Linux

Mechanical vs. Membrane Keyboards.

Val Paliy

I own a mechanical keyboard for some time now, and I must say - in my opinion it is way better compared to my old membrane keyboard for both typing comfort and gaming performance, making it an excellent choice for programmers and gaming enthusiasts who spend hours at their computer.

Mechanical keyboards are gaining popularity as of late. While they were on the expensive side at first, you can buy (and assemble) one for under $100 today. Granted, you might need to get the keys and key caps to suit your needs in addition.

On Digital Minimalism

Val Paliy

Oftentimes, when you buy a new PC, it comes preloaded with applications. Some of them are essential, like an anti-virus, and some of them are not. Over the years I’ve come to realize that the responsiveness of your device (it doesn’t necessarily have to be a computer, it can be a mobile phone or a tablet, too) depends on how many applications you have installed. This digital minimalism approach to performance optimization is especially true for mobile devices, where applications are often started at boot and remain in the memory even if they are not used, draining battery power.

My general rule is to always ask myself if I am really going to use the app I am about to install very often or just occasionally. If the answer is: “No, I don’t really need this app.”, I don’t install it no matter how great the hype is over it.

What Have I Been Up To Recently?

Val Paliy

If you’ve been following my blog you might have noticed that I haven’t written anything in quite some time. “So, what’s up?”, you might ask.

Well, long story short - lots of things have happened March through May, 2021. Most of them unpleasant to say the least and personal, so I’d rather not disclose the details. However, I’ve also done a few things related to Information Technologies.

GNU on Windows (GoW) - Linux Commands on Windows

Val Paliy

For a long time the only way to launch Linux commands in Windows was with Cygwin. But Cygwin is rather bulky and can take a long time to download if you are on a slower Internet connection. This cross-platform development challenge has made many programmers seek lightweight alternatives for Linux compatibility on Windows.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love Linux for its stability and reliability. So I was looking for a simpler way to execute Linux commands in Windows, and found it! This development environment setup is perfect for programmers who need system administration tools across different operating systems.