An anonymous reader writes: The Netherlands has become the first country in the world to implement a nationwide long-range (LoRa) network for the Internet of Things, says Dutch telecoms group KPN on Thursday. "As from today the KPN LoRa network is available throughout The Netherlands," KPN said in a statement. Phys.Org reports: "The rollout of a low data rate (LoRa) mobile communications network is critical to connect objects as many may not be able to link up with home or work Wi-Fi networks to gain Internet access. The LoRa network is complementary to KPN's networks for the 2G, 3G and 4G phones. KPN has already reached deals to connect some 1.5 million objects, a number which should steadily grow now that the LoRa network is available across the country. Tests are being carried out at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam -- one of Europe's busiest air hubs -- for baggage handling. Meanwhile in the Utrecht rail station an experiment is under way to allow LoRa to monitor rail switches."

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At work this morning I added a property to an Objective-C object that looked something like this:

@property (nonatomic, strong) NSArray *someArray;

And then it was suggested to me that copy would be better than strong in this case.

I have nothing against copy — but with an immutable array, is that really necessary? The array can’t change, so why copy it?

Well… that’s not strictly true. A caller could use an NSMutableArray — which would be perfectly valid — but then hold on that array and mutate it later on, which would be dumb.

So I ask: who would write code like that?

It’s not a class of mistake that I personally make. (I’ve internalized this so completely from years of writing Objective-C. I do make other classes of mistakes, of course.)

And then I think “Who would write code like that?” is the wrong question. The real question is, “Why wouldn’t I write code that minimizes the effect of a possible mistake?”

(Or even not a mistake. It could be entirely legitimate that the caller has a mutable array that it holds on to and mutates later on.)

* * *

This makes me wonder about the difference between code I write for myself and code I write as part of a team. Since I know that I wouldn’t make this particular mistake, I can safely use strong instead of copy in my own code.

But, really — sharp right turn here; buckle up! — doesn’t it make me wish everything was already in Swift, so we’d have the safer behavior automatically?

Yes. Yes it does.

My personal projects are mostly in Swift — converted to Swift 3 already — but, for obvious reasons, at work we often write new code in Swift but still have a large Objective-C codebase.

What I don’t need in life — because it adds complexity, and I don’t have time for that — is three separate coding styles: Swift, my Objective-C, and work Objective-C.

The only one I can get rid of is “my Objective-C.”

Okey-doke.

New submitter bkr1_2k writes: Way back when, I had a PC dedicated as a media server using MythTV. That died and I didn't bother building a new one. Consumer electronics caught up and I recently bought an Apple TV (3rd Generation) to use for streaming my media library. I am, unsurprisingly, finding flaws with it. I'm looking for alternative devices that allow me to stream from my media server directly, without the need for a middleman app like iTunes for the Apple TV. I don't need a ton of streaming services (we have Netflix and Amazon Prime but don't use anything else). I primarily want to use this for streaming my own music and movie libraries over my home network, preferably with a user interface that lets me browse those in a fashion that doesn't force me to scroll through my whole library to get to the title that starts with the letter "Z" (A very poor design choice in the Apple TV). Nor do I want any voice controls since they all suck, in my experience. I would prefer an 'open' device that I can update at will with add-ons, but it's not a requirement. What are the current options out there? Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast. Anything else that might fit my needs better? Last week, we asked a similar question: "What's your preferred music streaming service?"

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Washington Post report says US seeks military cooperation with Russia in exchange for not bombing US-backed rebels.

Washington Post report says US seeks military cooperation with Russia in exchange for not bombing US-backed rebels.

Israeli forces have surrounded the village of Bani Naim in response to a deadly stabbing in a nearby Hebron settlement.

Israeli forces have surrounded the village of Bani Naim in response to a deadly stabbing in a nearby Hebron settlement.

Researchers say they have found the first clear evidence that the thinning in the ozone layer above Antarctica is starting to heal.

Dell is discontinuing its Venue line of Android tablets. Furthermore, the company says it will also stop issuing software updates to its existing Android tablets. The move comes as Dell wants to shift its focus on Windows 2-in-1 devices. As for the other reason, the American company adds that Android market is "oversaturated" and is experiencing "declining demand from consumers." Other Android devices from the company were discontinued some time ago. The company will honor after sales support for people who have purchased Venue Android tablets until the warranty and service contracts expire.

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Use L like MSCHOUT does

Use L like MSCHOUT does

Compile .scss files using libsass