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Links for 2015-09-07

  • You’re probably wrong about caching

    Excellent cut-out-and-keep guide to why you should add a caching layer. I’ve been following this practice for the past few years, after I realised that #6 (recovering from a failed cache is hard) is a killer — I’ve seen a few large-scale outages where a production system had gained enough scale that it required a cache to operate, and once that cache was damaged, bringing the system back online required a painful rewarming protocol. Better to design for the non-cached case if possible.

    (tags: architecture caching coding design caches ops production scalability)

  • The Alternative Universe Of Soviet Arcade Games

    Unlike machines in the West, every single machine that was produced during Soviet-era Russia had to align with Marxist ideology. […] The most popular games were created to teach hand-eye coordination, reaction speed, and logical, focused thinking. Not unlike many American games, these games were influenced by military training, crafted to teach and instill patriotism for the state by making the human body better, stronger, and more willful. It also means no high scores, no adrenaline rushes, or self-serving feather-fluffing as you add your hard-earned initials to the list of the best. In Communist Russia, there was no overt competition.

    (tags: high-scores communism russia cccp ussr arcade-games games history)

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