Things I'm reading, late May edition

So little time, so much to read ...

• The day Google Chrome disables HTTP/2 for nearly everyone: May 31st, 2016

  Upgrading OpenSSL packages isn't a trivial task, either. Since just about every other service links against the OpenSSL libraries, they too should be re-packaged (and tested!) to work against the latest OpenSSL release.

• What we learned from Google: code reviews aren’t just for catching bugs

  We’ve found that the most powerful benefits of code review are the subtlest to measure and describe. Code reviews have many important side effects – arguably, primary effects – that we discovered at Google and have continued to evolve at FullStory. For us, the practice of code reviews is a “bionic cultural hammer.” It’s a “cultural hammer” because it’s a tool that strongly shapes the way we work, and it’s “bionic” because it is more powerfully self-perpetuating than any passive “coding standards policy” could ever be.

• Start-Ups Once Showered With Cash Now Have to Work for It

  The balance of power is shifting across tech start-up land. Not long ago, entrepreneurs had the upper hand. With investors eager to get a piece of the next Uber or Airbnb, entrepreneurs often just lifted their little fingers to get financing. Some investors let the entrepreneurs choose their own terms, while others gave multimillion-dollar paydays to start-up founders long before their companies were a success.

  Now investors have the advantage. Instead of venture capitalists begging to be allowed to invest, entrepreneurs are coming to them begging for cash. Investors are exerting their newfound power by asking more questions about a start-up’s prospects and taking more time to invest. Some are pushing for management changes or for financing terms that would help cushion any losses they might face.

• Introducing Helix: Rust + Ruby, Without The Glue.

  Just like C (and unlike Ruby), Rust is a compiled, statically-typed language. Before your code can be executed, you must first run it through the compiler, which checks for and prevents a large amount of programmer errors. Instead of allowing them to bubble up at runtime and potentially crashing your program, the compiler would just refuse to compile your code.

  Unlike C, Rust has a sufficiently advanced type system (and a carefully designed set of features), which allows the compiler to guarantee runtime memory safety.

• Let’s Talk About Amazon Reviews: How We Spot the Fakes

  The compensated-review process is simple: Businesses paid to create dummy accounts purchase products from Amazon and write four- and five-star reviews. Buying the product makes it tougher for Amazon to police the reviews, because the reviews are in fact based on verified purchases. The dummy accounts buy and review all sorts of things, and some of the more savvy pay-for-review sites even have their faux reviewers pepper in a few negative reviews of products made and sold by brands that aren’t clients to create a sense of “authenticity.” In fact, for extra cash, a company can pay one of these firms to write negative reviews of a competitor’s product.

• A fundamental introduction to x86 assembly programming

  In this tutorial, I will help you gain a solid understanding of the x86 ISA from basic principles. I will focus more on building a clear mental model of what’s happening, rather than giving every detail precisely (which would be long and boring to read). If you want to make use of this knowledge, you should simultaneously refer to another tutorial that shows you how to write and compile a simple function, and also have a list of CPU instructions open for referencing. My tutorial will start out clear and simple, and add complexity in manageable steps – unlike other documentation that tend to lay out the information all at once.

• NFL star Patrick Willis is thriving in retirement as a Silicon Valley tech worker

  Monday through Friday, Willis commutes to work at a Silicon Valley office park. He's got a list of favorite lunch spots nearby. Sometimes he takes video calls from home, or instant messages with colleagues after hours.

  Like so many people who share his age range and geographic area, Willis now works at a tech startup.

• The Puzzling Plummet of RGIII

  The story of Griffin’s exit from Washington is much more complicated than the they-had-it-out-for-him thinking that has pervaded the team’s fan base. “It’s not a single-sided issue of victimization of RG3,” said sociologist Harry Edwards, who has spent decades advising the San Francisco 49ers and observing the NFL. “It’s a much more complicated and complex issue"

• A Historical Tour of Silicon Valley - Slide Show

  I guess my favorite picture is the original Peet's location.

  :)

• Klinsmann Names 23 Player Roster for historic Copa America Centenario

  The roster includes 15 players from the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, and a total of 18 who have already appeared in Qualifying for Russia 2018. Veterans like team captain Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey marshal the group boasting loads of experience. With an average of 37 caps, there are five players with 50 or more and an equal number with five or less. Meantime, John Brooks, Bobby Wood and DeAndre Yedlin lead a youth contingent that includes five players who are 23-years-old or younger