Links for 2020-01-26: bash power and Windows nostalgia
📝 How to write good bash 🔗
Anybody can write good bash (with a little effort) (5 min, via) provides some basic techniques to make your scripts more robust.
The article already mentions this, but I'll reiterate: use shellcheck
⌨️ More bash tricks 🔗
THC's favourite Tips, Tricks & Hacks (Cheat Sheet) (5 min) is a nice compilation of shell/unix tricks and tools.
If you liked these, make sure to read my own compilation of UNIX tricks
🌍 Bash web server 🔗
bashweb, A tiny web server that serves static files (1 min) is the perfect companion to my own bashblog, I guess?
✏️ Vanilla vim is nicer than you think 🔗
How to Do 90% of What Plugins Do (With Just Vim) (1 hr, video)
Vim is big; so big that it does some very useful things that are often overlooked. Plugins can buy us a lot of functionality, but they can add a lot of burden in the form of dependency complexity. In this talk, we'll explore some of the tradeoffs we can make between plugins and "vanilla" Vim features that achieve similar results, including:
- autocomplete (VimAwesome, YouCompleteMe)
- file jumping (FuzzyFinder, Ctrl-P)
- visual filesystem navigation (NERDTree)
- build integration
- snippets
An informative, practical and enjoyable talk.
🔠 Oldschool fonts 🔗
The Ultimate Oldschool PC Font Pack (5 min, via) is exactly what the title says.
It contains my favorite font of all time, IBM VGA8, the one I use in all my terminals, which I'm looking at while I write this blogpost.
🔐 How to use security usb keys 🔗
Getting started with security keys (15 min, via)
This is the definitive guide on how to set up security keys. It's full of resources, news, and specific gadgets that you can use.
The site is beautiful too, be sure to check it out!
💬 Developing Slack for win31 🔗
Building a new Win 3.1 app in 2019 (5 min)
This is so delightful. Even the win31 colorscheme brings great memories.
☑️ Why the Windows 95 UI was so great 🔗
Not everything was perfect in 1995, but I think we've lost something on the way (1 min, tweetstorm, via)
I wholeheartedly agree with Tuomas here.
I despise flat design for software. It is confusing, ugly, and throws out the window (pun intended) what we learned in the last 30 years of UI design.
💀 Windows 7 EOL 🔗
Windows 7 support ended on January 14, 2020 (1 min, via)
While I hate Windows in general, and not only from a philosophical point of view but rather because they're terrible tools, what Microsoft has done with Windows 10 is disgusting.
I've had to pay for Windows 10 copies for my company, and in return the system is slow, spies on you, and has ads on the Start menu.
Windows 7 didn't have that, so that's something. Not that it was a good experience, either
Sorry for the rant. I have nothing interesting to contribute regarding the actual link. I just couldn't pass on the opportunity to hate on modern Windows.
👴🏼 Appreciating resilient software 🔗
Writing Software to Last 50 Years
(5 min,
via)
is a short article that uses grep as an example of good, lasting software.
The author analyzes some of the reasons that make good tech.
Thanks to a comment by andyc I've learned about the Lindy Effect: the longer some tech has been available, the longer you expect it will continue being available in the future.
⛓ Cloudflare, the Gatekeeper 🔗
Cloudflare is turning off the internet for me (1 min, via)
I could not finish one of these roundups without your weekly reminder that the centralization of the internet is a scary thing and we all have the responsibility to fight against it.
🏴☠️ Support the Indie Web 🔗
The IndieWeb, a people-focused alternative to the "corporate web" (RH)
What can we do to push against a total centralization of the Internet by a dozen of companies?
Subscribe to independent RSS feeds, do not use Cloudflare unless strictly necessary, move your conent out of the mainstream platforms, use federated networks, etc.
Do not play their game.
Tags: roundup