Roundup: What is programming, encryption, Crystal, design checklist, cycling standards and comparing passports
Elena Tanasoiu
Aug. 3, 2018
What is programming? - Murray S
https://www.theincomparable.com/robot/136/
This podcast started out as a discussion of what exactly was or was not a robot according a strict definition set out by one of the hosts. It's since exhausted that topic and moved onto exploring other canonical definitions of things like sandwiches, or holidays, or even death! In this episode they try to define what programming is. It's a topic that could easily descend into gatekeeperism by sneering at different ways of creating software (e.g. "You're not a real programmer if you don't …"), but luckily for us it manages to avoid that. In the latter half of the episode they talk about visual programming environments like workflow or scratch. These are a way of programming that's completely alien to me and my day-to-day work in a text editor, but just because you don't have to type out code, doesn't mean it's not programming or is somehow a lesser discipline because of it. In many ways it might be better; no more frustrating hours spent chasing down errors caused by missing semi-colons!
How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour - Ben B
https://medium.freecodecamp.org/tor-signal-and-beyond-a-law-abiding-citizens-guide-to-privacy-1a593f2104c3
“Only the paranoid survive.” — Andy Grove This 5 minute blog takes you through how to protect yourself by securing your online privacy (or to cover your tracks 😉) Mark Zuckerberg once used the password “dadada” on his LinkedIn account and was exposed when hackers released 117 million email-password combinations, finding his name among them… Hackers were then able to use his email and password to gain access to his Twitter and Pinterest accounts 😱. No one is safe! So if you want some quick handy tips and tricks to maintain a safe digital profile then look no further.
Try Crystal this afternoon - Richard S
https://gist.github.com/paulcsmith/5668e9407179c14b77aaad5cb27938e2
TBH I only looked at it because it's called Crystal and I thought he wrote it. It seems like it's worth keeping an eye on.
London Cycling Design Standards - Henry T
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/streets-toolkit#on-this-page-2
Published design systems, or manuals, or standards, seem to be getting increasingly popular. I enjoyed reading TfL's design guide for cycling infrastructure partly because \I like cycling, and partly because it wasn't a guide related to producing a web service.
Design checklist - Richard S
http://blog-en.tilda.cc/articles-website-design-mistakes
It's worth having a look at your existing site with a critical eye and seeing whether this checklist gives you any inspiration. Horses for courses, of course.
Compare passports - Elena T
https://multinational.io/compare_passports
A very handy tool for comparing the power of different passports around the world.
Track of the Week - Tim H
70s summer disco pop. In this heat there is nothing better! We don't even need to Fly Away for our holidays this year!