Category Archives: Computers

Using Salt to Manage Server Configuration

Background I’ve been using Salt (for clarity and searchability it’s also sometimes referred to as Salt Project or Salt Stack) to manage the configuration of my web server since 2014. It’s similar to Puppet, Chef (I guess they call it … Continue reading

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Firefox as a Snap package in Ubuntu 22.04

In Ubuntu 22.04 Firefox is installed from a Snap package and not a dpkg like most other things and the update experience is awful. I get this notification: However, closing Firefox and reopening it does not cause it to be … Continue reading

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SlowCOVIDNC app

Update 2022-08-13: A few months ago the app started crashing and kept crashing so I uninstalled it. Looking at the comments on Play Store, other people have had the same problem. That was on a three and a half year … Continue reading

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Laptop shopping

I bought a laptop four months ago. A 13″ MacBook Air with Retina display, 16 GB memory and 256 GB SSD. I was laptopless after leaving Honor. I have a great desktop but I knew a laptop would be useful … Continue reading

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Interesting ideas, technologies, and companies

I’m in the market for a job! I left my old job at Honor in San Francisco at the end of February. I love Honor, loved working there, I’m proud to have been a part of their growth over the … Continue reading

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Rounding numbers in Python 2 and Python 3

There are two changes to rounding between Python 2 and Python 3 that programmers should watch out for when migrating. I realize that Python 3 has been out for ten years, but I also know there are still people using … Continue reading

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On the Shadow Brokers NSA leaks

The leaks published by The Shadow Brokers (Wikipedia, New York Times) are the perfect example of why we should minimize the sensitive information kept by the government. I posted about this in the context of encryption backdoors two years ago. … Continue reading

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Technology news briefs

There were three events last week that I thought didn’t get enough news coverage: 1. Good news: Proposed restrictions on warrantless electronic device border searches Bills were proposed in the Senate and House to require a probable cause warrant before … Continue reading

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