For years, popular stream processing frameworks such as Kafka Streams have used embedded RocksDB for state storage, primarily due to the efficiency of local storage and RocksDB’s ability to handle high-throughput, low-latency operations. Embedded state eliminates network overhead by keeping state ...

Microsoft says ransomware attacks are up 2.75 times compared to last year, but claims defenses are actually working better than ever. Ransomware continues to be a popular method among cybercrims given how lucrative a single success can be. However, according to data from today's Microsoft Digital De...

This page contains spoilers for the How to Monetize a Blog post. You might want to check that out first if that bothers you. If you’ve already seen it, or you didn’t but you don’t care, or if you prefer to experience stuff backwards, proceed! I spent three months working on that page. It initi...

Columnist Andrew Leahey says the IRS should offer EBT-style digital cards for tax refunds that don’t depend on a taxpayer’s access to a bank account. Stolen IRS tax-refund checks—and in some cases, even stolen replacement checks—are a frustrating reality for many taxpayers. Embracing technol...

When you look at old black and white pictures of cities from before the 1950s you may notice something on most buildings that are no longer there today. Awnings. They were ubiquitous over nearly every window of buildings from the most basic single family home to massive buildings like The White Hous...

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By David Pierce , editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired. Apple just announced, in a somewhat understated fashion via a press release, a new iPad Mini. It’s the first upgrade f...

One of the most confusing things I came across in my early and mid years as an engineer was the answer to the question “What exactly is technical debt”? Go ahead, think about the answers you’ve been given. I’ll list a few cliche’s I’m sure we’ve all heard: None of that really made sens...

In 2014, tasked with replacing a payment stack at a Paris-based startup, I found it surprisingly hard to evaluate payment processors due to unclear info and technical challenges. We eventually chose Stripe, even though it was brand new in Europe, thanks to its clear pricing, easy developer adoption,...

Marriott and Starwood have been fined and told implement a comprehensive security program following three large data breaches. According to the FTC, the companies’ failure to implement reasonable data security led to three large data breaches from 2014 to 2020, impacting more than 344 million...