Opinion

Why you should choose Aurelia over React (mostly)

The popularity of React is undeniable. When bright-eyed developers think about creating a new app, React is usually the first thing that crosses their minds. React has all become the defacto front-end library of choice. React is comfortable. React is familiar. React is used by almost everyone. React is the library you learn if you want to make yourself an employable front-end developer. The truth is, front-end developers have painted themselves into a corner with React. To understand why React became so popular, we have to go back to 2013, when React first made its grand debut. AngularJS was the dominant and most popular option for web applications at the time, and boy did AngularJS suck.

Microsoft Teams is ditching Electron and hopefully more projects follow suit

It’s no surprise that Electron is a slow, poor performing memory hog. However, the value proposition here is that it allows you to distribute Web-based applications as native desktop apps without writing programming code or anything else non-web. For some reason, all of these work chat/productivity apps decided to use Electron. Perhaps the most notable is Slack which continues to be a steaming pile of garbage in itself. When Electron first arrived, it was actually a game-changer for desktop app development. Despite its flaws, companies including Microsoft flocked to it. However, over the years, it has started to show its age. This is why it is not surprising that Microsoft Teams is ditching Electron for Edge Webview2 in its 2.0 release due out soon.

Dear McDonald's: bring back the Warm Cookie Sundae, you cowards

What are you so afraid of, McDonald’s? McDonald’s have been contacted for comment, but at the time of publishing this, I have not heard back from them just yet. The world was a different place eleven years ago. There was no pandemic, TikTok didn’t exist, and the iPhone was barely out of nappies. More importantly, McDonald’s served a dessert that has seemingly been lost in time: the Warm Cookie Sundae.

China f#*ks Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies (again)

When it comes to cryptocurrency, despite its world-changing power to overthrow the traditional banking system and kill fiat currency (according to some crypto proponents), there are two gatekeepers who determine whether it goes up or down: China and Elon Musk. Today, it was China’s turn to line up Bitcoin and the other top ten cryptocurrencies in a firing squad and open fire. Channel $BTC pic.twitter.com/jxRZ9OHfBV — MartyParty (@martypartymusic) June 21, 2021 Even though the crackdown on Bitcoin announced by China was known weeks ago, today China showed they are not bluffing with numerous mining operations shutting down. The price at the time of writing this is down almost 11% in 24 hours.

NFT’s Might Resurrect the Corpse of the Music Industry

The music industry in the last couple of decades has undergone serious change. Some might say for the better, and others might say for the worse. The music industry is not the illustrious money printing machine it was in the 90’s, thanks in part to the internet. The truth is, labels and bands were slow to adapt to the change the Internet brought. Metallica famously sued Napster in the early 2000s. While they won their case, ultimately, they changed nothing.

If Linkin Park Were Ever Looking for a New Vocalist, Sam Carter of Architects Should Be First in Line

For some reason, the tragic loss of Chester Bennington the frontman of Linkin Park still affects me to this day. I didn’t personally know him, but Linkin Park was the soundtrack to my teenage years (like many others my age). I don’t even know if Linkin Park will ever return, Chester is irreplaceable, in my opinion. One of the most talented vocalists in the genre could switch between his unique singing style to Usain Bolt stamina levels of screaming.

Would Bing or DuckDuckGo Even Pay for Linking to News in Australia?

In case you missed it, Australia is currently trying to introduce a media bargaining code forcing Facebook, Google and presumably any other company that links to news to pay money to media organisations. It’s as crazy as it sounds. Google has recently said that if the code were approved in its current form, it would pull search out of Australia. Some think Google might be bluffing, but I assure you that they are not. They will make good on their threat if they’re willing to go on the record.

Google Threatens To Pull Search Out of Australia Over the Proposed News Media Bargaining Code, and I Am Honestly All for It

The proposed Australian News Media Bargaining Code is a contentious code of conduct that will compel digital companies like Facebook and Google to pay for any news content they link to. In simple terms, if Google links to a news story, they are required to pay for it under this proposed mandatory code of conduct, as far Facebook and other digital companies. And if you think this sounds like a stupid idea that would never be enacted into law, you seriously underestimate the influence that Rupert Murdoch and News Corp have in Australia.

Parler is gone, will it ever return?

The free-speech alternative to Twitter called Parler has finally gone down after Amazon said it would be pulling the plug on hosting the controversial platform that houses a wide variety of people from self-taught experts to self-described patriots. If you are not sure why Parler went down, it comes down to the platform being used to organise the Capitol Hill attack and forcing the hand of tech companies to reconcile with the part they played in all of it. The platform was being used to organise all kinds of terrible things, and the community as a whole leant quite heavily into toxic territory.

Social media platforms finally deplatform Donald Trump, but is it too little, too late?

Donald Trump has been notorious for spewing hate from his Twitter account long before he became the president. A history of vile attacks including racism and fat shaming. After the violent attacks on the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C and some Tweets, Twitter first issued Trump with a 12-hour temporary ban and then subsequently a permanent ban, also limiting access to other accounts including the official @POTUS account. Joining in, Facebook has also suspended Trump indefinitely from Facebook and Instagram (not outright banned like Twitter). For a bigger lol, even Shapchat has banned Donald Trump amongst others who have temporarily suspended the sale of Trump merchandise including PayPal and Shopify. The “DonaldTrump” subreddit was also removed over on Reddit.