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, consuming
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
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
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 get
display resolution
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, and
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 going
programming languages
I arrived at work today to find this package. It’s from one “C. Petzold,” whoever the heck that is. Inside was a copy of the book 3D Programming for Windows: Three-Dimensional Graphics Programming for the Windows Presentation Foundation. It’s even inscribed: This is, of course, a reference
software development concepts
It takes discipline for development teams to benefit from modern software engineering conventions. If your team doesn’t have the right kind of engineering discipline, the tools and processes you use are almost irrelevant. I advocated as much in Discipline Makes Strong Developers. But some commenters were understandably apprehensive about
blogging
I started out in early 2004 as a blog skeptic. But over the last four years, I’ve become a born-again believer. In that time, I’ve written almost a thousand blog entries, and I’ve read thousands upon thousands of blog entries. As a result, I’ve developed
performance
I first saw Yahoo’s 13 Simple Rules for Speeding Up Your Web Site referenced in a post on Rich Skrenta’s blog in May. It looks like there were originally 14 rules; one must have fallen off the list somewhere along the way. 1. Make Fewer HTTP Requests 2.
software development
Scott Koon recently wrote about the importance of discipline as a developer trait: Every month a new programming language or methodology appears, followed by devotees singing its praises from every corner of the Internet. All promising increases in productivity and quality. But there is one quality that all successful developers