📘 Practical Guide to XHTML (2021)
A valuable and precise technical reference for developers focused on semantic correctness and web standards evolution—especially useful for those creating validators or markup generation tools.
Project Nayuki offers a detailed guide to using XHTML as a stricter, XML-compliant version of HTML. It outlines the syntax differences, benefits such as improved error detection and XML tool compatibility, and the drawbacks that led to its limited adoption. The article combines examples, pros and cons, and historical insights into XHTML’s rise and fall in web development.
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💰 Microsoft Raises Prices for Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Licenses
The increase signals Microsoft’s shift to recoup AI infrastructure expenses through subscription models—a broader trend of monetizing feature expansion and platform dependency.
Microsoft will raise Microsoft 365 subscription prices starting July 1, 2026, adding roughly $2 per user per month. The change could generate around $10 billion in additional annual revenue, justified by ongoing AI investments and new enterprise features such as Security Copilot and Intune Suite. The update may prompt organizations to revisit their licensing strategies as costs rise faster than perceived value.
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⚙️ Has the Cost of Software Development Dropped by 90%?
A sharp and timely reflection on AI’s economic disruption of software engineering—positioning automation as both an opportunity for reinvention and a threat to complacent developers.
Martin Alderson argues that AI-powered coding tools are slashing software development costs by as much as 90%. Automation now replaces much of the manual coding, testing, and deployment effort, enabling smaller teams to build more with fewer resources. As AI continues to mature, developers’ roles are shifting toward high-level design and domain expertise, leaving those who resist adaptation at risk of obsolescence.
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🤖 Microsoft Faces Weak Demand for Its AI Products
A revealing look at Microsoft’s AI challenges and the shifting balance of innovation between tech giants—underscoring that speed alone doesn’t guarantee strategic success.
Windows Central critiques Microsoft’s AI strategy, citing poor adoption of products like Copilot and waning consumer interest. The report points to missed sales goals, internal frustration, and competition from Google Gemini, which is outperforming Microsoft’s AI lineup. Analysts argue that prioritizing investor optics over innovation has made Microsoft increasingly dependent on NVIDIA while eroding its AI leadership.
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🖥️ The $2,000 Korn Shell and the Usenet Origins of Unix Culture
A richly researched chronicle that bridges early Unix lore with today’s open-source movement—revealing how community-driven engineering shaped modern computing ideals.
This deep historical essay traces the evolution of Unix and BSD through 1980s Usenet debates, exploring how cost, licensing, and technical innovation shaped early computing. It covers the emergence of technologies like BSD sockets and virtual memory and chronicles the birth of hacker culture that would later influence Linux and open source. Drawing from primary Usenet posts, it offers a vivid snapshot of how pre-Internet developers collaborated and clashed.
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🎨 Icons in Menus Everywhere — Send Help
A concise and insightful piece for designers questioning current UX aesthetics and the balance between clarity and visual noise.
Jim Nielsen critiques the overuse of icons in modern interfaces, using examples from macOS and Google Sheets to show how visual clutter undermines usability. He argues that icons should clarify meaning, not fill empty space, and highlights Apple’s quiet departure from its earlier design guidelines promoting minimalism and consistency.
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🛡️ Potential Security Breach in Syncthing-Fork Android App
A timely case study in open-source supply chain trust, showing how unclear maintainership can jeopardize even well-known community projects.
A Mastodon discussion raises concerns about recent Syncthing-Fork Android releases, warning that versions beyond 2.0.11.3 may be unsafe due to unclear developer transitions. Users are urged to stick to the Google Play version by nel0x or pause F-Droid updates until more details are verified. The incident underscores growing confusion around open-source app distribution and trust management.
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