Steven Rosenberg's microblog of short posts

Hello Rails: A modern course designed to help you start using and understanding Ruby on Rails fast - Andy Leverenz

Sun, 30 Jun 2019 17:32:25 UTC

Hello Rails: A modern course designed to help you start using and understanding Ruby on Rails fast - Andy Leverenz https://hellorails.io/

I say this with no hyperbole: @Firefox is one of the most important projects we have, and it should be used, supported and celebrated

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 16:04:59 UTC

I say this with no hyperbole: @Firefox is one of the most important projects we have, and it should be used, supported and celebrated. @Mozilla's decision to focus on privacy and performance means that you don't have to run Google Chrome if you care about those things.

WordGrinder on GitHub: A word processor which gets the hell out of your way and lets you get some work done

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 13:43:30 UTC

WordGrinder on GitHub: A word processor which gets the hell out of your way and lets you get some work done https://github.com/davidgiven/wordgrinder

WordGrinder is a word processor that runs in your Linux, Mac or Windows terminal

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 13:41:13 UTC

WordGrinder is a word processor that runs in your Linux, Mac or Windows terminal https://cowlark.com/wordgrinder/

Finland's news in Latin: 'For such a crazy idea we had a remarkable run' Jon Henley/The Guardian

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 13:38:29 UTC

Finland's news in Latin: 'For such a crazy idea we had a remarkable run' Jon Henley/The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/28/finland-latin-news-radio-bulletin-nuntii-latini-cancelled-30-years

Google's new reCaptcha has a dark side - Katharine Schwab/Fast Company

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 13:35:28 UTC

Google's new reCaptcha has a dark side - Katharine Schwab/Fast Company https://www.fastcompany.com/90369697/googles-new-recaptcha-has-a-dark-side

Subway (as in sandwiches) got too big. Franchisees paid a price. - Tiffany Hsu and Rachel Abrams/The New York Times

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 13:01:56 UTC

Subway (as in sandwiches) got too big. Franchisees paid a price. - Tiffany Hsu and Rachel Abrams/The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/business/subway-franchisees.html

A unicorn lost in the Valley, Evernote blows up the 'fail fast' gospel - Erin Griffith/The New York Times

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 14:07:26 UTC

A unicorn lost in the Valley, Evernote blows up the 'fail fast' gospel - Erin Griffith/The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/business/evernote-what-happened.html

New tool aims to bring Python apps to Windows, Mac and Linux desktops for people who have never heard of Python - Liam Tung/ZDNet

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 09:59:09 UTC

New tool aims to bring Python apps to Windows, Mac and Linux desktops for people who have never heard of Python - Liam Tung/ZDNet https://www.zdnet.com/article/programming-language-pythons-existential-threat-is-app-distribution-is-this-the-answer/

Upcoming features in Fedora 31 Workstation - Paul W. Frields/Fedora Magazine

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 09:04:23 UTC

Upcoming features in Fedora 31 Workstation - Paul W. Frields/Fedora Magazine https://fedoramagazine.org/upcoming-features-in-fedora-31-workstation/

Those Koch Industries ads on @axios are starting to work on me

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 18:36:51 UTC

Those Koch Industries ads on @axios are starting to work on me. It's like, "hey, we aren't just a firehose of GOP campaign cash, we also MAKE ACTUAL THINGS."

