Recently, I have been working on a migration project for a client that has presented a number of interesting challenges. In this blog post, I will identify some of the challenges we have faced on this project and discuss the solutions we developed to combat them.
Elixir is a dynamic, functional language designed for building scalable and maintainable applications. It leverages the Erlang Virtual Machine, which is known for running low-latency, distributed, and fault-tolerant systems. In this post, I’ll talk a bit about Elixir’s history and current uses, and demonstrate some of its basic types and functions.
A year after unveiling CoreML, Apple introduced CreateML. CreateML allows developers to train machine learning models on their Mac. We will stick with our previous example and build a simple machine learning model that can recognize images of dogs. Head over to https://github.com/RichardBlanch/Dog-Classifier/tree/Starter and download or clone the project.
You’ve probably heard about blockchain mostly, if not exclusively, in the context of cryptocurrency (e.g., Bitcoin). But blockchain technology also has exciting applications in industries beyond finance. In this post, I’ll talk about two areas where blockchain is just beginning to be applied — food supply chain tracking, and international aid.
“WHAT THE HECK?! HOW CAN I UNLOCK MY PHONE WITH MY FACE?!”
Those were the words that came out of my mouth in October of 2017, as I pored over the user manual for my new iPhone X. It wasn’t all hyperbole, either — I really wanted to know, and I ended up dedicating quite a bit of time to learning about the science behind Apple’s new facial recognition technology. In the end, the answer to my question boiled down to two words — machine learning.
Most organizations with a web application will inevitably need to make a decision regarding their current front-end framework. I’ve personally been involved with two projects that have come to this crossroads. One of the two applications was written in AngularJS, the other in Backbone.js. In both cases, the organization decided that the best course of action was a full rewrite using React and Redux. In the case of the AngularJS app, a gradual migration approach was considered and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to investigate this possibility.
Alternate Title: The Self-Driving ABCs
My boyfriend’s dad’s car was recently broken into. By itself, this would be a pretty low note to start a blog post with, but rest assured that nothing was stolen and only one window of the car had to be replaced. The situation was made 100 times better by the fact that he was lent a Tesla Model X while his own car was being serviced.
For some people, Augmented Reality (AR) may seem to have exploded onto the scene. With the (fairly) recent popularity of Pokemon, decidedly unpopular Google Glass, and futuristic promises of Magic Leap, AR is popping up just about everywhere. Yet the technology goes back to the 1990’s and the dream of AR has been around for generations before that. These days the market space is increasingly getting crowded with Google, Apple, Microsoft and a whole array of additional hardware manufacturers, software companies, and numerous start-ups getting into the business. If you think that AR as a technology limited to entertainment applications and checking your newsfeed; well, have I got some news for you.
The general definition associated with decentralized applications (DApps) is an application that functions through a peer-to-peer network as opposed to a single source or computer. The existence of such an app in cyberspace does not depend on a single authority. It can operate under a blockchain network or any other form of the peer-to-peer system (read more about blockchain here). Moreover, it is important to understand that the definition of these applications can differ with respect to the institution. The notion of blockchain originates from the concept adapted by bitcoin which uses cryptographically-stored records. There are limited tokens in the system as a means of checking the value of the currency. Different DApps exist for different purposes but the key property of the application is the independence from a traditional single server database.
My goal for this post is to share how I answered a seemingly simple question — what should I learn in my free time?
While developing software in Silicon Valley is educationally rewarding on a daily basis, there is still so much more to learn. Tech news is constantly bombarding readers with new technologies like blockchain, machine learning, and autonomous-(insert vehicle type here). Staying ahead is exciting for me, but also critical to my career.
I considered a few ways figure out what is “hot”: