11 years Ago

Grooveshark: A lesson in why we can’t have nice things

Published by marco on in Finance & Economy

Grooveshark is no more.

Why should we lament this? They were, after all, a company that delivered music without heeding copyrights and without recompensing the artists that wrote the music. Once you read more about their business model, one could only say that they operated in a gray area if one squinted really hard. Once you learned how they delivered what they delivered, you were amazed that they lasted as long as they did.

But let’s take a step back and examine what else they provided and... [More]

Encodo’s configuration library for Quino: part III

Published by marco on in Programming

 This discussion about configuration spans three articles:

  1. part I discusses the history of the configuration system in Quino as well as a handful of principles we kept in mind while designing the new system
  2. part II discusses the basic architectural changes and compares an example from the old configuration system to the new.
  3. part III takes a look at configuring the “execution order”—the actions to execute during application startup and shutdown

Introduction

Registering with an IOC is all... [More]

Encodo’s configuration library for Quino: part II

Published by marco on in Programming

In this article, we’ll continue the discussion about configuration started in part I. We wrapped up that part with the following principles to keep in mind while designing the new system.

  • Consistency
  • Opt-in configuration
  • Inversion of Control
  • Configuration vs. Execution
  • Common Usage

Borrowing from ASP.NET vNext

Quino’s configuration inconsistencies and issues have been well-known for several versions—and years—but the opportunity to rewrite it comes only now with a major-version break.
... [More]

Books read in 2014

Published by marco on in Books

The Name of the Rose (1983/en)

by Umberto Eco

This book is about a series of murders in an abbey in 12th-century Italy. A battle rages between opposed forces within the church, with some siding with the Pope and others not. The schism approaches, inquisitional troops roam the land. A very well-educated and modern monk, William of Baskerville, arrives at the abbey with his novice Melk in tow, to whom he is imparting not only wisdom but the kind of inquisitive mind that will be capable of... [More]

Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Blyth (read in 2015)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (read in 2015)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (read in 2015)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

12 years Ago

Encodo’s configuration library for Quino: part I

Published by marco on in Programming

In this article, I’ll continue the discussion about configuration improvements mentioned in the release notes for Quino 2.0-beta1. With beta2 development underway, I thought I’d share some more of the thought process behind the forthcoming changes.

Software Libraries

what sort of patterns integrate and customize the functionality of libraries in an application?

An application comprises multiple tasks, only some of which are part of that application’s actual domain. For those parts not in the... [More]

Capsule Movie Reviews Vol.2015.3

Published by marco on in Movies

Scanners (1981) — 6/10
This is a David Cronenberg movie about very special people who can control other people’s minds with their own. The movie is very much of its time—it is basically an action-adventure story of conflicting mind-control factions. The pacing is quite slow by today’s standards, but the story is pretty interesting—even if the parts involving computers are laughable. Also, about a quarter of the movie is taken up with people squinting and sweating at each other, trying to... [More]

XX beats XY

Published by marco on in Quotes

“Women, my friend, are the new men. They get things done. Our female colleagues are sane and smart, they stick together and they smell a helluva lot better than we do.”
Senator Gil John Biggs (Alpha House S02E09: Will There be Water)

Alpha House is a TV show on Amazon Prime about four Republican U.S. Senators living together in a house in Washington D.C. John Goodman is just fantastic as Gil John Biggs. Definitely worth a watch: it might even be better than Veep.

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin (Read in 2015)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (Read in 2015)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Watchmen by Alan Moore (1986–1987) (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Snuff by Terry Pratchett (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Dracula by Bram Stoker (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Moby Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1880) (Read in 2014)

Published by marco on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg (Read in 2014)

Published by root on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (Read in 2014)

Published by root on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Reamde by Neal Stephenson (Read in 2014)

Published by root on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (read in 2014)

Published by root on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (read in 2014–2015)

Published by root on in Books

Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an... [More]

Quino v2.0-beta1: Configuration, services and web

Published by marco on in Programming

The summary below describes major new features, items of note and breaking changes. The full list of issues is also available for those with access to the Encodo issue tracker.

Highlights

These are the big ones that forced a major-version change.

C# 6 Features and C# 7 Design Notes

Published by marco on in Programming

Microsoft has recently made a lot of their .NET code open-source. Not only is the code for many of the base libraries open-source but also the code for the runtime itself. On top of that, basic .NET development is now much more open to community involvement.

In that spirit, even endeavors like designing the features to be included in the next version of C# are online and open to all: C# Design Meeting Notes for Jan 21, 2015 by Mads Torgerson (GitHub).

C# 6 Recap

You may be surprised at the version number “7”—aren’t... [More]