Links

Automerge

automerge.org

Automerge is a Conflict-Free Replicated Data Type (CRDT), which allows concurrent changes on different devices to be merged automatically without requiring any central server.

Retro-Simplicity

ratfactor.com

All of this, and the knowledge to use is, is available at the click of a link and completely for free over a globe-spanning network that is getting faster all the time.

Nothing prevents us from using the best things from the past with the benefit of hindsight. There’s been a lot of polishing over the years and a lot of innovation, too. And on a whole (the emphasis is important here) everything works together now with vastly better compatibility than it ever did in the past. Only rose-colored nostalgia glasses can see otherwise.

This is pretty much how I feel about the things that I choose to use and be interested in today. It’s wonderful.

16-bit Serial Homebrew CPU

jiristepanovsky.cz

I’ve tried to optimize my homebrew CPU for the lowest amount of logic chips possible and answer a question: How few ICs are required for a Turing-complete CPU without a CPU?

Amazing to see a claim of 10Mhz on a breadboard computer.

AI is killing the old web, and the new web struggles to be born

theverge.com

Years ago, the web used to be a place where individuals made things. They made homepages, forums, and mailing lists, and a small bit of money with it. Then companies decided they could do things better. They created slick and feature-rich platforms and threw their doors open for anyone to join. They put boxes in front of us, and we filled those boxes with text and images, and people came to see the content of those boxes. The companies chased scale, because once enough people gather anywhere, there’s usually a way to make money off them. But AI changes these assumptions.

"Get it."

commons.princeton.edu

Alexander Graham Bell on being inspired by Joseph Henry:

He said he thought it was ‘the germ of a great invention’ and advised me to work at it myself instead of publishing. I said that I recognized the fact that there were mechanical difficulties in the way that rendered the plan impracticable at the present time. I added that I felt that I have not the electrical knowledge necessary to overcome the difficulties. His laconic answer was — ‘get it.’ “

“I cannot tell how much these two words have encouraged me. I live too much in an atmosphere of discouragement for scientific pursuits.

Why do video games feel better than normal life?

ranprieur.com

June 26

[…]

In a game, you’re constantly unlocking benefits and upgrades, or at least getting a clear message that you’ve done something right. How often does this happen in real life? I think this is why people get obsessed with money, because money is a quantitative reward that’s at least sort of related to the quality of your actions.

Finally, I don’t see any way to get over the fact that games are much easier. How long does it take, in a game, before you understand how stuff works and you feel like you know what you’re doing? Minutes for an easy game, and maybe a few weeks for a hard game. In life, even after decades, you’re still unlocking new levels of your own incompetence.

Dumb and gets things done

johndcook.com

When Ross Perot ran for president in 1992, his supporters exclaimed “He can get things done!” So I’d ask “What does he want to get done that you’d like to see happen?” I don’t recall ever getting an answer.  What he wanted to get done didn’t matter. (I’m not saying that Perot’s platform was dumb. I’ll stay out of that discussion. I’m only saying that it could have been dumb and some people would not know or care.)

A good product idea…

geekanddad.wordpress.com

A post I made on Mastodon as advice to a younger indie app developer based on my three decades of experience working for smaller software businesses – mostly as a freelance software engineer – and watching which ones succeeded and which ones did not.

[…]

If your idea doesn’t pass the first 5, find a different problem to solve because this one isn’t likely to succeed.

Great, hard-won advice from my friend Tyler about product fit.