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
Argues that free software projects should use free software infrastructure to avoid supporting proprietary platforms and strengthen the FOSS ecosystem.
Developer's March 2022 update on writing a kernel and a PNG decoder in a custom programming language.
A developer explains the benefits of keeping a new systems programming language private during its early development phase.
The article defends the OSI's Open Source Definition against attempts to dilute the term for commercial gain, arguing for its integrity.
A critical analysis of Plaid's security model, arguing its credential collection widget undermines decades of online banking security best practices.
Monthly update on free software projects including godocs.io release, programming language progress, and SourceHut platform improvements.
Critiques the narrow developer view of accessibility as just ARIA/WCAG compliance, arguing for a broader, user-centered design philosophy.
Explains the MIT software license, its permissive nature, and what it means for developers using or distributing software under it.
A technical blog post detailing the implementation of a MIME type parser and database in a new systems programming language.
Critique of Pine64's funding priorities for FOSS software development on their hardware, arguing for more focus on core kernel and telephony work.
A developer's monthly update on their programming language's progress, including new cryptography features, standard library modules, and team expansion.
A developer's hands-on experience building a functional RISC-V workstation using the HiFive Unmatched board and Alpine Linux.
Explores language design challenges for a new systems programming language, focusing on variable initialization, buffer allocation, and slice operations.
Argues against using Discord for FOSS projects due to its proprietary nature, which excludes users and conflicts with free software principles.
Analyzes illegal commercial forks of FOSS projects like OBS Studio, exploring license violations and the clash between gaming industry IP views and free software values.
A developer's monthly update on progress in a new programming language, including cryptography, C library linking, SDL2 bindings, and work on SourceHut's GraphQL API.
A hands-on review comparing Linux Mint and elementary OS, focusing on user experience, installation, and daily usability for end-users.
A developer analyzes the barriers preventing Linux from mainstream desktop adoption, focusing on needed improvements in robustness, intuitiveness, and community.
Tips for new Linux users to improve their success rate, focusing on the OS's strengths for programmers and technical users.
postmarketOS offers a community-driven, open-source alternative to Android for smartphone hacking, using Alpine Linux for better transparency and collaboration.
