Findings and thingies

The Evolving Landscape of Software: A Critical Look at On-Prem vs. SaaS

In an era where technology continually reshapes how we interact with software, the debate between On-Premises (On-Prem) and Software as a Service (SaaS) models remains more relevant than ever. Avdi Grimm's article on software ownership (On “owning” software - avdi.codes) that I read some days ago provides a compelling perspective on this topic. However, it's crucial to explore the other side of the coin. In this post, we'll dive into the core arguments presented by Grimm and offer a different viewpoint, shaped by firsthand experiences in the software industry.

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Nothing, because I still needed this week to recover, reflect and take care of other things.

Nothing, because Covid put me out of business.

Normally I only include material written in English in my weekly edition. Nevertheless I found an article so interesting/important to share that I decided to prefix articles in German in the future so that readers not interested can skip them easily.

• (GER) "Wir haben alle kein Immunsystem mehr!" - schwesterfraudoktors Webseite!

• Confessions of an infosec has-been - lcamtuf’s thing
  Two key take aways from this article for me right. But there is so much more good stuff in it, you definitely should read it.

  My final advice to new folks is to not look up to others. Judge your progress by looking back at your own work.

  If there’s one skill I can credit for success, it’s learning how to write well.

  Even though there are a lot of other spots on my blog where I've already mentioned the importance of good writing skills, it's a so important topic that I don't get tired emphasizing it again.

• Writing at work - lcamtuf’s thing
  Some author as the article before. Continuing on the topic of how important writing is.

• why i only use plain black wallpapers | ティラミス
  After reading this I immediately realised the key message

  Your devices are tools, not fashion accessories.

  is something which has been on my mind for quite some time but never formulated in such a clear manner.

For different reasons I struggled this week to use the desired amount of time for meaningful reading. That's why this week's WIRLW only contains two links.

• Using Paper for Everyday Tasks - Xe Iaso
  In the end I guess notes on paper beat every other system of information/task keeping. Admittedly information exchange with other (digital) system isn't very convenient. On the other hand paper simply works. Any time, any place. So next time when somebody is looking for a tool for personal organization they should perhaps consider paper.

• Why you should have your own website
  Basically everybody should a personal website and be it just for having some kind of digital business card. The most common excuses are debunked by this text. So just go for it!

• Staying warm: What does an unheated room do to your body? - BBC News
  That's an interesting finding. I wasn't aware before that the temperature also affects how capable one's brain is.

  "Science tells us that 18 degrees is the tipping point... the body is now working to defend that core temperature," Prof Bailey shouts over the droning fans.

  Especially that the body already starts doing that already below 18 degrees.

• The IndieWeb for Everyone | Max Böck
  Now that the blue bird seems to be going down or at least is turning into burning trash can, it seems to be more important than ever that people are aware of the fact that it might be a good idea to own your content. But a higher independence comes together with a high barrier of adaption. I guess we as folks working in the IT industry need to be more aware of the fact that things which are obvious for us and not even remotely understandable to people outside our "bubble".

• How to communicate effectively as a developer
  I guess most of the recommendation can also be applied to different professions.

  Taking writing seriously at work or in your organization and putting in the effort to delight the reader will, over time, compound into a massive body of quality writing that benefits everyone. It is a literal win-win-win

  During my half-year self-reflection I also realized that I need to be more concise when asking questions, especially providing the right context. The things you write and send to others are always for them and not for you. Keep that in mind when writing the next piece of information.

• The Microwave Economy - David Perell
  I found this one especially interesting for two reasons.

  1. The historical background of the word 'solitude'.

  2. Somehow the key message resonates very good with the book "Four Thousand Weeks" by Oliver Burkeman.

     “The effect of convenience isn’t just that a given activity starts to feel less valuable, but that we stop engaging in certain valuable activities altogether, in favour of more convenient ones.”

     — Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks

  It's also one of the things I realized this year while reading the book. Not everything has to be just convenient. With convenience we often loose the ability to see the value in certain things. More or less the exact same reasoning David Perell uses in his essay.

Because of going on vacation this will be last WIRLW for the next two weeks. A new issue of it will be published in CW48.

• On the Usefulness of Photography - by Simon Sarris
  Making beautiful photos isn't just a question of technique. More important is the composition of the picture. And for this you have to pay attention to your surroundings. That's why it might be a good idea to take at least one picture every day because then somehow you might get more mindful (even though I really dislike this buzzword at the moment).

• Audio CD ripping - optical drive accuracy listing - Tech-Tutorials, Howtos and buying advice
  Pretty interesting to see how much effort is needed to create a "perfect rip" of your CDs.

