Redis Explained
A deep technical dive into all things Redis. Covering various Redis topologies, data persistence and process forking.
Hasnain says:
This was a really insightful read and now I have a new site to follow. I also learnt that Redis supports hyperloglogs which is really cool - wish I’d known that before!
“Rather than iterating over, sorting, and ordering rows, what if the data was in data structures you wanted from the ground up? Early on, it was used much like Memcached, but as Redis improved, it became viable for many other use cases, including publish-subscribe mechanisms, streaming, and queues.”
Posted on 2022-08-22T06:20:17+0000
How to advertise to developers: deep dive into paid developer marketing
I dive into best practices, targeting, creatives, landing pages, channels, and examples from the best developer-focused companies.
Hasnain says:
This was a really interesting read that I’ll come back to in the future - and maybe get vetted by some of my marketing friends.
“What is next?
Just go run your ads already
If you need a quick framework based on what we talked about, here it is:
Figure out what you want to achieve (goal)
Choose a platform. Make sure your audience is there
Setup conservative targeting (filter out too much if you have to but make sure you are talking to the right audience)
Design a practical and relevant ad creative. Use Moat for inspiration
Connect to the right landing page (amplify paths people are already taking)
Run a minimal viable test first
If the test was successful, scale your ad spend”
The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world
Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.
Hasnain says:
From 2019, so a lot (and very little) has changed since then. This was an informational read.
“Ultimately, she would like our history books to pay greater attention to nonviolent campaigns rather than concentrating so heavily on warfare. “So many of the histories that we tell one another focus on violence – and even if it is a total disaster, we still find a way to find victories within it,” she says. Yet we tend to ignore the success of peaceful protest, she says.
“Ordinary people, all the time, are engaging in pretty heroic activities that are actually changing the way the world – and those deserve some notice and celebration as well.””
Posted on 2022-08-22T05:42:38+0000
A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal.
Google has an automated tool to detect abusive images of children. But the system can get it wrong, and the consequences are serious.
Hasnain says:
Sigh. This is just a scary situation all around. Appeals processes need to be better as well as detection of CSAM. So many trade offs here but I wish companies would strive to do better. Or at least apologize when they got it wrong (though I understand why they can’t — lawsuits)
“A Google spokeswoman said the company stands by its decisions, even though law enforcement cleared the two men.
Ms. Hessick, the law professor, said the cooperation the technology companies provide to law enforcement to address and root out child sexual abuse is “incredibly important,” but she thought it should allow for corrections.
“From Google’s perspective, it’s easier to just deny these people the use of their services,” she speculated. Otherwise, the company would have to resolve more difficult questions about “what’s appropriate behavior with kids and then what’s appropriate to photograph or not.”
Posted on 2022-08-21T16:34:10+0000
“Quantum-Safe” Crypto Hacked by 10-Year-Old PC
To stay ahead of the quantum computer threat, cryptographers around the world have spent the past two decades designing postquantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms. These are based on new mathematical problems that both quantum and classical computers find difficult to solve.
Hasnain says:
The fact that they did it on a 10 year old computer is glorious.
“One reason SIKE’s vulnerability was not detected until now was because the new attack “applies very advanced mathematics—I can’t think of another situation where an attack has used such deep mathematics compared with the system being broken,” says Galbraith. Katz agrees, saying, “I suspect that fewer than 50 people in the world understand both the underlying mathematics and the necessary cryptography.””
Posted on 2022-08-19T19:30:49+0000
Can you find the bug in the Legacy Code? A coding Choose your own Adventure - Journal of Astrological Big Data Ecology
After being promised an exciting new job working in a software company, you are asked to find a bug in some legacy code. Can you do it?
Hasnain says:
This was a really entertaining choose your own adventure story. I ended up getting a phd and somehow getting fired because of it - will play again later!
“You are a new employee at the code factory. The job listing said that you’d get to do all sorts of fancy machine learning applications but it turns out you’re needed to fix old legacy code that doesn’t work anymore! You re-run the code against the test cases laid out by the last guy who worked on this legacy code and it’s outputting the error.”
Posted on 2022-08-18T21:20:14+0000
Programming breakthroughs we need
Matyáš Racek's blog
Hasnain says:
This was an interesting read, gave me a lot of food for thought.
“Will this vision pan out? I don't know... maybe. But I think we're heading in this direction already. It won't be overnight revolution, even structured programming wasn't. Many of these ideas are not explored enough yet, and some of them might even be impossible to implement, who knows. Testing is the most developed out of these, I'd say. Even though it's still far behind what I want, I think most of the building blocks are there”
Posted on 2022-08-17T21:49:35+0000
How I Hacked my Car
The Car Last summer I bought a 2021 Hyundai Ioniq SEL. It is a nice fuel-efficient hybrid with a decent amount of features like wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charging, heated seats, & a sunroof. One thing I particularly liked about this vehicle was the In-Vehicle Infotainme...
Hasnain says:
Great tutorial. But also this leaves me with very little confidence in Hyundai. Using a publicly available test keypair?! Sigh.
“But at least I had the encryption key. To verify that no one else had gotten this far I googled the encryption key. Encryption Key Search Results
Google Git? Apple? Chegg????
Turns out the encryption key in that script is the first AES 128bit CBC example key listed in the NIST document SP800-38A.”
Posted on 2022-08-13T14:26:14+0000
This 17-Year-Old Designed a Motor That Could Potentially Transform the Electric Car Industry
Robert Sansone's research could pave the way for the sustainable manufacturing of electric vehicles that do not require rare-earth magnets
Hasnain says:
Come for the inspirational story, stay for the lesson on mechanics and the engineering behind motors.
“Robert Sansone is a natural born engineer. From animatronic hands to high-speed running boots and a go-kart that can reach speeds of more than 70 miles per hour, the Fort Pierce, Florida-based inventor estimates he’s completed at least 60 engineering projects in his spare time. And he’s only 17 years old.”
Posted on 2022-08-12T17:43:16+0000
So you've decided to start a free software consultancy...
Recently a friend of mine told me that he was planning to start a free software consultancy, and asked for my advice, as I have an extensive background doing free software consulting for a living. While I have already given him some advice on how to proceed, I thought it might be nice to write a blo...
Hasnain says:
This had some useful advice - it rings true though I have no way of verifying it.
“These are just my observations from nearly 20 years of doing professional consulting around FOSS. There is no singular right way of running a consultancy, but these are the key aspects that helped me to maintain good working relationships with my customers.
Running a FOSS consultancy is hard work, but can result in a sustainable business, if you are willing to put in the work.”
Posted on 2022-08-12T03:42:23+0000