Articles

How To Use MQTT in Dart

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Dart is a client-optimized language for developing fast apps on any platform. Its goal is to offer the most productive programming language for multi-platform development, paired with a flexible execution runtime platform for app frameworks.

MQTT is a lightweight IoT messaging protocol based on publish/subscribe model, which can provide real-time and reliable messaging services for connected devices with minimal code and bandwidth. It is widely used in industries, such as IoT, mobile Internet, smart hardware, Internet of vehicles, and power and energy.

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Java’s New Threat Model

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Over the last decade of cloud migration, the threat model against Java applications and the way that we need to defend them has shifted. OpenJDK has made one positive change in this area already by deprecating the old SecurityManager, a relic that protected a bygone era of AOL CDs and paper maps. The next positive change in security is to strengthen the supply chain of software components, know what’s running and what’s vulnerable, and communicate this information with non-technical experts whose data is at risk.

Part of this threat model is driven by vulnerable libraries like last year’s Log4j. Although Log4j is a great logging library and was active on patching, many teams scrambled to identify where they needed to apply those patches. For individual Java developers or teams that knew their code and could deploy, the patch was simple — you updated a library and that was it. The reality though is that software moves fast and far, often leaving the locus of control of these technical experts to stakeholders that don’t have the expertise to manage a problem at this level. In a scramble, teams that did not know Java-specifics looked everywhere including .NET software and Python forums. The government of Quebec shut services down until they knew where Log4j wasn’t. This scrambling was not effective and does not protect our data.

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Making of Unreliable Systems

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Knowing anti-patterns and pitfalls is often more useful than knowing patterns when designing a system, so I decided to write this blog post about factors that I think will lead to producing unreliable systems from my experiences in designing (mostly) distributed enterprise applications.
I’ll be pleased to know your related experiences and comments on the matter.

What Is Modeling?

The human brain is a pattern-seeking device. However, it’s a costly process, and the main goal of thinking is to terminate/resolve what caused this process to start in the first place; so it has developed several mechanisms to prevent it from happening too often; the one related to our discussion here is the mental model. Reality is complex, chaotic, and too messy for our limited brain capabilities and resources to comprehend as it is (if that’s even possible); so our minds will try to create an alternative reality which is very simple and (most of the time) easily understandable, and that’s what modeling is all about! from how we think about how nature works, in science for example, to proper social behavior, to what to be afraid of or seek for, all are the results of our mental model. It is noteworthy that models are neither objective reality nor meant to be so!

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Adobe Has Acquired You

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There were mixed reactions on Thursday morning when Adobe announced it had acquired Figma.

Excited press releases extolling the benefits of the “collaboration” followed the news. Dylan Field, founder and CEO of Figma, said: “There is a huge opportunity for us to accelerate the growth and innovation of the Figma platform with access to Adobe’s technology…”

The reaction from the design community has been a little less enthusiastic.

The problem for the design industry is that we’ve been here before. The acquisition of Macromedia followed a period in which Adobe tried to compete, failed to update its legacy code, lost the battle, and purchased the victor. You only need to look at the number of former Macromedia products in Adobe’s stable (zero) to see where Figma’s heading.

Figma has grown faster than any of its rivals in the last eight years. It is, of course, easier to grow when you start at zero. But there’s no denying Figma is a well-managed business and probably a good investment — if not worth the $20bn that Adobe reportedly paid.

Figma’s technology will give Adobe a leg-up in the collaborative design stakes, where it is clearly lacking. And Adobe’s resources will iron out some of the kinks in Figma, especially around typography, which is, if we’re honest, a bit hacky in places.

Adobe will provide a good home (we hope) for the Figma team, who will have the opportunity for career advancement in a much wider pool of development teams.

And, of course, Figma’s annual revenue will begin to trickle into Adobe’s vault — although it may be some time before it makes a dent in that $20bn hole.

But Adobe didn’t buy Figma for its business model, collaborative technology, team, or revenue stream. Adobe bought Figma’s users, all four million of them.

Adobe‘s approach to design software is upselling. It lures you in with free apps, and when you’re engaged, it integrates them with other parts of its ecosystem until suddenly, without meaning to, you’ve agreed to a Creative Cloud subscription.