Reinventing Firefox for Android - Mozilla.org

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 16:58:17 UTC

Reinventing Firefox for Android - Mozilla.org https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2019/06/27/reinventing-firefox-for-android-a-preview/

I got some developer responses to my Firefox/Conexant/Flow bug, and I added some replies to their questions

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 12:07:57 UTC

I got some developer responses to my Firefox/Conexant/Flow bug, and I added some replies to their questions. Thanks to the Mozilla people who are looking into this. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1555726

The new Apache NetBeans website is built with the JBake static site generator written in Java

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 11:40:16 UTC

The new Apache NetBeans website is built with the JBake static site generator written in Java. I appreciate that they're dogfooding one of the few Java-bases SSGs as listed on https://www.staticgen.com. https://github.com/apache/netbeans-website/tree/master/netbeans.apache.org#tooling

C/C++ support is slated to come to Apache NetBeans in September 2019

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 11:33:38 UTC

C/C++ support is slated to come to Apache NetBeans in September 2019 https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/NETBEANS/Apache+NetBeans+Release+Roadmap

NetBeans 11.1 and 12.1, including installers, are set to be released on July 15, 2019

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 11:29:58 UTC

NetBeans 11.1 and 12.1, including installers, are set to be released on July 15, 2019 https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/NETBEANS/Release+Schedule

Apache Netbeans 11 does have installers for Mac, Linux and Windows, but they are deemed "experimental" at this point

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 11:11:21 UTC

Apache Netbeans 11 does have installers for Mac, Linux and Windows, but they are deemed "experimental" at this point https://github.com/rtaneja1/incubator-netbeans/tree/installer-bin-11vc4/nbbuild/installer/binaries

I clicked on a thing, and now my Twitter is in dark mode and also redesigned

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 16:03:41 UTC

I clicked on a thing, and now my Twitter is in dark mode and also redesigned

JGT Review: Sadowsky Guitars LS-15 & SS-15 - Jazz Guitar Today

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:15:29 UTC

JGT Review: Sadowsky Guitars LS-15 & SS-15 - Jazz Guitar Today https://jazzguitartoday.com/2019/04/jgt-review-sadowsky-guitars-ls-15-ss-15/

This "Learning Synths" page from Ableton is a blast!!

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 17:06:46 UTC

This "Learning Synths" page from Ableton is a blast!! https://learningsynths.ableton.com/

What's Salesforce?

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 17:04:50 UTC

What's Salesforce? https://tryretool.com/blog/salesforce-for-engineers/

Note to Windows 10: Just because I'm hitting the ESC key in GVim, it doesn't in any way mean I need the Edge browser to open with an unhelpful Windows Help screen.

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:16:15 UTC

Note to Windows 10: Just because I'm hitting the ESC key in GVim, it doesn't in any way mean I need the Edge browser to open with an unhelpful Windows Help screen.

Yes, I need a newer WSL than Ubuntu 16.04. I will upgrade at some point.

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 22:52:41 UTC

Yes, I need a newer WSL than Ubuntu 16.04. I will upgrade at some point.

My Unison test on NearlyFreeSpeech.net was a success

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 22:51:04 UTC

My Unison test on NearlyFreeSpeech.net was a success: NFSN uses the current version of the Unison File Synchronizer, but no Linux distros package it. I built it from source on Ubuntu 16.04 in the WSL, and it works like butter. http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/

The Amazon Lightsail FAQ is extensive

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 15:33:52 UTC

The Amazon Lightsail FAQ is extensive https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/faq/

Can you run a $0/month database with Amazon Lightsail, or do you have to spring for the $15/month kind?

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 15:31:26 UTC

Even though Amazon Lightsail starts at .50/month, they kind of want you to pair it with a /month managed database. But I think you can use a database from within your VPS, though it won't be as beefy. https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/faq/

Amazon sees its Lightsail VM product as a gateway drug to EC2

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:38:06 UTC

Amazon sees its Lightsail VM product as a gateway drug to EC2 https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/features/

When it comes to price, performance and bandwidth Amazon Lightsail (basically a VM) is looking pretty attractive

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:35:11 UTC

When it comes to price, performance and bandwidth Amazon Lightsail (basically a VM) is looking pretty attractive https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/

Raspberry Pi on Raspberry Pi: It’s good enough to run its own launch website with tens of millions of visitors | Mythic Beasts

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:25:42 UTC

Raspberry Pi on Raspberry Pi: It’s good enough to run its own launch website with tens of millions of visitors | Mythic Beasts https://blog.mythic-beasts.com/2019/06/22/raspberry-pi-on-raspberry-pi/

Since I disabled @conexantsystems's awful Flow.exe, I can run @firefox again

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 13:40:47 UTC

Since I disabled @conexantsystems's awful Flow.exe (by renaming it _Flow.exe so the Conexant drivers can't find it), I can run @firefox again. It's an ugly hack, but it's all that works in Windows 10.

