alexking.org » Links

Honeywell Sues Nest for Patent Infringement

Alex — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:40:00 +0000

This is why we can’t have nice things.

Are Milk Stout beers a problem if you’re lactose intolerant?

Alex — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:40:00 +0000

Short answer: yes. Filed under: things I learned the hard way.

5 Year Old Provides Insight on Popular Logos

Alex — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:40:16 +0000

Very interesting to hear. (thanks NextDraft)

Responsive Images: How they Almost Worked and What We Need

Alex — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:24:59 +0000

While we were working on the new Boston Globe website, we devised a technique to mitigate the size of requests for users that may have limited bandwidth. Before I describe it here, I should really warn you up front: it broke. But we planned for that.

Pushing the problems around

Alex — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:25:04 +0000

There is currently no easy way to determine where the canonical data in a complex system resides and how it is updated, and my bet is we will see a new set of tools and languages evolve to create abstractions which will make it possible for mere mortal programmers like myself to get these architectures right.

The Five Stages of Hosting

Alex — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:40:08 +0000

Summary: there is no silver bullet.

Follow-up to Michael Wolfe on Estimates

Alex — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:47:46 +0000

Kellan points out a great follow-up to the previously linked Michael Wolfe piece. While the Wolfe piece is extremely entertaining, it’s also very true that there are smart ways to approach planning for software development. The value of experience cannot be overstated in these situations.

28-Days Before You Can Even Think About Renting A Movie

Alex — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:44:05 +0000

I don’t understand why the studios seem so intent on driving people to pirate movies. The experience (warnings about piracy, trailers, etc.) with a legitimate DVD or Blu-Ray is already awful and it seems they are trying to make it worse.

Michael Tsai on Mac App Restrictions

Alex — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:21:27 +0000

It’s no longer possible to write a single app that takes advantage of the full range of Mac OS X features. Some APIs only work inside the Mac App Store. Others only work outside it. Presumably, this gap will widen as more new features are App Store–exclusive, while sandboxing places greater restrictions on what App Store apps are allowed to do.

Michael Wolfe on Software Estimates

Alex — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:13:18 +0000

A must-read. (thanks Sean)

Arguing on the Internet

Alex — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:09:35 +0000

All variations of this are great.

Amazon DynamoDB: First Look

Alex — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:10:05 +0000

Insightful overview, as usual, from Steve.

The Scutaro Deal is Mystifying

Alex — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:40:50 +0000

Which leaves us with two possible explanations. One, that the Red Sox see something in Mortensen that no one else does. Or two, that they assessed the Scutaro market and felt that this was the best they could do.

I think the Rockies just got the better of them on this one. The jury is definitely still out on the post-Theo era in Boston.

The Bark Side

Alex — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:39:36 +0000

Words fail me. (via Dave Pell’s Next Draft)

WAT

Alex — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:16:17 +0000

So, so good. (thanks Donncha)