TL;DR: Prepend "about:reader?url=" to any website URL to force reader view in Firefox I'm in love with Firefox' reader view. It not only removes ads, nag-screens, subscription prompts and other clutter from articles but it's typographical choices often are better than the (well-intended) choices of the author. I also value the consistent look and feel … Continue reading Force-enabling Firefox’ reader view
Author: George Georgovassilis
First write operation to large ext4 file system is slow
I'm running a large (>20TB) ext4 file system and noticed that the first substantial write operation after mounting is very slow and involves plenty of drive activity. The reason seems to be some memory structure initialisation as described here: https://linux-ext4.vger.kernel.narkive.com/SUFNE520/ext4-slow-performance-on-first-write-after-mount The workaround is thankfully as simple as running this command in a script after mounting … Continue reading First write operation to large ext4 file system is slow
Ubuntu on the Acer Nitro 5
[updated June 2021] [June 2021] New chapter about Ubuntu 20.04 The Acer Nitro 5 is an interesting breed; decent computing power, a mid-range SSD, a large screen with high contrast, a decent and solid keyboard with good haptics at an ok price - but will it run Ubuntu 18.04? (yes, it will - also with … Continue reading Ubuntu on the Acer Nitro 5
The problem with standardisation
Standards are a double-edged sword Subbu Allamaraju, CTO Expedia, https://m.subbu.org/lessons-from-2019-5beb64e63bc7 TL;DR: Standardisation reduces the dimensionality of a problem space thus eliminating possibilities for optimisation. Standards reduce the number dimensions of a problem space Consolidation initiatives aim at reducing the number of domains in a problem space in order to make problem handling easier: reduce the … Continue reading The problem with standardisation
2019 reading list
It's been a while since my first (and so far only) reading list (2016) [1], but this decade shall not end without another one. Rules for the 2019 reading list: The content must have been interesting throughout the year; sources with only a few notable publications of an otherwise unremarkable output don't qualifyI overcame my … Continue reading 2019 reading list



