benfrancis

benfrancis, 1 month ago to random

Very sad that Wolvic (Igalia's fork of Firefox Reality) has switched to Chromium. Not exactly surprising (very hard to build 3rd party products on Gecko and Mozilla are not investing in XR), but another small nail in the coffin of browser engine diversity. https://wolvic.com/blog/Chromium_Beta_APKs/

benfrancis, 2 months ago to random

Excited to be unboxing my first new laptop in a decade. After months of deliberation and trying very hard not to buy another Mac, I eventually opted for... another Mac.

The base model 14" MacBook Pro M3 Pro in silver. Just can't beat that sweet Apple hardware. 📦🍏💻

benfrancis, 3 months ago to random

Last week I gave a talk to the W3C @wot Community Group about @krellian's use of @WebThingsIO for commercial smart buildings. The high level business case, a tour of Krellian Cloud features and a deep dive into lessons learnt using #WebOfThings standards. https://youtu.be/7FGS10G-YIc?si=mabYUoP6T2B02mCi

benfrancis, 3 months ago to random

Unintended side effects of regulatory intervention in tech due to malicious compliance. https://www.engadget.com/apple-explains-why-web-apps-will-no-longer-work-on-european-ios-devices-112527267.html?src=rss

The EU's DMA was intended to allow more competition with alternative app stores on iOS, but Apple have used it as an excuse to disable the most open app model of all.

benfrancis, 3 months ago to random

I'm now offering a freelance web consulting service https://tola.me.uk/consulting/

If you need help with a website, web app or web thing then please feel free to get in touch.

Ex-Mozilla, ex-Google, W3C Invited Expert, 15+ years commercial experience.

benfrancis, 4 months ago to random

I currently have availability for some part time consulting/contracting work. I'm a full stack Software Engineer with twenty years of experience and specialise in Web Apps and the Web of Things. Please let me know if I can help with anything. #OpenToWork https://tola.me.uk

benfrancis, 5 months ago to random

Benjamin Zephaniah, our radical poet laureate.

Rest in peace, "Ben, me fren'" (as he once addressed me in an autograph).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0nMGX9GpP4

benfrancis, 6 months ago to random

📣 Strawman Proposal: Web Thing Protocol - WebSocket Sub-protocol https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KWv-aQfMgsqBFg0v4rVqzcVvzzisC7y4X4CMUYGc8rE/edit?usp=sharing

A common protocol for monitoring and controlling devices over the Web.

Feedback:

• Inline
• On GitHub https://github.com/w3c/web-thing-protocol/issues/23
• On the mailing list https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-web-thing-protocol/2023Nov/0002.html

#WebOfThings

benfrancis, 6 months ago to random

Huge if true. Amazon working on a "web-first" operating system codenamed Vega to eventually replace Android on all of its devices, starting with FireTV. https://www.lowpass.cc/p/amazon-vega-os-fire-tv-android

From accounts it sounds more like JS-first (React Native) than Web-first, but I'd love to know more.

benfrancis, 6 months ago to random

I currently have availability for some part time consulting/contracting work. I'm a full stack Software Engineer with twenty years of experience and specialise in Web Apps and the Web of Things. Please let me know if I can help with anything. #OpenToWork https://tola.me.uk

benfrancis, 7 months ago to random

The National Infrastructure Commission recommends prioritising heat pumps in its five-yearly review of the UK's key strategic priorities.

"We have just about run out of time to switch away from gas before we miss legally binding targets". #NetZero https://news.sky.com/story/all-hands-to-the-heat-pumps-government-agency-urgently-prioritises-electrifying-uk-homes-12986642

benfrancis, 7 months ago to Hydrogen

Just putting this here. #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67017021

benfrancis, 9 months ago to random

End of an era for the Internet of Things podcast featuring Stacey Higginbotham and @kevinctofel. Very interesting to hear about their disillusionment with how the smart home seems to have come full circle in the last decade, and their disappointment with Matter. https://staceyoniot.com/category/podcast/

benfrancis, 1 year ago to random

Very interested to see what comes out of this AI startup, co-founded by former Mozilla CEO, Chris Beard.

"Introducing The Technical Magic Company... We envision a world where everyone has access to their own trustworthy personal AI". https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/introducing-technical-magic-company-chris-beard