Drew DeVault’s blog features sharp commentary on open source, software engineering, programming languages, ethics in tech, and the social impact of technology.
354 articles from this blog
Advice for aspiring open-source contributors: focus on solving your own problems and building skills, not just contributing to popular projects.
A critical analysis of pkg.go.dev's engineering flaws, its centralized design, and Google's approach to open source and privacy in the Go ecosystem.
Debunks common misconceptions about the AGPL license, explaining its actual requirements and criticizing Google's portrayal of it.
Monthly FOSS development update covering SourceHut CI features, BARE message format, and technical blog posts.
A technical exploration of date/time complexities, timezone changes, and edge cases in software scheduling, framed as a historical scenario.
The article critiques modern OS design, arguing that Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS now prioritize vendor interests over user needs, coining the term 'vendor-purpose OS'.
Introducing BARE, a new binary encoding format designed to create compact, efficient stateless tokens for APIs and web services.
A developer's monthly update covering progress on aerc email client, Wayland/wlroots improvements, and SourceHut GraphQL API work.
Exploring client-side certificates as a simpler, more secure alternative to OAuth for API authentication.
Explains the purpose and best practices for using a 'contrib' directory in open-source projects to manage community contributions.
Monthly update on Wayland, wlroots, Sway, aerc email client, Alps webmail, and SourceHut developments including CI and GraphQL API.
A software engineer argues that tech workers are morally complicit in their employers' harmful actions and have an obligation to leave unethical companies.
Explores strategies and technologies for reliable, permanent data storage, comparing cold vs. hot storage and analyzing mediums like hard drives and RAID.
A guide to configuring the aerc email client for a git send-email workflow, including custom keybindings for patch review and merging.
A developer's monthly update on Wayland book progress, wlroots/Sway improvements, and SourceHut/secret project work.
A developer explains their unconventional, branchless Git workflow, working directly on master and using rebase to organize changes.
A developer details using CAD software and a 3D printer to design and fabricate a replacement plastic part for his 1984 Dodge truck.
Critique of web browser feature bloat and complexity, arguing it's now impossible to build a new competitive browser engine.
A critical analysis of GitHub's new notifications UI, arguing it's a step backwards in usability and workflow efficiency for developers.
A software expert's open letter opposing the EARN IT Act, arguing it threatens essential end-to-end encryption and digital freedoms.
