Tag Archives: Tech

We often see claims that such and such an application has \(99.\cdots\) reliability. That seems pretty definitive but what does it really mean? Here’s the answer. The difference between 99.9% and 99.99% is significant. By the time we get to … Continue reading →

I don’t know what to make of this. The TL;DR is that after many years, Sweden is returning to more traditional methods in education, including an emphasis on physical books and handwriting. On the one hand, there is some actual … Continue reading →

If you’re like me, you love those weird stories about seemingly impossible things happening with computers and the Internet. My favorite is A Story About Magic. Even if you know the story, follow the link to see a picture of … Continue reading →

As most of you know, I’m an Apple user so Six Colors, a site dedicated to Apple news, is in my feed. I just noticed this article about Watch Duty, an app that tracks wild fire information and makes it … Continue reading →

I’ve been doing crosswords (American style) for most of my life but one thing I’ve never understood is how one goes about constructing them. It really is a hard problem when you think about it. Forget about clues and all … Continue reading →

Cyborgs. It’s a familiar trope to those of us who enjoy science fiction. I’ve always thought that I’m a bit too old to experience being a cyborg in any non-trivial way but then I read this article by Alberto Navarro . … Continue reading →

Well, not really a poll but at least some random opinions. A while ago, I mentioned a discussion I had with Perry Metzger about pair programming. Metzger, who is a serious person and well worth listening to, is a huge … Continue reading →

According to an Ars Technica report, ISPs say that their customer service is so good that customers don’t seek other providers. That claim was made by the NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, a cable industry trade association in response to … Continue reading →

As many of you know, Edsger W. Dijkstra was an important and prolific mathematician and computer science. He was responsible for, among other things, the widely used shortest path algorithm. One oddity of his work was that a substantial part … Continue reading →