• xahteiwi.eu – Getting out of Meeting Hell: What this is about Of course YMMV but I think nowadays it's important to use your available time wisely and be clear about what might be time wasters. And I suppose meetings are something that come to mind first for most people. So this is the introduction to a series of 4 articles in total which might provide some food for thought regarding the necessity of meetings.

• Reconfiguring Your Life To Amplify Sources Of Value - YouTube
  An interesting prediction Cal Newport makes here. I'm curious to see whether these will actually come true in the next few years. Personally, I don't think the probability is low.

• The SAFe Delusion – Information for decision-makers considering the SAFe framework
  From my point of view we have an inflation of frameworks in the IT industry. Be it programming, project management or other frameworks. Don't get my wrong it's very useful to have an orientation when you start to conquer a new domain. On the other hand I've seen to many people literally just sticking with the book. Any deviation is not tolerated in these cases even though it would be beneficial for the business outcome. Therefore I really like the approach of having the right information at hand to then make an informed decision on choosing a framework.

• Things your manager might not know
  Managing up often has a bad connotation. But from my point of view there is nothing wrong in providing your manager the right information an the right time. This article explains when and how one can do that especially to improve the overall outcome of your team.

• xahteiwi.eu – Scaling the flat organization
  A flat hierarchy is appealing to many. It provides a feeling of equality. But looking at organizational costs of such a structure it becomes quite obvious that it won't scale well above a certain threshold. Proven with the help of some simple math.

• Folge 122 - DORA Metriken & Accelerate mit Felix Müller (German content)
  The content of this streamed recording is pretty good. They try to provide an overview what business can do to improve developer velocity. How these initiatives can be measured and what pitfalls to avoid.

• Dad Bod on Twitter: "I dedicate this to all people who say "it sounds like a small task"." / Twitter
  The diagram from the quote tweet is just an excellent example why a small change/little feature might not be a small change. I just ran into this situation on the weekend. Wanted to implement a small helper tool for myself but after a quick head start I ran in the exact same problem that the amount of things to implement became bigger and bigger. In the end I stepped back and found another solution for my specific requirement.

• SBOMs: An Overhyped Concept That Won't Secure Your Software Supply Chain
  This one is more or less a follow up to last week's WIRLW, especially Kelsey Hightower's talk. The point being made in this article is that it's nice that we have a starting point for SBOMs but there is still a lot of work todo before we have a mature solution. And probably this mature solution will not be SBOM but something for which no specification exists at all today.

• Why we're leaving the cloud
  This one is a controversial. The discussion about possible savings/spending more money when going to the cloud seems to be ongoing for ages. As is so often the case, it is the details that decide, for example, what kind of workload you want to handle. It's definitely worth reading the David Heinemeier Hansson article and to understand his argument as he's also pointing out even more arguments. Even ones which affect us as a society.

• Why Do They Think That? – Essays you didn’t want to read
  ⚠️ WARNING: This one is a long read (~23 min. according to Instapaper).
  This essay tries to explain why (some) people are bothered by other people protecting themselves from Covid. The arguments are much more complex (and longer) then could be summarized here in a few words. Therefore, I really recommend reading this essay yourself if you are interested in this topic.

• "Stop Writing Dead Programs" by Jack Rusher (Strange Loop 2022) - YouTube
  This talk was brought to my attention by the YouTube algorithm. It were 45 minutes of good entertainment and also made me thinking about some stuff we are doing in our industry nowadays.

• "The Secure Software Supply Chain" by Kelsey Hightower (Strange Loop 2022) - YouTube Great talk delivered by Kelsey Hightower on the importance of security in the software development lifecycle (SDLC). It has never been more important to shift security left in the SDLC. Even more he includes the different levels of SLSA, SBOM, and how (little) tooling changes can improve the security of everyone's security in the SDLC.

• xahteiwi.eu – Writing Professionally (DevOpsDays Berlin 2022)
  Proving how important writing professionally is by converting a talk into an excellent written post. This proves how important/relevant writing skills are.

• Learning By Writing
  During the course of this year I personally also realised how it helps to write things down. Writing things down helps to sort your thoughts and getting to a conclusion in the end.

• Introducing the Antinet Zettelkasten • Zettelkasten Method
  Even though I personally don't use a Zettelkasten yet, I totally see how a Zettelkasten can contribute to producing results in the end.

• "Features" of the Antinet : antinet
  This one is interesting addition to the previous item. Basically all the features listed are available for some note taking apps (e.g. Logseq, Obsidian). But it's still nice to be reminded that no fancy technology is necessary if one wants to create a Zettelkasten.