Adobe was losing customers to a competitor. And more importantly, due to Figma’s free-use approach for individuals, it was losing young customers to a competitor. If it hadn’t bought Figma, Adobe would have needed to invest heavily in its own products while providing them to freelancers for free; that isn’t viable for a company with as many commitments as Adobe.

Yes, it is entirely accurate to say that competition drives innovation, and with fewer competing apps, there is less need for companies like Adobe to build high-quality, reliable products. However, it is also true to say that a lack of competition creates opportunities for new apps.

Somewhere out there, in a dorm room, or a basement, or on a kitchen table, someone is working on Adobe’s next big acquisition. It’s probably an AR design app; we need a few more of those.

For Figma, the next 12 months will be bright as Adobe works to retain the customers it’s bought. Within five years, you’ll probably need an Adobe Fonts subscription and a Photoshop plugin to use Figma. In ten years, it will be stored in a code archive next to Freehand.

Some designers will turn to Sketch; others will turn to Affinity; some will shrug and keep using Figma; others will shrug and keep using XD.

If an app is intrinsic to your design work, it’s probably time to switch apps. Your skills are transferable. I’ve switched apps many times; some I loved, some I just needed. I’ve never encountered an app that improved my work, although plenty have improved my mood while working.

Figma took a great approach and will continue to be great until it isn’t. Tools come and go, Adobe’s acquisitions team, it appears, is eternal.

 

 

Featured image uses photos by Afrika ufundi, Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio, Anna Tarazevich, cottonbro, fauxels, Ketut Subiyanto, Mikhail Nilov, Moose Photos, Pavel Danilyuk, Pavel Danilyuk, Polina Tankilevitch, Tima Miroshnichenko.

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Observability Maturity Model

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Modern systems and applications span numerous architectures and technologies — they are also becoming increasingly more dynamic, distributed, and modular in nature. In order to support the availability and performance of their systems, IT operations and SRE teams need advanced monitoring capabilities. This Refcard reviews the four distinct levels of observability maturity, key functionality at each stage, and next steps organizations should take to enhance their monitoring practices.
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What Customer-First Web Design Looks Like

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The purpose of a website is to reach new customers and keep current ones engaged. Therefore, customer-first should be at the top of your list for design features. After all, without your clients, your business won’t grow or succeed.

Customer-first has been a buzzword for a few years now. In a nutshell, it’s easy to imagine what customer-first design means. The needs of consumers come before anything else. However, the concept isn’t quite as simple in practice. A lot of nuances enter the equation.

Just what does it mean to have a customer-first web design? What are the must-haves to reach users on their level and keep their attention for the long haul?

Embracing quality customer experiences has driven loyalty for as long as anyone can remember. However, we now live in a time of uncertainty, and when people leave companies on a dime if they’re dissatisfied with any aspect. So you must hit the high notes on every song – your website is your purest online persona and must engage users and keep them entertained.

Whether you embrace causes that matter to your customers and share information on them or tweak your design to meet accessibility guidelines, many factors come into play with a customer-centric design.

In a recent report, researchers found that about 88% of company leaders feel customer engagement impacts revenue. You can’t control every variable, but you can ensure your website hits all the strong points for a customer-first web design that grabs them and keeps them on your page.

Here are our favorite tips to create a customer-first approach. You may already be doing some of these things. Pick and choose what makes the most sense for your business model. Even small changes can have a big impact.

1. Know Your Customers

Before creating a website centered around your customers’ needs, you must know who they are. What are the demographics of your typical clients? Survey them and find out what their needs and expectations are. How can you best help them?

You may also want to survey them about your website. What’s missing that might help them? Is there anything they love? What do they hate? The more you know, the better your design can match their expectations. Create buyer personas based on their preferences.

At the same time, buyers will sometimes say one thing but actually feel another way. No one is quite sure why people do this when being surveyed. One way around that issue is to do some A/B testing to see how they actually feel about various changes. Do they respond the way you thought? What other adjustments need to be made?

2. Find the Right Color Palette

Different industries trend toward various hues. For example, businesses in the banking industry trend toward blues and occasionally reds. Blue elicits trust from users and has a calming effect. On the other hand, the fashion industry might tap into brighter shades, such as lime green. Think about what colors people expect in your industry, and then find your color palette.

Each hue has its emotional impact. For example, red is a color of power and can elicit excitement in the viewer. Choose your shades accordingly to get the most emotional punch possible.

