security
The multi-platform password cracker Ophcrack is incredibly fast. How fast? It can crack the password "Fgpyyih804423" in 160 seconds. Most people would consider that password fairly secure. The Microsoft password strength checker rates it "strong". The Geekwisdom password strength meter rates it "mediocre". Why
user experience
Cyrus Najmabadi* hates tabs in web browsers: Ok, I seriously don't get tabs on Windows. Hell, I don't get tabs on OSX either. In the latter there's a great system called Expos, and in the former the taskbar does the job. Once I start
user interface design
Task-Centered User Interface Design [http://hcibib.org/tcuid/index.html] is a 1993 book delivered in digital shareware form, and also available as a PDF [http://hcibib.org/tcuid/tcuid.pdf]. Although it's almost fifteen years old, it's still highly relevant-- a testament to the timelessness
software development concepts
One of the premium features of the New York Times website is the Windows Reader. It's free if you subscribe to home delivery of the paper, otherwise it's $14.95 per month. One of the key attractions of the Times Reader is that it lets you
usability
In-N-Out Burger is a fast food institution here in California. Part of their appeal, I think, is their radically simplified menu. Instead of forcing customers to process a complex menu with a hundred choices, In-N-Out got real and pared it down to what really matters: a burger, fries, and a
hardware
I'm a big fan of dual-core systems. I think there's a clear and substantial benefit for all computer users when there are two CPUs waiting to service requests, instead of just one. If nothing else, it lets you gracefully terminate an application that has gone haywire,
c++
Eric Lippert notes the perils of programming in C++: I often think of C++ as my own personal Pit of Despair Programming Language. Unmanaged C++ makes it so easy to fall into traps. Think buffer overruns, memory leaks, double frees, mismatch between allocator and deallocator, using freed memory, umpteen dozen
windows registry
One of the hot new features introduced with Windows 95 was the Windows Registry. The Windows Registry offered a centralized database-like location to store application and system settings. No more plain text .INI files splattered all over your system. Instead, issue a few easy API calls and your application settings
ergonomics
I spend almost every waking moment in front of a computer. I'm what you might call an indoor enthusiast. I've been lucky not to experience any kind of computer-related injury due to my prolonged use of computers, but it is a very real professional risk. I
aspect ratio
As far as I'm concerned, you can never have enough pixels on your desktop. Until a few years ago, buying a larger display meant buying a larger display in the same, standard 4:3 screen layout-- 640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1600 x 1200,
programming languages
For many programmers, our introduction to programming was our dad forcing us to write our own games. Instead of the shiny new Atari 2600 game console I wanted, I got a Texas Instruments TI-99/4a computer instead. That's not exactly what I had in mind at the time,
programming languages
I've become a big fan of Twitter. My philosophy is, when in doubt, make it public, and Twitter is essentially public instant messaging. This suits me fine. Well, when Twitter is actually up and running, at least. Its bouts of frequent downtime are legendary, even today. (I was