programming languages
Reginald Braithwaite writes consistently great stuff on his blog, but I think my absolute favorite thing he’s ever written is We Have Lost Control of the Apparatus. But we programmers have lost and we must be realistic about things. The fact of the matter is this: people own their
security
I encourage my coworkers to lock their computers. Security, after all, is everyone’s business. But often gentle encouragement is not enough. Sometimes, more... persuasive methods are necessary. I first learned about the noble art of goating from from Omar Shahine: We have this problem in Hotmail. If you walk
software development
Since I started at Vertigo, here are a few of the projects I’ve worked on: * Michelangelo * Nash * Whiskeytown * Gobstopper These are our internal project code names. The names are chosen alphabetically from a set of items; every new project gets a name from the set. We start with A,
software development
In this era of pervasive broadband, I’m constantly surprised how often I am forced to buy a physical CD or DVD to obtain the software I want. Physical distribution methods have their place, but they should be on the decline by now. Software is best distributed digitally through our
64-bit
I’ve been wary of 64-bit on the desktop, as the benefits are usually outweighed by the compatibility problems. I agree that 64-bit operating systems are inevitable in the big scheme of things, but I’ve struggled to see the relevance of 64-bit for typical desktop and
user experience
In my continuing quest for a decently full-featured graphics editor that hasn’t succumbed to feature bloat, I recently installed Paint.NET for the first time. I’ll admit that I had low expectations based on the abysmal user interfaces I’ve experienced in other open source projects. Imagine
software development concepts
Does this sound familiar? your program (n): a maze of non-sequiturs littered with clever-clever tricks and irrelevant comments. Compare MY PROGRAM. my program (n): a gem of algorithmic precision, offering the most sublime balance between compact, efficient coding on the one hand, and fully commented legibility for posterity
I’ve often thought there is a subtle art to the humble hyperlink, that stalwart building block of hypertext, the stuff that Ted Nelson’s Xanadu dream was made of. The word hypertext was coined by Nelson and published in a paper delivered to a national conference of the Association
lcd panels
When I purchased my last set of LCD monitors, I didn’t fully understand that not all LCD panels are created equal. There are three distinct families of LCD display technology, each with their own tradeoffs and peculiarities. Before you buy a new LCD display, you should take note of
software development concepts
Hacknot’s If They Come, How Will They Build It? is a harrowing series of 29 emails sent over a two week period. To: Mike Cooper From: Ed Johnson Mike, I finally got CVS access today from Arnold. So I’ve checked out the AccountView module OK, but it won’
programming languages
Martin Fowler loosely defines a fluent interface thusly: “The more the use of the API has that language like flow, the more fluent it is.” If you detect a whiff of skepticism here, you’re right: I’ve never seen this work. Computer languages aren’t human languages. Let’s
desktop organization
I’m of two minds on the desktop. If you’re really using your computer, your desktop should almost never be visible. Your screen should be covered with information, with whatever data you’re working on. I can’t imagine why you’d willingly stare at a static background image