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is out: Faster CPU, GPU, dual-screen 4K, up to 4GB for $55 | ZDNet

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 10:39:35 UTC

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is out: Faster CPU, GPU, dual-screen 4K, up to 4GB for | ZDNet https://www.zdnet.com/article/raspberry-pi-4-model-b-is-out-faster-cpu-gpu-dual-screen-4k-up-to-4gb-for-55/

Hey there, @medium writer, they're probably not paying you, so I'm not crazy about paying them ...

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 12:44:30 UTC

Hey there, @medium writer, they're probably not paying you, so I'm not crazy about paying them ...

I would have dumped @googlechrome for @firefox already

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 12:39:43 UTC

I would have dumped @googlechrome for @firefox already if @ConexantSystems' terrible audio driver didn't wreck the performance of thousands of HP laptops, including mine https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1555726

Is Firefox better than Chrome? It comes down to privacy. - Geoffrey A. Fowler/The Washington Post

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 12:34:19 UTC

Is Firefox better than Chrome? It comes down to privacy. - Geoffrey A. Fowler/The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/06/21/google-chrome-has-become-surveillance-software-its-time-switch/?utm_term=.744d8f025e70

Reminder to law enforcement PIOs

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 09:40:00 UTC

Reminder to law enforcement PIOs: If your way of distributing images to the media is to embed them in Word documents, you are not doing it right

Mattermost raises $50 million to advance its open source Slack alternative - Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:29:39 UTC

Mattermost raises million to advance its open source Slack alternative - Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat https://venturebeat.com/2019/06/19/mattermost-raises-50-million-to-advance-its-open-source-slack-alternative/

Slack's direct listing may render the IPO obsolete - Michael J. Coren/Quartz

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:24:54 UTC

Slack's direct listing may render the IPO obsolete - Michael J. Coren/Quartz https://qz.com/1642378/slacks-direct-listing-may-render-the-ipo-obsolete/

Fullstaq Ruby: Ruby, optimized for production

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:21:52 UTC

Fullstaq Ruby: Ruby, optimized for production https://fullstaqruby.org/

Publishing simple books with Jekyll - Bradley Taunt

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:19:04 UTC

Publishing simple books with Jekyll - Bradley Taunt https://bradleytaunt.com/2019/06/20/publish-with-jekyll/

iRedMail: Free, open-source mail server solution

Wed, 19 Jun 2019 17:14:48 UTC

iRedMail: Free, open-source mail server solution https://www.iredmail.org/

Mail-in-a-Box

Wed, 19 Jun 2019 17:12:39 UTC

Mail-in-a-Box: Take back control of your email with this easy-to-deploy mail server in a box https://mailinabox.email/

Bill Gates wrote much of the code in the TRS-80 Model 100

Wed, 19 Jun 2019 14:41:26 UTC

Bill Gates wrote much of the code in the TRS-80 Model 100 https://americanhistory.si.edu/comphist/gates.htm#tc35

The TRS-80 Model 100, journalism workhorse of the 1980s - Wayne Lorentz

Wed, 19 Jun 2019 14:37:37 UTC

The TRS-80 Model 100, journalism workhorse of the 1980s - Wayne Lorentz http://wayne.lorentz.me/This_TRS-80/

