Tolerating intolerance is not a good strategyWhen I started this newsletter, I deliberately chose a name that was both specific and generic at the same time. This choice might have felt anodyne then, and perhaps you didn’t even think about it. The title was there to express the feeling that I had about how digital technology was going to become further and further entrenched in our personal and professional lives. On that front, I was not wrong.
Like most weeks, I had a bit of teaching to do on various subjects. I teach a little AI, some pure IT stuff and a little English for speakers of a foreign language. It is a diverse set of teaching, and I enjoy it a lot. I have been very lucky so far in having students and training participants who are enthusiastic and willing to contribute. I try to foster an environment where there are no wrong answers.
My week was pretty busy with a few projects and a lot of teaching. I teach at a couple of local universities for a diverse set of subjects: English, Project Management and Microsoft Technologies. I have a lot of experience, and I am proud to share as much of it as possible. I get a real buzz from seeing a student understand something for the first time. I had a student understand IP addresses and netmasks.
Where did the week go?
I had a few days to work on several projects but didn’t advance too well. I got distracted and ended up researching other topics that, while useful, were not related to the work I should have been doing. Specifically, I have been looking at changing my text editor.
For a few years now, I’ve been a user of the Ulysses app on my Mac. But earlier in the week iA (information Architects) released a new update to their text-based writing app.
I’m sitting here on a Sunday evening, looking at the options for consolidation of some of my subscriptions. Do I really need them? Do they provide real value? Could I perhaps help a smaller operation rather than paying a big platform?
I think these are valid questions to ask oneself these days. Large platforms are trending towards the enshittification end of the scale, whereas smaller devs and suppliers are more in tune with what the users need and want.