Computer Floss » Karl Beecher

Software development and your natural rhythms

Mon, 11 Nov 2013 10:27:05 +0000

One of the lessons from Joel Spolsky I took to heart right from the start of my career as a software developer was to schedule tasks honestly. Scheduling dishonestly means estimating a task when you don’t really know what work is involved. As a result, you end up putting an incorrect time estimate on it. […]

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Happy Birthday GNU!

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 15:40:03 +0000

It was 30 years ago today that Richard Stallman announced something kind of crazy: he was going to initiate a project to implement a version of the Unix operating system that was completely free (as in freedom). He called the system GNU (GNU’s Not Unix) and his original announcement is preserved here as a piece […]

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Bruce Schneier and the Lords of the Cloud

Thu, 29 Aug 2013 09:42:43 +0000

I know the title sounds like a Harry Potter rip-off starring everyone’s favourite IT security guru, but this is a video of Mr. Schneier giving a talk at Google about the state of security and privacy online. I’ll embed the video below (I highly recommend watching it). For those who don’t have an hour to […]

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How being open with your data keeps it safe

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:23:02 +0000

In a previous post, I gave some examples of FLOSS programs that performed essential computing tasks (namely operating system, email and cloud storage) which you could use instead of proprietary alternatives. I claimed that the FLOSS versions had the potential to improve the security of your data (in case you’re concerned about unauthorised third-parties accessing it) […]

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FLOSS alternatives for the post-PRISM era

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 09:15:23 +0000

In this post, I’ll describe a few alternative FLOSS programs for any proprietary software you might be using to handle your sensitive data. Exactly how FLOSS makes life harder for peeping toms I’ll describe in a follow-up post. (Edit: You’ll find that follow-up post here.) Background In recent months we’ve learned about how the national […]

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Pursuing Code Simplicity – Does Dr. Dobbs Miss the Point?

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 09:43:08 +0000

This article in Dr. Dobbs claims an obsession with code simplicity exists among some (i.e. agile) programmers. It refers to that old received hacker wisdom that any fool can write complex code, but it takes real talent to write simple code. The author attacks this point of view, saying that in reality some problems are […]

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Git – A New Training

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:12:44 +0000

Git continues to encroach upon the space of existing version control systems. More and more development projects are opting for Git over the likes of CVS and Subversion. But Git is not an easy system to handle. You’ll need someone to give you a nice, gentle introduction. I’ve long since elbowed out all other version […]

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Ruby on Rails – A New Training

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:57:54 +0000

In May, I spent a week in Hamburg giving a training in Ruby on Rails. I’ve already been a team-member on two Rails development projects, and it was as much a joy to teach as it is develop. Ruby is a multi-paradigm, general-purpose programming language that particularly encourages simplicity and elegance in its users. Rails […]

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