joshuago’s Bookmarks
Much of the world's food supply is transported via an inefficient, polluting, and dangerous system of highways and trucks. The alternative? Move the whole system underground and set up a packet-switched "transport-industry Internet." Probably won't happen anytime soon since entrenched interests are powerful.
A well-rationalized framework for git branching policy. Good for personal and commercial projects.
A fun read detailing how Bram Cohen, Shawn Fanning, Justin Frankel, and Jon Johansen changed the world in their own unique ways. Inspiring to ambitious programmers everywhere.
Going out and actually seeking rejection hammers home the lesson that it's not about you, and that you shouldn't be afraid to ask. You'd be surprised what people will eventually say yes to.
You've got an amazing service but nobody knows about it. Nobody knows the benefits of building on your API. You have a classic chicken and egg problem. The trick is to think of your API as a product and as a business in and of itself, which means you have to understand how to market it, build awareness, and drive market adoption. And don't be afraid to cannibalize your product in the process.
The economic downturn in the United States has had an unexpected consequence for startups – it has created more of them. Young and old, innovators who are unemployed or underemployed now face less risk in starting a company. They have a lot less to lose and a lot more to gain.
Why does it matter whether we get the Puritans right or not? The simple answer is that it matters because our civil society depends, as theirs did, on linking an ethics of the common good with the uses of power.
Why are the enterprise people so confused? Why don’t they just quickly adopt the best products without requiring complex sales processes?
A great overview of the current state of affairs as concerns software documentation. Emphasizes DRY and automatic code generation, two widely known but oft-ignored ideas. An excellent reminder even for software engineers who have heard it all before. Recommended for regular review.
Building useful, utilitarian applications is embedded deep in Google's DNA, and this is why they haven't succeeded at building social applications. They're not out to set up frivolous gimmicks because their core values dictate that they do good by their users, not make it easier for them to whittle away their time.