Blogs

What we can learn from …

The software in space podcast (by se-radio) put me into thoughts about finding ways to improve code quality. First of all, I think that using void methods in languages that support exceptions is not very useful. Instead, I prefer using idioms like the boolean return value and single exit point. …

On building a platform

The se-radio podcast about building a platform contains many useful tips, but the most important IMHO are (1) the importance of the API, (2) "eating your own dog food".

The API should be easy to use. This means that it should be intuitive for the users, which in this case are programmers. Note that …

Why Erlang matters

I usually go at work by bicycle and to spend my cycling time efficiently I listen to the podcasts of  se-radio. I have this idea of sharing my thoughts about the things being said in the podcasts but I'm not sure if it is going to work well. But anyway...

Today's podcast was about Erlang. Erlang …

Do you evaluate your …

The prolonged financial crisis that we are living has caused an enormous growth in unemployment rates all over the world. Software Engineers and Programmers are by no means an exception to that rule, especially fresh graduates with no or little professional experience. But to find a job (or search …

9series: Introduction and …

Introduction to Plan 9 and writing a simple chmod utility 

I decided to write down some notes about my experiences while playing with Plan 9. Plan 9 is a free software (OSI certified) distributed operating system developed in a place that I would like …

I love your boot loader

GRUB on a cigarette machine 

According to Ruben the GRUB (and probably POSIX) powered cigarette machine can be found in an Amsterdam bar. What an interesting embedded system! After seeing this it's impossible not to show sympathy for the Netherlands. Most …

Updating Debian Wheezy …

Quick hack to fix it

The latest update of Debian testing (aka Wheezy) breaks GCC, both version 4.x and 5.x:
#include <stdio.h>

int
main (void)

return 0;
}

faif@isengard:~$ gcc --version
gcc (Debian 4.5.3-3) 4.5.3
faif@isengard:~$ gcc -o a a.c
/usr/bin/ld: …

Job seeking post

Would you hire this seeker? 

This is a real LinkedIn post from a job seeker:
Hi, i search work. I web-programmer. I work to PHP. I from COUNTRY[1]. Interested in remote work. Please write me in profile.
Honestly: If you were a job recruiter, would you give a change to this seeker? I …

Debian Lenny -> Squeeze …

After more than a year of using Debian GNU/Linux stable (Lenny) on my eee, I decided to upgrade it to testing (Squeeze). The reasons are many. Some of them, are the access to updated versions of many applications, and the usage of a recent optimized kernel. Anyway, my system is fine except from a …

TheHackerspace

Thesssaloniki's hackerspace is here!

The following excerpt is taken from the homepage of TheHackerspace:
"Unless you are rich, it is unlikely that you own all the hardware and the tools required to build different kinds of embedded systems. For example you might …