Indoor enthusiast. Co-founder of Stack Overflow and Discourse. Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about. Find me:
software development
I’m currently reading Steve McConnell’s new book, Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art. The section on individual expert judgment provided one simple reason why my estimates are often so horribly wrong: If you ask a developer to estimate a set of features, the developer will often come back
web development
Or, What Would World Wide Web Developers Do? To get an idea of what web developers are using – as compared to typical web users – take a look at the comprehensive w3schools browser statistics, picking up from mid-2004 when the Google statistics end: Quite a difference from the other browser market
software maintenance
Mention the words “maintenance programming” to a group of developers and they’ll, to a man (or woman), recoil in horror. Maintenance programming is widely viewed as janitorial work. But maybe that’s an unfair characterization. In Software Conflict 2.0 : The Art and Science of Software Engineering, Robert L.
technology trends
A little over a year ago, I documented what was on my keychain. Here’s what I have today: If you’re troubled by what appears to be profanity on the Leatherman Squirt, I’ll refer you to my previous post – it’s a Pulp Fiction joke. This amazing little
javascript
One of the cornerstones of Web 2.0 is the XMLHttpRequest object. It allows JavaScript to call back to a web server without incurring a traditional HTTP postback. It’s the heart and soul of AJAX, and it’s a completely proprietary feature Microsoft introduced along with IE 5.0
health
Software developers, like pianists, rely on their hands to practice their craft. I’ve used a keyboard and mouse obsessively since my early teens. Fortunately, I have never had any problems with hand or wrist pain – nor have I experienced any Repetitive Stress Injury, which includes carpal tunnel syndrome. But
communication
One of the funniest things on the internet, for my money, is Eric S. Raymond’s epic FAQ, How To Ask Questions The Smart Way. It’s 32 pages, 1,066 paragraphs, 10,289 words, and 51,757 characters. That you must read before you ask a technical question of
laptop accessories
I’ve been traveling a bit more lately, which reminded me to update my list of recommended laptop travel accessories. Although I was happy with the Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse, the snap-in power off switch never worked very well for me. As a result, it got switched on a few
programming languages
Brendan Kidwell noted something interesting about the comments on Trackpoint versus Touchpad: You know, I just realized that there is a lot of LOVE and HATE going on, and it doesn’t seem to be very unified. Software development is basically a religion. It’s not surprising that software developers
management practices
Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools list just selected a book from my recommended reading list. And it’s one of my favorites, too. It’s that perennial evergreen of project management, Peopleware: Hard-won wisdom fills this small book: How to create a team, place, or company that is productive. First
trackpoint
When it comes to pointing devices on laptops, there are two schools of thought. There’s the touchpad... ... and there’s the trackpoint, which was popularized by IBM thinkpads: I recently switched to a work-provided Thinkpad T40 as my primary laptop, and it has both trackpoint and touchpad – great for
internet technology
One of the key ingredients for Web 2.0 success is pervasive high speed internet access. The latest Pew internet report, which tracks broadband growth, was just released: At the end of March 2006, 42% of Americans had high-speed at home, up from 30% in March 2005, or a 40%