Joshua Lock

Mistakes have been made

UK backs down in Apple privacy row, US says UK authorities have demanded access to Apple users' protected files when required for investigations.

The UK has pulled its order to put a backdoor into Apple's encrypted services.

BUT "powers to attack encryption are still on the law books, and pose a serious risk to user security and protection against criminal abuse of our data."

🗣️ Jim Killock, ORG Exec Director.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Am I beginning to experience a small part of the reason why blind and low vision users seem to prefer Windows?

I enabled full keyboard accessibility on macOS today so that I could touch the mouse less (due to a sore hand/wrist).

It's really awkward.

Especially with web apps like the Google Workspace Suite and Slack (electron app).

Lots of keyboard presses and occasional focus stealing behaviour.

Pycon UK in September features a talk on our Strype project ( strype.org ) from my colleague Pierre, if you're interested and near Manchester. Lots of other interesting-looking talks and a keynote from @felienne.bsky.social - what more could you want?

you made the right choice not trying to caption it. 😮

Wow. I'll never read RFC 2119 the same way again (sadly, yes, I have read it multiple times).

I suspect the "over-the-top sarcastic, passive-aggressive, condescending" reading might not suite Strype. I wonder how versatile the voice actor is.

I notice in the source code there's type information (as a comment beneath method definitions) but that doesn't make it to the documentation, is that a conscious decision? Python docs aren't very consistent about this, but I personally prefer to see the expected types.

Those are nice docs! I couldn't find them linked from strype.org either, might be worth adding them somewhere on the landing page?

I'd be more than happy to review the API surface and make some proposals. I'm not a Python API expert, but I have written a fair amount of Python.

Is there an easy way to view the API surface for the graphics (media?) API?

The example you give of a sound literal constructor feels like it could be solved by having a single constructor with a sound argument that has a default value of None?

If the argument is not set, you get an empty sound.

This is very cool! FYI, the Newcastle and Manchester events don't appear to be listed on the Strype events page.

ATTENTION: Free Computing Teachers Conference

Our speakers are now confirmed for CKC 2025:

@dsyme.bsky.social @megjlow.bsky.social @beckyfranks.bsky.social @tracygardner.bsky.social @lollypopstar.bsky.social @neilccbrown.bsky.social @suesentance.bsky.social

Sign up here: tinyurl.com/CKC-Kings

We are in urgent need of several Associate Editors to join the ACM TOCE Editorial Board. If you're interested in serving, write Amy at ajko@uw.edu and share your reviewing experience and expertise. Without more volunteers to manage our rising submissions, we may have to pause submissions.

International university students Let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot again.

Tim Leunig here, with a warning to all those MPs who want to just allow universities to implode: in 100 constituencies the university is one of the top three exporters. Take Huddersfield: the uni there easily outstrips in turnover the biggest local company. timleunig.substack.com/p/internatio...

Save the date!

On 5th July, we are hosting the CAS & King's Computing Conference for teachers. If you are a computing teacher and can come to London, have a look at this: a fantastic free event with great talks and workshops.

Open for registration now.

www.computingatschool.org.uk/events/2025/...

Gimme gimme

We surely don't want all debugging code committed to the VCS, but it feels like there's a design space for ephemeral/one-time debugging logic vs longer lived debugging logic that could be explored with richer tools.

This could extend quite naturally to debug profiles, such that the code can remain, and even be committed to the VCS, but only be executed when you're in the debugging profile.

There's also now a George Bool statue at Lincoln Central train station

I am once more seeking participants for a user study. We'll be evaluating a prototype code editor that completes your text with placeholders for missing tokens expected by the language. Here's a short video of me motivating the editor and study.

Details in thread. Reskeets appreciated! 🙏

Enjoyed that. Thanks!

🛹

YouTube video by Michigan TypeScript TypeScript types can run DOOM

This is the greatest programming project of all time

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mCs...

Industry-funded studentship in Computer Science 3.5yr Studentship funding for a specific PhD project on Debugging and runtime visualisation in a frame-based system.

Come and do a PhD with us!

Interested in programming languages, development tools, HCI and computing education?

@neilccbrown.bsky.social and I are jointly supervising a fully funded PhD. Theme: "Debugging and runtime visualisation in a frame-based system".

Details www.kcl.ac.uk/study-legacy...

Your 5 yo sound hilarious

Do you play ice hockey?

50 Reasons Why Everyone Should Want More Walkable Streets From making you live longer to making cities more resilient: If you want a reason to make your city more walkable, it's in here.

“Someone with a 1-hr car commute needs to earn 40% more to be as happy as someone with a short walk to work. On the other hand, if someone shifts from a long commute to a walk, their happiness increases as much as if they’d fallen in love.” #CityMakingMath

50 reasons to want walkable streets.

A sign that reads "All I want is to be someone that makes new things and thinks about them."

Still thinking about this sign spotted at the @inkandswitch.com get-together: