TRST_Blog

This looks promising. And although it sounds like an Apple developer framework, Notekit is a neat looking note taking application. At its core, Notekit is a markdown editor and file management interface. Where it begins to claw at solutions like OneNote or Evernote is with its drawing capabilities. With the exception of xournal++ (née xournal), I don't know of many Linux supporting applications that support drawing/handwriting, though xournal++ is a handwriting application first and foremost, whereas Notekit comes from the other direction.

This project is in “late alpha” quality. So here's your chance to make your contributions to this project at its infancy and shape its development.

Alex Von Kanarenstein is doing God’s work in this Twitter thread.

I’m usually loathe to link to Reddit topics, but this one caught my eye. How often have you landed on a project page and not been able to make heads or tails of what that software is meant to do? Like the hundreds of commenters, I feel like it happens frequently (but I’m suspicious of my own generalization, for what its worth).

Some of the commenters go on to give possible explanations for why, many pointing to this being a marketing problem—not widespread, but the assumption being that developers are willing to donate time, yet marketers (whatever that means) are not. It would be fun to debate these opinions but I’ll leave that aside for now.^[1]

I would guess that this is probably an issue of missing small details. Some people have trouble describing the function of their work, the whats and whys, sure, but most developers are capable of including these details (or other small points like an up-to-date screenshot). What may be amplifying this problem is the changing demographics and expectations of the community.^[2] Simply put, we (the community) have higher expectations. We expect if we’re meeting you (the development team) on your repository or website, that there has been some consideration for how we can understand and make use of your software.

It is hard to blame the community for feeling that way. There's no real anger, just mild frustrations—paper cuts, really—that build up overtime and distort our perceptions about the entire open-source project.

To you, the developer, you’re doing incredible work that everyone appreciates. Do not be discouraged, instead push a little harder to include these minor details or be brave enough to ask for help.

To you, the user/marketer/whatever, be brave enough to ask if you can help adding a screenshot/description or brave enough to ask the questions, “What does this do? And why does it exist?” Most importantly, be humble enough to shake off whatever frustrations you have if the answer (or lack there of) does not include you, despite your best intentions.

An interesting talk laying out the path to sustainability and, dare I say, profitability for open source projects by Peter Levine and Jennifer Li.

I tend to interact most with open-source projects following the OSS 0.0 and OSS 1.0 model, where I notice a fair bit of pining about becoming more sustainable. Truthfully, most of these projects are hobbies that happened to gain some traction, so the lack of business acumen can be forgiven. But these same projects and communities also distrust commercial structures. There's a real tension between creating community and software as a “labour of love” and having commercial foresight.

Perhaps, keeping viability in mind (or firmly ruling it out) from the start of a project will be open-source's bitter medicine.^[1] There’s a parallel between VC funded and aimless growth companies and open-source projects when it comes to business models. As a community, making money shouldn't be a dirty concept;therefore, we ought to encourage opportunities for our favourite communities to flourish going forward.

I'm into this VIM plugin, especially the background highlights so you can keep syntax highlighting working as normal.

The newest iPhones 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are apparently the first mass produced computing devices to feature Ultra Wide Band receivers. Until I read this, the rumour has been that it's for more precise physical location tracking for a Tile-like competitor. To which I shrugged my shoulders, cool tech but nothing to raise too much fuss over.

That assumption was premature and naïve. I first read Jason Snell’s take after an interview with an UWB industry insider which before coming across the linked piece by Steve Cheney. Now my mind has changed. If half of what's said here comes to pass, then we're in for a wild ride over the next five years.

(H/T Benedict Evans’ awesome newsletter)

You've heard the news but perhaps you hadn't considered the real repercussions of security flaws beyond the headlines. I know I hadn't.

It starts following an American mercenary hacking on behalf of the UAE government, under the guise of aiding the fight against terrorism. That's a pretty gnarly start but it gets wild. Particularly if you're an iPhone user. Particularly if you used a browser sometime in the last 2 years! (That's not you is it?)

I'm not sure why I listen to this show: it's tightly produced, well researched and endlessly entertaining but every episode makes my palms sweat.

I’m moving back to Alberta, my home province, in a matter of months. Pictures of home make that choice feel better. Beautiful pictures of home get me down right excited. (Although, what doesn’t come across in images is how horrific prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures is on your mind. Oof.)

Speaking of rust…

I don't need another shell in my life but I'll say that Nushell definitely stands apart. Big names behind it, we'll see if gets any real attention.

This one is still making me think. Herrera’s metaphorical twists and deep imagery are unsettling—not in an uncomfortable way. It's as if something in my head is slightly amiss, like there's a gap where there shouldn’t be, or a line slightly crooked.

It wasn’t at all what I expected, yet I enjoyed every page.