time to remind you: I'm builing my own browser engines "The Argonaut Constellation"!

I see a need to illustrate an alternate vision for the web if we are to get the improvements we want. I see a need for a more modular engine to aid experimentation both regarding the web & elsewhere.

And well... Someone had to do it!

alcinnz, 5 months ago to random

Hey, can I get some help from an experienced browser engine dev?

I want to understand webpage layout better so I can explain it better to computers. I'm not proud of the code I've written there & I welcome full rewrite! Or at least guidance in doing so!

I'm building my own (no JS) browser engine! :boost_love: :boost_ok:

P.S. I also have a theoretical Domain-Driven-Development approach I'd enjoy seeing someone try! But it feels like too much risk to me...

alcinnz, 5 months ago to random

Worldwide community of activists protest OverDrive and others forcing DRM upon libraries - Greg Farough @ Defective by Design @ FSF: https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/worldwide_community_activists_protest_overdrive_and_others_forcing_drm_upon_libraries

On Friday 8th December they're asking you to:

• Not use Libby, etc.
• Discuss the harms of DRM, especially in relation to libraries, with hashtag #DayAgainstDRM
• Don't watch any DRM'd or streaming-only media, etc for that day.

Pfft, trivial for me! I'll binge DRM-free!

alcinnz, 11 months ago (edited 11 months ago) to random

How to Kill a Decentralised Network (such as the Fediverse) - Ploum: https://ploum.net/2023-06-23-how-to-kill-decentralised-networks.html

(Yes, I'm tired of this topic too, but I want to get this point accross to techies: learn from history!)

alcinnz, 4 months ago to random

The Web is Fantastic - Robb Knight: https://rknight.me/blog/the-web-is-fantastic/

How Big is YouTube? - Ethan Zuckerman: https://ethanzuckerman.com/2023/12/22/how-big-is-youtube/

The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again - Anil Dash @ Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/internet-future-about-to-get-weird-1234938403/

How bad are search results? Let's compare Google, Bing, Marginalia, Kagi, Mwmbl, and ChatGPT - Dan Luu: https://danluu.com/seo-spam/

Questionable Advice: “My Boss Says We Don't Need Any Engineering Managers. Is He Right?” - Charity Majors: https://charity.wtf/2024/01/05/questionable-advice-my-boss-says-we-dont-need-any-engineering-managers-is-he-right/

alcinnz, 7 months ago to random

While I certainly don't expect everyone to self-host, I think the difficulty of doing so is routinely exaggerated.

I frequently see tools for coping with corporate-scale needlessly treated as necessities.

I promise you: Self-hosting is easy for anyone with modicum of tech talent!
I speak from experience!

And I'm sure it can be made easy for everyone.
ISPs do incur the most unavoidable complications...

alcinnz, 13 days ago to random

The key I find to understanding CSS: Knowing its philosophy, its politics.

In the 1990s webdevs were demanding webdesign. CSS was introduced to steer them towards achieving their webdesigns in a way which embraces the web's "universiality". Instead of abusing tables & images.

Its that dream I share that webpages could "look" beautiful in any conceivable device, given it has a browser.

CSS isn't perfect, it hasn't achieved this dream yet. But the core ideas are great!

alcinnz, 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago) to random

I believe that the web is best suited to publishing information/entertainment/etc, whereas native platforms are best suited for heavily-used interactive tools! Like editors! Ofcourse these are 2 ends of a spectrum, & as such no project fully rests on either extreme.

But this is what the visual affordances & underlying languages of these platforms favour. So choosing the appropriate platform for your project will help its longevity!

Not that the tech industry cares about longevity...

@vertigo

alcinnz, 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago) to random

Ugh! My debugging tools aren't helping me figure out why Haphaestus is freezing/crashing when I integrate all its pieces together!

They're just saying "Null pointer in the GHC garbage collection!" I've tried GDB, LTrace, & Valgrind.

Help please! I'm willing to pay an experienced Haskeller to get myself unstuck! Or maybe a C dev's better...

alcinnz, 7 months ago to random

Something that really strikes me is that there are certain policies which if we can get them adopted could unravel a lot of ideology for the better!