Facebook: I'm there for the jazz guitar and old-technology posts

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 10:32:22 UTC

Facebook: I'm there for the jazz guitar and old-technology posts

Not to copy other bloggers, although I'm totally doing just that

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 10:24:23 UTC

Not to copy other bloggers, though I'm totally doing just that, I'm thinking of adding an e-mail newsletter. E-mail is newly "hot" because it's a direct connection that doesn't involve a smarmy social-media interloper

I really don't like the ads from Disqus

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 10:17:13 UTC

I really don't like seeing the cheesy Disqus ads Disqus on my blog. Disqus deserves to make money, but I'm reluctant to pay. Like other bloggers, I might start creating "discussion" links on Reddit or Hacker News. Also, who needs the extra JS that loads with Disqus?

People leaving Facebook

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 08:55:25 UTC

I've seen a few people delete their Facebook accounts more due to lack of interest than anything else. They are mostly moving to Instagram, so it's all in the family, so to speak.

I don't know what's worse, a company that only responds to your complaint when you shame them on social media, or one that DGAF even then

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 13:11:17 UTC

I don't know what's worse, a company that only responds to your complaint when you shame them on social media, or one that DGAF even then

Why Mazda is purging touchscreens from its vehicles - Bengt Halvorson/Motor Authority

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:28:08 UTC

Why Mazda is purging touchscreens from its vehicles - Bengt Halvorson/Motor Authority https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1121372_why-mazda-is-purging-touchscreens-from-its-vehicles

The Unison file synchronization tool is too fragile. I need to find another way.

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 19:31:43 UTC

The Unison file synchronization tool is too fragile. I need to find another way. Client and server need the exact same Unison version in order for sync to work, and it's getting harder to make that happen.

This @NewYorker article on @ewarren (aka Elizabeth Warren) is so long, I can't read it in one sitting

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 19:00:14 UTC

This @NewYorker article on @ewarren (aka Elizabeth Warren) is so long, I can't read it in one sitting. I'll have to wait for the paper magazine to come out. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/06/24/can-elizabeth-warren-win-it-all

Say what you will about @Microsoft, but they are putting money and people behind efforts to provide more tools for developers

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:48:23 UTC

Say what you will about @Microsoft, but they are putting money and people behind efforts to provide more tools for developers well beyond the MS-only languages and frameworks https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/

Announcing the Visual Studio Code Installer for Java | The Visual Studio Blog

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:45:16 UTC

Announcing the Visual Studio Code Installer for Java | The Visual Studio Blog https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/announcing-visual-studio-code-java-installer/

The Ruby Style Guide

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 11:08:56 UTC

The Ruby Style Guide https://rubystyle.guide/

The new Dropbox sucks - Daring Fireball

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 10:40:14 UTC

The new Dropbox sucks - Daring Fireball https://daringfireball.net/linked/2019/06/13/dropbox-sucks

I would be running Firefox right now if it weren't for @BangOlufsen and @ConexantSystems' broken audio driver

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:51:58 UTC

I would be running Firefox right now if it weren't for @BangOlufsen and @ConexantSystems' broken audio driver https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1555726

Apple reveals 'Lisa': Its $50 million gamble (1983) - Newsweek

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 10:54:09 UTC

Apple reveals 'Lisa': Its million gamble (1983) - Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/apple-reveals-lisa-its-50-million-gamble-207032

GIMP is never going to fix IPTC captions. If they haven't done it by now, it's never going to happen.

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 10:51:16 UTC

GIMP is never going to fix IPTC captions. If they haven't done it by now, it's never going to happen. https://www.gimp.org

Writing on Twitter is better than reading on it

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 10:45:52 UTC

It's not like I'm all that and a bag of chips, but writing on Twitter is better than reading on it

A brief history of how your privacy was stolen (by Google and Facebook, that is) - Roger McNamee/The New York Times

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 08:49:25 UTC

A brief history of how your privacy was stolen (by Google and Facebook, that is) - Roger McNamee/The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/opinion/google-facebook-data-privacy.html