Authentication vs Authorization - What's the difference?

Authentication and Authorization are mixed together. Some developers even swap them randomly. But authentication and authorization are very different things and describe different processes.

I deleted my YouTube videos. Why?

I deleted my best-performing YouTube videos. Not here, on my second channel. And when I say they were my best videos I mean it. They were bringing me 30% of new subscribers and 20% of views. Why have I done that?

Because I believe, in the longer run, they were harmful to the channel performance. Why? Those videos were not even close to the main topic of the channel. Not only they were bringing viewers that were not interested in the new videos on the channel. They were also messing up with the YouTube algorithm. As a result, I was getting fewer views and fewer subscribers than I should have. Let’s see if I was right doing so…

Caddx Vista is dead - DJI pulls the plug

The FPV news of the last few days is that Caddx Vista is dead. Or rather, there will be no new manufacturing of Caddx Vista digital VTXes as DJI decided to stop cooperation with Caddx. As Caddx never manufactured Vistas, only cameras, this means that ultimately, Caddx is unable, even if wanted, to produce more Vistas.

This means the following:

1. Existing stock that you can find with retailers is the last supply of new Caddx Vistas and Caddx Air Units
2. Currently it is unknown if DJI will sell Vistas and current generation Air Units under its brand
3. Currently it is unknown if Caddx will sell DJI FP V cameras (but probably won’t)
4. RunCam will continue selling their equivalent of Vista under the name of RunCam Link
5. RunCam is planning to sell better DJI FPV compatible cameras that are on-pair with DJI and Caddx Nebula Pro camera
6. The most probable reason that this is the retaliation for the fact that Caddx became DJI competition by moving Walksnail Avatar HD to the market

JWT claims explained - registered, public and private

JWT, the JSON Web Tokens are a standarized (RFC 7519) way of passing the user’s identity between microservices. Internally, the JWT payload is just a JSON with pertially standarized fields. They are called claims. Some of the claims are defined in the RFC 7519 while some are free to use and abuse freely. The video below exmplains this topic.

In general, claims are divided into 3 categories:

• registered - they are defined in the RFC and have to be used accordingly
• public - not defined by the RFC, but their meaning and usage is defined in the Public registry of JWT claims
• private - can be used freely, but might not be compatible with other implementations

What are JWT tokens? Modern authentication and authorization for microservices

JSON Web Tokens, or JWT, are a great and modern way to handle User identity, authentication, and authorizations. All modern user management systems like Keycloak, AWS Cognito, or Auth0 are issuing JWT tokens! And remember, with microservices, session-based authentication and authorization is a no-go.

NFTs does not work like you think they do | NFT for beginners

Have you heard about this picture of a monkey sold as an NFT for more than 2 million dollars? Crazy. Everybody gets that NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) are secure and work based on blockchain. Most don’t get what exactly that means. Because no, having an NFT is not proof that you legally own something. Or that your token is the only “content” in existence. It works in a slightly different way!

How BAD are cheap 18650 Li-Ion batteries from China?

China is a magical place where you can get everything for a fraction of a price. Like 10000mAh 18650 LiIon batteries for $1.5. Of course, we have to begin with a note, that there are no 10000mAh 18650 batteries! Technology does not allow for such energy density. And if they would exist, they would not cost $1.5. Closer to $15. Anyhow, I’ve bought a couple of cheap 18650 on Aliexpress and tested them with a DIY OpenSource OpenHardware Arduino-based battery discharger.

Colorfabb LW-PLA Light Filament

There are many 3D printing filaments to choose from. Each of them has its own specific features: PLA is simple and easy to use, PET-G has more temperature resistance, Polypropylene can be bent and TPU is indestructible.

If you look for a filament that gives the lightest prints, there is only one option: foamed PLA filaments called LW-PLA. Today let’s take a look at the LightWeight PLA (LW-PLA) from Colorfabb.

BlHeli Motor Timing Explained

What is motor timing? You can change it in the BlHeli configurator, but what does it do? Many tutorials say that you should increase Motor Timing. What is the gain of doing so? And why is it in degrees (at least in BLHeli_32)? The short answer is: higher timing equals slightly more torque but less efficiency.

Can you sell Open-Source software?

Many companies are afraid of Open-Source software. There are myths and misunderstandings. One of them is: can I sell open source (GPL, MIT, Apache License) to my clients? The answer is both yes and no.

There is nothing that prohibits issuing an invoice for Open-Source software. However, license transfer can be tricky. You will learn more in the video below.