Welcome to Argalax

Hi, my name is Alexander and this is my website.

It describes my work, hobbies, various projects, intellectual pursuits, current interests, and whatever else seems important and/or interesting at the moment.

I live in Canada, just east of Toronto, and work as technical team leader in the IT industry.

In spare time I enjoy writing some code, developing web applications, working on my robot, and FreeBSD/Linux projects, reading sci-fi, finance and technical books, building my cabin in the wilderness and travel when I can.

Here are some technical news to read...

Technology

Ex-Nokia team makes rival smartphone [Mon, 20 May 2013 16:08:18 GMT]
A smartphone created by former Nokia employees is unveiled ahead of its release later this year.

Tumblr 'will boost Yahoo revenue' [Mon, 20 May 2013 20:21:50 GMT]
Yahoo says its $1.1bn (Â£723m) purchase of blogging platform Tumblr will boost its revenue as soon as 2014.

Ant abilities could aid robot design [Tue, 21 May 2013 06:49:23 GMT]
A study showing how ants tunnel their way through confined spaces could aid the design of search and rescue robots, say scientists.

China 'state hackers renew attacks' [Mon, 20 May 2013 10:13:08 GMT]
State-sponsored hackers are renewing their attacks on the US after a three-month hiatus, according to the New York Times.

Apple 'among US's big tax avoiders' [Tue, 21 May 2013 05:11:11 GMT]
Apple is accused of being "among America's largest tax avoiders" by a Senate committee, who says the company avoided paying billions of dollars in US taxes.

Vodafone sales hit by European slump [Tue, 21 May 2013 07:27:14 GMT]
Vodafone's full-year sales slip for the first time in eight years as tough economic conditions in Europe take their toll on customers.

Millions hit in Yahoo Japan hack [Mon, 20 May 2013 09:13:25 GMT]
Up to 22 million login names may have been stolen during a hack attack on Yahoo Japan, the web firm warns.

US questions Google on Glass privacy [Fri, 17 May 2013 11:47:36 GMT]
US politicians are seeking reassurances from Google that its smart spectacles will respect personal privacy.

Single-pixel camera makes 3D image [Thu, 16 May 2013 23:13:04 GMT]
Scientists in Glasgow have discovered a low-cost way to create 3D images, capable of sensing frequencies beyond visible light.

Pupils 'need early porn warnings' [Mon, 20 May 2013 10:27:00 GMT]
Young children should hear about the dangers of pornography as soon as they have access to the internet, UK teachers say.

Science

Vaccine developed for farm disease [Mon, 20 May 2013 23:08:26 GMT]
A vaccine to protect sheep and cattle from a livestock virus spread by midges has been approved by government vets.

Flightless penguin puzzle 'solved' [Tue, 21 May 2013 05:25:54 GMT]
The underwater prowess of the penguin may have cost the bird its ability to fly, scientists believe.

Irish potato famine pest identified [Tue, 21 May 2013 03:05:28 GMT]
Scientists have used plant samples collected in the 19th Century to identify the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine.

UK astronaut given station date [Mon, 20 May 2013 08:26:51 GMT]
UK astronaut Tim Peake is to fly to the International Space Station, launching on a Soyuz rocket in November or December 2015.

Tree health policy to 'stop spread' [Mon, 20 May 2013 12:20:23 GMT]
Strengthening biosecurity at UK borders and a plant health risk register would help protect the nation's trees from pests and diseases, a report concludes.

Warming extremes 'not as likely' [Sun, 19 May 2013 17:31:29 GMT]
Global temperature rises will be slower in the coming decades say researchers but the long term picture is consistent.

Deep sea 'gold rush' moves closer [Sat, 18 May 2013 01:27:03 GMT]
The prospect of a deep sea "gold rush" opening a controversial new frontier for mining on the ocean floor has moved a step closer.

GPS 'improves early tsunami alerts' [Fri, 17 May 2013 13:51:29 GMT]
GPS data could provide faster and more accurate early warning systems for tsunamis, a German team of scientists suggest.

Expert issues UK tree threat warning [Fri, 17 May 2013 15:41:59 GMT]
A tree expert says the biggest threat facing UK trees is likely to come from a disease currently unknown to science.

App Development

IT Earnings Way Up at Job Site Elance []
Google App Engine, HTML5, search engine optimization and social media marketing are among the fastest movers on Elance's list of hot job opportunities available online.

Say What? The Week's Top Five IT Quotes []
Google Wave crashes, fighting to keep mainframe skills alive, beware the Outernet and more.

GPL Enforcement Notches Another Victory []
The license at the heart of many open source projects is amassing a winning record when it comes to successfully pursuing enforcement lawsuits.

Microsoft Prepping New Visual Studio Tool []
Dubbed "LightSwitch," the new tool will offer developers of varying skill levels ready-made templates to create business applications for different computing environments.

Illumos Looks to Reopen Oracle's OpenSolaris []
Amid concern throughout the OpenSolaris community about Oracle's plans for the open source operating system, the Illumos project is providing an alternative set of OpenSolaris technologies.