grantpalin

> The duopoly of having Apple and Google control the entire mobile universe is gut wrenching. This developer is now unable to develop for millions of phones based on an algorithm deciding they were a bad actor and Google likely won't be compelled to care, a drop in the vast ocean of their concerns.

Not surprising. A duopoly is little better than a monopoly. This is why we needed other viable platforms - which we had in Blackberry and Windows Phone - but didn't support them enough so we lost them. And here we are, caught between Apple and Google.

Not hard to get into that situation here if you don't know which way you are going: https://www.google.com/maps/@48.6302508,-123.4122954,275m/da...

I have an SP3, getting close to five years now. Battery life still decent, no bulge (knocks wood), and it still works well. I rarely use the pen, and only occasionally use tablet mode for reading. The lack of repairability in the Surface line, combined with my rare use of the tablet mode, have me looking more at light laptops when the time comes, possibly even the Surface Laptop (good to see that's improved repairability a bit). I get that getting a slim package requires tradeoffs, but complete lack of repairability is a step too much for my liking.

Good to know about the lens roadmap and battery life. I have a second battery for my D50 for much the same reason, though life is pretty good and seldom runs out on me mid-usage.

The Z50 with the two kit lenses looks like it could replace my D50 + 18-70mm + 70-300mm; the new 50-250mm lens has a shorter reach but shouldn't be a big issue on a crop sensor, and would be lighter than the 70-300mm. Using the adaptor to allow use of the wide and micro lens may tide me over until Z equivalents are available. Reading reviews and watching for a good sale is where I'm at now.

I do know about the adapter and am aware it's not a perfect solution due to compatibility. I could always sell my current lenses (a wide, a micro, a telephoto, a fisheye, and a normal) to fund the purchase of new Z lenses, but there doesn't seem to be 1-to-1 replacements available yet. Have no idea whether they are in the pipeline or not, but then again the adapter may help bridge the gap. Decisions, decisions.

How is the battery life for the Z50? I've read that is a common issue with new mirrorless rigs.

Did you switch from another camera? I use the Nikon D50, an older camera but still functional with a number of lenses, and have been eyeing a switch to mirrorless, particularly to the Z50.

This is a factor in me holding off from switching to mirrorless. Currently using the Nikon D50 which is dated now, and a handful of lenses which I am loath to give up on.

I recently started running some WP sites (and some non-WP as well) via Docker containers on a Digital Ocean droplet. Building a docker-compose file for each site and defining volumes allows the container to be updated or replaced while keeping data & content intact (if passed in via volumes). Orchestrated using Traefik for reverse proxying and SSL certs. Wouldn't want to go back to setting up sites manually.

I've been liking Flickr less and less with Yahoo's decline and the tie-in to Yahoo accounts. The only reason I have a Yahoo account is because it was required for Flickr.

For my own uses, been thinking of self-hosting something like Zenphoto on a subdomain.

Apparently the Gutenberg Element concept (https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/master/element) wraps React to minimize contact with React itself. So converting to Preact might not take over long. Note that I haven't dug very far into the Gutenberg codebase so at the moment I am just supposing.

* a local unRaid machine as, among other things, a backup destination

* a local Synology DS216+II as secondary backup of the essential data

* run backups for both above using Bvckup

* essentials are also backed up to Crashplan

* OneDrive for non-private things that I'd like to have easy access to

Some benefits for the cost:

* downloadable videos for offline viewing * working code samples * a Slack community to ask & answer questions * high-quality content

Location: Victoria BC Canada

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: HTML, CSS, Sass, some JavaScript, JSON, PHP, some Python, C#, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API, MySQL, SQL Server

LinkedIn: ca.linkedin.com/in/grantpalin

Email: grant at grantpalin dot com

Summary: greatly interested in programming work for the web, mobile, database / data analysis. I have worked on numerous projects using different toolsets, and am driven to continue learning and improving.

SEEKING WORK: local, remote

Victoria, BC, Canada

I'm primarily interested in web development, front-end and back-end, but also in working with databases. Willing to consider taking on new challenges, whether new work or further development.

Primary capable tech: HTML, CSS, Sass, PHP, WordPress, C#, ASP.NET [MVC], Web API, MySQL, SQL Server

http://grantpalin.com grant[remove]@grantpalin.com

Location: Victoria, BC, Canada

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: C#, ASP.NET, ASP.NET Web API, Identity, Entity Framework, PHP, WordPress, HTML, CSS, Sass, JavaScript

Résumé/CV: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/grantpalin

Email: grant at my username dot com

I'm particularly interested in the .NET and PHP camps, but am also interested in learning other tech e.g. Python & Django/Flask, NodeJS.

Past work has included web front end and back end for a variety of projects. Always interested in taking on a new challenge.

