Link dump - week 40
Good day to you all! Another edition of what’s now seemingly turning into my own personal newsletter. If you’d like to receive this in your mailbox every week, you can find a form at the end of this.
The Leeds 13
Way back in 1998 a group of British art students pulled a great prank on the press (and well everyone). They asked for a grant for an art project, and seemingly used all the money to go on a party trip to Málaga. But that’s not really happened.
A.I. + games
A.I. is not only great to create all the weird images that you have in your head, but it can also learn how to play games, and give you insights into the best strategies to use. For example, if you have a lot of patience you can learn A.I. how to drive a rather complex TrackMania track, or learn it how to win at Monopoly.
OG App
Last week, some enthusiasts proved that it doesn’t take that much to create a better Instagram app. They launched their own Instagram client, aptly named The OG App, which offers everything everyone’s been wanting from Instagram (chronological timeline, no Reels, no ads) for a long time.
Too bad Meta doesn’t allow anyone to make a better product than they do, and they swiftly let Apple remove it from the App Store. It’s still available for Android, and there’s a waitlist for iOS though (should they ever relaunch).
React, it’s complicated
Last week I linked this excellent read by François Zaninotto, about how he still loves React, but how over the course of several years he’s encountered various (valid) problems with its implementation. Things newer, more sexy frameworks seem to tackle more elegantly.
This week, another piece called “Get in Zoomer, we’re saving React” was published, where it’s author argues that it’s not the framework that is the problem, but the current generation of web developers.
What’s really frustrating about all this is how passive and helpless the current generation of web developers seem to be in all this. It’s as if they’ve all been lulled into complacency by convenience. They seem afraid to carve out their own ambitious paths, and lack serious gusto for engineering. If there isn’t a “friendly” bot spewing encouraging messages with plenty of ???? emoji at every turn, they won’t engage.
Although he might sound a bit harsh, as I slowly start to grow into an old-timer, I must admit he’s right. Overall, it’s all just tooling, and just like I don’t really care about the brand of wrench my plumber uses, we should focus on the resulting product. We need to stop running in circles.
Goosebumps alert
I was skeptical when news first broke that HBO was making a TV series about what is probably one of the best video games ever. But look at this. It seems they’ve recreated the feeling, the key moments & the setting of the game. It’s still at least some months away, but I can’t wait.
New music
There was lots of great music these past few weeks. New releases by The Mars Volta, Afghan Whigs, Suede, Death Cab For Cutie and Björk have me a very happy boy.
However, the record that surprised me most was “The End, So Far” by Slipknot. It might be part nostalgia towards my teenage years, but man, this records is good. It not only emphasizes what a great singer Corey Taylor is (that first track, it’s almost classic Bowie), but it shows a band that has managed to stay relevant, more than 20 years past Wait & Bleed.
My favorite track? I’d say Yen. It starts slow and beautiful, then rips you open.
????Even more links????
Coding
GitHub – ImVexed/muon: GPU based Electron on a diet
GPU based Electron on a diet. Contribute to ImVexed/muon development by creating an account on GitHub.
The new wave of Javascript web frameworks
Make sense of the proliferation of new Javascript web frameworks. A deep dive into the problems at scale and the recent evolution of inn…
Tech
▶️ I Paid Fiverr To Create An Entire YouTube Business
View video part 2!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOqDt_g5dBASo, I had the bright idea to see if I could build an entire YouTube Channel…
▶️ Homelab upgrade: New Raspberry Pi Cluster rackmount
It’s time to upgrade to my rackmount Pi cluster!You can buy the UCTRONICS Pi Rack Pro on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BDZD5YOther products m…
Twitter’s actually rolling out editable tweets
For Blue subscribers in certain countries
AI Test Kitchen
A place to improve AI technology, together.
soxoj/maigret: ????️♂️ Collect a dossier on a person by username from thousands of sites
????️♂️ Collect a dossier on a person by username from thousands of sites – soxoj/maigret: ????️♂️ Collect a dossier on a person by userna…
Stadia died because no one trusts Google
There’s a lot of chatter right now about the “surprise” shutdown of Stadia, Google’s game-streaming service. While it’s true that rivals…
Gaming
The Demise of the Mildly Dynamic Website
▶️ Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator – Release Date Announce Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games
Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator is coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on the 29th of September 2022! Brew your dream beer in t…
Music
This or That? Play Pitchfork’s 1990s Music Battle Game
Choose your favorites in head-to-head matchups of songs and albums from the 1990s.
See you next week!
Member discussion