Does Kafka really guarantee the order of messages? – SoftwareMill Tech Blog
tl;dr: nope —
It is worth to know that default configuration can lead to producing messages in the wrong order when a failure happens, and if message order is important for your application you can have a lot of trouble because someone told you about the guarantees that as you can see are not always true.
(tags: messaging kafka streaming ordering exactly-once distcomp events)
Solid advice on what to do in case the government shuts down the internet
….as is feared will happen right now in Hong Kong.
Dear Hong Kong friends: as people are worried about an internet shutdown, do not be afraid to make plans now. Find a VPN that you like and test it out. If Telegram is unusable, use Signal or WhatsApp (both are safe). If LIHGK is not usable, use Reddit or Facebook groups. Above all, please remember that one of the biggest enemies you face are rumors. These will get worse if Internet access is curtailed; be careful about unverified news. As a general rule, you are best served by using a very big site (like Facebook or Google) than something small. The very big sites are harder to shut down and to attack. They also have security teams that make it harder for people to interfere with them. Whatever backup plan you have, test it while things are still working, so you don’t have to learn it when under lots of stress. Twitter is another good choice for sharing information quickly. Google is also a safe option for chat/messages. All of these companies have experience fighting Chinese interference and will fight for you in case there is an effort to limit internet access in Hong Kong. My biggest piece of advice: do not forget to look at cat pictures once in a while to reduce anxiety and stress!
VPN recommendations, via Zeynep Tufekci: ‘the three I heard most about were: @getcloak (now encrypt.me), @theTunnelBear (PAID) and @FreedomeVPN. Don’t use free ones.’(tags: security privacy internet shutdown via:pinboard via:zeynep hong-kong)
Well Networked Self-Driving Cars Become A Surveillance Nightmare?
It’s time to establish precedents that the fleets of advanced cars on the road do not become a giant surveillance apparatus. That it should be illegal for police to request that car fleets perform surveillance for them. That companies operating fleets resist such requests when they come, in the courts if they have to.
(tags: cars driving future surveillance cctv anpr alpr police privacy)
How googly eyes solved one of today’s trickiest UX problems
‘A little robot at a library in Helsinki went from reviled to beloved, all because it got a new pair of plastic eyes.’ AWWWW