Location: Victoria, BC, Canada

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes

Technologies - good to go: HTML[5], CSS, Sass, C#, PHP, WordPress, JSON, SQL, Mercurial/Git, Entity Framework

Technologies - learning: Python, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API, JavaScript/jQuery, SQL Server, Kirby (PHP)

Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantpalin

Email: grant [at] my username [dot] com

I'm a recent university grad with a taste for web development, programming, and data-driven systems. Currently working on a web app to display some open data, and a mobile app for tracking reading progress.

Interested in an entry-level or junior position that will allow me to keep learning and improving while being part of the SDLC to create solutions. Ideally in a health context, but open to interesting positions in most any domain.

Location: Victoria, BC, Canada

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: Office, XMind, Balsamiq, Trello, Visual Studio, C#, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API, MySQL, SQL Server, HTML, CSS, Sass, JavaScript, jQuery, JSON, PHP, WordPress, Mercurial

Résumé/CV: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/grantpalin

Email: grant[at]grantpalin[dot]com

Recently completed a BSc in Health Information Science. Interested in technology work in the health space, but also tech work in other domains. Specific type of work interested in includes web and software development, database, and testing.

Location: Victoria, BC, Canada

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes Technologies: C#, ASP.NET, MVC, EF, Web API, PHP, WordPress, Python, Sass, Jade

Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantpalin

Email: grant at grantpalin dot com

Really interested in data-driven systems, be they website, web apps, software, or mobile apps. Open to working in any domain.

I don't get the Git fixation. I know it's popular, possibly in a big way due to GitHub. Yet I'm comfortable using Mercurial and Bitbucket. Probably due to Hg being cross-platform from the beginning, it's more Windows-friendly.

Location: British Columbia, Canada

Remote: yes

Relocate: yes, for the right job

Technologies: .NET, C#, HTML, CSS, Sass, Foundation, PHP, WordPress

Learning: Python, ASP.NET MVC, Web API, Entity Framework

Interests: web site/app development, database, mobile apps, data analysis, electronic health records

Website: http://grantpalin.com (pardon the sawdust, working on some updates)

Email: grant at my domain

Recently finished my BSc in Health Information Science, so interested in doing tech work in health field, but open to other areas.

Doesn't work on Chrome 33 on Win 7.

Does work on BlackBerry Z10 - no tap to toggle, but press and drag to toggle.

I like the screen min/max shortcuts. I do question the need for device-specific queries, since it has been suggested that queries should be tailored to the content and not the device. Are there going to be queries for all the other possible mobile screen sizes? Of course not. That said, I do see a possible exception for hi-def screens.

I'm given broad flexibility for web development work, as I know what needs to be done and how to go about it. Self-discipline is necessary, as is clear and regular communication. I do have a workspace to go to, which I do most days. As has already been mentioned, the discipline includes when to start working, when to take breaks, and when to stop for the day.

Being hard of hearing (severe to profound), I can relate to much of the OP's post. I use hearing aids, but communication is still challenging. I also rely on watching who is speaking for lip-reading, facial language, and body language; putting those together with what I hear creates a "complete" input for me. For TV, I rely on captioning, and on subtitles for DVDs. I don't listen to the radio, or much music.

The web is great for communicating and learning because it's very visual, but podcasts and screencasts, despite possibly being of interest, aren't much good to me.

I prefer to do most conversing in person; over the phone it's far too easy to miss something, or confuse one sound or word for another (letters: b, c, d, g, e; numbers: 15, 50 (pronunciation)). Heavy accents are quite challenging to handle over the phone. I've had to have another person help me with telephone calls for official things such as banking, gov't matters, etc.

I'm a university student. In small classes hearing isn't too bad, but larger classes in lecture halls are much harder to follow. It's easier when the teacher is doing most of the talking, and harder when it's a more interactive class, with students contributing.

In a working context, clear communication is important. Even in person it's easy to miss a key word or phrase, or confuse one for another. Not only that, but I once interviewed for a web developer position, and was openly discriminated against when my hearing difficulty was revealed. The interview didn't go past this point; I could have done the job with my skill set, but the boss made an issue out of my hearing.

I'm a very visual person: I like to see, to read, to write, and to draw. Being an avid reader, I enjoy novels and other reading materials, including the web. I'm mostly self-taught in web development by reading tutorials and books and reviewing code by other people.

In closing, loss of hearing, whether partial or complete, raises barriers to work, education, socializing, etc. They can be worked around to some extent, but they are still they, and as I found out can actively harm you.

Doesn't scroll on my BlackBerry Bold 9900. The OS6/7 devices use a Webkit-based browser, so I'm a little surprised that Webkit-specific CSS didn't work, though that may have been only for Safari.

You've done an interesting thing, pushing CSS3 to replicate the iOS interface. But, why replicate the iOS UI in a web app? Web apps are supposed to be platform-neutral; a native interface shouldn't be part of that, in my opinion. Wouldn't a mobile-friendly stylesheet make more sense?