La storia e la tecnologia di “yes”, comando Unix che semplicemente mette una “y” in stdout e poi un invio: lettura veloce anche per chi non è eccessivamente tecnico (non fatevi spaventare dalle parti con del codice, il senso si capisce lo stesso più che bene).

Money quote:

Here's the very first version of the program, released with Version 7 Unix and famously authored by Ken Thompson on Jan 10, 1979:

main(argc, argv)
char **argv;
{
for (;;)
printf("%s\n", argc>1? argv[1]: "y");
}
No magic here.

Compare that to the 128-line-version from the GNU coreutils, which is mirrored on Github. After 25 years, it is still under active development! The last code change happened around a year ago. That's quite fast:

https://matthias-endler.de/2017/yes/

Una visita alla fabbrica Tesla delle Model S diventa l'occasione per una riflessione su come si producono le automobili (e non solo) con qualche considerazione sulla vita di Tesla e le strategie imprenditoriali di Elon Musk

Money quote: "My first serious doubts about Tesla didn’t stem from missed schedules, I’ve been guilty of too many of these, they’re part of tech life. What seriously worried me was a July 2016 visit to Tesla’s manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. In taking delivery of my wife’s Model S, we were treated to a group tour of the site. Everyone marveled at the robot porn, at the activity on the assembly line, at the endless stores of spare parts piled to the ceiling.

Everyone but yours truly."

https://mondaynote.com/teslas-new-car-smell-315c72c955d3

Casi di forte dipendenza da graffette sul pianeta Terra nel gioco Paperclips - il mio articolo per Macity

https://www.macitynet.it/casi-forte-dipendenza-graffette-sul-pianeta-terra-nel-gioco-paperclips/

Pi-Top, il portatile modulare basato su Raspberry - il mio articolo per Macity
https://www.macitynet.it/pi-top-portatile-modulare-basato-raspberry/

L’invasione dei droidi volanti, arriva AirDroid per iOS - il mio articolo per Macity

https://www.macitynet.it/linvasione-dei-droidi-volanti-arriva-airdroid-per-ios/

Chiacchiere da bar per chi deve manipolare grandi quantità di numeri e tirarne fuori un po’ di senso. Quali linguaggi di programmazione sono particolarmente utili per un data scientist?

Money quote: “I use R, Python and SQL on a regular basis, as my current role largely focuses on developing existing data pipeline and ETL processes. These languages give the right balance of generality and productivity to do the job, with the option of using R’s more advanced statistics packages when needed.
However — you may already have some experience with Java. Or you may want to use Scala for big data. Or, perhaps you’re keen to get involved with the Julia project.”

https://medium.freecodecamp.org/which-languages-should-you-learn-for-data-science-e806ba55a81f

Richard Thaler, il vincitore del Nobel per l’economia - Nobel di serie b per cosi dire - è stato a lungo osteggiato dai colleghi sostanzialmente per aver riportato buona parte della riflessione economica nel binario delle scienze soft, psicologiche e sociali, togliendo aria all’idea che l’economia sia una specie di scienza esatta per via di tutti quei numeri e quei giudizi inappellabili degli esperti.

Qui ci sono cinque idee che non sono male per capire anche come possiamo regolare la nostra vita (che sembrano la prova sperimentale del buon senso della nonna, ma comunque...

Money quote: "In one experiment on retirement savers, Thaler showed that when plans were automated, workers more than tripled the percentage of each paycheck they saved. One of Thaler’s peers estimates that his suggestions about how to structure retirement accounts have added some $29.6 billion to people’s savings"

https://www.mic.com/articles/185104/richard-thaler-books-nobel-prize-5-crucial-money-saving-and-life-wisdoms-from-the-2017-economic-nobel-prize-winner

La verità su USB-C, la porta universale è una giungla - mio articolo per Macity

https://www.macitynet.it/la-usb-c-connessione-definitiva-solo-un-sogno/

Vivere il momento. Cioè non dentro il telefonino. È possibile? Di storie cosi sono piene le pagine web. Vediamone una interessante come riflessione.

Money quote: “After reading my Aeon essay on the topic, a representative from a San Francisco startup called YONDR contacted me. YONDR makes special pouches that keep audiences from using their phones at shows. You silence your phone, slide it into the pouch, and lock it at the top. After the performance, or if access is necessary before then, you can unlock the case in the lobby by touching the lock to a metal base, similar to anti-theft tags on clothing. Performers such as Dave Chappelle and Alicia Keys have used YONDR – whose motto is ‘Be here now’ – to curtail unsanctioned recordings and, when they look into the crowd, they see faces, not phones. The approach seems less draconian than forcing people to part with their tech, as separation anxiety defeats the goal of increased engagement.”

https://aeon.co/ideas/how-our-smartphones-stop-us-from-living-in-the-moment

Le nuove tastiere dei MacBook sono davvero terribili? - mio articolo per Macity

https://www.macitynet.it/le-nuove-tastiere-dei-macbook-davvero-terribili/

Qualche giorno fa avevo segnalato, con una schermata l’aggiornamento della app nello store del mio iPhone, che Delta Air Lines ha eliminato il Check-In. Adesso che ho trovato un approfondimento sul tema, la cosa si fa sempre più interessante perché pone problemi non banali dal lato della compagnia aerea.