One I know by the term "modeshift" (thanks @notjustbikes !), that is designing our cities for more than just the car! Make other transport choices equally reasonable options, if not more so!

Another I'd posit is a Universal Basic Income. If we're not coerced into capitalism, we'll have more freedom to try other things!

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alcinnz, 2 months ago to random

My stance on "AI":

Machine learning is a well-established tool performing important tasks. Like speech recognition & (to a lesser degree) synthesis, auto prediction, machine translation, & much more!

But what's got people excited is making these larger than ever, which I personally find to be a terribly uninteresting direction. And I wish I wouldn't be pressured to take interest.

I reckon the usecases people are finding for LLMs can be achieved much more efficiently!

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alcinnz, 5 months ago to sircmpwn

SourceHut is a suite of software-project management microservices centred on an OAuth server, common configuration, common branding, & eMail started by @sircmpwn . About as loosely coupled as any suite gets!

I self-host SourceHut components I find relevant to my Argonaut Constellation! For ease of forking it to explore potential enhancements to the web, & for it to actually be fully-functional in my browsers!

I'll keep my synopsis of its mechanics highlevel in fear of writing a userguide.

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alcinnz, 27 days ago to random

A new search engine I'm really starting to enjoy:

Stract! https://stract.com/

404 recommended it.

alcinnz, 7 months ago to random

Cool URIs don't change - Tim Berners-Lee: https://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI

alcinnz, 4 months ago to random

I'm a huge fan of RSS/Atom webfeeds! Both as a publisher and as a reader/listener they free me from worrying about schedules, or missing anything the authors I enjoy have published!

They can also (depending on the site) aid me in catching up with a blog's backlog, & are terribly trivial to create!

Much better than the constant & distracting "push notifications" that are the dominant experience today! I set my reading schedule!

alcinnz, 5 months ago to random

What DRM is really about in practice is constraining devs of playback software & hardware like myself. By shaping the technological landscape our peers operate within, they can shape mainstream attitudes.

I resent these pressures I face, so I rebel! Hence why I'm promoting #InternationalDayAgainstDRM (IDAD)!

And why I like promoting alternative entertainment outside the publishers demanding I implement DRM. I'm spending IDAD listening to them. I invite you to join me! I'll share episode links!

alcinnz, 17 days ago to random

Pluralistic: The disenshittified internet starts with loyal "user agents" (07 May 2024) - Cory Doctorow:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/07/treacherous-computing/

Pretty much describes what gets me into browser dev... I'm sure we all think we know what's best for users though...

alcinnz, 3 months ago to random

Today I've had a few remainders of how much I dislike how the software industry is funded. Its mostly ads, or stepping in as unnecessary middlemen. Sometimes we coerce users to pay, but that's negligible. Or we push the problem off by telling a good story to venture capitalists.

Really we need to rework our economic system. We need systemic change.

But until then: Pay for the things you benefit from online, especially when you're not coerced to!

alcinnz, 19 days ago (edited 18 days ago) to random

Developer's PSA: The way you & your culture do things isn't the way everyone does things! Be wary of cultural constructs, no matter how basic they may seem!

Time & dates. Text. Punctuation. Names. Addresses. Iconography.

What else am I forgetting?

P.S. This is also a politics PSA. Very topical to NZ right now!

alcinnz, 1 month ago to random

Linux Elitism...Again - Kev Quirk:
https://kevquirk.com/linux-elitism-again

This behaviour is shameful! Flooding a request for empathy with pushback. This is no way to promote software freedom, it rightly turns people off!

Some people (not me) have had a bad experience with "Linux", we must respect that.

alcinnz, 5 months ago (edited 5 months ago) to random

O.K., it seems like there's decent interest in my continue my hardware-browser hypothetical.

Follow-up question: In which direction should I take it? Multi-choice!

Feel free to expand or suggest more in replies!

alcinnz, 2 months ago to random

Throughout designing my hypothetical hardware-browser, I kept security in mind. Since its whole purpose is to display untrusted data!

My primary tactic is object-capabilities: Once you've revoked a privilege you can't regain, but your caller still has it. No overhead!

Build a sandboxing linker upon that & apply separate privileges to each transcoder which makes up our browser & OS...

That should keep help minimize most security holes!

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