Indoor enthusiast. Co-founder of Stack Overflow and Discourse. Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about. Find me here:
In .NET 1.1, TryParse is only available for the Double datatype [http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfSystemDoubleClassTryParseTopic.asp] . Version 2.0 of the framework extends TryParse to all the basic datatypes [http://www.mikepope.com/blog/DisplayBlog.aspx?permalink=1239]. Why do we care? Performance. Parse
In the spirit of iPod modem hacking, Michael Steil documents how hackers compromised the Xbox security system. Mostly thanks to 512 bytes of rather buggy security code embedded in the Xbox boot ROM: The Xbox is an IBM PC, i.e. it has an x86 CPU. When the machine is
You know you've entered the highest pantheons of geekhood when you get excited about Microsoft's new fixed-width font, Consolas. I am always on the lookout for a better fixed-width programming font. After reading Scott's post, and then Steve's post, I was intrigued
I just noticed that Option Explicit [http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vblr7/html/vastmOptionExplicit.asp] is on by default for new VB solutions in Visual Studio .NET 2005: It's about damn time. There's nothing more vicious than making an innocent typo
Joel has a lengthy entry in which he asks, does having the "best programmers" really matter? This is something I've talked about before: extreme skill disparity is unique to the profession of software development. The odds of working with a genius or a jackass on any
Wanna lower the noise of your computer? Stop burning 450 WATTS of power to browse the web or send email. Don't see any moving parts on your gameboy do you? Or your PDA for that matter. If desktop computers were made of APPROPRIATE parts instead of the "
If you asked each member of your team why they were working on what they are currently working on, what would they say? Could they even give you a coherent answer? If they did, would their answers all agree? All too often, I see developers working without a clearly defined
I've talked about Multiple Core CPU Futures, but how about the dual core present? The Athlon 64 X2 is now widely available in both OEM and retail* packaging, ranging from the 4200+ to 4800+. AMD just released a cheaper Athlon 64 X2 3800+ at under $400. As a
A colleague recently pointed me to a Steve Ballmer video I hadn't seen before; the one where he pitches Windows 1.0. All three of the Ballmer videos are essential viewing for any Windows developer: * Windows 1.0 sales pitch [http://media.ebaumsworld.com/ballmerwindows.wmv] * Dance Monkeyboy
When it comes to performance, there's always a bottleneck. The question is, which bottleneck? That's why one of the more interesting back of the envelope calculations is to ask, "what if it was infinitely fast?" One way to make something infinitely fast is to
In Screwdrivers versus Couture, Ed Stroglio nailed the real difference between PC enthusiasts and Mac enthusiasts: One might think case modders or overclockers [or developers] in general might be more prone to the Mac outlook, but that's not really so. What such people are proud of is not
In an era of instant online worldwide connectivity, protecting users from themselves is a lot harder than it used to be. For one thing, full trust can't be trusted. And then there are all those dancing bunnies to contend with: What's the dancing bunnies problem? It&