3. Accept Feedback

One of the best ways to improve your site over time to match the needs and preferences of your audience is by allowing feedback. Add reviews, place a feedback form in your footer, and even send out requests for feedback to your mailing list.

It’s also a good idea to find a mentor who has been successful at running a business. Ask them to look at your site and give you advice. You might also enlist the help of a marketing professional.

4. Stick With the Familiar

Have you heard of Jakob’s Law? The rule of thumb states that people prefer common design patterns they’re most familiar with. So when they see a pattern they know, such as a navigation bar layout, it boosts their mood and improves their memory of the site.

When making edits, don’t make significant changes. Instead, implement minor adjustments over time to give your followers a chance to acclimate to the shift.

5. Cut the Clutter

If you want users to feel wowed by your page and engage, you have to limit their choices. Add in too many options, and they may not know where to go first.

Start by choosing an objective for the page. Cut anything that doesn’t point the user toward the goal. Ideally, you’d have a little info, an image, and a call to action (CTA) button. However, this may vary, depending on where your buyer is in the sales funnel and how much information they need to decide to go from browser to customer.

6. Choose Mobile Friendliness

Recent reports indicate about 90% of people use mobile devices to go online at times. With phones gaining greater capabilities and 5G bringing faster speeds to communities, expect people to use their mobile devices even more frequently for internet browsing.

Making sure your site translates well on smaller screens makes sense for your company and for your customers. Be sure to test everything. Click through all links. Fill in forms. Ensure images and text auto-adjust to the correct size, so people don’t have to scroll endlessly.

7. Make Multiple Landing Pages

Like most businesses, you probably have several buyer personas as you segment your audience. Don’t just create a single home page and expect it to fulfill the purpose of every reader. Instead, create unique pages for each persona to best meet their needs.

Make sure each landing page speaks in the natural language patterns of your specific audience. Think about the unique needs of each group. How do their pain points differ? How can you best meet their needs?

8. Keep Important Info Above the Fold

People are busy. They work, have families, and might visit your site on the 15-minute break they get in the afternoon. Most consumers want the information they need to decide and don’t want to dilly-dally around with other things.

Place the essential headlines and info they need above the fold, so they see it first. Make it as readable as possible by using headings and subheadings. Add in a few bullet points. People also absorb information easier in video format, so add a video highlighting your product’s or service’s main benefits.

You should also place a CTA button above the fold if it makes sense for your overall design. Keep in mind people may have visited and already read some of the information. Some users return just to sign up and want to find the CTA quickly.

Step Into Your Customers’ Shoes

Look at your site through the eyes of your audience. What works well? What needs to be adjusted? Over time, you’ll develop a customer-first web design that speaks to those most likely to buy from you. Then, keep making changes and tweaking your site until it hits the perfect balance for your customers.

 

Featured image via Freepik.

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The post What Customer-First Web Design Looks Like first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

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Top 10 Hugging Face Datasets

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The most important task in any machine learning model is finding or building a dataset that perfectly accommodates your algorithm. Without the correct foundation, your machine learning model may not perform in its intended way.

While well-known sites such as Kaggle allow you to download and utilize thousands of adequate datasets, a few other dataset providers are increasing in popularity. In this article, we will cover one known as Hugging Face.

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AWS CDK Project Blueprint – Modeling and Organizing (Part 2/2)

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Welcome back! This is the second part of a two-part article series. With this article, my goal is to build a blueprint to show a way how to model, organize and structure our Infrastructure-as-Code Projects using the AWS-CDK framework. Check here to access the first part of this article.

Now, in this second part, as promised, comes the fun part, we get into the hands-on. Let’s run our AWS CDK IaC Project, deploying all the services and resources, and then see the AngularJS Application up and running. Let’s get started.

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When Microservices Are a Bad Idea

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On paper, microservices sound wonderful. They are modular, scalable, and fault tolerant. A lot of companies have had great success using this model, so microservices might naturally seem to be the superior architecture and the best way to start new applications.

However, most firms that have succeeded with microservices did not begin with them. Consider the examples of Airbnb and Twitter, which went the microservice route after outgrowing their monoliths and are now battling its complexities. Even successful companies that use microservices appear to still be figuring out the best way to make them work. It is evident that microservices come with their share of tradeoffs.

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