security
As far back as I can remember-- which admittedly isn't very far-- GUI toolkits have included a special type of text entry field for passwords. As you type, the password field displays a generic character, usually a dot or asterisk, instead of the character you actually typed. I&
keyboard accessibility
The web is quite mouse-centric. Ever tried navigating a typical website without your mouse? I'm not saying it can't be done-- if you're sufficiently motivated, you can indeed navigate the web using nothing but your keyboard-- but it's painful. There's
software development concepts
I recently received an email from Andrew Stuart of the Australian firm Flat Rate Recruitment. Andrew related their technical phone screen process, which is apparently quite similar to the one outlined in Getting the Interview Phone Screen Right. I'm glad to hear it works. A proper phone screen
wireless networking
When I set up my new Xbox 360, I also connected it to my existing wireless network. It's about 50 feet from my access point, with approximately 4 or 5 walls in between. I was able to get online, but barely. The signal strength indicator was at literally
gaming consoles
I recently became the reluctant owner of an Xbox 360. Limping along with my ancient Playstation 2-- I remember buying that thing on launch day way back in 2000-- was no longer viable in light of my Rock Band addiction. I've been avoiding a new console purchase for
apple ii
A new in box Apple //c system was recently sold on eBay. This is quite remarkable; a vintage computer-- twenty-three years old-- that has never been opened. The people who ultimately won the auction posted a beautiful set of unboxing pictures. For a brief moment, it was 1984 all over
database management
A little over a year ago, I wrote about the importance of version control for databases. When I ask development teams whether their database is under version control, I usually get blank stares. The database is a critical part of your application. If you deploy version 2.0 of your
user experience
Heidi Adkisson notes that features sell products, but the people buying those products often don’t use the very features they bought the product for in the first place. A few years ago I did an extensive in-home study observing use of a particular computer hardware peripheral. Most people had
comedy
You may think of Steve Martin as a stereotypical family friendly comedian today-- the center of saccharine movies like Parenthood and Father of the Bride. But it wasn't always this way. Steve hit his stride in the early 80's. At that time, I don't
backups
Jamie Zawinski's public service backup announcement starts off with a bang: Option 1: Learn not to care about your data. Don't save any old email, use a film camera, and only listen to physical CDs and not MP3s. If you have no possessions, you have nothing
apple
I never quite made the transition from the Apple II series to the Mac. Instead, I migrated from my Apple II to a PC. I always thought the PC ecosystem, although deeply flawed, was more naturally analogous to the eclectic third party hardware and software hacker ecosystem that grew up
ruby
Joseph Cooney reminds us that, in January 2005, 37signals went live with a product they built in 579 lines of code [http://jcooney.net/archive/2007/08/16/54435.aspx]: > You read that right, not 60,000 or 600,000 but instead a commercial project written in less than