• Activity
  • Votes
  • Comments
  • New
  • All activity
    1. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      13 votes
    2. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      50 votes
    3. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      18 votes
    4. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      20 votes
    5. Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads. Don't forget to format your code using the triple...

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads.

      Don't forget to format your code using the triple backticks or tildes:

      Here is my schema:
      
      ```sql
      CREATE TABLE article_to_warehouse (
        article_id   INTEGER
      , warehouse_id INTEGER
      )
      ;
      ```
      
      How do I add a `UNIQUE` constraint?
      
      4 votes
    6. What is your framework for back of the envelope/ MVP style software design?

      I suspect many don’t write anything down and do this largely by intuition/experience but I want to tease out some ideas. when it comes to describing and designing a system from a blank piece of...

      I suspect many don’t write anything down and do this largely by intuition/experience but I want to tease out some ideas.

      when it comes to describing and designing a system from a blank piece of paper, what are the parameters you think of?

      I’m thinking napkin sketch level of software design.

      So things like:
      Number of users, are they concurrent users, what load dimensions there are (disk IO, network IO etc.), target platform (everything is a web app these days), how do you design/visualise the data model?

      Any decisions or constraints that impact what and how you build a proof of concept / MVP? How do you document this? How do you test it against the finished software?

      7 votes
    7. Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads. Don't forget to format your code using the triple...

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads.

      Don't forget to format your code using the triple backticks or tildes:

      Here is my schema:
      
      ```sql
      CREATE TABLE article_to_warehouse (
        article_id   INTEGER
      , warehouse_id INTEGER
      )
      ;
      ```
      
      How do I add a `UNIQUE` constraint?
      
      2 votes
    8. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      20 votes
    9. App or workflow suggestion for viewing and selecting photos on PC

      As an amateur photographer, I'm looking for recommendations to improve my process for reviewing and selecting the best photos from my albums. Currently, it goes something like this: (after I copy...

      As an amateur photographer, I'm looking for recommendations to improve my process for reviewing and selecting the best photos from my albums.

      Currently, it goes something like this:

      • (after I copy the photos to my PC) I open the folder containing the album
      • I open the first photo and start looking at the pictures using the default photo viewing app
      • I note mentally, on paper, or in a digital notepad the names of the files that I like the most
      • manually select the files that I noted down

      My ideal workflow would be something like:

      • open the folder, open first photo, look through them all
      • each time I see a picture that I like, hit space or some other simple shortcut, which adds the picture to the current selection
      • after I am done viewing, I have all the files that I want already selected to do with as I please

      I have tried multiple apps over the years but I haven't come across anything that had something similar, or I was too stupid to figure out how to do it. The workflow I described is using windows/linux, on macOS it's even more cumbersome (since one needs to select all photos in a folder before previewing them).

      Do you have any recommendations for an app that has functionality like this, or if not, on how I can make my workflow better?

      Thanks

      5 votes
    10. Is there a userscript/stylesheet or browser plugin to hide the excerpts from news articles?

      I am not sure if there is a proper name for these—frequently, a news article will be broken up by large-type excerpts of one or two sentences from the very article I'm already reading. I find this...

      I am not sure if there is a proper name for these—frequently, a news article will be broken up by large-type excerpts of one or two sentences from the very article I'm already reading. I find this obnoxious. Has anybody made a tool to hide them?

      15 votes
    11. Tips for buying + reading ebooks that are synced without using kindle/play books?

      Hey! I’ve been trying lately to get rid of big platforms from my life. One part of it is that I usually buy ebooks/audiobooks from apple, Amazon or google, however I’m then also forced to use...

      Hey! I’ve been trying lately to get rid of big platforms from my life. One part of it is that I usually buy ebooks/audiobooks from apple, Amazon or google, however I’m then also forced to use their reading app, which is a vendor lock-in I’m not comfortable with.

      I know there are plenty of ebook readers out there, but I’m trying to find

      1. A store where I can buy ebooks that can be opened in a ebook reader of my choice.
      2. A way to then sync my progress between phone and laptop. I have nextcloud setup, so if I can make use of that then it’s perfect.

      Anyone here got any tips?

      22 votes
    12. How do I install MAME and then add a particular arcade video game to play?

      So... a friend did this for me a long time ago, but I've replaced my computer since then, and I don't know how to do it for myself. I know how to find the MAME executable. I don't know whether I...

      So... a friend did this for me a long time ago, but I've replaced my computer since then, and I don't know how to do it for myself.

      I know how to find the MAME executable. I don't know whether I need to download the .exe file or the .zip file, but I assume the .exe file is the better option.

      I know how to run an executable file, and I'm assuming it installs itself.

      I know how to find a copy of the antique video game I want.

      However...

      The .zip file I download for the game contains a lot of files with names like "a26-13.109" - and I don't know what I'm supposed to do with those, to get them inside the MAME and make the game playable.

