Week 414 - Interesting links

Google: OAuth 2.0 Playground

Recently I’ve been writing a script to access version 2 of the FreeAgent API. They have a really nice quick start page in their docs which includes a link to the OAuth Playground. What’s particularly helpful is that the link includes a bunch of query string parameters which configure the playground for you. This made it a lot easier to get a simple script up and running. — JM

On Digital Minimalism

In this article by Calvin Newport suggests a definition for “Digital Minimalism”:

A philosophy that helps you question what digital communication tools (and behaviors surrounding these tools) add the most value to your life. It is motivated by the belief that intentionally and aggressively clearing away low-value digital noise, and optimizing your use of the tools that really matter, can significantly improve your life.

I like that he doesn’t just dismiss all new technology, but suggests focussing on technology which can make a positive impact on your life and avoiding the rest. Much of the article resonated with me and I might soon be following Chris into social media obscurity. — JM

Worlds first 32 bit Homebrew CPU

Someone has started trying to build a 32-bit CPU out of 74-series logic chips. This reminded me of the fun we had at London Computation Club working through the Nand2Tetris book. I was interested to see that they’ve chosen to use the open-source RISC-V instruction set, presumably in part because it doesn’t have too many instructions to implement. — JM