A Technology Blog by Alan James
Over the years, I have worked in various startups as a manager and gained a lot of experience in managing remote programming teams. I’ve also had a lot of managers and throughout that time, I have observed that some of my managers, as well as myself do some great thing but also miss some very obvious patterns and loops of success that every startup should be following.
Machine learning is the newest tool in the developer’s tool belt but most developers working in the field nowadays don’t know how to deploy and scale machine learning models.
In this article I will describe the two ways I’ve used to deploy machine learning models and why one is better than the other.
But first, let’s talk about how to make your model in the first place.
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This post was originally made on my new maker blog, BuilderFleet.
One of my favorite things to do is watch videos of people making things in mediums that I’ve never worked myself. It’s amazing to see how the art of making things changes so much from medium to medium while at its core remains the same.
My new favorite medium to watch people build with is leather.
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This post was originally made on my new woodworking and metal working blog, BuilderFleet.
I’ve had a philosophy for a long time that the best way to learn any new skill is to make the simplest possible project to develop that new skillset. Some skills might be harder to learn than others but the key to learning a new skill is to find the smallest project as an entry point and expand from there.
Continue readingI use Linux as my main computer, Android on my phone, Windows to play games, OS X to program iOS apps, and iOS to run the apps that I program. I also have several Raspberry Pis running smart home code, like Octoprint, Nextcloud, Home Assistant on Debian. The house has a ton of devices with embedded operating systems, like Tasmota, or Android TV. I even have several computers running on AWS and Digital Ocean. Overall I think I have around 25 full computers and 25 embedded Arduino like computers to manage and maintain.
For years I’ve been searching for the perfect computer. One that is mobile, runs my Android apps, runs my Linux apps, has Google Assistant built in, etc. Something that allows me to manage all of my devices from one place and lets me develop.
So when ChromeOS started supporting Linux and Android I started paying attention.
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If you’re a developer and own several Android devices changes are you’ve wanted to install additional apps that aren’t included in the base install of the OS and aren’t in the Play Store.
While there are many ways to sideload apps the best way is to extract an APK from one device and install it on another.
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Recently I’ve been consulting with a lot of startups employing several young and eager developers. My role has been to help with general architectural questions and be a source of knowledge on industry standards.
To that end I’m starting a series on less complex programming concepts focusing on mobile and server development. They will usually only cover one concept but will be good reference.
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I love Tasmota. It runs on cheap ESP8266 hardware like the Sonoff basic and other devices like the D1 Mini. It’s perfect for home automation and integrates easily with Home Assistant.
So when I moved to a new house and needed to install new wall switches I had to decide if I was going to buy more Z-Wave switches or use (much) cheaper WiFi switches.
Continue readingI love home automation and have added all sorts of devices to my home over the last several years. For all the devices I have the most used and most useful are smart lights.
I’ve said many times to not use smart bulbs and to use smart switches instead, but what if you want to control more than just lights? What if you want to control power to something like 3d printers, a soldering iron, or even a flat iron; something that would be dangerous to keep on when away but something that don’t have just one location and thus doesn’t have just one switch to control it.
That is where smart plugs come in.
I had been interested in 3d printing for a while and ordered a lot of things from 3D Hubs over the years and a few years ago I bought my first 3d printer. I’ve used and owned a few 3d printers since and finding what I liked and didn’t like about them I started looking for the printer that was perfect for me.