Short Takes – 11-15-22

Coming Soon for Homeowners: Solar Panels That Actually Look Attractive. WSJ.com article. Aesthetics have some draw backs. Pull quote: “Now researchers and private companies are working on new designs that could change the look of residential solar—and lure more people into trying the technology. They are testing everything from solar cells so thin they can be spread like paint, to panels integrated into fabric to be used as awnings or tents, to ones that come in different and more pleasing colors.” 

Here’s how a Twitter engineer says it will break in the coming weeks. TechnologyReview.com article. Software reliability engineers are important. Pull quote: “Twitter’s remaining engineers have largely been tasked with keeping the site stable over the last few days, since the new CEO decided to get rid of a significant chunk of the staff maintaining its code base. As the company tries to return to some semblance of normalcy, more of their time will be spent addressing Musk’s (often taxing) whims for new products and features, rather than keeping what’s already there running.”

Twitter’s potential collapse could wipe out vast records of recent human history. TechnologyReview.com article. Social media as primary history source. “Musk himself acknowledges that Twitter is a public forum, and it’s this fact that makes the potential loss of the platform so significant. Twitter has become integral to civilization today. It’s a place where people document war crimes, discuss key issues, and break and report on news.”