Money quote: “On Delta, a customer who does not check-in can be removed from a flight 30 or 45 minutes prior to departure, depending the airport. But if customers check-in, Delta will not take them off the flight until they fail to show up at the gate either 15 minutes or five minutes before departure, depending on the route. That doesn’t give agents much time to fill the seats with standby passengers
”
https://skift.com/2017/10/12/delta-air-lines-scraps-check-in-for-users-of-its-iphone-app/

E adesso che Airbus e Bombardier sono diventanti conviventi (sort of) che cosa succederà all’altra possibile coppia di fatto, Boeing ed Embraer? Se sono rose, fioriranno?

Money quote: “And now, in 2017, the partnerships are transatlantic. Europe and Canada come under a single umbrella with Airbus taking control of the Bombardier's C Series airliner and with an expanding manufacturing footprint in the U.S., Canada and China.”

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/16/news/companies/boeing-embraer-collaboration/index.html

C’è una frase di Confucio molto sintetica e parecchio puntuale, mi descrive tantissimo. Dice: «tutti noi abbiamo due vite, la seconda comincia quando ci rendiamo davvero conto di averne una sola».

Scoppia la pace tra i grandi browser per uno standard unificato, ma manca Apple - mio articolo per Macity

https://www.macitynet.it/scoppia-la-pace-grandi-browser-uno-standard-unificato-manca-apple/

La madre svedese di tutti i lucchetti compra l’americana August Home - mio articolo per Macity

https://www.macitynet.it/la-madre-svedese-tutti-lucchetti-compra-lamericana-august-home/

Gli insetti hanno un problema e presto, se continua così, lo avremo anche noi.

Money quote: “Since 1989, scientists from the Entomological Society Krefeld had been collecting insects in the nature reserves and protected areas of western Germany. They set up malaise traps—large tents that funnel any incoming insect upward through a cone of fabric and into a bottle of alcohol. These traps are used by entomologists to collect specimens of local insects, for research or education. “But over the years, [the Krefeld team] realized that the bottles were getting emptier and emptier,” says Caspar Hallmann, from Radboud University”

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/10/oh-no/543390/

Il Vecchio Palazzo d'Estate di Pechino. Una meraviglia. Oggi ricostruito con il Lego. Andate a vedere la gallery, merita.

Money quote: "A team of three Chinese Lego fans have pieced together a model of the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, at their studio in Beijing. The incomplete artwork has required some 660,000 pieces of Lego. The team has spent over 300,000 yuan and more than six months on their work so far. Upon completion, the Old Summer Palace on Lego is expected to be displayed at the Yuanmingyuan Park in Beijing."

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1020/c90000-9282695.html

Si può vivere di solo iPad (con iOS 11)? C'è chi pensa di sì. Io intanto ho appena ricomprato il computer portatile. Ho fatto un errore? Non credo...

Money quote: "It's with that in mind that you should approach the notion of whether you could live your life with the iPad Pro as your primary -- nay, only -- machine. For the electronic minimalist in us all, the device can do plenty of the usual things you'd use a desktop for. But you'll always find that you can very easily butt up against the limits of what the iPad, and iOS 11, can do."

https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/16/ipad-pro-pc-replacement/

Una ragazzina di 11 anni spiega come si fa a gestire un ammiratore non desiderato, e andare invece dietro a un altro ragazzino che le piace. A parte la lezione - sempre attuale pur nella sua crudeltà apparente, per così dire - sono l'animazione e l'atmosfera creata dagli autori ad essere notevoli

Money quote: "Flirting packs a universal and somewhat heartbreaking punch into just over a minute."

https://aeon.co/videos/an-11-year-old-girl-on-what-to-do-when-a-boy-likes-you-but-you-like-someone-else

C'è così tanto da pensare e da dire, prima di poter andare avanti, che non so neanche da dove cominciare. Questa è una storia di molestie, e altre molestie, e vecchie violenze. Ma c'è di più. Consiglio di leggerla.

Money quote: "In the early 2010s I was standing by the campfire on the Saturday night of Foo and a man was making out with a woman. Both were obviously drunk. Foo fosters a casual atmosphere, especially at night, and drinking is not uncommon. The making out was pretty weird though, and uncomfortable. I and some other friends chatted about it, loudly, about how it wasn’t appropriate here, but the pair went on anyway, either not hearing us or not caring. One of my friends was getting a bit upset, and managed to break things up by starting a conversation with the woman, but before long the pair were back at it. He came back to me, on the verge of panic, and whispered in my ear. The woman was so drunkenly disoriented that she didn’t seem to understand what was happening, and the guy kept pouring drinks for her. It was quite possibly headed towards rape. He asked me what to do, and I realized the man in question was someone powerful. I blanked and said I wasn’t sure what to do, maybe try get them apart? My friend gave me a fantastic no-duh look and went back over to them."

https://medium.com/@quinnnorton/robert-scoble-and-me-9b14ee92fffb