      I'm running Windows 10 on a 64-bit operating system, if that's relevant.

      Is anyone feeling charitable and willing to help someone who's not computer literate to do this?

      12 votes
    13. Looking for recommendations on a portable, high performance laptop

      I used to work in IT but left the field in 2018, so I'm not as up to date as I used to be on things. I'm looking for a new laptop to use for work (primarily word processing and web browsing),...

      I used to work in IT but left the field in 2018, so I'm not as up to date as I used to be on things. I'm looking for a new laptop to use for work (primarily word processing and web browsing), ideally something portable with a good sized screen (larger than 13"). I've had a Dell G5 for the last five years because I thought I'd do more gaming on it when I bought it, but it's largely just been a heavy brick in my backpack on travel.

      Back in the mid 2010s, I recommended Lenovos to everyone who would listen, but I fell out of love with them toward the end of my IT career when the build quality seemed to be rapidly declining. I haven't really touched them recently, but my dad loves his Lenovo Ideapad Pro.

      Honestly, something similar to a Dell Latitude might be what I'm looking for, but I'm open to any recommendations. I need a responsive keyboard and clickable trackpad. Bonus points if there's somehow a laptop out there that has a nub!

      ETA: Not looking for a macbook -- will be running Windows!

      31 votes
    14. Is there a good S3-compatible datastore for a hobbyist?

      I've read nice things about Amazon's S3. There are some compatible implementations from other major vendors like Google and Cloudflare. There are projects that automatically back up and replicate...

      I've read nice things about Amazon's S3. There are some compatible implementations from other major vendors like Google and Cloudflare. There are projects that automatically back up and replicate a sqlite database using S3. Some people have backed up Google Photos to S3.

      But I've never used any of them. What would be a good way to get started? Amazon or another vendor? (And does this make sense at all?)

      22 votes
    15. Any good alternatives to VirtualHere?

      I'll start by saying that there's nothing wrong with how VirtualHere functions. I have used it for a couple years on my nvidia shield while streaming games from my pc and it's perfect for what I...

      I'll start by saying that there's nothing wrong with how VirtualHere functions. I have used it for a couple years on my nvidia shield while streaming games from my pc and it's perfect for what I need. The problem I have encountered is that I'm no longer using the shield and have transitioned my entire setup to use a raspberry pi 4 instead because the shields wifi becoming more unstable with every update nvidia pushes.

      I would love to continue just using VirtualHere, but I've just learned that the developer does not allow a license transfer for any reason so my $50 license is completely useless now that the shield is gone. Knowing that the license is non-transferable makes me unlikely to ever spend money on it again because I cannot guarantee how long these devices will last and $50 is far too steep for a single device private use license on any software. My primary use case is with a moonlight/sunshine setup which can handle the controller inputs just fine after a little bit of input file tinkering.

      The things I absolutely cannot figure out how to make work without VirtualHere is a Dolphin bar that is used for Wii/WiiU games and the gamecube controller to usb adapters. I've seen people mention using usbip, but I haven't been able to find any reasonable explanation or documentation on how to actually use usbip without fully configuring it every time the device reboots.

      I'm not against the idea of a more manual setup. I just need something that once it's configured will allow passthrough of any usb device from a raspberry pi to a windows machine and not charge me a fortune every time I need to swap hardware in the future. I'd be willing to pay for similar software if it was a little more reasonably priced for what I'm doing.

      5 votes
    16. Request: Ideas and tips for creating a portfolio to get a web developer job

      Hi everyone — I am trying to get a job in web development after a decade in a mostly unrelated field. I am looking for ideas and tips to create a portfolio to send with applications. All of the...

      Hi everyone — I am trying to get a job in web development after a decade in a mostly unrelated field.

      I am looking for ideas and tips to create a portfolio to send with applications. All of the websites I worked on ages ago have been taken offline or redesigned by someone else. I do have a website I created for my music, but it’s just vanilla HTML. I also have a personal website which is really the only thing I have to show.

      I know HTML/CSS quite well, but that’s basically it. I’ve worked with WordPress for years but only just recently began learning enough PHP to do anything custom. I don’t really know Javascript much at all.

      I have quite a few paid courses through Udemy for all these different areas but even as I have completed them, I don’t feel confident in knowledge of the different languages. These courses nearly always come with projects that the students create with the instructor. Should I use these as part of my portfolio? For some reason I never felt right doing that, since I didn’t build it myself.

      So I guess I’m curious (if any of you are web developers) if you have suggestions for how to fill out a portfolio without any previous work examples.

      Side note: I wasn’t sure how to word the title or my question particularly well so please edit it more clearly, Those Who Can Edit.

      edit: thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to this. it’s all been very helpful and i appreciate everyone’s input immensely!

      23 votes
    17. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      28 votes