programming languages
Between founding Stack Overflow (and later, running Stack Exchange) and having a child, I haven’t had much time to blog about the holidays for a few years now. The last Gifts for Geeks I did was in 2008. Those recommendations are still as valid as ever, but I just
graphics
Anti-aliasing has an intimidating name, but what it does for our computer displays is rather fundamental. Think of it this way – a line has infinite resolution, but our digital displays do not. So when we “snap” a line to the pixel grid on our display, we can compensate by
ergonomics
I’ve talked about computer workstation ergonomics before, but one topic I didn’t address is lighting. We computer geeks like it dark. Really dark. Ideally, we’d be in a cave. A cave… with an internet connection. The one thing that we can’t abide is direct overhead lighting.
parenting
Our son was born March 12th, 2009. He’s a little over two and a half years old. Now, I am the wussiest wuss to ever wuss up the joint, so take everything I’m about to say with a grain of salt – but choosing to become a parent is
graphics cards
Almost nobody should do what I am about to describe – that is, install and use more than one video card. Nobody really needs that much graphics performance. It’s also technically complex and a little expensive. But sometimes you gotta say to hell with rationality and embrace the overkill. Why?
apple
I enjoy my iPhone tremendously; I think it’s the most important product Apple has ever created and one they were born to make. As a consumer who has waited far too long for the phone industry to get the swift kick in the ass it so richly deserved, I’
programming languages
When Joel Spolsky and I set out to design the Stack Exchange Q&A engine in 2008 – then known as Stack Overflow – we borrowed liberally and unapologetically from any online system that we felt worked. Some of our notable influences included: * Reddit and Digg voting * Xbox 360 achievements * Wikipedia
security
Perhaps you’ve seen this recent XKCD about password choice? It prompted a spirited debate – even on our very own Security Stack Exchange – about the merits of the argument presented there. Now, to be clear, I’m completely on Randall’s side here; I’m all for passphrases over passwords,
self-improvement
I’m not into self-help. I don’t buy self-help books, I don’t read productivity blogs, and I certainly don’t subscribe to self-proclaimed self-help guru newsletters. Reading someone else’s advice on the rather generic concept of helping yourself always struck me as a
pc building
I’ve had more or less the same PC, with various updates, since 2007. I’ve written about most of it here: * Building a PC, Part I: Minimal boot * Building a PC, Part II: Burn in * Building a PC, Part III: Overclocking * Building a PC, Part IV: Now It’s
performance
We’ve always put a heavy emphasis on performance at Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange. Not just because we’re performance wonks (guilty!), but because we think speed is a competitive advantage. There’s plenty of experimental data proving that the slower your website loads and displays, the less people
technology trends
On my first visit to the Fog Creek Software offices in 2008, I was surprised to see programmers zooming around the office on scooters. I didn’t realize that scooters were something geeks would be into, but it sure looked like fun, albeit borderline dangerous fun, on the 25th floor